ARCHITECTURE

PORTFOLIO
ARNIE SANTOYO
AS
EDUCATION
University of Illinois at Chicago
Bachelor of Science in Architecture
Overall GPA: 3.51/4.0, Major GPA: 3.55/4.0
Cum Laude
William Jones College Preparatory High School
High School Diploma 2015-2019
Arnie Santoyo
EXPERIENCE
Chicago, IL 60623 University School of Architecture August 2022-December 2022
Undergraduate Teaching Aide during the Fall 2022 semester. Responsibilities included helping
(773)614-9714 new incoming undergraduate architecture students in my section with their course work, keep-
ing track of grades and attendance of students assigned to my section, lead discussions, and
arnie.santoyo@gmail.com software tutorials.

E-commerce small business owner May 2019-Present

Responsibilities include packaging and shipping, customer relations, item acquisition, compet-
itive Pricing Analysis. Researching potentially profitable products for re-sale. Photography of
TAB LE OF CONTENTS
products to increase sales and revenue. Marketing of products to increase sales and revenue.

HONORS 04 Time
2021 Kenneth Schroeder Scholarship Award for Best second-year undergraduate project
Spring 2022, Thomas Kelley

2021 UIC Year End Show Spring 2021 Project: Comfort Shack
26 Carved Paths
2021 Undergraduate Talent Tuition Waiver Awardee Fall 2021 Fall 2021, Zehra Ahmed
2021 Dean’s List Spring 2021
2021 Dean’s List Fall 2021 38 Comfort Shack
2022 UIC Year End Show Fall 2021 Project: Carved Paths Spring 2021, Johannes Berry

2022 UIC Year End Show Spring 2022 Project: Time

54 This One Doesn’t Go to
2022 UIC Year End Show Fall 2022 Project: Refinement
Eleven
2023 UIC Year End Show Spring 2023 Project: This One Doesn’t Go to Eleven Spring 2023, Kelly Bair
2022 Undergraduate Talent Tuition Waiver Awardee Spring 2022
2022 Dean’s List Spring 2022 73 Refinement
Fall 2022, Thomas Kelley
2022 Dean’s List Fall 2022
2023 Visual piece “Window” was selected for publication in fall 2023 volume of Graphê
92 Study Models
HARD SKILLS
Platforms Microsoft Office, Windows and OSX Operating Systems, Google Drive Applications
BIM & 3D Modelling Rhinoceros 3D, AutoCAD, SketchUp Pro, Enscape, Autodesk Revit 110 “Window” Visual Piece
Graphics Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, Procreate, Hand Sketching, Painting
Model Making Laser Cutting/Engraving, 3D printing, acrylic, concrete casting, plaster casting
Language Fluent in English and Spanish
Other Photography, Sculpture, Computer Savvy, Sewing

SOFT SKILLS
Problem-Solving
Dependable
Customer Service
Quick Learner
Effective Communication
Teamwork
Adaptability
Willingness to learn
Enjoys helping others

REFERENCES
2 3
 T i me
Spring 2022
Instructor: Thomas Kelley
Studio led by: Stewart Hicks
Selected for UIC’s Year End Show 2022

A room is defined by the amount of time one

spends inside. The system of rooms is organized by a
12ft x 12ft grid, which is distorted by a 6ft offset of smaller
rooms that interrupt the organizational and material rules
followed by the standard-sized rooms. Each room is cod-
ed with a material that encourages a person to spend
different lengths of time performing specific or unpro-
ductive tasks.

Model showcasing colored plas-

ter wall that ages at a faster rate
than any other material

4 5
 Floor Plan 1 Floor Plan 2

6 7
 Floor Plan 3 Section A

8 9
 Series of images showcasing 3 different wood block
models made during the design process, each focus-
ing on the organizational method used in plan and
section.

10 11
 A 1ft x 1ft tile is used throughout the building to
reduce or increase the suggested usable square footage
of a room, as well as to note where different activities and
objects may serve the occupant of a room. At times the
smooth 1ft x 1ft tile transitions from the walls of a room
to the floor to push the perceived boundary of a room
towards the center of the room and to reduce the area of
activity and furniture. In other instances, the once smooth
1ft x 1ft tile is replaced by weathered tile and stops mid-
way down the height of a wall, allowing the floor material
to extend up into the walls to push the perceived bound-
ary of the room away from an occupant, and thus in-
creasing the space of activity and furniture. In the small-
er offset rooms created from the offset grid, a colored
plaster wall ages at a faster rate than any other materials
found in the project to index the extent of time a person
might spend. Through temporal material strategies and
shifting finish edge conditions, a room might encourage
one to spend a lifetime or an instant inside.

Series of images showcasing different material

studies conducted during the design process
with a focus on unique visual and tactile qualities
that demonstrate age, while capturing a viewers
attention.

12 13
 Model images of final wall details Images showing light study conducted with
final wall showcasing the heavily textured
material

14 15
 Model showcasing a plan view of the
ground floor.

16 17
 Model showcases a elevation of the 3 types of rooms used in
the building. Each with a material that encourages a person to
spend different lengths of time in the space.

18 19
Model displaying enfilade be- Model displaying aged plaster
tween rooms showing walls and furniture

Model displaying aged plaster Model displaying aged plaster Model showcases a small room created by an offset. The plaster ages at
walls and its relationship to tile mate- a faster rate than any other material found in the project to index the ex-
rial in adjacent room. tent of time a person might spend. Aged embedded furniture is shown.

20 21
 Model displays the enfilade and Model showing enfilade and
relationship between rooms. relationship between rooms.

22 23
 Model showcases how smooth
tile is used to push the perceived
boundary of a room towards the
center of the room, reducing the
area of activity and furniture.
24
Model showcases the use of
weathered tile floor material to
push the perceived boundary of
the room away from an occupant,
and thus increasing the space of
activity and furniture
25
 C a rved Pa th s
Fall 2021
Instructor: Zehra Ahmed
Studio led by: Clare Lyster
Selected for UIC’s Year End Show 2022

Through a series of mathematical operations,

including the rotation, repetition and the geometriza-
tion of fragments from two precedents, the project
generates a new topography and buildings on the site.
The plan is organized by a grid of carved paths that
extend from the boundary of the old I + M Canal Trail
to residential neighborhoods on the north and west,
creating new lines of contact between the site and the
Village of Seneca. Through this intensive application of
the pattern to the entire site, the project blurs the sharp
distinction between enclosed space and exterior land-
scape, as well as ground and building elevation. The
paths not only provide easy access to the fragments of
buildings that erupt from the grid but also bleed into
the interior of the buildings as a material program.

Exterior rendering of children’s

play building and surrounding
landscape

26 27
Cut Site Plan
 Exterior rendering shows the 3-D zoning diagram with key and
ground and building elevation movement arrows
condition and public space.

30 31
 Exterior rendering of local farmers Top view image of site model
market showing relationship with showing carved paths, buildings
carved paths and canal path in orange

32 33
 Rendered extract from section A
showing interior of social building
and local farmers market

Top view of model shows the Rendered extract from section A

carved paths relationship to showing interior of children’s play
building and camp-site. building and exterior playground

34 35
 Isometric drawing shows interior of
children’s play building. The carved
paths can be seen “bleeding” into the
interior of the building influencing
circulation and creating space for
program.
36
Isometric drawing shows large
public space, change in elevation
of the carved paths and carving of
buildings.
Section B showing local farmers
market and social building.
37
 Co mfo rt Sh a ck
Spring 2021
Instructor: Johannes Berry
Studio led by: Antonio Torres
Selected for UIC’s Year End Show 2021
Kenneth Schroeder Scholarship Award for Best
Second-year undergraduate project 2021

Using two different joints together, a structure

best described as a Shack Building is created. The
building provides public and private areas that can
be used to rest and relax. The buildings ideal location
would be near hiking trails, or in a dense forest to pro-
vide a safe area to rest. Large textile walls are used in
the interior to divide the space into public and private.
These textile walls can be unbuttoned to create larger
public or private spaces. Each private space, contains
benches which are designed using one of the two
joints. The interior walls and floor have been removed
to expose a soft pink foam that is used for insulation
and as a comfy material that people can use to rest on.
The exposed soft foam in the interior contrasts with the
hard rigid metal on the exterior. The project uses the
two joints to create what appears as a traditional ar-
chetype building in architecture. Through the two joints
every element of the building from roof, gutter to walls
etc is created, resulting in a not so traditional archetype
building.

Exterior rendering of shack

building

38 39
 Roof plan Floor plan

40 41
Isometric View of building and
surrounding exterior
 Section Floor Plan

44 45
 Front Elevation Tranverse Section

46 47
 Side Elevation Longitudinal Section

48 49

Interior Perspective showing
textile walls and benches cre-
ated using one of the created
joints. Also highlights the foam
floor, walls, floor joists and ceiling
condition.
50
Plan Detail
The building was created using two joints, one joint uses
a rope to tie together sheets of metal and the other uses
metal wire to join pieces of wood together.
Using the rope and metal joint multiple long sheets of
metal are tied together to create vertical columns. The
rope that is used to create these vertical columns also ties
together sheets of metal together to create the facade
walls.
Then using the metal wire and wood joint a wood box
structure that surrounds the vertical metal columns is
created. This provides extra support and fills in the needed
space in between the foam walls.
The wire that is used to join the wood pieces is also used
to join the textile wall along with the vertical columns, this
helps keep the textile walls up. Finally, The metal and
rope joint has also been used to create floor joists and to
create the elements of the roof, such as gutters or hori-
zontal beams.
51
 Exterior Perspective showing fa- Series of 12 images showing how
cade details and roof details such the seam works to hold all parts
as protruding rope and metal together
seam and roof gutter detail

52 53
 T h i s On e Do es n ’t G o
to El even
Spring 2023
Instructor: Kelly Bair
Studio led by: Kelly Bair
Selected for UIC’s Year End Show 2023

This One Doesn’t Go to Eleven, proposes a two-

unit multi-family house for the Chicago neighborhood of
Homan Square. Sited adjacent to the 290 freeway, the
building proposes a dual-layer building envelope that
speculates on the hybridization of two types of addi-
tive manufacturing (large format 3d printing) to mitigate
sound. The first system employs onsite 3d printing using
concrete and recycled bio-plastic aggregates to create
a lighter weight structural shell on the exterior imbued
with the colors of the site on which it is constructed. The
second system uses off-site manufacturing by printing
interlocking foam panels that control the acoustics both
outside of the building and between the units. When lay-
ered the two systems produce geometric incongruence
between the interior volumes and the exterior mass. The
use of 3d printed foam acoustic panels allows for an
open floor plan with minimal partition walls. A third sys-
tem reuses the wood scaffolding used in the on-site 3d
printing to construct a permeable colonnade that con-
nects the domestic building with an accessory building.
STUDENT NAME
Urbanistically, the accessory building serves as a com-
munity resource for audio recordings (music/oral histo-
ries, podcasts, etc) and acts as a stage backdrop for per-
formances.

Elevation Photo of two-unit

multi-family house Model

54 55
 Object-Building Image

The project’s representation references both the history of the design process (the act of
making a physical model to scale) and speculates on the construction scene (the act of
Site Isometric Drawing
building at 1:1) by situating both worlds within the same image scene. The site isometric
along with plans and sections visualize the spatial, material, and site/program strategies for
the project.

56 57
 a a a a a a a a a

b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b

a a a a a a a a a
Floor Plans (1st-3rd floors)

58
30’

Photo of Window Detail

30’

Transverse and Longitudinal Photo of Roof Skylight Detail

Sections

60 61
 Photo of East Elevation Photo of West Elevation

62 63
 Photo of North Elevation Photo of South Elevation

64 65
 Photo of Plan View Photo of Window/Mass Detail

66 67
 Photo of Material Detail Photo of Material Detail

68 69
 Photo of North Elevation of Photo of South Elevation of
Accessory Building Accessory Building

Photo of West Elevation of Photo of East Elevation of

Accessory Building Accessory Building

70 71
 Photo of Accessory Building

Photo of Window Detail from

Accessory Building

Photo of Window Detail from

Accessory Building

72 73
 R efi n emen t
Fall 2022
Instructor: Thomas Kelley
Studio led by: Thomas Kelley
Selected for UIC’s Year End Show 2023

Sited in the Keck-Gottschalk-Keck Apartments, a

three unit (i.e. Chicago 3-Flat) apartment building de-
signed in 1937 by the brothers, George Keck and Fred
Keck, the project defines refinement as the pursuit of
a synthesized whole. The project views refinement as
a subjective process requiring an understanding of the
time in which the refinement was done. It argues re-
finement is not a finite process, but something that is
ever-changing, due to the implications of different time
periods as well as changes in needs and tastes.
The refinement argues on the side of a difficult
whole being unattainable, given the changes that occur
over time. Over time, taste, people’s needs, technology,
what we deem as a “landmark”, and program all change,
and thus for a building that changes over time refinement
is impossible.

Interior rendering of Level 1 living

and dinning space

74 75
 01
NORTH

I HH H GG G FF F E DD D CC C B BB A AA

11


1


22

2
33
01 02
WEST EAST

3
44

L L



4
55

66

02
SOUTH

Site Plan

SITE PLAN | SCALE: 3/16" = 1'-0"

76 77
Original Building

New Alteration Ground Floor Level 2 Floor plan

Level 1 Floor plan Level 3 Floor plan

78 79
 1 2 3 4
11 22 33 44 55 66

ROOF
+35'-10"

LEVEL 3
+26'-9"

LEVEL 2
+17'-8"

LEVEL 2
+8'-7"

5551

LEVEL 1
+0'-0"

West Elevation West Elevation Render

80 81
I GG H FF G F EE E DD D CC C B BB A AA

South Elevation South Elevation Render

82 83
 East Elevation East Elevation Render

84 85
A AA BB B C CC D E DD F EE G FF GG H I HH

North Elevation North Elevation Render

86 87
 Longitudinal Section Transverse Section

88 89
 Longitudinal Section render
looking South

90 91
 Interior render of Level 1 office
space

The project aims to further refine the traditional Chicago three-

flat through a series of alterations that improve or fix common
issues that plague the typology over time, it also attempts to
refine issues specific to the Keck’s refined three-flat. Some of
these issues include a lack of natural sunlight, specifically in
the center of the building, a reliance on stairs as the sole way to
move through the building, unusable terraces during the win-
ter months, and a lack of connection between the site and the
neighborhood.

Original Timeline Perspective Plan

1970-1990
1990-Present

92 93
 BRICK HEADER

COMMON BRICK

3/4” FINISH FLOOR

2.5” CONCRETE FLOOR
SLAB

10” PRECAST CONCRETE

JOIST 30” O.C.

3/4” PLASTER CEILING

ON METAL LATH 1” SPRAY INSULATION
2” FURRING

3/4” PLASTER ON METAL LATH

LIGHT WELL ALTERATION SECTION | SCALE: 3/4’’= 1’-0

LOUVER ALTERATION SECTION | SCALE: 3/4’’= 1’-0
Louver Alteration Section, showing Lightwell Section, showing relationship
shadow with furniture

94 95
 Interior render of Level 1 hallway Interior render of furniture in
Level 1 living space

The alterations each occur at varying degrees of intensity

each contributing to a “deadpan” effect. The “deadpan”
effect can be summarized as an initial lack of expression
that results in a false sense of the whole that deteriorates
the longer it is viewed/analyzed. The deadpan implies
less contrast, to disguise the fragments that make up
the building. The original building is present in a “ghost”
like way, but it becomes more discernible the longer it is
viewed.

Interior render of Level 3 hallway

96 97
 Interior render located in the east Interior render located in the west
area of Level 3 area of Level 3

98 99
 Interior render of Level 1 living Interior render of Level 3, terrace
space addition

100 101
 North Elevation of Model, refinement Longitudinal Section of Model looking
shown in red North, refinement shown in red

South Elevation of Model, refinement Louvres located on West Elevation of Exposed elevator located on North
shown in red Model, refinement shown in red Elevation of Model, refinement shown
in red
102 103
 Stu d y Mo d el s

A few study models created during the design pro-

cess of a project. Over the course of my time studying ar-
chitecture I have learned to appreciate the use of models
not just as a means to represent final ideas or proposals
but as an integral part of the design process. They are an
important medium that allows me to think through ideas
and solve problems during my design process.

Image of a study model focused

on surreal transitions caused by a
mirror.

104 105
 Model showcases the bleed of
material past a partition wall.

Model focused on a abrupt transition between separate

rooms. The study blurs where one room ends and an-
other begins by bleeding the floor materiel of one room
past the partition wall creating a space that is “not regis-
tered”. Ambiguous moments are created by this blurring
of rooms.

Model showcases the bleed of material past a partition

wall. Also showcases different material qualities shared
and not shared by adjacent rooms

106 107
 Model that studies abrupt transi- Model that studies a surreal transi-
tions between rooms caused by a tions between rooms caused by an
change in room shape and dimen- anamorphic graphic of a circle.
sions

Model that studies abrupt transi- Model that studies a smooth tran-
tions between rooms caused by a sitions between rooms caused by a
change in material and color. shared color and material finish.

108 109
 “W i n do w”
Set to be published in Fall 2023 volume of Graphê

Photography has played an important role in how I

view, approach, and document architecture. During my
undergraduate studies, I have learned and honed pho-
tography skills that I continue to refine as a hobby aside
from my architectural studies. This photograph was taken
using an iPhone 11, with post-production work done us-
ing the iPhone editing tools and Adobe Photoshop. It was
selected for publication and will be part of the Fall 2023
volume of Graphê, The Department of English’s Journal
of Writing & Art at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Photo of a window located in the

UIC School of Architecture building

110 111
 Thank You!

112 113