ALEXA THORNTON Por tfolio
ALEXA THORNTON EDUCATION
Bachelor of Architecture Landscape Architecture Minor University of Oregon June 2019
CONTACT
Alexa.L.Thornton@gmail.com 503 - 913 - 7784
ABOUT Soon to be graduate from the University of Oregon College of Design, I am an enthusiastic artist who is often found working amongst piles of sketches and my houseplant collection. I am self-motivated, curious, imaginative, and always wanting to learn more. I believe designing the built environment with care can empower communities and rehabilitate native natural systems. I am seeking to be employed at a firm that is committed to being sustainably and socially responsible, with a collaborative and creative atmosphere.
MEDIA
AutoCAD
Adobe InDesign
Autodesk Revit
Adobe Acrobat
Rhinoceros
Microsoft Word
Vray
Microsoft Excel
Grasshoppper
Microsoft Powerpoint
SketchUp
Microsoft Publisher
Adobe Photoshop
Hand Drawing
Adobe Illustrator
Model Making
PUERTO RICO PLANNING
MILLRACE REIMAGINED
MALHEUR FIELD STATION
PORTLAND CRYSTAL CLUSTER
DEXTER LAKE BOAT HOUSE
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TECHNICAL ILLUSTRATIONS
HAND DRAWINGS
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Flooded bock interior view Rhino, Photoshop
PUERTO RICO PLANNING SITE :
San Juan, Puerto Rico STUDIO :
4th year,
Winter term 2018 PROFESSOR :
Javier Bonnin TYPE :
Master planning SCOPE :
37 acres
Block concept section Hand sketch
Embracing inevitable natural forces exacerbated by climate change is key to resilient design. To design a flexible neighborhood in Puerto Rico, natural systems are incorporated with a built environment that meets the natural one with a “soft edge”. In the city of San Juan, an informal settlement grew along a mangrove marsh by the Martin Peña Channel. The channel connects two lagoons that empty into the surrounding coral reefs. As the settlement grew into a neighborhood, the channel shrunk in size as people built homes and debris slowly filled the waterway. Mangroves started to disappear and the area soon became a health hazard as it would flood 2’ - 3’ seasonally and water stagnated. In the next 100 years the site will be under 6’ of water. Addressing these concerns, I propose a modular system of units stacked on a block around a courtyard that becomes increasingly porous towards the channel. The ground floor is open aired with spaces for temporary shops and businesses when not flooded. Above, housing units are stacked with front porches facing the interior courtyard. Public life is lifted off the street by providing platforms, squares, and stairs that accommodate different flooding conditions. A series of walls and half walls are incorporated in the ground plane to encourage and protect mangrove regrowth. The Martin Peña Channel is widened and given a buffer of mangroves to protect the urban fabric from storm surges and erosion. Creating a interweaving gradient of systems allows for a rich community and experience that is unique to the site.
Site
Site
Site
San Juan
Flood zone
Zones
Estuary system water movement
Water current (varies)
Water intake
The site sits on the edge of the Martin PeĂąa Channel, a critical part of the greater San Juan Estuary System.
Originally a mangrove marsh, the site oods often, erroding the land due to the loss of vegetation for human inhabitation.
The design process starts with dividing the landscape into zones between the urban fabric and natural system.
Site flooding Martin Peña Channel Street / canal Mangrove buffer 3’ flood extent
Site gradient Absorptive edge Stage 3 block dissolve Stage 2 block dissolve Stage 1 block Main street, urban edge
Unit modules 1 - 4 bedroom Party walls
Block sequences
Block sequence section
Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator
Stage 3 block
Rhino, Photoshop
Site flooding diagrams
Concept section sketch Providing prospect and refuge, light and dark
12’ Category 5 storm surge 6’ 100 Year sea level rise 3’ Annual flooding
Dining hall porch view Revit, Photoshop
MALHEUR SITE :
Malheur National Refuge, Oregon STUDIO :
3rd year, Fall term 2016 PROFESSOR :
Jenny Young TYPE :
Master planning Architecture SCOPE :
Housing Dining hall
FIELD
S TAT I O N
In order to understand a site fully, one must exist there to understand. After spending time at the current Refuge Field Station and with park management, the driving concept for the new development was to limit the building footprint and respect the delicate, unique, and beautiful geography of the site. Presently the field
station is a radial cluster of dorms, used by the small groups of researchers, the individual bird watchers and artists, and the large groups of visiting children. In keeping minimal damage to the immediate habitat, the new station arranges the living quarters in the same pattern. Living spaces include dorms, one, two, and four bedroom cabins. Additional facilities are layered within the ring of cabins, with the heart of the site being the dining hall. The dining hall plan is kept open and exible, with sunrise and sunset viewing decks on either side. The design of the field station is inspired by the local vernacular architecture; long barn-like structures with large overhangs to protect during the harsh summers and winters.
Design principles
Site plan
Autocad, Illustrator Existing building footprint
The local vernacular informs the new design
Dining hall plan
Dining hall concept collage Photoshop
Dining hall axon Revit, Illustrator
Rethink housing... rethink program... create vertical neighborhoods provide green space accessible healthcare nearby employment enourage commerce reinforce education support food security
Preliminary concept diagram Illustrator
P O RT L A N D SITE :
Portland Southwest Waterfront, Oregon STUDIO :
3rd year,
spring term 2017 PROFESSOR :
Nancy Cheng PARTNER :
Scarlet Weaver TYPE :
Mixed use High rise
C RYS TA L
C LU S T E R
Predicting the future is impossible. The world is in the process of great change environmentally, socially, and politically. It is not the job of a designer to predict the future - it is the responsibility of a designer to dream it. In this dream, the design of a building complex empowers the users. People are regularly disempowered by our built environment. Quality of life depends on access to opportunities, and those opportunities are made possible through architecture. The design of this conceptual complex achieves attainable equality through a community and social interaction focus, green spaces for reconnection with nature, and the use of color for the reconnection of self expression and equality for all colors. The goal of this project was to create a colorful place where people are happy and healthy in it, with easy access to services that fulfill their biological and social needs. This project was born from a place of frustration, and in two studio peers having the same idealistic goals. Scarlet and I joined forces in the middle of the term, discovering the power of working together with similarly passionate people. This design focuses on eective public spaces, where informal and formal interactions can happen; mixed use neighborhoods, where necessities are accessible; as well as playfulness to inspire the people.
Building massing concept
Site section
Rhino, Illustrator
Site plan
Residential and mixed use oor plans
Atrium gardens
Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator
Concrete core for shear bracing
CLT floor plate for support and sustainability
Steel columns support
Double skin to allow for natural ventilation
Section perspective
Physical study model, Photoshop
DEXTER SITE :
Lowell State Park, Oregon STUDIO :
2nd year, spring term 2016 PROFESSOR :
James Givens TYPE :
Recreational Architecture
BOAT H O U S E Dexter lake is well known for the beautiful surrounding landscape and nearby forests. A new community center and boathouse celebrates the local beauty by keeping a simple form, using local materials, and giving expansive views to every user. The facility is simple in
design, with a level open to the community and a level underneath exclusively for the teams and storage. Openings in the main public oor allows people to view the elegant form of the shells. Additionally, glazed walls and a large deck allow visitors to view the lake and frequent races. The building is situated into the sloping landscape and elongated east-west to take advantage of daylighting. The placement of the facility not only oers views of the entire lake, but also replaces existing derelict structures without intruding into a nearby meadow and woods.
Design principles
Recreational Parking Forested
The building rests between zones.
Pedestrian traffic Car traffic
The facility absorbs users, acting as the heart of the site.
Views out Views in
The main floor offers a full view of the lake and landscape.
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Summer sun Winter sun
The placement and elongation of the building takes advantage of daylighting.
North elevation
Autocad, Photoshop
Site topography
The building sits into the land, taking advantage of the slope by reinforcing and stepping down with it.
Existing site Existing structures
The new facility replaces preexisting run-down structures as a means of site repair.
706’
B
B 704’
A
A
702’
4
700’ 3
698’
+/- 695’ - 696’ APPROXIMATE LAKE LEVEL B
B
A
A
Lower floor: storage, locker rooms
Main floor: community room, classrooms, gym
Autocad, Photoshop
Autocad, Photoshop
1 LOBBY 2 OPEN TO SHELL STORAGE 3 CLUB ROOM 4 VIEWING DECK 5 PUBLIC BATHROOMS 6 KITCHEN 7 MEETING ROOM 8 ACCESS TO SHELL STORAGE 9 TEAM OFFICES 10 ERG AND EXERCISE ROOM 11 CLASSROOM
West elevation
Autocad, Photoshop
M I L L R AC E R E I M AG I N E D SITE :
Riverfront Research Park, Oregon STUDIO :
4th year,
Fall term 2017 PROFESSOR :
Mark Eischeid TYPE :
Landscape Master planning SCOPE :
44 acres
In the process of reimagining a part of the University of Oregon campus and waterfront park, special attention was paid to how water moves throughout the site. It started with creating a visual vocabulary and translating that to what exists and what could exist. The waterway that runs through the site, the Millrace, is currently in unpleasant conditions and receives little to no interaction with the public despite its rich history. This concept proposes a variety of native landscaping, human movement, and water management to activate and restore the land. The Millrace is kept natural in places were healthy habitat is found and aided where it is not. Planting native plants helps manage water health as well as reintroducing wetland and marsh. The new Millrace’s aim is to return clean, filtered water back into the Willamette River. The waterway is celebrated nearby the University campus, with viewing decks, steps into the water, and boardwalks. Creating and interweaving public places with rainwater management strategies serves both the human and natural world. Every space on site serves a purpose.
Site study | Concept art
Hand painting, India ink on vellum
Site vocabulary
Hand sketches
Sitting
Flowing
Dripping
Meandering
Draining
Seeping
Stirring
Site study | Water vocabulary
Hand painting, India ink on vellum
Moments at millrace
Native oak savanna and path
Seasonal wetland
Steps to millrace
Millrace walking path
Bike parking
Streaming
Churning
Channeling
Running
Ebbing
Trickling
Rippling
Swelling
Filtering
Willamette River section perspective Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator
Water movement
Millrace section perspective Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator
Water movement
Boiler diagrams Illustrator
Thermal mass shading devices diagrams Illustrator
Convection
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Emitted radiation
Over the past year I have worked alongside a team of peers and professionals to help illustrate the new edition of Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings. I was tasked with illustrating a new chapter for the book as well as updating and creating new drawings for existing chapters. These drawings required research and an understanding in order to convey a clear idea to readers. All drawings were created in Adobe Illustrator.
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fle cte d ra
Grondzik, Walter & Kwok, Alison. Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings 13th Edition. Hoboken: Wiley, 2019.
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Heat accumulates
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T E C H N I CA L
Wall heat transfer diagram
Assembly diagram
Illustrator
Illustrator
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3 Passive heating strategies diagrams Illustrator
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P E R S O N A L WO R K