The Steinberg Hart San Francisco studio was upgraded in the Winter 2023.  These are some studies for the new conference room I designed and rendered.  I developed options for 3 locations: centered in front of the existing kitchen rotating doors, or tucked on the side, further away from the glazing.
Also, I designed 3 options for the front desk design, using the same glossy plastic panels that make up the ceiling of the conference room.

The project site is located in the “bridge district” of the Tasman East Focus Area (TEFA), and it will offer a mixed-use development consisting of 508 Market-Rate Apartment units and ground-floor retail. Apartment residents and guests enjoy diverse outdoor and indoor amenities that include a variety of recreational, play-based, fitness, wellness, communal, and co-working activities.

Amenities are located on both the mid-rise and high rise top-levels in order to maximize 360 degree vistas toward the Silicon Valley foothills and Guadalupe River Parkway. At the ground floor, the retail supports the industrial neighborhood and the street frontage is designed as a necklace of exterior spaces that helps reinforce the park’s connection to the Apartments, Senior Assisted Living, and Tasman East community, including the Tasman Atria Senior Living Tower.

I have been helping develop the CD sets, including detailing of the stone facade, the RCP of the townhomes, the garage and retail plans, and some of the CA effort.

During the 2020 Covid crisis, I submitted this competition for a city scyscraper concept:  as per manifesto below, this building responds to the environment on all its aspects (insulation, winds, ground location) like a living cell does.  The building hosts different programs, including residential,  office, and commercial,  but it also provides agricultural and industrial components.

It follows the "Manifesto" for this competition:

Architecture cannot longer wait for an unlikely political will to respond to the planetary emergencies of overpopulation, pollution, and global warming.  Buildings cannot longer ignore their orientation to the sun path, or their local weathering patterns, and they cannot longer be passive consumers of energy and water, and be waste factories.  Acknowledging the failure of globalization (which creates more pollution, social inequality, and unsustainable supply chains) architects and building designers must now help implement localization, while creating self sustainable structures.
This does not describe a building-island concept (able to subsist within wastly different contexts while ignoring them); rather the idea is of a living cell, able to interact with its context along much of its envelope (membrane) rather than just the point of contact with the topography.  Drone techology will allow the CityScraper to interact with its immediate urban context at unprecedented levels.

However, buildings of the 21st. Century also must:

• Use recycled construction materials (steel, concrete, plastics, glass, etc.).
• Leverage all energy producing technologies, including solar, wind, and hydro-power from water pressure reducing valves and gravity black and gray water drain systems.
• Reduce their HVAC systems as much as possible, using strategies such as natural ventilation, solar exposure, efficient elevators, heat pumps, thermal masses, etc.
• Maximize rain and storm water collection, recycle and reuse in site, and include a black water treatment plant.
• Maximize waste recycling in site, using wood and metal shops in order to re-process and re-purpose the recycled materials.
• Maximize plastic recycling, no matter the cost.
• Reach a sustainable urban density (much lower than downtown distrcits, but much higher than urban sprawl).
• Provide for a low cost mixed use of residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural programs.
• Maximize food production in site (mostly agricultural produces, but it is also feasible a small component of animal farming).
• Leverage 3D printing technologies to be able to produce tools and parts, locally.
• Leverage drone technology to provide fast and secure transportations of goods and people to and from the surrounding urban context.
• Leverage Building Automation Systems (BAS) by sharing (big) data across the region in order to adjust the building energy use in real time (using atmospheric data, occupancy load and types, date and time, etc.).

1. Shape: the proposed building form is created by wind flow and solar exposure.  The typical floor plate behaves like a symmetric airfoil oriented West to East. A quick air flow study shows that the prevailing West-East winds of South of Market create two areas of high speed flows, approximately at the widest point of the building.  There, small wind generators capture the faster wind motion. The airfoil then gently converges toward the East “trailing” edge, where a zone of very low speeds is created. In this area are located the building drone docks, sort of “air garages” from which airborne vehicles can safely take off.  The South facade uses PV Glass as the main curtain panel, for energy production. Toward the West, the space frame creates a gap which allows air to infiltrate the skin of the building, thus creating natural ventilation behind the southern facade.  Both PV Glass on the South and the curtain wall on the north are designed with the glass panels as flush to the frames as possible, in order to provide for a smooth surface for optimal wind flow.
2. Site: the San Francisco South of Market district still maintains its low rise industrial nature.  At the proper distance, the proposed CityScrapers can receive the wind and solar exposure they require to optimize energy production, while increasing density to a sustainable level without the overshadowing of the downtown district.  Also, safety for airborne vehicles routes require more clearances than normally available in downtown areas.
3. Structure: because point load supports (columns) and lateral bracing have overlapping roles (namely, they can both support vertical loads), vertical columns can be rendered obsolete. The proposed building uses two different structural exoskeletons, which are able to provide lateral support: to the South, a space frame onto which the PV glass are installed also supports the edge of slabs, while providing shear resistance; to the North, a recycle corten-steel frame also supports the edge of slabs while providing shear resistance.  Interior columns are angled to provide some degree of lateral support (if required); the core walls can thus be thinner since they have no shear resistive role.
4. Program: the proposed CityScrape hosts a mixed of residential, office, industrial, and agricultural programs.
5. Urban Context: the proposed CityScrape is connected to the city via airborne electric vehicles which make only a few minutes long trips to most of the city destinations, possible today with no additional advances in battery technology.  Also, the building is open to the public, and its ability to grow produce makes it a market place (beside a residential hub, and a work place).  Excess of food production can be redistributed to the adjacent neighborhood, also using short-distance micro supply chains.
6. Life Cycle: because of the speed at which technology advances, the building should be designed using an open, modular concept which allows it to be easily upgraded with the latest technologies in solar energy harvesting, wind generation, data gathering, gray and black water recycling, and more.  In other words, no system should be implemented today which cannot be easily upgraded tomorrow, since, in general, architecture greately outlives technology.

This new small building is meant to host a private full immersion Italian K-12 school, in the Mission district of San Francisco.  After a community meeting exposed serious concerns about the original design of the facade, I set out to re-imagine the relationship of the school with the street.
In order to open the first level to the life on the sidewalk, I used full height structural glass fins which completely de-materialize the first level of the building as perceived from the sidewalk, while I also reduced the structural impositions using thin, diagonal braces, and diagonal steel columns that also contribute to the later support system of the facade, thus avoiding bulky moment frames.
Above, in order to to reduce the heat gains of this southern facade I designed a metal brise solail screen that serves multiple purposes: it holds the urban edge of the block, it provides a strong relationship with the historical Hall next door, while it increases its permeability from top to bottom, toward the public street.
I used a simple Grasshopper script to design and generate the metal screen and locate it in the Revit model.  Also, I have obtained an amazing resin 3D print from the great folks at Carbon 3D (see last two pictures.)

For a final push into 95% CD, I was ask to help the Hastings Team clean up some sheets of the set.  I was assigned the vertical circulation sheets, which I completed and documented.

This project will redevelop the triangular site with a 40-foot high three-story commercial office building of 109,375 square feet with a two-level underground parking garage of 75,653 square feet. In addition, the project will complete the existing bridge crossing with the construction of a 64-foot-wide bridge over the drainage channel. The bridge will provide access to the building's main entrance and include a publicly accessible park space of 10,000 square feet. The project would also include an onsite stacked shipping container cafe.
I was asked to develop the CD set, while working directly on the production of several drawings, including: egress plans, enlarged plans and elevations, wall sections, roof details, etc.
While on the project, I have also produced some design studies for the corner glazed staircase.

These are studies for the suspended steel staircase construction and design, at the South-East glazed corner of the building:

The following animation was produced using a Dynamo script which I created in order to animate Revit section boxes.  The animations were used to analyze the model and identify trouble areas and clashes throughout the model.

For this 73,000 GSF Communal Living project in Los Angeles I created and rendered some quick design studies for the main elevations.  The building uses cross-laminated timber (CLT) as structural technology, and exposing the wood structural elements was one of the goal of the design.

The portions of the building facing the public roadways represent the web, with its chaos and vulnerabilities: the braced, irregular, glazed facade is built at the minimum allowed setback on the South and East edges of the site, and it contains the office spaces with the executive penthouse on the top floor.  Glare is reduced using darkened glass, while on the south there are also louvers. The green roof helps cooling the building during the hot periods of the year.
On the west side, a massive, double walled mechanical concrete "Spine" functions has a figurative protection for the courtyard and the rest of the site, occupied by other existing buildings of the same company. The "Spine" holds most of the mechanical and service elements of the building, and on the West side its dark color and uniform large surface absorbs the sun radiations and prevents the office spaces from overheating.  Additional heat exchange can be achieved by running water systems within the large concrete mass.
Two separate blocks are cladded in solar panels and provide opportunity for separate elements of the program: on the South, the Executive Briefing Center, while on the North the underground Service yard, and the Amenity area.
The Solar Orchard lays in the inner court, and provides additional renewable power production, while its pool provides freshness and moisture to the communal amenity space.

For the renovation of this important historical building I was tasked with building the BIM model of the structure, using the 1913 original drawings.

This is my proposal for the replacement of the Morandi Bridge, that collapsed on August 2018, in Genoa, Italy.

I was tasked with establishing the BIM model for this project.  Once received the CAD drawings of the schematic design, I created the Revit model in order to produce the planning submittal, and later the CD set, which I worked on until about 50%.

Working closely with our client (Steven Steinberg), who provided the SD set of drawings, I produced the DD and CD sets for this single family residence, modeled and documented in Revit.

I was hired to create the Revit model for this lobby interiors, by BAMO, and to produce the 100%DD set. The given material was a SketchUp model and a Schematic PDF presentation.

We were retained by a renowned San Francisco firm, focusing on hospitality, as BIM consultants to begin the modeling of this complex home, located on a small island off the coast of Panama. The challenging roof shape was the focus of the client's design effort and that is where we spent most modeling hours. After a Schematic Phase, I begun to also visualize the residence, to help the client verify the aesthetics they had selected for the project.
To simulate an irregular wood constructions, I built some special beam and column families which where then randomly "flexed" and "disturbed" with a Dynamo script. This produced the look of irregular lumber throughout the house's structure (see especially the interior  renderings).
After the renderings and photo-montages produced for different client's presentations, I also produced a couple of  study animations for this house.

This project was already being built when I assembled a BIM "task force" dedicated to modeling this building, with the intention of documenting in Revit the interior design, which was also within the scope of work of the studio.

For this closed competition I was asked to assemble a team and develop the building concept created as a Plexiglas scale model. Within a week I modeled a Revit version of the building, and the team produced a presentation for a meeting with a client representative (and one of the competition judges) who helped the studio with important feedback.

I was asked to continue CA on this project, while under construction. Using the Chinese made CD set of drawings, I created a study model in Revit, and begun to analyse the problems of fireproofing for the diagonal void cut of the facades. The on-going results were a series of questions (for both the contractor and the client) which we crafted in the form of markup sheets (see last two images).

These are studies I produced for the hotel portion of a larger commercial development.  After some initial options, the designed focused on the hexagonal pods motives, which echoed the 3D hexagonal design of the storefronts, already proposed to the client.

This was my first assignment at Fuksas. This large commercial Centre and amusement park also included a 50 rooms Hotel, with amenity podium, and a separate Auditorium. I have been modeling and then directing the modeling of all components of the project (Auditorium, Park, Mall, and Hotel), when the client put the project on hold. 

This 200,000 SF office building has a fairly complex curtain wall geometry which required a careful review of the curtain wall submittal during CD and CA.  In fact, several in-s and out-s, together with convex and concave corner conditions, in both horizontal and vertical directions, created challenging curtain wall details.  I produced studies of some of these conditions for client approval and contractor clarification purposes, especially around the main entry lobby. I have also produced some studies for the interior of the main lobby. Other tasks for this project included amendments of the CD set to include detailed area calculations, and miscellaneous shell plan revisions.

When asked to help with the CD of this lobby, I developed the details for the security desk backlit LED panel cladding, the folding GFRG ceiling, and the stone cladding. I was also able to identify issues with the framing of the dropped ceiling being built, and point out to the contractor the inconsistency with the CD set.

A $1.3BL mixed use project in the SOMA district of San Francisco, the two million square foot development comprises two high-rise towers, along with impressive new public spaces and important new pedestrian links through downtown. Together, the buildings provide 1.35 million square feet of office space and 650,000 square feet of residential units.
As BIM coordinator for the Heller Manus team, I have been working on the SD documents for the project's four level basement.
​In particular, I was involved with the 3D modeling of the garage, the parking, and the distribution of the dense program for the hotel and residentail component of the towers above (Locker rooms, bike storage room, hotel programs such as laundry and admin offices, etc.).

This high-rise tower is designed to be erected on top of the former San Francisco Mining Exchange building, a Neo-classic Greek temple facade with a richly decorated interior hall structure to be preserved and restored. I have been working as the Senior Building Professional on the CD set, and as Revit Specialist and designer for the Mining Exchange, the historical portion of the project.
Below, an animation I produced from the Revit model.

The Mule Creek Infill Complex Project is a design-build, stipulated sum project with a contract value of approximately $330 million. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) project includes 544,000 SF of new construction, spread across 23 individual buildings. The scope of work, adjacent to the active, high-security Mule Creek State Prison, includes the mass excavation of over 1,000,000 cubic yards of material, all new site utilities and systems to support the new complex and over one mile of lethal electrified fencing.
For this project I have first participated in the Competition and then I was in the team that developed the project from DD through 100% CD. I was the BIM manager for the HOK office. I have also produced some renderings for marketing purposes.

For this 275,000 SF, $165 million San Mateo County jail, I revised the CD set of drawings, particularly all exterior elevations sheets; I have also remodeled and documented the roofs.