Francisco Lizcano

Professional experience. Bauman Lyons Architects

I support and often volunteer at different organisations –including WWF, Amnesty International and the UN High Committee for Refugees. In Leeds, I have helped refurbish a derelict house for Canopy Housing Project, a local non-profit organisation that finds and renovates aban-doned properties to create homes for people who are homeless.

Bauman Lyons Architects is a practice based in Chapel Allerton, Leeds, involved in pub-lic building projects, sustainable residential developments, urban planning and research. Completed projects include Hebden Bridge Town Hall and Leeds Station South Link.

I have mainly been working on this £7 million refurbishment project to redevelop the 19th Century Grade II Listed Princess Buildings in Halifax for Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, under traditional contract

with quantities. I have been involved in the BIM modelling of the building, pro-ducing drawings and visuals on both

tender and construction stages, coordinating M&E with engineers and contractors, solving RFIs and reviewing the works on site, designing and detailing special elements like bespoke furniture and panelled doors and produc-ing details for construction.

CID is a £125 million scheme –part of South Bank Leeds regeneration plans– that will incorporate more than 500 new low carbon homes and climate resilient public space. Bauman Lyons was appointed to deliver the final design of one of the phases. I developed the design of the facades, contributed to the landscape design and the detailing of the underground parking.

Sharing Bolsover is a community led regen-eration framework for four main towns in the district that looks forward to 2033. I was involved in the pro-duction of visuals and GIS maps, and finding and managing all data sets.

I worked on the design and construction detailing on this £13m development of 153 low-carbon, super ef-ficient homes in Sheffield. One of units was designed as an extension of the Grade II listed building Green Lane Works. The project was fully documented and delivered to BIM Level 2.

Thanks to my excellent organisational skills and expert knowledge of Excel –including VBA/Macros– I devel-oped easy-to-use and time-saving spreadsheets that became template files for the office. These have differ-ent purposes including resource planning for any new project and the calculation of fees according to staff hours and scheduled timelines. I have also contributed to shape the BIM Company Standards in order to set up a common, more efficient drawing method in the practice that is currently being implemented. I have been using ArchiCAD on Macs continuously for 12 years; I also have extensive experience on AutoCAD and Revit.

Volunteering and social responsibility

Climate Innovation District, Leeds

Bolsover Regeneration Framework Little Kelham, Sheffield

Local, sustainability-focused design practice

Princess Buildings, Halifax

Project Resources, Fees Management and BIM Company Standards

UNO. A system to design architecture

Rather than designing a singular building, I developed a system to design architecture as my final year project to be-

come fully qualified as an Architect. I started the project studying the design process in depth as well as geometries in which the idea could be

based. The system works as a game: the board is the plot, divided with a hexagonal grid. A study of the spatial needs of the building

gives out pieces with different parameters and requirements that, placed on the board accordingly, make up possible solutions that can then be further developed. To test the system, I used it to design a complex for people in need –a com-

munity neighbourhood called Refuge City–, consisting of a food bank, a clothes bank and accommodation facilities.

The system includes a full catalogue of custom-designed prefabricated structural and construction elements to build it –from foundations to

columns, beams and roof parts. Pieces are fixed mechanically and are sized so that the building can be quickly and cheaply constructed.

The project included the calculation, design and drawing plans of all standard M&E systems and networks following all relevant building regulations, as well as schedules, bills of quantities and legal reports.

In order to understand how the build-ing would work within the city,I developed urban research draw-ings analysing the existing typolo-gies, pattern and transport in the area using local and national au-thorities’ data. I also carried out a more exhaustive analysis of the local vegetation producing very accurate survey drawings as well as informa-tional sheets for every species. I also shaped the overall landscape design of the surrounding area.

The plans, digital model and other architectural drawings were produced mainly with ArchiCAD, although AutoCAD and Revit were employed as well. I also used the Adobe CS during the en-tire process, Photoshop was the main tool to finish off the visuals, Illustrator to produce graphics and diagrams and InDesign to lay-out the final report. I made some physical drafting models to work out the final design, and I later fabricated a final model made of lasercut cardboard and cork to easily show and explain the pro-

ject to the tutor and the members of the final project panel.

Architectural innovation through applied research Prefabricated structural and construction elements for self-construction

Proposal drawings, models and visuals

Urban analysisand Landscape design

Mechanical and Electrical systems calculation and design

Academic background. BA / MSc Arch Key courses, projects and experience

Combining art and technologyBeing as much creative as technical, the decision to become an architect seemed to be the best way to de-velop these two qualities at the same time. As part of my studies at university, I enjoyed subjects and courses providing me with knowledge and skills on both technical and artistic sides.

Thanks to natural curiosity, I feel very comfortable when deeply analysing any kind of reality, browsing statistics and handling large databases, as well as when making dia-grams and infographics. I especially love reading and drawing maps as a result of my passion for geography and urbanism.

This workshop was a real case study where students developed planning proposals for a new urban development in Tolosa, a small town in the Basque Country. The projects were presented to the Mayor and key members of the City Council, An exhibition was later organised to show the works to citizens and the general public. My proposal focused on developing a design promoting rich urban life with meaningful and distinctive public spaces, high density and mixed uses, challenging its suburbian location.Javier Cenicacelaya also taught critically about architectural movements like Modernism and Post-Modernism and introduced me to the ideas of architectural historians and critics Jan Gehl, Jane Jacobs and Colin Rowe.

The goal of the workshop was to collectively design an urban district that met both the requirements of large temporary events –like the

Olympic Games– and the requirements of a city with regular urban life. My contribution to the design was a mixed resi-

dential, commercial and office build-ing as part of the main stadium.

These lessons revolved around last century´s North American architecture, fo-cusing on the work of Frank Lloyd Wright –whom I have especially admired ever

since– and his contemporaries. As part of this course I produced a research essay about the Tischler House, by Austrian-born American architect Rudolph Schindler.

The main goal of this course was to analyse the latest developments in Madrid´s suburban areas in a critical way in order to learn how to develop more sustainable and vi-brant urban environments for the cities of the future. I car-ried out a study of Madrid´s suburbia of Villa de Vallecas.

International Master Planning Workshop.Prof. Javier Cenicacelaya. University of the Basque Country

Urban Research and Master Planning.Prof. Ramón López de Lucio. Technical University of Madrid

Research on American Architecture. Prof. Juan Antonio Cortés. U. of Valladolid

Architectural Design Studio. Prof. Sven Verbruggen / Prof. Hilbrand Wanders. Artesis Hogheschool Antwerpen

Theory and research

Sketching and drawing

Architecture, Urbanism, Structures and Construction

Not being afraid of a blank canvas is one of my core val-ues, and along with boundless creativity and imagi-

nation, this results in an endless source of new innovative ideas. No matter how small or big it may be, from pencil through water colours to digital drawing mastering Wacom tablets, I can bring any idea to paper and screen.

I have developed a great variety of architectural projects, most of them as part of real case studies including residential, commercial, educational and public buildings as well as mas-ter planning and urban developments. Most projects went as far as structure calculations and construction details.

Having lived, studied and worked in 3 different countries and 7 different cities along with my passion for travelling have provided me with excellent com-munication and teamwork skills, being able to adapt to any environment or condition and to understand and re-spect different cultures and customs.

International mindset

Francisco Lizcano+44 7942 974 187

francisco.lizcano@gmail.com

www.guacamolengo.comLast updatedOctober 2016