PortfolioSpring2024

Portfolio

Kayla Westlake

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The Wind-Catcher Apartment Complex

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The Grand Abstraction

Adaptive Reuse Series

Page 11

Architecture of the Flat Apartment Unit

Page 19

Lunar Agriculture Center Research Center

Page 23

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Kayla Westlake

The Wind-Catcher

Spring 2023 ARC 301- Professor Rothi Bhattacharyya Group members: Curtis Horger and Karen Cordova Design Excellence Awarded

The apartment complex was purposefully crafted for student accommodation, strategically located near the Arizona State University campus and local schools. Featuring a blend of one-bedroom and two-bedroom units totaling 37, the complex predominantly utilizes Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), a new material for the Phoenix region. Additionally, the site includes a commercial area housing a cozy café and a spacious study zone. The architectural layout fosters a communal college atmosphere, perfect for any student seeking a neighborly environment.

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Kayla Westlake

Site Analysis

The apartment complex is a prime location near the Arizona State University campus and local schools, offering enhanced accessibility with the nearby light rail system, thus promoting walkability. The commercial building aims to support surrounding school student and parents by providing a book shop and a place for studying and gathering. Additionally, the design incorporates passive cooling principles, harnessing prevailing winds from the Northeast to facilitate upward airﬂow, effectively ventilating the spaces between apartment units and promoting natural cooling. The circulation within the complex is centralized, encouraging a vibrant college community atmosphere ideal for any student.

Figure 1

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Kayla Westlake

Level 1 Floor Plan

The commercial building features a designated area designed to promote positive study habits and facilitate social gatherings. The lower level contains a coffee shop and a bookstore, offering ample seating for visitors. On the upper level, there is additional seating and bookshelves, along with an outdoor seating area for those who prefer it. The building has a main entrance for community members and a private entrance for apartment residents.

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Two Bedroom Unit Render One Bedroom Unit Render

Massing Iterations

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Kayla Westlake

The Grand Ascension

Fall 2023 ARC 401- Professor Abigail Hoover Group member: Zion Jessee

The Grand Ascension is a proposed adaptive reuse project for the Paper Heart building at 750 Grand Avenue, Phoenix, AZ. When conceptualizing a new program, it was essential to prioritize community and expression. The design intends to cultivate the community of artists already present and introduce a unique community of indoor rock climbers. The proposed program is an indoor rock climbing gym where the climbers immerse themselves in murals spanning the climbing walls, and the artists have an endless gallery of human forms and walls to express themselves.

The physical and mental expression exuded from “The Grand Ascension” reflects onto the surrounding structures and the neighborhood as a whole.

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The designed form centers around what the building could be for Grand Ave, a beacon, a summit for artists and climbers to gather. The exterior facade resembles this mountain summit through an abstract representation that mimics the interior rock walls (see figure 1).

From the top view, the addition is inspired by a hand grasping a hold as the fingers are the existing building, integrating the inspiration of human form within the floor plan (see Figure 2). The building is multileveled and sectioned into three spaces: bouldering (blue), top rope (orange), and artistic areas (pink). The building includes several collaboration spaces where both climbers and artists can interact.

Figure 1

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Figure 2

Form Kayla Westlake

North Elevation

North Section

South Section

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Concept Iterations

Architecture of the Flat

Information:

Spring 2023

Arizona State University// Architectural Studies

ARC 301- Professor Rothi Bhattacharyya

Group members: Curtis Horger and Karen Cordova (Group members work not included)

Architecture of the flat is a reiteration of a 2D painting by Kelly Ellsworth. The form was developed with the principle of subtraction by means of overlapping two cubes then subtracting the areas of overlay (see Figure 1). With this new form an apartment unit was developed. The apartment unit is made up of a system of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) paneling in combination with design parameters.

The space was designed for the elderly with functionality, comfort, and privacy in mind.

The apartment unit consists of two buildings conjoined by a subtraction -incepted courtyard that contributes to the circulation and openness of the space. Each buildings has its own functionality, one being the bedroom for privacy and the other having the customizable kitchen and living room for a communal space.

Figure 1

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Lunar Agriculture Center

Information:

Fall 2022

Arizona State University// Architectural Studies

Professor Cole O’Brien

Group Members: Bruce Ward and Phetemany Simmalavong (work not included)

The Lunar Center is developed for the future in 2050 located on the moon’s Shackleton Crater. The design parameters was to create living spaces for a crew of 10 for up to a year at a time. The site design focuses on the ecosystems of botanical location, social interactions, and movement throughout the architecture. The dome design integrates a botanical feature with the leaf pattern and incorporates circular walkways around the perimeter for intentional movement; the interior includes more plant life embedded into the framework. The bedrooms located in the smaller spheres create intimate environments, whereas the central areas enables interactions between inhabitants.

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Kayla Westlake