"Before a building appeals to the intellect it will have appealed to the senses". 
                                               -  John Burchard and Albert Bush-Brown,1961

BIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE:   Upon receiving a scholarship for “Outstanding Talent in the Visual Arts”, Alex Rodriguez received his Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design and Space Planning from Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota Florida.  Entering the field of architecture and design as an Interior Designer, Alex has worked with some very well published firms in the San Diego, California, Downtown area (see resume) on projects that focused on Health-care Interior Environments, as well as Commercial and Residential projects.

On his first job as a Junior Designer, Alex was assigned the task of putting together an architectural finishes package, to be used as a guide for other designers from various architectural firms to use on their projects.  The Master Finishes Package would eventually become instrumental in the development of a “new image” for the Kaiser Foundation, Western Region, to develop a cohesive company-wide image.This immersion with finishes and materials, while simultaneously working on the Construction Administration phase on multiple projects became the tools that would eventually be used to create health-care environments, while learning to incorporate evidence-based principles that focused on the “patient-experience” and connecting with nature.

As a Sr. Designer and Project Manager he would maintain evidence-based design principals in the design and implementation of both new construction and seismic improvements (California Seismic Safety Act, CSSA) within an institution, through the “creation and application” of Master Finishes Plans for campus-wide cohesion of health care-environments that aid to achieve a “sense of place” as a means to lower anxiety and stress in both patients and visitors, creating a shift in organizational culture, and operational performance.

Now studying Architecture and pursuing a Master of Architecture degree at the University of New Mexico – School of Architecture and Planning Alex hopes to create buildings (Private Homes, Civic, and Urban Planning) that are specifically designed for a “human experience”.  Incorporating form and function that meets new environmental developments. 

Alex would also like to work developing and implementing adaptive re-use concepts of Historically significant structures as means for Preservation, and to stimulate economic development in older Colonial Towns in the Caribbean. 

Alex Rodriguez, Graduate Student, Master of Architecture - 2018