2017 Design Portfolio

Urban and Architectural Design Portfolio Selected Works

Juan Fernando Usubillaga

Architect – MSc. Building and Urban Design in Development October 2017

Introduction

This portfolio cotains a brief selection of projects to give an overview of my work as an urban designer and an architect. They were developed between 2013 and 2016, and synthesise my experience in terms of tools used, contexts, project scales and combination of theoretical an practical approaches.

The first three projects lie on the realm of urban design and aim to solve problems at the city or neighbourhood scale. The final two projects, on the other hand, emerged from enquiries around the role of the user and were developed from an architectural scale - the scale of the building.

For a full version of my portfolio, please visit: https://www.behance.net/jusubillaga For other examples of my work as a researcher, please visit: https://issuu.com/jusubillaga

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In Beirut, borders should be regarded as landscapes and not lines. They are defined by different dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, involve diverse actors and are manifest in overlapping spatialities at the same time. Underlying them are trajectories of violence, recovery and a transformation embedded in processes of displacement.

To counteract this, the project aims to create the conditions for the possibility for a landscape of memories to emerge. Memory is a tool for reconciliation and its recollection is the first step to achieve an inclusive transformation that reflects on past and present dynamics; memory is projection. The landscape, then, brings together overlapping perspectives in an iterative process of knowledge creation through the continuous interaction with the territory.

Recollection is spatialized in the form of a living map of memories with three dimensions: recognition, visibility and dissemination. Recognition begins in an ephemeral space that appears for individuals and communities to write their stories through conversations, drawings and texts (phase 1). These are brought visible in a series of routes that connect emerging places of importance in the narratives of memories; memories are embedded in the territory (phase 2). This way, the space of recollection dissolves in the daily life of the community. Finally, in a process of translation, memories turn into maps and stories recorded in a book; a tool that allows for the dissemination of histories in other communities (phase 3).

UD1

Dalieh - The Living Map of Memories Beirut, Lebanon - 2016

This project was the result of a three-month comparative urbanism workshop at UCL. For more details: https://www.behance.net/gallery/55596863/ The-Living-Map-of-Memories

Phase 1 Phase 2

Phase 1: Recognition of Local Memories.

Phase 3

Phase 2: Making Memories Visible.

Intervention sites on the coast of Beirut.

Phase 3: Sharing Memories to resignify space.

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The project is structured from two juxtaposed notions of routes: one which is ceremonial and one which is systematic (the grid).

Both are overlaid in a plot on the highest part of Bogotรก's historical centre to connect the University of Los Andes and its adjacent redevelopment area with a historical, but forgotten, marketplace in the area. This intervention aimed to revitalise a city centre that has slowly been blighted due to abandonment.

The starting point was a theoretical exploration of how a specific conceptualisation of a route can establish design principles that are transversal to different moments (and projects) in history.

Following this, the challenge was to overlay both notions in such a way that their dialogue was harmonious. A grid of circulation was first defined and adapted to the changing slope of the terrain, leaving the spaces for the development of housing and mixed-use projects.

The second type of route, the ceremonial one, generated a rupture in the system to open up the main space of circulation that allowed for a smooth transition between the lowest and the highest points of the terrain. Marking the turning points, as well as the start and the end of this routes, social services and places of encounter were proposed. These design operations created a sequence of differentiated places that offered a variety of sensory experiences to the users.

UD2

A Route to Revitalise La Candelaria Bogotรก, Colombia - 2014

This project required the use of a wide array of tools including GIS for mapping, Rhinoceros for 3D modelling, AutoCAD for the drawing of plans, Artlantis 3.0 for rendering, and Photoshop and Illustrator for layout/final details.

For more details: https://www.behance.net/gallery/22795357/ A-route-to-revitalize-Bogotas-historical-centre

General Plan The Project Within the New Route.

Perspectives

Sections

Ground Floor Plan.

Section and Elevation.

3D Overview, Interior Perspective and Exterior Perspective.

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The development and subsequent abandonment of industrial areas in major cities in Latin America has been an issue planners have dealt with for the past 100 years.

For this project, we took Bogotå as our lab to analyse the impact of industry in its urban fabric and find ways to recover abandoned brownfields. A thorough analysis of the spatial patterns of industrial development was conducted using parametric and GIS tools (Grasshopper, ArcGIS), to lay the ground for discussions about the role of industry in the city’s future.

One of the topics in this discussion was the relationship between housing and industry, as the latter has been usually characterised as an attractor for the former. Nevertheless, environmental factors associated with industrial use make it difficult for it to coexist with quality housing estates.

The project took one of the areas deeply wounded by the existance and abandonment of industry, to propose mixed-use alternatives for its redevelopment. More specifically, alternatives with an emphasis on industry and housing estates were explored.

UD3

As a first step for the design of alternatives, quality indicators were proposed reflecting on the urban environments that we wanted to create. These indicators turned into design parameters which were used as a base for schematic explorations using Rhinoceros and Grasshopper.

Urban Stitches

BogotĂĄ, Colombia - 2014

For more details: https://www.behance.net/gallery/22791081/Urban-Stitches

Chapinero

Marco Fidel

2%1%1% 3% 3%

2%0%

6%

18%

5% 5%

31%

44%

5% 5% 8%

35% 22%

Number of buildings per height

1980

Location of Industrial Sites in Bogotรก.

Comparison of Mixed-use Typologies in the city.

Indicators

2014

Number of buildings per height

Design exploration

1960

Case Studies

1940

Definition of Project Parameters.

Algorithm for Design Alternative.

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This project was conceived as a contestation to current developments in a neighbourhood in Bogotå’s historical centre, which were having difficulties providing affordable houses to current residents in areas marked for relocation. The proposal, then, aimed to be both socially responsible and financially viable for the developers.

Public spaces were intertwined with a mix of housing typologies and uses to generate dynamic enclaves where current residents of the neighbourhood could interact with students from the local universities.

A financial scheme was also drafted to assure current residents could afford their new homes without losing the economic activities currently associated to them. To complement this, we explored new construction techniques based on rammed earth developments in India and Ecuador (two of our case studies).

AR1

Finally, the principles of flexibility and incrementality underpinned the design of every housing unit, ensuring that families had the autonomy they needed to further develop their own homes. We argued that quality is inextricably linked to opportunities of growth and the fulfilment of family needs over time.

Affordable Housing in the Fenicia Triangle BogotĂĄ, Colombia - 2014

For more details: https://www.behance.net/gallery/22731919/ Housing-Project-in-Fenicia-UI-VIVIENDA

Family buy

Apartment

lease

Expansion

lease

Commerce

family ownership

buy

buy

community ownership

Bank Financial Scheme for Family Housing Types.

Incrementality

User Profiles and Location of Housing Types.

Incremental System.

Ground Floor Scheme and Aerial View.

Apartment Type Plan.

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Our client was a charity school in Zipaquirรก, a small city located two hours away from Bogotรก. We were asked to design and build a DIY outdoors pavilion where children could play and store their toys - something we took further to propose a game tunnel that could be used as a toy itself.

Movement, user interaction and resource optimization where our design principles. We elaborated a simple algorithm in which an irregular hexagon was extruded and rotated in such a way that, after its 10th rotation, it landed on one of its largest sides, making the structure stable.

Every module was built using standarised pieces of wood, modified for specific uses - some had ropes to play inside, others had climbing walls, and others had small entrances. The gutters were the only elements that were fabricated on site, as their shape was specific for each module. This allowed the interior to stay dry, especially as the area has two rainy seasons per year.

AR2

The tunnel was built twice: it was built initially at the University, to be then dismantled and taken to the charity school to be rebuilt.

Parametric Game Tunnel Zipaquirรก, Colombia - 2013

For more details: https://www.behance.net/gallery/16231705/Toy-Pavillion

Photographs of the building process at the university and the charity.

Building Process.

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Juan Fernando Usubillaga jusubillaga@gmail.com (+44) 7757 026785 October - 2017