2023 Nacogdoches Downtown Plan

Client: City of Nacogdoches Texas

Location: Nacogdoches, TX

Planning: DTJ Design

Completion: Ongoing

Seven Step Process

On the East side of Texas lies the quaint little town of Nacogdoches, the oldest town in the state. Home to Stephan F. Austin University, Historic red brick streets, and an impressive annual Blueberry festival, this town is in dire need of a surge. DTJ was brought in to speak with community members, and analyze the towns wants and needs as well as the overall existing conditions. We then began accessing where planning efforts would best be utilized and eventually came up with 3 separate plans in the 2023 Comprehensive Plan. The plan I’m sharing is the Downtown Plan, because arguably I find it the most interesting, and I was involved thew most on this effort.

Seven Step Process

Academic Experience

_Allegro: San Francisco Student National Design Competion - 3rd Place

Third Place – “Allegro,” by Dan Kaiser

This entry proposes an intervention that blurs the distinction between art and landscape. The formally aggressive intervention is inspired by sound waves and the existing building’s form, combined to create seating and play space that is intended to transform the space at night. The inclusion of relevant case studies was useful to understand the design intent and feasibility of this proposal. The design refines the café building to maintain the original urban design intent of having a strong, well-defined corner, while also addressing the proposed new plaza design. The jury commends the creativity and quality of this visually stimulating proposal, which creates the potential for success whether people occupy the space as intended by the proposal or not.

-Thom Mayne, Morphosis Architects + Judging Panel

Academic Experience

USS. Indianapolis Memorial

Location: Indianapolis, IN

Team: Dan Kaiser, Alyssa Babb, Ashlee Mcquarters

Roles:

Lumion+Graphics/Design: Dan

CAD/Design: Alyssa

Plants/Design: Ashlee

Little bit of History... The USS Indianapolis is known in the military as one of the most horrific sea disasters this country has ever seen. On July 30th 1945, the ship was making its way to aid the war effort in Guam when it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and sank within minutes. Only 316 of the 1,196 men on board survived. It’s thought that within the days after it was torpedoed the men on board suffered from dehydration, salt poisoning, and shark attacks.

For years now, this memorial has been questioned, vandalized and thought to have a better location in the Indianapolis American Legion Mall. This design is centralized along that idea, but also allows for a bigger impact as the current design lacks space and effect. As a group of three we came up with the idea to sink the memorial like the ship itself. Surrounded by a wall of water 6’ tall, the impact and reflection allow for a more controversial view and brings attention to a memorial that most people have disregarded along the Indianapolis Canal walk. Not only is this new design impactful, but also completely accessible by ADA standards allowing folks to actually enjoy this memorial.

Every year our chapter held a Department get together that usually expanded to the whole college because of how popular it was. During the 2016-2017 I was the Marketing chair and poster maker.

Inspired by my ever changing music playlist I decided to make another cover.