Undergraduate Design Portfolio by Ashlon Richburg

THE ALPIN CENTER Integrative Design

Alumnus Arch “Beaver” Alpin III is funding the new School of Hospitality and Management as well as a hotel on site. Students in their fourth-year design studio were tasked with the design proposal. The approach taken to the Alpin Hotel was to highlight views of Kyle field and preserve sun shading. Structurally the design is made up of CLT on the upper floors and a concrete rigid frame on the first two.

Critic: Michael O’Brien, M.Arch, AIA

Collaborators: Mailee Shaw,and Kaitlyn Senelick contributed to the hotel and site, Cole McDowell and Olivia McLemore designed the center for hospitality on located on the site.

Skills:

Revit Rhino

Enscape

Photoshop

Illustrator

E.

Restaurant render

Lobby render

Aerial view

plan

Mechanical and structural render

Wall section

Cafe render

Hotel room render

Restaurant exterior render

Drawings by Ashlon Richburg, Kaitlyn Senelick, and Mailee Shaw

ARCHITECT AND ARTIST Adaptive Reuse

An adaptive reuse project on a 13th century piazza located in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy. The historic building would be re-purposed into a multi-use building for its new occupants - an architect and an artist. Conceptually, the artist was represented in plan and the architect in section, the integration of the two can be seen in the project as a whole. The final proposal consisted of a living space, 2 atelier, and a gallery space.

Critic: Robert Warden, AIA, M.Arch, MPhil

Collaborators: Mailee Shaw contributed in conceptual design, research, laser scanning, and modeling.

Skills:

Photogrammatry

Laser Scanning

Hand Sketching

Rhino

Photoshop

Illustrator

Front elevation

Drawings by Ashlon Richburg

Rear elevation

Longitudinal

Gallery Lecture space

Artist’s studio Architect’s workspace

Drawings by Ashlon Richburg

Laser scanned rendering

Laser scanned section

SALVATION ARMY Community Preservation

Working with the Salvation Army of Texas to establish a new community center, while preserving a mid-century chapel on the existing site. This began with a study of the historic chapel and identifying its unique arches. The arches were then extracted, reinterpreted, and placed along the length of the site. In preserving the historic chapel, this project preserved the community.

Critic: Tyrene Calvesbert, MSUP

Collaborators: Payton Newman designed the affordable housing complex located on the site.

Skills:

Rhino

Illustrator

Photoshop

Exterior perspective

Exterior perspective

Exterior perspective

Existing chapel interior

Existing chapel bones model

Existing chapel perspective

Existing chapel interior

Existing chapel interior

Drawings and images by Ashlon Richburg Minimum

Exploded axonometric

Roof condition

Level 2 community center

Commercial laundry

Community closet

Co-work space

Flexible space plan

Level 1 community center

Plaza Chapel

Public restrooms

Public clinic

Community closet

Community pantry

Cafe

Flexible space

Arch arrangement

Cafe plan

Community closet, clinic, restroom plan

Chapel plan

BALKAN HERITAGE FOUNDATION Archaeological Excavation

Spent 2 weeks excavating an ancient Greek emporion in Bulgaria. Attended lectures discussing archeology and documentation. Collected and documented finds from the field including building fragments, pottery, bone, coins, and other evidence of human activity. Gained further experience in documentation technologies, a more thorough explanation of preservation.

Skills:

Excavation

Documentation

Identification of artifacts

Reconstruction of artifacts

Photogrammatry

Drawing of excavation site on August 9th, 2022

Amphora Mandible

Painted pottery Mud brick

Photo taken from pottery cleaning

Photo taken from excavation site

August 10th, 2022

Continued excavation of section B’4N using trawls, shovels, and pick axes. Removed section and sifted through the debris. Uncovered mainly pottery, mass construction, some bone, in the section wall. Area is less likely to be used for eating/animal preparation.

August 11th, 2022

Continued excavation of B’3 section wall. Identified pottery, bone, and roof tiles. Uncovered more destruction identifying an amphora. The pile of destruction indicates manner of structures demise.

August 12th, 2022

Continued excavation and destruction of B’3 section wall. Uncovered fireplace and fishing stone. After tagging and removing, identified wall marking the negative feature for this area on the eastern side of the wall. Took depths of significant points on the wall and drew one horizontal plan.

August 13th , 2022

Continued excavation and destruction of B’3 section wall. Took levels at various stages until we hit what we determined to be the negative space “floor”.In the eastern portion of the wall, a bronze artifact was discovered. Pottery was also found.

Continued excavation of section B’3 wall. Wall was delegated into 3 sections- east, middle, and west. The middle section was between roof and urn fragments. Took levels of the deconstruction areas, as well as the loom weight that was found earlier.

August 17th, 2022

Continued excavation of B’3 section wall. Began removal and documentation of urn and roof fragments. Took levels of each and removed floor layers in negative space. A femur, clay pottery, mass construction materials found.

August 18th, 2022

Continued excavation of B’3 section wall. Removed roof tile destruction and urn. In addition to this, a femur was discovered, as well as pottery.

August 19th, 2022

Removed layer from negative structure 3-3 in section B’3. Uncovered ashy layer and bone fragments, indicating use of room as hearth or animal preparation space. Pottery was also found.

Site Contextualization

LAND + SCAPES

The conservation and celebration of a natural landscape by referencing an artistic precedent. Designing a garden folly given a path in a wooded site in Connecticut, the goal was to reflect the tree canopy above. Steel bars create a geometric tunnel to carry one along the path. Inspired by Piet Mondrian’s iconic paintings , translucent plates filter light through the metallic canopy.

Critic: Kateri Stewart, NCARB

Skills:

Rhino

Illustrator

Photoshop

Drawings by Ashlon Richburg

Reference work by Piet Mondrian

Site Contextualization

THE WRITING CHAPEL

Finding inspiration in Piet Mondrian as a means of inspiring occupants of a writer’s cabin. The writer’s cabin continued the ideas that began in the garden folly. Translucent plates from the garden folly create a large diagonal wall of stained glass that filters light throughout the common areas of the cabin, creating a chapel like experience to inspire authors in their writing.

Critic: Kateri Stewart, NCARB

Skills:

Rhino

Illustrator

Photoshop

Cut-away axonometric

Composition A by Piet Mondrian

Drawings by Ashlon Richburg

Reference work by Piet Mondrian

Transverse Section

Ground plan

Level 2 plan

Elevation

Interior Render

Programmatic Design

WELCOME TO MARFA

An experimental programmatic collision in the experimental town of Marfa, Texas. Two contrasting programs, a fashion studio and a used book store, required a complimentary design. The approach taken was to reflect the contradiction in plan and elevation with lines and curves intersecting each other. The plan also referenced the sectional study of Olgiatti’s Atelier Bardill in its use of an outer and inner shell.

Critic: Nicole McIntosh MSc. Arch ETH / SIA & Jonathan Louie AIA

Collaborators: Angela Consuelo contributed in conceptual design and drawings, however primarily designed fashion studio program.

Skills: Physical Modeling

Drafting

Rhino

Illustrator

Exterior perspective

Drawing by Ashlon Richburg and Angela Consuelo

Section Study OLGIATI’S ATELIER

A sectional study of Olgiati’s Atelier Bardill, significant features were extracted and interpreted in multiple iterations. The main features being relationship between the separate interior and exterior walls, as well as the large, circular, interior courtyard. Not only

Critic: Nicole McIntosh MSc. Arch ETH /

SIA & Jonathon Louie AIA

Skills: Precedent Research

Rhino Illustrator

Atelier Bardill transverse section

Iteration 1

Iteration 2

Iteration 3

Drawings by Ashlon Richburg

Reference work by Valerio Olgiati

Digital Representation BOOLEAN +

A workshop on Rhino and Illustrator as digital representation tools. Beginning with a cube, deliberate boolean operations were performed on various iterations of the object in Rhino. The application of constant delineations from the original form, created an implied motion in the new form, in contrast with the stagnant nature of a cubeas if the form was actively erupting from the ground plane. Introducing post-production developed an awareness of representation as a means of more fully realizing the design intent.

Critic: Nicole McIntosh MSc. Arch ETH / SIA & Jonathon Louie AIA

Skills: Physical Modeling

Drafting

Rhino

Illustrator

Formal Operations ROTATION + INTERSECT

Given an urban context and artistic client, this project implemented rotate and intersect as formal operations. Beginning with a simple “L” shape and performing the operations, a module was created. Then, repeating this along the length of the urban site allowed for a form to take shape. The final step introduced porosity and program to the basic forms. The introduction of a context allowed the forms to interact with the hypothetical site, and the client aspect humanized the project and allowed for greater care when considering scale and sequence.

Critic: Livia Loureio, CAU

Skills:

Rhino

Illustrator

Lumion

Interlock and rotate strategy

Transverse section

Drawings by

Ashlon Richburg

Contextual Design

An expansion on one’s perception of scale and context. In the abstracted plaza, a negative space is contextualized by various access points and points of interest. The undefined square unit builds upon itself, expanding and contracting to force upon its occupants a sense of place. Despite the abstract nature of the model, it allowed designer to be mindful of the individual experience within a context.

Critic: Livia Loureio, CAU

Skills: Physical Modeling

Drafting

Rhino

Illustrator

Site plan

Physical model

Drawings, model, and images by Ashlon Richburg

Precedent Analysis LOO’S RAUMBPLAN

An analysis of the architectural precedent

Villa Moller by architect Adolf Loos. To study this historic project, extensive research on the Architect was necessary. This was followed by tracing, scaling, and modeling. Villa Moller is an example of modern architecture in Vienna and its design aligns with the socio-political state at the time.

Critic: Livia Loureio, CAU

Skills:

Villa Moller front facade

PLANES + LINES Formal Operations

An analysis of architectural representation of visual forms using simple lines and planes. The 12x12” models used one dimensional lines and two dimensional planes to create a three dimensional object. Carving at the planes introduced a negative space nested in the center of the object, implementing phenomenal transparency to create an implied space.

Critic: Andrew Tripp, PhD

Skills: Physical Modeling

Drafting

Rhino

Illustrator

Axonometric arrangement

Elevation 1

Elevation 2

Elevation 3

Elevation 4

Top View

Drawings by Ashlon Richburg

Formal Operations SPLIT + ROTATION

A study of split and rotation as formal operations of design to a proposed public pavilion. The strategy of this small scale abstract space integrates two levels accomplished by the division of two cubes. Though small in scale, the rotation in multiple axis allowed for a variation of spaces and generated a particular sequence.

Critic: Matthew T. Faulkner, AIA, IIDA

Skills:

Physical Modeling

Drafting

Rhino

Illustrator

Elevation 1

Elevation 2

Elevation 3

Elevation 4

Top View

Drawings by Ashlon Richburg

Ashlon Richburg

23014 Palm Trail Drive, Katy, Texas 281-935-6833

EDUCATION

AUGUST 2019 – MAY 2023 | GPA 3.8

Bachelor of Environmental Design / Texas A&M University

Studying Architecture and minoring in Historical Art and Architecture as well as Architectural Heritage Conservation. Plans to get a master’s in architecture and architectural preservation and become a licensed architect.

AUGUST 2021 – NOVEMBER 2021

Italian Study Abroad / Texas A&M University

Spent 3 months studying historical architecture in Italy – researching, documenting, and cataloging various buildings. Designed an adaptive reuse studio project with the information uncovered.

AUGUST 2015 – MAY 2019 | GPA 4.2

Katy High School

ORGANIZATIONS

- Society of Women in Architecture and Design

- American Institute of Architectural Students

- AIAS Mentor-ship Subcommittee member

- Preservation and Conservation Student

AWARDS

- Camp Arch Scholarship

- Mr. and Mrs. Zelman Endowed Scholarship

- 2021 Study Abroad Scholarship

- Outstanding Alumni Sponsorship

- 2022 Houston Modern Homes Tour Docent

- Departmental Undergraduate Scholarship

- Published in Axiom, a student led publication

TECHNICAL SKILLS

- Microsoft Products

- Rhinoceros

- InDesign

- Illustrator

- Photoshop

- Revit

- Auto-CAD

- Photogrammatry

- Lumion

EXPERIENCE

May 2021 - CURRENT

Student Services Assistant / Texas A&M College of Architecture

Manages front desk of Student Services department. Organizes advisor appointment for eight advisors schedules, oversees appointment check in for the School of Architecture, manages incoming calls, answers student questions, engages with incoming students, and gives tours of the school.

August 2022 - CURRENT

Undergraduate Mentor / AIAS

Mentor to five underclassmen in Environmental Design at Texas A&M University. Fostered relationships and provided insight into softwares, classes, and academic resources related to the program.

August 2022

Field School Participant / Balkan Heritage Field School

Spent two weeks excavating an ancient Greek emporion in Bulgaria while attending lectures discussing archeology and documentation. Collected and documented finds for archival from the field including building fragments, pottery, bone, coins, and other evidence of human activity to determine specific details of the building construction and demolition.

June 2022 - August 2022

Collegiate Architectural Intern / PBK Architects

Drafted construction documents, edited, and reviewed specifications of principal architects during the construction design phase of an average of five projects ranging from $10-30 million in construction costs. Attended site visits, design workshops, client meetings, and RFQ’s. Became proficient in Auto-CAD, and Revit.

April 2018 – July 2019

Intern / Interplan Architects

Responsible for handling clerical work, preparing documents for approval by the City of Houston, filing paperwork as well as communicating with clients and associates regarding ongoing projects, invoices, and meetings.