He received a B.Arch from Cornell University in 1996 and worked in several architectural studios in San Francisco and Barcelona before settling in New York in 2003. His longstanding interest in vernacular architecture led him to initiate an independent photographic survey in 2012 titled “All the Queens Houses”. The photographs have been published widely and were featured in a solo-exhibit at The Architectural League of New York in 2017. Rafael practices as a senior architect at Studio Joseph in Manhattan.