Folco RICCIO F. Architect & Urban Designer EXPERIENCE: Arch. RICCIO is the founding Principal of RICCIO Architecture & Urban Design a Caracas-Miami based, cruise ship port, hotel and tourist, Design & Development consulting firm. His professional background includes over thirty years experience on a wide variety of architectural and urban design commissions, both for the private and the public sector. He has been in charge of management and administration of projects, design conception, development, coordination and production of construction documents for a wide range of buildings uses and types. Additionally, he has participated, as founding Principal of URBANA, a Real Estate Investment, Development and Construction Company, in a variety of development proposals and constructions. CRUISE SHIP PORT DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT: Arch. RICCIO has developed an important expertise in Cruise ship Port design and development. RICCIO has been involved for more than 18 years in the Cruise Industry, preparing different proposals for cruise ship ports of call. In a Joint Venture with the ENTERPRISE Development Corporation of Columbia, Maryland, a James ROUSE subsidiary, RICCIO prepared, as Principal in Charge, the Strategic Concepts for two large scale Cruise Ship Ports of Call: PuertoNuevo and Puerto de La Mar. Later on, RICCIO prepared the Master Plan for both Ports and became the Developer, Builder and Design Architect of Puerto de La Mar, a US $134 tourist development and Cruise Ship Port of Call of Margarita Island. RICCIO created, with the input and collaboration from the Cruise Lines and the FCCA (Florida Caribbean Cruise Association) a "New Concept for Cruise Ship Ports of Call" and his innovation was introduced in the Cruise Industry thru both, Puerto de La Mar and PuertoNuevo, to change forever the way Cruise Ship Ports are conceived, designed and built today. The principal innovation was to make of the Cruise Ship Port a specialized one, "A Welcoming Stage for Cruise Passengers". To make of the Cruise Port a "Destination into a Destination" and establishing the concept of the "City-Port" was the result of the architectural and urban design expertise in a large variety of developments together with a real estate practice in creating the "Best and Highest Use" as well as creating the "Best Retail Mix" in hotel, shopping centers and marketplace developments. A new vision in the approach to architecture and urban design that RICCIO framed and likes to call "URBANISM for VITALITY" has been fundamental in the creation of this New Concept for Cruise Ship Ports of Call. A design approach that puts before a "formal capriccio", considerations on human life, enjoyment, interaction, comfort, love, and all creative and social human manifestations that a "Good City" should be able to embrace for all ages, creating spaces and sceneries that promote for social interaction, vitality, pleasure and the enhancement of the spirit. PUERTONUEVO AND PUERTO DE LA MAR: RICCIO prepared the design development plans for PuertoNuevo Cruise Ship Port of Call, a sf. 2.4 million mix use and tourist construction in Puerto La Cruz. The first phase of Puerto de La Mar, Margarita Cruise Ship Port of Call, in Porlamar, is built and ready for cruise port operation. The Master Plan of Puerto de La Mar includes: Marketplace expansion with an (8) State of the Art Movie Theater, Auditorium, Fashion Center, Gourmet Plaza and specialized retails along the main street and boulevards; a 400 Suite, five stars Hotel & Casino; a 100.000 sf. Convention and Exhibition Center; a 200 Slip Marina; Parking facilities; and a luxury 400 Suite five stars Hotel & Casino, for a total of. sf. 1.5 million construction. SPACES AND BUILDINGS DESIGNED TO SUCCEED: In order to test and understand better the characteristics of the spaces and the qualities required to promote successful social interactions, attracting people, fulfill with enjoyment the visitors of the spaces designed, qualities particularly important in the design of mix use developments, shopping, hotel, cruise ship Ports, as well as a good street or a successful plaza, RICCIO hired an Event Production Company, that creates Social, Artistic, Concert and Corporate events, coordinating and producing all aspects of the most demanding events. This experience, of being involved directly with the production of events, has added valuable inputs at the moment of thinking out and design a space, a building or a combination of them, by understanding in detail, what are the elements and their interactions that make a space or building be successful or not. What it does sale and what it doesn't. URBAN DESIGN: As an urban designer, RICCIO has prepared various Master Plans for commercial, residential, hotel and resorts developments. At a larger scale, one of the most interesting Master Plans is the Special Plan and Urban Design Zoning Laws and Ordinances for the Down Town Area of Ciudad Fajardo, a new city designed to accommodate 1.5 million people of the fast growing Caracas population. The new concept for the City created by RICCIO was acknowledged because of its innovative concept and design by both, Arch. Alex KRIEGER, Dean of the Urban Design Program at Harvard Graduate School of Design and by Arch. Antoine GRUMBACH, France first prize in Urban Design and Architecture. A visionary scheme for a better, successful city and feasible development is offered in the Master Plan for "The Porlamar's Riviera": a challenging Urban Design proposal for a (2) miles new waterfront development.. The Plan includes a Waterfront Promenade along a new set of Beaches and a Strip Park along the Seafront, creating a beautiful frontage for prime real estate new lots of urbanized land that will be able to accommodate Hotels, Resorts and Residential developments. A specialized Retail Galleria with Restaurants and Cafes located on the ground floor along the waterfront; a 50.000 m2 Convention and Exhibition Center, parking facilities, an Auditorium and a large Marina; a Fishermen Port with all the community services, sport and educational facilities, are part of the long range Plan. The Regional and the Municipal authorities are evaluating the construction of the 1st stage of "The Porlamar's Riviera". ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN: RICCIO has also been the architect and urban designer of various hotels and resort developments located in Margarita Island: Aquarius Hotel and Resort, a 500,000 sf. luxury waterfront resort development, award-winning design selected at the "VI Bienal de Arquitectura, Caracas"; Porlamar's Grand Hotel and Shopping Gallery, a 900,000 sf. mix-use development for a 300 rooms five star hotel and retail shopping mall construction; Isla Bonita Hotel and Golf Resort, a 324 five stars suites hotel, 54.000 m2 construction, locate on a 266 Ha. spectacular site; Portofino, a 185,000 sf. luxury resort condominium development, including 25 Villas and 55 Townhouses, a Waterfront Channel Promenade and an Inner-harbor Club house in Puerto La Cruz; Puerto Frances Hotel and Resort, a 180 Suite Hotel and Beach Club in beautiful Puerto Frances; Oceania Hotel, Golf Resort and Casino, a 52,500 m2 hotel development and Hotel Mar Caracas, a 40.000 m2 exclusive VIP city hotel located in the Capital City. DEVELOPMENT, ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN: Oceania Hotel, Golf Resort and Casino, a 525.000 sf. construction, $52 million, 400 suites five stars hotel and world-class resort and casino development in Margarita Island, one of the very few tourist mega-projects selected by the International Operators, Financial Institutions and the Government. RICCIO was the Architect and local Developer, originated the conception of project and coordinated financial and economic feasibility studies. RICCIO invited the Bay Group of Boston, MA. to participate as the international Partner and co-developer. US AND INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE: In a Joint Venture with the Bay Group, RICCIO was the principal-in-charge of a large-scale preliminary master plan for Khor Dubai, a tourism and recreational multiplex development prepared for the Sheikh of Dubai in the Arab Emirates. The program included "Creek Island" a 76 acres man-made Island and a sophisticated development of a 350 acres shoreline lot. In the U.S. RICCIO was project manager for The Bay Group, a Boston-based Investment and Real Estate Corporation, in charge of the urban design and architectural conception of various project-developments, market studies, and economic and financial feasibility studies. He participated in numerous proposals including: Newbury Gallery, a 510,000 sf. galleria-arcade and hotel in downtown Boston; Waybossett Bay, a 500,000 sf. historic rehabilitation in downtown Providence; Harbor Center, a $90 million convention center, hotel and 1.500 car garage development proposal in Baltimore, Maryland. RICCIO design for a $35 million historic rehabilitation of Union Station in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, was recipient of a Historic Conservation Commission Award. GOVERNMENT CONSULTANT: In previous administrations, Arch. RICCIO was appointed by the Ministry of Urban Development as Urban Design Consultant to the Minister and by the National Housing Council to prepare the urban design guidelines for the planning of new housing developments for low-income community as part of the National Law of Housing Policy. TEACHING: RICCIO was visiting Professor at Simón Bolívar University Department of Architecture and visiting Professor and co-founder of the Urban Design Master Program of the Universidad Metropolitana of Caracas under the sponsorship oh Harvard University Graduate School of Design. AWARDS: The most recent award received by Arch. RICCIO is the "2008 First Honorary Prize" from the Venezuelan Chamber of Real Estate and Development for Puerto de La Mar, Margarita Cruise Ship Port of Call, nominated as the "Best Tourist Design and Development Built in Venezuela". EDUCATION: RICCIO completed a six year undergraduate program and received his Bachelor in Architecture from Simón Bolívar University, Caracas, Venezuela and later a Master in Architecture and Urban Design from Harvard University. RICCIO is fluent in English, Spanish and Italian and is a register architect in Venezuela