1. osoliman@cca.edu | 917 617 8721
This drawing is not a building. The architecture
exists in this idealized representation of a built
structure. But this is not the architecture, this
is a digital reproduction of the architecture.
This image can be thought of as a postcard.
For those unable to visit the building in per-
son or observe the original drawings this is the
only way of experiencing it. This reproduction
starts the transformation from pencil to pixel.
While the loss of fidelity that occurs diminishes
it, it still contains all of the information that is
necessary to understand it. If the the ideal villa
is derived from its proportions then its legibility
is a product of mathematics. The mathemati-
cally derived forms that result in the built villa
themselves become contaminated when the
translation from drawing to material occurs.
Ultimately the built villa rotonda differs from the
drawings that inspired it. Still its proportions
qualify it as an ideal villa. The credentials that
allow for this classification, ideal, were derived
from a series of buildings whose characteris-
tics when compiled produced a compound
ideal. A way of understanding similarities rath-
er than differences. What is the result of a com-
pilation of differences within the ideal villa?
Villa La Rotonda
Andrea Palladio
1570
THESIS
CCA SPRING 2016
Professors:
Nataly Gattegno
Brian Price
Omar Soliman

2. osoliman@cca.edu | 917 617 8721
Materials:
Fabric, Stuffing

3. osoliman@cca.edu | 917 617 8721
75’
25’
12.5’
25’
A B C D
E F G H
H
A
C
B
H
F
C
D
B
75’
25’
12.5’
25’
A B C D
E F G H
H
A
C
B
H
F
C
D
B
BUOYANT ECOLOGIES
CCA FALL 2015
Professors:
Adam Marcus
Margaret Ikeda
Evan Jones
Omar Soliman

4. osoliman@cca.edu | 917 617 8721
Native
1
2
6
3
5
4
8
7
9
11
12
13
10
14
151. Gar
2. Bighead Carp
3. Piranha
4. Silver Carp
5. Black Carp
6. Chinese Mitten Crab
7. Northern Water Snake
8. Brown-Headed Cow Bird
9. Northern Pike
10. Apple Snail
11. Common Coqui
12. Red-Eared Slider
13. Northern Snakehead
14. Grass Carp
15. African Clawed Frog
The San Francisco Bay has more invasive species than any other
major inland estuary in the world. Largely due to the proximity of
the number of ports located in the bay including the Port of San
Francisco and the Port of Oakland situated next to the site. Global
trade results in the spread of not only goods but also eco-systems.
As ships take on Cargo they release ballast water to stabilize the
vessel. This water contains species picked up at their port of origin
as well as along the trip. What makes a species invasive is its lack of
natural predators and its ability to rapidly reproduce and overwhelm
its new environment. The port of Oakland’s channel was dredged
in 2011 to increase its depth to 50 feet. The extracted material was
deposited along the inside coast of Middle Harbor Shoreline Park
to create a restorative wetland environment. The channel and the
wetlands each bring with them their own diverse ecologies. The
Center for Invasive Species will act to bridge the idiosyncratic na-
ture of the site and surrounding ecologies, emphasizing the com-
plex relationships between the built and the natural environment.

5. osoliman@cca.edu | 917 617 8721
Structure
Mountain
Site
SUMMER STUDIO 333
CCA SUMMER 2015
Professors:
Andrew Atwood
Brian Price
Anna Neimark
Omar Soliman

6. osoliman@cca.edu | 917 617 8721
STANDARD FORMS
CCA SPRING 2016
Professor:
Clark Thenhaus
Omar Soliman
Materials:
Nylon, Foam, High Heels, Latex
Paint, Wire, Found Objects

7. osoliman@cca.edu | 917 617 8721
HOUSING STUDIO Omar Soliman
CCA FALL 2014
Professor:
Neeraj Bhatia
Many homeless veterans suffer from
post traumatic stress. One of the
symptoms of PTSD is an inability to
get an adequate amount of sleep. The
lack of a good nights sleep can make
performing some of the simplest
daily routines impossible. In order
to promote a thorough rehabilitation
it crucial to address these sleeping
habits. This transitional housing unit
is comprised of an inhabitable wall
which acts as a buffer between the
commotion of the exterior city and
the tranquility of the interior gardens.
Units are plugged into the wall via
the bedroom which despite being
outward facing are fully enclosed.
The bedroom becomes a symbol
of protection that sits on the thresh-
old of the public and private realms.

8. osoliman@cca.edu | 917 617 8721
The pyramid table is inspired
by an earlier study in the fab-
rication of two intersecting
tetrahedra. The imbalance
of the natural and processed
wood in the original sculpture
are translated into the juxta-
position of a flat table surface
suspended in the center of
two intersecting pyramids.
SUNY New Paltz 2011
Professor:
Ed Felton
Materials:
Ash, Acrylic, Veneer, Plywood
WOOD DESIGN Omar Soliman
Materials:
Found Wood, Pine