Orson Nguyen Portfolio 2024

architecture + interior design

portfolio

ORSON NGUYEN

resume + selected works | 2024

I’m a recent graduate from Thomas Jefferson University with a bachelor’s in architecture and a minor in interior design. I focus on making architecture that pushes boundaries and makes people think. I believe in a holisitic approach that makes design fantastical. Ultimately, as an architect, I want to create a built environment that supports the people and the community using it through enriched designs that center human experience.

2019-2024

Thomas Jefferson University

Bachelors of Architecture + Interior Design Minor

Relevant Coursework: Advanced Building Analysis, Environments for Well-Being, Ecology & Making, Interior

Design 3, Textiles and Materials, Interior Building

Technology, Design 9 + 10: Afrofuturism, Furniture Design

GPA: 3.5, Dean’s List 2022-2023

2015-2019

Cumberland Valley High School

experience skills

2023-2023 SPACEWORK

Architectural Publication Editor

• Worked in a team to curate and design the 10th edition of SPACEWORK

• Created color palettes, motifs, and wayfinding elements

• Curated work to be included into the publication

• Designed Spreads in illustrator and Indesign

• https://issuu.com/jeffersonedu/docs/ spacework-x

2022-2023

Resident Assistant Manager

• Managed a team of 27 people

• Designed training programs

• Mentored new employees

• Interviwed prospective candidates

2020-2024

Resident Assistant

• Plan programs and events

• Counsel residents while they adjust to school

• Work with residents to accommmodate varying lifestyles

• Negotiate and cooperate with residents and with Office of Residential Life

• Participation in staff meetings

• Manage budget

Adobe InDesign Revit Rhino Enscape AutoCAD Twinmotion

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Illustrator

interests

digital art / graphic design / video editing / piano + guitar

repurpose philly

west philadelphia peace peavilion

repurpose philly

For two semesters, I worked on the site of the West Philadelphia Peace Park what the community needed For the first semester, I created a architecture system to create a green market space in the site. I studied precedents that spoke to afrofuturism and how the layers of past, present, and future interplay in a post colonial landscape. on adaptability and flexibility

The module is entirely constructed out of 2x6’s. They are constructed with tonue and groove joints at all four posts. This allows the pieces to slot together. The module can sstand on it’s own or it can aggreate with other modules to create a larger space. The walls are sliding peg boards that can be inserted into any of the four sides. The peg board allows for a variety of things to be pegged onto the walls, such as seating, shelving, or artwork.

02

west philadelphia peace pavilion

For the second semester working on this site, we started to design a pavilion that would actually be built on site. We designed an architectural intervention that will serve the community as well as promote growth and healing in the neighborhood. We met with the Peace Park members many times during the process to determine their wants and needs. The Peace Park is a place to grow food, but also for community outreach, and to be a place that the neighborhood can come to connect, interact, heal, and learn.

In collaboration with Sean Bradley, Haile Hughes, Paola Ferreira, Julianne Grove, Natalia Matias, Clara Newcome, Nick Rozas, Willam Ross, and Emma Vormslachlag

phase one

phase two

phase three

tabachoy

The objective of this interior design project was to create a brick and mortar location for a local food truck. My food truck, Tabachoy, serves authentic Filipino food. I worked to connect the values of the culture to the energy of the food truck to create a cohesive design. The dark blue color scheme with light yellow elementss represent Tabachoy’s slogan: Heavy Bellies, Light Hearts. The curved walls are a heavy, grounding element that pull users into the heart of the space; the communal eating areas.

interior furniture

interior elevation: communal eating area

interior elevation: main dining area

The cruved walls represent community in circular motion. The walls guide the user deeper into the space and invite them to engage with the community around them. It was important to stay true to the ideals of the Philippines throughout the project. I curated a space that is about shared experience. The architecture and color palette were inspired by the restuarant’s slogan, “Light Hearted, Heavy Bellied.” The curving walls become the heavy belly, contrasted with the light heart of the communal spaces.

longitudinal section

transverse section

copper cubes

The aim of this project was to create a dance academy on the campus of Thomas Jefferson University. This project spoke to the poetic nature of dance and how that translates to architecture. The Copper Cubes were an oppurtunity to engage with the grove, a forested part of campus, and connect the lesser utilized parts of campus to the main part. Our design activated the space and acted as a conduit of transitional spaces from the movement of circulation on campus to the movement within our dance academy.

In collaboration with Clara Newcome

second floor

first floor

longitudinal section transverse section

VAPOR

This project was heavily focused on comprehensive design and how site design, structure, envelope, lighting, and MEP systems integrate into a building. For a well rounded design, we developed plans, reflective ceiling plans, sections, and wall sections of the systems of the building.

ANODIZED ALUMINUM PANEL

AIR GAP

Z CHANNEL WITH RIGID INSULATION

EXTERIOR GYPSUM SHEATHING

TRIM EXTRUSION WITH WEEP HOLE

3

5 PLY CLT FLOOR

COPPER FINISH

ALUMINIUM PANEL

AIR GAP

Z CHANNEL WITH RIGID INSULATION

GYPSUM SHEATHING

Z BRACKET

J CLIP

COPPER

cantilever detail clerestory detail

technical drawings

These are a series of technical drawings that I produced while studying Interior Building Technology. Throughout the course of that semester, I worked on understanding the indivudal components of a building and how structure is put together. These are details are taken from an office building that I designed and produced using Revit.

JOINT