Urban Projects Portfolio

PORTFOLIO | Martha Dado | Graduate Urban Planner | Architectural Designer RIBA Part II (Overseas Qualified)|

CONTENTS

Welcome to my Urban Projects Portfolio, highlighting my expertise in sustainable, innovative urban design. With a focus on shaping better futures for communities worldwide.

For details on my architectural and interior design work, click here.

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Dissertation research

MA URBAN PLANNING & RESILIENCE | 08/2023 Thesis brief: An Investigation into how garden cities and garden communities are building resilience through design

Canterbury Site documentation MA URBAN PLANNING & RESILIENCE | 01/2023 Conservation principles module | Academic project

Cupi Glampling Hotel Boutique | Under construction Hospitality | Architecture & Landscape

Dreaming the boulevard BA ARCHITECTURE -FINAL PROJECT | 12/2013 Academic project | Public realm | Urban Planning

Modular City

BA ARCHITECTURE | 06/2012 Academic project | Mixed use | Architecture & Landscape

Social Housing

BA ARCHITECTURE | 12/2012 Academic project | Team work project| Architecture & Landscape

Contests

International & Local design contests | 2013-2019 Team work projects | Architecture & Urban Design

1

“AN INVESTIGATION INTO HOW GARDEN CITIES AND GARDEN COMMUNITIES ARE BUILDING RESILIENCE THROUGH DESIGN”

This work examines how garden cities and communities enhance resilience through design, focusing on principles and strategies to address urban challenges. Case studies like Letchworth Garden City and Culm Garden Village demonstrate techniques to bolster resilience. Utilizing case studies and interviews, the research emphasizes holistic approaches, usercentric design, and stakeholder collaboration. Analysis of recommendations from planning associations and governments offers insights. The study aims to improve community resilience through design principles, acknowledging contemporary urban challenges and proposing strategies for resilience enhancement.

ANALYSIS

Thematic analysis of interview data and desk research identified resilient design concepts, strategies, challenges, and recommendations. Coded themes were grouped into four categories, visually highlighted for clarity.

Category 1. Concepts of Resilient Design in Garden Communities

Category 2: Design strategies and approaches of Resilience

Category 3. Challenges to Resilient Design strategies

Category 4. Recommendations for enhancing Resilience by Design

FINDINGS & CONCLUSIONS Garden communities were found to implement strategies such as green spaces and sustainable transportation to enhance resilience. Challenges include a lack of expertise and holistic approaches.

Recommendations include updating local plans and fostering cooperation among stakeholders. Additionally, the study reviewed government initiatives, highlighting the importance of quality planning and long-term maintenance. Ultimately, building resilient garden communities requires comprehensive strategies and interdepartmental coordination to address challenges and ensure successful implementation.

"A casual talk of sheep" Photograph with illustration as a reflection on the possible impacts of new garden communities on wildlife (By author,2023)

MA Urban Planning & Resilience | Dissertation Work|Thesis brief

2

CANTERBURY SITE DOCUMENTATION

This work explores Canterbury's historical significance, tracing its heritage from Roman times to the present. It emphasizes the diverse architectural styles on High Street, identifying and studying selected listed buildings. Through specification sheets, the study documents and analyzes them to capture Canterbury's architectural evolution and cultural significance.

Buildings selected for analysis

Examples of specification sheet

MA Urban Planning & Resilience | Dissertation Work|Thesis brief|Click for more info

3

CUPI GLAMPLING

CUPI GLAMPING | Hotel Boutique | Hospitality | Architecture & Landscape

2023-204 | San Pancho Nay. Mexico | Under construction

CUPI GLAMPLING

Hospitality project designed with the vision of offering a unique experience of total immersion in nature. The hotel is developed on platforms that mimic this connection to nature, allowing the domes (rooms) to serve as observatories for stargazing and spaces for nature contemplation.

CUPI GLAMPING | Hotel Boutique | Hospitality | Architecture & Landscape

4

DREAMING THE BOULEVARD

DREAMING THE BOULEVARD |Academic project | Public realm | Urban Planning | click for more info

2013 | Distrito Tec Monterrey, Mexico | The Distrito Tec corridor revitalises urban spaces, serving as the gateway to the city. It hosts diverse activities and fosters interaction among stakeholders, improving overall quality of life. With three main nodes—Cultural, Landscape, and Flexible—it offers versatility and vitality. Dreaming a boulevard that serves as the ceremonial gateway to the city, where various activities converge.

DREAMING THE BOULEVARD |Academic project | Public realm | Urban Planning | click for more info

5

MODULAR CITY

MODULAR CITY |Academic project | Mixed-Use | Architecture & Landscape

2012 | Monterrey, Mexico | In a growing metropolis where vertical density escalates daily, risking identity loss, there's a demand for spaces that revive its essence. Design aims to integrate seamlessly with the environment, prioritizing scenic views and lush greenery. A flexible housing module, rooted in a structured grid emanating from the parking structure, allows for adaptable configurations. Commerce, housing, and a plaza converge, united by verdant surroundings.

MODULAR CITY |Academic project | Mixed-Use | Architecture & Landscape

6

SOCIAL HOUSING

SOCIAL HOUSING |Academic project | Housing development | Architecture & Landscape

2012 | Cancun, Mexico | The project proposes dignified, flexible, and human housing in Cancún, aiming to counter urban segregation and insecurity. Integrating formal and informal housing elements into vertical clusters, it prioritizes flexibility for moderate expansion and maximizes green spaces for thermal comfort and social interaction.l comfort and social interaction.

Urban sprawl growth

Housing unit prototype

Growth scheme of housing unit

Block unit

Site development

SOCIAL HOUSING |Academic project | Housing development | Architecture & Landscape

7

CONTESTS

International & Local design contests |Team work projects | Architecture & Urban Design

2019 | PERFUME| Itinerant Pavilion| Mexico City |

What program does the ephemeral structure respond to? Are ephemeral constructions a metaphor for entropy?

Is it a paradigm of space and time of another order, subject to a logic of instability with fleeting moments of balance?The ephemeral structure serves as a platform for exploring questions about entropy, space, and time. It acts as a metaphorical labyrinth, devoid of fixed meanings, where public spaces blend with ease.

Positioned to accommodate pedestrian flows, it fosters programmatic flexibility while maintaining spatial identity. Constructed with recycled pallets and aromatic mint plants, the space offers a sensory experience shaped by light, shadows, and airflow.

Site

ITINERANT PAVILION |Arquine Contest | Architecture & Landscape | Teamwork project

2018 | EPICENTER | Itinerant Pavilion| Mexico City | The proposal originates from the existing fountain, already used as a gathering site, and is taken as the epicenter, bordering its limits with rubble from demolition materials to generate multiple interpretations and provoke expansion. It serves as a memorial to the victims of the 2017 earthquake.

Constructed with reflective panels, creating diverse readings and interpretations of images over time.

The intention is for continued use after the pavilion is dismantled, being fully reusable and replicable with the comprehensive support of three axes: 1.

Active citizen participation (labor and preventive training), 2. Economic support from the government, establishing trusts for times of disaster, and 3.

Building a network of interdisciplinary professionals (supported and driven by both public and private initiatives).

Fractures in Mexico City

Concept diagram

ITINERANT PAVILION |Arquine Contest | Architecture & Landscape | Teamwork project

2014 | ITINERANT PAVILION| Finalist award | Monterrey, Mexico | This Itinerant Pavilion is a versatile structure designed for diverse public activities. Comprising six modules, it adapts to various contexts and user needs while seamlessly integrating into and enhancing urban landscapes, catalyzing the regeneration of public spaces.

ITINERANT PAVILION |Pabellon Los Arquitectos Contest | Architecture & Landscape | Teamwork project

2013 | ECOHOUSE| 1st place award | Monterrey, Mexico | The Ecohouse project presents a novel approach to affordable social housing, integrating passive design systems. The house module consists of two volumes, separating service areas from living spaces. A staircase cube functions as a ventilation element, extracting hot air to act as a heat chimney. Natural ventilation is facilitated through air inlets and outlets in all spaces, aided by regional materials and self-sufficient technologies. With a budget below $200,000 Mexican pesos (around £7,700), this project offers an ecofriendly housing alternative.

ECOHOUSE |Local contest | Architecture| Teamwork project

THANK YOU | martha.dado@gmail.com | +44 7783 328377