2017-2022 Selected Works
The project will be focused on intervention within the Houston Ship Channel by transforming specific industrial areas of the channel into a green belt park system which will serve to mitigate flooding by creating permeable green space and reclaimed wetlands, creating an appealing barrier between the industrial zone and the residential, and increasing the distance between the zones to alleviate the risks associated with pollution that is emitted by the industrial sector. It will span the length of the channel but will use Greens Port as the focus for the prototype. By controlling the zoning and dedicating the areas north of the channel only to residential and recreational uses, the industries are then contained south of the channel while still maintaining access to it.
The park system will be multifunctional; it will generate revenue through various recreational means like activity venues or retail opportunities, allow for neighborhood revitalization through walkability and community urban farming, lower pollution through vegetation, and incorporate wetland restoration and detention ponds which will serve the residential areas by regulating water drainage and mitigate flooding. Trees and plantings will be native to the city and specifically selected for hardiness and filtration, which can contribute to cleaning the stormwater and runoff that may be previously contaminated by nearby industries, while existing industrial railways can be repurposed as biking and walking trails.
Greens Port located along the edge of the shipping channel is composed of mostly industrial sites surrounded by residential and commercial areas. With wind primarily moving from the Southeast, the residential area receives many of the pollutants from the industry, resulting in the area having a high cancer risk due to air toxins. The area is also classified as a food desert, resulting in them needing alternative methods of producing food.
The Greens Port industrial site is also located within the 100 and 500-year floodplain, as well as within the storm surge area, making it more prone to flooding along the Greens Bayou and Shipping Channel edge. Most of the residential area is excluded from flood water range, but the water edge lined with industrial sites are expected to be completely submerged due to increasing sea level rise, reinforcing reasons for which industries should move from this area in the future.
The Greens Port area is primarily made up of households with an average household income falling below $75,000, with a small area made up of households with an average household income above $75,000, located along the main commercial areas of the neighborhood.
The area of our main proposal is comprised of a large portion of industrial land use, primarily along the shipping channel, with oil refineries, large storage facilities and steel suppliers. Further inland, there is the Greens Bayou neighborhood made of primarily residential areas, with some commercial spaces along the main roads and highway.
This project focuses on revitalizing the area once overrun with industrial sites, and converting the area into usable spaces for the nearby residential area, while tackling 3 main challenges brought on by the proximity of the industry. The park development would focus on flood risk, pollution, and the lack of access to nature experiences by the residents.
The goal of this proposal being to make the site more accessible to people, reconnecting them to the shipping channel, bringing back green spaces to the area and addressing the pollution challenges brough up by the previous industrial locations.
Two sites were offered surrounding Lee Circle, near the museum district of New Orleans, of which we chose the one directly across from the WWII Museum. The building was designed to serve as a cultural center, composed of two portions; one housing the information area and café, and the other exhibition rooms and classrooms, along with the necessary office spaces.
The shape was created following a radial grid with the focus point on the Lee Circle Monument, in the center
New Orleans, LA
Spring | 2019
of Lee Circle. The cutural center takes on a shape conforming to the surrounding buildings and the nearby roundabout while having the volumes push and pull away from one another, helping create an enclosed central courtyard. Vertically, there is a push and pull creating multiple extrusions and recesses, highlighting important spaces.
The NOLA Cultural Center incorporates a mixture of public and semi-private spaces ranging from exhibition spaces, to workshops, to a café and library. Divided into two masses, the front mass is intended to serve the public at all times while the back mass is elevated one story above the ground being able to close down on at night when the museum is not in function. This organization allows for the central courtyard to also be accessible at all times.
Developed with the idea of individualization and a direct connection between public and private space, this social housing project in Brazil was designed using the voronoi system, and the idea of crystals joining together to form clusters. The voronoi system was used for the site plan dictating which lots could be joined together to form housing clusters, sharing outdoor spaces, creating a sense of community between multiple units.
Ceilandia, Brasilia, Brazil
Fall | 2017
Each housing unit was developed based on the specific lot shape and was created using prefabricated panels, with room included for future expansion. The façade was created using the solar path to create large windows where needed, and smaller windows where least necessary. Ample green spaces were incorporated near all the houses and large patches were dictated as green spaces, with flexibility to be used as housing lots as needed in the future.
Each unit was designed based on the individual lot, starting from a cube and stretching the vertices to subdivide each face, creating unique individual volumes. These were then clustered on the site, subdivided by a Voronoi pattern, creating streets for vehicle use and an inner network of pedestrian walkways as well.
FIRST FLOOR
This project calls for the proposal of a multiuse market and urban farm/park across from the French Market in New Orleans. This project will also serve as a meeting place for the city during times of crisis, reacting to the potential flooding condition that comes with being outside the levee wall system.
The site strategy is focused on connecting the surrounding city through views as well as through extending existing accessways around the French Market. The program is plugged in based on a grid developed by looking at key dimensions specific to the type of program and analyzing how each module could be used both during everyday use, and in times of crisis. The
grid allows for growth to happen over time, changing based on the needs of the users. Spaces are organized along the center of the building, leaving the perimeter as circulation areas to allow for views of the city and river. Areas in the building are provided with moveable walls, allowing for the spaces to be used as seen fit by the users, whether it be as market shops, galleries, performance areas. The program flows outside, where the surrounding area contains an urban farm and gardens at each extremity of the building.
SECOND FLOOR
FIRST FLOOR
This project focuses on providing young LGBT homeless adults, ages 18-24 with transitional housing, promoting a sense of community and belonging through the incorporation of interior shared spaces on each floor, and a central courtyard, engaging both interior and exterior spaces.
Metal panels with a dichroic finish wrap the exterior of each building, displaying colors drawn from the LGBT flags further promoting a sense of identity and community for this population.
The program is divided among two buildings, the front housing the first floor composed of support spaces including medical and counseling services helping further support them by creating a space for acceptance and emotional support that they might not otherwise receive from families and friends, along with a multi-purpose space that spills into the
central courtyard, engaging both interior and exterior spaces.
Each floor has a shared space visible as you exit the elevators, allowing for residents to engage with neighbors, further promoting a sense of community within each floor.
The building holds single occupant units providing individual safe spaces for residents. Units will have polished concrete floors, with a stained plywood millwork wall giving the appearance of a thicker wall along the core of each unit. Each unit will have two layers of cabinets, the first serving as daily storage and the upper serving as long term storage.
The façade is made of Hardie plank along the ground floor, providing a warmer tone as you enter the building. The rest of the façade is made of metal panels with a dichroic finish coating the front building with blue to green hues and the back building with purple hues, providing a colorful and engaging façade, giving the illusion of changing colors as you approach.
Name: Maribel Paredes
Location: Houston, TX
Contact: 832.258.8820
maribel.paredes119@gmail.com
University of Houston | August 2021 - Present
M. Architecture | Expected Graduation: May 2023
Texas A&M University (TAMU)| August 2015 - May 2019
B. Environmental Design
Work Experience
Architectural Designer | October 2019 - February 2022
GLMV Architecture
Student Coordinator for Community Learning Center August 2018 - August 2019
Department of Residence Life, TAMU
Architectural Student Intern - Tenant Interiors
January 2018 - July 2018
Method Architecture, PLLC., Houston, TX
Senior Academic Peer Mentor, Inventory and Office Hours Coordinator
August 2017 - December 2017
Department of Residence Life, TAMU
Academic Peer Mentor | August 2016 - May 2017
Department of Residence Life, TAMU
Awards
1st Place, Build Day Competition | February 2016
Department of Architecture, TAMU
Excellence in Diversity | February 2016
Department of Architecture, TAMU
Skills
Enscape Illustrator Indesign Photoshop
MARIBEL PAREDES
maribel.paredes119@gmail.com