ABOUT ME
giancarlo.joyner@gmail.com
@giankiboy
Design, at its best, is an act of empathy, a way of wholeheartedly acknowledging the communities, cultures, and histories that give a place its soul. As a designer, I am driven by the belief that architecture is one of humanity's most enduring forms of storytelling, capable of carrying culture forward and honoring identity, ultimately shaping how people experience a sense of community and belonging. These convictions sit at the heart of how I see the world.
With a foundation in literature, art, and human geography, my design practice is rooted in deep analytical research, clear communication, and a relentless curiosity about how communities relate to the spaces they inhabit. My work strives to untangle complex social, economic, and environmental challenges, and to leave behind spaces that are visually and functionally sound, but above all, profoundly felt and meaningful to the people they serve.
MY EDUCATION
University of Miami
Bachelor of Architecture, Minor in Sustainable Development & Geography
2026
University of Miami School of Architecture
Rome Program
Spring 2025
Bishop O’Dowd High School
2021
MY EXPERIENCE
Architectural Design Intern
H-Level Architecture
2026
Creative Studio Consultant & Assistant
University of Miami Libraries
2024–2025
Architectural Intern
Stofft Cooney Architects
2023-2024
SOFTWARE I USE
AutoCAD
Rhinoceros 3D
Grasshopper
Revit
ArchiCAD
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Lumion
Enscape
ArcGIS
Ultimaker Cura
Bambu Studio
Gendo AI
Microsoft Office
Google Suite
Lightroom
Figma
Claude
Perplexity
LANGUAGES I KNOW
*each “+” denotes additional proficiency level
English
+++++
Italian
+++++
Spanish
+++
HONORS & AWARDS
University of Miami School of Architecture
Undergraduate Design Studio Award Nominee
2024
University of Miami
Provost’s Honor Roll
2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
University of Miami
Dean’s List
2021, 2022
COMITES
Maria Manetti Shrem Award
2021
University of Miami
‘Canes Achievement Award
2021
College Board
AP Scholar with Honor
2021
MY CERTIFICATIONS
LEED Green Associate
USGBC(US Green Building Council)
In Progress...
Learning Revit 2026 by Paul F. Aubin
LinkedIn Learning
2026
Coral Gables, FL, USA, 2022
For this assignment, students were asked to design an “Eco Parametric Structure“ as a piece of floating urban furniture located in the University of Miami‘s Lake Osceola. The goal was to continue actively participating in the making of outdoor civic space on the university campus, aligning with the principle of making an experience space available to all.
This project is a practical realization of the biomimetic approach (biology influencing design concepts) taking place in three steps: biological, geometric, and technical, creating some spaces that users can experience the nature in different ways.
In South Florida, the mangrove tree is a cradle of life, as it is home to many organisms which depend on it for different biological purposes.
The plant‘s roots spread abundantly down into the water in which it grows, from its main trunk down, resembling a complex dome-like canopy, inspiring the form of the project. To achieve the aforementioned, a Grasshopper workflow was used.
The program is a pavilion that serves as a point of gathering on Lake Osceola for members of the unviersity community. Here, they can take in the soothing and relaxing nature sounds produced from the interior space of the pavilion, which is equipped with hidden speakers inside tree planters that emulate the noises of native South Florida flora and fauna. The structure thus becomes an interactive and immersive experience designed to improve general mental health situated right on the campus’s lake.
Authors: Giancarlo Joyner & Matthew Jarmon
Studio: ARC213
Professor: Tomas Tapias
Third-year Fall Semester, 2022
University of Miami School of Architecture
Venice, IT, 2023
After proposing a new studiowide masterplan for Venice‘s Isola di Sant‘Elena, students were subsequently asked to develop a contemporary exhibition center adapting a large abandoned factory located in the island‘s industrial district next to a shipyard. The aim was to reimagine the northern realm of the Sant‘ Elena neighborhood as a new district, centered around design and visual arts by creating a public cultural space dedicated to the aforementioned in order to draw in visitors.
The Fabbrica delle Belle Arti aspires to do just this by adapting the two primary warehouse structures and demolishing the structure which connects them on the ground floor to open the space between them. This is done to frame the canal on which the site is situated and lead users through a central courtyard towards the body of water, incorporating the natural aspects of the Venetian landscape as key elements of the users’ sensory experience. The landscape becomes harmonious with the built environment and extends itself as a part of the artistic exhibition space. In this way, there is a dialogue and contrast created by the carefully curated interior gallery spaces and the more “wild” and natural exterior spaces.
The harmonious reflective geometry housed atop continues to respect the surrounding site, reflecting the natural landscape and the existing Venetian architecture and allowing the building to almost hide in plain sight.
Authors: Giancarlo Joyner & Fabio Cesaroni
Studio: ARC305
Professor: Pedro Munarriz
Third-year Fall Semester, 2023
University of Miami School of Architecture
North Beach, FL, USA, 2024
The focus of the project is the design of a public facility dedicated to the young population of the North Miami Beach area.
In recent years, there has been a population shift to the northern part of the island. As a result, there is an increase in demand for public space and civic activities outside the existing commercial corridors. The proposed youth center will provide a much needed facility with emphasis on gymnastics and related indoor sports, and will integrate, expand, and improve the existing skate park on the southern edge of the site.
The driving mantra behind the design of the project was to create a hierarchy of geometric boxes that stack on top of each other to create a "stair-step" effect, seen in many large-scale buildings intrinsic to the art-deco movement in Miami. To bring contrast and balance to the omnipresent rigid geomtric motif in place, perforated curved aluminum screen panels were chosen to wrap most of the facades to create a dynamic "ripple effect" reminiscent of the waves of North Miami Beach.
Furthermore, in an effort to preserve the prominent tree present in the center of the site, the plan was thought up around the piece of vegetation, which is ultimately cradled by the structures.
Authors: Giancarlo Joyner & Matthew Jarmon
Studio: ARC306
Professor: Steven Fett
Third-year Spring Semester, 2024
University of Miami School of Architecture
Haulover Beach, FL, USA, 2024
Atmospheric data is incredibly important when forecasting storms and predicting meteorologic events. Humans have risked their lives for centuries to gather and transmit this data. Fortunately, the rapid development of drone technologies in the past 20 years has allowed for new and revolutionary ways to complete tasks originally done with airplanes, helicopters, weather balloons, and satellites.
More recently, drone systems have been developed and tested by NOAA and the US government that can help us rapidly assess and predict weather, storms, and natural disasters. The data gathered from these drones can quickly be sent back to shore and analyzed to create more accurate predictions to save countless lives. In partnership with these agencies, arises this proposal rooted in the necessity for a system of towers to autonomously deploy, recover, and recharge different types of weather drones for diverse critical missions.
More than a tower, the proposal is for an infrastructure system which supports the deployment, maintenance, and control of multiple drone systems so that they can be activated and quickly perform their work, predicting the weather, flying through hurricanes, providing aid to civilians, and identifying victims for rescue after storms and intense flooding. Durability and resilience to coastal climate are incredibly crucial as this structure will be operational during and after storms. For this reason, the structural system of the tower has been intentionally inspired by maritime architecture — its form designed delierately to withstand and shed aerodynamic and hydronamic forces.
*Nominated for Undergraduate Design Studio Project of the Year Award by University of Miami School of Architecture, 2024
Authors: Giancarlo Joyner & Will Hammer
Studio: ARC407
Professor: Lily Wong
Fourth-year Fall Semester, 2024
University of Miami School of Architecture
Rome, IT, 2025
The Roman palazzina, a refined, small-to-medium residential building type that arose in Rome’s post-Unification expansion—combines human-scale proportions, architectural elegance, and integration with green space, becoming a 20th-century symbol of modern Roman living in many of the city‘s residential neighborhoods.
The studio project reimagines this typology as a “contemporary palazzina” that fuses its historical character with today’s social, environmental, and urban needs.
Drawing on the community-driven Baugruppen model, students were asked to redesign an existing palazzina located in Rome‘s Flaminio neighborhood to serve as a model for future housing in the city.
The schematic concept is entered around hollowing out the current buildings and dynamically inserting rectangular volumes within them, to create as many courtyards as possible; a technique used in traditional, urban palazzinas to let light in despite their proximity to other buildings within the dense urban fabric.
The original organizational floor system in section and elevation was completely abandoned leaving us the liberty to carve out our own windows in the exterior skin and create a “hollowed out” effect that evokes the feeling of Roman Ruins, which today are often permeated and void.
Having studied Casa Girasole of Luigi Moretti, a prime example of the Roman palazzina, we were inspired by Moretti’s technique of rendering his work to closely emulate an archaeological site, paying homage to Roman antiquity.
Authors: Giancarlo Joyner & Fabio Cesaroni
Studio: ARC408
Professor: Luca Galofaro & Stefania Manna
Fourth-year Spring Semester, 2025
University of Miami School of Architecture
Miami, FL, USA, 2026
Miami is home to one of the most park-deficient urban cores in the United States, with a critically low ratio of green space per capita, minimal tree canopy coverage(5% in its downtown), and streets dominated by heat absorbing hardscape that intensifies the urban heat island effect in an already subtropical climate. As the city’s residential and commercial density continues to grow, the absence of accessible nature, fresh air, and relief from the built environment is a measurable public health concern felt by the people who live and work here every day. An equally alarming issue lies in the city’s food security: various neighborhoods including downtown do not provide adequate options to access to fresh, healthy, food. This concept is a direct response to these realities: A vertical urban park that weaves ecology, fresh farm-to-table food, and community life into a single structure rising from the heart of the city.
The tower proposal incorporates a vertical farming system that transforms its floors and facade into productive agricultural space, supplying fresh farm-to-table produce directly to the food and beverage programming housed within, making healthy and locally grown food accessible to residents, workers, and visitors without the environmental cost of long supply chains.
This tower’s planted surfaces also do quiet but essential environmental work: trees and native vegetation capture fine particulate matter from the surrounding air, generate oxygen, soften traffic and urban noise, buffer wind, and cast shade that meaningfully reduces heat exposure without having to build fully enclosed air-conditioned spaces. At a moment when cities around the world are grappling with the same pressures of density, climate vulnerability, and shrinking green space, this building offers a simple question: what if the city itself could be the park?
Authors: Giancarlo Joyner
Studio: ARC510
Professor: Juan Yactayo
Fifth-year Spring Semester, 2026
University of Miami School of Architecture