From sketch to completion through a collaborative design process

Sketch for a residential garage door.

Completed design, worked in conjunction with architect in training, Celina Bocanegra.

I spent most of the last two years at the NC State College of Design thinking, talking and ideating about the design process. As a student, most of my efforts, be it the look into Elemental’s intervention at Iquique, or the speculation over the future of our digital identities, among others, were all framed to dissect design process. On a class-level, the explorations surrounding the issues of collaboration or a social problem such as water consumption also pursued similar ends. Today, as a working designer, I find myself re-learning my ways of working, and how these relate to my design process, and that of others.
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Recent work: State Historic Preservation Office

Recently I have had the opportunity to work on a series of identity projects for a diverse group of clients. One of the most exciting has been the challenge to re-design the visual language of Puerto Rico’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).

In a collaboration with Jorge Rigau FAIA and Miguel Ortiz, the approach intends to provide a framework on which SHPO can now establish a permanent visual structure. The project is currently being implemented, and a full system roll-out should be done in the next 2 months. Here I share some of the elements that have been generated.
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The 2009 medals in architecture

Commemorative piece given to the 2009 recipients of Puerto Rico's Architecture Awards. Design and concept by Alberto Rigau. Fabrication by Roberto Pérez.

This past Thursday, Puerto Rico’s professional college of architects and landscape architects awarded the 2009 medals in architecture. These awards, named after Ricardo Alegría, are given to individuals and/or entities who are not directly related to the discipline of architecture but who have contributed to the field in a way that can be evidenced in a substantial body of work.

Previously, this prestigious recognition had been given four times, and to my knowledge, recipients were given only a certificate. This year I volunteered and gifted the College with a design of commemorative piece to be handed out in the naming ceremony.
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