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1981, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Javier Olmeda Raya is an award-winning furniture designer and manufacturer with vast knowledge of digital design and fabrication processes through CNC/CAD/CAM technologies. He is the Founder and Design Director of Constructo, a custom furniture design studio and Puerto Rico’s leading digital fabrication workshop specializing in advanced 3D modeling, parametric design, 3D animation and audiovisual post processing.
His mastery of digital fabrication tools is evident in his work. Inspired by patterns in nature, his design approach has been compared to a mathematician problem solver, achieving perfectly symmetrical pieces characterized by minimalism through complex geometry.
Through Constructo, Javier has developed a distinctive catalogue of product designs ranging from small-scale objects and kitchenware, to medium-sized tables, chairs, desks, shelving systems, room dividers, to custom furniture for corporate design projects. He has worked tirelessly to position Constructo as one of the leading design-build firms in Puerto Rico, playing an integral part in the island’s industrial design boom, creating and developing the workshop’s signature design pieces, such as the Coffee Bean Table.
Curriculum Vitae
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Working Experience
2012-Present
Co-founder, Principal
Constructo
What started as a small digital workshop has become a full-scale construction studio, with over 100 successful project deliveries, ranging across all scales, from small objects to restaurant ceilings. And I've been the head, heart, and soul of my lifetime project.
2010-2012
Co-founder, Designer
Laboratorio de Artes Binarios
I co-founded a customized architectural components company with several college friends. My first long-term experience and access to a CNC machine. Made a lot of surface and 3D exploration. It set the stage and a clear path for Constructo.
2008-2010
Head of Visual Media
TASK
I worked as an associate in an architectural design firm, where I was in charge of all the digital and printed visual content (3D modeling and presentations) for clients and social media distribution.
2003-2008
Freelance
FiNE ARTIST, Graphic Designer
I rode for a while as a freelance artist while studying. I covered audio/video editing; photography, illustration, graphic, and editorial design; music, painting, printmaking, and sculpture; 3D modeling and renderings, plans, and schematic designs.
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TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2013-2016
DESIGN PROFESSOR: INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
ESCUELA DE ARTES PLÁSTICAS Y DISEÑO DE PUERTO RICO
Offered furniture design and technical drawing/3D modeling courses to undergraduate-level students. As faculty member, the Industrial Design Department program's revisions for improving the curricular sequencing for future academic years.
2009-2013
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR: ESCUELA DE ARQUITECTURA
PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE PUERTO RICO
Offered several architectural design courses, technical drawings, 2D and 3D software, and served as a digital design consultant to undergraduate students. I also made extensive research in novel way to integrate digital fabrication techniques into the students' works.
2009
ASSOCIATE: ESCUELA INTERNACIONAL DE DISEÑO
ANA G. MENDEZ UNIVERSITY, GURABO CAMPUS
Offered digital design and 3D modeling courses to undergraduate students. Rhinoceros and Digital Fabrication tools were covered in-depth with real-world exercises, examples and short projects.
2008-2010
ASSOCIATE: ESCUELA ADMINISTRACIÓN EMPRESAS
ANA G. MENDEZ UNIVERSITY, CAROLINA CAMPUS
Offered digital graphic and editorial design courses to undergraduate students. Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign were covered in project-based situations similar to how real advertising agencies' work.
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RECENT EXHIBITIONS
2019
DUNCAN DEL TORO:
Diseño Producto Boricua
A comprehensive exhibition curated by Art Historian Arthur Asseo for the MUSEO DE ARTE Y DISEÑO DE MIRAMAR, it delves into the life and work of Puerto Rico's first Industrial Designer. I was selected to recreate an unedited chair, which only existed in drawings prior to his untimely death.
2018
TODXS A TODO COLLECTIVE SHOW
Celebrating 100 Years of The Bauhaus Movement
Held at the MUSEO DE ARTE Y DISEÑO DE MIRAMAR. Curated by Architect Andrea Bauzá and Art Historian Melissa Ramos. This was one of the new museum's inaugural exhibition, featuring a comprehensive look of most of Puerto Rico’s current top designers. I presented Anémona, one of my most iconic wooden tables.
2018
ART IN GOLF TRIENNIAL
DORADO BEACH, A RITZ CARLTON RESERVE
A special commission to make a mirror sculpture in the Ritz Carlton Reserve premises as part of a landscape art outdoor exhibition organized by arte_FITS Foundation, featuring works from renown Puerto Rican and International artists.
2015-2016
THE PERFECT GIFT (JACK DANIEL'S)
Special Marketing Campaing, LATAM / US Markets
Jack Daniel's, the reknown whiskey brand, reached out to me asking to design and build a limited edition of a piece of furniture, mostly elaborated with their own discarded barrels’ oak wood. I designed and built an exclusive limited edition of 10 turntable/audio consoles. to be raffled at promotional events across many cities: Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Lima, Santiago, San Juan, Miami.
2014
A’ DESIGN AWARDS EXHIBITION
Broletto di Como, Italy
A prestigious design competition awarding the best design works across many categories. Works are selected by a renown jury. Award winners have the chance to present their work in an exhibition held in Broletto di Como, north of Milan.
2013
DESIGN IN PUERTO RICO
Wanted Design, NYC Design Week
Constructo was selected among a group pf Puerto Rican designers to participate in Wanted Design, one of the most important furniture events during Design Week NYC.
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ACADEMIC FORMATION
2007-2008
Institute of advanced architecture of Catalonia (IaaC)
MAA Master in Advanced Architecture : Digital Tectonics
IaaC's master program was an avant-garde experience. I first came in contact with digital fabrication technologies, emergent systems theories, parametric design, and some Arduino-based responsive circuits during my Master's years in Barcelona. 3D Printing, Laser-Cutting, CNC Milling, Robotics, the city, the football... Unforgettable.
2002-2006
Escuela de Artes plásticas de Puerto Rico
BFA / Printmaking
Enrolled in the newly created Industrial Design Department, took my first design course under Nelly Toledo, a prominent Puerto Rican Designer. Later on, I took other courses and ended up with a Bachelor's Degree in Printmaking, not without taking other art and design related courses, such as: painting, sculpture, photography, video, and sound-art courses.
1999-2002
THE New School of Architecture
Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico
Undergraduate level architectural studies. These early foundational years were crucial in developing a sense of space, scale, and tectonic features, as well as developing critical drawing and model-making skills.
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AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
2015-2016
JACK DANIEL’S THE PERFECT GIFT
Commissioned Work (12 Units)
Lynchburg, Tennessee
2014
A’ DESIGN AWARDS & COMPETITION
Iron Award, Furniture Category
Como, Italy
2008
LEXUS CON LAS ARTES 2008
Artist's Grant
San Juan, Puerto Rico
2007
VI SALÓN DE DIBUJO DE SANTO DOMINGO
First Prize
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic