thomas bett 18
architecture photography & graphics 18
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2013-2016, Houston TX Luxury Mixed Use New high end retail hub in Houston that shifted away from the typical market lease strategy to one that favored that of a NYC or LA retail development. The ad hoc design is meant to mimic natural growth of a walkable city in one that is anything but. Construction Documents & Administration
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2016 Houston, TX, Mix Use Urban infill in an eclectic Houston neighborhood sharply attuned to what it is. The new buildings needed to meet the clients desire of creating a destination and work/retail node, while not overpowering the surroundings. Essentially making the buildings seem as if they had always been present. Design, Construction Documents
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2014 Houston, TX, Interior Renovation A space meant to commemorate and project Houston’s vision. It pays tribute to the moments that have defined the city and will become the stage to the ones that have yet to pass. Replacing the lobby rotunda as the new press release area, the room is a contemporary take on the art deco style of the historic building. Design Dev., Construction Documents & Admin.
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2014 Houston, TX, Renovation Part of a larger renovation to Houston’s most exclusive golf club. The upgrade focused on elevating the member experience at the entry and gathering points of the club. It took the structure out of the 60’s and placed it firmly in the new millennium while holding on to the refined elegance expected by club patrons. Design Development & Construction Documents
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2014 Tokyo, JPN, Competition Set in the crossroads of antiquity and the progressive cultures of Tokyo, the performance hall is an exhibition of both. The great hall juxtaposes itself against the restrain exterior skin and the interior facade just as the charm of the surrounding neighborhood pushes up against the adjacent Togo Shrine. Co-Designer
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2013 Medical Research Campus Bridge, Park, Place; 3 words defining the underlying backbone of the project. The team’s background in mixed use afforded an unconventional approach to the project. Focusing first on what was lacking, second on connections between disparate research silos, and finally finding ways to foster these connections. Schematic Design & Design Development
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2017 Hyde Park Library The 21st century library is a confluence of the old and the new. It embraces the digital to both complement and augment the physical world around us. We inversed the parti of the traditional library, which is inward focused, and instead created an experience that takes advantage of the park as an external public space. Co-Designer
D I G I TA L D I S P L AY
I N T E G R AT E D B E N C H
B I R D WAT C H I N G
SITE
LANDSCAPE
CLOUD
PAT H
MOVIE SCREENING
B O AT I N G / F I S H I N G
C A F E S E AT I N G
A RT I N S TA L L AT I O N
CASUAL SPORTS
B I R D WAT C H I N G / S TA R G A Z I N G
READING / STORYTELLING
Y O G A / P I L AT E S / TA I C H I
TECH LOUNGE / HACKER SPACE
VR PODS LEVEL 04 INTERACTIVE GAMING AREA STUDY / LOUNGE D I G I TA L S TA C K S LEVEL 03
AUDITORIUM / IMAX LEVEL 02 MEZZANINE LOUNGE
PUBLIC GALLERY / EXHIBITION
A D M I N I S T R AT I O N
B O O K S T O R E / R E TA I L LEVEL 01 P H Y S I C A L / D I G I TA L S TA C K S
SUPPORT SPACES
CHILDREN’S AREA S H O P / FA B R I C AT I O N
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2013 Thesis This was about delving into forms of drawn architectural discovery and inquiry. The cathedral became a vehicle to understand how a design achieves that distinctive quality which subconsciously divulges the type of environment you have entered. The exploration of this led to work in various non-traditional media and how it could begin to uncover the power each had in communicating the quality of space. Author
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2012 Roanoke Studio This project began as a question of how to complete the cornerstone block of Roanoke, Virginia. Two things became evident: the need for a public space with no prescribed function and an integration of the site into the existing rigid town fabric. Duality was embedded as a core principle to build upon. The exterior area became a series of horizontal planes that conformed to the rigidness of its surroundings, whereas the enclosed spaces are rational geometries that have deformed or fractured. The two languages fed off one another providing a basis to read either the normative or the fractured elements by utilizing the other. Designer
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25’
2013 Chicago Modular Fundamentally geared away from developing the most efficient building, to building efficiently for the future. This project combines sustainability and industrialization into a single idea; being one cannot be attained without the incorporation of the other. While also attempting to seamlessly integrate technology into daily life. Co-Developer
25’
25’
The primary focus is how to offer a kind of suburban lifestyle in an urban environment. A key component to that idea is the outdoor space that suburbia offers to residents. The prototype starts to hint at an idea of an “Urban Garden” as part of each unit. To be able to make that space usable year round we prototyped dynamic façades that could be used to enclose and mediate the environment of the garden space.
PASSIVE SOLAR ORIENTATION
DISTRICT SCALE ENERGY CO-GENERATION PLANTS USING CLEAN FUEL SOURCE
SUN ANGLE STUDY
BIOMASS FUELS METHANE GAS (LANDFILL) NATURAL GAS
ACTIVATION OF THERMAL MASS IN WINTER PROVIDING SHADING IN SUMMER
WIND POWER SEWER HEAT RECOVERY
GREEN ROOF
BUILDING SCALE RE NEWABLE ENERGY
REDUCES HEAT ISLAND EFFECT ADDITIONAL INSULATION LAYER RAINWATER RETENTION
SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR THERMAL
SMART BUILDING CONTROL SYSTEM NATURAL VENTILATION
MANAGES ENERGY AND ALLOWS FOR OPTIMUM ENERGY EFFICENT OPERATION
NATURAL CROSS AND NIGHT PURGE VENTILATION PROVIDES FRESH AIR AND HELPS DISCHARGING THE THERMAL MASS IN SUMMER
UTILIZES DATA FROM ONSITE WEATHER STATION PROVIDES ENERGY INFORMATION TO HOME-OWNER THE SYSTEM CONTROLS: INSULATION PANELS SHADE SCREENS WINDOW DAMPERS LIGHTING CROSS VENTILATION HVAC HOME ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
THERMAL MASS PASSIVE SOLAR HEAT GAIN
GREEN HOUSE
ENERGY EFFICIENT GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPS
OPENS UP TO THE OUTDOORS IN SUMMER ACTS AS THERMAL BUFFER IN WINTER
HEAT PUMP
ENERGY RECOVERY VENTILATORS
COURTYARD
AIR TO AIR HEAT EXCHANGERS
EXTENSIVE VEGETATION REDUCES HEAT ISLAND EFFECT AND MANAGES THE STORMWATER RUNOFF AND COLLECTION
HEAT PUMP
SMART GRID TECHNOLOGY REAL TIME COMMUNICATION WITH UTILITY TO OPTIMIZE ENERGY EFFICIENT OPERATION PROVIDE ENERGY MANAGMENT INFORMATION
HEAT PUMP
INCREASE IN NATURAL LIGHT HEAT PUMP
TIGHT BUILDING ENVELOPE STRUCTURAL INSULATED PANELS (SIPS)
HEAT EXCHANGE
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY PILES LONG/SHORT TERM HEAT STORAGE SEWAGE HEAT RECOVERY DEEP LAKE GEOTHERMAL EXCHANGE FOR COOLING FROM LOCAL WATER FILTRATION PLANT
TRANSPORTATION
HEAT EXCHANGER
ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGE STATION INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAIC CANOPY CONNECTED TO CITY METRO & BUS TRANSIT NETWORK
DIURNAL/SEASONAL ENERGY STORAGE
T GEOTHERMAL ENERGY PILES
GROUND BORE HOLES INTEGRATE GEOTHERMAL LOOP INTO STRUCTURAL PILE FOUNDATION SYSTEM
HOT WATER AND PHASE CHANGE ENERGY STORAGE STORAGE SUPPLIED BY SOLAR THERMAL SYSTEM DISTRICT HEATING SYSTEM
WATER COLLECTION GRAY WATER RECYCLING RAIN WATER HARVESTING
The glass fin came to fruition in the exploration of the idea of parallax. It became apparent that by controlling the density and offset of ceramic frit on multiple layers of glass, it was possible to control the transparency of the glass through rotation. Optimizing the frit pattern and utilizing multiple fins adjacent to each other, the fins can either shade the space and cross ventilate, or act like a green house depending on their orientation.
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Wood Craft A life long love affair with wood and intricate details a hobby of making wooden models naturally progressed into furniture design. The next evolution will incorporate different materials and more sophisticated connections.
Graphics Learning the basics of digital and print graphics early in college led me to explore various methods of manual printing.
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8th Wonder Guerrilla Art
AIA Sand Castle
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