Structural Architecture Portfolio 2015 – 2020

STRUCTURAL ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO 2015 – 2020

Dear reader, I’m an architect with great interest in structural systems, computational design and experimental construction prototypes. My goal as a professional is to invent new and more efficient ways to create buildings.

My architectural creations have a special focus in achieving “strength through geometry”. Thus, most of them consist in shell and diagrid structures with hyperbolic paraboloid and hyperboloid shapes. I have chosen to do this because of the exceptional esthetic, economic and ecologic benefits that these structures can bring to the construction industry.

On the following pages you will find information about five projects in which I have combined the aforementioned knowledge with other architecture-related subjects, such as aesthetics, landscaping, climatic design, construction processes, functionality, transportation planning, skyscraper design, emerging technologies, material science and symbolism.

I have been the only architect in charge of these projects, and appropriate credit has been given in the cases where I was assisted by collaborators from other disciplines. Unless otherwise noticed, I am the author of all the plans, renderings and photos that appear on this portfolio.

I hope that, after reading these pages, my projects will help you better appreciate how determined I am to bring advancements to the field of architecture. If you are interested in getting to know more about my work, please feel free to contact me.

Best regards,

+49 1573 9247526 Víctor Ramírez Arquitectura

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INTRODUCTION

victor.ramirez.arq@gmail.com @victor.ramirez.arq

I. MONUMENT TO REASON Symbolic building with a structure made of hyperbolic paraboloid shells and a hyperboloid column Architect: Víctor Ramírez (research and design) Client: none (“visionary architecture” project) Software used: Vectorworks (modeling), Cinema 4D and Photoshop (rendering), InDesign (graphic design and page layout) Location: Seafront Avenue, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Users: unrestricted amount of visitors (public space) Budget: undefined Funding: private donors Gross building area: 572.54 m2 (monument only, excluding promenade and reflecting pool) Collaborators: none Start date: December 2014 (first sketches) End date: July 2015 (publication) Status: unbuilt

This project was created for the launch campaign of my personal brand, which featured the tri-fold brochure that is shown below. The building belongs to the category of “visionary architecture”—designs that are ahead of their own time and make use of emerging technologies.

3. Trencadís covering Trencadís is a type of mosaic that consists in ceramic tiles broken in irregular pieces. It can be installed in non-planar surfaces, and is also useful for tracing all kinds of patterns by employing tiles of different color (white and chromed in this case).

2. Resin-based mortar The porous structure of 3D-printed steel facilitates the fixation of a layer of mortar mixed with resin, which protects it against rust and corrosion. Its adhesive properties enable using it for installing ceramic tiles over the metal’s surface.

1. 3D-printed steel The hyperboloid column and the paraboloid cover are cast in place using an extruding machine with a pivoting and extendible head, thus obtaining monolithic metal elements.

Both of them are welded to steel plates embedded in a reinforced concrete base.

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I. CONTEXT. It’s the year 2025: 3D printing has taken over the construction industry. Worldwide, structures that appeared impossible to build ten years ago are now a reality. The Dominican Republic is not an exception: the rise of this technology has coincided with the reactivation of tourism in the province of Puerto Plata, thanks to the copious investments it has received during the last decade. In the midst of this economic boom, a new building will be erected with the intention of creating a new symbol for the city, just as the ones that are present in the most visited touristic destinations around the globe.

This project also seems to celebrate the aforementioned economic growth and technological innovation, both fruits of rational thought. That is how the Monument to Reason is born.

II. CONSTRUCTION. The hyperboloid of revolution (left) and the hyperbolic paraboloid (right) were constructive forms used extensively in the middle of the 20th century, because of their structural efficiency as thin shells of concrete. However, since the cost of the formworks required to build them started escalating, they fell in disuse. The third decade of the 20th century has witnessed the “Renaissance of Laminar Architecture”, consisting in the use of 3D-printed steel to create micro-lattice structures. The firmness of this new constructive system makes it possible to reduce the thickness of these structures to its minimum, while at the same time allowing the creation of forms with a degree of slenderness and curvature that surpass the most emblematic works of laminar architecture of the past century.

III. PROPORTIONS. Squaring the average human height, a 3 × 3 m module is obtained from which all the measures of the monument are derived. The hyperboloid has a maximum diameter equivalent to one side of the module, its height equals 6 times that lenght: 18 m. The tips of each paraboloid form equilateral triangles whose sides measure half of the hyperboloid’s height: 9 m (indicated by the squares). Those triangles are repeated until they form a larger one with a side of 27 m, which contains the silhouette of the building. The fountain that crowns the monument reaches a height of 13.5 times the average human stature (~23 m). The height of the crepidoma (the stepped platform present in Greek temples) is obtained by locating the paraboloids’ free tips 9 m above the water’s surface (indicated by the circles’ radii).

IV. APPARITION. At night, the figure of the building is duplicated. A phantom of the monument inverted upside-down appears, making the observer ask himself which of the two images perceived by his eyes is the real one. Fountain and lighthouse, water and light... Perception and reality, question and answer... The Monument to Reason symbolizes knowledge in many ways.

V. TRANSMUTATION. Paraboloids and hyperboloids are surfaces of double curvature. Paradoxically, they are created by joining many straight lines (generatrixes), which are indicated here by a chrome plated trencadís that changes its color while the twilight occurs. For a brief moment, the chrome transmutes to gold, as if the monument wanted to show the great value of the geometric and rational order by which it and everything that exists in the universe are supported.

VI. LEVITATION. Throughout the day, it isn’t perceived where the monument’s crepidoma makes contact with the ground. It looks like if a portion of the sea were sliding below the building, while it levitates over the ocean. The Monument to Reason is surrounded by a great body of water, it is inaccesible. However, it is possible to see some people in its interior. How did they manage to get there?

VII. COURSE. A promenade covered in Portuguese pavement, flanked by a colonnade of royal palm trees native to the island of Santo Domingo (Roystonea hispaniolana), make up the path that must be walked in order to reach the building. After ending the course, the observer will have discovered a rational explanation to the supernatural phenomena that occur in the Monument to Reason.

VIII. RATIONALITY. The apparition of the phantom is nothing but the image produced by a reflecting pool. The levitation effect happens when the observer is positioned in the edge of the pool that is farthest from the monument, and the wall that contains the water in the opposite side gets hidden from his point of view; this occurs since it is an “infinity edge pool“. Finally, the transmutation takes place because of the sunrays’ reflections in the chrome plated trencadís.

IX. ALLEGORY. After ending the course, the observer discovers the way to enter inside the building: he finds a stairway that he couldn’t see previously. After all, the monument wasn’t inaccesible. Now the observer understands something that he couldn’t understand at first, he has moved beyond a state of ignorance to a state of knowledge. This way, the Monument to Reason is an allegory of the course that mankind has walked throughout its history...

I. MONUMENT TO REASON

II. BACHELOR THESIS PROJECT Title: “The Renaissance of Hyperbolic Paraboloids – Design of a Visual Arts School Campus” Architect: Víctor Ramírez (research and design) Client: none (academic project) Software used: Revit (drawing and modeling), Cura (3D printing) Grade: A+ (maximum qualification, thesis jury unanimous decision) Location: Baracoa, Santiago, Dominican Republic Users: 400 artists of adult age Budget: undefined Funding: private donors Gross building area: 597.42 m2 (Central Pavilion only, excluding other buildings and open spaces) Collaborators: M. Arch. Harold Paz (thesis advisor) Start date: September 2015 End date: December 2016 Status: unbuilt

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My thesis project was composed of two parts. First, a thorough research concerning the rise and decline of hyperbolic paraboloid shells construction, focusing on alternative fabrication methods that would allow them to be frequently built in our current times (hence the “Renaissance”); and second, the implementation of this knowledge in the design of a visual arts school.

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II. BACHELOR THESIS PROJECT

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Regarding the history of hyperbolic paraboloids, they were first known as an abstract shape discovered by Ancient Greek geometrists. They were later used in Catalan vaults and sculpted masonry as can be seen in Antoni Gaudi’s oeuvre. More recently, Bernard Lafaille and Giorgio Baroni were the first ones to experiment with hyperbolic paraboloids as thin concrete shells in the 1930’s.

However, it wasn’t until the second half of the 20th century that these structures started to be frequently built, thanks to Félix Candela, a Spanish-Mexican architect. The outstanding beauty, structural efficiency and material savings that he managed to achieve by building hyperbolic paraboloids made these structures extremely popular, inspiring other renowned architects and engineers around the globe: Ulrich Müther, Pier Luigi Nervi, Jörg Schlaich, Santiago Calatrava or Philippe Block, for example.

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After completing the research, I designed a visual arts school campus with approximately 30 buildings, each of them covered by 9 different varieties of hyperbolic paraboloid roofs. However, because of the short extension of this portfolio, only the “Central Pavilion” is shown. I chose it because it is the most iconic building in the complex, thanks to its dramatic curves, large scale, and high level of hierarchy.

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The roof of the pavilion is composed of four hyperbolic paraboloids that, after being rotated, subtracted and intersected, create a groined vault with eight lobes of double curvature. Each of the groins follows the path of a parabola, a shape that reduces the amount of shear and bending forces that could damage the roof, by making the forces travel through the shell in a path that is tangential to its surface. For the same reason, the columns at the end of the groins are slanted in order to follow the shape of the parabolas.

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The low amount of bending or shear forces experimented by the shell is what allows it to be so thin—one of the main advantages of hyperbolic paraboloids. The lateral thrust that the slanted columns exert on the foundations is neutralized by the tie beams that join each of the footings, creating a tension ring that allows the weight of the shell to be vertically transferred to the soil. This structural design has proven to be effective because the “Los Manantiales” Restaurant has endured several major earthquakes in the extremely seismic area of Mexico City.

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The Central Pavilion is a replica of Félix Candela’s masterpiece: the “Los Manantiales” Restaurant, a work of structural art that has been imitated by several architects around the globe (the most famous examples are the Seerose café in Potsdam, Germany, and the Oceanogràfic underwater restaurant in Valencia, Spain). In the case of this project, it functions as a multipurpose space from which all the circulation paths emerge in a radial scheme.

Roof thickness = 0.10 m

SOUTH ELEVATION (dimensions in meters) Scale: 1 : 250

PERSPECTIVE SECTION (cut plane through two of the roof's opposite highest points) Without scale

PERSPECTIVE SECTION (cut plane through one of the roof's groins) Without scale

II. BACHELOR THESIS PROJECT

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shrub D F Existing topography Cbetween all of its support points, each The previous floor plan shows a solar study of the date when the largest Transplant The shell has eightappears openings Cut volume in red color shrub and with dashed contour lines.

Coccoloba uvifera A one of them enclosed with curtain walls. Glass doors and windows were amount of solar rays penetrate inside the pavilion: the Winter Solstice (the “Seagrape” shrub Coccoloba uvifera Transplanted day of theGliricidia yearsepium when the sun’s trajectory reaches its lowest altitude). That placed from floor level upBto a height of 2.21 meters, in order toExisting allow the “Seagrape” shrub topography shrub E D Cut volume appears in red color rays can reach the seating or stage areas; any other people way, is the closest “Mother of the cocoa”sun’s tree F inside the pavilion to have clear views to the outside.andThis with dashed contour lines. uvi day of the year they will be farther from those spaces because of the sun’sCoccoloba the Central Pavilion accomplishes its function of being a circulation hub C Transplanted D Transplanted “Seagrape” shr shrub from which the school’s students can easily orient themselves, being able higher altitude. shrub A Transplanted to see all the paths and buildings inside the pavilion.

B of the campus while shrub Lastly, since the Central Pavilion could excessively stand out because Coccoloba uvifera D“Seagrape” shrub E important of its large scale, an aesthetic element was added to the complex in order An climatic design feature of the Central Pavilion is that, from F C Gliricidia sepium Coccoloba uvifer achieve an “equilibrium ofTransplanted proportions”: an Observation Tower that the 2.21 m height up to the roof, opaque louvers were placed instead of to“Mother Tra of cocoa” tree Coccoloba uvifera “Seagrape” shrub Aglass panels. This stops the sun’s rays from reaching the seating and stage serves shru shrub shrub vertical landmark, as a“Seagrape” tall and counteracting the visual weight of Coccoloba uvifera Removed Transplanted B “Seagrape” shrub Gliricidia with sepium all the other buildings of To preserve harmony areas, preserving a cool temperature. The louvers allow the warmshrub air from the Central Pavilion. tree D “Mother of cocoa” tree the campus, it has the shape of a “hyperboloid of one sheet”, a geometric the interior to get out of the pavilion, while letting in the fresh breeze from E the exterior (the tropical climate of the Dominican Republic allows for the surface that is closely related to hyperbolic paraboloids.

Coccol Transplanted “Seagra façade to be Coccoloba uvifera shrub C permeable even during winter months, no insulation or air N “Seagrape” shrub conditioning is required). Additionally, the inclination angle of the louvers A Coccoloba uvifera Gliricidia sepium was changed depending what cardinal point they “Seagrape” shrub were facing, with the “Mother of cocoa” tree Removed B C tree result that, regardless D of the Sun’s position, a uniform and constant shadow Gliricidia sepium “Mother of cocoa” tree A is created without any light gaps. To prove how well this façade design Coccoloba uvifera Removed B dates of the year.

“Seagrape” shrub C were made at several works, solar studies tree D Landscaping and topography (elevations in meters) NGliricidia sepium F 6 Scale: 1 : 125 “Mother of cocoa” tree A B C N A C Removed B tree E D C F Removed B tree (elevations in meters) C Landscaping and topography D 6 Scale: 1 : 125 A A B N C Removed B Landscaping and topography (elevations in meters) tree 6 Scale: 1 : 125 N D E A F B

Cut and Fill Volumes (m3) Existing topography Cut volume appears in red color Net Cut Fill and with dashed contour lines. cut/fill 10.04 1.36 -8.68

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Landscaping and topography (elevations in meters) 6 Scale: 1 : 125 Landscaping and topography (elevations in meters) Scale: 1 : 125

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B louvers facing southwest, and C) A) Vertical (90°) louvers facing west, B) diagonal (45°) horizontal (0°) louvers facing south. All the louvers are rotated along their longitudinal axis, in order to prevent rain from getting inside the pavilion, while allowing natural ventilation to occur.

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Landscaping and topography (elevations in meters) Scale: 1 : 125

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III. BUS SHELTER AT THE PUCMM UNIVERSITY CAMPUS Design of a ferrocement shell with the shape of a hyperbolic paraboloid of straight edges Architect: Víctor Ramírez (research and design) Client: PUCMM University Software used: Revit (drawing and modeling), Photoshop (photomontage) Location: PUCMM University campus, Santiago, Dominican Republic Users: up to 30 passengers per each microbus arrival Budget: 12,941.38 USD Funding: undefined private bank Gross building area: 48.94 m2 (excluding paths) Collaborators: CEMEX Research Group of Switzerland (analysis of the structural design), AMLYCA Ingeniería Civil (consultant), GRUCOMAR (budget), Edward Abreu (topographic survey), Ho Bello & Martínez (geotechnical investigation) Start date: February 2017 (research, design and collaborations) End date: August 2017 (approval of the university authorities) Status: unbuilt

The bus shelter’s transportation planning would solve traffic congestion Thanks to the research I did for my thesis project, I found out that the reason why thin-concrete shells aren’t built frequently today is the laborious problems by allowing buses to stop outside of the road. Additionally, the and expensive wood formwork they traditionally require. Thus, I realized existing bus stop would be transformed into a pickup point for car drivers, that they could be built in an economic fashion by using ferrocement: a in order to prevent people from getting out of cars in the inner lanes of the material that doesn’t need any moulds since it’s made by applying mortar avenue, a practice that is common at peak hours and slows down traffic. over several layers of wire mesh and steel rebar. The mortar doesn’t drip Paths Paths because it adheres to the mesh, maintaining its shape until cured.

4 4 Must have aMust have a minimum width minimum width of 1.20 m. of 1.20 m.

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With this idea in mind, in 2016 and 2017 I participated at two startup business contests in which I earned funds to build a ferrocement roof prototype: the bus shelter that is presented in this section of the portfolio, located in the campus of my alma mater, the PUCMM University.

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SITE PLAN SITE PLAN 1 Scale: 1 : 500 Scale: 1 : 500 III. BUS SHELTER AT THE PUCMM UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

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Ramp as aofsubstitute of step Ramp as a substitute step must not have obstacles Circulation Circulation spaces mustspaces not have obstacles that could make people fall (the existing existing that could make people fall (the bushave stopadoes have a step). dangerous step). bus stop does dangerous

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Proposed Proposed “No Parking”, “No Parking”, “Bus Only” “Bus Only” lane lane

Vehicle access control

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Vehicle access control

Pedestrian path Pedestrian path to classroomto classroom buildings buildings

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Passenger capacity Passenger capacity (under the roof only): (under the roof only): 30 persons 30 persons (16 (16 standing, 14standing, seated) 14 seated)

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Freestanding space for standing persons Free space for persons 1.48 (under the roof only): (under the roof only): (3.18 m)2 = (3.18 10.11m) m22 = 10.11 m2

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Due to a lack of codes in the Dominican Republic regarding bus shelter design, the following sources were used as an aid to determine the dimensions, passenger capacity and functional criteria of the bus shelter:

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“Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual” of the United States Transportation Research Board (2013).

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“Bus Stop Design Guidelines” of the Southeastern Pennsylvania 4.01 Transportation Authority (2012).

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earthquakes or hurricanes, threats that frequently occur in the Dominican Republic. It was analyzed by Switzerland’s CEMEX Research Group, as part of the “CEMEX-Tec Award” I won in October 2017. Additionally, a collaboration agreement was made in order to use CEMEX’s Resilia® product in the mortar mix (ultra high performance cement reinforced with steel fibers).

4. Roof's highest points 3.89 m

Interviews with bus drivers that work at the PUCMM campus.

Roof thickness = 0.06 m

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Roof thickness = 0.06 m 2. Roof's lowest points 3. Roof's mid point 1.50 m 2.65 m

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Several local civil engineering firms worked with me as project partners.

The footings’SECTION bottom level below floor level)two waslowest determined (cut (1.40 planemthrough the roof's points)by 3 Scale: 1 : 75 4 Scale: 1 : 75 a geotechnical investigation made by “Ho Bello & Martínez”. “AMLYCA Ingeniería Civil” gave me advice with the construction process and The proposed roof has the shape of a single hyperbolic paraboloid with transportation planning, and “GRUCOMAR” estimated the project budget, straight edges, and is 6 cm thick. It has steel channels along its boundaries as they would be in charge of the construction. to which the steel rebar is welded. Its two lower vertices are anchored to concrete columns, while one of the higher vertices of the roof is fixed to The execution of the project was authorized by the Vice Rectors and the a steel post that is disguised as a curtain wall mullion (the other higher Planning Office of the PUCMM University. However, its budget exceeded vertex is free and cantilevers towards the bus passengers). This “three the amount that I had earned at the aforementioned business contests, so support points” structural design is intended to provide the shell with I wasn’t able to build it. greater stability against strong lateral loads that could be provoked by

ELEVATION (dimensions in meters)

III. BUS SHELTER AT THE PUCMM UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

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Net cut/fill -8.68 Existing topography Cut volume appears in red color and with dashed contour lines.

Cut PUCMM Fill with the intention of avoiding the need of retaining walls and Most buildings in the campus were designed by Mexican cut/fill Existing topography C was adjusted Cut volume appears in red 10.04 1.36 Cut and Fill Volumes (mcolor ) Existing topography to facilitate rainwater drainage. architect Francisco Camarena. His-8.68 rigid and invariable brutalist-tropical and with dashed contour lines.

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E D Net Transplanted A Cut Fill C tree would be cut down, and two seagrape shrubs would be transplanted. cut/fill shrub 10.04 1.36 -8.68 B Transplanted A Transplanted shrub E D shrub Coccoloba uvifera B Transplanted “Seagrape” shrub shrub D Transplanted Existing topography Transplanted F shrub Coccoloba uvifera Cut volume appears in red color shrub Transplanted 3

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Landscaping and topography Scale: 1 : 125 N B Landscaping and topography (elevations in meters) Landscaping and topography Scale: 1 : 125 N(elevations i 6 Scale: 1in: 125meters) B Landscaping and topography (elevations E A 6 Scale: 1 : 125 B C the A Removed Finally, construction of the bus shelter wouldn’t damage the existing B tree Landscaping and topography (elevations in meters) 6A topographic landscape thanks to a careful analysis of the site. survey Scale: 1 : 125 A B made with the help C was of civil engineer Edward Abreu. The floor level Landscaping and topography (elevations in meters) 6 Scale: 1 : 125 N Landscaping and topography (elevations in meters) B AT THE PUCMM UNIVERSITY CAMPUS SHELTER 12 III. BUS A 6 Scale: 1 : 125 C Materials, colors and elements that are frequent in the campus’ buildings: A C A) Exposed concrete, B) Black mullions, C) Red-orange louvers, D) Coarse-finish6 C plaster, E) Combed-finish concrete floors and F) “Camarena-style” railings.

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IV. ENTRANCE ROOF AT THE SANTIAGO ASTRONOMY CLUB Construction of a ferrocement shell with the shape of a hyperbolic paraboloid of curved edges Architect: Víctor Ramírez (research, design and direction of the construction process) Client: Santiago Astronomy Club Software used: Revit (drawing and modeling), Photoshop (photomontage) Location: Cerros de Gurabo, Santiago, Dominican Republic Users: up to 40 persons entering the building Budget: 3,938.22 USD Funding: Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Banco Popular Dominicano private bank Gross building area: 18.68 m2 (roof and floor) Collaborators: AMLYCA Ingeniería Civil (consultant), GRUCOMAR (budget and construction contractor), Ho Bello & Martínez (ferrocement mix design) Start date: February 2018 (approval of the Santiago Astronomy Club’s Board of Directors) End date: April 2018 (construction works finished) Status: built

Another important fact is that, since I was the President of the Club, A year after its inception, the bus shelter project wasn’t able to get started because its budget surpassed the amount of funds that I had earned I was able to have complete control over the project, without having to at the previously mentioned startup business contests. Thus, I had to deal with the permit requests and bureaucratic delays that could have choose another location where a more affordable roof prototype could occurred while building at the campus of any university. I directed the be made. I decided to build an entrance roof at the Santiago Astronomy whole construction process while the “GRUCOMAR” civil engineering firm Club because it would only consist in a simple shell structure, without the managed the budget, materials, workers and equipments. After finishing curtain walls, handrails, lighting and furniture that raised the cost of the bus the construction of the roof, I was in charge of a general renovation of the shelter. This way, the roof is an uncovered structure of honest aesthetics building, as can be seen by comparing the photos on pages 13 and 15. and minimalist beauty, without any ornaments or adjacent elements.

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0° 60 .0

N

Tie beam Tie beam 0.30 x 0.30 m 0.30 x 0.30 m

Roof edge

2 12

PLAN (dimensions in meters, cutheight: plane height: + 1.75 m) FLOORFLOOR PLAN (dimensions in meters, cut plane + 1.75 m) 1 Scale: 1 : 50 Scale: 1 : 50

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1.08

1.08 0.47

°

°

0.47

0.60 0.50

N

1

1.91

1.91

IV. ENTRANCE ROOF AT THE SANTIAGO ASTRONOMY CLUB

0.50

0.50

0.50

0.48

1.95

Ramp

2 12

°

°

04 °°

° .00 70

0.48

96 .

5.40

5.40

2

Footing Footing (steel plate on top) (steel plate on top)

SECTION (cutthrough plane through thetwo roof's two highest SECTION (cut plane the roof's highest points) points) 2 Scale: 1 : 50 Scale: 1 : 50

3.62

3.98

° .00 70

1.95

04 °°

2.69

1.60

1.60

96 .

0.45

3.98

°

° Tie beam Tie beam (hidden (hidden under the floor)under the floor)

0.45

0.45

Steel plate and footing (hidden under the floor)

°

°

0.56

0.25

0.25

3.62

4.15

83 .9 6

3.46

3.46

Steel plate and footing (hidden under the floor)

0.45

Roof thickness Roof thickness = 0.06 m = 0.06 m

0.58

0.58

Roof overhang Roof overhang

4.15

0.56

Beam edge

83 .9 6

1.91

1.91

Beam edge

0.58

1.95

0.58

0.18

0.18

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HYPERBOLIC PARABOLOID SHELL MADE OF FERROCEMENT Average thickness: 0.06 m Surface area: 19.70 m2 Volume: 1.18 m3

EMT conduits Manually bent, welded to edge tubes, used as guides to preserve the proper shape of the shell (ø = 3/4")

High-resistance mortar Two layers applied above and below the steel reinforcement, allowed to cure for 7 days (f’c = 210 kg/cm2, 1 : 1.50 sand-cement ratio, 1 : 0.40 water-cement ratio, 2" max. slump)

HSS round steel tube Industrially bent, welded to bottom tubes (ø = 3", t = 1/8", L = 9.24 m)

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Tie beam Reinforced concrete (0.30 x 0.30 m)

Steel plates Anchored to footings with welded rebar (t = 1/2")

STRUCTURAL DESIGN Scale: 1 : 50

The roof was built by employing the following construction process.

First, two concrete footings were poured at ground level, topped by steel plates. The foundations were joined with a tie beam, in order to prevent any lateral displacements that could damage the shell. Later, steel tubes were welded to the plates, creating the edges of the roof. EMT conduits were used as guides over which welded wire mesh and hexagonal wire mesh were tied. Two layers of mortar were manually applied by hand troweling, filling the gaps of the mesh. Finally, the steel tubes were painted with anti-rust coating and blue enamel, while the shell was painted white, with a waterproof coating over its upper surface.

HSS round steel tube Industrially bent, welded to bottom tubes (ø = 3", t = 1/8", L = 7.90 m)

HSS round steel tube Welded to plate (ø = 3", t = 1/8", L = 1.04 m)

Isolated footing Reinforced concrete (1.60 x 0.60 x×0.50 m)

Welded wire mesh Cut into strips 0.50 m wide to prevent excessively flat areas, tied with wire to the EMT conduits, covered with two layers of hexagonal mesh (“chicken wire”)

HSS round steel tube Welded to plate (ø = 3", t = 1/8", L = 1.04 m)

Isolated footing Reinforced concrete (1.60 x 0.60 x×0.50 m)

Left: manual placing of the mortar by hand troweling.

Right: closeup of the welded wire mesh, enclosed by two layers of hexagonal wire mesh and partially covered by a first layer of fresh mortar.

IV. ENTRANCE ROOF AT THE SANTIAGO ASTRONOMY CLUB

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Lastly, the entrance roof has an educational purpose—it bears a deep The final result of the works has proven to be of great quality. After more than two years of having been completed, the shell doesn’t show symbolism related to astronomy. The hyperbolic paraboloid form of any cracks, leaks, spalling or rust, and has resisted high wind and seismic the shell resembles one of the possible shapes of the universe, while its loads (several tropical storms and minor earthquakes have hit the location edges follow the same path of a comet with a parabolic orbit (see the photomontage on page 13). Some visitors have suggested that its curved since the roof was built)—an evidence of its efficient structural design. form gives the façade of the building a futuristic, space-age appearance.

And in a more relaxed attitude, others have dared to say that the entrance roof is “the closest thing to a «stargate» or «intergalactic portal» that you can find in the Dominican Republic”, thanks to the dramatic way the shadows of people standing under the roof are projected, and the hidden light source that creates the illusion that the underside of the shell “glows”.

Picture taken two years after the entrance roof was built and the blue walls of the building were painted. Notice how, after that amount of time, cracks and leaks have appeared in those walls (indicated in the yellow ellipse), while the inner surface of the shell has a pristine appearance, without having ever been repainted. This fact becomes more impressive if you take into account that the shell is more prone to develop leaks and cracks than the aforementioned walls, since it has a higher amount of steel reinforcement (which could cause spalling), and because it lacks the thickness and vertical surface of the walls (allowing rainwater to seep through it much easier).

An excellent ferrocement construction process could be achieved because I thoroughly studied the following manuals of the American Concrete Institute: the “Guide for the Design, Construction, and Repair of Ferrocement” (ACI 549.1R-93) and the “State-of-the-Art Report on Ferrocement” (ACI 549R-97). Both documents helped me ensure that the materials and processes that were used met the required quality standards, such as: adequate sand-cement and water-cement ratios that would allow to obtain a mortar of high compressive strength; a correct placement and spacing of the wire mesh to prevent the mortar from having empty cavities that would weaken the structure; or a proper troweling of the mortar in order to guarantee that the shell would have the intended thickness, and that the steel would have enough cover to prevent its corrosion.

Also, the roof has accomplished its purpose of functioning as a shelter against the elements, since the users of the building have never got wet while walking under the roof when it’s raining, and despite its reduced thickness, the underside of the roof remains cool during hot days thanks to its heat-reflectant white color.

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IV. ENTRANCE ROOF AT THE SANTIAGO ASTRONOMY CLUB

Top: entrance roof seen at night. Bottom: three possible shapes the universe might have according to scientists—one of them being a hyperbolic paraboloid (credits: “HowStuffWorks”; source: https://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/astronomy-terms/space-shape2.htm).

V. GRAPHENE SKYSCRAPER Computational design project with the conception of a new constructive system: “hydrianic structures” Architect: Víctor Ramírez (research and design) Client: none (“visionary architecture” project) Software used: Grasshopper (parametric modeling), Lumion (rendering), Photoshop (photomontages, graphic design and page layout) Location: Osaka, Japan Users: unrestricted amount of visitors (public space) Budget: undefined Funding: undefined Gross building area: 63,791.44 m2 (all floors, including floating platform) Collaborators: none Start date: November 2019 (project registration) End date: February 2020 (project submission) Status: unbuilt

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This design was developed as an entry for the 2020 eVolo Skyscraper Competition. The project statement can be read below, along with one of the boards that were submitted to the contest, shown to the right.

PURPOSE Humanity needs to stop using steel and concrete as construction materials. Worldwide depletion of raw ingredients such as sand, cement or iron is expected to occur before 2050. New alternatives must be found so that countries can keep afloat the production of buildings, in order to meet the housing demands of an exponentially-growing world population, and thus preventing a Malthusian catastrophe from happening.

On the other hand, graphene is an ultra-strong, transparent and weightless nanomaterial that promises a technological revolution in all kinds of industries. Additionally, its fabrication could serve to reduce CO2 emissions, since graphene is composed of carbon atoms. Therefore, governments, universities and corporations are currently investing enormous amounts of money in order to discover a way to mass produce graphene and take advantage of its potential applications — everlasting batteries, abundant supercomputers or cheap water desalination are some of them, just to name a few. Could graphene also be used as a substitute of steel and concrete? Let’s find out!

CONTEXT Universal expositions have long been a catalyst of innovation in structural design. Just as Le Corbusier’s Philips Pavilion at Expo ‘58 in Brussels (a prefabricated concrete shell), or Buckminster Fuller’s Montreal Biosphere at Expo ‘67 (one of the world’s first geodesic domes), Graphene Skyscraper has been set in the forthcoming world’s fair: Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Most experts believe that an inexpensive way to fabricate graphene will be discovered in the 2020’s, making Expo 2025 a plausible occasion to celebrate such an extraordinary achievement.

Built as a temporary floating structure in the harbors of Osaka Bay, Graphene Skyscraper serves as a 60-story, 300 metershigh multifunctional tower that houses exhibition halls, observatory floors, and outdoor public spaces. Additionally, it acts as a vertical landmark that can be seen easily from large distances, catching the attention of the fair’s visitors that land in the nearby Kansai Airport.

INVENTION With new materials come new structural systems. In the same way that the development of high strength steel provoked the emergence of skyscrapers, large-scale production of graphene will lead to the birth of “Hydrianic Structures” — a not-known-before building method that uses seawater as a construction material. They combine the incompressibility of liquids with graphene’s extreme tensile strength, creating columns, beams and floor membranes of almost infinite loadbearing capacity. The term “hydrianic” comes from the Greek “ὑδρία” – “hydria”, which means «water container».

This technology will make humans escape from the overpopulated cities of the 21st century. As sea levels rise and coastal cities are lost due to global warming, people will start to inhabit nearshore waters in floating towers made of hydrianic structures. Graphene Skyscraper acts as a prototype of this future architectural typology, with its light-emitting columns and transparent envelopes showing that luminosity and transparency will no longer be relegated to decorative or nonstructural elements, such as glass walls or light fixtures. For the first time in the history of architecture, these traits will have become qualities of load-bearing building components, something that current materials like concrete, steel and wood cannot do today.

SUMMARY Graphene Skyscraper shows how architecture is transformed when new structural materials are discovered. As the first high-rise building of the world made with this wondrous material, it showcases the benefits that scientific progress brings to humanity.

Hydrianic structures will offer a solution to some of mankind’s greatest challenges, by allowing humans to migrate to the seas and become an oceanic civilization. Large-scale fabrication of graphene will probably become feasible in a few years… And that way, one of the most spectacular periods on the history of architecture will begin!

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V. GRAPHENE SKYSCRAPER

V. GRAPHENE SKYSCRAPER

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