Resume

Nicholas Gascon

Date of birth: 16/06/1998

Current location: Tampa Florida

Email: ngascon@usf.edu

Phone: 407-421-6202

Education

University of South Florida

Master of Architecture graduating in Spring 2023

Fatima College

A-Levels in Trinidad and Tobago

Experience

Halfants + Pichette

Part time internship during the semester building scale models, sketchup/revit digital modeling, drawing and rendering.

Derek Pirozzi Design Workshop LLC

Scale model making

University of South Florida

Graduate assistant for COTA School of Theatre and Dance grading student assignments

Skills

MS Office

Word | Powerpoint | Excel

Adobe CC

Photoshop | Indesign | Premier Pro

CAD/Render

Autocad | Sketchup | Rhino | Revit |Vray | Lumion

2017-2023

2009-2016

Fall - Winter 2022

Spring 2022

Fall 2021

Modern Housing

Design Development| Currea |Summer 2022

The Oasis is a mixed use building on riverfront property located in Tampa, Florida, bewetween W Oask Ave and Market Street. The once vacant two acre lot is scheduled for RMU-100 land use and has been used to build a 7 story mixed use building with public ammenities. Oasis stands 92’ feet tall with the ground floor being used for retail, utilities, and parking, the second for an open public courtyard with ammenities and the rest for residential and offices on it’s South-Eastern corner. Circulation occurs on every other floor with various unit typees and double heighted spaces. The project extends and activates the public space from armature works to further continue the riverwalk West.

Site Analysis

0 West Oak Avenue, Tampa

Jurisdiction - City of Tampa

Flood Zone : X (Area of minimal flood hazard)

Future Land Use : RMU-100 / CC-35

Current Landuse Code: 1000 Vacant

Comm

Acreage: 1.98

Market Value: $926,936

Folio: 183341.0186

The site is in Tampa, Florida, inbetween Market street and W Oak Avenue with a view of the Hillsborough river looking Southwards towards Tampa’s skyline. The chosen lot is currently empty and directly next to a public hotspot that connects back to the city core through a riverwalk. The surrounding lots are vacant and connect to the residential district to the North West. It has an opportunity to be part of a phase of designs that act as the threshold connecting the residential district to an urban village and ultimately downtown Tampa.

Retail stores line the street edge with two grand entrances leading into the courtyard with parking beneath. Two main exterior stairs take you up to your units with a run skip run form of circulation. The main ammenities and offices face the South with a view of the Hillsborough river.

Ground Floor

Scale 1” = 50’

The ground floor is lined with retail on all sides but the West side which is used for utility and covered parking access. The bus stop is located between the two main entrances which take you up into the courtyard with elevators for ADA access available at each fire stair.

Electric line

Water main

Sewer main

Fire water line

Main entrances/exits

Property Line

Setback Line

Land use: RMU-100

Residential SQFT: 108,000 (69 units)

Mercantile SQFT: 22,400

Office SQFT: 15,000

Parking spaces: 72

GSF: 273,300

1. Electrical room

2. Electrical transformer

3. Backup Generator

4. Pool pump room

5. Garbage chute

6. Fire pump room

7. Fire backflow preventer

8. Fire riser

9. Fire control room

10. Fire hydrants

11. Post indicator valve

12. Pack collection room

13. Security check

14. Bus stop

15. Potable water distribution

16. Grey water collection / distribution

17. Mail room

18. Delivery man dropoff

19. Garage entrance

20. Armature Works

Section B

Window and Spandrel

Scale 3/8” = 1’

Roof Juncture Detailing

Scale 1/2” = 1’

Everglades Research Center

Advanced Design B | Powers | Spring 2022

Florida’s everglades are in decline with water qualities worsening from human pollution. The Ecological Science Research Center for Everglades National Park sits on the edge of the marsh closely monitoring the water while providing a place for its inhabitants to live harmoniously with their surroundings. Moments along the main circulation branch off into the river for recreation, exploration, and reflection.

Residents sleep amongst the Everglade’s vast avian wildlife fifteen to twenty-five foot above grade with views of the vast pine to the North and communal spaces facing the water. Early Seminole inhabitants of the Everglades gathered near the waters edge around a campfire to eat and share stories. The lodge at the center of the village acts as a focal gathering point with a watchtower at the end overwatching the wildlife and the research center’s inhabitants.

Final Design

Birdseye of research center

The ecological science research center is interconnected by walkways elevated 5’ above grade along the edge of the marsh. The lodge is located inbetween the cabins to the West and the science labs to the East acting as a focal gathering place for the facility’s occupants. The main circulation branches out to moments along the water’s edge and crosses the slough ending at the watchtower to the West.

View looking South from lodge great room

View looking West from lodge breezeway

Plans and Long Section

South Elevation

Interior Perspectives

The cabins are made from post and lintel timber construction with double heighted openings facing the South. Adjustable louvers and sliding panels on the front and sides of the building allow it to be closed up for hurricane protection and privacy.

Looking

Final model

Scale: 1/16” = 1’ Looking

Cabin Plans and Sections

Housing for 3 permanent families are located right before the water’s edge with built in elevated single car parking. Double heighted living and kitchen spaces overlook the water with bedrooms on the third floor facing the pine forest to the North. A - Garage B - Mudroom C - Living D - Kids bedrooms E - Laundry F - HVAC G - Loft H - Studio I - Master bedroom

Ottawa Research Center

Advanced Design B | Powers | Spring 2022

Standing at the top of a hill, the Ottawa research and education center acts as an inhabitable retreat amongst the trees with paths that slope downwards through the forest until you meet the water’s edge. Story telling was a focal point of Ojibwe tradition which was integrated into the design of the amphitheater that acts as an anchor connecting the separated private and public masses. The main objective of the center is to bring people together to learn, share, and experience nature and the environment around them by forming an experiential and informational threshold to the site. Its transparent façade also allows for maximum solar energy to enter during the winter and be stored with sufficient openings on its backside to allow for ventilation during the summer.

The Tampa Greenway

Advanced Design B | Halfants | Fall 2021

Nicholas Gascon | Bobby Jiang | Enrique Barnett

The Selmon Expressway has been removed and the space left in its wake provides opportunity to reinvigorate Tampa’s downtown area. A greenway of interconnecting public parks and plazas with a Gondola system overhead will connect Western Ybor to Hyde Park with mixed use highrises along its edges. This urban valley will create a stronger sense of place in Tampa’s downtown and knit together the city once separated by the Selmon Express highway.

St. Arnand’s Residence

Tropical Housing | Halfants | Summer 2021

The site is located at 355 N. Washington Drive on St Arnands Key in the city of Sarasota. The land is zoned RSF-2 with the owners asking for a three bedroom, two and a half bath house up to 2100 square foot with two car parking and a pool. The tropical Florida climate and the site’s proximity to the sea provided opportunity to maximize natural ventillation for the house and views of the key. The front facade opens up to bring the sea breeze in with adjustable mechanical systems within that adjust the air flow and lighting. A swimming pool in the backyard with lounging and cooking areas are hidden behind the facade providing a private oasis to enjoy Florida’s tropical atmostphere.

Model Making

Sarasota Sailing Club | Pirozzi | Winter 2021

This project was also a group project made over the winter break by me, Enrique Barnett and Alan Zreik. The proposed design was done by Derek Pirozzi for the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. The new Sarasota Youth Sailing Eduction building acts as a community oriented place on the edge of the water that functions as an education center and a house for boats. The design gets its character from the vernacular of the place and uses its butterfly roofs to collect water which is then stored in tanks on either side.