Portfolio- Valeria Parada

ABOUT ME

EDUCATION

• CURRENTLY ENROLLED AT CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY, POMONA

• THIRD YEAR, INTENDED GRADUATION MAY 2028

• B.ARCH

SKILLSET

DIGITAL

• RHINOCEROUS 3D

• ADOBE SUITE (PHOTOSHOP, ILLUSTRATOR, INDESIGN)

• TWINMOTION

• V-RAY

• REVIT

PHYSICAL MEDIA

• MODEL MAKING

• LASER CUTTING

• 3D PRINTING

• CNC MACHINE

• SHOP CERTIFIED

This project connects with the sky above through its sculptural roof, underlining the importance of the work done in the observatory. This project responds to site conditions by levitating parts of the program over the natural landscape, leaving it as unchanged as possible. This strategy also allows for optimal views, further immersing visitors and inhabitants into their surroundings.

Circulation Diagram

Program Diagram

The program is organized using solar position, and how it relates to the activity happening in certain spaces. For example, the office and labs are north facing, using indirect sunlight and large curtain walls to create a more enjoyable workspace. The scupltural roof shapes are informed by solar angles, with skylights that “scoop” and diffuse light into the building.

SITE RESEARCH

Solar Angle + Shadow Diagrams

Ground floor plan

Third floor plan

Second floor plan

WALL ASSEMBLY, CODES, AND STRUCTURAL DIAGRAMS

Interior perspective: Laboratory

Interior perspective: Lobby/ atrium

Experientially, the scoops work to define the boundaries and unique qualities of each room. This takes the user on a journey, as they discover the various methods in which natural light enters; whether it be through scoops, small openings, or large ribbon windows. At night, the skylights become portals for views of the stars above, giving users a totally different experience than in the daytime.

TOWER, BRIDGE,

CANTILEVER

This group of small projects was a three-week exploration into structural sytems and its hierarchies. The tower, bridge, and cantilever share similarities between their material palette and basic geometries. Each model aims to give the user a unique viewing experience, focusing on a smaller scale for the individual.

CONCEPT

INSPIRATION -FACETED SHAPES FROM PRECEDENT MADE ME INSPIRED BY GEODES/ CRYSTALINE GEOMETRIES

Floor Plan (left); +29’ Floor Plan (right)

HEXAGONS AS DESIGN LANGUAGE

FRAMING NTS

CIRCULATION NTS

Diagram

HSS BEAMS + DIAGONALS

METAL SCREEN TENSION CABLES

HANDRAIL

GUARDRAIL

DECKING

WELDED CONNECTION

GUSSET PLATE CONNECTION

VIEWING AREA

-PLAYING WITH TAPERED SHAPES (INFLUENCED BY A1 AND A2 PROJECTS)

CONCEPT MODELS: PLAYING WITH TAPERED SHAPES, INFLUENCED BY TOWER AND BRIDGE

-PLAYING WITH TAPERED SHAPES (INFLUENCED BY A1 AND A2 PROJECTS) -USING

COMBINED IDEAS TO CREATE PARTI: TWO SHAPES INTERSECTING, CREATING THREE UNIQUE VIEWING PLATFORMS

-COMBINED BOTH IDEAS TO CREATE PARTI -TWO SHAPES INTERSECTING, CREATING THREE DIFFERENT VIEWING AREAS

ISOMETRIC NTS

STRUCTURE ISOMETRIC NTS

EACH VOLUME HAS A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF ENCLOSURE. VOLUME A IS PARTIALLY ENCLOSED, ONLY WITH PERFORATED METAL CLADDING THE STRUCTURE. VOLUME B IS FULLY INSULATED AND ENCLOSED WITH GLASS AND POLYCARBONATE CLADDING.

Chunk Diagram

DOWNTOWN POMONA ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL

SPRING 2025

This project aims to revitalize downtown Pomona, through a pedestrian-oriented site response, with ammenities such as a cafe, gallery, and lecture halls open for public use.

Exterior perspective

DERIVATION + CONCEPT

The geometries and overall strategy were derived from an exercise where extruded shapes clashed into a normative tower model, resulting in voids that would later become atriums. The tower is organized by programmatic “chunks” with atriums corresponding to its neighboring uses. The bottom two floors and atrium are public facing; the next three are for admin, classrooms, and makerspaces, therefore, the atrium is intended for studying and is at a smaller scale; and the upper six floors are studios, so their respective atriums encourage interaction and are a space to disconnect from the studio.

Program Diagram Circulation Diagram

MEETING TABLES

MEETING TABLES

MEETING TABLES

TERRACED ATRIUM DESK

FACADE PRECEDENT STUDIES

FACADE EXPLORATION

Facade exploration began through precedent studies, where each “layer” was analyzed to reveal its underlying geometries, alignments, and systems. From there, these geometries were kitbashed to create a geometric expression for my facade. Elevation studies were done in tandem to define the relationship between “building” and “atrium” as a contrast between a mesh facade and skeleton-like atriums.

Unrolled elevation

The facade of this project took the geometries from the kitbash exercise, where each geometry was made either solid, frame, or void to provide solar shading. The atriums were covered in a wire mesh, with visible steel frames to further emphasize the contrast between the building and voids.

FUJI-KAN

CINEMATHEQUE

The Fuji-Kan Cinematheque is a public center that celebrates cinema and educates patrons through regular showings, galleries, and libraries. Wedged in the middle of Little Tokyo, the bottom, two floors engage the public and connect 1st street to the Japanese Village Plaza on the back entrance.

1STST

Perspective vignettes

Exploded Iso

Inspired by movie scores, the plan mimics soundwaves, with undulating walls, allowing for a unique experience, giving the user a sense of discovery as they round each corner. The facade continues this, and through its fins, diffuses sunlight into spaces.