Cuadro

09/10/2023

||||||||||||||||||||||| CASITA SANTA ROSA ||||||||||||||||||||||||

Project Team -
Design - Sharayah Jimenez | CUADRO
Build - Jose Martinez | Solid Foundation LLC
Owner/Interior Styling - Hannah Levin
Photography - Julius Schlosburg

Located in Barrio Santa Rosa, this custom casita is designed to seamlessly blend interior and exterior spaces - creating an oasis in an urban environment. Each space relates to the cardinal directions and utilizes traditional forms of Southwestern architecture in a modern way.

North – Shaded carport and bedroom take advantage of indirect light.

South – Shallow wraparound porch protects the primary bedroom and living areas but also allows for winter sun.

East – Screened Arizona Room shades the bedroom and living areas but also extends the livable space of the home.

West – Wraparound porch and outdoor bathroom shade the walls from the harsh western exposure but also provide framed views of A-mountain and the desert sky.

Sky – An exterior stair leads the habitants upwards from the Arizona Room to a rooftop deck that offers a panoramic view of the urban and mountain skylines.

Ground – All roof forms and patio areas slope towards the earth collecting in basins that will sustain a desert garden.

Every space was carefully composed to maximize a small footprint and create opportunities for indoor/outdoor living that extends the floor area of the space but also preserves and expands the mountain views that the new build would have otherwise blocked.
None of this would have been possible without an amazing team, beginning of course with Hannah and Al. From the first moment of meeting, it was clear that these two creatives were going to want something special. And although the timing and life events that unfolded made this project seem like an insurmountable challenge, the build team pressed forward and delivered an amazing project.

Tlazocamati.

05/12/2023

|||||| HOLLY STRAVENUE DINING ROOM ADDITION ||||||⁠
This sweet little project was just recently approved for permitting and is scheduled for ground breaking soon. The design goals were to make the space feel open and bright, like an Arizona room, and to make the addition feel integrated to the rest of the house. This is achieved by closely repeating windows in the same proportions as the existing historic steel sash openings. To the west, a patio door opens up into a screened, Arizona room that will help shade the walls and windows from the intense afternoon sun. The owner, Racheal has been amazing to work with, and our contractor, Amanda , make this a girl power dream team!

05/07/2023

||||||| THE KITCHEN RENO |||||||
Super excited to share this sweet kitchen reno that was completed towards the end of '22. Remodels are always a challenge, and this renovation took quite a bit of time to arrive at a cost effective yet transformative design solution. The original layout was, closed off, dark and feeling a bit dated. Afterwards, the space feels open, light and timeless. This was another dream team, and a special thank you to Cooperation Construction , for delivering a beautifully executed project on time and budget.

Project Team:

Owners: Pamela James and Jen Maiorany
Design: Sharayah Jimenez, CUADRO
Build: Evaristo Ramirez, Cooperation Construction
Photography: Julius Schlosburg

05/03/2023

|||||| THE FEASIBILITY STUDY |||||| One of the keys to growing CUADRO has been leaning into an awesome Tucson friend and family network. Two of the first friends to support were Jason & Favi , who were having a tough time deciding what to do with their property. They had R-2 zoning with a small, existing, historic casita on site, but had outgrown the home. They were considering a large remodel to add needed space, but were also interested in looking at options for a larger, detached secondary dwelling behind the existing casita. They wanted to explore the options before deciding whether to stay and invest more money in their property, or sell and look for something already built. This type of exploration is called a feasibility study and it can be a very powerful tool when considering the options for asset management; it's a quicker, easier option before committing to fully executed construction drawings. Do I go? Do I stay? What are the options for a remodel or a new build? And how will these changes fit into the existing neighborhood fabric? These are questions that are more easily answered when visualized through architectural plans and renderings. Although the family ultimately decided to sell, it still felt good to know that all of the options had been considered, and it was awesome getting to work alongside friends in the process! If you're finding yourself in a similar situation and aren't sure of what's possible, a feasibility study may be a helpful first step, DM if you're ready to begin the design journey!

04/29/2023

||||| WARD 1 VECTOR ART ||||| More vector art featuring the lovely Lane Santa Cruz and staff - just in time for Lane's 39th birthday! This year I'm helping sponsor Lane for her campaign for her re-election. See flyer for birthday extravaganza details for this Sunday, 4/30. If you can stop by, and please also consider donating to her campaign !

Also featured in the images are Lane's mains, the wonderful staff at Ward 1! Flor , Antonio and Angela . I have so much respect for this crew, and all those in public service! So excited for the work they are all doing, and all that is to come for this next season!

04/23/2023

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| MI CASITA ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
For the past few years, CUADRO has been working on community outreach and engagement for low-moderate income families who want to build casitas, or accessory dwelling units on their lots. This project has been made possible by generous funding from both the Vitalyst Foundation and the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona . Along with advocacy and education efforts, CUADRO is also developing a series of pre-approved model plans that will be available for lower cost. Stay tuned for future updates!

04/19/2023

||||||||||||||||||||||||| CASA VEINTE CUATRO |||||||||||||||||||||||||
This custom home project is located in Barrio Centro, and is being constructed by a familia of owner/builders. This has been a super fun project to work on, despite many zoning setbacks and challenges along the way. The project has been a dream of the property owner, Keanu, and it's exciting seeing his team bring the vision to life. Although construction can be a daunting undertaking, for those up to the challenge, the cost savings are significant! The project has also been planned in phases to help keep initial costs down. A porch and garage addition has been planned for phase 2. Working with owner/builder teams is a unique aspect of CUADRO, we provide design and technical assistance throughout the entire process, contact us if you're ready to take on the challenge!

03/23/2023

03/19/2023

----THE RENDERING---⁠
This was a quick, 1-week project - a rendering commission from the Tucson Industrial Development Authority (TIDA) for the new Avanza Center, an exciting small business center that will bring together resources from the City of Tucson and TIDA. The rendering is an artistic depiction that captures the overall intent, feeling and mood of what a space could potentially look like. More dream than reality, a rendering is an important tool that can be used for grant submissions, marketing, fundraising or just overall visioning purposes. Having a clear vision early on in the process, even before diving into fully resolved plans can help clients communicate their project intent with others. For the designer, this quick exercise is also an important exploratory phase into the realm of possibility. If you would like to gather your dreams into a photo-real depiction like this one, DM me for details!⁠
⁠
3D Modelling: Revit Architecture⁠
Rendering: Enscape⁠
Post Production: Adobe Photoshop

03/12/2023

---OUTDOOR LIVING---
This project is an exterior revamp for an existing, early 2000’s Southwestern Style home. The homeowner wanted to create an outdoor living area and a portico for the car at the entry. At the interior, the walls were opened up to create an indoor/outdoor connection to the exterior living area. The design repeats a similar language at the entry and at the rear yard that is a more modern take on Sonoran outdoor living. The large outdoor living space will shade the southern facade and the new large roofs will drain into water catchment basins.

03/09/2023

---TONIGHT!---
This event is happening later this evening. Super excited to be presenting alongside Alisha and Lane , two close friends, comrades and overall chingon@s en la lucha. Alisha will be sharing her experiences as director of the Mexican American Museum in Tucson, remembering our past and where we are headed. I will be sharing about my journey in architecture, launching a start-up design business, and getting involved in affordable housing policy initiatives locally. Lane will be closing us out with her story as an elected, her passion and projects at Ward 1 and what answering the call could look like for all of us.