Luiz Barata is an urban design project coordinator, with a background in architecture and planning. He has over ten years of overall experience in urban design and architecture, focused on urban and environmental design, site planning, and residential architecture.
Since joining Calthorpe Associates in 2006, Mr. Barata has been involved with a wide range of projects, varying in scope and scale, at national and international locations. His interests include integrating sustainable practices to site design, and researching use of new development types to enhance streetscapes. He worked on the concept design and planning, coordinated project management, or led the design efforts on the following projects:

Urban Revitalization
Alameda Point Community Plan, California – Managed and served as lead designer for the 700 acre Master Plan, designed to reintegrate the former Alameda Naval Air Station to the City of Alameda. The project presented complex environmental, contractual and political constraints that were brought to open discussion through two public workshops thus far. The alternatives studied demonstrated that the site offers a rare opportunity to address historic preservation, environmental conservation and redevelopment, building a model of a sustainable community from an urban revitalization plan.

Konterra Business and Residential Community, Maryland – Collaborated with the design efforts and assisted project management. Konterra is a 2,200 acre mixed-use development straddling Interstate 95 one exit north of the Capital Beltway. Located at the center of the most dynamic economic and cultural area on the Eastern Seaboard, it was envisioned to be the focal point of the Baltimore -Washington corridor. When completed, Konterra will include a mixed-use town center, upscale retail and hospitality venues, technology campuses, educational institutions, and residential and business communities.

North San Pedro Downtown San Jose Development Plan, California – Collaborated with the design efforts and approval process with the City of San Jose Planning Commission. North San Pedro is a five acre site located north of downtown San Jose. The proposed development included three residential high-rise condo towers with ground floor retail, approximately 90 townhomes, and a one-acre public park, re-establishing the original city grid.

Community Design
Redevelopment of Military Residential Communities, USA – Coordinated, assisted project management, and/or collaborated with the design efforts for different proposals at distinct stages. The redevelopment of military residential communities offered a partnership opportunity between governmental housing agencies and private ventures to restore and increase the housing inventory in military communities. The designs proposed by Calthorpe intended to take one step further creating walkable communities that were fully integrated with the surrounding areas, civic and open spaces. The projects consisted of elaborating proposals and implementation of winning bids, including: Air Force Academy, US Northwest Region; Fort Lee Residential Communities Initiative, Virginia; Navy Public Private Ventures, Great Lakes, Illinois; Navy Public Private Ventures, Hawaii; Navy Public Private Ventures, US Region Southeast; and West Point Academy Residential Communities Initiative, New York.

Daybreak Master Plan, Utah – Collaborated with the design efforts for the Transit Corridor Master Plan. Daybreak is a 4,150 acre Master Plan for a mixed-use brown field development in the southern end of Salt Lake Valley in Utah. Projecting 20,000 units, the plan aims to deliver a job/housing balance minimizing the impact of urban growth and establishing a model of sustainable community for the region. The transit corridor, which brings light rail transit service and a regional parkway to the Town Center, will include regional retail, office park, and urban residential uses.

Mesa del Sol Business and Residential Community, New Mexico – Collaborated with the design efforts to implement Phase 1 of the project, currently under construction. Mesa del Sol is a 13,000 acre Master Plan that will provide a new city district for the Albuquerque Metro area. It includes major open spaces, civic amenities, a multi-modal transportation network, and a full range of land uses.

International Plans
Arabian Canal Master Plan, Dubai, UAE – Mr. Barata is currently working as a co-designer on the second generation of the Master Plan. Intended to be a showcase of sustainable development, the Arabian Canal Master Plan envisions the future of Dubai’s growth around the new airport. The plan proposes a new canal flanked on both sides by a broad corridor of mixed use development, doubling Dubai’s waterfront properties. The 32,600 acre Master Plan projects a total population over 2 million people to be settled in a strong hierarchy of urban places, with different modes of transportation and a wide range of open spaces. Establishing new energy and water conservation standards, the plan aims to utilize environment responsive design to deliver walkable and transit-oriented communities along the canal, thus creating an innovative paradigm for developments in the Middle East.

Al Uqair Eastern Province Master Plan, Saudi Arabia – Collaborated with the design efforts for the Master Plan proposal. The 7,850 acre site encompasses a semi-enclosed coastal lagoon system including two large peninsulas, a large central island, and an extensive coastline over 200 kilometers in length, abutted by desert. The plan emphasizes sustainable development in the form of compact settlements, leaving a large part of the site in its natural state. It aims at creating a pattern of development that responds to its historical heritage, social context and environment.

Al Wasl Development Plan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Co-designed, assisted project management, and collaborated with the design efforts to approve plan with Riyadh Municipal authorities. Al Wasl is a 3,500 acre Master Plan that proposes a new urban district in the northwest of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The mixed use plan proposes a new town center supported by regional retail, stadium, university, and neighborhood centers connected by an internal transit system. The design enhances the surrounding wadi’s landscape by bringing them into the urban environment, creating a distinctive open space network where walkable communities are established. Moreover, the plan’s strong civic structure combined with specific architectural guidelines preserves the traditional culture while allowing new development types to diversify the growing local housing market.

Great Domodedovo Master Plan in Moscow, Russia - This Master Plan is a transit-based regional plan for 26,000 hectares in the Great Domodedovo District of Moscow region, which aims to provide diverse housing opportunities for 1.2 million residents, 700,000 jobs, 2.2 million sq. meters of commercial use and 1.1 million sq. meters of office space. Mr. Barata collaborated with the design efforts to produce the Phase 1 Master Plan for 218 hectares with a regional urban center and a town center with a multi-modal transit station, as well as participated on workshops with leading US architecture firms to develop a diverse mix of innovative yet contextual housing types for Russia. The design philosophy of the project was to create a hierarchy of walkable, mixed use communities organized around an armature of primary and secondary transit networks and a rich preserve of forests, greenbelts and riparian corridors.

Karachi Waterfront Master Plan, Pakistan - Collaborated with the design efforts for the Master Plan. Karachi Waterfront is a 90,000 acre Regional Master Plan to redevelop the area west of Karachi. The radial plan envisions the main urban center and commercial districts wrapping around the bay, placing the waterfront at the center of the new city. A series of urban districts and villages are aligned along boulevards and open space greenways radiating from the bay.  Rural villages cluster at the base of the mountain ridge and along the Hub River.  Each district and village is unique, offering a range of living environments, from high density urban to low rise village. All parts of the city are mixed-use, walkable, and transit served.

Port Rashid Redevelopment Plan in Dubai, UAE - Co-designed and collaborated with the design efforts to produce  a 4-schemes proposal. Centrally located in Dubai, Port Rashid is currently in the process of being relocated to a new terminal location. The 737 acre redevelopment plan explored 4 alternatives to offer new housing opportunities in a mixed use, walkable environment. The proposed business and commercial center paired with a new cruise terminal offers downtown Dubai a new growth direction while enhancing its waterfront landscape.

Prior to joining Calthorpe Associates in March 2006, Mr. Barata worked for different architecture and planning firms in the US and abroad, including Anshen & Allen in San Francisco, CA, Advanced Technologies Group in Chicago, IL, and Walter Parks Architect in Richmond, VA. Mr. Barata worked for four years as a licensed architect in Brazil before moving to the US, where his experience included sole proprietorship of LAB Architecture Consulting and project manager at Arquiprom in Sao Paulo.