ARCHITECTURE
PORTFOLIO
MAURICIO VISBAL
Bogotรก l Houston l Barcelona
biomuseum .......................................................................3 sustainable housing .................................................7 tunal sports park ....................................................11 music academy .............................................................15 BARCELONA HOUSING ...................................................17 tunjuelo cultural .....................................................21
BIOMUSEUM
Graduate
Nov. 2012
The building kinks in strategic places responding to flows and other forces acting upon the site creating a gateway/entrance from the city to the Bayou and vice versa. Using the site topography, the building cantilevers itself in order to create connections across Japhet Creek through a walkable roof and a green covered plaza on the Bayou’s edge acting as a buffer or filter. The program is divided into two main parts, public and private with the library as the connecting node serving both parts. 25’ trusses together with a diagrid hold the cantilevered building and create a series of diamond shaped light scoops taking northern daylight and visually connecting the interior and exterior.
sustainable HOUSING
Graduate Thesis
May 2014
This project intends to create model for Sustainable Housing and engaging the bodies of water in a hot and humid climate like Barranquilla, Colombia. The project develops aroud three central courtyards that face the canals and open up to the public space. The size and placement of the courtyards directly connect the project to the city’s urban fabric and create all kind of pedestrian and water connections. The housing is contemplated as a “house over house� model where the public street gets elevated thus creating urban plazas. The project intends to create moments that can bring the community together and invite others into it. The use of local materials like wood for solar gain protection, open spaces that let winds through, water recollection systems and sun harvesting make this a highly efficient and environmentally conscious project for a hot and humid tropical climate.
Multi-purpose Daycare
Shop
Multi-purpose Studio
Shop
A
Restaurant
Cafe
Shop
Studio
Garden Cistern
D C
Cistern
Shop
Mechanic
E
Garden
Cafe
Fish Market
Shop
B
Studio
F G
Restaurant
Garden
Shop Cistern
Cafe Market
Garden
Game Cistern
Cafe
Shop
Internet
Cafe
A = Kitchen, Bathrooms, Laundy F = Shareable Courtyard G = Front Porch
Studio Shop
Shop Shop
Barber
Gallery
Internet Gallery
Level 1 0
10
20
40
Level 3 80
0
10
20
40
Level 5 80
0
10
20
40
80
Community and Connection
Replenishable Sources Photovoltaic panels harvest nondepletable energy from the Sun while providing shade and insulation to the Roof.
Elevated public “streets” with outdoor living areas facing the canal generate a sense of community and connection to the natural world.
Low Energy High Performance
Embodied Energy
Operable wooden louvers in West facade for solar gain control inside units.
Outdoor local pervious pavers reduce run-off and helps filtering for water recollection.
Health and Happiness
Long Life, Loose Fit
Outdoor environments for social interaction and community development.
Units have a wide variety of arrangement options including space for future growth.
Rainwater Recycle Economical Sustainability
Underground water recollection system for irrigation during dry months and flushing toilets.
Structure and Cost Embedded in Place Units with front porches follows the city’s tradition for front porches and outdoor/street living.
Concrete main structure that stacks vertically and contains electrical and plumbing. Units are built in fast, cheap and easy to change wood construction.
All units have a renting option. Room in front, room in back, retail in back, entire first floor.
Naked
DECEMBER 21
Straight
Straight
JUNE 21
Naked
Naked
MARCH 21
Straight
TUNAL SPORTS PARK
Undergraduate
Dec. 2010
After the urban proposal, the next step to follow was choosing one of the 9 proposed buildings to develop further. The selected project was the most crucial one for the urban project, a sports center located next to a metropolitan park and a mass transit hub. To ensure the success of the urban proposal, this project needed to connect the 3 programs earlier stated, creating a bridge building spanning over river and street. The sports center became more than just a sports venue but place for the community; therefore the most important part was the public space, which had to be constantly active with or without sports events. The Tunal Sports Park is a competition ready sports facility that makes an essential part of a larger urban project.
Plazas
Retail
Pool
Music ACADEMY
Graduate
Aug. 2012
A music development academy for kids and teenagers needs to promote learning through social interaction, hence the village/maze looking plan creating dynamic and interactive spaces. The program is organized as several sets of cube form structures varying in size and functions. A main courtyard provides daylight, fresh air and vegetation and becomes the center of the project. The different set of “cubes� stand around smaller courtyards with light coves, which consequently revolve around the main courtyard. The project creates a variety of different kind of spaces where any sort of interactions may occur.
barcelona HOUSING
Graduate
July 2013
ad:APT is a mixed-use building in Barcelonašs Ensanche neighborhood that incorporates a variety of sustainability strategies. The program, a multi bed and breakfast (two bedroom apartments in which one bedroom could be rented out as a hotel room), is proposed as an economically-sustainable feature to address Spain’s current economic crisis, where tourism is the only thriving industry.The project incorporates pre-fabricated units that can be incorporated in phases. 1) Commercial space and 18 one bedroom apartments are built leaving voids that can be used as communal terraces. 2) Homeowners can expand into voids purchasing prefab units that connect to the building. 3) Homeowners can buy/sell prefab units from/to neighbors in order to have more than one rentable unit and adapt to their own situation.
TUNJUELO CULTURAL
Undergraduate
Jan. - Dec. 2010
Undergraduate thesis project site - a river ecosystem crossing the entire southern part of the city of Bogota, Colombia, area of slums and poverty. This meant that the project had to provide social and community spaces together with lots of public space which the area is lacking due to it informal origin. The Tunjuelo River runs through 3 of the city’s mass transit hubs, easily connecting to the rest of the city, additionally, part of the city’s current plans is to develop a linear park along this river. These two conditions create an opportunity to propose a chain of public infrastructure buildings that would complement this park and ensure its success. Through an extensive mapping exercise, strategic sites with specific programs where identified and proposed along the Tunjuelo River.
River condition
Surroundings
thank you! MAURICIOVISBAL mauvisbal@me.com