PMV i l l e s c a s
Fourth Year Lyaeus Winery and Vineyard
Third Year White Oak Crossing
Mountain View Court
Second Year Interchange Park
Turner Plaza
Travel Sketches
Payton Michael Villescas 2314 Spruce Street Muskegon, MI 49444
paytonv9@vt.edu 616.402.3120
Experience CDAC, Blacksburg, VA
2015 - Present
Designer
Education Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA Bachelor of Landscape Architecture expected 2016
Steger Center for International Scholarship, Riva San Vitale, Switzerland International Residency Program Fall 2014
Spring Lake High School, Spring Lake, MI Graduated 2011 cum laude
- Leading the exploration of conceptual designs for the redevelopment of a small town’s streetscape network. - Meeting with city board members to discus and present design ideas.
Virginia Tech CAUS, Blacksburg, VA
2015 - Present
Personal Assistant
- Locating, reserving, and scanning requested reference literature for the staff within the office. - Assisting in class and document preparation.
Brookdale Senior Living, Chicago, IL
Summer, 2013
Concierge
Skills AutoCAD ArcGIS Adobe Creative Suite Hand Graphics Site Grading SketchUp Revit
- Ensured complete satisfaction for residents and visitors as well as the faculty and staff within the community. - Tasks included: Taking calls, scheduling appointments, making reservations, requesting service and maintenance, and emergency dispatch.
Owens Dining Hall, Blacksburg, VA
2012 - 2014
Student Assistant Manager
- Trained all new employees to efficiently work and maintain all ten stations throughout Owen’s. - Worked to ensure customer satisfaction, maintain food quality, and support a positive work environment.
McDonald’s, Muskegon, MI Crew Trainer
2008 - 2012
- Time management, work efficiency, and strong communication skills were vital aspects to my position. - Training new employees to cook food, clean equipment, and serve consumers.
Lyaeus Winery and Vineyard Riva San Vitale, Switzerland
Designed while studying abroad, culture and literature prevailed in the creation of this project. Vineyards in the Ticino region of Switzerland are renowned for their Merlot and their method of terracing to give attention to every vine. With that in mind, the vineyard itself was designed in a way that gave optimal sun to each vine, while still making efficient use of the land. The tasting room and garden was where literature and atmosphere came together within the project. The story of Bacchus - the god of grape harvesting and wine distilling - became the basis for design decisions. Elements within the garden allude to his tale, such as the planting of pines to reference his pine cone tipped fennel staff. Beyond that it is often said that Bacchus was a god of duality. On one side, he was disorderly and euphoric while on the other was order and fairness, a pattern the garden follows as you journey to the tasting room. Upon entering the garden you descend into a shaded overgrown grotto. It is a care free sensation as your surroundings fall away and you relax among the plants. You then climb back to the surface and journey down a path where vegetation becomes more sparse until finally entering the grand tasting room. A place of pure geometry which provides the opportunity to look out upon the lake and mountains. Overall the experience creates a surreal atmosphere of bliss. Ultimately, the name follows suit to this journey. Lyaeus, an epithet of Bacchus, embodies the experience of exploring the winery and vineyard.
Lyaeus Winery and Vineyard
Pinus mugo ‘Golden glow’
Acer Griseum
Azalea japonica
Carex oshimensis ‘ Japanese sedge’
Chamaecypris obtusa ‘ Golden dwarf cypress’
Physocarpus opulifolius ‘ Andre’
White Oak Crossing Blacksburg, VA
A group collaborative neighborhood design project raised the question of sustainability. Within the small but dense community, everything one might need is located within walking or biking distance: a school, a community center, an urban center with night life, public parks, and even an aquatic research fishery. To allow social stainability, housing for all age groups and family sizes brings a diverse, ever growing neighborhood together, making strangers into family. A bypass had previously been planned to be constructed around this site. Instead of keeping this plan as it was, the decision to bring the bypass into White Oak Crossing was made. With an actively used street, more amenities such as stores or restaurants could be supported for the use of the locals as well as visitors. Throughout White Oak Crossing is the sense of agriculture, alluding to the sites past use. This agriculture was looked at in many scales with large scale farming on the East, a central community garden, and private plots available for individual endeavours. White Oak Crossing was collaborative effort with classmates: Evan Miller, Jess VanNoy, and Boram Kim.
White Oak Crossing
Multi-color Herring bone
Brown Brick Common Bond
Exposed Aggregate
Red Brick Common Bond
Concrete Pavers
Mountain Breeze Court Blacksburg, VA
A site that had previously been cleared and used as a drainage basin for the surrounding area was in need of a drastic change. Rather than change the purpose of the site, I chose to embrace the functional characteristics the site held. The town home development’s main feature would be an elevated wood walkway to connect the residents to nature by rising into the treetops and lowering into constructed wetlands . The site will be reforested to serve several purposes. One will be to bring an aesthetic quality to the baron land that had been cleared. Through re-vegetation, the runoff passing through will be slowed down - decreasing the runoff surge that comes in areas of high impervious surface. With a knowledge of horticultural principals, a careful selection of plants that could resist the wet soils was chosen. Topped with researching and applying best management practices, Mountain Breeze Court not only brings the natural beauty of the site to the community but serves as a functional site.
Mountain Breeze Court
B
A C Section A
Section B
Section C
Interchange Park Christiansburg, VA
Interchange Park was a site bounded by major roadways on all sides, a leftover plot of land that had been neglected. The assignment was to take this rugged space and create an office park, a hotel, recreation fields, and a nature walk for the surrounding community. This office park acts as more than a location for people to come and go without a second thought. It is a gathering place for the community to work, play, and relax. Everyone can come to this once abandoned location and bring life through sports in the open fields or live music in the center amphitheater. Because of a large amount of topographic change and the considerable development taking place, my objective became to replant the site with trees and tall grasses. The nature walk provides a series of rain gardens that slow and filter the water. In addition, the north end of the site provides an escape from the busy business life.
Interchange Park
Public Stage
The central stage can be used for both organized business events and informal occasion by community members.
Gathering Space
The nearby hotel acts as a convention center and the plaza can be used as an outdoor seminar space for visitors.
Terrace Seating
Whether to relax on a nice day or to sit and listen to local musicians the terraces provide a place to sit and relax
Banked Planting
The planting two purposes: to give a sense of enclosure as well as limiting water runoff into the amphitheater.
Turner Plaza
Virginia Tech Campus This project was about the redesign of a small plaza and under-used parking lot. The area became a high transit pedestrian area that outdated its current function. By studying common entrances and desired paths, the new design gives the pedestrian dominance. As an act to counteract the previous parking lot, this design focused on keeping the existing mature vegetation unharmed. The outcome was a green passage that brought much needed seating for the nearby dining hall as well as a location to relax in the shade between classes.
Turner Place Dining Hall
Kelly Hall
Randolph Hall
Norris Hall
Holden Hall
McBryde Hall
Travel Sketches
Travel Sketches