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Professional
info
My name is Nadia Constan-tatos, a junior architect and urban designer with a deep passion for my craft and the potential thereof to help shape the world in a positive way. Born in South Africa, my career began at the University of Pretoria where I completed both my Undergraduate and Post-graduate Honours degrees in Architecture. With just two short years of experience in practice and a great many more in design and creative thinking, I earned an enormous opportunity to further my education at the Spitzer School of Architecture in New York in 2018, where I have not only furthered my own knowledge within the discourse of Architecture, but also that of the discourse itself.
I am an energetic, positive and passionate person aspiring to develop a range of skills within the architectural spectrum. I love travelling, learning cultures and its people - in order to design for them successfully. I am a creative and social person, who believes that successful design comes with human understanding.
Education
UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA
2012 - 2014
UNDERGRADUATE: BACHELORS BSC ARCHITECTURE DEGREE
UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA
2016 - 2016
POSTGRADUATE: BACHELORS ARCHITECTURE HONOURS DEGREE
BERNARD AND ANNE SPITZER SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, NEW YORK
2017 - 2018
POSTGRADUATE: MASTERS IN URBAN DESIGN
Skills
G R A P H I C S // T E C H
PHOTOSHOP
INDESIGN
ILLUSTRATOR
DAVINCI
RHINO 3D
GRASSHOPPER
AUTODESK REVIT
ARCHICAD
AUTOCAD
V-RAY
SKETCHUP
LUMION
Q-GIS
SEFAIRA
ARDUINO
3D PRINTING / CNC
PHOTOGRAPHY
POTTERY
OIL PAINTING
ACRYLIC PAINTING
WATERCOLOUR
CARPENTRY
SKETCHING
FASHION DESIGN
FURNITURE DESIGN
Languages
ENGLISH
AFRIKAANS
Awards // Competitions
BERNARD AND ANNE SPITZER SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, NEW YORK
2017 - 2018
THE LEBBEUS WOODS AWARD FOR VISIONARY DESIGN
EXTECH AWARD - given for excellence in technology (team project)
GOTTSMANN ARCHITECTS
2016
The International Property Awards for Africa and Arabia ‘Highly Commended for a Single Residence’ with Gottsmann Architects - House 653
WASHINGTON POST'S BRAND STUDIO
2019
Imagining New York City's Transportation in the Year 2050
ArkXSite
2019
Mausoleum_Jaspe Quarry “Serra da Arrábida”, Portugal
Publications
TERREFORM CENTER FOR URBAN RESEARCH
BERNARD AND ANNE SPITZER SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, NEW YORK
WASHINGTON POST BRAND STUDIO WITH JUDAH FRIEDLANDER
WASHINGTON POST BRAND STUDIO: IMAGINING NEW YORK CITY'S TRANSPORTATION IN THE YEAR 2050
Work
experience
GOTTSMANN ARCHITECTS _Johannesburg, SA
JUNIOR ARCHITECT
2015 - 2016
My artistic and architectural progress grew in my first year of working, where I was a part of a small yet talented residential firm of 8 employees. My main responsibilities at Gottsmann Architects included concept design, schematic design, digital modelling, as well as production of construction documents, detail drawings, renderings, and energy calculations. I was given the sole responsibility for the documentation of our first competition for The International Property Awards for Africa and Arabia where we were awarded ‘Highly Commended for a Single Residence’ for House 653. This project went on to appear in Habitat Magazine: Jan/Feb 2016 ‐ Avante Garde Farmhouse as well as in Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate Newsletter under the title: Award Winning Home. This was amazing for my development as I was fresh out of school and ready to expand. In this firm, I learnt a wide variety of factors in the field of architecture and saw projects grow from start to finish, and thus applied these skills the following year on my return to school to complete my postgraduate degree in Bachelors of Architecture Honours.
GOTTSMANN ARCHITECTS _Johannesburg, SA
JUNIOR ARCHITECT
2015 - 2016
During my studies, I assisted in projects from a distance, where I worked on the technical documentation and council drawings.
SORKIN STUDIO _New York City, USA
INTERN
JAN 2018
During my winter break (I will never understand what a "break" is) at the City University of New York for my masters degree, I assisted my professor, Michael Sorkin with The Center of The Global Camel Village International Ideas Competition “Camel City” in collaboration with Scalar Architecture, Saudi Diyar Consultants, Thinkwell, Level Infrastructure, BuroEhring, Klingmann Architects and Brand Consultants. My responsibilities included design execution, conceptual design, digital modelling, urban movement and planning, graphics, renderings, and presentation layout - while simultaneously learning that not only horses and chickens race one another.
TERREFORM URBAN RESEARCH _New York City, USA
RESEARCH
JULY 2017 - PRESENT
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Terreforms’ mission is to investigate the forms, policies, technologies, and practices that will yield equitable, sustainable, and beautiful cities for our urbanizing plane, where my responsibilities included researching and investigating different means on how to improve our planet through innovation and the manner in which we inhabit it, while proposing various forms of representation for increased understanding.
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‘Waste Not’ to be published in 2019, which investigates the creation of a system without waste
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‘Home Grown’ to be published in 2020, is a design proposal and collection of essays that interrogates the limit and logic of self-sufficiency in the realm of urban food systems; exploring how New York City could advance autonomously by supplying its own food and energy, and managing its waste, water, climate, construction, and mobility
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STV INCORPORATED _New York City, USA
DESIGNER | INTERN MANAGER
AUG 2018 - AUG 2019
Main responsibilities include schematic design, digital modeling and organisation, design development to construction documentation and details, as well as architectural renderings and graphic presentation. Some of the projects are included as follows:
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New Terminal One at Newark Liberty International Airport with Grimshaw Architects
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Department of Correction: Rikers Island - Rose M. Singer and George R. Vierno Center
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Penobscot County Justice Center
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Worcester County Jail and House of Correction
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County of Rockland Capital: Highway Department/Emergency Operations Facility
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New York City School Construction Authority - PS077
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New York City School Construction Authority - PS087
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MTA New York City Transit
2802 ARCHITECTS _JHB, South Africa
ARCHITECT
AUG 2019 - PRESENT
COMMERCIAL | HOSPITALITY | HIGH END RESIDENTIAL | INTERIORS | FURNITURE DESIGN | SITE ADMINISTRATION
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Main responsibilities include schematic design, digital modeling and organisation, design development to construction documentation and details, international site administration as well as architectural renderings, furniture design, graphic presentation, social media management and website design. Some of the projects are included as follows:
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Rue Vernet, Office Refurbishment - Paris, France
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In the early stages of my career at 2802 Architects, within 3 months I was given sole responsibility on the project (and new to ArchiCad) and was flown to Paris in administering the process through construction.
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Design development // construction documentation // site administration
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Pumbu Residential Apartments - Kinshasa, DRC
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Currently, I have the sole responsibility on a seven storey residential development in Kinshasa, where I have been involved in the schematic design, design development, to construction documentation
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Kinmarche Distribution Center - Kinshasa, DRC
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Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction documentation
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3d Renderings
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Modelling in Rhino and ArchiCAD
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Serengeti Lodge - Serengeti, Tanzania
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Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction documentation
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Site administration/visits - Kenya // Tanzania - March 2021 // May 2022
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One of two Lead designers - >10 000m2 project
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Main area structural review & detail
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Construction drawings & details
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Collaboration with specialist requirements ie. kitchen / laundry / spa
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Collaboration with mechanical / electrical / telecommunications / water treatment facilities / solar facilities and calculations
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Development of room typology and user experience
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Furniture design & execution
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Shop drawings & inspections
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Unique designs per room type (ie. King / Twin / Family / Suite etc)
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Collaboration with local artists
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Interior design
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Fabric selection
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Mood boards
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FFNE
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OS&E
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Recommendations
MICHAEL SORKIN
DIRECTOR, ARCHITECTURE CRITIC, PROFESSOR
Sorkin Studio
2017 - 2018
"She is one of the most innately talented students I’ve had in my teaching career, including being a professor at Yale, Harvard, Columbia, and other schools of distinction. She is naturally gifted when it comes to design which is very rare as most students need to be taught or inspired. Her ability to imaginatively think through and frame a design problem is extremely probing and original and her skills in both design and representation are truly breath-taking.
She is a person of great personal qualities, warm and of the highest integrity. She eagerly takes
on responsibility, works phenomenal hours, and was a spark-plug for the entire class.
Nadia is without doubt one of the two or three most innately talented students I’ve had the pleasure of teaching during my 40 year career. Nadia Constan-Tatos carries my very highest recommendation and I urge you to stop beating around the bush and hire this marvelous architect. She will surely rise to the pinnacle of our profession and you will be lucky indeed to have her among you."
DARKO HRELJANOVIC
VICE PRESIDENT - DIRECTOR OF DESIGN
STV Incorporated
2019
"It is with great please that I offer you this letter of recommendation regarding Nadia Constan-Tatos for your consideration. Nadia has been with STV Architects for a little over a year during which period she has worked primarily under my supervision. She has assumed responsibilities that included being the project designer and project architect on several important projects and has performed well in those capacities. Nadia is an accomplished designer with skills in Revit, AutoCAD, Illustrator, and Lumion.
Nadia works well with others and can easily assimilate herself into a team environment. She is dedicated to her work and will commit to the required hours to get a task completed. She will take the initiative to do the research needed to better the design solution and to offer alternatives for evaluation. Most recently, she has worked on a very large design/build airport terminal project that has been extremely taxing on the team in time, deliverables, and coordination needed. She has performed exceptionally well under pressure even though she was a late addition to the team and had minimal familiarity of the project.
Nadia and I have been working together for the past year and I have become reliant on her skills and insights. She has been a pleasure to work with and has always comported herself in a professional manner in everything she undertakes. I can trust that a task assigned will be executed well and comprehensibly.
It is with a great sense of loss that I recommend Nadia to you. It is unfortunate that the complications associated with her work permit have necessitated her to leave our firm. Her future remains bright and I wish her success as she seeks a new professional environment to further her talents."
RON LEM
SENIOR ASSOCIATE
STV Incorporated
2019
"With regards to my relationship with Ms. Constan-Tatos, I was her immediate supervisor
whilst working on the Newark Terminal One at Newark Airport, in New Jersey, USA; myself
being a lead architect for that project. We were collectively employed at STV Incorporated
in NYC for this project. It is with this that I feel qualified to speak about Ms.
Constan-Tatos abilities as an exceptional designer and thinker.! !
Ms. Constan-Tatos is not only a focused and dedicated individual in the endeavors of art
and design, but has what would be considered exceptional critical thinking. Ms. Constan-
Tatos has demonstrated the aptitude to maintain and further a concept beyond
normal expectations. Her approach is never linear; instead investigative; and ultimately
a synthesis that manifests the idea. She recognizes the phenomenological situation that
a spectator embodies when there is a situation placed before them. Siting her recent
competition entry for ‘Site Masoleum’, she looked to engage the spectator to comprehend
and embody an idea of a the site; as opposed to a mere intervention. An extremely
well considered project which conveyed the meaning of the chosen subject, and the
way to convey its presence in an architecture.! !
So it is an honor and pleasure that I provide this letter on behalf of Ms. Nadia Constan-
Tatos, to support her application for the aforementioned research role.! !
Thank you for your consideration, on behalf of Nadia Constan-Tatos. I without hesitation
recommend her consideration for the position.!"
DONOVAN GOTTSMANN
DIRECTOR
Gottsmann Architects
2015- 2017
"Nadia carried a positive attitude both at the workplace, making the office environment a
pleasant place when she was present. She manages her time efficiently and is able to work well both in a team and as an individual. I was particularly impressed by her ability to adapt and learn quickly. She is hard working and able to manage multiple tasks and projects at the same time. She understood the importance of time in the working field and she was able to complete
her tasks on time, after which she always requested new work to continue with. In my
opinion she has a high output level with an incredible enthusiasm for work. She is observant, thorough and exact about her work. She is a strong academic and I believe with the proper mentorship her skills and qualities could be focused and enhanced.
Nadia had limited interaction with clients as she was still in a junior role at our firm.
When she did interact with clients either on site or via email, she was very polite and
professional. She had a positive attitude and had she stayed on at our firm, I would have
let her meet with clients more as I believe she would have been able to build on
relationships.
I believe her to be loyal with good moral values. In my opinion she is trustworthy and
reliable. In a world of business where most employees are out for themselves, I found
her to have the businesses interests at heart."