Architectural Designer · Corona, California

Jose
Martinez III

Built to be used.
Made to be remembered.

Designer, filmmaker and preservationist. I came to architecture through a fire station, a writing desk, a film set and a job site. Every one of them taught me how a building is used, built and remembered.

Architectural Designer, Ruhnau Clarke Architectssince 02.2024

See the work
Night rendering of a modern three-story house with wood cladding, lit windows and desert landscaping
Small Lot SubdivisionPlate II

01Selected work

4 projects · Cal Poly Pomona studios

  1. Rendering of a glass-enclosed truss bridge spanning a rocky mountain river among pine treesI

    Hy-Bridge

    Student science observation center

    A river crossing that is also a small public biology lab. The bridge is the building.

    Type
    Bridge + laboratory
    Place
    Mountain river site
  2. Night rendering of a modern three-story house with wood cladding, lit windows and desert landscapingII

    Small Lot Subdivision

    Smart housing for a new generation of professional couples

    Three-story small-lot homes for Gen Z couples who value cost, technology, sustainability and a break from tradition.

    Type
    Multi-family residential
    Place
    Hollywood, CA
  3. Watercolor-style rendering of the converted medical plaza with a curved entry canopy and a parking lotIII

    Abrazo Medical Plaza

    Adaptive reuse, from multiplex to medical center

    A 50,000 sq ft 1980s movie theater becomes a medical center for Goodyear, Arizona.

    Type
    Adaptive reuse · healthcare
    Place
    Goodyear, Arizona
  4. Rendering of a brick path through a green park leading to a low brick-clad wellness centerIV

    Open Door

    Mind wellness center

    A mental health center that trades locks and sally ports for courtyards, orange trees and trust.

    Type
    Behavioral health
    Place
    Riverside, CA

Made by hand

Physical study models. Before the render and before the drawing set, there is something you can pick up and turn in the light.

Tall white physical model of a steel lattice tower on a black ground
Tower study
Grey concrete-like physical model of interlocking rectilinear volumes
Volume study I
Grey physical model of interlocking volumes seen from another angle
Volume study II

02Profile

Five trades.
One through-line.

I design rooms with weight to them: honest structure, real materials, light let in on purpose. Then I put something warm at the center, a hearth, a courtyard, a reason to stay.

I work in Revit, Rhino and SketchUp, render in Lumion and Enscape, and still build physical models by hand. I tell the story of a project the way I learned to in film school, so clients and stakeholders can see it before it exists.

  1. IFilmHow a space tells a story
  2. IIFireHow a building behaves under stress
  3. IIIWritingHow to say it in fewer words
  4. IVBuildingHow things actually go together
  5. VArchitectureAll of it, at once

Design

  • Conceptual design
  • Architectural rendering
  • Site analysis
  • Sustainable design
  • 3D modeling
  • Physical model making
  • Interior design
  • As-built documentation
  • Historic preservation
  • Client communication

Software

  • Revit
  • AutoCAD
  • Rhinoceros
  • SketchUp
  • Lumion
  • Enscape
  • Photoshop
  • Illustrator
  • InDesign
  • Premiere Pro

03Experience

  1. February 2024 – Present

    Ruhnau Clarke Architects

    Architectural Designer · Southern California

    • Designing on the architecture team at Ruhnau Clarke Architects.

  2. 2015 – Present

    MHS Home Improvement

    Owner · Corona, CA

    • Leads home improvement work across installation, demolition and repair of building components and materials.
    • Designs and builds sustainable, drought-tolerant landscapes.
    • Coordinates crew and subcontractors, with a high rate of repeat clients.

  3. Jul – Dec 2022

    God’s Pantry Food Bank (via Cal Poly Pomona)

    Independent Study / Internship · Pomona, CA

    • Designed a shared bathroom for a women’s transitional living house, meeting with clients to develop and present options.
    • Produced existing site and floor plans and as-built drawings for permitting.
    • Researched design guidelines with the Pomona Historic Preservation Commission and worked with the Pomona Planning Department.

  4. Summer 2021

    City of Hope

    Intern · Duarte, CA

    • Produced as-built drawings for medical facilities, the basis for relocating and rebuilding key campus buildings.
    • Joined weekly construction and planning meetings and walk-throughs with art consultants.
    • Researched nursing wards with evidence-based design methods, and regional historic art for a renovated lobby.

  5. 2007 – 2010

    Riverside County Fire Department, Station 19

    Firefighter · Riverside, CA

    • Responded to medical emergencies and fires, working with captains on tactical assessments.
    • Ran community fire-safety education and station inspections.

04Education

  1. 2019 – 2023

    Master of Arts, Architecture

    Cal Poly Pomona

    • Volunteer conservation at the Manzanar National Historic Site, and a short documentary on the work
    • Research and documentary on Craig Ellwood and Associates for a university museum exhibit
    • Co-author, “Going to Zero,” a sustainability study of the Stahl House (2019)

  2. 2017

    Associate of Science, Construction Technology

    Norco College

    • Invited to show live drawing in the Fall Exhibition

  3. 2013

    Bachelor of Arts, Creative Writing

    Cal State San Bernardino

    • Cum laude, 3.8 GPA, Dean’s List every semester
    • Published nonfiction, “The Probie” (2013) · Sigma Tau Delta

  4. 2009

    Associate of Science, Fire Science

    Riverside Community College

    • “Top of the Class,” Fire Academy
    • Firefighter 1, EMT and Hazardous Materials certifications

  5. 2005 – 2010

    Filmmaking

    Academy of Art University · New York Film Academy

    • Short film “Silence the Raven,” publicly screened

05Service

  • Habitat for Humanity

    Fundraising and build labor

  • A Brush with Kindness

    Home restoration

  • Riverside County

    Homeless outreach and assistance

  • God’s Pantry

    Food distribution

  • Riverside County

    Emergency medical response team

06Contact

Build
something
worthy.

Say less. Mean all of it. Write and I’ll answer.

LinkedInin/josemartinez3designs