Casa Tortuga is an in-progress residence in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. Situated at the edge of the Pacific Ocean alongside Alberto Kalach’s noted Casona Sforza, the site plan comprises three separate residences around a communal pool. For this project, I was provided with the architect’s working AutoCAD drawings to construct two scale models: A 1:500 site context model and 1:125 study of the northwest residence. Contour line layouts were generated in AutoCAD from topographic surveys for the outsourced CNC cuts of the cork base. 3D-printed site context models were created in-house. Trees and lower lying vegetation were guided by drone footage. My responsibilities included the overall aesthetic of the model, the design and creation of all trees/vegetation, site “legend” graphics (compass, scale, custom drawn font), and coordinating with an office team member for placing and affixing the 3D-printed structures.

Tasked with designing and constructing the entire 1:125 scale model of the northwest residence, I represented the vertical utility core (solid pine element), existing trees, proposed vegetation, additional contours reflecting the larger scale, and vertical louvers on the southeastern-facing façade. This scale representation served as a study for later iterations of this façade, and what treatment it would eventually receive in later designs.

Additionally, I embarked on a project to define the visual style of the practice’s presentation drawings—designing trees, varieties of plants, and landscaping rocks in Adobe Illustrator to match those in my model-making. Assigning colors, textures, patterns, shadows, and specific line weights, I’ve endeavored to create an “object library” for these natural and landscaped elements to embellish the architect’s AutoCAD work, challenging the ubiquity of the universally sourced, overly repetitive forms of CAD blocks.

Architect: Jesus Lopez, Cartesiano Studio, Plaza de la Rupublica 55, Mexico City, 2024

The project is in the final design phases, and is awaiting construction.