Fundación Metrópoli, Madrid. 2020

Winner of the Best Project Award at 2024 Smart City Expo World Congress in Hangzhou,China

Project within a team of professionals.

Hanoi, Vietnam

“A place to live, work, play, learn”

Fundación Metrópoli was tasked with the conception of an Innovation District in the outskirts of Hanoi. The main concept is to create a place in which people can not only work, but also live, play and learn. A community that integrates all the elements of a highly-efficient city. These elements are represented by our urban components, such as the Global Corporation Campus, the Digital Village, Life Science Park, The Hub, and the network of streets, squares and waterfronts, which can dramatically change scale according to their function.

In this project, I participated in the design’s general decision-making, and more in-depth for the Digital Village.

The Digital Village is conceived as a place to live, with human-scale streets and building-heights, along with an organic urban fabric that creates the interesting network of streets, squares and waterfronts visible in the site plans and axonometrics. It represents a good part of my ethos for Urban Design.

My role also included creating an in-depth questionnaire for a participatory forum, video presentations, building the 3D model and rendering the main vistas, axonometrics, and a 3D-video fly-through.

Recipient of the International Designer’s Gold Medal at the 2021 Shenzhen Flower Show.

“Essence of Granada” is a celebration of the islamic heritage we enjoy in South Spain. The colour of its flowers, the imposing lightness of its arches, the beautiful simplicity of its layout and the harmony of its proportions and symmetry, all come together around the most important and central element: the water. A symbol of life and abundance, the water from Sierra Nevada made gardens like the Alhambra and Generalife possible, true havens that bring freshness to the otherwise hot city. Today we bring a little piece of these eternal marvels.

The three arches are also a central element in this garden. They dominate the scene and, along with the patterns that fill them, are a direct reference to the beautiful architecture left by the distant Islamic era in Spain. The planting also follows the rules of symmetry and add vibrance and colour to the garden. Obviously, we couldn’t use all the exact same species that are commonly used in South Spain but we aim to get as close as possible. The planting on the sides is defined by low, straight hedges and are given a sense of rhythm by the lemon trees. The palm trees create a new space around the drain and, as they are placed opposite the arches, offer balance and proportion.

Fundación Metrópoli, Madrid. 2020

Project within a team of professionals.

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia

Yuzhno-Sakhalink’s urban fabric has been growing over the years with no clear vision, leading to urban sprawl, derelict areas, insufficient quality public space, and the lack of defined districts that could structure a more livable city.

The aim of this proposal is to identify the city’s current issues and potentials, and to break them down into a series of different projects, each with a clear intention. From densifying and improving the city centre, to transforming entire areas of single-family housing into eco-communities, to creating a Green Edge that serves as a meeting point between the city and the mountains. The combination of around 10 different major projects, form a vision that will steadily transform the city over the next 40 years.

As a designer, my role in this project was conceiving the Green Edge project, a Snow City project focused on tourism, and redesigning streets such as Sakhalinskaya Avenue.

I also played a key role in the daily talks, presentations and negotiations with the clients in Russia, coordinating their needs with the team’s work in Spain.

Fundación Metrópoli, Madrid. 2020

Project within a team of professionals.

Madrid, Spain

This project is part of an inniciative to develop Madrid as one of the world’s most livable cities. Some proposals involve the city as a whole, such as the conversion of Madrid’s inner ring (M30) into a boulevard, or the creation of intermodal gates in the outer ring (M40), both aimed at reducing traffic from the city core. Other proposals involve the identification of areas with great potential in which to develop strategic projects that would activate bigger sections of the city.

My role in this project was focused on creating solutions and graphical content for the transformation of the M30, and for the series of strategic projects and areas for development.

Fundación Metrópoli, Madrid. 2020

Project within a team of professionals.

Alicante, Spain

This project envisions a new “Blue Promenade” that connects different key spaces and landmarks, both proposed and existing, with Alicante’s city centre. The most prominent one is the city’s dockyards, located right next to the city core, in which we propose its inclusion into the existing urban fabric.

My main role in this project was to design the proposal for the dock and to create the different aerial vistas and renderings.

Sustainable Urban Design Master - Lund University

Individual academic project, 2019

Santander, Spain

Download full pdf presentation here

"Reinvigorating Santander's Industrial Waterfront"

Santander, despite being a city of breathtaking landscapes and impressive potential, has yet to realize its full urban promise. With its unique location as the only south-facing coastline in northern Spain, robust infrastructure, and high standard of living, it already possesses the foundational elements required for an exceptional urban experience.

However, one vital component that is yet to be optimized is the Barrio Pesquero, or the Fishing District. Currently, this area feels somewhat detached from the city's pulse, lacking green spaces and mostly characterized by disrepair or underutilized industrial sites. Its strategic location near the city center, adjacency to the most densely populated district, and possession of 1.2 km of fenced-off waterfront space that opens onto one of the world's most beautiful bays, offers tremendous potential for development. After a century and a half of dwindling port activity, the time is ripe to reclaim Barrio Pesquero for the citizens of Santander.

This project aims to identify the optimal way to incorporate this neglected sector into the city's waterfront spaces and adjacent districts. In doing so, it seeks to completely transform and revitalize the most densely populated region in Santander, thus enhancing the overall urban experience.

Sustainable Urban Design Master - Lund University

Individual academic project, 2017

Ystad harbor, Sweden

“The City and the sea as two living organisms”

This project sees the city and the sea as two living organisms and seeks to establish a symbiotic relationship between them. To achieve this, it is necessary to turn the threats from the water into assets and to build diverse urban life around it.

Water strategies

There is a network of bioswales connecting the different areas, forming a green spine from West to East which connects to the majority of spaces, buildings and courtyards. They collect stormwater and use it mostly for their own vegetation, boosting local biodiversity.

The series of marshlands remove the energy coming from storm surges and mitigate the effects from sea-level rise. Their height can be adapted over time if necessary.

Urban life

To allow easy access from the old city, the train is reduced in voltage and speed to that of a tramway, allowing the removal of all fences and its inclusion to the urban experience.

The marshlands merge with the city life in the mixed-use harbour area and on the East side, the “Water District” offers a unique lifestyle around the canals and new marina which, combined with the office buildings around the train station, will attract new residents and commuters from neighbouring cities.

Sustainable Urban Design Master - Lund University

Individual academic project, 2018

Earthquake site, Dujiangyan, China

“Local life and tourism in the right scale”

It is easy to overlook that life in China, more often than not, happens in the small spaces, in small groups. When we think of China, we generally imagine mega-cities such as Shanghai or Beijing and, like these two, most Chinese cities have a massive scale that reflect the country’s population numbers.

It is rare to come across a city that has not built high-rise buildings yet, a city that’s keeping its small scale and original character. This design proposal seeks to keep that character, strengthened by a modernised take on the Linpan typology. These principles have led to a design that is formed by many small spaces, corners, nooks… of which the local population can feel as their own.

The main pedestrian connections create a legible structure and a seamless integration with the existing urban fabric, bringing the city centre into the site and continuing towards the other parts of the city. It als oallows tourists to explore the area while keeping the more hidden spaces for residents.

Dujiangyang’s popularity for travellers is rapidly growing, therefore it is key to create a successful combination of tourism and local communities, where tourists can experience the local life but without compromising the people of Dujiangyan’s sense of privacy and ownership to their neighbourhood.

Sustainable Urban Design Master - Lund University

Individual academic project, 2018

Ängelholm, Sweden

“A seamless experience, a seamless network”

Ängelholm has many positive elements such as the river, the beach and the countryside but right now they feel somewhat detached from each other. This project seeks to create a seamless experience, a seamless network between them.

The existing green elements now form a single structure thanks to the closing of the green loop that used to be the old rail line.

The train station area seeks to be an extension of the city centre, with a new square and a library that accommodates cafeterias and other businesses. The library’s roof is a meeting point between the city centre and the forest (see 360º panorama).

Towards the main park/green loop, there is a youth/arts centre of similar charachteristics as the library, with an accessible green roof and the start of an overpass that leads to the forest.

The new built typologies follow the existing built patterns while adding diversity in form. Following the initial phases, the newly-planted trees will then mature over the years, effectively closing Angelholm’s networks.

Competition: UN Habitat 2018

Team: Martin Näf / Fernando Camino

Wuhan, China

Wuhan is a huge and complex city, with potential to take even more advantage from its rivers and to bring the water closer to the people. Inspired by Wuhan’s song “Flowing Water”, the proposal area develops around a new inner city river, whose shape symbolizes the Yangtze River. Along this structure comes a diverse urban space, combining different uses, from new housing projects to recycled industrial buildings.

Bringing water into the city allows people to have contact with it and understand its importance. Every section of the new structure will gradually clean and filter the water through vegetation before giving it back to the Hanshui river. The shape and course of this new inner river symbolizes the Yang-Tse River, as it aims to be a role model on how to deal with urban and river water systems.

Fundación Metrópoli, Madrid. 2020

Project within a team of professionals.

Islamabad, Pakistan

Proposal for new towers in the south of Islamabad. The key objective is to create a South Gate for Islamabad and activate the city’s southern outskirts. The towers are designed to be mixed use, including residential, commercial and office spaces.

My main role in this project was to create the renders and vistas.

Selection of design work, collaborations and graphic work.

Drone mapping is an incredibly useful tool that I’ve used in several projects. It is the most effective way of gathering large amounts of data such as elevation, 3D models, and highly-detailed orthophotos with a resolution of up to 1pixel per cm2.

This is an example of a model that explores the conversion of a large, old warehouse into a versatile structure where the same pieces are used for the roof and the floors. With this system, those pieces are completely interchangeable to achieve the necessary indoor/outdoor configuration for every season or specific use. This 1/100 model offers a physical way to play around with its possibilities. It was designed to form a strong structure without the need of a single drop of glue.