Crew Archeologist. Performed archaeology field work, lab work, and preliminary and postfield documentation.
TIX Expeditions Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala. 1994-1996
Professional Tour Operator. Organized and conducted tours throughout the Guatemalan highlands and rainforest.
Mesoamerica Explorers Guatemala City, Guatemala. 1993-1996
Professional archeology and ecology educational tour guide. Conducted tours throughout the Guatemalan highlands and rainforest.
University of Arizona Architecture Department Tucson, Arizona. Spring Semester 2013
Teaching Assistant. Aided students with physical model work, technical drawings, and conceptual proposals. Graded student work.
Old Pueblo Archaeology Center Tucson, Arizona. 2000-2001 Crew Archeologist. Performed archaeology field work and lab work.
Shop monitor for the Materials Lab. Designed and fabricated projects for the College of Architecture, worked with students in wood and metal shop.
University of Arizona Architecture Department Tucson, Arizona.
Five year accredited Bachelor’s degree in architecture, earned 2013.
University of Arizona Anthropology Department Tucson, Arizona.
Four semesters of anthropology studies.
Pima Community College Anthropology Department Tucson, Arizona.
Four semesters of anthropology studies and archaeology field methods.
Softwares Languages
Tierra Right of Way Services Tucson, Arizona. 2001-2007, 2013-present
University of Arizona Architecture Department Tucson, Arizona. 2009-2012
Spoken languages
References
Designing and making of wood furniture, patio structures, and architectural pieces.
Work-Academic
Woodworking and Carpentry Tucson, Arizona. 2001-present
Academic
Professional Experience
Raphael Ambeliz Curriculum Vitae
Wilson Peterson
Spanish: proficient English: proficient
Rhinoceros Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe InDesign Auto Cad: familiar with Revit: familiar with
Lecturer, College of Architecture University of Arizona wilsonp@email.arizona.edu
Martin Despang
Associate Professor University of Hawaii Principal Despang Architekten Dresden Munich Hannover m.despang@despangarchitekten.de
John Messina
AIA Architect jmessina-architect.net arch2@cox.net
Barbara Montgomery
Principal Investigator/ Project Manager Tierra Right of Way Services bmontgomery@tierra-row.com
Academic
Raphael Ambeliz: Academic and Professional Work Conceptual Work 01 Capstone Thesis: Informal Intelligence 02 Hybrid Landscapes: Lyceum Competition 03 Tumamoc Hill Cultural Center Built Work
Professional
04 Cala Interstitial Installation 05 Buena Vista Resource Center -Work in progress06 Carpentry 07 Woodworking
United States
Mexico
Guatemala
Honduras
Ecuador
India
Nepal
Thailand
“I think of the past and the future as well as the present to determine where I am, and I move on while thinking of these things.� Tadao Ando
Where I have been...
Architecture to me is about people and nature. Everywhere in the world where I have traveled, people have developed architectural systems and methods of construction that are appropriate to the environment in which they live. It is from these systems and methods that an architectural aesthetic is born. This aesthetic translates into beauty, a beauty realized not because one is consciously looking for it, but because it has arisen as a result of an intimate knowledge of the materials and construction methods which are a direct response to the natural characteristics of place. Therefore, I strongly believe that architecture is an interpretation of a culture, and by extension an interpretation of the climatic conditions of a place. It is not about forms and shapes; its beauty is derived from its practical aspects. Architecture is essentially an extension of the environment. It is an instrument that is at play with the natural world and not against it.
Durbar Square Kathmandu
6
01 INFORMAL INTELLIGENCE Capstone Thesis Project
7
8
Green roofs: in addition to providing shelter, also function as private and public green areas.
9
INFORMAL INTELLIGENCE Basic private dwelling spaces.
Interstitial communal spaces can be used for community events including commercial, cultural, and educational activities.
Private work/dwelling spaces with available flexible space to set up a business.
Commercial spaces attached to private dwellings increase economic opportunities.
Public multipurpose space can be used to set up markets, community events, parties, etc.
Walkable streets which can at times convert into usable community space.
The goal of architectural practice must be the development of the necessary infrastructure to support and enable the development of local economies within communities. Architecture must do more than create space, it must create public and private spaces in which the dynamics of human interaction that lead to the emergence of economic networks can take place. To do this, new hybrid models for housing and public spaces must be created. The definition of hybrid models must be reformulated to mean more than just mixed use buildings; instead, they should be models that articulate the connection between housing and public space, and economic, cultural, and social development.
10
0’
24’
72’
There are social, cultural, and political forces that act and strongly influence design that cannot be ignored. Design, can impact economics and sociopolitcal stances. At the same time architecture itself is a manifestation of its social, economic, and cultural environment of a time and place.
The Suburb and The American Dream 11
These desolate suburban retreats are unsustainable at many levels in their present form. Far from marketplaces and work places and lacking in infrastructure that allows for walking, biking, and other alternative forms of transportation and the development of economic growth, these suburbs rely on the use of the automobile, giving rise to dehumanized architecture scaled to fit the machine, not humans. The American Dream is epitomized in the manifestation of the suburb and its promises. These extensions of the big cities are unsustainable fossil fuel-thirsty enclaves in the American landscape.
0’
144’
288’
As an alternative to the failed suburb, the spatial cultural dynamics of informal settlements can start to shed some light on how the model of the American suburb can be retrofitted. Behind these dynamics there is a certain intelligence from which we can harvest a more sustainable politics and economics of land use.
12
The principles underlying aspects of the informal settlements have enormous potential for the generation of a sustainable future and may well offer intelligent and innovative solutions for the increasing complexity of today’s cityscapes. From a design standpoint, the “informal� can serve as a springboard for the study of adaptation and innovation of ideas that can be translated to fit the American urban landscape.
Live / Work Symbiosis Historically, housing was connected to economic infrastructure and mode of production that sustained a community.
http://wikis.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php/Guatemala_City
In modern society, working and living activities have become exclusive of each other, giving rise to a sea of housing typologies spread all over the landscape devoid of any economic potential.
This model, in which clusters of housing units are detached from all infrastructure, has led to the rise of a great dependency on the automobile for its function.
http://www.radialsblog.com/fixing-the-suburbs-from-the-inside-out/
http://www.radialsblog.com/fixing-the-suburbs-from-the-inside-out/
A hybrid housing typology, in which living and working can be reconnected, can lead to a more sustainable suburban model. http://www.radialsblog.com/fixing-the-suburbs-from-the-inside-out/
The Typologies of The Slum
13
1
“In slums and other informal spaces, there are certain procedures, social, political, and economic actions, exchanges, and transactions that suggest an alternative political economy. New economies and markets can emerge from those interactions, from within those communities, and they can provide models for our urban models.� Teddy Cruz, Studio Teddy Cruz. 1
2
3
1 Density and adaptation to terrain
4
4
http://mindmapsa.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/the-favelas/
2
Applying Informal Intelligence
Strategy
5
5 Utilization of all available spaces such as roof tops. 3
2
6 http://mindmapsa.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/the-favelas/
6
Ground floor is utilized for setting up shops and restaurants. Public space becomes private during the day.
http://mindmapsa.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/the-favelas/
Verticality increases usable space.
http://mindmapsa.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/the-favelas/
0’
15’
30’
14
c
b a
a
From the American Dream to Informal Intelligence By infusing the suburb with informal intelligence, the American Dream can be re-defined and retrofitted to adjust to social, economic, and political change.
0’
120’
240’
15 Position
West Elevation b
c
0’
120’
240’
0’
120’
240’
“As we speak about climate change, for example, we understand it as an environmental crisis. But 16 it has to do with a cultural crisis and the definition of institutions. The telling of stories is important. Accessibility is important. As opposed to what architects do, which is to tell something incredibly simple in complex ways, a fake complexity ”. Teddy Cruz
Public plaza
0’
15’
30’
Nursery
Commercial space
Community center
17
Guest worker quarters
School
Market stalls
Office spaces
Longitudinal Section
Structural System
The18 main unit is the High Cube, the largest container in the market. However, this unit is used solely for the purpose of easily transporting pre-assembled units to the site. Once on site, these units are then assembled and cladded with wood, metal, a composite, or a combination of materials.
Structural sequence
1
2
3
4
5
Primary horizontal members
Secondary horizontal members
Housing units
Circulation platforms
19
Primary structural columns
Structural details
Typical connection
Roof details
1
2
3
Type
3
20
Living space
Business component
Housing Typology
Type 1
21Matrix Type 1
Type 2
Flexible space Type 2 Type 3
“A house is the biggest asset a family owns in developing and developed countries. As such it should be more than shelter. It should also be a potential economic engine.� Teddy Cruz.
22
Primarily, the flexibility of the system allows for a variety of configurations of private spaces in order to meet the user’s needs and not to fulfill an aesthetic which in turn is the result of the adaptability of this system.
A multi-programmatic structure
23
This system is a structural armature that is adaptable,expandable, and retractable according to social, economic, and cultural, as well as natural conditions. It is a changing multidirectional structure that reinvents the fabric of the suburb by introducing a new typology, a hybrid typology. By lifting the architecture off the ground, this proposal aims at meshing nature and architecture thus creating a new natural order in which nature and man coexist without compromising one another.
24
02 HYBRID LANDSCAPES Lyceum Competition Manufactured Landscapes
25
Man’s activity on Earth leaves traces, sometimes subtle, sometimes abrupt and violent. These26 voids, scars, are then reclaimed by nature long after those who created them are gone. This results in the creation of new landscape forms that can be both beautiful and grotesque. These new hybrid landscapes can help interpret human activity through time and space and its impact on the planet. In this case, the architecture becomes an instrument that aims at revealing the quarry not just as an event in the landscape, but more importantly as a place for reflection, contemplation, and understanding of the environmental consequences of man’s activity on Earth and the ability of nature to regenerate itself. It is an instrument which seeks to explore the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Through scale, material manipulation, and the emotional impact of the quarry, the goal of the architecture is to engage the visitor and the resident artists with the quarry, its historic significance, and its natural surroundings.
Hybrid Landscapes
Site Plan
27
4
3
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
4 5
3
6
5
9
8 7 8
0’
Visitor parking Resident parking Visitor center Educational pavilion Interpretive walk Memorial Artist residences Artist studios Amphitheater
150’
300’
28
The architecture becomes an instrument for understanding this man/nature relationship and its outcome. By creating spaces devoid of unnecessary embellishment, the architecture relies solely on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the local materials, allowing the individual to make his or her own interpretation of the site and its history.
Visitor center
Stone pass
Visitor Center
Educational pavilion
0
16’
32’
29
Memorial
Memorial: The boundary between nature and human activity
30
Education pavilion
Incision
Wood pathway
The path leads the visitor into the manufactured landscape, into the earth, over water, through the air, creating a deep connection between man, nature, and history.
31
Amphitheater
Between earth, air, and water. Between solid ground and space. Between existence and nonexistence, Permanence and impermanence.
32
The inherent qualities of the naturally available materials become the source of inspiration and contemplation for the expression of architectural form, art, and dwelling.
Dwelling in the forest and working into the rock.
33
In the softness of the forest, above the granite core of the hills, the artist dwells, and into the hard rock he/she struggles to tap into the creative forces of life. This becomes a metaphor for the harshness of reality and the beauty of dreams.
34
A precise cut through the quarry walls and body of water serves as an instrument for understanding the quarry and its environmental consequences.
35
Mass/void/water/existence.
36
03 TUMAMOC HILL CULTURAL CENTER
Design for the Tumamoc Hill National Historic Landmark
37
Tumamoc Hill Cultural Center
38
The Tumamoc Hill Cultural Center acts as an instrument that helps the visitor understand his or her relationship to the land and to see it as a source of intelligence, wisdom, and beauty. It also serves as a repository for Tucson’s cultural wealth.
Concept Sketches
0’
150’
39
The construction method, a system of rammed earth walls and steel 40 columns, creates a diversity of spaces that are dynamic, open, and welcoming. The materiality reflects the local cultural and natural history and sits well within the context of Tumamoc Hill.
2
Floor Plan 411. Main entrance 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
1 6
Parking Drop off Reception Gallery space Gallery/event space Outdoor community space Native desert gardens Wash lookout Restrooms Staff housing
10 3
4 11
5 7
9
9 8
12
42
Section A
Section B
Section C
43
The auditorium serves as a place for cultural, classroom, and other community events.
44
North elevation
East elevation
45
The courtyards reflect the natural setting of the center by housing an array of endemic desert plants thus providing the visitor with a place to learn about the desert ecology.
46
04 DESIGN-BUILD INTERSTITIAL INSTALLATION
Design, fabrication, and implementation of a multipurpose structure that redefines the way circulation space is used at the College of Architecture, University of Arizona
47
Considerations: 48 maximizing seating capacity aesthetic appeal comfortable seating flexibility shade rain
program
- large group 12-15 focal point (speaker and group) non focal point (group verbal discussion) -small groups 2-3 people physically working on model on table drawings (table or chalkboard) -individuals 4-6 working on laptops talking on cell phones views
Amenities
-power -work surface -display/presentation surface -shade -views -seating for large groups
Performance criteria
display durability privacy
-versatility -adaptability -flexibility -Ergonomic comfort geometric and tactile -Economy physical $$ means - in house -maintenance -aesthetically compelling -longevity -shade -construction logic -contextual consideration
49
The DNA:
template for study model
This installation is intended to enhance the qualitative and quantitative use of the interstitial circulation space 50CALA east and CALA west. The installation will between occupy the 2nd and 3rd floors.
Site circulation patterns
East building main entrance
Elevator
West building main entrance snacks
water
printer
the.cowboy
computer lab
18� 30�
.01
the.gandhi
.02 .03 .04 .05 .06 .07 .08 .09 .10 .11
Sitting Options
the.beach.boy
51
Ergonomics
Plan 52
A
B
A
B
C
C
South elevation 53
Sections
Evolution
54
Timeline pre design
schematic design
adopted design
design development
design development
week 6
week 5
week 4
week 3
week 2
week 1
fabrication/installation
final design
final production
55
Bench components rods surface pipe
bracing plates
stand offs caps
balls
legs
B6
B7
B8
B9
B5
B4
B3
B2
week 7
B1 Top surface fabrication sequence
Table 56
30�
1'11"
Plan Table components
Chalkboard
57
Chalkboard pin-up surface
12”
ARC 402 chris trumble and team cotton candy
32”
writing surface
Fabrication sequence 8’
table
4’
1/8” steel plate
draw and cut
cut details
split
paint
1
58 3
2
2
3 0 1/2" 0 1/4"
0 1/4"
0 1/2" 1 3/4"
Connection details
1
19째
1" TYP.
59 1 3/4"
rods 3/4"
caps
1"
surface pipe bracing plates frame balls
legs
Surface assembly
60
05 BUENA VISTA RESOURCE CENTER -in progess(Buckminster Fuller Challenge competition entry) Design of a Community/Resource Center for Buena Vista Village in the highlands of Guatemala. Design Team: Raphael Ambeliz, Aracely Lencinas Client: Walk With Organization
61
Buena Vista Resource Center Schematic Design
Antigua The main goal of the Buena Vista Resource Center is to improve the quality of life in a rural area in the highlands of Guatemala where the infrastructure neccessary for daily life is almost nonexistent. The architectural response to the conditions in the Buena Vista community is an attempt to address a variety of social, economic, and health issues and at the same time an attempt to provide the community with a set of tools that enables them to make positive change and growth in their own community. The strategy is to create an architecture that is derived from the vernacular earthen architecture of the Guatemalan highlands, thus creating a construction system that is replicable and that can be built by the community members with different skill levels.
A Rural Hub of Resources Medical assistance
School for children
IMPACT ZONE Trade training for adults
Buena Vista
Community building
Community networking
Plan 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Classrooms Shared patio Children’s Courtyard Kitchen Doctor’s office Triage care Work-room/classroom Community Courtyard Bathrooms
2 1 1 4
8
9 7
2
6 5
1
1
1
1
A village of 900 inhabitants, Buena Vista has minimal infrastructure, lacking the most basic necessities such as schools, medical services of any kind, and running water. The community also lacks a municipal building or formal place where the community can gather to address community issues. The main health issues are childhood malnutrition and high rates of communicable diseases. Buena Vista’s children must walk three miles to attend school in the neighboring town of San Mateo Milpas Altas and attend only three days a week. This results in a high rate of illiteracy and, in the long run, unemployment and poverty. The Resource Center seeks to offset the cycle of poverty by acting as an intrument of change, first by addressing health and education issues and secondly by providing appropriate spaces for community meetings and adult trade training,and as a center for the incubation of possible cooperatives.
Abstracting the traditional adobe hut Vernacular architecture of the Guatemalan highlands
Exaggerated roof plane: collects rain water and provides cover for outdoors space.
Independent timber structural system: in response to seismic forces.
Open classrooms: maximize the flow of fresh air, decreasing spread of contagious diseases.
Rammed earth walls: Interpretation of the mud brick /utilize in the highlands.
The structural system consists of a timber armature with rammed earth-walls infill. The separation of these two systems minimizes the impact of seismic forces on the building. In addition, the wood structure serves pragmatic needs by ordering and organizing space while the rammed earth provides thermal mass.
Exploded axonometric Corrugated metal
Wood structure
Wood deck
Roof member
Wood floor joist
Rammed earth construction sequence
Wood post Rammed earth
01
02
03
04
05
68
06 Carpentry
Design and construction of outdoor structures from new and reclaimed wood
69
Ramada 70
Materials: Reclaimed wood Reclaimed corrugated metal Concrete footings
Drawing from Tucson’s vernacular architecture, this ramada was designed and built for a residence with a large backyard with no shade. The ramada was an immediate shading solution, providing shelter from the Tucson sun and allowing the residents to enjoy their yard while newly planted vegetation grows large enough to provide shade. The structure also became an extension of the house under which the residents eat meals, entertain, and work.
Corrugated Metal roofing
71 2”x2” Purlins
2”x6” Rafters
4”x6” Beam with carved joints for column and rafters 1/” hardwood dowel for fastening joint
Corvel with through mortise for column tenon.
4”x4” antique wood post
Concrete pier with 1/4” steel reinforcement
1/2” Anchoring bolts
Exploded axonometric
Porch
Materials: 80% Reclaimed wood 20% New wood Reclaimed corrugated metal Concrete footings Sympson Strong Tie Connectors
72
This project is an effort to create more usable outdoors space in a Tucson home. Drawing from Tucson’s vernacular architecture, and as a climatic response, the porch was created first as a means to shade the house and second to create an comfortable outdoors living space. With the addition of the covered porch, temperatures inside the house have decreased, and residents spend more of their time outdoors enjoying the Tucson weather. This project and the previous one are examples of how through simple materials and design concepts, together with a careful understanding of environmental conditions, architecture can influence the way in which we dwell in and perceive our world.
73
Coprrugated metal roofing 5/8” Galvanized anchorbolt 2”x3” Purlins LUS-28 Sympson Strong Tie joist hanger 2”x6” Rafters
6”x8” Beam
H-1 Sympson Strong Tie hurricane tie PC66-16 Sympson Strong Tie post cap
6”x8” Column
2”x6” Wood decking
2”x6” Wood joist
ABA66R Sympson Strong Tie post base with 1/2” anchor bolt
12”x12“x36” concrete pier with 1/4” steel reinforcement
Exploded axonometric
74
07 Woodworking
Design and construction of handcrafted furniture from reclaimed wood
75
Open sideboard 100% recycled materials
76
This piece was created from the materials left over from many other projects that would otherwise have been disposed of as waste. The resultis a stout, solid wood piece of furniture.
77
Through mortise and tenon joint secures top to the rest of the piece
Frame and panel back construction
Interior panel bracket
Removable shelf
Shelf support brackets
Bottom shelf inset into frame
Bottom shelf support bracket
As part of the material culture of all societies, furniture reflects the way in which people live. Furniture is 78 an intimate part of everyday life and as such it should be structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing. The understanding of joinery systems and construction is key to the making of strong and long-lasting furniture. Joinery systems and construction methods play an important role in the overall appearance and aesthetic appeal of a piece of furniture.
1.
Exploded Axonometric
79
Side Table
Exploded axonometric
Wood 80 and metal 100% recycled materials
Side elevation
Front elevation
81
Side notches act as stops to prevent top from going through side frames
Cross tie ties metal frames together
Wood top friction fitted into metal side frames
“Housing in the twentieth century has been one continuing emergency.” Charles Abrams, The Future of Housing, 1946
“This is the real news of our century. It is highly feasible to take care of all of humanity at a higher standard of living than anybody has ever experienced or dreamt of. To do so without having anybody profit at the espense of another, so that everybody can enjoy the whole earth.” R. Buckminster Fuller