BM3
BENJAMIN MAESTAS III
DANCE | ART | DESIGN
PROFILE
Born in Los Angeles, California, Benjamin Maestas III moved to Seattle to attend Cornish College of the Arts where he received a Bachelor of Fine Art in 2003. After dancing professionally for over a decade he received a Master in Architecture from the University of Washington in 2013. His interests lie in the manipulation of space in the body or in built form. He uses site-specific installations to draw attention to the built environment as a method of spatial exploration. Currently Benjamin is an Associate at Third Place Design Co-operative in Seattle where he is an architectural design lead and manages projects in design phases as well as in construction.
EDUCATION
University of Washington
Master of Architecture
December 2013
Gohar Khatoon Girls’ School Studio
Robert Hull/Miller Hull Partnership and Elizabeth Golden/University of Washington, Department of Architecture/Seattle, WA.
The late architect Robert Hull, cofounder of the Miller Hull Partnership guided this studio that would eventually lead to the building of the Gohar Katoon Girls’ School in Mazar-i Shariff, Afghanistan in 2015. Passive design strategies and traditional building methods were key in the design as well as having a thoughtful approach to designing for a culture that is very different to our own.
Dorte Mandrup Studio
Mandrup Master Studio/Dorte Mandrup and Peter Cohan/University of Washington, Department of Architecture/Seattle, WA.
Distinguished Danish architect Dorte Mandrup, founder and owner of Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter in Copenhagen, Denmark, led the studio that explored how portions of the Seattle Waterfront can be revitalized post Viaduct. The project designed the spaces that would eventually be vacated once the Viaduct is to be removed. Through design charrettes, team analysis, programing and meticulous individual critique a multitude of projects were created that attempted to recapture the essence of Seattle’s waterfront.
Cornish College of the Arts
Bachelor of Fine Art in Dance
May 2003
Degree focus on performance.
RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE
Third Place Design Co-operative
Associate
2014-Current
Responsibilities include:
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Taking on the role of production staff to project management from early design phases through construction administration.
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Perform building code analysis that complies with the appropriate jurisdiction and agency.
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Perform technical research for building systems, materials and overall building components including developing complex detail and drawings.
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Manage correspondence/coordination with consultants on both residential and commercial projects types.
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Manage drawings sets while coordinating with in-house staff on all phases of design while meeting deadlines.
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Successfully resolved and coordinated complicated permitting issues on residential, commercial and rehabilitation project types.
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Successfully brought in clients from personal network, created fee propsal and managed project through completion.
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Currently the lead for a 28,000 sf commercial project in construction reviewing and answering all RFI’s and submittals.
Architectural Designer
2014
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Responsibilities included creating permit drawings for single family residential projects including generating as-built drawings and taking measure-ups.
Architectural Designer
2013
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Responsibilities included creating renderings and graphics for project RFP’s and competition proposals.
Intern Architect
2010
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Responsibilities included creating production drawings and graphics for marketing and pro bono clients.
PUBLIC ART COMMISIONS
Bound In Time
Site-Specific Performance Installation | 9.12.2014 | Seattle, WA
Funded by Space.City-Seattle and Friends of the Waterfront Seattle as part of the Seattle Design Festival 2014.
A Meeting In An Unlikely Place
Site-Specific Performance Installation | 8.1.2013 | Seattle, WA
Partially funded by City of Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs and The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.
40 Days
Site-Specific Performance Installation | 10.2010 | Seattle, WA
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE | INVITED SPEAKER
Invited Speaker
Invited to be a guest speaker for SPEAKEASY: Dancing About Architecture.
November 2018
Tacoma School of the Arts
Guest Artist
Choreographed a site-specific performance installation on the dance company performed at the Museum of Glass Plaza in Tacoma.
February - March 2013
PRO BONO/VOLUNTEER WORK
This nonprofit organization is Seattle’s premier art center dedicated to contemporary dance and performance. They were granted a space in a vacant building
awaiting demolition. I assisted in their permitting process with the City of Seattle.
2016
Friends of the Waterfront Seattle
Ambassador
2014-2015
COMPUTER SKILLS
Vectorworks
Rhino
Vray
Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop)
Autocad
Sketchup
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel)
2010 - present
2010 - present