Architectural Portfolio
M.Arch, MRAIC, OAA Intern Architect
Intern Architect with a strong passion for designing for wellbeing, seeking a new position to gain hands-on experiences designing with and for communities. I want to learn more about health and well-being as a theme, cohabitation with nature, evoking feelings with light and material, and I am particularly passionate about sustainability.
I am (a)... I can do...
Self-Motivated
Team Player
Great Communicator
Excellent Presenter
Enthusiastic Learner
Dependable
Tech-Savy
Drafting
BIM Modeling
3D Rendering
Graphic Design
Public Presentations
Data Analysis & Visualization
Photogrammetry
Illustrator
Indesign
Rhino Grasshopper
Revit VRay Lumion
Miro Premiere
Photoshop Blender
Locally Grounded Growth in Parry Sound Ontario
Masters Year 2, Full Year Thesis
Thesis Advisor: Ted Wilson
Previous skill level
Developed skill during project
I completed my Master’s thesis focusing on my mother’s hometown of Parry Sound, one of many rural areas in Canada that are financially dependent on tourism. This dependency has adverse effects on the local working class as these small towns transition from tourism towards a community designed for an aging affluent population. In addition, Covid-19 emphasized the gap in access to healthcare and lack of overall well-being in the district, issues that the local community faced but the seasonal residents did not. My thesis investigates how architecture could serve the neglected local working class by incentivizing investment in the local community rather than catering to seasonal tourism. This research delved into the intersection of economics, seasonal affective disorder, and the lack of local health infrastructure. I decided to propose a design for the town’s first-ever walk-in clinic.
Blender Photoshop Illustrator In Indesign Rhino Grasshopper
Area in need of Support
History of why people stay in Parry Sound, the evolution from prioritizing landscape and industry, and Hope for how people would see Parry Sound in the future
Resting place during seasonal migration
Industries
Landscape Natural Environment becomes Degraded
Logging
Construction
Colonial
Exploit
Changing Perspectives
Everyone here chooses to Live here
Mental Health
Construction
Goal
All interest is in Landscape // not Industry
Prioritizing Harmony with Landscape
Transitioning from normative care, to Person-to-Person care
What Parry Sound needs is the space and tools for local residents to take agency over their health and economic standing, as well as access to the resources and support they need to heal and grow. How can architecture inspire locally grounded growth in Parry Sound? Discussions with some of the organizers of these community services provided insight into the characteristics and programs that they feel are vital to community growth. Making a multipurpose space that is safe, reliable, and accessible, and a host to these services would better connect people to the resources they need to choose to take control over their health. Programming that considers the needs of local residents of Parry Sound includes: 1) combining diverse housing with proximity to health services in a Campus of Care to meet physiological and safety needs, 2) using landscape to reconnect people to the identity of the place, and 3) providing spaces and resources to use food as a medium to grow, create, and share with those in need. This mixed-use campus would greatly improve the quality of health services in Parry Sound, address the concerns voiced by the local population, and inspire everyone to act to improve their life.
“We need to be able to go with the seasons”
“Meals on Wheels can’t work without freezers and storage, lots of storage!” “I would put it on the top of the list, we need a walk-in clinic”
“I would walk if there was one place that had everything”
“Where are the people who are still here, but not working?”
Voices of Parry Sound
Sound Youth Counselling
Harvest Share
Community Support Services
Town Councilor
Friendship Centre
Facilitate Choice Shared Learning
Encourage Healthy Choices
Indoor/Outdoor
Inclusion Nature
Easy to Participate Art Therapy
Social Landscape Responsibility
Emotional Investment
Bonding Investment Shelter
Small
Georgian Bay Biosphere
Community Voices
My thesis found that a grounded design that amplified the voice of the local community would best aid their existing efforts to grow. Discussions with the local community organizations above provided the perspectives necessary to design an adequate program that they felt would assist local grounded growth in Parry Sound. Through the lenses of housing, health, and food, architecture could support the existing network of community initiatives to achieve self-agency. A mix of all these programs provides the necessary community spaces for these initiatives to foster a connection to people and landscape and achieve locally grounded growth.
Experiencing Healing through Moments in Architecture and Landscape
Person to Person Care
Spaces in between Landscape and Architecture
Space for Cultural Relationships
Biophilic Therapy
Biophilic Therapy
Rejuvenating Shahjahanabad Urban Design Studio
Masters Year 1, First Semester
Worked alongside Sarah Belchkar, Jonathan Kabumbe, Sydney Sheppard; all drawings shown were produced by me.
Studio Professor: Shannon Bassett
On Exhibit at the 2023 Venice Biennalle
Released as part of the RAIC-CCUSA 2022 Summit on Architecture proceedings
Learn more about the Colaboration at https://www.recoveringshahjahanabad. com/general-7
This project was a single semester group project in my first year of my Masters in Architecture, our assignment was to map, investigate, and redesign one of Delhi’s oldest and most popular pedestrian market streets called “Shahjahanabad.” As part of our Urban intervention we wanted to contribute to the health and well-being of not just the local people but also the local environment. The site chosen for this larger scale intervention is one where a new mall is currently under construction. In order to avoid placing another commercial development in the heart of the oldest part of the city, we decided to design a needed waste management facility that would enrich the environment and serve as a community hub. It is important for it to be designed in a way that makes a seamless transition into the current landscape of the old city. In order to avoid placing a daunting infrastructural facility within the current city fabric, the design proposal would not exceed the current footprint of the excavation due to construction at the time of our site analysis. In addition we wanted to bring lots of pedestrian traffic to the facility, increase green space, and limit the height of the whole design to no more than two storeys tall.
Photoshop Illustrator Rhino VRay Miro
Previous skill level
Developed skill during project
SHAJAHANABAD
SHALIMAR BAGH
ROHINI
JANAKPURI
YAMUNARIVER
YAMUNARIVER
YAMUNA
DELHI
SHAHDARA
ANAND VIHAR
NEW DELHI
This centre will contain a combination of programs which will help educate people about life cycle and end use of food, water, and e-waste, while providing a green escape from the density of the city. If the center and its programs are going to succeed after implementation, like with our other typologies, community involvement and understanding is crucial to seeing sustainable waste management practices incorporated into the inhabitants homes and lives. The inclusion of public educational programs will help to achieve a successful integration of these concepts to practice. Looking at all the inputs and outputs that would be feasible for the scale we are working at, we decided to focus on water waste, food waste, e-waste, and storm-water management.
Compost
Water
E-Waste
Released as part of the RAIC-CCUSA 2022 Summit on Architecture proceedings
Investigating the stages of water filtration and how to adapt them to public space allows for us to make the case of how healing the natural environment and also productive landscapes can be implemented and used in the public realm. Instead of the traditional waste management facility being hidden behind large warehouse facades, our design wishes to be as transparent as possible. Also connected to a subway station, the center as a whole serves as an entry point for many travelers to the old city and the Chandni Chowk. With several open spaces, green spaces and performance areas, the centre is adaptable to many community events and pop up markets. We intend to bring the public through the veil of mystery when it comes to how the waste of our cities is processed and recycled, in efforts to teach sustainable lifestyle to the people of Shahjahanabad.
Sudbury Infill Residential+Commercial Project
B.Arch Year 4, Full Year Partner Project
Worked alongside Luca Dorigo; all drawings shown were produced by me.
Studio Professor: Isabel Amaral
Previous skill level
Developed skill during project
Photoshop Illustrator
On an unused infill site in Downtown Sudbury our assignment was to create a mixed use development that would combine housing, parking, a single grocery store, and one other program of our choice. The site allowed for two main forms bisected by a public walkway. The two buildings we proposed incorporate Student and Social Housing, a daytime drop-in centre, grocery store, cafe, aboveground and underground parking. The project aimed to bring disparate groups of people and activities together.
1 Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
Can withstand poor/acid soil as well as damp and cool conditions. Often grows over aging wood surfaces. 7-20cm Tall
2 Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)
Optimal for northern climates with shady ground cover. In Spring they flower white, and turn to red in the fall 10-15cm Tall
3 Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)
Flourishes in shaded areas but requires rich loam soil. The “Star like” flowering spikes bloom in the spring, and the leaves turn red through fall and winter. 13-25cm Tall
1 Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
An ornamental grass that grows in dry to medium soils. Clusters together a coarse red mixed with a blue/green grass. 1-2m Tall
4 Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
Requires lots of sun, and is usally an ornamental or rooftop grass. Flowers in summer to be a Blue-Red. 1-2.5m Tall
5 Red-osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea)
Tolerates a range of conditions, and grows best in wet soil. The dark green foilage turns red to purple in the fall. 1.5-4m Tall
6 Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris)
Climbing Vine, grows best in full shade an wet soil conditions. Is a full dark green colour untill the flowers bloom white in Spring 1-2m Tall
Mimicking the strata of Sudbury’s rock faces, the project displays a range of public to private programing with a gradient of structure and materials by transitioning from concrete to steel to wood and evolving from grey to green. Each semester we developed more articulate drawings to accompany our evolving design. We dove into the Ontario Building Code since we were tasked to meet appropriate standards for the Fire Code and structural requirements of a development this large. Refining the visual design of the exterior and functionality of the spaces, this partner project required the most deliverables of my undergraduate experience. In the end, we were both very proud of this mid-pandemic project.
Larch wood cladding on the units with transitioning red to grey protective stain
Shou Sugi Ban cladding made from local cedar ages to a lighter wash over time
Mix of reclaimed brick from the area, with black steel window trim
Large concrete paneling measuring 2 by 5 meters that reach the full height of the grocery
1 Green Roof Detail
Balcony Detail
Facade Detail
I often use sketches like storyboards to find the most illuminating angles, furniture, layout, and human interactions to showcase specific spaces to highlight a designs’ best features. I have used various 3D programs that work best to accomplish this goal, including VRay, Lumion, and Blender. I have found that each one has different strengths for creating quick and visually engaging renders to show clients. These have increased my understanding of storytelling through framing, lighting, materiality, and mood.
VRay Rhino Sketching
Grey Squirrel
Illustrator Rhino Sketching Blender
Photogrammetry
Smart Phone + Any 3D Software
Take photos/video of object with LiDar
Compile into 3D software like “Luma”
Place into preferred arch software
Render out a scene
Photogrammetry allows me to turn photos into an immersive 3D model of a site, building, or object. Utilizing a smartphone or camera, I capture every detail of the subject to create precise 3D point cloud models, blending both the position and colour data. Depending on the size of the scan, some editing afterwards may be required to match up two separate scans or adjust any single scan; however, the result is a quick and easy way to gather dimensions, layout, and materials from any space.
This workflow works with Revit and other 3D software, which makes models for renovations significantly less labour-intensive to match existing specs. During my time at Corbin Patten Designs, we would use this method to create accurate topography and existing drawings to generate site plans that fit township setback guidelines. This improved the accuracy of renderings for clients to better picture the proposal on their actual property.
Structural Knowledge
Scholarly and Professional Work
Over the past six years, my education and work experience in northern Ontario have focused on wood construction; I have gained valuable knowledge and understanding of building systems, structural loads and building framing. In my scholarly and professional work, I have researched, designed and drafted structural diagrams, documents and details for various projects.
Using programs like eQuest and online resources like IBDn.io, I have calculated airflow, heat gains/ losses, structural capacity and post and beam load requirements for many residential projects. I enjoy the challenges of learning new and innovative ways of incorporating structure and building systems into my architectural designs.
You can reach me at aaron@mcroberts.com