Leah Kite
Architecture Portfolio 2018
Resume Contact leahkkite@gmail.com (913)-653-4441 issuu.com/leahkkite Lawrence, Kansas
Skills Technical Revit
Education The University of Kansas School of Architecture and Design Master of Architecture Student Graduation in May 2020 Grade Point Average 3.6
Shawnee Mission South High School High School Diploma Graduation in May 2015 Grade Point Average 4.2
Adobe Software Lumion AutoCAD
Employment History
Sketch Up Drafting
Professional
Present August 2018
Time Management Organization Leadership Communication
May 2018 August 2016
References Kori Bohn (913)-488-7325 Former employer for nanny service.
Tim Moore
August 2016 May 2016
(913)-439-0467 Co-worker at Brookridge Day School.
Julianna Haller (785)-840-5069 Supervisor at Michaels.
May 2016 March 2013
Acme I help customers with their shirt design needs from start to finish. We talk through what they want, and I design their shirts using Illustrator. I also help make the shirts, using the ink and vinyl processes in the store.
Michaels Craft Store I used products available in the store to teach crafting classes for customers from five to ninety years old. I was typically given just 30 minutes to learn the activity, find the supplies, and set up the room. The job taught me patience and flexibility and helped me learn to be quick on my feet.
Francesca’s I helped customers find clothes and accessories that fit their needs by asking guided questions and providing customer service.
Brookridge Day School As an after school care giver I usually worked with about twelve children. The rest of my time was spent assisting in the office, kitchen, or with routine maintenance.
Studio 108 Fall 2015 Table of Contents Washington Square 4th year
Crossroads Cultural Center 3rd year
Olathe Public Library 2nd year
Studio 509 3rd year Eco Machine 2nd year
Drawings and Draftings
Washington Blvd.
Map of Kansas City, Kansas
7th
10th
State Ave. Minnesota Blvd.
Washington Square At the beginning of the semester, tons of
backing up to a one-way residential street. This
research was done on Wyandotte county and the
way neighbors feel they can enjoy the space,
people who live there. A few facts stood out as
and kids aren’t playing close to a busy street. The
being vitally important to any new development.
bodega was placed at the corner of Tenth Street
First, Wyandotte County is one of the most diverse
and Washington Boulevard. This put it across the
counties in the county, as well as one of the least
street from the Beatrice Lee Community center.
healthy. In addition to these challenges, there
Inside the shop there are a few essentials, and
is a high population of kids. Because of these
a lunch counter that serves people walking-up
challenges, a careful approach to housing was
to the outdoor window. This window looks onto
developed. The goal was to develop a project
a patio covered by a pergola wrapped in plants.
that felt personal, while being affordable and
These plants provide shade and tie together the
incorporating a bodega as well as a day care.
earth tones of the building around it.
In order to keep the units feeling personal, each unit is a walk-up style home with a front door as well as a porch or balcony. The plan to keep the building affordable was to use simple solutions. In order to keep running costs down, cross ventilation is utilized in the apartments, and highly insulated walls so that the demand on the mechanical systems would be minimal. On the site, there is a community garden, as well as a basketball court,
Rendering of Garden Space
Interior rendering of an apartment
Interior rendering of the bodega
Interior rendering of the preschool
Form Diagram
The initial form of the building, that came from all the initial iterations of the project, pushed the building close to the street. This decision left
also broke down the scale of the building so that it didn’t feel as large. The outdoor spaces were then covered in
tons of space for outdoor public spaces behind
plants while the housing was clad in terra cotta
the building, but with the concept of walk ups,
and wood. This was another attempt to make the
the building was pushed away from the street a
building feel smaller and give it a more human
bit. This move, separated the spaces for cars and
scale. The different materials broke down the scale
for people. An additional public space was then
of the building, and signaled different spaces, like
created on the corner of Tenth and Washington
the preschool and bodega which are both a cream
by separating the building into two. This space on
colored terra cotta.
the corner was intended to be a very public space to go along with the bodega. Finally the building form was pushed and pulled at creating insets for doors and pop outs for more interior space. This
South Elevation
East Elevation
Aluminum Flashing Terra Cotta Cladding Clamp Air Gap Rigid Insulation Air Barrier Oriented Strand Board
Insulated Studs Gypsum
Aluminum Flashing Rolling Shade Double Glazed Window
Wall Section with Detail
First floor plan with the site
Public Spaces
1 - Lunch counter kitchen
2 - Bodega
3 - Resident’s Gym
4 - Leasing Office
Residential Spaces
5 - Upper apartment’s patio
6 - Single bedroom apartment
7 - Single bedroom’s patio
Preschool
8 - Library
9 - Kitchen
10 - Entrance and flexible space
11 - Office
12 - Preschool Classroom
13 - Kindergarten Classroom
14 - Infant and Toddler Classroom
15 - Crib room
16 - playground
Outdoor
17 - Basketball Court
18 - Community Garden
Second Floor Plan
Third Floor Plan
Metal flashing Roofing membrane Insulation Cast in place concrete Metal decking Steel beams Gypsum board
Wall Section
Crossroads Cultural Center In the fall of third year, the studio was tasked
in different colors. Those diagrams helped express
with developing a cultural center to add to the
what kind of materials to use for the different types
art hub in the Crossroads district of Kansas City.
of spaces; private spaces like dressing rooms,
The assignment was to build a center that would
needed to be solid, but the atrium seemed to want
add an auditorium and a multipurpose room
to be covered in glass. This way patrons could see
to the district full of galleries and performance
some of the city’s landmarks. Most of the buildings
spaces. The space was intended to be a small
Crossroads District are made of or clad in brick,
performance venue for accoustic performances. In
so it was an obvious decision for the cladding
addition, we were asked to design a bookstore and
material, but to make the building stand out a
cafe. The beginning of the project was all about
bit, different patterns of brick were used on the
dividing up these spaces, the backstage, public,
facade. This way the building fits into the context
and administrative spaces were then diagrammed
but doesn’t totally blend in.
East Elevation
Second Floor
First Floor Plan
Basement Floor Plan
Sectional Model
Rendering of the Crossroads Cultural Center
Olathe Public Library Like many suburbs around the country, Olathe,
heights and interstitial spaces.
Kansas, is looking to re-invest in its downtown. The city plans to build a new court house, library,
The building was formed around a central
and shopping district. This second-year studio
atrium, with all of the spaces formed around it.
looked into designing the library with the program
This way it is easy to navigate around the building,
put forth by the city. It was completely different
since the atrium is always visible. Once all of the
than previous studio projects. The professor put
spaces were placed around, the building facade
emphasis on making the building work from a
was pushed and pulled. Since all of the buildings
practical point of view. He always asked, “where do
around the project are brick, copper was chosen
the employees take the trash out at the end of the
for the facade material.
night?� and lectured on appropriate floor-to-floor
Library Rendering
Balsa Wood Model
UP
DN
UP
Second Floor Plan
Site and First Floor Plan
Third Floor Plan
North Elevation
Photo by Casey Churuh: Student Studying
Studio 509 In this design-build studio, the class was
in-panel lighting to go along the wall, and lighting
tasked with reimagining seventeen study carrels,
fixtures for a few spaces. During the construction
alcoves in the university library for students to
phase, most of the work was in coordinating
use. The design emphasized lighting, privacy,
with the wood shop to prefabricate panels for
and comfort. As the leader of the lighting team,
installation. Once those were ready to go, the
the work was a delicate balance of delegating
class stained the wood, framed the windows and
and picking up the slack. To light the carrels, the
installed lights.
project needed task lighting to go on each desk,
Previous study carrels
Photo by Dean Daas: Leah Kite reading in the study carrels
Photos by Casey Churuh: Student
Photos by Casey Churuh
Analytical drawings of ambient lighting and electricity
Eco Machine Eye Level View
Eco Machine The Eco Machine project was the most interesting project of second-year. The building was meant to house a living machine system. This
University of Kansas campus and bring visitors to see the school. The building was planned to be in the middle
process takes waste water and cleans it using
of campus on a steep slope. The idea that the
plants and sunlight. The idea was that the building
water filtration process should flow down the hill,
would didactically show what it was doing. The
did a lot to shape the building. Between the site
building was shaped to catch rainwater, with its
factors like the nearby buildings, slope, and natural
butterfly roof, and bring in as much natural light as
factors, the building became rectangular in plan,
possible, this way the plants that clean the waste
and tall in elevation.
water grow and continually clean the water. The plant would purify water for use in buildings on the
Ventilation Diagram
Daylighting Diagram
Drafting, Studio, Spring 2016
Drawings and Draftings
These drawings run the gamut from simple sketches
from a study abroad trip to timeconsuming draftings that took days to complete. This drawing to the right, was a simple sketch of the only cubist light pole in the world, in Prague, Czech Republic. The drafting on the previous page is of a model from my first year of school.
Sketch, Study Abroad, Summer 2018
Drafting, Spring Semester of 2016
Sketch, Study Abroad, Summer 2018
During the study abroad trip, most of the stops to sketch things were only a few minutes. This sketch was of a museum in Berlin, Germany. Many of the museums there have gone through a lot of distruction, so the reconstruction combines the old structure with new components.