GERARDO DAZ

THICK+ THINPALM SPRINGS MODERN ARCHIVE AND EXHIBITstudio

411critic STEPHEN LEETfall

2011

ARCHIVESUPPORT

EXHIBITION

Consideration of two programs, one open and radiant, the other hermetic and with security concerns, drives the form of the project. The opaque mass of the archive is placed around the perimeter, leaving a meandering courtyard for the display of artifacts.

This configuration creates shared walls between the archive and exhibition, offering the opportunity to display the archive as exhibition itself.

The opacity of the archives mitigates the desert climate and leaves the building as a solid mass with openings only for entry and the careful framing of the mountains to the east and the immediate landscape.

FIGURAL PROGRAMS

layout concept model

Photographs :

At several locations, walls can slide out of view, exposing the contents of the archive and providing a view through archive storage to the landscape beyond.

EXPLOITING ADJACENCIES

Simultaneously it is conceived as carved out of the mass of the buildable volume.

VOID

GALLERY SPACE BY CARVING

The courtyard gallery space is conceived as a solid which reaches out towards the bounds of the site.

SOLID

The gallerys changing ceiling heights and shifting plan create a rich variety of spaces for the display of artifacs. Intimate spaces lead to large double height galleries in game of mass and void.

SPECIFIC FLEXIBILITY

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Right:

The archive/exhibit looks west to the San Jacinto Mountains. From the site to the top of the mountain is the steep-est elevation changes in North America.

The facade recalls a hyper-scaled snake skin texture and takes on a luminous blue quality as contrast to the rough, pale landscape.

A 1 = 8 scale model produces this effect by layering transclucent color and a black and white gradient behind a laser cut pattern of tesselated circles.

This effect could be realized at full scale with a rain screen of glass spheres or graphic tiles.

SKIN

CASTING LIGHTA PREQUEL TO THICK + THINstudio

411critic STEPHEN LEETfall

2011

Through the carving of an abstract wall section, three dimensionally complex apertures create a variety of light qualities - directional, diffuse, direct - and shadows along the surrounding walls.

Rather than literally being carved out of a volume, the wall's apertures begin first as additive pieces of foam that fold and reach around and model the bending that light will be forced through. Pouring plaster over the positive molds creates the final product.

CARVING BY ADDING

LIVE + WORK + SHOW

HOME STUDIO AND GALLERY for two studio

311critic

GIA DASKALAKISfall 2011

A typical site massing strategy would combine LIVE WORK + SHOW programs into a undifferentiated mass, missing opportunities of expression inherent in the rich program.

This proposal finds a unique manifestation for separate

functions based on the most effective arrangements for living, working, and showing, emphasizing privacy in the living spaces and exposure of production and exhibition on the public ground floor.

URBAN HYBRID

HOMOGENEOUS DIFFERENTIATED

LIVEWORKSHOW A

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BPedestrian/Retail Corridor

High Vehicular Traffic Road

URBAN SITING

An urban analysis reveals benefits to the tower + base configuration to the site. The tower, placed along the red line, relates to the scale of the high speed road. The

base, along the green line, relates to the pedestrian scale of the retail corridor.

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SITE TYPOLOGYThe site is composed of a combination of low and midrise to highrise buildings. This proposals massing

will contribute to this dialogue, relating to both scales and adding to the complexity of the site.

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SCALE-LESSThe load bearing facade is composed of a grid of squares to create ambiguity between the scale shift in the tower of the building.

This grid is then articulated to create shading, maximize key openings, and create a varied texture.

PUBLIC

The ground level consists of the studios and gallery to maximize public exposure of work and art.

1. studios2.gallery

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PRIVATE

Dormitories are placed in the tower with maximum privacy and excellent views over the site.

Section model of Pan American Airlines Building, reconstructed from photographs.

Photographs:

professor

ELYSSE NEWMANfall 2010

PAN AMBUILDINGNEW YORK CITY

Abstract for an essay written by me included alongside this section model in the exhibit Architecture in Detail: Global Modernism.

A CASE STUDY IN THE SHORTCOMINGS OF MODERNISM

Post war New York City was marked by explosive growth as the city became one of the most important cultural, economic, and political centers of the world.

The Pan Am Building was among the most ambitious of the speculative real estate developments of the period; it was the largest office building in the world at the time of its completion. The "design consultation" of renown architects Walter Gropius and Pietro Belluschi, whose contributions were relegated to styling the building's facade, were not able to mitigate the relentless commercial ambitions of its planners and developers. Their profit maximizing formulas left a building whose scale and bulky proportions spanned the entirety of 4th Avenue, blocking views and destroying the urban fabric.

The building is both one of the most financially succesful and publicly criticized projects in NYC and a symbol of the tragic loss of Modernism's social capacity to the greed of private interest.

DELMAR LOOP PUBLIC LIBRARYstudio

312critic

IAN FRASERspring 2011

STADIUMFOR THE

STREET

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By elevating reading spaces onto bleacher-like terraces, the library engages the city through visual connection. The inhabitants of the library partake in a performative act, reminding passers-by of the vitality of the city.

reading/seeingBy elevating the workspaces, the library engages visitors as they walk through the door, creating a dynamic lobby with an urban character.

working

The concept for this small library branch emerges from questioning the role of small community libraries and their contributions to the citys public space. The ubiquity of the internet has made books only a part of the function of libraries, creating new possibilities for library design beyond the effectiveness of book circulation and search. This neighborhood library is a place not only to read but also to see, be seen, work, and play.

The proposal takes the reading and computer spaces as an opportunity to encourage interactions between people both within and outside the library. By providing dynamic workspaces, the design hopes to create a lively environment for community members to use internet workstations, read, or work, all while experienceing the presence of those around them.

BRANCH LIBRARY RECONSIDERED

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The ground level contains the entry foyer and workspaces. The childrens area hangs overlooking the workspacesThe last two levels are the main stacks and a reading area overlooking Delmar Boulevard, one of the most trafficed streets in Saint Louis.

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Delmar loop TheaTrestudio

312critic

Zeuler limaspring 2011

Drama on Delmar

Drama on Delmar

channel glass rain-screen

supporting angle

air/vapor barrier

flashing

This studio places its focus on producing urban interventions that are sensitive to the specific fabric of Delmar Avenue in St. Louis, a street popular for its variety of small shops and restaurants.

This project manages to "fit in" by establishing physical relationships to neighboring buildings and reinforcing the street perimeter while "standing out" by expressing the mass of the main programmatic element: a small black box theatre. The theater is conceived of as a heavy volume suspended in an light crystalline bar.

An ethereal quality is achieved through the layering of a channel glass rain-screen over a solid wall with ribbon windows at clerestory and adult height level. This creates a light, softly glazed effect while also providing room for a significant amount of insulation and blocking radiant energy.

fitting in/stanDing out

sustainably luminous

retailtheater support

STREET LOBBY/SERVICE

rightSection model shows material variation. The street face is glazed and luminous. The back uses natural materials that suit the garden

Studio; can be used for theater support or as stand-alone dance studio

Retail

CAFE BY DAY, theatre foyer/ event space by NIGHT.

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GARDEN THEATRE

aboveTheatre lobby/restaurant cafe.rightTheatre entry mezzanine.

SWIMMING INTHE PARK

CARONDELET PARK AQUATIC CENTER

studio

311critic

GIA DASKALAKISfall 2010

This studio culminates in a project for a public aquatic center in a park with a rolling landscape. The proposal makes use of the relief making techniques of cutting and folding to negotiate a steep bank on the side of a large pond. These cuts form paths around and over the site, connect various locations to the pond and create a sun deck that lies at the waters edge.

The main pool area occupies most of the space under the shell, while more private spaces such as changing rooms and saunas are imbeded into the earth. Over these rooms, a fitness center shares the expansive space under the roof.

NEGOTIATING THE LANDSCAPE

CUT+CONNECT

LIFT FILL

TRANSLATING TEXTURES

studio

111critic

IGOR MARJANOVICfall 2008

MAPPINGA series of photographs encroaches on a scrap of card-board until it is abstracted by proximity of observation. The drawing lay over analyzes deformations in the once perfect horizontal folds which result in implicit diagonal geometries.

CONSTRUCTIONThe analysis of horizontal and implicit diagonal geometry is explored further with a lumber construction. This structure creates a transitional surface with a diagonal fold using exclusively horizontal elements [in plan].

Furthermore, the construction was to be free of any external fasteners or glue. A dowel joint holds the contruction together.

EDUCATION

Gerardo Daz

Degree 2012Sam Fox School of Design & Visual ArtsBachelor of Science in Architecture

EXPERIENCE

PLAYGROUND PILOTSChicago, IL 2006 - 2008

Project manager for student run construction business. Coordinated a staff of 30 students and multipe vendors on site, and managed inventory. Designed and led interactive workshop on ADA guidelines. Recruited students from over 800 applicants.

SGB ARCHITECTSHangzhou, China (PRC)Summer 2011

DIGITAL FABRICATION LAB Washington University in St. Louisfall 2011 - present

Design Intern; Individually produced conceptual designs for significant portions of three competitions. Managed tight deadlines in a fast paced international environment. Prepared weekly presentations of progress.

Lab monitor; Assisted students with laser cutters, calibrating settings for diverse range of materials, dimensions, and fabrication processes.

2655 North Austin Avenue Chicago, IL 60639

diazg89@gmail.com

773.370.0385

issuu.com/gerardo_diaz

CVWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS

ZOKA ZOLA Architecture + Urban DesignChicago, ILJuly - current

Intern; produced presentation images for publishing. Included re-modeling previous projects in Rhinoceros to refine, clarify, and articulate architectural concepts; texture mapping; rendering; and post processing.

GRUNSFELD SHAFER Architects | Evanston, ILDecember 2012

ALLOY DEVELOPMENTNew York, NYJanuary - current

Intern; assisted with the production of construction drawings for a single family home; CAD drafting, code compliance, redlines.

Design consultant; conducted design research in a request for proposals for a 130 unit residential building; 3-D modeling/rendering; model building.

KWUR fm2009 - present

Disk Jockey for student run alternative radio station. Methodically prepared selections of music for weekly show, reviewed new albums, and set up sound for live shows.

ACTIVITIES

DRAWING

VISUALIZATION

AutoCAD, Revit, Adobe Illustrator, manual orthographic and perspectile projections

Vray, Maxwell, Photoshop Indesign, Lightroom, graphite rendering

Rhino, Sketchup, Revit, woodshop and laser cutting.

SKILLS

MODELING

PHOTOGRAPHY

LANGUAGES

Digital and 35mm. with studio lighting

English, Spanish native speaker and written profiency