NICK MARTINEZPORTFOLIO

TESSELLATED TOPOGRAPHIES

ENCLOSURE|EXPOSURE

CREATIVE DISTRICTS

FOLDED PROGRAM

PROFESSIONAL PROJECTS

FRAY

NICK MARTINEZ

nick.martinez.la@gmail.com

756 s. broadway #509 los angeles, ca 90014

213.703.9574

TESSELLATED TOPOGRAPHIES Joshua Tree, California | Fall 2009

This project studies the existing topography through the use of tessellation patterns related to geometric form. A triangular tessellation that mediates between the building and landscape serves as the form generator of the project, while the area is seen as the transition from the suburban street and the Joshua Tree landscape. A louvered striated surface morphology reacts to the environment and modulates sunlight and wind while extending the exterior surfaces to mediate between the landscape and hardscape.

TESSELLATED TOPOGRAPHIES

FORM EVOLUTION

remapped

topography

extruded

building elements

longitudinal section

structure/skin

edited

program diagram

GALLERY SPACE

CAFE / BOOKSTORE

EVENT SPACE

WAY-STATION

RESEARCH FACILITIES

RESIDENTIAL

PROGRAM DIAGRAM composition diagramBUILDING SYSTEMS

INTERIOR VOLUME

STRUCTURE

SKIN

wall section

level 1 plan

level 2 plan

CREATIVE DISTRICTS Santa Monica, California | Fall 2008

The client is not a singular advertising agency, but rather a collective or co-op of agencies as the clients. In fact, the clients could represent many different creative fields such as architecture, interior design, or graphic design. The challenge of the project evolved to the provision of one building that could accommodate several agencies or firms of different types.

The design concept was derived from Kevin Lynch’s “Image of the City”, in which he described the 5 elements to good urban environments: district, node, landmark, path, and edge. The approach was to translate these successful urban design strategies to a building. This made sense because the challenge of creating an environment that connects its residents in a positive and planned way while maintaining the ability to adapt to changes, is very similar to the challenges of this building.

The 3 concepts of district, node, and landmark are the key elements in the building. In this way, the agencies could exist in any number of different arrangements of districts, the nodes would provide areas where people from different agencies could interact, and the landmarks would serve as reference points and open spaces

CREATIVE DISTRICTS

districts nodes landmarks

plan 2a

cross section environmental diagram wall sectionlongitudinal section

plan 2b

FRAY Los Angeles, California | 2012Nick Martinez

Out of a heterogenous, varied collective of individual pieces - a new fabric is formed. From a pile of found, disposed wood, an assortment was collected to be reassembled and reconfigured into a new piece of consolidated furniture. Each reclaimed wood strip has its own identity - a story of original purpose and subsequent abandonment. Through the varying textures and finishes, each piece is clearly seen as unique, creates its own section and exists in and of itself. However, when merged into a whole piece, it becomes a part of something more, something greater than itself When recombined into varying profiles, the pieces become a bench, a low table, a storage unit. From one end of the piece to the other, the balance in the relationship, between individual and collective, is manipulated. The bench devolves - from one end where the form is whole and the members are barely identifiable from each other to the other, where the function and form itself is disintegrated

FRAY

PROFESSIONAL PROJECTS