Selected Works 2016-Present

Alexander Noaks The University of Texas at Austin // School of Architecture

B. Arch // Selected Works

ALEXANDER NOAKS alexnoaks@gmail.com (309) 573-5431 3001 Cedar St. #312 Austin, TX 78705

EDUCATION The University of Texas at Austin // Bachelor of Architecture 2016-2021 (expected)

Lake Travis High School // Austin, TX 2012-2016

EXPERIENCE Intern // Seaux Pierce Architecture // Lakeway, TX

May 2018 - Aug 2018

A firm specializing in residential and commercial design across the Hill Country + greater Austin area. Worked in many facets of the design process, including schematic design, construction documentation, client presentation, rendering, site visits, etc.

Architecture Student Associate // University Libraries

May 2017 - present

Employed in the Architecture + Planning Library, managing the circulation desk, organizing book stacks, renovating + redeveloping, creating displays + exhibitions, and general assistance with patrons.

ACADEMICS University Honors Achieved with a 3.75 GPA or higher

Aug 2016 - present

ACTIVITIES Alpha Rho Chi // Treasurer // National Delegate

Sept 2016 - present

Professional fraternity specializing in architecture + the allied arts. Role as treasurer includes managing accounts + cards, annual budgeting, filing taxes, as well as general officer responsibilities within the fraternity. Represented UT Austin as delegate to the 71st National Convention in Baltimore, MD, 2018

Waterloo Wind Band // Alto Saxophone

Aug 2016 - present

2019 marks my twelfth year playing overall

Alpha Lambda Delta // Honors Society

Feb 2017 - present

On-campus organization that emphasizes values of academics and philanthropy

SKILLS + ABILITIES Digital

Analogue

Other

ArchiCAD

Freehand drafting

Dual Citizenship // USA + UK

Revit

Physical Modeling

Spanish // Conversational

Rhinoceros

Watercoloring

Adobe Creative Suite

Woodworking

AutoCAD Lumion V-Ray for Rhino

PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES Chad Pierce

Cary McEuen

Mike McCall

(512) 699-6200

(512) 923-9301

(415) 990-3813

chad@seauxpierce.com

cary@seauxpierce.com

mike@mccalldesign.com

Angel Island Naturalization Center Design V Intermediate III // Fall 2018 Prof. Michael McCall Angel Island, in the San Francisco Bay, is a site rife with a dark past - subjecting many immigrants, primarily from Asian nations, to abject prejudice and cruelty. This project, based on the 2019 Lyceum Competition, aims to change the focus and breathe life back into the island. The project primarily serves as a center for US Citizenship Ceremonies, but also includes numerous secondary spaces (ideal for small/community groups) and individual contemplation spaces.

The situating of the project on a cliff, overlooking the former immigration center, allows history to serve as a backdrop.

However, the notion of being perched above it allows a sense of elevation - looking down on the past while celebrating the new hope that comes with the naturalization process.

This idea is expressed as the primary program space orients itself directly towards the cove below, while the secondary spaces below orient outward toward the bay.

The form itself is based upon the concept of a “launch� opening up along an axis gradually as members rise from a horizontal to vertical position. All occupants, whether solo or in a 1000-person celebration, ought to feel welcomed by a space deeply-conscious of its past.

Agua Dulce Urban Farmstand Design II Foundations // Spring 2017 Building on the previous semester, Design II Foundations still took a fairly abstract approach to design. However, this semester’s work featured a more concrete program - a small marketplace suitable for the storing and subsequent selling of fresh on-site produce for a small urban farm in South Austin. The semester once again begun with a fairly straightforward study of object interactions. However, an emphasis on tectonic design was far more apparent with the use of thin basswood members for a majority of the semester.

While continuing to emphasize design elements introduced in the previous semester, more advanced notions of craft were expected - in which a full study on moving and operable parts defined a bulk of the work from the mid-point onward.

My final design incorporated a massing strategy that at certain orientations could be fairly porous, and others quite dense. Protection of the produce was essential, and shading at peak times was a must. Thus, the design as it stands focuses on the solar path, allowing moments of light penetration at more appropriate positions where the produce would remain safe.

Separate

Contact

Intersect

Sanctuary on Mission Espada Design IV Speculative // Spring 2018 Prof. Johanna Reed The Intermediate Speculative Studio was one in which I wanted to explore the realm of architecture in a slightly more free and exotic manner before moving into a more regulated program in coming years. This semester’s studio explored what the notion of sanctuary could mean to the individual as well as a group, on a site rich in history. How does one balance the turbulent Colonial Spanish + Texan past with a space meant to house a notion of safety?

The strategy I employed was completely site-specific, using a fairly parametric approach of selecting preexisting points of significance as bases for radiating arches outward in plan. As these arches begun to intersect and overlap, extremely intricate shapes and outlines were discovered. I found this strategy to be extremely free and exploratory yet still offer a clear approach to my design logic. The resulting form was a play on light and how it could be used to orient, yet allow one to feel lost in comfort as one pleased.

Visual Communications Fall 2016 - Fall 2017 A three-semester long series of courses that are designed to develop skills with the tools essential to an architecture student. Course I was primarily analogue - hand-drawing and the use of a pencil was at the core of the semester.

Here, I first learned elements of craft and how to master the elegance of both technical drafting and free-handed works.

Course 2 began to introduce notions of the digital realm as it is crucial in this era of the architectural field as a whole.

Programs such as Rhino - our backbone for 3D modeling - were slowly taught to us. The instruction was intentionally withheld to a degree, encouraging self-discovery and increased confidence of oneself over the computer. A simple 3D object served as the basis for a basic Rhino module, a rigorous advanced drawing module, and a rendering module taught in V-Ray + Rhino.

Course 3 was oriented around fabrication and advanced digital modeling. Modules included new programs including Revit and Grasshopper, and physical applications, in my case programming code for a KUKA robot-generated marker drawing.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Schematic Set Design // Fall 2017 in collaboration with Meggie Hunt + Alpha Psi Omega NURSES’ STATION

BREAKAWAY WINDOW SECURITY DOOR BALCONY PODIUM SHIELD/MASKING SHIELD/MASKING CARD TABLES AUDIENCE

AUDIENCE

alexnoaks@gmail.com (309) 573-5431