Anna's Architecture Portfolio 2023

anna owusu

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO 2023

SKILLS

COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN: AutoCAD, Revit, Twinmotion, Adobe Creative Suite, Vray, SketchUp, Microstation, Rhino.

DESIGN DRAWING: technical, freehand sketching, painting, photography: digital, darkroom, model making, 3D rendering, illustration

Other: Website design, Microsoft Office, Windows 98-present, Mac, social media marketing and management

About Anna

Creative, self-motivated, with experience in design, drafting and 3D rendering. A recent architectural technician graduate and entrepreneur with leadership abilities in a variety of roles. Passionate about sustainable architecture and improving our communities through environmental design and practices.

My hobbies include: volunteering, design, music, travelling, and photography.

WORK EXPERIENCE EDUCATION

Founder, organizer. Locale Festival.

(2019- ongoing) Edmonton, Alberta.

• Organized Alberta’s 1st zero waste festival.

• Corresponded actively with local businesses and charitable organizations.

• Arranged the venue, event floor plan, workshops, and speakers.

• Budgeted event expenses and closely monitored costs to economize on expenditure.

• Developed social media, event pages, advertising, and graphics to promote event.

Architectural Technician (Co-op). Ottawa Community Housing. (2015). Ottawa, ON.

• Updated, revised and drafted fire safety plans

• for approximately 100 properties.

• Inspected properties for proper fire safety to adhere to fire safety planning stan dards.

• Ensured drawings were aligned with national Masters Specifications and the Residential Tenant’s Act.

• Corresponded with appropriate staff to ensure requirements were met, and quality and accuracy of drawing were maintained.

VOLUNTEER

Events & Project Coordinator. Leftovers, Edmonton. (2018- 2020) Edmonton, Alberta.

Business Relations Manager. Waste Free Edmonton (2018 – 2019) Edmonton, Alberta

Architectural Technician Diploma. (2022-2023) Centennial College, Scarborough, ON.

Architectural Technician Diploma. (2014 - 2015) Algonquin College, Ottawa, ON.

BSc Architecture Design Degree (2008 - 2012) University of East London. London, United Kingdom.

RELATED EXPERIENCE

Autocad Drafter. Freelancer (2016- 2018)

Vintage online shop owner. Ohemaashop (2017-2021)

ANNA THE JUNIOR ARCHITECTURAL TECHNICIAN

ANNA THE PERSON

This property now houses growing corn.

Nahinso Library Kumasi, Ghana

This project was inspired by my recent visit to Ghana, where I observed many unfinished and abandoned houses in Kumasi and Accra. These houses reflect the financial hardship and struggles of many families in the area. My proposal is to repurpose the houses into other functions, such as community centers, including a recycling station, an arts and youth center. The first of which will be temporary libraries built in several Kumasi neighborhoods. This project will bring a new level of community engagement to Ghanaian architecture.

SITE: located on the main road, it is one of the larger unfinshed property. The interior is fully overgrwon with wild plants.

Unfinished homes in Nahinso

Property appears to be recently built due to the state of the cement blocks, however the interior is still overgrown with grasses and weeds

Property has had some recent addition, but it’s still far from com-

Property Lines

The neighborhood consists of homes, local shops, churches, and schools, which are the main hubs for community life and activities. However, not all buildings are finished and functional. Some of them are only partially constructed, with cement, sand blocks, or reinforced cement blocks forming the outer walls. Some have roofs, interior walls, windows, and doors, but others are just empty shells. These incomplete homes contrast with the well-kept buildings and churches nearby, and show the economic disparity that affects the community. The unfinished properties lack foundations, and are now filled with wild plants instead of people.

Causes of uncompleted homes:

1. These properties are often abandoned due to the lack of resources and financial support in the community.

2. Land in Ghana is owned and ruled by chiefs. Much of the land acquisition is still governed by a neighbourhood chief instead of complying with Ghana’s new land act. This causes many issues and uncertainty, and as a result some landowners build the house perimeter to claim rights to their property.

3. Inadequate construction tools and equipment. Almost all the buildings in Ghana are built by hand, with basic tools like hammers, ladders, and cement block making machine.

Site map of Nahinso

Ghana is rich in natural resources that can be used for building purposes, such as timber, bamboo, and clay. I will use prefabricated local timber for my proposal, which will reduce the construction time by producing panels that can be easily assembled and disassembled on site. The design enables the library to be configured in various heights and shapes, depending on the site and neighborhood conditions.

The main goal of this project is to create a permanent library that serves the local communities. I intend to engage with the people who live and work in the area, and invite them to participate in the design process. By doing so, I hope to create an architecture that reflects their needs and values, and that they can feel proud of and connected to. This will ensure the long-term sustainability and success of the project.

FLOOR PLANS

1. Library

2. Reading Nook

3. Existing Structure

The library features a spacious interior with shelves for books along the walls, comfortable seats for visitors, and a central area for the staff

Nahinso library offers many benefits for students and the community. It is a place where students can learn, have fun, and have access to resources that would otherwise be inaccessible. For example local school textbooks will be avaliable for students who need them. The center will serve as a hub for activities such as art classes, tutoring, and other community initiatives. The library supports the property owner by donating extra funds from event fees and library fines to help them complete their home. The project will also create meaningful jobs and opportunities for the local community.

The goal of this project is to create vibrant, safe, and equitable spaces for all.

Urban Apiary

London, United Kingdom

The proposal asked us to document and research the history of our site by walking from London Bridge to Jacob’s Island (site). In response to the multiple layers and aspects discovered on site, we proposed an architecture for its future.

On the site I was interested in the physical separation made by the “Bermondsey Wall” of land and water, flats and moorings, and the spatial separation of green living on the moorings and urban living in the flats. Since the site is in the center of both opposites, I wanted my proposal to illustrate the merging of these opposites, while combining the “environmental, physical, and social aspects” of both spaces.

Merging the ideas of the moorings “biodiversity, social, and self-sufficiency” with the ideas of the flats urban living was the goal of my design.

In my proposal the social aspects are crucial, as the flats and moorings residents will be encouraged to take part in the production of food and honey. It’s their work on the site which will eventually raise public awareness and motivate a new interest in beekeeping and gardening in urban spaces

West. Chambers Wharf. Bermondsey Wall East.

1 2

3 4

Site Proposal with two floor

Proposal Proposal with 4 floors and green roof

Interior Collage

Massing Models

Reading London, Walking London.

Key to lines

Distance bees travel for food

Key to symbol

Turf

Site Park Garden

London green spaces are divided into parks (spaces with trees), turf (spaces with grass), and gardens (spaces with grass, trees, and flowers)

Urban Living/Land.

Bermondsey Wall West is comprised of 223 modern properties, 216 of which are flats, apartments or maisonette. The value of the properties on Bermondsey Wall West is, on average, £694,846, making it one of the most expensive parts of SE16 Southwark.

Green Living/Water.

The Moorings at Downing Roads support the largest single collection of historic trading vessels on the Thames, some over 100 years old. The moorings have evolved into a vibrant community with more than 30 historic boats providing affordable homes and studios for over 70 people around an infrastructure of floating gardens and walkways. It has plenty of environmental initiatives like bird feeders, a bird sanctuary, as well as an award for achieving the highest recycling rate in the borough of 65%, way above the Southwark average of 7.2%.

My proposal is a flat for the site. The proposal incorporates the luxurious urban apartments with the sustainability of the Moorings.The apartment has seven flats, each flat has one to two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, dining, and living room. The flats also contain an apiary and garden room which is used by the residents for beekeeping.

1. Steps

2. Bedroom

3. Apiary

4. Living Room, Kitchen

5. Green Roof

6. Balcony

7. Stairs

8. Plants

Section aa Scale 1:100

The flats overlook the Thames River from the north side, with hexagonal windows that let in natural light and offer scenic views of London. The residents can use the hexagonal steps to reach the moorings and the river.

The south elevation faces the road and existing apartments. It contains the entrances for each. flat.

The west and east elevation has stairs to the roof garden.

West Elevation Scale 1:300

East Elevation Scale 1:300

North Elevation Scale 1:400

South Elevation Scale 1:400

Planting Design

Flowers: Clover, Heather, Lavender, Red Poppy, Purple Poppy, Bluebell, Daffodil, Rosemary, Crabapple, Aquileia, Thyme, Sweet Pea, Fennel, Foxglove, Sunflower, Cornflower.

Gardeners on the moorings and in London are being urged to plant more flowers that bloom during the summer and to mow their lawns less often due to new research revealing that honeybees have to travel further to find food during warmer seasons. Furthermore, because of global warming foods like corn, wheat, barley, and rice production will decrease in the future.

Based on this research promoting beekeeping in urban areas is the focus of my proposal, it inspired my proposal to feature a green roof. The green roof has a planting design with the appropriate flowers, plants and fruits and vegetables that help encourage bees all year round.

Fruits and Vegetables

Living Green Wall system

Bee structure- Vertical planting for bees

Planting Layer

Drainage Layer

Thermal Insulation

Structural Concrete

Plant Design

Scale 1:200

Hexagonal stairs to Moorings- connects both spaces. (green/ urban, land/water.)

1. Green living wall construction: 100 mm concrete wall or freestanding frame, waterproof membrane, backing board, 48 x 12mm fixing rail, growing medium-plants

2. Ceiling construction: 16mm ceiling board, on 19mm furring channels @ 600mm O/C, 64mm mtl channels @ 1200 mm O/C, supported by 200 mm concrete

3. Floor: 16 mm floor finish, 25 mm concrete topping, 200 mm concrete slab, 100 mm rigid foam insulation, 6 mil poly vapour barrier, on 200 mm coarse clean granular fill

4. exterior wall: 90 mm brick, 50 mm air space, 75 mm rigid insulation board, 6 mil air/vapour barrier 190 mm CMU, 13 mm gypsum board

5. Green roof construction: 150 mm seperation from wall, 50 mm ballast, 150 mm planting soil, filter fabric, 12 mm drainage layer, 150 mm rigid insulation, root barrier membrane, waterproofing membrane, 200 mm concrete

6. Apiary interior wall: aluminium frames, insulating laminated glazing

7. Foundation construction: poured concrete wall

The apiary room is the focal point of each flat, where residents can enjoy the benefits of urban beekeeping. Each flat features a spacious and flexible layout, with natural materials and colors creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. The site offers stunning views of the moorings and Thames.

There are three stages of the proposal.

Stage one: proposal begins with the introduction of vertical planting and apiaries on the site.

Stage two: Introduction of more apiaries and plants attracts more beekeepers, volunteers, and gardeners.

Stage three: A complete mixture of gardening, vertical gardening and beekeeping is on entire site.

Pedestrians can also access site by walking, biking and public transit.

LEGEND

Valley Elementary School

Scarborough, Canada

rises in the west direction and sets in the east. Based on this information the proposal should orient true north for massive solar heat gains.

Wind Rose

Site is located at Latitude: +43.65 (43°39’00” N) Longitude: -79.38 (79°22’48”W) the wind rose atlas for these coordinates indicates that the prevailing winds are strongest in the Northwest direction during winter, in summer prevailing winds are strongest in the northwest and southwest direction. In the spring the winds are strongest in the northwest In the fall the prevailing winds are stronger in the southwest direction

Noise Pollution

The site is located in a quiet residential area, with mostly houses and a few commercial buildings. The site is surrounded by mature trees from the Rouge Valley which helps reduce 50% of any urban noise.

The Site has a gentle topography, with low hills and rivers on the north and west sides. The east side is occupied by residential buildings, while the south side is an open field.

Minimum Elevation: 129 m, Maximum elevation: 140 m North and west orientation faces parks, within the parks are forests, thickets, meadows, wetlands, rivers and agricultural fields.

Accessibility: traffic flow analysis

Site is in a suburban area, it faces two residential roads which can be easily accessed by cars. Pedestrians can access site by walking, biking and public transit.

Vegetation Site is surroundwd by dense oldgrowth forest containing clusters of deciduous and coniferous trees. Trees includes Carolinian tree species such as:

- Shagbark hickory

- Bitternut hickory

- Ironwood

- Black maple

- Blue beech

- White oak

Site Plan

Scale: NTS

Greenhouse Park Reykjavik, Iceland

The Old harbour of Reykjavik has an important connection between the urban fabric and the nature. The industrial activities are declining, slowly being taken over by new uses. Some occupy old existing buildings, and others are new constructions. The proposal asked us to focus on the threshold within the city, the natural assets and public life. Then propose a building in the context of the city that contributes to its surroundings, and invites passers-by to engage and visitors to enjoy.

Walking around Reykjavik it become evident the effects of the recent global economic crisis. As a result of the crisis there were various types of empty and abandoned buildings scattered through the city. Most of them are found in the center of Reykjavik. These spaces where all different sizes, and in various phases of construction, but more interesting than the appearance of these buildings was the backstory.

I decided to focus my project on combining both aspects of the sites we visited in Reykjavik, by rebuilding and reusing the abandoned and empty buildings in downtown Reykjavik into geothermal greenhouses, and urban centers for locals and tourists.

Geirsgata 11, 101

Tryggvagata 13

SITE: Tryggvagata 10, 101

Vesturgata 6-8, 101

Vesturgata 16B,101

For my site I chose Tryggvagata 10, 101. Built in 1906 as a slaughterhouse, the house is approximately 436m2. There are two main floors, a basement, and an additional third floor which use to lead to a tower on the northwest corner.

1921: Expansion of the second floor into an apartment.

1935: A combination of residential and fish factory/slaughterhouse took place in the house.

1939: Outhouses built.

1942: Fiskbúð downstairs, Fish Hall and residential upstairs.

1956-1962: Improved facilities for fish processing leads to the house becoming the location of various businesses, such as such as Hlíðarhús sf., Sturlaugur Grant and Co., etc.

1962-New addition of concrete and timber based south of the extension in 1921.

1973- Redesign of the towers and balconies were made on the house. The house has strong links in Reykjavik history because of its commercial, industrial and employment history, as well as its relationship to local retail. It expresses cultural and environmental values. The house has had little change except on the windows, cladding, and removal of towers and balconies in 1973. In 2010 fire department was called to Tryggvagata 10 early morning due to water leakage in the house. Water flowed under the front door of the house, which had been empty for a long time, and down the street. One fire truck was sent to the house, and it took firefighters about an hour to prevent the leak. This water leakage caused a lot of damaged. The building is currently empty/abandoned/derelict, and in 2008 and outdoor installation was placed on the front of the house to cover up its derelict state. Graffiti can be found on the side and back of building.

SITE: Tryggvagata 10, 101.

The existing interior structure of Tryggvagata 10 is damaged from a fire, therefore some of it will have to be completely rebuilt and restored for it to function again.

Traditional Icelandic technique: houses built of concrete cast on site, the houses are then thermally insulated on the inside with cellular plastic, 100-124 mm thick insulation, which is covered with a sand-cement plaster about 20-30mm thick.

The traditional concrete thickness is 150-160 mm for walls between dwellings and 180 mm for floors. Floors use to have an extra sandcement layer on top of them, 30-50mm thick. Later it was replaced by a thin layer without increasing the concrete thickness of floors.

Floors:

1. 50 mm cement layer

2. 180 mm concrete slab

Walls:

1. Paint

2. Ventilation gap

3. 160 mm concrete,

4. 125 mm insulation

5. 30 mm cement render

1. Greenhouse wall construction: light guage steel structure, aluminium frames, double glazed glass, heating pipe rings.

2. Floor construction: 40 mm cement screed, 15 mm waterproofing membrane, 50 mm drainage layer, 100 mm rigid insulation, OWSJ or steel deck on, 250 mm reinforced concrete slab.

3. Exterior wall: 16 mm paint, 150 mm reinforced concrete cast, 38 mm ventilation gap, 125 mm rigid insulation, 20 mm cement render

4. Third floor construction: 40mm cement screed, 80 mm underfloor heating pipes, 125 mm rigid insulation, 200 mm reinforced concrete slab,

5. ceiling construction: acoustical ceiling tiles on t-bar suspension system, hung from steel structure above.

6. foundation construction: 200 mm poured concrete wall, 6 mm vapour barrier, 75 mm rigid insulation

13 mm cement board

7. basement wall: 200 mm concrete,

75 mm rigid insulation, 20 mm cement screed

8. basement foundation: 200 mm poured concrete

Wall Section Scale 1:50

Wall Section Scale 1:50

Interior view of the library.

Future use: To replicate the project (GreenHouse Park) into other empty abandoned buildings and spaces in Reykjavik. The benefits of this project is its flexibility and the fact that it will be easily adaptable in other abandoned, or empty spaces and buildings in Reykjavik, and around Iceland.

Storage House

London, United Kingdom

Wind direction: West

Sun direction: Sunrise in the east, sunset in the west.

Highest point of the sun in winter in London is 15.5 degree celsius (January and November).

Highest point of the sun in summer is 62 degree celsius in summer (June).

The sun travels in an arc, reaching it’s highest altitude in the South (for the Northern hemisphere.)

Sound pollution: low, across the Thames, and on the walk to the site.

high-school kids, and students visiting site, cafe visitors.

Materials: Mostly brick, recycled shipping containers

LEGEND

Boiler House

The Chain & Buoy Store

Buoy Shed & Siren House

Container City 1 & 2

Le Cabanon

The brief was to design a cabin that is environmentally sustainable, similar to that of Le Corbusier’s, Le Cabanon built in 1952. The design must be suitable for a person to live, work, sleep, and play in throughout the year. The project is to be designed for a location at trinity buoy wharf in London, then redesign to adapt to a second location in Louisiana, swamps.

Site Survey

Trinity Buoy Wharf is a former buoy manufacturing site that has now become the center for the arts, and creative industries. Located in London’s Docklands area, about one mile east of Canary Wharf, the site is composed of modern unique buildings.

Before I began my design for my Cabanon, I was inspired by images of storage, space saver and multi-purpose furniture. Based on the limited space, I wanted my design to emphasize on maximizing storage.

The interior of 260cm by 360 cm is made from various 26cm by 26cm plywood blocks stacked on top, left, and right to create the walls for the cabin.

The interior consists of shelves in between the walls. The plywood blocks can be used as furniture for sleeping, eating, lounging, working etc.

The cabin is separated into sleep and work areas, arranged around the bathroom and kitchen. To increase natural daylighting in the cabin, the design includes 100cm glass walls on the east and west wall, and surrounding skylight windows on each wall before the sloped roof.

For natural ventilation and extra natural light, the blocks can be easily removed to create spaces in the walls for windows.

Ground Floor Plan Scale 1:00

Plywood block construction

1. plywood door panel

2. space for storage

3. plywood back panel

4. thermafleece insulation

5. plywood block

6. timber frame

7. plywood block

8. air space

solar panels: solar water heating system

two pipe drainage system

Section aa Scale 1:100

9. back panel

For the cabin to be livable in the Louisiana’s swamplands there are some minor changes to the structure. Due to Louisiana’s abundant rainfall and mild climate, it has 14 million acres of hardwood and softwood forests that support a large pulp and paper industry, as well as production of pine, plywood, and lumber for construction. The cotton industry is another pillar of Louisiana’s agribusiness. The first of two major textile mills producing cotton yarn was completed in December 2009 in Southwest Louisiana by Zagis USA.

Relocation design changes:

Flooring changes: The cabin’s building envelope would still be made predominantly from engineered timber frames and plywood. Wood piles would be made from recycled trees from the swamps, Wood piles are 1m long. The therma-fleece (sheep wool) insulation would change to cotton insulation (cotton batts).

Louisiana’s existing agricultural and energy industries make the state a natural location for biofuel research, development, and production.

Environmental strategy changes: The biomass Stove/cooker would be replaced with a Bio-ethanol stove/cooker. Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermenting the sugar components of plant materials and it is made mostly from sugars and starch crops.

Foundation changes: the ground is swamp water; therefore the foundation of timber frames would become longer to hold rainwater and the compositing toilet tank.

Thanks