Architecture Portfolio by erincsanchez

Erin C. Sánchez

erincsanchez@gmail.com | 540.986.5392

Virginia Tech | School of Architecture + Design

W O R K - E X P E R I E N C E

Bachelor of Architecture | Cum Laude | May 2013 Minors: Industrial Design, Spanish

Intern Architect | Sullivan Goulette & Wilson Chicago, IL – May 2014-Present

Designed for several commercial projects, single and multi-family homes Coordinated with consultants and clients on building design Researched and presented material choices for projects Responsible for CAD drawings for construction documents and permits Developed experience in professional practice and project management

Intern Architect | Community Design Studio Christiansburg, VA – Summer Internship 2012

Worked on design for a community center in Charlottesville, Virginia Made site models for the firm’s projects Researched materials for upcoming projects Worked on CAD drawings for new and existing projects Learned about professional practice and project management

Intern Architect | Rutgers University Facilities and Planning Department Piscataway, NJ – Summer Internship 2010, 2011

Gained on-site and office experience Helped design new graduate housing facilities for campus Learned about professional practice and project management Helped design material palette for select projects R E L AT E D - E X P E R I E N C E

design/buildLAB | Covington Farmers Market Blacksburg and Covington, VA, 2010-2011

Worked with a team to design and build farmers market Maintained public relations as head of communications committee Solicited funding for charity project Awards: 2012 Woodworks Design Award for Exterior Use of Wood 2011 Virginia Society AIA Design Excellence Award | 2011 USA Character Approved 2012 Blue Ridge AIA Design Excellence Award | 2012 Blight to Might Honorable Mention Publications: ArchDaily | Dezeen | American Architects | Public Interest Design | Inform USA Network Character Blog

VT Industrial Design | Study Abroad in India Rajasthan, India, Winter 2010-2011

Studied history, architecture, and several facets of Northern Indian culture Conducted field research for K-Yan and Bahikhaata Projects Awards: World Impact Design Finalist | 2012 IDEA Awards Bronze

O T H E R - E M P L O Y M E N T

Bartender + Banquet Server | The Inn at Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA – May 2011- August 2013

Interacted with guests one-on-one Created a welcoming enjoyable environment for guests Took and filled orders for food and alcoholic beverages Maintained inventory for bar

Senior Guard Supervisor, Asst Swim Coach | University Swimming Association Inc. Piscataway, NJ - Summers 2008-2011

Managed staff of lifeguards and desk attendants, and swim team of over 80 children Encouraged teamwork, sportsmanship and cooperation Served as a lifeguard and liaison between patrons, lifeguards, children, parents and managers A

S K I L L S - + - A B I L I T I E S

H O N O R S - + - A W A R D S

Virginia Tech Dean’s List | Class of ‘76 Bicentennial Award | National Hispanic Scholar Finalist

Table of Contents

D AY T O N + W E L L N E S S + C E N T E R

V S A I A + C O M P E T I T I O N

CULINARY+ARTS+INSTITUTE

CHURCH+AVENUE+REVITALIZATION

COVINGTON+FARMERS+MARKET

S A L T + M A K E R + H O U S E

C O M M U N I T Y + R A I L R O A D + PA R K

BLUE+RIDGE+COMMONS

architectUre

Architects have the responsibility to design with economic, ecological, and social impact in mind. By taking these important factors into consideration when designing the world around us, we shape the built environmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to affect the people living in it. My passion for architecture lies in how it interacts with the public. Architecture and design have the power to shape social culture and ways of life. I believe that good design can improve and develop strong communities and create the opportunity for change.

Photo Courtesy of Jeff Goldberg/Esto

DaYton Wellness center Newark, NJ 5th Year Thesis

An architectural exploration of design's interaction with the urban community at multiple scales, this thesis project manifested itself in the form of a community center for the under-served Dayton neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey. Creating the greatest opportunity for interaction was a priority for the design because it significantly contributes to the strength of the community as a whole. Lack of interaction and trust among neighbors reduces concern for the welfare of the street or the community. Design can be used to create environments that can promote interaction among neighbors. Windows and viewports between programs as well as between program and exterior provide opportunities for visual access to other people and activities that otherwise might not be seen. This connection can create curiosity that can help individuals grow and succeed.

Success Support

Physical Health

Growth Opportunities

Providing opportunities for personal and professional growth, spaces that promote physical health, and centers for success support can help the community create a strong culture for interaction and change in the neighborhood.

The placement and dialogue of several types of program create a rich interactive environment that provides opportunities for members of the community to connect. 9

This community center will draw a variety of people with different interests into a central location, which will architecturally promote connection and interaction among multiple types of groups through the use of visual connectivity. This will help foster a sense of community within the building between people who otherwise might not interact.

Studying the relationships between different entry points, and examining the importance of order within the building in a variety of layouts, the strongest idea clearly presented itself: a simple system to order the building allowing only for main hallways and one central space that is visible from any point in the building and that could distribute the individual to any other point. This core and path system provides a clear means to navigate the building, eliminating the need for a confusing secondary path system.

1. Multipurpose 1a. Storage 2. Restrooms 3. Office 3a. Storage

4. Daycare 4a. Reception 4b. Office 4c. Kitchen 4d. Art Room 4e. Outdoor Play Space

5. Community Garden 5a. Office 6. Counseling Wing 6a. Office 6b. Group Meeting 6c. Individual Meeting 7. Track 8. Core

A construction detail for the core, the central gathering space where all paths in the building converge. The core, with its drastic 60 foot tall curtain wall, is a guiding beacon both throughout the neighborhood, and within the Community Wellness Center itself.

The concept of interaction is one of the principal ideas driving not only the programming and purpose of the building, but also the way it is laid out. Interaction of volumes allows for the overlap of activities and, as a result, users of every area of the building. This sketch perspective from Frelinghuysen Avenue, the main road in the area, again shows the importance of visual connectivity to the activity happening inside, as well as the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interaction with the street. Because this is a building mainly for the Dayton neighborhood, the building addresses the main street but does not meet it. The wellness center is for the community rather than the city.

Explorations of light and transparency were done to examine the relationships between different types of program and their need for privacy or visual connectivity. The relationships among different types of program are extremely important. Some program is meant to be seen â&#x20AC;&#x201C; very visually accessible, activities to be shared with the community. Other types of program are more secluded, more focused on the growth of the individual and the self. Some spaces, like the counseling center, are spaces that require more intimate self-reflection and protection from the public. In an effort to remove individuals from the discomfort or social stigma of counseling, design for the counseling wing includes individual waiting spaces for those seeking support. Other spaces, like the pool, should be made more available to allow for interaction between viewers and participants. Celebrating these activities and the accomplishments of their participants helps expand the programs by introducing them to the neighborhood.

View from elevated walkway

Rooftop community garden

Wellness Center meets the community

VirGinia societY coMPetition Alexandria, VA 2.5 Days 5th Year

This mixed-use firehouse in Alexandria uses shifting volumes with fire walls to focus on the circulation of fire trucks. The building also allows for a community friendly space, which functions as a central room for the residents and provides educational opportunities for the nearby elementary school's students.

cUlinarY arts institUte Blacksburg, VA 10 Weeks 4th Year

The Culinary Arts Institute in crosssection is triangular with a steeply inclined plane. It projects slightly over the main access route to campus, College Avenue, offering pedestrians shelter from rain and sun. The inclined wall of the prism raises the presence of the prismatic body which separates town and university. The main structural system forming the prism consists of ten bays of triangularly connected trusses. This structural system defined the identity of the triangular interior space and main faรงade. Within the prismatic space separate volumes containing specific programmatic spaces and utilities stand independently between the trusses. These volumes conduct their loads via bearing walls to the ground and sometimes penetrate the exterior roof surface of the prism defined by the truss structure. Overall, the two structural systems work together in a dialog between a crisp abstract geometry and place-making. On an urban level, the stark form makes a distinct threshold between the campus and the downtown area.

A sketch of the promenade behind the culinary institute, towards downtown

A view of the interior of the restaurant, on the top floor of the Institute and open to the public

Section taken at bay eight

A view from Squires Student Center towards the Culinary Arts Institute down College Ave

Structural section showing truss detailing

chUrch aVenUe reVitalization Roanoke, VA 11 Weeks 4th Year

After a group exploration of planning theory and studying the connection between the growing cultural West End district of Roanoke and its relationship to the downtown area, each student designed individual buildings that respected the ideas of the master plan and brought Church Avenue back to life. This mixed-use building accommodates different types of purposes and activities to attract a diverse group of users. The faceted west faรงade playfully activates the space between the building and its neighbor, engaging the public and creating a unique courtyard experience.

Thinking about what makes an active street and the elements that create liveliness, we focued on how to attract people to the area and create an interesting series of building fronts that engages the street and the public.

Because the two culturally active districts in Roanoke are located so closely together, we wanted to extend a corridor of activity from the downtown area to the emerging West End district in an effort to connect the two successful neighborhoods.

By varying store frontsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; height and set-backs, new construction creates a more vivacious and engaging street, offering gathering spaces, courtyards, and outdoor seating areas. Streets stay most active when there is a variety of movement to attract users with different lifestyles at diferent times of the day. Neighborhoods with a variety of people and purposes are typically more attractive and safe than more inactive neighborhoods.

The route that had the most potential was Church Avenue, a direct connection but currently unpopulated and inactive except for the few remaining institutional buildings. Though the majority of the street is flanked by parking lots, it maintains locational and architectural value.

West End

Church Avenue

Downtown

Site Plan

Spatial Order

East/West section looking North

Building Influences

The geode building, located adjacent to the city Courthouse, takes a new approach to the idea of integration of new buildings into existing city fabric with every decision made as a reaction or direct influence of its surroundings. The building itself allows for multiple uses that would appeal to a diverse selection of people. Retail and restaurant space on the first floor introduces amenities currently only found in the downtown area. These businesses will draw people in on the weekends and evenings. Office space on the second floor provides space for the daytime lawyers and citizens of the area. Residential lofts on the third floor provide space for active city goers who are attracted to the city life and their proximity to culture as an alternative to the downtown.

coVinGton farMers MarKet Covington, VA 9 Months 3rd Year

Seventeen third year students of the design/buildLAB at Virginia Tech worked together to study the market and the city of Covington, Virginia pursuing community involvement and input from farmers and townspeople about what they wanted to see in the market. After studying the site, design/buildLAB created a design for the market and surrounding park space. Designing with transportation and construction in mind, the team built and prefabricated the structure of the building, roof, and market floor offsite in Blacksburg while the ground and foundations for the market space were simultaneously being prepared in Covington by a sub-contractor. Once the ground and foundations were ready, the modular pieces constructed in our Blacksburg facility were transported up to Covington for us to assemble on-site. Because the site was on the corner of the two main streets in Covington, the site was a natural location for a project that would benefit the whole community. The multiple scales of movement, from pedestrian traffic to small town car traffic to a local highway, activated different potential for the design of the market. It had to feel connected and open to the community's Main Street. Adaptability for the space was paramount. It needed to be usable for multiple community events, including the farmers market, community block parties and festivals, small outdoor performances, and every day park use. We salvaged 100 year old heart pine from an old tire warehouse, ripped and refinished it so it could be reused as the ceiling of the market, taking advantage of the wood's beautiful texture and existing embodied energy. 28

Photo Courtesy of Jeff Goldberg/Esto

An early market proposal as part of a small group focusing on the siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reaction to the change in grade by using the landscape to form sloping terraces that carve through the site.

As head of the Communications Committe, my duties included community outreach, maintenance of the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blog, and interaction and solicitation of donations from various companies and organizations.

Photo Courtesy of Jeff Goldberg/Esto

The final site model for the Farmers Market.

Photo Courtesy of Jeff Goldberg/Esto

salt MaKer hoUse

Falls Ridge Preserve, VA 10 Weeks 2nd Year

Designed for someone who lives alone in the woods and harvests salt for a living, this house was designed understanding his lifestyle, beliefs, and needs. The client desired the connection and peace of the natural environment of the Falls Ridge Preserve. As a resident of a nature preserve, the house had to be of minimum impact to the environment. A site was chosen that was elevated, yet close to the creek where he would be harvesting.

Paying homage to the natural growth of the forest, the form of the house was designed within a group of trees adjacent to the bend of the creek. The house and the trees accommodate each other and live in harmony together. 32

Because space is at a premium, areas were designed for adaptive use; for instance a living space that converts into a bedroom, and a bathroom that doubles as a mud room.

coMMUnitY railroaD ParK Blacksburg, VA 5 Weeks 2nd Year

The original geometries come from the geometric relationships of a study on anthropomorphism. The installation is meant to give life back to a neglected area to restore its hope and spirit.

Recycled railroad tracks rise out of the ground, grasping toward the sky and forming sculpted inhabitable spaces that allow for exploration and play. Colorful panes of glass rise and fall between the tracks: casting a brilliant display of color and light onto the ground. 34

The vivid weightlessness of the glass juxtaposes the rough solidity of the tracks bringing a sense of vigor to an industrial icon. The playfulness of the installation would allow it to belong in almost any setting, whether in a park, as a sculptural entity in a city, or in vast open space. Eventually these old tracks may become overgrown like their abandoned brothers, providing structure for new growth.

blUe riDGe coMMons Charlottesville, VA 3 Weeks Summer Internship

One of my tasks while a summer intern at Community Housing Partners was to make a site model for the existing Blue Ridge Commons community and to then create a variety of schematic designs for the community building we were working on. I was told to explore different forms and shapes that would integrate two primary functions- a community center for classes and community gatherings, as well as an administrative office space. Both were meant to be in the same building but have their own individual area. Essentially the structure was to be two buildings that acted together as one. It had to incorporate a proposed main entrance area so that it would be easy to find and welcoming for both new residents and residents already living in the neighborhood. In response to the siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s steep hill, several iterations of the design had two floors, each addressing one of the two overarching purposes of the building.