The owner, Jesús González, and the contractor, Carlos Lázaro, were very courageous in accepting and building the exposed concrete structure, an innovation at that time.
SALAMANCA CONDOMINIUM Santurce, Puerto Rico
Sited on the ocean shore, this condominium was a study in light and shadow. The exterior of the building used sun breaks and overhangs to protect the interior from direct sun and maximize wind flow within the interior.
MARVEL RESIDENCE Santurce, Puerto Rico
This was an experiment in designing a comfortable family house on a small property in the middle of Monte Flores in Santurce.
MARVEL RESIDENCE Santurce, Puerto Rico
Section & Floor Plans
BEAUCHAMP RESIDENCE Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Planned with an interior patio, the house was a model of living spaces integrated with gardens.
BEAUCHAMP RESIDENCE Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Section & Floor Plans
CARMELITE CONVENT Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
A community of cloistered nuns purchased a rural property for their convent. The building reflects their austere life and the spaces respond to their rigorous lifestyle. Ramps between levels were designed for processions. The two interior patios have different ground levels, the lowest dedicated to practical duties, while the intermediate is a more spiritual space.
CARMELITE CONVENT Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
Site plan, sections and church interior
MUNICIPAL COLISEUM Bayamón, Puerto Rico
This project was a study in massive circulation. Ramps were located in the corners of the building, also serving as anchors for the steel roof deck. The location of the project was dictated by an urban design study of the downtown area of the city, also prepared by the architect.
MUNICIPAL COLISEUM Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Section, interior perspective and floor plans
MUNICIPAL BASEBALL STADIUM Bayamón, Puerto Rico
The mayor of Bayamón specified that all the seats should be covered to protect spectators from the elements. A cable-hung structure was designed for this purpose. A side benefit of the covered area was the intimacy it created between the public and the game.
SCIENCE BUILDING Universidad de Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus
There are three departments in this Science Building: Marine Sciences, Physics and Geology. Each has specialized laboratories while they share office spaces and classroom areas. The windows and openings were carved out the of outer walls.
SCIENCE BUILDING Universidad de Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus
Sections, floor plans and perspective
FEDERAL BUILDING Saint Thomas, Us Virgin Islands
The Federal Government chose a site for its building in an urban renewal area of the bay in Charlotte Amalie. Located within a historic district, the architecture had to have a traditional character. The notion of an interior patio provided the privacy and tranquility needed for a courthouse, while the sloping roofs and windows gave the building the form and patterns of colonial architecture.
FEDERAL BUILDING Saint Thomas, Us Virgin Islands
Site plan, perspective and light-shadow studies
EDUCATION BUILDING University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus
Sited as a backdrop for the former track and field complex, the Education Building was also conceived as an extension of the original campus quadrangle. It was planned with a bridge connecting the gallery of the main theater to the building's second level. The principal circulation and stairs are open to the view of the immense green space and the Student Center. Special care was taken in the design to ensure shade in windows and open corridors.
EDUCATION BUILDING University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus
Site plan, plans and perspective
NATURAL SCIENCES BUILDING University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus
A Master Plan was carried out for a science complex within the University Campus. The design concept envisioned an open-ended series of wings, each for a specific department. Corridors became streets, interconnecting all of the major components of the building. The mechanical and electrical installations are exposed in the interior. Along with the exposed concrete finishes, the building was meant to demonstrate the technical installations and basic materials utilized in its function as a science center.
NATURAL SCIENCES BUILDING University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus
Floor plans, section and perspective
PLAZA DE LA ROGATIVA Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
The Rogativa sculpture by Lindsay Daen was chosen to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the founding of the city of San Juan. The theme, la Rogativa, celebrates a procession that took place of the night of April 30th, 1797, when all the women of the city walked along the city walls carrying torches in vigil while praying for the deliverance of the city from British invaders. Believing that the torch lights meant reinforcements were on the way, the British troops fled under the cover of night, thus saving the city from falling into enemy hands. It is a special site, on top of the city's military walls, or "murallas". Attention was given to the form, expressing movement as a procession, as well as to the materials to complement the walls and the historic Old San Juan district.
MAISON GOELET Saint Barths, French West Indies
The client wanted an exclusive retreat in the Caribbean, a residence for entertaining guests and family. The house is located on a private beach in a verdant lush setting of shoreline vegetation. It was designed for natural ventilation and informal living. A central garden is the focus of all the spaces. It was never built.
MAISON GOELET Saint Barths, French West Indies
Site plan, perspective and floor plan
US EMBASY GUATEMALA Guatemala City, Guatemala
The new Embassy Office Building replaced an older building in the downtown area of the capital city. The new location was a principal avenue lined by monumental buildings. The program called for a dignified structure to represent the United States Government in a foreign country.
CITY HALL AND THEATER Bayamón, Puerto Rico
For lack of an adequate property for the new city hall, for the first time in Puerto Rico, it was decided to use air rights over a highway as the project site. The obvious metaphor of the building was a bridge structure, anchored on both sides of the highway. Included in the complex are offices for the Mayor, the Municipal Assembly and a Municipal Theater, as well as general departmental offices.
CITY HALL AND THEATER Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Site plan, sections and floor plan
SHELLEY RESIDENCE Dorado, Puerto Rico
Located on a property overlooking the golf course of the Dorado Beach Hotel, as well as the ocean, the residence was envisioned as a hacienda. Wide surrounding terraces and balconies provided for outdoor living as well as for protection of the interior spaces from sun and rain. Except for the bedrooms in the second floor, the structure was designed for natural ventilation. Its image is timeless, as the house could have been just as appropriate 100 year ago as it is in this era.
SHELLEY RESIDENCE Dorado, Puerto Rico
Site plan, floor plans and perspective
PASEO DE DIEGO Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Rio Piedras is historically a dynamic shopping area. It became so congested, with a mix of vehicles and people narrow side walks, that a shopping mall was both needed and feasible. The first in Puerto Rico, it has remained vibrant to this day. The life in Paseo de Diego was thought to be as important as the shopping, thus kiosks, shelters, stages, and street furniture were provided, creating a kind of living space between the stores.
COVADONGA PARKING GARAGE Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
The Municipally of San Juan promoted this parking garage as part of the plan to alleviate traffic in the old city. It was sited on land where a rail road terminal, a grand baroque building, had been demolished by the State Government over a weekend to prevent protests. The design of the parking garage evokes memories of the terminal building as a way of lamenting its demise. The fenestration of pre-cast panels was derived from the rhythm of windows in the architecture of the old city.
COVADONGA PARKING GARAGE Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Site plan, section and floor plans
BUS TERMINAL Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
As an integral part of the transportation center in Old San Juan, the master plan called for the AMA bus terminal together with the Covadonga garage. The terminal was built several years later. It was planned with a commercial arcade for visitors to the waterfront area. A large lantern over the corner structure was designed to simulate a lighthouse, a beacon for the tour ships that dock there.
OUR LADY OF PROVIDENCE SANCTUARY Design Competition: Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
The Archbishop of San Juan sponsored a competition for a sanctuary for the patron saint of Puerto Rico, Our Lady of Providence. Located on a site in the downtown area of Hato Rey, the program called for a space to accommodate 4,000 people, chapels, and meeting halls to be as much a center for the community as for worship. The design intent was to have a soaring interior space with ventilation and natural illumination at the upper level similar to an urban living room, with three sides open to patios to accommodate more people when demand warranted. The design won first place but was never constructed.
OUR LADY OF PROVIDENCE SANCTUARY Design Competition: Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
Interior perspective and site plan
WEST INDIES BUILDING Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico
A leading advertising agency, West Indies, acquired a prominent urban site located in an area developed at the turn of the 20th century. The agency wanted a signature building that would project an image of creativity and stability. The design continued the "urban wall" of the neighboring buildings in Puerta de Tierra. The interiors were planned in detail around a multistory space.
WEST INDIES BUILDING Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico
Site plan, sections and floor plans
COLEGIO REGIONAL DE LA MONTAÑA Design Competition: Utuado, Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico held a competition for the design of a new campus in the mountain town of Utuado. It called for an agricultural college with an enrollment of 2,000 students, and an expansion plan. The site chosen for the campus was a mountainside. This winning design was based on a plan that stepped along the contours. The design emphasized an urban grid of buildings around a series of patios. At the ground level area, arcades provide protected walkways among all academic spaces. Due to its location in the cool central mountains of the island, the majority of the spaces were designed for natural ventilation.
COLEGIO REGIONAL DE LA MONTAÑA Design Competition: Utuado, Puerto Rico
Campus site plan
BANK OF BOSTON Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
The Bank of Boston, with a long presence in Latin America, decided to locate in Puerto Rico. It purchased a site for its headquarters in the banking district of Hato Rey and commissioned the design to our office. The property was a corner site in the center of other banks. It was decided to place the building at a forty-five degree angle to emphasize the corner condition and entrance façade. In keeping with downtown planning at that time, an upper level was designed to be the main banking level with connector bridges to other buildings above the surrounding avenues. The intent was to design a tropical office building with overhangs and recesses for windows and other openings.
BANK OF BOSTON Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
Section, floor plans and light-shadow study
NATIONAL LIBRARY Design Competition
The public Building Authority sponsored a design competition for a National Library in the New Center of San Juan. The program specified a building design with a very visible interior and open atmosphere. The concept of this project was to put all departments within the sight of a person entering the building and to make the central space exciting and exhilarating. This project won second place, and, if it is any consolation, the first place design was never constructed.
NATIONAL LIBRARY Design Competition
Section perspective
NATIONAL LIBRARY Design Competition
Site plan and floor plans
CENTRO EUROPA Santurce, Puerto Rico
The economy of the Santurce area had deteriorated as the business and population moved elsewhere. Banco Popular of Puerto Rico and Interlink Inc. teamed together to promoted a revival of the "Stop 22" area. Centro Europa provides parking, offices and retail space in a mixed-use complex that has served as a catalyst for the renaissance of the neighborhood. The building has several scales: monumental on the highway side, modest on the avenue side, and intimate on the side, where all the different uses converge. A purposeful attempt was made to design a building in a style that seems as if were always there.
CENTRO EUROPA Santurce, Puerto Rico
Section perspective and floor plans
BUSO-GARCIA RESIDENCE Miramar, Puerto Rico
The Miramar residential neighborhood was developed at the turn of the 20th century and many of its structures date from over 70 years ago. The site for this residence is on a low-density street. Because of its urban location, the concept called for an interior patio, as a way of organizing the interior spaces. Perhaps, the architecture is reminiscent of Antonin Nechodoma's projects, many of which were located in Miramar.
BUSO-GARCIA RESIDENCE Miramar, Puerto Rico
Floor plans and section perspective
BRIDGE ROUTE 66 Design Competition: Carolina, Puerto Rico
The Department of Public Transportation and Public Works sponsored a competition for a bridge design for the new Route 66 from San Juan to Fajardo. More than twenty-five entries from ten countries were submitted. This design won first place, with the Office of Ove Arup as structural engineers. Disappointingly, it was not built.
BRIDGE ROUTE 66 Design Competition: Carolina, Puerto Rico
Section and perspective
DACHA LAWSON RESIDENCE Vieques, Puerto Rico
The client, an international banker, wanted a house for entertaining and for breaks from his busy schedule. Sited in a peninsula above the sea, the residence takes full advantage of the views and drama of the landscape. Extensive balconies and terraces in three sides emphasize the tropical living that the house affords.
DACHA LAWSON RESIDENCE Vieques, Puerto Rico
Floor plans and perspective
BISCOMBE RESIDENCE Utuado, Puerto Rico
On a site high above Dos Bocas Lake, the owner wanted a weekend house. The interior spaces are minimal, as most of the living will take place on the generous covered terraces and in the surrounding gardens. To preserve the privacy of the house, vehicle parking is remote, so that visitors would have to experience the nature of the property before arriving at the entrance. The project has not been built.
BISCOMBE RESIDENCE Utuado, Puerto Rico
Floor plan, section and entrance perspective
MEN'S RESIDENCE Universidad del Sagrado Corazón: Santurce, Puerto Rico
As part of a program to maintain and increase the quality of the educational program, the University wanted to create a resident population of students. The dormitory for 200 male students is located on a property at the edge of the campus. The surrounding parking area, the north entrance, and a green plant nursery that will be a passive park will be improved as an important component of the project. The design of the building reflects the room modules in order to reduce the impact of the large structure in the neighborhood.
MEN'S RESIDENCE Universidad del Sagrado Corazón: Santurce, Puerto Rico
Sketches, site plan and typical floor plan
CATHOLIC CHRUCH at PALMAS Humacao, Puerto Rico
The Catholic community of Palmas del Mar commissioned the office to design the new church on a narrow site. The design combines the traditional style of Palmas with a contemporary expression for a new church in the 21st century. The design of the interior space responds to the new liturgy of the mass.
SANTA MÓNICA CONDOMINIUM Santurce, Puerto Rico
The owner, Jesús González, and the contractor, Carlos Lázaro, were very courageous in accepting and building the exposed concrete structure, an innovation at that time.
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