This document summarizes and discusses several projects related to architecture and design. It begins by describing a project called Reaction Studio IV, which used reaction-diffusion algorithms to design an organic-shaped skyscraper with unique interior spaces. It then summarizes a proposed park project in San Diego that would use recycled materials and have activities split between morning and evening sides. Finally, it discusses a concept for a future community center in San Diego's IDEA District that would be shaped like a single-celled amoeba and focus on technology, creativity, and public learning.

1. PORT the
creative
work of
FOLIO Juan Zepeda

2. © 2014
Juan Carlos Zepeda
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

3. REACTION Studio IV, 2013
San Francisco DIFFUSION Reaction diffusion is all around us. It exists
in you, in animals, in plants. To sum up
what exactly reaction diffusion is, it is the
calculation that represents the difference
of two subjects in one space. For example,
how your freckles are distributed amongst
your body, or how a cheetah gets its spots.
Not two cheetahs in the world have the
same spots. We took this calculation and
used it to design a new type of skyscraper.
We questioned why does a skyscraper
get designed all the same, and instead
decided to design in section. We wrote
a code for the reaction and mastered its
forms to create something with total control.
We were able to create spaces such as
auditoriums and offices by manipulating
the code to reacted the way we intended.
We designed for the structure to exist on
the outside of the building working like an
exoskeleton, erecting the building and
allowing for organic shapes to exist as the
spaces. This project pushed creativity to
new heights, opening my mind to different
ways of view a space and redefining what a
space can be and represent.
8 | Project #

4. 10 | Project #

5. F STREET
12 | Project #
THE I.D.E.A.
The Idea district project is a project
currently being planned for San Diego.
The park is a fraction of that concept,
by bring back art to the community.
The project called for student built
structure and with all recycled material.
It was going to be a temporary project,
therefore we designed it to dismantle
fast and effortlessly. The site is located
in downtown, on 13th between F and
G street. Its location has the advantage
of high traffic, F having the most in the
mornings and G in the evenings. We took
this for consideration and decided to
design the park with two halves, spliting
the sites activities based on time of day.
F streets morning traffic would be treated
by the complex PVC piping facade. The
site currently is wrapped with a chain
link fence. We proposed to include a
second fence and fill all the perforations
with pipes. This would allow the pipes to
be pushed and pulled by pedestrians,
creating all sorts of angulated surfaces.
As people and vehicular traffic pass
by, the pipes would be completely
transparent, yet at an angle they block
vies and function as a wall. This is the
northern edge wall, and in the northern
side of the park we have space reserved
for physical activities such as morning
fitness of community markets. In the
center of the site we chose to include
structures and served as seating units.
These units would have planters with
different vegetations and also be mobile.
In the evenings, the majority of the
traffic is directed down G and away
from F street. As the sun sets and the
moon shines, so does the south part of
the park. With a local billboard reused
to project images and small clips. The
fence would also aluminate to mimic the
vehicles that pass by.
DISTRICT PARK
13 STREET
8”
10”
1”
18 ”
26 ”
4”
5”
18 ”
18”
5”
48”
24”
2”
11”
5”
G St
F St
Park Blvd
13th St

6. YR 2050 IDEA DISTRICT
The Community Center being proposed
in upper East Village is the big innovative strive
to bring technology and futuristic innovation to
not just the I.D.E.A District but to the public. The
community center would be a showcase of the
newest technological advances in: digital media,
virtual holograms and augmented reality, human
augmentation, real / digital arts, and public
entertainment. It is in collaboration with the
expansion of the City College and the growing trend
of education. The Center will provide for open
learning sessions, welcoming any and everyone
to learn about said technologies. The Center will
also have a Research Center (separate building)
that is more private and exclusively linked and
affiliated with the neighboring college. Here new
technologies and developments will emerge and
be showcased for the public in the indoor/outdoor
exhibition spaces. It will be ran and funded by
private companies and investors whom invest large
amounts of money into the I.D.E.A District, the
leading district of tech and innovation in the state.
The Concept behind the community center
is simply, complex. The core concept comes from
the simplest yet complex life form, the single cell
amoeba. The amoeba is a heterogeneous shaped
cell with no sense of symmetry. The Community
Center is a single celled “building” that works
independently and yet it falls into a giant network, the
City of San Diego as it’s transformation from generic
city to a much more organic city, self sustaining and
powerhouse. The concept also stretches out to the
way an amoeba consumes nutrition like the building
will engulf the research center and use its nutrition
to display for the public. The building should be
adaptable and be completely organic in shape. It
will span two blocks and allow for Broadway to still
continue and the building spans over the Blvd.
The Program calls for many spaces, that indulge
imagination, creativity, productiveness, and emotion.
There are three main installations to the site, which
spans two vertical blocks between C/E Street and
13th/Park Blvd. One being the research center, a
private space with exploration rooms, research labs,
Studio IV, 2013
14 | Project #

7. 16 | Project #
holo-room (experimental room to test latest enhancements in virtual reality), digital library, and
server rooms / chiller cooler room. The actual community center will be the biggest building
with programming detailing: main lobby, exhibition spaces, learning and study studios, theater
/ auditorium, planetarium, public holo-rooms for virtual reality, offices, cafeteria, lounge space,
and a public digital library. There will be an outside Amphitheater that will display live and or
virtual performances. This site will also have a mixture of real and digital gardens. This will
keep a real piece of nature (a rare item in future) back into the site that is unchangeable, and
digital landscape that can or will change daily.

8. Studio IV, 2014
REJUV BALBOA Balboa Park, San Diego The purpose of this study and design is
to research, understand, and determine
why landfills are not used as an energy
resource, specifically in inner city limits.
To understand the troubles, politics, and
social factors tied in. Methods of extracting
landfill gas and converting it to energy. With
global energy crisis constantly becoming
more of an issue, can a local city landfill be
fitted with technology to generate power
and decrease greenhouse gases emitted
into the atmosphere and toxins leaking
into the environment? In this thesis I will
investigate technologies available, city and
economic limits, construction process
and design process. Ultimately design
a solution to re-purpose the landfill for
community use. Have on site conversion
to power, and possibly share the site for
the community and look into build-able
spaces and designing landscapes. Many
new technologies and methods are in
development and sources and studies
show much improvement in preventing
greenhouse gases, and are real efficient in
converting the landfill gas into energy.
18 | Project #

9. | Project #
PLANT SITE
The site is located in on the east side of Balboa Park,
San Diego. The site started off as the landfill created
during the creation of the park. Originally, prior to
becoming a municipal landfill, San Diego used the
site to discard all the trimmings from the vegetation
used during the creation of Balboa. It soon was
renamed Arizona Landfill and became open to the
public and waste management. It remained open
until the late 70’s and has been closed ever since.
The site currently is barren, only populated with a
few trails and a couple of trees. This site completes
the east part of Balboa, yet its the deadest part,
consisting of no tourism, pedestrians, attractions,
or activities. It’s a shame since it has beautiful
views to the Prado, downtown, and Hillcrest.
Converting this site to a park starts with the site
plan. A cohesive design would be needed to blend
all the elements of the program together. This site
plan involves working with existing conditions and
adding new elements. Current conditions include,
angular topography with elevations differences up
to 15 feet in elevation. There are existing pathways
on the site, that are created by vehicular and
pedestrian movement. A flaring site, where all
landfill gas is channeled and burned. Lastly, a plant
nursery located on the east side of the park. The
existing area has a road that connects to Pershing
Dr., and it’s commonly only used by employees
that overlook the landfill’s activities and monitoring
systems, to which now would be the connecting
road to lead to parking for visitors, landfill staff, and
the newly expanded nursery. The nursery would
expand east till it reaches the road. With the extra
space, the nursery would have more room for the
park’s vegetation needs and for visitors to buy
local grown vegetation. Newly added paths would
guide visitors and make it easy to navigate around
the enormous site.
Some people might call it ironic. The irony
is in the fact that our municipal waste can
actually have a positive impact. The plant will
use the gas created by our buried waste and
convert it to power. The paths that currently
exist on the site actually create the spaces
that will be used. All equipment used are
modular and assembled on the site. The
plant would serve as one of the attractions of
the park, and pedestrian pathways provide
the public to see the exposed equipment.
20 PROBLEM
The problem with global warming is
growing at an alarming rate. We constantly
drain the planet of resources and emit
more greenhouse gases. The planet
is only capable of recovering so much
greenhouse gases. As population grows,
the need for energy is more abundant. As
we deplete our reservoir of buried fossil
fuels, and deplete coal mining and turn to
more and more importing exporting fuels,
it will only cause more harm and isn’t the
most efficient. Every town, city, county has
a local untapped resource of natural gas.
Local landfills actually generate natural gas
(CH4) methane that could be reverted to
energy. The problem being that no landfills
are fitted to extract and convert gas to
power. Studies conducted by the EPA has
determined that landfills within 5 miles of
city or towns are perfect candidates to
this process. Concerns of dangers, foul
smells, and noise are not an issue, actually
it will also solve all that, as the technology
is efficient and quiet enough to operate
with minimal emissions, low noise levels,
and no foul smells.

10. 22 | Project #
Converting this site to a park starts with the site plan. A cohesive design would be needed to blend all the
elements of the program together. This site plan involves working with existing conditions and adding new elements.
Current conditions include, angular topography with elevations differences up to 15 feet in elevation. There are
existing pathways on the site, that are created by vehicular and pedestrian movement. A flaring site, where all landfill
gas is channeled and burned. Lastly, a plant nursery located on the east side of the park. The existing area has a
road that connects to Pershing Dr., and it’s commonly only used by employees that overlook the landfill’s activities
and monitoring systems, to which now would be the connecting road to lead to parking for visitors, landfill staff, and
the newly expanded nursery. The nursery would expand east till it reaches the road. With the extra space, the nursery
would have more room for the park’s vegetation needs and for visitors to buy local grown vegetation. Newly added
paths would guide visitors and make it easy to navigate around the enormous site.

11. MUSEUM THE MARITIME Studio III, 2012
San Diego, CA
24 | Project #
San Diego has a long history with naval
activities. It has perfect waves, boats,
a navy, and boathouses. The ocean
has been a big influence of San Diego’s
history. This project would show case
art pieces and historical artifacts for the
public. The museum would also have
a tour of a World War II submarine.
Located on the fish market restaurant,
adjacent to the Midway Museum, the
site open up opportunities for the public.
The site has park space, a ocean view
and art is displayed through out the
site. The museum’s design concept is
inspired by the harmonious manta ray.
This creature is gentle and intimidating
by nature and those attributes where
important for the form and structure of
the building.

12. 26 | Project #
LONG SPAN
The Maritime Museum is a long.
Its reach of its roof span grand
distances, and bend and fold in a
very smooth transition. Over half
the building is open space, so the
challenge was designing a structure
that can support the roof and take up
minimal space. The roof geometry
would dip and at its lowest point, a
structural column would distribute
its load to the foundation. These
columns twist and transfer the load
in a unique way. They are forty feet
apart and allowed for grand open
spaces. The columns are located on
the deepest dips the roof has, thusly
also have a system in place to collect
all run off water. The roof is perforated
CONCRETE FINISH
I BEAM (TRUSS)
DROP CEILING
VERTICAL
LATERAL TIES
LOAD BEARING
CONCRETE
with large disc shaped glass. The
glass perforations are inspired by the
spots on a manta ray’s back. They
bean in solar light to aluminate all the
art on the floor. The windows have
a light tint to then, this protects the
inner art from UV radiation damage.
Additionally, the museum’s main
attraction would be its docked
submarine. Half of the submarine
in located inside, and the other
half hangs out the back side of the
building like the tail of a manta ray.
Visitors to the museum, can board
the ship and enter. The sub is as
well a museum, giving visitors the
opportunity to experience a retired
ship that fought in World War II.
STRUCTURE
LOAD BEARING
LOAD BEARING
CONCRETE FINISH
I-BEAM VERTICAL
REINFORCEMENT
STRUCTURE