Portfolio 路 Mar Ballesteros ARCHITECTURE
2 路 Portfolio
Statement of intent The following work represents my educational career in the Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura del Vallès in Barcelona and Universität der Kunste in Berlin. Having studied and worked in different environments and cultures has made me come to understand that architecture can be seen through very diverse lenses; Design gives a silhouette to a building; Technology provides materiality to a structure; Ecology makes a building environmentally respectful; Art and History give a human dimension to it. This interdisciplinarity is what I find most interesting in architecture, and being open to all the possibilities inside the field has made me see the bigger picture. The aim of this Portfolio is to show my projects done at school as well as other work related to architecture highly influenced by design and photography, which I wish to expand with my forthcoming professional experiences.
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Selected Works
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The Architecture of Collective Dwelling ETSAV, 2006
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The Formation of the City ETSAV, 2007
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Wine Cellar in Collserola ETSAV, 2007
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Building Education UdK Berlin, 2009
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Post-industrial Landscapes ETSAV, 2010
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Library, Kindergarten and Dwellings ETSAV, 2011
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Other works & Photography of Architecture 2004-2011
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CV & Contact
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The Architecture of Collective Dwelling Barcelona, Spain ETSAV, 2006 In the context of l’Eixample in Barcelona, and following the urban plan created by Ildefons Cerdà, the project consists of a building which occupies two adjacent blocks, where formerly stood a correctional facility. The new building is considered as a microcosmos based on zero-commute living, combining dwelling and working, city and nature, public and private. The project is developed through a gradient of privacy in the spaces, from the central public plaza, open to the city, to the more private corridors which lead to each dwelling. There are three types of dwellings depending on the needs of different family units. They combine and stack in such a way that they create another kind of semi-public open space at the end of each corridor, promoting social interaction and giving porosity to the block.
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The Formation of the City Rubí, Spain ETSAV, 2007 Rubí is a small city near Barcelona which is now expanding its limits to the outskirts. The site of the project is located in an old industrial area, separated from the established urban weave by a stream on the east side and from the countryside by a railway on the west. This strategic position favours the creation of a new urban model within the city, connecting both sides of the river and giving more permeability to the city towards the countryside. The project takes into account the regulations of Rubí’s urban planning, distributing the land in green spaces, a transportation network (including a new urban train station), facilities, commercial and residential land. Also, different typologies of dwelling are designed in order to keep up to the demands of modern society and new ways of living.
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Area of influence of the existing and future facilities.
The site as a limit of the city to the countryside, kept between the train rail and a stream.
Transportation network and connections to the existent city.
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Wine Cellar in Collserola Can Calopa de Dalt, Spain ETSAV, 2007 Can Calopa de Dalt vineyards are situated in the natural park of Collserola, in the outskirts of Barcelona. The strong presence of the surrounding landscape challenges the design process with a respectful integration into this natural environment, a fusion between nature and mankind. The building is developed around three conceptual lines drawn on the landscape, which correspond not only to the irregular topography of the site but to the functional use of the cellar. While the upper and middle level are reserved for visitors area and other activities related to the world of wine (exhibitions, wine-tasting or research), the lower level is destined to the winemaking process. Despite these two different conceptual pathways, there are some specific spaces created where they both merge. In that way the process of winemaking can be observed by visitors without interrupting it.
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Building Education Abstract City, Nowhere UdK Berlin, 2009 Contrary to most design processes, there was no context given for the development of this University of Architecture. The underlying idea was that the building arose from the concept itself, rather than being just an answer to the environment. From this point of view the building is a response to new educational roles such as “cascade learning”, in which the knowledge expands horizontally through teachers, students, workers and citizens. This is the reason why the building combines typical academic functions with exhibitions, studios, a library and a research center.
Project published in Abstract City #2: Building Education by Bettina Götz, UdK
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The different “pieces” of program stack one over the other in a way that creates cavities in the volume of the building. The public functions are situated in these open spaces, while the private ones correspond to the enclosed volumes. These different uses are organized around a central atrium which gives a more public perception to the user, a space for cultural activity and debate.
Ground floor
Second floor
Fourth floor
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Post-industrial Landscapes
Popularly known as the “three towers”, each 190m tall, the thermal power plant in Sant Adrià del Besòs is one of the tallest structures around Barcelona’s metropolitan coastline. When the complex stopped producing energy, controversy emerged about what to do with the remains, but its great architectural value and overwhelming presence in the skyline of the city made clear that the best option was to give the plant a new use. Given the strategic position of the site, between the beaches of Barcelona and Badalona, it is now possible to link the two neighborhoods as well as to provide the area with a new life and activity. An Energy Interpretation Center and a Center for Art Production are part of the new program, due to its former use and the possibilities of its size. The strategy used for the refurbishment consists of enhancing the value of the void and intervening only in strategic points, exalting its industrial nature and at the same time making it suitable for the new uses.
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Library, Kindergarten and Dwellings Barcelona, Spain Final Year Project, ETSAV, 2011 The Eixample district in Barcelona has a public facilities plan according to population and needs in each neighbourhood. Under this plan the area of the project requires a new library and a nursery school, and the public housing stock needs to be expanded. The chosen site (6548 m2) occupies half of a block, together with an existing residential building which has to be conserved and integrated into the new project. The most important adjacent buildings are the Ninot Market and the Hospital Clínic, both with huge volumetric presence that will be of great influence on the new design. The underlying idea is to create a hybrid building combining different programs, different management and thus different users, considering human fluxes an opportunity for events and socialization. Bringing back the philosophy of Ildefons Cerdà’s urban plan for Barcelona is also very important, and it is reflected in the treatment of the public space and the ground floor.
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The library and the kindergarten are located in the first two floors, including the existent building, creating a plinth of public facilities.
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To break with the impermeability of the hospital’s wall, we create a play on solid and empty volumes, which also merges with the different entries.
The building itself creates the public spaces, opening the corners as entrances to the facilities and to a big central plaza, enhancing the value of the existent passageway.
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There is also a horizontal emptying of the ground floor, more reflected in the usage of the materials rather than in the volume.
The second floor of the plinth is connected to the existent building. Besides, it generates thresholds in every access by covering the voids created.
The dwelling blocks are situated over a technical floor and in a “U” disposition together with the existent building, enclosing the plaza volume.
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20 路 Portfolio
Constructive section and plan of the dwelling units.
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Other Works Transparent Form Organisation ETSAV, 2009 Corbusier’s composition system is, according to the cubist tradition, a mechanism organised in layers. Transparency takes place when spatial areas can be related with two or more referential systems. This transparent organisation of the forms can be considered as a compositional method, a technique for creating a coherent order, as well as the use of axial planning, repetition or symmetry. In this model, transparency is a taken as a factor of clarity that enables at the same time the presence of ambivalence and ambiguity.
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[modeling + concept]
Prototype of a Fretwork Enclosure ETSAV, 2009 Experimental project based on the materiality of different elements involved in a light gradient effect, obtaining a qualified grade of absortion and transmission, result of operations of aggregation and annexation. Any element can become a material, in this case the skin of a mandarine subject to photo manipulation. Mar Ballesteros · 23
Photography of Architecture 2006-2011 Architectural photography is not only a means of architectural representation but also a tool for composition and interpretation. Its main function is to give information about a building, making it understandable for someone who has not been able to experience it in real life. However, architectural photography goes deeper into the character of a building, capturing the essence of a piece through the lens. Buildings change over time and light, expressing dierent moods and postures when seen from dierent angles. Photography is another technique to convey the relationship between the form, the colors and the light with its environment, revealing a character in the building which may not be immediately apparent to those who visit it. flickr.com/das_dritte_auge
Light Flooded Arches, Barcelona, 2010. 2010 Sony World Photography Awards Special Commendation. Bridge at sunset, Barcelona, 2010
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Ciudad de las ciencias y de las artes, Valencia, 2010
El Patio de la Catedral, Sevilla, 2009. Published in El País. El Viajero (28.11.09).
Kapelle der Versöhnung, Berlin, 2011
Central Park, Sant Cugat del Vallès, 2010
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CV & Contact Personal Info Name Born E-mail Web
Mar Ballesteros Sans · Architect 1986, Barcelona marballesterossans@hotmail.com mballesteros.carbonmade.com
Education 2004 - 2011 2010 2008 - 2009
Master Degree in Architecture. Escola Tècnica Superior del Vallès (ETSAV), Barcelona. Final Year Project (Master Thesis pre-Bologna period) grade: 8,5. Online program for professional competences, Becas Faro. Erasmus in Universität der Künste (UdK) in Berlin.
Skills Languages
Computer skills
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· SPANISH and CATALAN: native · ENGLISH: fluent. Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE). · GERMAN: intermediate. Level B1. · FRENCH: intermediate. Studied at school. · CAD : AutoCad, ArchiCad, MicroStation. · Rendering/3D: Sketchup, Maxwell Render, Vray. · Layout: CorelDraw, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign. · Others: Microsoft Office. Windows and Mac user.
Work Experience 2011
Associate editor of the book Spanish Architects Abroad. Rafael Moneo, Victor López
Cotelo, Enrique Sobejano, Juan Miró, Iñaki Ábalos.
(Luis Feduchi, Berlin, Jovis Verlag, 2011). 2010 - 2011
BERLIN STUDIO. LUIS FEDUCHI, Berlin. Internship for 6 months Competiton for a Masterplan Liangzhou, China.
2009 - 2010
ETSAV, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL REPRESENTATION AND VISUAL ANALYSIS, Sant Cugat del Vallès. Internship for 8 months. Data gathering and organisational tasks for the publication of a book within the framework of the subject Dissensus: architecture, politics and cinema, under the coordination of Alberto Altés.
2007 - 2008
VARIS ARQUITECTES. DANI FREIXES, Barcelona. Internship for 1 year. · House in Vulpellac, basic project. · Gas Museum in Sabadell, basic project. · Espai del Peix Gastronomic Space in Palamós, executive project. · Museum of the Rural Life a l’Espluga de Francolí, executive project. · Extension of David’s Museum in Jerusalem, proposal. · Renovation of Hotel Barceló in Barcelona, executive project.
2006
TONET SUNYER ARQUITECTES, Barcelona. Internship for 6 months. · Multifamily Housing in Sant Cugat del Vallès, executive project. · Six houses in Aiguablava, executive project.
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Portfolio 路 Mar Ballesteros
marballesterossans@hotmail.com