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)

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.

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.

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