Jeffrey H. Fain
Master of Architecture ‘08 The University of Texas at Austin
Hiking Shelters - Nichole Wiedemann / Lou Kimball East Texas
Site specificity was the topic under consideration in this studio which proposed two extended stay hiking shelters located in East and West Texas. The programmatic requirements for both projects were the same: acommodate 4 people for one week with no outside services provided. Water collection and storage was emphasized as well as passive means of cooling and heating. The climatic differences between the humid thickets of the East Texas site and the arid mountains of the West Texas site along with vernacular modes of construction, siting, and comfort informed the design process at all scales. We were encouraged to work on schematic design and siting while simultaneously thinking about detailing and constructability. Conceptually, the projects responded to our initial impression of the site which we acquired on two hiking/camping trips during the course of the semester.
West Texas
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Professional Residency Program: I began my internship at LakeFlato working in sketch-up and Maxwell to produce interior renderings of the Red Oak Ranch house. In consultation with the interior designer, we proposed several iterations of the material palette and lighting plans. I created several rendering packages which were the subject of weekly negotiations with the interior designer, lighting designer, and project manager. I was simultaneously working on the construction drawings and Revit models for the main house, domestic, and equestrian staff housing buildings. Both the staff buildings were at 100% before I left the office, and it was a great experience to be present at the signing of the final drawings. My time at Lake-Flato was a period of exponential growth in architecture, especially detailing. 12
Red Oak Ranch - Living Level Materials Concept 01.14.08
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Red Oak Ranch - View from Entry to Casual Living 01.14.08
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Red Oak Ranch - View from Entry to Hanging Library 01.14.08
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Red Oak Ranch - View of Entry/South Elevation 01.14.08
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Red Oak Ranch - North and South Elevations 01.14.08
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Red Oak Ranch - Roof Framing Model 01.14.08
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Red Oak Ranch - Roof and Ceiling Cavity Details 01.14.08
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Pocket Park - Simon Atkinson
The unique interface between the planar city grid and the undulating surface of the natural terrain of Austin is the central concept of this pocket park. Essentially, the thesis is: where park and city meet the two landscapes should interpenetrate each other with the city grid overflowing into the park and the natural terrain creeping out into the city. In this project, the grid of the city is represented by the brick pillars which surround the boundary of the lot. The landscape within is then extruded through this grid into the city. Within the confines of the park, all hardscape and structures follow the lines of the projected grid. 20
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Bell Foundry - John Blood
The goal driving the design of this project was to display the process of bell making to the public without actually bringing visitors into the hazardous workspace. By breaking the linear, regimented process of lost wax casting at the pouring stage the most dynamic part of the process is given prominence with respect to the street, and drawn outdoors away from the less heat intensive stages. Also, this move isolates the wax mold making process in the smaller of the two enclosed buildings where temperature control and air filtration concerns are crucial. Combined with the steady slope of the site, the arrangement of the buildings in a broken crescent shape allows visitors to watch the bell making process from a vantage point slightly above floor level. The entire complex forms an ampitheater of sorts with the process arrayed around the main stage or pour yard. The long linear building houses polishing/tuning facilities, offices, and shipping/storage areas. 24
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Bookstore - Michael Benedikt The design of retail space was the focus of this project, a bookstore near UT campus. Based on the principles of an “experience� driven economy, this store was conceptualized as a winding journey through a vortex of color and texture provided by the books themselves. The ramps, which wind their way through the length of the building in a helical figure-eight, are stiffened by the structural bookcases which rise on their edges. The ramps are handicapped accessible, however, they can be bypassed via the elevator in the rear core of the store. Additionally, there are stairs in both cores which are situated in the voids of the eight-shape formed by the ramp. Also situated within and around the cores are amenities such as reading rooms, couches, chairs, and refreshments. 28
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Retail/Housing - Rob Church The proximity of the site to Shoal Creek and Austin’s Greenbelt entered the design process for this multi-story housing project as a formal idea about the way the limestone of local austin waterways is formed into small canyons and ledges by the process of erosion. Using erosion and the idea of canyon as a starting point I shaped each floor plate as a separate layer of strata with most stepping back with increasing height, and some slightly cantilevered to give the effect of a ledge. The larger of the two buildings forms the backdrop or as we began calling it the “bank” against which the smaller building, or “bar”, is viewed. The bank holds most of the housing in its upper five levels with a small campus grocery store and fitness center on the ground floor. The bar houses a coffee shop and deli on its ground floor and the offices of a local tutoring and test prep company on the upper two floors. The area between the two buildings is used as public dining and recreational space for the groundfloor businesses. 32
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Retail/Housing - David Heymann Several practical challenges drove the design of this multi-story housing project: the daycare’s need for open ground level playspace, the preservation of the numerous pecan trees on the site, the manner of linkage between the various programmatic elements, and the need for public recreation space were but a few of the numerous considerations which informed the final design. Ultimately, however, the primary focus of the project was to mitigate the overbearing presence of new 200’ tall buildings within an established community of 4 and 5 story apartment complexes. Thus, the lower stories of the building are stepped and banded in order to break the verticality of the housing towers, and the tallest parts of the building are not allowed to run the entire length of the street edges. The existing pecan trees also serve to screen the residential towers from a pedestrian’s point of view, thereby reducing their perceived height. 36
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JEFFREY H. FAIN
1906 Brentwood Street, Austin, TX 78757 - (512) 971-4948 - jeffreyfain@mail.utexas.edu
Education
The University of Texas Austin Master of Architecture, August 2008 GPA: 3.88/4.0
The University of Texas Austin Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, May 2001 Minor: Spanish GPA: 3.88/4.0 University Honors
Work Experience 6/07-1/08
Lake - Flato Architects, Inc. Intern • Prepared construction documents, rendering packages, physical models, and digital models for client presentations • Participated in cooperative design process
San Antonio, TX
1/03-9/03
Fain, Ltd. Designer/ General Contractor • Planned and designed all aspects of residential investment property • Responsible for supervision of construction
Nacogdoches, TX
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5/02-9/03
Fain Metalworks Owner • Fabricated metal structures for commercial projects • Built commercial and residential fencing with metal gates
Nacogdoches, TX
11/01-5/02
Wildes and Weinberg Legal Assistant • Assisted immigration law firm with organizing case paperwork • Filed petitions for attorneys
New York, NY
Skills
Honors
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Revit, AutoCAD, Sketch-Up, VIZ Metal Fabrication, Carpentry Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign Programming in HTML and C++
• Twice nominated for UTSOA Design Excellence Awards • Fall 1997-Spring 2001: University Honors • Honor Society of Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha of Texas Chapter
Travel Experience
• 2000 Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Austria, and Hungary • 1998 Bulgaria, Czech Republic • 1997 Costa Rica, Panama, and Beliz 41