Utility designated land is often overlooked. It is rarely designed, it is not meant to be visually appealing. Its meant to be efficient. Electrical Substations are made up of Transmission lines and Transformers. To avoid fires, this equipment is not covered. To protect the public from harm the equipment is surrounded by a fence. Most power to densely populated areas is further inland and away from civilization. These sites do not have to be designed to be visually appealing, in fact the only two requirements for electricity infrastructure is that it be efficient and cheap. These requirements do not change when the sites get closer to the urban environment. In fact utility designated land is treated the same as the land that is further inland. These lands are not being used to their full potential.

Urban Infrastructure cannot be ignored and should be designed to maximize the full potential of the land it sits on.

Study in Collaborative Space l Newschool of Architecture + Design l 2015

San Diego is known to have nice weather for almost all 365 days of the year. A place like this opens up the door to have programmable space in an outdoor setting. San Diego also has a Harbor that to this day is underutilized by the pedestrian. The harbor serves its purpose when it comes to trade, housing part of the Pacific Fleet, housing the tuna fishing vessels, and the numerous docks for those wealthy enough. However it should be enjoyed by everyone, not just the rich.

For this ACSA steel competition, I decided to bring public amenities to the Harbor. An open air adaptable pavilion would allow for music and the performing arts to have a place in Downtown. The space can serve a variety of events like farmers markets, or even a graduation ceremony. Along with this would be a Maritime Museum that would tell the story of San Diego’s Harbor to compliment the already existing tourist stops along PCH which consist of statues as well as signs with information on the Harbor.

Rendering

Burner Podcast Project

Designed by Ramiro Martinez

Built by Burner Podcast Crew

Photo Credit: Arash Afshar

Cabina Exuro was displayed at the Art San Diego Contemporary Art Fair in 2016.

Photo Credit: Arash Afshar

This morning, members of Burner Podcast, Ramiro Martinez Jr and Arash Afshar, get interviewed by Fox News!

Check out Cabina Exuro tonight and through the weekend at Art San Diego located in Balboa Park. 

backers

Cabina Exuro is an aesthetic and functional art project which can be experienced on multiple layers. 

Externally, it is an triambic icosahedron sculpture, serving to beautify the streets of Black Rock City (as well as other future festivals it will be traveling to) with a geometric modern design that Burners have come to love as a familiar aesthetic. Intricate laser-cut patterns line its 14 surfaces, which will then come to life after sunset as LED lights illuminate the panels from the inside.

 All is not as it seems... 

Upon closer inspection, viewers will find an entryway. Inside, the viewer becomes the participant as they discover that they are suddenly transported into a 1940s era radio station, professionally set-dressed with meticulous theater-production detail. It is at this juncture that the participant will discover that there is, yet, another layer. The participant is now a radio guest. 

The host is nowhere to be seen but has left the guest with instructions to tell a story. A touch-screen panel will guide the guest on how to start the recording process, along with a randomized prompt. Selected guests' stories will be shared on burnerpodcast.com and will make their way into very special episodes and possible spinoffs of Burner Podcast.

Cabina Exuro is a multi-layered project not just for its direct participants but in that it provides a mechanism with which participants can create their own improvised gifts, in the form of stories, spreading the light, love, fun, tears, laughter and wisdom of their words and adventures with the rest of the world. Stories that will live eternally. This project will transcend the Burn and serve as a gift to the international community as a whole. 

Photo Credit: Arash Afshar

“A PLACE TO CONTEMPLATE AND REFLECT WITH AN INTRICATE SERIES OF ARCHES POINTING TOWARDS THE HEAVENS. PARTICIPANTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO WRITE ON THE STRUCTURE ABOUT WHAT THEY REFLECTED ON THAT DAY”

SOCIAL EXPERIMENT

Photo Credit: Arash Afshar

Dome for Kiin Athletic

Pop Up Dome

Designers from Noble Environmental Technologies as well as students from the Numisius Colony of Alpha Rho Chi professional fraternity at NewSchool of Architecture and Design are working together to design the center lounge at Art San Diego 2013. This collaboration offers an excellent opportunity to disregard the traditional attempts at cooperation in design and embrace the inherent differences between the designers to affect the Art San Diego 2013 theme of collision. This impact of ideas will result in a tangible and interactive pixilation for the center lounge of the fair to result in a pulse of activity, promoting movement and further opportunities to collide.
AlphaRhoChi.org
ECORGlobal.com
NewSchoolArch.edu

Temporary Installation for Makers Quarter 2013

Photos taken in Seaport Village, Little Italy, Court House and Convention Center

Study on space filling polyhedra and competition at CALPOLY SLO.

Award Most Adaptable.

This is a proposed Maritime Lab Research Center. The idea behind it was to design a prefab monocoque structure for one person to inhabit for days at a time. This structure would have equipment on board to conduct studies on the ocean and its biosphere. The form was developed from following the curves paper makes as it falls. These curves fluctuate as much as the human form.

BREAD AND SALT.

BISYMMETRIC HENDECAHEDRON

Case Study House #1 10152 Toluca Lake

Julius Ralph Davidson

Sol Diego Core Group

Designed by Sam Godar and Ramiro Martinez

Photo Credit: Arash Afshar