www.stephanie-houston.com
stephanie houston 301 King Street, No. 803 San Francisco, CA 94158 t: 4 1 5 . 2 9 7 . 5 7 3 9 stephanie.l.houston@gmail.com
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13and 14 15 16 17 18 19with 20 A demonstrated award winning designer with experience directing small and large scale design initiatives collaborating 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 diverse design teams. A quick learner who has adapted successfully to demanding business environments, providing leadership 31 32 excited 33 34 35to36 37 38 in concept design, project management, Master Planning, and client interface. A passionate designer bring an 39 40 innovative, global approach to design problems. 41 42 43 44 45 46 46 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 STRENGTHS 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71+72 73 74building 75 76 77 78 79 80 - Preparing, presenting and managing projects - Concepts, hand sketching, 3D modeling model 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 - Excellent communication skills + work ethic - Process improvement 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 REGISTRATION/ AFFILIATION 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 USGBC - LEED AP, BD+C 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 SPUR member // Young Urbanist AIA associate member // San Francisco chapter 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 Pursuing architecture license // 2 exams passed 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 EXPERIENCE 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 GLENN MURCUTT MASTERS CLASS – Sydney Australia 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 07/2010 // Sponge 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 - Two week course in Sydney with world renowned architect Glenn Murcutt. 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 FREELANCE / CONTRACT WORK / NON-PROFIT [fdC] – San Francisco, CA 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 2009-Present // Designer | Researcher | Independent Consultant 184 185 187 188 189 190 - Provided a sustainability assessment and guidelines for a retirement village establishing benchmarks for 186 grant funding. - Provided creative direction for the upgrade of a student housing complex to increase market 191 value and occupancy rates. 192 193 194 195 196 197 - Acted as a design liaison providing program and code analysis to help facilitate clear understanding design 198 199of200 201criteria 202 203 204 between architect and client. 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 - Promote social responsibility by providing sustainable design solutions that improve team work 212 and 213 promote a positive work 214 215 216 217 218 environment for local non-profits. 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 CAREYJONES ARCHITECTS – Leeds, England 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 2008 // Urban Designer 240 241 remediation 242 243 244outline 245 246 - Identified key objectives for planning approval and consolidated consultant information into mapped 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 to improve client assessment of site work cost analysis. - Implemented a digital filing structure, a system for accurate account of drawing submittals and a building database 254 255 256image 257 258 259 260 to optimize file retrieval which improved efficiencies and productivity. 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 WATKINS GRAY INTERNATIONAL STUDIO - Leeds, England 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 2007 - 2008 // Job Capitan/Designer 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 - Participated in the design documentation of a LEEDS BSF (Building Schools for the Future) high school, providing cutting edge 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 technology to implement the future of education for LEEDS City Council 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 - Established project deliverables and worked with director to create building cost estimates to enhance proposal portfolio. 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 SPROCKET DESIGN-BUILD [SDB] - Denver, CO 2005 - 2006 // Intern Architect/Designer 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 - Provided resource planning for all projects to improve developer and buyer finished product expectations. 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 - Provided on-time results for purchasing materials and job site coordination to streamline construction schedule 331 332 333 334and 335reduce 336 337 the number of change orders. 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 - Developed creative solutions in response to ad-hoc client request which improved clients business brand. 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 NIELSEN-WILSON DESIGN - Denver, CO 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 2004 - 2005 // Designer/Intern Architect 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 - Managed workflow by implementing task sheets to improve coordination of part-time employees. 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 - Managed high-end clients expectations with clear communication improving client satisfaction 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 VLK ARCHITECTS - Arlington, TX 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 2001 - 2004 // Junior Project Designer – Job Captain 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 - Produced conceptual design proposals for small and large steel frame (construction type Type401 II A402 + B) 403 education, 404 405 406 407 commercial + memorial projects that led to Award Winning Designs. 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 SUMMARY
www.stephanie-houston.com
stephanie houston 301 King Street, No. 803 San Francisco, CA 94158 t: 4 1 5 . 2 9 7 . 5 7 3 9 stephanie.l.houston@gmail.com
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 professional awards :: 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 2003 AIA Fort Worth Chapter Excellence in Architecture | American Airlines 911 Memorial 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 TASA/TASB award for cost-effectiveness | Arlington ISD Professional Development Center 41 42 43 44 45 46 46 48 49 50 TASA/TASB award for innovation | Arlington ISD Professional Development Center Best Outdoor Art 2003 | American Airlines 911 Memorial 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 2006 YAF’s Bike Shelter Design Competition | Honorable Mention 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 community/leadership :: 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 2010: Brute Labs; 2009-Current: fdC founding member, 2009-Current: Inneract Project [ip]; 2002-2004 as AIA Associates Committee 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 Chair, organized and led a round table discussion with four of Dallas + Fort Worth’s leading architects titled “Thoughts on Prac100 101“Young 102 103 104 105 106 tice”; “Art by Architects” started silent auction at UTA; now main source of AIAS annual chapter revenue; Guns”: panel 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 member discussing success as a young intern - 2004 Fort Worth National AIA Convention; 2002 AIAS Chapter president; 2001 AIAS 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 Chapter treasurer; team captain ‘CAN’-struction. 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 EDUCATION Master of Architecture :: University of Colorado Denver 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 Bachelor of Science in Architecture :: University of Texas at Arlington 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 TEACHING 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 July 2009 - current :: Teaching Assistant - Inneract Project; San Francisco, CA 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 Introducing 6th, 7th and 8th grade students to urban planning, architecture and graphic design. 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 Fall 2004 - Spring 2006 :: Graduate Teaching Assistant - University of Colorado; Denver + Boulder, CO 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 Media course : an introduction studio for first year undergraduate architecture students. Taught 15 students drafting, model 191 Design 192 193Drawing, 194 1952000 196edi197 building, perspective, proportion, scale and case study research. Books used - Lockard, William Kirby, 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 tion and Ching, Francis D.K., Design Drawing Human Factors course : a socio-architectural course devised to make the graduate student aware of the of 205 206interconnectedness 207 208 209 210 211 the psyche of each independent body affected by architecture / client-designer-user. 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 Guest Critic : participated in final studio critiques of first year studio students, University of Colorado. 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 TOOL SAVVY 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 AutoCad 2004-2009; Architectural Desktop 3.3; Photoshop 6-CS3; Sketch-up; MS Office Suite; Quicktime; Adobe Pagemaker, 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 Archicad, Revit, InDesign, Illustrator 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 INTERESTS 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 MY BLOGS :: www.planning4change.wordpress.com, www.adjarchitecture.wordpress.com, www.freedesignclinic.org 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 Exploring Spatial Planning initiatives in the US; Teaching; Traveling; Painting; Graphic Design; Writing; Community Involvement :: 275 276 277 279 280 281 Habitat for Humanity - Race for the Cure - Tree-athalon UK ‘08 - Sustainability Initiatives; Freescale Marathon ‘06;278 Outward Bound ‘05 + ’06; Learning about global socio + cultural conditions and their assimilation in architecture. 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 PUBLICATIONS 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 Texas Architect / January / February 2003 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 Tex Files - Issue 01 : Towards Architecture @ the University of Texas at Arlington : Featured Alumni 2004 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 Fort Worth Weekly : Best Outdoor Art 2003 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 REFERENCES 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 Available upon request 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 AWARDS/COMMUNITY/LEADERSHIP
stephanie houston 301 King Street, No. 803 San Francisco, CA 94158 t: 4 1 5 . 2 9 7 . 5 7 3 9 stephanie.l.houston@gmail.com
I heart Amsterdam Due to my Western focused academia, I have always described Amsterdam as Architectural Record on steroids; a case study for its prominent social, political and economical balance in urban planning. Today would mark my second visit; however, there was something special about today. Today I would meet Phillip Spangenburg, or Flip, at the time a future relative, and a well known Dutch Urban Planner. He was taking us around Amsterdam, intimately sharing his breadth of urban knowledge of this exquisite city. The beauty of today’s journey was that I was Phillip’s pupil. The itinerary was of social importance, as it was his intent to showcase every side of urban planning within a limited two days. Staying a short walk from the famous ‘whale building’ in the Docklands, where Flip lived, he met us at the Lloyd Hotel, our home for the next few days. Flip greeted me with a welcoming 3-part Dutch kiss and an excitement and passion only teachers possess. This had to be exciting for both of us, a passionate grad student from the States eager to absorb all that was Dutch, by a well respected teacher and urban planner. Our check-in was postponed; however, as Flip personally knew the owner, we were invited to tour the hotel and choose our room. For any aspiring architect or discerning designer, this is the quintessential hotel. In 1921, this Amsterdamse School style structure was designed for a freighting/passenger line company in need of providing temporary stay for those in transit to America. Today this gem has been transformed into a modern day hotel and cultural embassy, boasting the designs of 50 renowned Dutch architects, artists and designers; with no two rooms alike. Like a child, I explored every detail with sheer and utter excitement. We settled on a room designed by a furniture maker, all orange (my favorite color) with a bath tub right in the middle of the room. Like MVRDV’s room, all spaces were concealed and the bed featured a rolling track for two side tables. With our room selected, we grabbed a cup of coffee at the restaurant, located within MVRVD’s stair wrapped, triple height public space housing a restaurant, bar, library and ‘corner’ shop, where Flip discussed the days’ agenda. Not far from the Docklands, was the newly reclaimed IJ area called the Haveneiland-West, our first stop. Flip took us through a typical Dutch neighborhood and taught us about Dutch home ownership, which is not quite home ownership, yet another topic for exploration. The area boasted a consistent façade at the back of house, where automobile access was permitted and yet concealed. The front of house was reserved for pedestrians only, where pathways intermittently connected to open communal areas as well as local bus/tram stops and community shops. The consistency of similar plans suggested a middle income neighborhood; however, in their very “Dutch way” were very distinct in style, materiality and rhythm (the beauty of a nation devoted to the arts). Isn’t it interesting that there’s always one that defies the boundaries, demanding to break the mold, and yet to do so requires sophisticated talent. Unfortunately this one lacked any subtleness, crassly incorporating a French mansard roof within a clearly horizontal vocabulary. Luckily that was soon a distant memory, as I was in for a treat. A visit to a local architect’s office, LaMBERT architecten, a dear friend of Flip’s, took me by surprise. We were introduced to his staff as well as given a tour of the office and studio. A house sited at the bend of the IJ and at the culmination of the suburban neighborhood, with its private quarters perched above, bird-like in its triangular fashion; it sat harmoniously within the awkward parcel. A true architect’s haven of natural light, hidden staircases and a bookshelf I still covet (books included). One could have spent hours taking notes of the meticulous details and materials used. Up next, a visit to the first garden neighborhood/suburb built entirely of prefabricated concrete slabs, Watergraafsmeer, nicknamed Betondorp (Concrete Village). Disembarking the tram across what appeared to be a large arterial road, we crossed the massive pavement to see an entrance to a very ‘white’ development. Architect Dick Greiner designed the village in 1924, decorating the buildings with his own type font (Greiner), Bauhaus in nature, cut out of sheet metal and bolted to the face of the concrete. Only the Union Building (vereenigingsgebouw), Public Library and Reading Room (openbare bibiliotheek en leeszaal) received signage, leaving the alphabet and numerical characters of this typeface incomplete. As Flip spoke about the buildings he described the urban qualities of the publicly funded village where the center square became a communal space shared today by artists. Unbeknownst to me, this village became an urban design/construction precedent for residential housing districts in Germany, as they were cheap and easily erected.
stephanie houston 301 King Street, No. 803 San Francisco, CA 94158 t: 4 1 5 . 2 9 7 . 5 7 3 9 stephanie.l.houston@gmail.com
As the sun was turning, Flip encouraged us to follow him to a derelict suburb of Amsterdam, Kraaiennest, home to many immigrants, this time arriving by bus. As we extended ourselves out further from the vibrant city of Amsterdam, a distinct divide became evident. The automobile was of greater prevalence and the infrastructure screamed 20th century America. A blatant isolation of outcasts paralleled all too well the architecture. We arrived at what appeared to be a familiar intersection from a Westerners point of view; however boarded dark corners, graffiti and seediness thrived, a complete contrast of where the day began. We approached the ‘heart’ of the area, the shopping center with its megalithic stature and stark car park; an all too familiar story where appropriation and adaptation of western urban planning reeks havoc on a country of beauty and history. The residents seemed ignorant to the effects of their societal surroundings, or were they? One truly has no choice of socio-economic inclusion, just living and accepting [knowingly or unknowingly] social norms. As we walked inside the shopping center, one could feel the weight of the building bearing down. The ceilings were low and the interior units were poorly lit. None of the shops had open storefronts, except the local bar, which showed the only signs of life. To further embrace the experience, Flip bought us a pint at the ‘local bar’ and imparted on us the importance of leaving before the sun set. As we parted the lonely structure, Flip discussed the ongoing discussions of how the city plans to undertake urban improvements within the Kraaiennest; one can only hope. We boarded a train to Zuidas, the new cultural/business district of Amsterdam. One can imagine the transformation visually from such a neglected suburb to a vibrant hub of new construction and towering skyscrapers. As Flip explained, the Zuidas was created to revitalize an area of Amsterdam as well as create an internationally recognized cultural and business district with the hopes of attracting businesses worldwide. Its planning/ development is best associated with Paris’s La Defense and London’s Docklands. When complete, the Zuidas train station will become the 2nd main station of Amsterdam better connecting the city center and surrounding suburbs as well and connecting with Paris and Germany’s high speed rail. It is expected that the travel time from the airport to the station will be a short 8 minute ride. As it was happy hour we skirted into a new chic bar, where elaborate finishes, modern drapery, and miles and miles of glass. My first taste of dried wasabi peas went well with my local lager. As the day was winding down, it was only fitting that the rest of the evening was spent within the old historic city of Amsterdam, honoring the past-time of urban planning. Flip took us to the oldest pub in Amsterdam, De Pilsner Club, where every barstool, detailed wood carvings and wide-plank, wood flooring oozed authenticity; even the bar tender fit the part. We tried the famous cheese fondue, at yet another charming historic insert and reminisced on the day’s journey and talked of simpler pleasures in life. My husband and Flip reminisced of family stories as I listened yet again to a history so foreign, yet so proud to now be a part of. We met Flip the next morning at a local fishing dock café just outside of his home. It was a nice contrast to the modern ‘whale building’ in the background, of which I was eager to explore. The amazing entrance folding almost to the ground, immediately explodes in the interior courtyard; the poetic layers of ribbon voids, depicted only in the change of materiality, turns corners and terminates into simple asymmetry. From above, the open space below melds seamlessly with the building, slicing and receiving each vertical move. I heart Amsterdam…for its story, its source of finding beauty in everything and for its look to the future. This is for Flip, his passion for architecture and urban planning is unparalleled. He is truly inspirational.