Fausto Rivas & Partners Architects

The Petite library is a pavilion that houses a vending machine full of books with a virtual librarian. 2 familiar concepts presented in unconventional ways was the major inspiration for the form. A new volume in the collage of the Joe Celestin Center. Now Open.

TEAM: the other half of
CLIENT:

20250311 Vignette - Embodied Products

This weekend to make space for an upcoming addition to our house, we cut up a slab where an illegal addition used to sit. Learning from previous demolition jobs, we remembered brute force just makes a mess and gets you tired, so we decided to cut the slab into neat squares to make everything easy. After flipping a couple a couple blocks I started to notice the composition of the slab and thinking of the stories it could tell us.

With visual observation I could identify the concrete pour layers & mix, aggregate size, reinforcement, and the presence of a v***r barrier. It tells of a group who had an idea of what they were doing and cared to follow procedure but not interested enough to be careful or to consider this their craft. The large aggregate seemed to be used as filler to reduce the amount of concrete needed, probably for budget. The wire mesh though present was at varying depths, so its possible chairs weren’t used or they weren't aware of keeping it a proper height. Lastly the v***r barrier was thin and messy and you could see the fill beneath it wasn’t compacted.

Everything we build has the potential to carry with it our knowledge and intentions, but it's not always easy to listen when you can't hear these bodies speaking. This listening and conveyance is what I am practicing.

Photographed: on my shop work table, and sprayed with water to make the roots sit. (I need to find a way to preserve it)

Dimension: W 16” x L 18” x 4.5” D
Materials: 3000 PSI Concrete. #3. #4, #5 Aggregate. 6x6 Weld Wire Mesh,6mil V***r Barrier on PT Wood Stand.

Instagram has made me question my work and kept me from posting. There are so many beautiful projects and people putting lots of effort into marketing and making content. I currently don't have time to create content, but I am always creating. I am making more effort this year to share the things that come out of this process without editing. Its scary

This is a project from 2020 designed in Homestead FL. The Avocado Commons. Three apartment units organized around a shared courtyard. This organization came out of trying to maximize the allowable unit size, by keeping the units connected under one roof, we could call them apartments. For floor plan see link in bio.

The original scheme - was for a single slope roof but the client dismissed it immediately under the assumption it would cost more. I am interested in pricing these types of decisions and having evidence before they are dismissed, however on in South Florida , speculation projects often want to move faster than design research will allow, and often won't pay for this investigation.