Archinect
Ricardo Souto

Ricardo Souto

New York, NY, US

 
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About 

I was born in Cuba, in the outskirts of Havana, into a peculiar community of artisans, sculptors and painters forgotten by the pass of time. El Cerro, in 1986, was a dull and small city with a population divided by the only two trades available at the time: stealing, or selling art to foreigners. My family sampled from both. My world was an ever-changing chaos determined by the debris of whatever enterprise fascinated the Aurelianos of my Macondo. That's how I learned to sculpt, paint, engrave, design and navigate in a world of ideas and inspirations that materialized little by little in the corners of every room: in sculptures circumscribed within stolen train track sleepers, in furniture carved out of palm tree trunks, or miniature collections of the history of sailing boats.

I have followed the family artistic tradition by becoming an architect. But I am as much a painter, a sculptor, and a writer. My work, just like the world I burst out of, is rescued from the debris of whatever means I use to express my thoughts. Sometimes I paint my ideas, sometimes I write about spaces, and sometimes I sculpt the words that I lack.  

Ricardo's Featured Articles on Archinect

Protecting our Unconscious. Controlling our Inspiration?, Thu, Sep 13 '18

The role of Archinect’s series Cross-Talk is to bring forward the positive aspects of the polemic and allow for the resulting conflict to bring to life an otherwise still and comfortable climate of creativity—if there can be one. Cross-Talk attempts—if to only say ...

Protecting our Unconscious. Controlling our Inspiration?
 

Employment 

5+design, Hollywood, CA, US, Jr Designer

•AWARDS:
DEEJ Campus: World architecture Festival (WAF)
Best Production Energy And Recycling- Shortlist
Jumeirah Central: Retail & Leisure International (RLI)
Future Project Award

•BUILT PROJECTS:
Solaris Transit Center. Salaryevo, Russia (2014 - present)
DEEJ Campus. Shandong, China (2014-2017)

•ARCHITECTURAL Design:
Most of my experience in this company revolved around architectural design in groups between 4 to sometimes more than 10. My participation was divided into the design of the building, the landscape, and interiors, but also in the illustration of the presentations for clients, renderings, and architectural drawings.
-DEEJ Campus (Shandong, China) Participated from Schematic Design along with Eric Belknap to the stage of construction documents.
-SALARIS Transit Center (Salaryevo, Russia) Participated from Schematic Design along with Gene Pyo to the Design Development.
-D3 Entertainment Hub (Dubai, UAE) Participated from the Schematic Design to Design Development.
-DISNEY Hotel (Los Angeles, USA) Collaborated with Brian Honda (Mix Studio Works) in the Schematic Design stage.

•MASTER Plan:
I had the opportunity of having worked in a variety of master plans in China, and Dubai. My involvement required road design, parceling plots, orienting buildings in the most efficient way, but also illustrating presentations for clients, rendering, and architectural drawings.
The most relevant projects I worked with were:
-HANGZHOU Master Plan (Hangzhou, China) Schematic Design stage.
-JUMEHRA Central (Dubai, UAE) Schematic Design, Design Development, and a month in Dubai, working closely with marketing on a highly detailed package for clients and future investors.

•INTERIOR Design:
Some of my experience also involved interior design work, the projects that were the most relevant were:
-HENDERSON Haizhu Plaza (Guangzhou, China)
-CRUISE Ships interiors for Royal Caribean (Miami, USA)

May 2014 - Jul 2017
 

B+U Architects, Los Angeles, CA, US, Intern

Baumgartner + Uriu is a visionary and experimental office awarded with Next LA, Merit Award by the AIA Los Angeles in 2017. They combine a wild variety of influences ranging from: music, science and parametric scripting, with innovative construction techniques, and sustainable design.

Mar 2012 - May 2014
 

Education 

Columbia University, New York, NY, US, Masters, Advanced Architectural Design

AWARDS:
Dean's Scholarship (2018)

Studio Critics:
David Moon, and Nahyun Hwang

May 2018 - current
 

Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Los Angeles, BArch, Bachellor

AWARDS:
Graduation with Distinction (2014)
Merit Scholarships (2011, 2012, 2013)

Studio Critics:
Greg Walsh, Herwig Baumgartner, Dwaine Oyler, Hernan Diaz Alonso, Ali Rahim, Thom Mayne, Wes Jones.

Online Publications:
SCI-arc Online’s Student View-book
Work samples of 3rd Year
DWELL on DESIGN web-page
Work samples of 3rd Year

Printed Publications:
ONRAMP No.4 “Another Fine Mess”
Work samples of 3rd Year
SCI-arc Students’ View-book
Work samples of 4rd Year

Mar 2011 - May 2014
 

Awards 

DEAN'S SCHOLARSHIP (Columbia University), Scholarship

2018
 

FINALIST CERTIFICATE (Arcoutloud International Competition), Nomination

Last house on Mulholland Drive (Hollywood, California)

2017
 

GRADUATION WITH DISTINCTION (SCI-Arc), Other

2014
 

MERIT SCHOLARSHIP (SCI-Arc), Scholarship

2011
 

HONORS GRADUATION (Miami Dade College), Other

2011
 

Areas of Specialization 

Skills