Colton Gauthier Kansas State University Academic Portfolio 2023
Contact
Education
Work Experience
Software
El Dorado, KS
Cell: (316)-323-5879
Email: coltongauthier1@yahoo.com
Masters in Architecture - In Progress
Kansas State University : August 2020 - Present
High School Diploma
Flint Hills High School - Rosalia, KS : May 2020
Stage Crew Member
McCain Auditorium - Kansas State University : August 2022 - Present
Residential Framing Carpenter
G5 Construction LLC - El Dorado, KS : May 2020 - Present (Seasonal)
Adobe Suite
Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign : Skill Level - Intermediate
Rhino 7
Skill Level - Intermediate
Microsoft Suite
Word, Excel, PowerPoint : Skill Level - Proficient
I’m an ambitious young professional from Kansas State University seeking a position as an architectural intern. I have experience as a residential framer on high-end custom homes as well as experience through all stages of design-build through Kansas State University’s chapter of Freedom By Design. I’m eager to learn and can’t wait to help the firm create amazing projects!
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Table of Contents
Sunset Hills Event Center
Pages 3-10
Alma Library
Pages 11-18
ECOWAS
Pages 19-26
Freedom By Design
Pages 27-30
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Sunset Hills Event Center
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The Sunset Hills Event Center is an event center for the community of Manhattan. The site is a large, undeveloped green space located within the city. This makes it a unique opportunity to design a building that brings new functions to the site while maintaining the park-like atmosphere that already exists. This building has been designed to provide the Manhattan community with private meeting spaces set within a large park environment. The placement of the building close to Sunset Avenue acts as a barrier, allowing visual and audible components to be blocked to provide a relaxing and quiet park setting located in the back half of the site. Utilizing the same concept within the building, service functions are moved to the front which allows for the private meeting spaces, both interior and exterior, to face toward the expansive park. These design choices provide the residents of Manhattan with a relaxing place to gather that has the feeling of being separated from the surrounding city.
Location: Manhattan, Kansas
Class: ADS 1
Year: Fall 2021
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Plant Density Analysis
Site Plan Density
After observing the abundant prairie grass found on the site, it was determined that the higher the grass grows, the less dense it becomes. This led to a site plan parti that placed the building and its necessary functions, like parking, on the front of the site making it the dense portion. This left the back portion of the site open and filled with vegetation, becoming the less dense portion of the site.
Site Plan 0’ 30’ 60’ 120’ 5
Dense Dense Less Dense Less Dense
The building parti is derived from organizing the program to allow for the event rooms to have adequate and accessible outdoor space next to them.
The building further incorporates the density parti created for the site. The front of the building becomes the dense portion, filled with service functions while the served spaces on the back of the building become the lesser dense portions.
Building Parti Lower Floor Plan Served and Service Service Served Served Served Served Served Upper Floor Plan 0’ 8’ 16’ 32’ A B A B 6
0’ 4’ 8’ 16’
Section A-A
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Section B-B
The inclusion of a light shelf helps to limit the amount of solar gain from the south facade of the building while allowing for this light to be distributed within the room. The use of operable windows allows for cross-ventilation throughout the event spaces on nice days.
Light Shelf
Operable Windows for Ventilation
0’ 4’ 8’ 16’
Closed Open 8
View of Service Parking Tunnel
View of the Geothermal Pond
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View of the Front Entry
View of the Vertical Sun Shading on the West Facade
View of the Exterior Event Space
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View into the Hallway and Event Space
Alma Library
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The small town of Alma, Kansas required a new central hub for the town in the form of a library that contains many different functions. Located in the downtown portion of the town, the site features a large amount of street frontage and presence within the surrounding streetscape. Included in the library are spaces like a career development center, computer labs, a digital fabrication lab, and a cafe. In addition to this, a central courtyard and large communal gardens have been integrated as well. The courtyard acts as a protected outdoor space for small events or the completion of work. Located on the rooftop, these communal gardens act as a gathering space for all members of the community to come together to achieve a common goal, to successfully grow fresh produce with the help of each other. These design features and elements contribute to the useful spaces that a close-knit community, like Alma, can use every day.
Location: Alma, Kansas
Class: ADS 2
Year: Spring 2022
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105' 35' Lower Floor Plan 0’ 4’ 8’ 16’ A A 13
Lobby Digital Fabrication
Community Room
Children’s Collections
Teen Collections
Adult Collections
Periodicals
105' 35' Upper Floor Plan 0’ 4’ 8’ 16’ 14
Courtyard Perspective
A central courtyard space allows guests to utilize exterior space while visiting the library. Divided into two portions, the children’s side is accessible through the interior portion of the building dedicated to children’s activities and readings. The other side is occupied by all other visitors. Both spaces feature adequate seating and vegetation, allowing people to work or read outdoors.
Section A-A 15
Hallway Perspective
0’ 2.5’ 5’ 10’ 16
A central hallway runs the length of the building and serves as the access point to all of the different program spaces. Its location against one of the faces of the courtyard allows for abundant amounts of natural light to enter this space while also providing views of the outdoors.
1. 15,000 sq ft Main Program Block Placed on Site
The main program massing is placed on to the site as a two-story building form.
3. Upper Spaces Shifted to Create Gardens
Spaces on the second level of the building are shifted north to create outdoor gardens on the south side. These gardens are provided to create a central activity for all members of the community to be involved in.
MissouriStreet MissouriStreet MissouriStreet MissouriStreet MissouriStreet MissouriStreet
5. Cafe Pulled to Street Edge
The cafe located in the southwest corner of the site is pulled back to the street edge to give it more prominence. This allows it to be easily noticeable and accessible from the street.
2. Program Block Shifted to Create Courtyard
The program block was shifted to create a large courtyard in the center of the building. This provides abundant natural light and exterior visitor space. A portion of the site was then filled in to provide with the square footage lost to the courtyard.
4. Building Pushed Back from Street Edge
The building is pushed back from the street edge to provide a gathering space for community members before entering the building. Additionally, this recess from the street edge creates a variation in the facade that differs from the surrounding buildings.
6. Main Circulation Path Carved Out
The main path of circulation through the building is carved out of the massing. This path allows for continuous movement throughout the building and easy access to rooms on both sides.
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Roof Garden Perspective
Rooftop gardens act as focal points for the community and the library. Not only are the gardens designed to allow for all members of the community to gather and work on something together, but they also serve as an area of teaching. Gardening classes and children’s workshops can be hosted right here at the library with such accessible garden space.
Front Elevation 0’ 4’ 8’ 16’ 18
ECOWAS
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ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, is building a consulate building in Topeka, Kansas. The site is located directly across from the Kansas State Capitol. With agriculture being a significant way ECOWAS focuses on promoting economic prosperity, as well as the mission of Topeka to reclaim developed land, vegetation was implemented in the design in a variety of ways. An open courtyard on the West facade allows for increased views as well as natural sun shading. As visitors travel throughout the building, they encounter unique light wells placed along the main paths of circulation. These allow for daylighting in the building as well as views. As visitors are guided to their destination through the use of angled walls, they encounter larger expanses of vegetation that have either been placed inside of the room or that have surrounded the room. These provide unique experiences for the different rooms in the building that are different from one another.
Location: Topeka, Kansas
Class: ADS 3
Year: Fall 2022
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Angled Wall Process
An
abstract model was created to help guide design decisions. Once this was done, the angles were traced and overlaid onto previous iterations of the floor plans. Using these overlaid angles, the walls were shifted to match the angle of the lines that were created using the abstract model.
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Third Floor Plan UP UP Fifth Floor Plan DOWN UP First Floor Plan UP UP 0’ 6’ 12’ 24’ A A 22
Step 1: 5 Story Building Form Placed on Site
Step 2: Courtyard Carved Out
A courtyard is carved out of the existing program block, allowing for natural light to enter deeper into the building.
Step 3: Square Footage Added to the Building
The square footage of the building is increased by extending a portion of the building into the courtyard. Additional square footage is added by extending the upper two floors over the courtyard below.
Step 5: Interior Vegetation Spaces Carved Out
The interior spaces that contain vegetation within the building are carved out of the program block, allowing for increased natural light within the building and a unique user experience.
Step 4: Outdoor Spaces Carved Out
The outdoor spaces are carved out of the program block, providing ample space for guests and workers to enjoy the vegetation placed on and around them.
The program block is placed on the entire site as a 5 story building form.23
Hallway Perspective
Light wells that travel throughout the height of the building allow for light and views of vegetation on the interior of the building that would otherwise not be possible.
West Elevation 0’ 5’ 10’ 20’ Section A-A 0’ 5’ 10’ 20’ 24
View of the Concept Model
View of the West Elevation
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View of the South Elevation
View of the Theater Space
View of the Exterior Gallery Space
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View of the Interior Gallery Space
Freedom By Design
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Kansas State University’s Freedom by Design (FBD) chapter partnered with a local children’s museum and non-profit Wonder Workshop to redesign their basement. Hosting a variety of activities like workshops, after-school classes, and birthday parties, Wonder Workshop needed organized and multi-purpose spaces. Working as a team, we here at FBD talked to the client about their needs and wants to create a successful design and solution to fit their needs. Through numerous iterations and ideas, we decided the best thing to do would be to rearrange the existing spaces in the basement, a craft space, teen space, and storage space. We developed ideas and solutions that would lead to the design and construction of new furniture like a desk, a table, and shelves. We created a new atmosphere in the basement by repainting the walls and adding new light fixtures. All of this would come at no cost to Wonder Workshop through our fundraising and grants received through AIAS.
Location: Manhattan, Kansas
Year: 2022
Client: Wonder Workshop Children’s Museum
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Before - Spatial Programming
After - Spatial Programming
An important request of the client was for the teens to feel as if they had their own space. We accomplished this by moving the teen space from its more central location and placing it in the corner space for increased privacy. We moved the craft space to the larger, more open space to provide them not only with more room to work on stuff, but also more connections to both of the spaces surrounding them. The storage room was then moved to the open space adjacent to the craft space. This increased efficiency and workflow because it made the items more accessible to the craft space.
Cabinet Assembly
Storage Space Storage Space Craft Space Craft Space Teen Space Teen Space 29
Cabinet Drawings
Before - As a Craft Space
After - As a Storage Space
Before - As a Storage Space
After - As a Teen Space
Before - As a Teen Space
After - As a Craft Space
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