AIDAN MAXWELL DESIGN PORTFOLIO
Aidan Maxwell
913-777-9858
6434 McCoy St, Shawnee, KS
aidan14@ksu.edu
I am a fourth-year architecture student at Kansas State University seeking internship opportunities for the summer, and post-graduation employment.
Education
Kansas State University Manhattan, KS 66502
Master of Architecture
Expected May 2026
Skills
• Revit, Rhino 7, Sketchup, Lumion, Enscape, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Lightroom, Microsoft Suite, Google Suite
Strengths
• Communication, Initiative, Leadership, Curiosity, Articulate, Dependable, Organized
Interests
• Architectural details, spatial quality, sustainability, AI Incorporation
Values
• High-design architecture, simplicity, workplace community, workplace efficiency
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
bcDESIGNGROUP
Overland Park, KS 66210
Architectural Intern
May-August 2024
• Provided design solutions to site, programming, and detail issues in design development
• Participated in schematic design and construction documentation in Revit
• Designed sheet sets and Revit models for small projects
• Learned professional graphic standards for presentation and construction documents
• Created diagrams of previous firm projects for award submissions
• Integrated AI technology into graphic and technical workflow
Yaeger Architecture Inc.
Lenexa, KS 66219
Architectural Intern
May-August 2023, December 2023-January 2024
• Prepared presentations of design solutions for internal review, consultants, and clients
• Coordinated with clients, consultants, and peers
• Iterated schematic large-scale master plans for a commercial development
• Participated in weekly coordination meetings with consultants
• Gained basic knowledge of building construction and how contract documents are used by contractors
LEADERSHIP
AND INVOLVEMENT
Director, Freedom by Design
January-December 2023
• Conducted research and outreach to recruit a client (the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education, “KACEE”)
• Assembled a team of passionate designers to design and build a set of twelve modular camp kitchen boxes
• Communicate with consultants, client partner at KACEE, and fellow Freedom by Design Members throughout design process
• Coordinated with teammates to physically construct the modular camp kitchen boxes in the shop
• Continue to maintain the AIAS K-State chapter website
Class of 2026 Representative, AIAS
January-December 2022
• Communicated club events with broader class
• Communicated comments from class to the Officer Board
• Reinstated and maintained the AIAS K-State chapter website that had been dormant since the pandemic
RELEVANT COURSEWORK
ARCH Studios I - V
Across a diverse range of professors with a variety of values, I have learned and developed my own unique approach to design.
Building Construction Systems in Architecture I - II
We cover everything from structural systems to moisture control barriers.
Environmental Systems in Architecture I - II
These classes introduced environmental control methods for the interior space, as well as applicable materials and product specifications.
HONORS
• APDesign Dean’s Office Scholarship
• Travois Design Excellence Scholarship
• Wildcat Traditions Scholarship
GREAT LAKES MARINE BIOLOGY EDUCATION CENTER
1.0 3.0
1.0 3.0 2.0
Ashland, Wisconsin is a city on the south banks of Lake Superior. To promote environmental awareness and educate the community on the Great Lakes marine biology, a public building provides space for exhibition, events, education, and a launching point for expeditions on the water. In this studio, we take the concepts a step further in design development and detailing.
2.0 KAW RIVER
Like any building, a theater has a public and a private program. Unlike most other buildings, there is a destination space that ultimately unites the patrons and the performers. This, of course, is the theater itself. My intent with this project is to literalize this idea of the theater as a link between public and private, using the context to guide my decisions.
CENTER GANSEVOORT PLAZA BLACK BOX THEATER
CULTURAL
PLAZA BLACK BOX THEATER
Situated on the boundary between the urban industrial district of Topeka, KS, and the everlasting Kaw (Kansas) River, the Kaw River Cultural Center provides a place for local Native Americans to gather and share their culture with the people of the city. Currently, there is a large levee that rises up and creates a boundary between the urban center and nature’s beautiful river. This project relieves the separation.
Like any building, a theater has a public and a private program. Unlike most other buildings, there is a destination space that ultimately unites the patrons and the performers. This, of course, is the theater itself. My intent with this project is to literalize this idea of the theater as a link between public and private, using the context to guide my decisions.
In the small town of Eureka, KS, many young families are moving away to seek opportunities in the big city. Senior citizens remain, and make up a quarter of the town’s population. A community-based intergenerational residential development would provide an ideal place for the both the senior population and young families to live in.
Situated on the boundary between the urban industrial district of Topeka, KS, and the everlasting Kaw (Kansas) River, the Kaw River Cultural Center provides a place for local Native Americans to gather and share their culture with the people of the city. Currently, there is a large levee that rises up and creates a boundary between the urban center and nature’s beautiful river. This project relieves the separation.
LOW RISE RURAL HOUSING
LOW RISE RURAL HOUSING AIAS/FREEDOM BY DESIGN + INTERNSHIP
Extracurriculary, I have been a member and officer of AIAS and Freedom by Design since my first year of school. In 2023, I was the director of Freedom by Design, and organized and ran a community-service design-build project.
In the small town of Eureka, KS, many young families are moving away to seek opportunities in the big city. Senior citizens remain, and make up a quarter of the town’s population. A community-based intergenerational residential development would provide an ideal place for the both the senior population and young families to live in.
I have grown as an architect during my time interning at both bcDESIGNGROUP and Yaeger Architecture.
Last summer (and winter), I was also an Architectural Intern at Yaeger Architecture, Inc.
GREAT LAKES MARINE BIOLOGY EDUCATION CENTER
Ashland, Wisconsin is a city on the south banks of Lake Superior. To promote environmental awareness and educate the community on the Great Lakes marine biology, a public building provides space for exhibition, events, education, and a launching point for expeditions on the water. In this studio, we take the concepts a step further in design development and detailing.
SOUTHERN SOLAR GAIN, NORTHERN VIEWS
Ashland, Wisconsin faces 8 months of underheated temperatures requiring heating to reach the comfort zone. Solar gain can help reduce the mechanical load, so it was important to consider the southern direction. Lake Superior, however, is located to the North, providing the views for the visitors.
LONG, NARROW PLAN
A long, narrow plan maximizes the surface area of solar heat gain and views to the North, without adding too much volume.
SPATIAL ORGANIZATION
A grid system divides the space into squares, with the north and south bays (circulation spaces) are 20’ x 20’ - while the center bays, housing important program, are 20’ x 40’.
The program is neatly situated within the grid, providing a primary circulation zone along the sunspace to the south which has direct adjacency to each important program space.
ORIENT DUE-SOUTH
Facing the building due-south allows solar gain to reach its maximum potential.
SITE MODIFICATION
Removing the outdated rectilinear seawall and rewilding the waters edge affords a more natural situation to the building’s placement.
1.1 - 1.8
SOUTHERN SOLAR GAIN, NORTHERN LIGHT + VIEWS
The solar gain applies to the circulation sunspace, and also has direct contact with important public program such as the exhibition and event spaces.
PRIMARY CIRCULATION DISTRIBUTION
The primary circulation zone distributes visitors directly into each program area, making for simple wayfinding.
Underheated (Sep-May)
SOUTHERN SOLAR CONTROL AND NORTH VIEWS NORTHERN WIND PROTECTION
1.9 - 1.16
PERFORMANCE SUMMARY
Ashland, Wisconsin’s climate is underheated for seven months out of the year, which puts heating in the spotlight for building performance. In response to this condition, the initial diagram of the project strives to provide a large ratio of south-facing surface area to overall building volume, in order to maximize solar exposure and solar heat gain. This results in a long, narrow plan and a relatively short section. There is just enough glass on the south to maximize heat gain, but not so much that it compromises insulation. The strategy, when simulated, proves successful. The baseline for annual Energy Use Intensity (EUI) for similar buildings in the area is 57kBTU/ft2. This project uses 63% less energy than the baseline, achieving an annual EUI of 20 kBTU/ft2. Also factoring into these energy savings are a reduction of unnecessary openings on east, west, and north facades, as well as properly insulated floors, walls, and roofs. The building consumes 126,000 kWh per year, requiring a DC System Size of 107 kW, or 107,000 watts. The average solar panel can generate 15 watts/ SF, meaning that this building can run on 7,133 SF of PV cells. The project has 7,800 SF of south-facing roof, meaning that this building could be fully solar powered; and potentially, net positive.
MONOSLOPE RIDGE
CURTAIN WALL TO ROOF
BRISE SOLEIL
SPANDREL HEAD TO ROOF WINDOW
Like any building, a theater has a public and a private program. Unlike most other buildings, there is a destination space that ultimately unites the patrons and the performers. This, of course, is the theater itself. My intent with this project is to literalize this idea of the theater as a link between public and private, using the context to guide my decisions.
ENCLOSED PROGRAM VS PUBLIC ATRIUM
First, we must locate where the private and public are. Naturally, extruding the private along the adjacent buildings and the public along the street corner at Gansevoort plaza provides ease of access and a spatial relationship between the lobby atrium and its context.
THEATER
AS A COMMON SPACE
Next, the theater links the public and the private program. It petrudes into the public triple-height atrium, and acts as an additave element there. In contrast, it is a subtractive element within the poche of the theater.
THEATER AS A SPACE-DEFINING OBJECT
Due to its additave nature, the theater defines space within the atrium. It provides a low and wide proportioned space unederneath the theater (at the entry) and a narrow and high space for a naturally lit multi-use lobby space.
1.1 - 1.4
2.1 2.4
TRANSVERSE SECTION THROUGH THEATER
TRANSVERSE SECTION THROUGH THEATER
CROSS SECTION THROUGH ATRIUM SPACE
CROSS SECTION THROUGH ATRIUM SPACE
1.5 - 1.6
2.5 - 2.6
05’10’ 20’ 50’ 05’10’
SOUTH ELEVATION (FROM GANSEVOORT ST) - CLOSED
WEST ELEVATION (FROM 9TH AVE) -CLOSED
SOUTH ELEVATION (FROM GANSEVOORT ST) - CLOSED WEST ELEVATION (FROM 9TH AVE) -CLOSED
SOUTH ELEVATION (FROM GANSEVOORT ST) - OPEN
WEST ELEVATION (FROM 9TH AVE) -OPEN
SITE
CONTEXT MODEL WITH CLOSED FACADE SCALE: 1/16” = 1’
Materials Used: 1/16” Chipboard, 1/32” Chipboard, 1/16th Museum Board, 1/32” Museum Board, 1/16” Basswood Sheet, White 3D Print Filament, Black 3D Print Filament, Translucent
1.11- 1.14
2.13 - 2.14
SCALE: 1/16” = 1’
SITE CONTEXT MODEL WITH OPEN FACADE
Filament, Sedum Dead Heads
SECTIONAL PORTION MODEL -
CLOSED FACADE SCALE: 1/4” = 1’
Materials Used: 1/8” Foamcore, 1/16” Chipboard, 1/32” Museum Board, 1/16” Basswood Sheet, Black 3D Print Filament, Translucent 3D Print Filament, Basswood Sticks, String
1.15- 1.16
2.15 - 2.17
SECTIONAL PORTION MODEL - OPEN FACADE SCALE: 1/4” = 1’
KAW RIVER CULTURAL CENTER
Situated on the boundary between the urban industrial district of Topeka, KS, and the everlasting Kaw (Kansas) River, the Kaw River Cultural Center provides a place for local Native Americans to gather and share their culture with the people of the city. Currently, there is a large levee that rises up and creates a boundary between the urban center and nature’s beautiful river. This project relieves the separation, and provides a passageway between the two. Upon visiting the site, citizens would happen upon the works of Native Americans from the state of Kansas in the exterior and interior galleries that lie within the passageways.
2.1 - 2.3
INDUSTRIAL VS NATURAL
The buildable site exists between a mostly abandoned industrial area and the natural Kaw River.
BORE PASSAGE THROUGH
To revitalize Topeka’s riverfront for public access, a passage is bored through the levee, providing a direct connection.
STEREOTOMIC RETENTION VS TECTONIC PASSAGE
Two large, solid masses of program act as retention for the leftover mass of the levee, while a light, filigree structure acts as the primary interior passageway between the city and the river.
SECTION THROUGH GALLERY ATRIUM AND PRIVATE PROGRAM
- MODELED AND DRAWN IN REVIT
DOCUMENTATION - MODELED AND DRAWN IN REVIT
GROUND SECTION AND ELEVATION - STREET TO RIVER
GROUND SECTION AND ELEVATION - STREET TO RIVER
BUILDING SECTION - STREET TO RIVER
BUILDING SECTION - STREET TO RIVER
BUILDING SECTION - STREET TO RIVER
AIAS - FREEDOM BY DESIGN
Freedom by Design is a student-run organization that is part of AIAS. The objective of the club is for design students around the nation to find ways to serve their local communities through research, design, and build projects.
As Director of the Freedom by Design club, it was my job to find a client and a project, lead a team of fellow architecture students to design a solution, and finally, to build out the product.
*FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: LYLA TUKEY, CAROLINE NELSON, THOMAS WORSTELL, AND MYSELF
*THOMAS WORSTELL USING THE BOX
When searching for a potential client to work with for the semester, my team and I focused our attention on nonprofit organizations operating locally in Manhattan, KS. Our top pick, and the first group we contacted, replied with excitement and enthusiasm.
The Kansas Wild Outdoors program, part of the KACEE organization, provides means, resources, and curriculum for Kansas teachers to get their students involved in outdoor learning activities, whether it be an educational excursion to the local park during class, or an after-school or weekend event.
Camping is one of the most requested activities among young students in Kansas. KACEE wanted us to build them a set of Camp Kitchen Boxes. Their purpose is to carry basic cooking utensils, equipment, and food for the campers to cook with. They also provide a surface to cook on.
KACEE provided us with a box they had attempted to build previously, but never fully completed. They also provided us with the manual they had used. We thought we could improve on both.
We researched other examples of these kinds of boxes and gathered a set of design inspirations from precedents.
DESIGNING
We wanted to design a box that would carry the contents, stand up on its own, and open up to reveal an accessible storage area and a cooking surface. Here are some of our initial designs.
While designing, we also had to think about cost of materials and where the funds would come from. The members of AIAS, FBD, and I worked out a few fundraising events, such as a blood drive with the red cross, and a Pie-A-Professor event. With both of those being successful, and plus winning a grant we applied for from the national office, funds were covered.
PIE-A-PROFESSOR FUNDRAISING EVENT
CONSTRUCTION
Once we had a design that satisfied the client, our construction mentor, and ourselves, the team and I familiarized ourselves with the shop. We used the resource to cut, mark, drill, route, finish, and assemble the boxes.
After the boxes were complete, KACEE came by and picked them up to take and use as their own. I could not have been more proud of our team.
SUMMER 2023 INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE - YAEGER ARCHITECTURE
INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE
bcDESIGNGROUP - 2024
I spent the summer of 2024 at bcDESIGNGROUP in Overland Park, Kansas learning about the functions of an architecture office when it comes to project delivery, graphical standards, and client/consultant coordination. I made some small project sets (including a restaurant veranda and a warehouse) and conducted some code reviews of existing projects. The following diagram is one I made with a team of my peers for an AIA design excellence award submission.
SUMMER 2023 INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE - YAEGER ARCHITECTURE
In the summer of 2023, I worked a full-time internship position at Yaeger Architecture in Lenexa, Kansas. I was introduced to the basics of architecture as a workplace and as a profession. I worked on restaurant and entertainment buildings, namely Chicken N’ Pickle, and some master planning for a commercial development. I coordinated changes and challenges with both clients and consultants. For example, the sketch below illustrates a beam splitting at the vestibule to allow room for insulation beneath the standing-seam metal roof.
INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE
Yaeger Architecture - 2023
In the summer of 2023, I worked a full-time internship position at Yaeger Architecture in Lenexa, KS. I was introduced to the basics of architecture as a workplace and as a profession. I worked on restaurant and entertainment buildings, particularly within the design development and construction documentation phase. I coordinated changes and challenges with both clients and consultants. For example, the sketch below illustrates a beam splitting at the vestibule to allow room for insulation beneath the standing-seam metal roof.
ROOF DETAIL AT STONE
