2016 / 2020
Blake Ahart Selected Works
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the University of Texas School of Architecture
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Contents
01 Cinema Parking Garage Addition
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02 Angel Island Sanctuary
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03 A Model with Legs
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04 Hyde Park Courtyard Housing
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05 East Austin Kindergarten
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06 Study Abroad 2019
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07 Habiter le Périphérique
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Professional Work
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Résumé
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2019 Design Excellence Nominee
Cinema Parking Garage Addition parasitic movie theater + connective corridors
Spring 2019 Intermediate Studio IV critic:
John Blood
During the daytime, the parking garage at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and N. Lamar services the nearby office of T3 Austin. Outside of business hours, however, it serves little purpose. This proposed parasitic addition functions as a “twisted step-sister� to the existing garage, balancing out its 9-to-5 mundanity with a new sense of levity and play. The curvilinear body of the proposed building hugs the north end of the garage and provides space for a small local cinema and a cafe. The rooftop of the garage would become available in the evening for live music, social celebrations, or film-related events as both an urban social hub and an elevated pseudo-town square. This reclamation of a private parking
structure seeks not to detract from its primary daytime function, but rather to optimize use of the site and provide much needed entertainment and gathering space for residents of the surrounding neighborhood. Newly carved connective corridors bring clarity and ease of access by reactivating Old 19th Street behind the parking garage, further re-engaging space lost to T3’s exclusive structure. Furthermore, it provides residents with an efficient pedestrian route that bypasses the busy nearby intersection. This increased access would in turn contribute to the revitalization of wasted parking space to foster a more walkable, livable, and engaged neighborhood.
Austin, Texas 1
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This proposed parasitic addition functions as a “twisted step-sister� to the existing garage, balancing out its 9-to-5 mundanity with a new sense of levity and play.
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mass
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surface
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Cinema Parking Garage Addition
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Cinema Parking Garage Addition
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Cinema Parking Garage Addition
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1. replicate
4. carve
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2. fragment
3 . puncture
5. shroud
6. occupy
section highlight
Cinema Parking Garage Addition 10
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The theater’s pure interior acts as a canvas onto which light shows mimicking the palettes of the films being presented can illuminate the walls and beam into the night sky.
Cinema Parking Garage Addition 12
Angel Island Sanctuary sanctuary + event space
Fall 2018 Intermediate Studio III critic:
Judy Birdsong
Upon arriving at Angel Island and China Cove between 1910 and 1940, East Asian immigrants were subjected to unfathomable atrocities and inhumanities. In an effort to reckon with this brutal legacy, this design seeks to reinstate the island’s ferry system in a way that both acknowledges the complicated history of the site and welcomes new guests in a markedly different way. The sanctuary functions as a pier upon which the ferry can dock, allowing for the arrival and departure of guests onto the island via a building that is removed from the site’s actual grounds. The building’s fluid exterior lines are juxtaposed
against those of the site’s existing buildings; these foreign elements further highlight the difference between arrival at this building and the original site. This foreign extension of the rocky coastline “cracks open” to expose interior sanctuary spaces, indicated by a contrast in materiality that invites guests inside. The multitude of programmatic spaces within are connected by a sinuous series of inclined planes and ramps that allow for a continuous flow of space – mimicking how one explores the landscape and natural features of new territory.
San Francisco Bay, California 13
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This foreign extension of the rocky coastline harbors visitors to Angel Island’s China cove, acting as a mediator between a grim past and a hopeful future.
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Sanctuary angles itself towards the Eastern sanctuary angles itself towards the entrance of the San Francisco Bay - a gesture Eastern entrance of the San Francisco - apath gesturetaken towards pathAsian taken towardsBay the bythe East by EasttoAsian immigrants theimmigrants United States
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Angel Island Sanctuary 16
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The sanctuary functions as a pier upon which the ferry can dock, allowing for the arrival and departure of guests onto the island via a building that is removed from the site’s actual grounds.
Angel Island Sanctuary 18
1 dock drop-off 2 entry ramp 3 existing dock 4 lobby 5 front desk 6 office 7 restrooms 8 large event space [capacity 225] 9 small event space [capacity 75] 10 prep kitchen / event service 11 storage 12 mechanical 13 reflection space 14 rooftop observation deck / assembly space [capacity 800] 15 memorial 16 dock pick-up 19
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sanctuary noun sanc·tu·ary | \ saŋ(k)-chə, wer-ē
1. : a consecrated place: such as (a) a place of refuge and protection suited for personal reflection and introspection
(b) a place [such as a church or a temple] for worship, celebration, and gathering
(a)
(b)
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defining the duality of sanctuary individual / collective
Angel Island Sanctuary 22
rooftop observation deck / assembly space The sanctuary’s rooftop observation deck allows for full observation and appreciation of the site. This massive space emulates the forward-looking nature of the immigration experience for visitors. US Naturalization and Citizenship ceremonies are intended to be held on this rooftop, which offers sweeping views of the mainland United States – a glimpse at a new citizen’s hopeful future.
The sanctuary’s rooftop observation deck allows for full observation and appreciation of the site. This massive space emulates the forward-looking nature of the immigration experience for visitors. US Naturalization and Citizenship ceremonies are intended to be held on this United States – a glimpse at a new citizen’s hopeful future.
event spaces / supporting functions Sandwiched between the rooftop deck and water-level sanctuaries are a variety of gathering spaces intended for hosting lectures, banquets, fundraisers, and celebrations of newly-secured citizenship.
Sandwiched between the rooftop deck and water-level sanctuaries are a variety of gathering spaces to host celebrations of new citizenship, lectures, banquets, and fundraisers.
reflection space At the water level lies a more introspective, contemplative sanctuary space for intimate meditation. In this space, visual proximity to the elements and intentionally curated views pay homage to the East Asian immigrants’ path across the Pacific Ocean.
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At the water level lies a more introspective, contemplative sanctuary space, allowing for intimate meditation. In this space, visual proximity to the elements and intention ally pointed views create a direct gesture towards the Asian immigrants’ path across
Angel Island Sanctuary 24
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Angel Island Sanctuary 26
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Angel Island Sanctuary 28
A Model with Legs This study in model-making and craft resulted in a five-foot tall model standing on two incongruent legs that can be experienced at eye-level as a free-standing object. Carved from solid poplar, this formal investigation explores the atypical possibilities that emerge from manipulating one of classical architecture’s most typical forms: the arch. Arcuated voids carved through a wooden mass create uniquely irregular spaces through their intersections, challenging the conventions of the role of classical formal language in contemporary design.
Spring 2019 critic:
John Blood
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Carved from solid poplar, this formal investigation explores the atypical possibilities that emerge from manipulating one of classical architecture’s most typical forms: the arch.
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Hyde Park Courtyard Housing neighborly infrastructure + generational growth
Spring 2019 Intermediate Studio II critic:
Charles Di Piazza
This housing proposal for Austin’s historic Hyde Park neighborhood aims to increase the density of housing in central Austin while maintaining the desirability and integrity of existing homes. This project further implemented an understanding of multi-family courtyard-style housing to specifically increase the number of units per lot and ensure that each unit possessed a livable square footage and a 50/50 indoor-to-outdoor space ratio. This urban intervention seeks to disrupt Austin’s housing market by presenting a frequently overlooked neighborhood with an opportunity to accommodate the city’s rapidly expanding middle-class. My proposal features a row of three identical units, each
containing a main 2,000 sq. ft. unit facing Avenue C and a 700 sq. ft. garage apartment. This additional garage apartment provides opportunity for a rental unit, home office, or necessary expansion for a growing family. Each lot’s focal courtyard spaces are aligned such that together they form one communal court. However, these courtyards can also be privatized by sliding wood panels affixed to the bottom of the steel bridges. This proposal challenges the typical housing model by encouraging residents to interact both with their outdoor spaces and with each other. It further develops a model for a multi-generational single family home, allowing for the flexibility to accommodate Austin’s growing middle class.
Austin, Texas 33
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This proposal challenges the typical middleclass housing model by encouraging residents to interact both with their outdoor spaces and with each other, all while demonstrating a model for a multi-generational single family home.
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Hyde Park Courtyard Housing 36
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Hyde Park Courtyard Housing 38
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Hyde Park Courtyard Housing 40
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Hyde Park Courtyard Housing 42
East Austin Kindergarten parametric exploration + environmental stimulation
Fall 2017 Intermediate Studio I critic:
Juan Jofre
East Austin is in the midst of rapid development. While growth in the housing and commerce sectors has occurred as a result of private funding, there has been limited development in the public sector. New educational facilities are crucial to the vibrancy of the neighborhood, in particular with regards to pre-school education. This project aims to address the need for pre-school models in the area by developing a system of educational facility design that can be adapted across various site requirements. The building proposal consists of the clustering of programmatic blocks, each with a proportion of 1 x 1.5 x 2, a dimensional standard found to be significant in helping a child understand relationships between lengths and distances. Scattered across the site in an array of
intersectional relationships, these blocks define uniquely nonorthoganal spaces in their gaps and junctions. A veil of timber screens allow for shading and privacy from the nearby street while emphasizing the directionality of the original building blocks. The resulting composition of masses and their enclosures challenges young minds to investigate concepts of form, geometry, transparency, and dimensionality, and their roles within a building. This particular kingergarten, located at the intersection of E. 3rd and Comal St., has a capacity 30 children. It features two classrooms, a small cafeteria, a music room, a sunken courtyard and playroom, a vegetable garden, and administrative and support spaces.
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Scattered across the site in an array of intersectional relationships, these blocks define uniquely nonorthoganal spaces in their gaps and junctions.
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upper level
lower level
East Austin Kindergarten 46
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East Austin Kindergarten 48
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East Austin Kindergarten 50
Study Abroad 2019 UTSOA’s Europe study abroad program consists of a one month travel period through Western Europe and two months of study at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville. The sustained drawing excercise on the right explores the meditation pavilion at Carlo Scarpa’s Brion Vega Cemetery through traditional drafting techniques and digital rendering. The following sketches document my time spent at various sites throughout my travels.
Fall 2019 critics:
John Blood Elizabeth Danze
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This sustained drawing exercise explores the meditation pavilion at Carlo Scarpa’s Brion Vega Cemetery through traditional drafting techniques and digital rendering.
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Venice, Italy
Venice, Italy
Bellinzona, Switzerland
Castelgrande
Mechernich, Germany Bruder Klaus Field Chapel
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Stuttgart, Germany Mercedes-Benz Museum
Dornach, Switzerland Goetheanum
Convent of La Tourette Éveux, France
Convent of La Tourette Éveux, France
Study Abroad / Fall 2019 54
Habiter le Périphérique Aubervilliers Social Housing
Fall 2019 Advanced Design - Europe critics:
Gäelle Breton Igor Siddiqui Jean-François Renaud with:
Alivia Green Ayman Boughaba Gabriel Pavon-Sudres Maria Navarro Sarah Hopper
This project, Habiter le Périphérique, was completed in collaboration with a small team of students at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville. The studio, “Around the Block,” focuses on the urban block as a framework for architecture in relation to the city, and is sited in Aubervilliers, a commune in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. Previously a booming manufacturing hub, Aubervilliers’ economy and rich subculture has faded in the post-industrial era. Though the population of Paris continues to grow, the area has been historically neglected by developers and newcomers. Additionally, the city’s ring-road highway, Boulevard Périphérique, segregates the majority of Aubervilliers from what is often recognized as “inner Paris.” In an attempt to bridge the gap between “inner” and “outer” Paris, our building is sited
at one of Aubervilliers’ busiest roundabout-highway intersections, squarely straddling both sides of the highway. Our “cube” of a building acts as a prototype for future buildings over the highway, occupying the urban canyon that the highway carves through the city. Iconic superstructure, a flexible public lower level, and elevated courtyard-focused living suggest ways that Parisians can begin to occupy this prime real estate. Our particular block seeks to fill the gap in Aubervilliers arts-focused spaces, and features amenities like artist studios and a black box theater on the ground level. Above this public plinth rest 49 residential units -- ranging from studios to threebedroom apartments -- as well as an abundance of amentities, community and coworking spaces, and a central courtyard overlooking a public grove.
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Our “cube� of a building acts as a prototype for future structures over the highway, occupying the urban canyon that the highway carves through the city.
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the cube’s footprint
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1 primary housing entrance + lobby 2 auxilary housing entrances 3 café + coffee shop 4 black box theater 5 market hall + périphérique patio 6 grove 7 artist studio 8 arts education center 9 artist studio 10 communal resident patios
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The building’s iconic superstructure in tandem with an arts oriented public ground level aim to create a sense of identity and place for a community often in flux.
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Professional Work
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New York, New York
Avroko
Four Seasons Cartagena (below) member of small team producing schematic high end hospitality concept for the Four Seasons Hotel in Cartagena, Colombia; custom furniture and lighting design, visualization, material selection, furniture procurement, digital modeling, drawing production
W Hotel OpÊra (right) member of small team producing schematic high end hospitality concept for the W Hotel adjacent to Paris’ Palais Garnier; visualization, material selection, digital modeling, drawing production
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70 rendering in collaboration with Laura Leung
Austin, Texas
Michael Hsu Office of Architecture Project Transitions (below) head designer of 36,000 sf transitional housing campus for Austin’s Project Transitions, a nonprofit providing care and housing to the city’s homless and HIV-positive community; early schematic design direction, visualization, digital modeling, drawing production, concept package assemblage The Understory (right) custom signage, lighting, and furniture design for Understory, a food hall and
transportation hub at the base of Downtown Houston’s Bank of America Tower; digital modeling, shop drawings, and communication with fabricator Efficiency Unit
1 - Bedroom Unit
213 sq ft
475 - 551 sq ft
Studio Unit 351 sq ft
Closet 4’ x 9’
Bathroom
Kitchen
6’4” x 9’
9’3” x 14’3”
Closet
Closet
Kitchen
Linen
Bathroom
9’3” x 14’3”
Entry / Kitchenette
6’6” x 8’
Bathroom 6’6” x 8’
6’6” x 8’6”
W/D
Living / Bedroom
Living / Bedroom
7’3” x 13’6”
9’3” x 19’6”
Living
Bedroom
9’3” x 13’
9’ x 13’
1-Bedroom Unit 0 0
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Contact Contact
Contact
Client
Level 01
4910 Burnet Road Austin, 78756 Scale:Texas 1/16” = 1’-0” (512) 706.4303
Location
Project Transitions 8007 Burnet Road
Client
Date
Location
Client Date
925 sq ft
Project Transitions 8007 Burnet Road Unit Plan
Austin, Texas
4910 Burnet Road 15 August 2019 Austin, Texas 78756 (512) 706.4303
Project Transitions Unit Plan 8007 Burnet Road
Austin, Texas
Stor.
Entry / Common Area 820 sq ft
Small Meeting 255 sq ft
Therapeutic Garden
Entry Gate
Covered Patio
Entry Garden
WC
Office 230 sq ft
WC
Main / Common Area Square Footages Dining Community Common Area Offices Pantry Kitchen Storage Meeting
Storage 95 sq ft
IT
930 925 820 880 760 500 120 255
Office
Office
245 sq ft
245 sq ft
Feature Stair
Shared Kitchen
Courtyard
500 sq ft
75 sq ft
Pantry & Storage
Kitchen & Prep
760 sq ft
500 sq ft
Dining 930 sq ft
Total
including circulation and restrooms
7500
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15 August 2019
16 1-Bedroom Units 45 Studio Units 20 Effeciency Units
Laundry 375 sq ft
Date
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Image
81 Units Total
Office 160 sq ft
Community
Studio Unit5 1 2
Efficiency Unit Location
Image
Image
4910 Burnet Road Austin, Texas 78756 (512) 15 706.4303 August 2019
Austin, Texas
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10
5
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Contact
Client
Location
Date
Image
4910 Burnet Road Austin, Texas 78756 (512) 706.4303
Project Transitions 8007 Burnet Road
Austin, Texas
15 August 2019
Floor Plan
Unit Plan
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Austin, Texas
Michael Hsu Office of Architecture Hanover Square Houston (right) member of small team producing schematic proposal for mixed-use development in Houston’s Buffalo Bayou district; early schematic design direction, master site planning for retail and f/b services, visualization, digital modeling, drawing production, concept package assemblage
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Blake Ahart 512.636.2371 blakeahart@utexas.edu blakeahart.com
Relevant Experience Education
Michael Hsu Office of Architecture
The University of Texas at Austin Bachelor of Architecture | May 2021 3.75 / 4.0 GPA
École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville Paris | Fall 2019
Honors & Awards Dean’s Design Distinction | Spring 2019 Design Excellence Nomination | Spring 2017, Spring 2019 University Honors | 2016 - 2020
Designer, June 2019 - Present Austin, TX Team member participating in schematic design process on a variety of projects including mixed-use developments, restaurants + hospitality, and low-income housing; early schematic design direction, master site planning, visualization, digital modeling, drawing production, concept package assemblage, custom furniture + signage, branding packages
Charles Di Piazza Architecture
Intern, December 2018 - January 2020 Austin, TX Team member for high-end residential project, digital and physical modeling, renderings, digital walkthroughs, schematic proposal drawings
Bodron + Fruit
Independent Contractor, Winter 2018 Dallas, TX Digital architectural modeling and visualization
AvroKo
Intern, Summer 2018 New York, NY Member of small team designing interiors for a high-end hospitality project; produced renderings and presentations for clients, conceptual design for custom furniture, composed material and idea boards for presentations
Involvement UTSOA Freshmen Mentor AIA Homes Tour, Docent AIAS, Member Senate of College Councils, Communications RAL Absolute Texas, Member
David Weekley Homes
Intern, Summer 2015, 2016 Austin, TX Assisted with construction management and oversight, ensured safety of all construction workers and tradesmen, oversaw online customer portal, communicated with homeowners regarding the status of their home’s construction
Jauregui Architects
Intern, Summer 2014 Austin, TX Assisted with general office duties, became familiar with AutoCAD and Revit, transferred files between AutoCAD and Revit, built and organized both AutoCAD and Revit libraries
Skills Adobe Suite Photoshop Illustrator InDesign Premiere After Effects
Fabrication
3D Printing Lasercutting Model-making
Digital
Rhinoceros 3D Revit AudtoCAD SketchUp 3DS Max Lumion Enscape V-Ray
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512.636.2371 blakeahart@utexas.edu blakeahart.com
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