AUSTA THOMAS
Undergraduate Architecture Portfolio 2013
AUSTA THOMAS athoma39@kent.edu 724.777.8448
Undergraduate Architecture Portfolio Kent State University 2013
Biomimicry Research Pavilion
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Gastronomy Center
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Ferry Terminal
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Winery
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Rehabilitation and Wellness Center
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An Escape in the City
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Biomimicry Research Pavilion fourth year design
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Client: Kent State University College of Biology and College of Technology Location: Kent State Campus, Wetland Reserve
The design objective was to fabricate a highly sustainable research pavilion to be utilized by students, faulty, and guests as a space for education, exploration and hands-on discovery.
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This prefabricated, 800 sqft research pavilion is designed to ensure maximum sustainability through passive strategies to accommodate the energy, water, heating, cooling and lighting loads necessary for functionality. The prefabricated design ensures a tightly sealed envelope and eliminates construction waste. The exterior facade is sheathed in kliptech ecloclad siding, made 100% of recycled materials. The south facing facade of the pavilion is primarily a double pane curtain wall that allows for operable control on the bottom most panels. This user control allows for the primary southwest winds to enter the space, circulating the air up and out through exhaust vents located along the peaked elevation of the roof. The hot waste air gathers in this elevated area naturally, passively venting and cooling the space. Along front of the curtain wall is a system of louvers coated in a tinted photovoltaic film to collect solar energy. The louvers are also operable in allowing the user to control their positioning to either maximize or minimize the amount of direct solar penetration. Additionally, there are photovoltaic panels alongside the upmost portion of the southern roof extension. The eastern facade, which faces out to the wetland reserve, is highlighted by double pane bifolding glass doors which allow for uninhibited views, circulation, and an extension of interior space when fully opened. The western facade showcases a light shelf awning to both shade and provide daylighting in the afternoon hours. The roof of the structure has a hidden slope to allow for water collection which is treated on site and distributed in the pavilion.
Gastronomy Center third year design
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Client: City of Florence Location: Florence, Toscana, Italy
Piazza Annigoni lies adjacent to the Sant’Ambrogio market. A conceptual design to utilize the empty piazza as the home for a Gastronomy Center to be utilized with public spaces while also facilitating a culinary arts school was proposed. The piazza’s only use was pedestrian foot traffic linking the residential portion of the city to the main metropolitan area. The structures were designed to enhance the user’s onsite journey by positioning and forming a directional path for the pedestrians, creating an order and purpose to their travel, while also creating an ease of function within the constraints of the program.
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This diagramatic view of the city of Florence displays the density of the city blocks in white, revealing the minmal open spaces in black, further emphasizing the importance of the piazza.
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upper level 7
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ground level
2 1 1. reading area 2. book store/cafe 3. restaurant 4. culinary school kitchens 5. tasting 6. auditorium 7. classrooms/offices
Ferry Terminal third year design
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Client: Cleveland Department of Transportation Location: Cleveland, Ohio The city of Cleveland has realistically proposed a ferry route to Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada. Utilizing the vacant waterfront lot behind the Cleveland Browns stadium. My design of the ferry terminal with its parking garage is part of a complementary new urban space promoting the union of green space with the metropolitan scenery.
Top level: customs, restaurant, boarding
Ground level: shops, boutiques
The urban park offers a new boardwalk for public docking, open green spaces, built up seating and the opportunity for relaxation and observation as well as ease of activity. 14
Winery third year design
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Client: Chalet Debonne Vineyard Location: Madison, Ohio
My design intention for the proposed new facility of the existing Debonne Vineyard Winery in Northeast Ohio was to educate and engage the user. The entire wine making process is put on display from the fermentation to the bottling of the final product behind a full length glass partition, paired with an observation logia to allow for complete unobstructed viewing of the wine processing. Two tasting rooms are situated at an elevated level, reached by a ramping system creating an ease of movement between the two rooms intended to promote an abundance of social interaction.
Parking is arranged in front of the building while the acres of grape vines are situated at the back.
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1 6 7 1. entry 2. restaurant 3. kitchen 4. offices/employee area 5. barrel storage 6. restrooms 7. information 8. gift shop 9. outdoor patio/bar 10. tasting room 11. tasting room 12. observation logia 13. fermentation 14. processing 15. bottling
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Rehabilitation and Wellness Center second year design
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Client: University Hospitals Location: Cleveland, Ohio Recreation|Recovery|Repair|Regeneration
The design of the rehabilitation and wellness center in the University Hospital block of Cleveland is programmatically arranged to induce a purification of mind, body, and spirit through progression of the facility. The program includes squash courts, indoor and outdoor pools, yoga studios, saunas, ice baths, hot tubs, etc. all for the use of health, wellness, and physical rehabilitation.
An Escape in the City first year design
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In this first year design exploration, we were encouraged to experiment with forms (instance to the left) that were visually appealing, to be translated into a functional program. This abstract exercise of analyzing possibilities through forms, surfaces, Intent: sectional investigations textures, and spaces inspired the methodolof space ogy of understanding the Objective: through sectional and analytical exploration pro- process of design from a vide an architectural construct; preliminary architectural viewpoint. This project a place that embodies your set the precedence for clients passions; residence my understanding of the Client: Individual who is both design process. The final restrained and has an appreproduct wasn’t nearly as ciation for occasional indulgence. passions include health important as the process to get there, and well-being, culinary arts Site: the client has acquired is more important than three connecting properties in “Process outcome. When the outcome a thriving metropolitan city. site drives the process we will only ever go to where we’ve already been. is between two existing three If process drives outcome we may story historic buildings not know we may not know where we’re going , but we will know we want to be there” --Bruce Mau
“moments in time” introduction to section drawings first exercise in sectional drawings. understanding the significance of displaying separate scenarios, individual moments in time, utilizing a section drawings to demonstrate specific architectural features.
personal photography and drawings
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AUSTA THOMAS