Zambrana Community

Coamo, Puerto Rico

One of over 500 disadvantaged communities included in the Special Communities Program,  “Comunidad Zambrana” is located in the southeastern limit of the town of Coamo.  Budget constraints limited the scope of work to part of the community,  but we managed to include the most critical areas and the areas for potential redevelopment.   

The documentation phase of the project included a compilation of data pertaining location, accessibility,  topography, flooding areas,  history of the settlement,  housing typologies,  zoning,  existing infrastructure (storm sewer,  sanitary sewer,  city water, electrical power,  telephone and public lighting),  solid waste management,  vehicular and pedestrian circulation,  public transportation public spaces,  landscaping,  social and cultural institutions and/or resources, recreational facilities and a comprehensive inventory of the housing stock. 

Community participation was fundamental in the interpretation of this data and the formulation of the goals and objectives to be the foundation of the Development Plan.

The Plan proposed strategies and projects required to direct the future development of Zambrana into the aspired community.  The document identified areas for future housing development and areas inadequate or unsafe for residential use, suggesting strategies for implementing the construction of new housing units, the substitution of inadequate housing,  and the improvement of housing units in need of such intervention.  The Plan also identified the improvements required to the infrastructure (storm sewer,  sanitary sewer,  city water, electrical power,  telephone and public lighting),  and projects to improve the quantity and quality of the public spaces and pedestrian circulation,   and new parking facilities.  

Master Plan UBC

Bayamón, Puerto Rico

This higher education institution recognized the need to plan the physical development of their Campus,  in order to define and coordinate their educational programs and their needs for  future facilities with projected growth,  and while doing so,   maximize the creation of public spaces,  improve the quality of life,  create a collective memory of this campus and the foster identification alumnae with their Alma Mater.  

The study assesses the existing conditions physical and public policies that will affect the physical development of the University,  the projected student enrollment and the educational programs foreseen by the institution.  The proposed Master Plan integrates the location of the university buildings,  the pedestrian and vehicular circulation,  parking facilities,  the landscape plan and the spatial sequences in a coordinated manner,  while responding to