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Design Portfolio

MAUR R

713.301.4961

Mauro Rodriguez Diaz

SCAD : GSAPP

DRIGUEZ

rodrixmau@hotmail.com

Manhattan, NY

LA SOBREMESA Dining Table and Chairs / In development

Location: Private residence, Mexico Role: Furniture design, Art direction Collaborators: Rory Peckham, designer Emete Design Studio, Mexico Status: In development, 2026

Sobremesa is a dining table and chair set being designed for a private residence in Mexico, to be fabricated with a furniture maker there, and developed with Rory Peckham, a woodworker I studied with at Columbia GSAPP. The table is sized to the family’s dining room and built around how they actually use it: long meals, full seating, the hours of sobremesa that give the piece its name. The brief was warmth. A table you want to sit at and stay. The design draws on a lineage of Mexican furniture and interior work, from figures who shaped it decades ago to makers working today. Honey-toned wood carries the structure, with leather at the joints and seats for softness and contrast. The material palette is tuned to the interiors of the house it’s going into. This is the first piece in a longer collaboration with the client, with more furniture and interior objects to follow.

Size Material Construction Wood Option

90” L × 42” W × 30” H Solid wood with leather detail Spindle back, solid wood frame Parota with black leather detail

Size Material Construction Wood Option

22.5” L × 16” W × 40.5” H Solid wood with leather detail Spindle back, solid wood frame Parota with black leather detail

Concept Sketches

MAK8 Stereo Patent Speaker My passion for audio and my partner’s interest in textiles led us to create a speaker that merges sound with touch. Inspired by retro radios, the design combines soft, tactile fabric with a compact, sculptural form. Three central buttons control power and volume, each designed to be recognized by feel alone. We learned to wire speakers and program Arduinos, making the object both technically functional and creatively expressive. The exposed stitching and components celebrate the fusion of craft and technology, turning the speaker into a playful, immersive experience rather than just a device.

Location: Manhattan, NY Course: Making Senses Partner: Valery Kate Perez Professor: James Nanasca Term: Spring 2025

MAK8 Stereo Patent (01)

4 / 23 / 2025

M. RODRIGUEZ V. PEREZ

FIG 1.

FIG 2.

FIG 3.

FIG 4.

MAUR R

VKP

DRIGUEZ

Fig 1. Fig 2. Fig 3. Fig 4.

Front Plate _ Driver and Tweeter Frame _ Plywood Structure Back Plate _ Electrical Systems Stand _ Wood Planks

INVENTORS

Concept Sketches

Form & Finish Studies Self-directed 3D Modeling & Rendering — Rhino & Keyshot

Both pieces are self-directed studio work, modeled from scratch in Rhino and rendered in Keyshot, nothing downloaded or pulled from an asset library. The headphone family let me test how one housing form reads across different finishes and colorways, from matte red to brushed metal. The hammer study pushed me on

surfacing and material contrast, cast metal against a wrapped leather grip. Together they’re where I practice moving from a single form idea to a full family of finish and material options, the same instinct that goes into speccing wood and leather on a finished piece.

Role: Self-directed, independent study Software: Rhino, Keyshot Year: 2022

Turntable & Speaker Self-directed 3D Modeling, Rendering & Animation — Rhino & Keyshot

Another self-directed pair, a turntable and a floor-standing speaker, fully modeled in Rhino, rendered in Keyshot, and animated to show how the parts come together. I built out the internal components too, drivers, wiring, circuit boards, not just the outer shell, since working out how a piece goes together

usually shapes how I decide it should look. The finish was a deliberate choice, warm wood veneer over black casing, closer to a piece of furniture than to consumer electronics, which is the direction I’d rather be designing in.

Role: Self-directed, independent study Software: Rhino, Keyshot Year: 2022

J.A. Diaz Trade Booth Exhibition Design Rendering — Rhino & Keyshot

This was a trade booth design for a family business’s exhibit in Mexico. I modeled the full booth, structure, shelving, product displays, and signage, in Rhino and rendered it in Keyshot so they had real options to review before the piece went into production. It’s a different scale and category than furniture, but the process

is the same one this role asks for: take a brand and a set of products, and design a physical space that presents them clearly and sells them well.

Location: Mexico Role: Self-directed, family business commission Software: Rhino, Keyshot Year: 2022

Play Time Adaptive Reuse: Daycare This project proposes the adaptive reuse of an existing government facility in Veracruz to create a daycare for the children of public employees. Many parents working in the building face extended work hours while local schools dismiss students earlier in the day. As a result, children often remain in offices and corridors without appropriate spaces to play, learn, or stay engaged. Although a daycare currently exists within the facility, its interior conditions are inadequate due to poor material choices and environments not designed with children in mind. The proposal focuses on rethinking the interior architecture to create a safer and more stimulating environment. Material selection prioritized child safety and indoor air quality: natural linoleum flooring, FSC plywood millwork in low-VOC hardwax oil, soft rounded wall panels, and OEKO-TEX textiles. The design also promotes natural light, ventilation, and visual connections to the outdoors, creating distinct zones for play, learning, rest, and social interaction.

Location: Veracruz, Mexico Employer: TTProces Role: Architectural Designer Year: 2025, Proposal

PLANO LUDOTECA

A 20.20

2.20

20.20

4.4000

4.19

1 4.00

2.20

4.4000 2.12

2.12

1 4.19

2.12

4.00

10.85

10.70

28.40 24.40

28.40

24.40

13.85

4.00

13.70

4 A

This slide compares the existing floor plan with the proposed intervention. While the overall building layout remains largely unchanged, the project rethinks the interior organization through material choices, furniture layout, and more efficient use of space. The existing plan functions as a single open area where different activities overlap, while the proposal introduces flexible zones that support sleeping, learning, and play for children of different ages. The new plan also strengthens the relationship with the adjacent garden, allowing interior spaces to extend toward the outdoors.

3 A

Learning Zone Area with computers, desks, and seating to support children’s study.

Birch Plywood

Kvadrat Textile

FSC-certified millwork in low-VOC oil. Soft, warm, and safe for small hands.

OEKO-TEX certified upholstery. Hardwearing, low-toxicity, and warm to the touch.

Reading Zone Area with bookshelves and a resting space for listening, reading, and conversation.

Larger

Play Zone Slide area, art area, and table games area.

Girls’ Bathroom

South Elevation

Wood-Wool Acoustic Panel

Marmoleum Linoleum

Softens sound in active rooms and rounds off hard edges for child safety.

Natural, non-toxic, and warm underfoot. Durable enough for constant play and easy to clean.

North Elevation

Children’s Zone

Boys’ Bathroom

area for younger children with books, toys, and activities.

United Atmospheres Air Purifier Installation This installation began as a class project in fabrication: a family of 3D-printable hydroponic pods, each a sculptural vessel developed through Rhino and printed in-house. The pods pair an exposed fan with a bed of expanded clay balls, a soilless system that keeps the form light, legible, and fully visible as an object. Installed at GSAPP, the pods hang as a suspended cluster of plant, root, and mechanism all on display, turning a functional device into something closer to a specimen. Growing edible plants hydroponically let the piece double as a small working ecology, while the roots and airflow quietly do the work of cleaning the air around them.

Location: Manhattan, NY Course: United Atmospheres Professor: Andreas Theodoridis Term: Spring 2023

Edible Plants While also purifying the air of Carbon Dioxide via photosynthesis, the plant will provide an extra layer of available nutrients by producing edible fruit.

Water Dispenser The water dispenser allows for the purification system to be self sustainable and low maintenance

Fan A fan is used to push the polluted air through the root system which is more successful in purifying the air rather than pulling air through the root system

Expanded Clay Balls Soil Barrier

Expanded clay balls are used in lieu of soil to accommodate for better airflow through the root system of the plant. By using expanded clay, the water remains cleaner for a longer duration of time and prevents mold and mildew from growing requiring minimal maintenance.

A barrier system is put in place to separate the excess water and expanded clay soil

Funnel The funnel is used to capture excess water and is recirculated back into the system to avoid any water waste