John Walter : 2023 Portfolio

2023 John Walter

Pratt Institute

2019 B.Arch graduate with a minor in Construction Management.

John graduated from the Pratt Institute School of Architecture in the Spring of 2019. Before that he attended HSPVA (TX)

where he studied visual arts with a focus on sculpture and painting. The subject of his work then was urban sprawl and speculations on future forms of

human habitats. This led John to pursue his degree at Pratt where he had the privlidge of continuing that interest through various works. The culmination

of his studies was realized in his partner thesis with Richard Reyes titled “SYMBIOTIC NOMADS” which was a live/ work marketplace concept.

2018

Work Experience - pgs 14-19 Alexander Gorlin Architects

Designer February - May 2020

Work Experience - pgs 20-27

2018

Pratt Institute - pgs 30-39

Thesis : Symbiotic Nomads w/ partner Richard Reyes

Pratt Institute - pgs 40-47

Dormitory Project w/ partner Do Phuong Mai

Pratt Institute - pgs 48-55

Boathouse Project w/ partner Belen Cavdar

2017

Some more about John . . .

Before receiving his professional degree, he made contributions to several projects at VG studio in Houston under the licensed architect Victoria Goldstein who was previously employed at Zaha Hadid Architects.

After graduating from Pratt Institute John found his first job in architecture with ALEXANDER GORLIN ARCHITECTS, where, under great leadership, he learned the basics of how to put a proposal together for an affordable housing project.

Shortly after being let go due to COVID in NY, John returned to Houston and quickly found a new job at STANTEC where he has worked since, contributing to multiple large scale projects in the educational sector.

Consultant / Draftsman / Renderer / Model Maker

Pratt Institute

2019 B.Arch graduate with a minor in Construction Management.

jdw.twtx@gmail.com

713 - 857 - 4403

Work Experience

STANTEC - TX

Designer - 2 yrs 9 months

July 2020 - March 2023

Work included rendering, schematic design, construction documents, model making, graphic representations, and 3d modeling. ( Education Sector with some Hospitality work sprinkled in... )

ALEXANDER GORLIN ARCHITECTS - NY . . . . .

Junior Designer - 3 months - COVID CRASH ----> Back to Houston!

Work included rendering, schematic design, construction documents, model making, graphic representations, and 3d modeling. ( Affordable Housing )

VG STUDIO ~ Victoria Goldstein - TX .

Architectural Intern - 5 months

Work included rendering, schematic design, construction documents, model making, graphic representations, and 3d modeling. ( Residential Sector )

Education Pratt Institute ~ Bachelors of Architecture

Brooklyn, NY ~ Graduated in Spring 2019 minor in Construction Management

HSPVA ~ Visual Arts

Houston, TX ~ Graduated in Spring 2014 focus in Visual Arts

Academic Work

Research Assistant ~ Brent M. Porter .

Assisting on the Aguas Calientes Green Roof Project under Brent M. Porter Traveled to Peru to investigate the site and develop schematics for a green roof proposal.

February 2020 - May 2020

July 2018 -

Fabrication Team ~ ITL (Interdisciplinary Technology Lab)

Working under Scott Sorenson / Prof. Richard Sarrach

Assisted with the fabrication of parts and assembly of the installation for the annual Pratt Design Show.

Consultant / Draftsman / Renderer / Model Maker

Work Experience

:

Designer Supervisor : Scott Klaus

July 2020 - March 2023

Moving from NYC back to Houston, after the COVID pandemic started to pick up, was a really big life change for me. Although I had just lost my job in NY, I was really excited for what job prospects there might be when I got back to my hometown. Thankfully I was able to snag an interview with the folks at Stantec before I even moved back! It was a huge relief, and I was extremely motivated to prove myself in a substantially larger office than Alexander Gorlin Architects. The difference in the type of work was also something I was motivated by, although Stantec was a multi-national corporation and across the country was diversified in terms of the sectors they worked in, the Houston architecture group mainly had a focus in educational design ( K - 12 / universities ). I had some fantastic oppurtunities to contribute to projects that varied in scale all the way from a small schoolbus that needed to be designed for Alvin ISD (independent school district) students to use for studying science and robotics, to huge football stadiums like the one presented on the left here that I worked on closely with my boss ( Scott ) for Aldine ISD. The areas. . .

2

Stantec

Figure 1 : Aerial render of the propsed football stadium for ALDINE ISD.

. I was able to expand my technical expertise in while with Stantec were in rendering ( I mastered a workflow that allowed our team to leverage the power of google earth in our large scale render projects ) , revit documentation and modeling, as well as the production of large scale vector artwork that needed to go up in various schools ( pictured to the right and below ) . In addition, I had a lot of chances to go out in the field and help with construction administration related tasks. I participated in regular site walks for various projects, and I aslo got to work on a couple of massive hotel projects where I worked heavily both in the coordinated of drawing sets, as well as responding to RFI’s and coordinating disciplines / teams. I also got a couple of chances to produce really fun models for various interviews we were . . .

Figure 2 : Proposed wall graphic for Willis ISD Pre-K, image 1. (installed pgs 12/13)

Figure 3 : Proposed wall graphic for Willis ISD Pre-K, image 2 (installed pgs 12 / 13 )

. . . hoping to win work from (pgs 10 / 11). I made some really great physical models leveraging skills I mastered in college ( laser-cutting / 3D printing ). I even improved in some ways. One of the cool things I learned related to 3d printing was how to take literally any model we’ve prepared in the office, and make it 3d print ready in a matter of hours rather than days, leveraging new features available in the latest build of a 3D program called Rhino 3D which was a phenomenal feather in my cap while working there, in addition to mastering the google earth workflow I mentioned previously. I am very grateful to the team at Stantec for bringing me on and empowering me to make these contributions, but also, for allowing me to realize what I truly want out of any future job in the field. I know now what I liked, and disliked about this job, I know my strengths, as well as my weaknesses (which I also worked on reducing while I was there ). I feel confident in my ability to knock it out of the park in my next role. Ultimately, what took me away from this job was a

once-in-a-lifetime oppurtunity in the world of politics. Which I’m happy to elaborate on what that was in person, but it was an extreme whirlwind and now I am excited to see what comes next for me in my field of work.

Figure 4 : Goose Creek ISD Robotics Lab - rendering for proposed window graphics. (installed)

Figure 5 : Willis ISD Pre-K Schematic Design massing rendering.

Figure 6 : REVIT SCREENSHOTS

Figure 7 : Temple College proposed school for health sciences. ( nursing tech )

Figure 8 : Temple College master plan model. ( image 1 )

Figure 9 : Prairie View A+M 3D Print

John Walter

Figure 10 : Temple College master plan model. ( image 2 )

Figure 11 : Willis Pre-K Hallway Graphic (photo)

Figure 12 : Willis Pre-K Lobby Graphic (photo) John Walter

Figure 13 : Willis Pre-K Hallway Graphic ( photo 2 )

Figure 14 : Willis Pre-K Gymnasium ( photo )

3 : Alexander Gorlin Architects

Junior Designer Supervisor : Quncie Williams

February - April 2020

My first job after school was working under my supervisor Quncie on an affordable housing project. The client who put out the invitation for the RFP was the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Developement (HPD). The proposed building was a 40,000 SF, 45 unit building with a double loaded corridor. I had to take the time to develop a massing which abided by HPD’s guidelines for new construciton which was a new experience for me. I also had a much tighter deadline on this RFP than I was used to for my projects which was an 8 week timeline so effeciency was a must. I worked constantly to make sure the drawings for this set (plans, elevations, and sections) were coordinated. I also went through many iterations of rendering on the interior and exterior to convey the design. My favorite part of this job was getting to see what the process of . . .

Figure 1 : Digramatic Isometric by John Walter.

. . . working with developers was like. Many times I sat in on meetings with Alexander Gorlin, my supervisor Quncie, and the developers (Jobe Development, Briarwood) to talk about issues regarding the site design strategy, issuse of passive design, and issues related to the massing/unit count. I got to understand a bit about how developers think, and I got an inside look at how people in an architectural practice treat the kind of work they’re doing based on the type of project it is. Each week I was putting together a new presentation that would be used to communicate with all of the people on the project, and had to respond to their direct comments in the finished design. Other than my main project, I had other tasks like site surveys where I was to go and take measurements. Then draw up plans that reflected the survey.

Figure 2 : Site Plan by John Walter.

Figure 3 : 1st floor plan by John Walter.

John Walter

Figure 4 : Twilight Render by John Walter.

Figure 5 : Daytime Render by John Walter.

Figure 6 : Interior Render by John Walter.

John Walter

Figure 7 : West Elevation by John Walter.

4 : VG Studio

Architectural Intern

Principal : Victoria Goldstein

July-November 2018

I made contributions to several projects at VG studio in Houston under the licensed architect Victoria Goldstein who was previously employed at Zaha Hadid Architects. One of my tasks was a competition to design a public theater in Spain. It required two venue spaces, one for film, and another for the flamenco dancing classes and performances that would take place there. There is a diagram in figure 4 that shows how the program would have been broken up in my scheme. I Decided to separate the two main venue spaces into individual structures. Mainly because we had the space for it and it would have allowed for the rest of the site to remain as public park and additional parking spaces which were considerations the competition guidelines asked to accommodate. During my time at the studio I was also asked to handle a lot of interesting residential

Figure 1 : Competition Massing Model. Render by John Walter.

work. My favorite stuff to do in an office setting was the rendering work as seen in figures 2, 5, and 6. I worked closely with Victoria in getting these renderings to read materially like the client wanted and making sure they really conveyed the space. The rendering in figure 5 is my favorite because I got to play a lot with textures and really dressing up a scene which was not something I was used to people wanting to see. I thought it was funny that I didn’t realize how students tend to neglect materiality and detail in renderings to focus on the space but that wasn’t necessarily what people in the client world cared about. Figures 7 and 8 are the drawings I spent the most time developing for Victoria. The Haddon House was a development that had been halted because of a code issue in regards to a cable clearance on the site that needed to be accounted for. The structure intersected the restricted 10’ clearance space required for the length of the property which, until

that point, had not been noticed in the approved construction documents. I had to go in and re-design the steel structure (figure 3) in some parts completely to be reconfigured in a way that satisfied the clearance, but also created spaces on the interior that still were in accordance with the building code in Houston. This was a lot more work in 3d design than I can really show in images because it required reworking major elements of the roof design, which at that point had already been finalized, and the stair way as well which had a huge effect on the way the main level plan flowed.

Figure 2 : Section Render by John Walter.

Figure 3 : Detail Modeling by John Walter.

Figure 4 : Competition Massing Diagram. Drawn by John Walter.

Figure 5 : Interior Render by John Walter.

Figure 6 : Front Perspective Render by John Walter.

Figure 7 : Haddon House Section. Drawing by John Walter.

Figure 8 : Haddon House Plans. Drawn by John Walter.

5 : Symbiotic Nomads

Thesis ~ w/ partner Richard Reyes

Manila, The Philippines

Critics : Philippe Baumann, Michael Su

Fall 2018 - Spring 2019

This was a year long project that began with researching individually different portions of the urban scape of Manila in the Phillipines. The project was designed as a Manila specific work-live that considered the various dynamics surrounding the introduction of a mass transit system to areas of the city that previously were very disconnected. We questioned the initial notion that this project was an immediate benefit to the under-served communities throughout the various parts of the city but specifically to the people in our site which was the fifth stop along the proposed MMSP (metro manila subway project), the East Avenue station. Particular attention was paid to the institutional structures existing on our site (figure 2) and the various modes of land use and occupation that fortify and perpetuate inequality in Manila. The community

Figure 1 : Aerial rendering by Richard Reyes.

Figure 2 : Enlarged Abstract Site Plan by John and Richard.

of roughly 8 to 10 thousand residents in an informal housing cluster on the site we came to call “symbiotic nomads”. This term is what we used to describe informal residents, who in our project, would repossess institutional structures for living and market activity and reclaim undeveloped landscape to create community assets. Community assets are utilities that are useful, beneficial and profitable; pedestrian infrastructure, symbiotic landscape, and nomadic markets. The greatest threat for symbiotic nomads of Manila is private predatory interests; they participate in the monumental takeover of land adjacent to and within informal communities. The Filipino government doesn’t consider possibilities of upward mobility for the lowest class. This leaves land development in the hands of private companies and corrupt government officials. Government agencies attempt to solve an under-development issue by joint venturing with third parties

typically but these coalitions have been unsuccessful mostly because they lack the will to see and address the real cause of inequality in this context which is how land ownership works in the Philippines. So what we designed was the countermeasure or defense. Incremental takeover of land in the opposite direction. The first move we made was to design the train station as part of our project. We wanted that to be the catalyst for opportunity on the site. By directly connecting the symbiotic nomads to the subway and it’s commuter populous we create the space for interaction between these two groups which are typically separated. Symbiotic nomads aren’t taken kindly to in commercial spaces or places where you need money so they’ve usually had to create their own space for that. Providing a market space directly connected to the informal residents and also a wide patch of undeveloped land that they could use to grow crops or products

Figure 3 : Institutional Entities on the site.

Figure 4 : View of residential level. Model by John Walter.

that they can then profit off of is the quickest route to upward mobility for these people. The ability for them to incrementally make and break new boundaries on the site would lead to a seemingly less organized use of land (figure 5), but we believe that breaking down these walls figuratively and literally would lead to a more inclusive and open way of living. Exemplified by the actualization of these ideas in figures 3 and 4, the red circulation would be a pedestrian infrastructure that allows the informal community more points of access to this space for collaboration and would also lead to the deconstruction of old buildings in the search of a more customized use for these groups. They would create a market on the ground level (figure 6) which reshapes the landscape and connects down to the subway station. Above would be studio and work spaces that service that market (figure 7) and above that social and residential spaces for the “upwardly mobile” symbiotic

nomads. The reason we never show an image of a whole building is because we never set out to design a building, our intention was always to design a set of conditions that could be repeated throughout the site and Manila to create a more holistic idea of what urban renewal can and should be. It is disingenuous in our eyes to suggest that focusing efforts in any one building or place solves issues facing under-served communities elsewhere so we instead proposed a method for creating new “local synergies” for these people that could adapt and grow to serve new needs.

Figure 5 : Abstract site plan showing the specific area of intervention.

Figure 6 : The market level. Drawing by Richard Reyes.

Figure 7 : Work / Cooking Level. Drawing by Richard Reyes.

Figure 8 : Social Level. Drawing by Richard Reyes.

John Walter

Figure 9 : Model by John Walter

6 : Dormitory Project

Pratt Institute~ w/ partner Do Phuong Mai

Brooklyn, NY

Critic : Andrew Lyon

Fall 2016

This was my first housing project which was designed as a replacement for Pratt Institute’s freshman dorms. Having also lived in one of the freshman dorms it provided a unique perspective on the requirements for such a building and how personal views inform design proposals. Me and my partner studied Paul Rudolph’s “Colonnade Condominiums” as precedent which fueled one of the main elements of our design. This element or elements were a series of unit types (figure 3) which interlocked in section to produce tertiary spaces to be occupied collectively. The variability in unit types also created a facade with a lot of form and allowed us to use it as outside circulation between units/communal spaces (figure 7). We wanted the project to have a connective network of spaces. The main reason for this was the previous dorms lacked connectivity and were very

Figure 1 : Model by John Walter.

UNIT TYPE 1

tiny. The little amount of communal space that was offered often was poorly lit and didn’t have expansive views. Our design allowed for large group study and recreational spaces (figure 4) that had big window walls to let plenty of light through and were connected to both sides of the building which activated cross ventilation. So passive cooling also became an integral component of the design in section at many points between communal spaces. Figure 3 shows the previously discussed unit-type stacking and how that relates to the ground. We thought it was really important that each unit type be multi-leveled to some extent and that resting and gathering on the micro level be separated. There was a lack of private resting spaces in the old dorms so since we had the space to accommodate that feature and fulfill the rest of the program requirements dictated to us we integrated it. It was important in our eyes to have resting spaces that were private, semi-private,

UNIT TYPE 2

and then communal. This breakdown created a “gradient of isolation” which most freshmen students entering college life don’t expect to get. Another challenge of this project was designing a complete facade system which integrated with the various lighting and use conditions throughout the structure (figure 7). Some dilemmas the facade needed to overcome were; changes in slope, differing levels of privacy, doorways and other openings. At one point we completely redrew the project on a more regular grid (figures 5, 6) so as to make the facade design easier to integrate. Being that this was a corner site (figure 8), with one very busy street side and one quite street, we decided to treat the two facades differently. The street facing the traffic we made closed off and flat, while the street side that was less crowded was given more open spaces and connectivity to promote hanging out outside and not being alone. The other accommodations we had to make were

UNIT TYPE 3

Figure 2 : Common area model photo. Model by John Walter.

Figure 3 : One of the 3 unit types. Drawing by D.P. Mai.

for open space on the ground level and parking. Those issues though were nonexistent for us because we efficiently stacked and designed the units and this made it easy to design an open and public garden on the ground level and create the necessary space for an entrance to the underground parking. This project was very valuable for me personally because it made me aware of challenges on the micro and macro scale that need to be overcome when designing a building that functions for a huge body of people.

Figure 4 : Short Section. Drawing by D.P. Mai.

Figure 5 : 2nd Level Plan. Drawing by John Walter in Revit.

Figure 6 : 3rd Level Plan. Drawing by John Walter in Revit.

Figure 7 : Technical Section. Drawing by John Walter.

Figure 8 : Model by John Walter.

7 : Boathouse Project

Columbia University ~ w/ partner Belen Cavdar New York, NY

Critic : Jane Lea Spring 2017

This project was meant to be an answer to Columbia University’s growing problem in relation to how they use a boat dock that is also meant for public use. They had a rowing team which used an old boathouse on the site for many years and so consideration for how they use the site had to be made as well as how you move people though the site that aren’t out there to row with the team. What me and my partner decided to do was to separate the scheme into two separate but connected boathouses. One for the school’s team, and one for the public. It needed to be done in a way that minimized redundancy while at the same time accommodate the individual needs of the administration, the teams, and the public. We made the lockers shared between both boathouses (figure 8) but separated by gender because that was something that the people we spoke to from

Figure 1 : Roof Plan. Drawing by John Walter

the school didn’t mind and thought made the community feel bigger. The other space we had to consider in terms of traffic was the deck in front of the two boathouses (figure 7). It was required to have enough space to turn the team boats at a diameter of 60’. Being that this element of the scheme was so large it was imperative that both boathouse have their boats pull out and load back in the direction of this space (figure 8). Another element of the design we wanted to clearly emphasize was the public’s access to this space. We distinguished it materially as seen in figures 2 and 3 with the wooden boardwalk. This was a multi-level boardwalk which could bring the public inhabitants throughout the whole site. The only moments the public couldn’t go to were covered by the metal facade panels clearly marking the private zones. This way of breaking up the different levels of program made it so that each inhabitant could have a completely different view of the

site depending on their use. Somebody just walking by may never see this as a boathouse but as the public garden where they take their kids up to look at the river. Whereas administration officials and team members may see this as a place of work and the public rowers may see this as a recreation or community space. The ability for the project to be read in multiple ways goes to the main idea of our project which was to erase the clear lines of division that seemed prevalent before. Which alienated certain users and made them feel as though this wasn’t also their space.

Figure 2 : Rendering view from the creek by John Walter.

Figure 3 : Rendering view looking out to the creek by John Walter.

Figure 4 : Cross Section. Drawing by John Walter.

Ortho Views

Ortho Views

Long Elevation

Long Elevation

Long Section

Long Section

John Walter

Figure 5 : Long Elevation. Drawing by John Walter.

Figure 6 : Long Section. Drawing by John Walter.

Detail Study

Green Roof Planting

Irrigation Manifold

Root Barrier

Drainage Board

Roofing Membrane

Concrete Topping

Insulation

Steel Structure

Metal Cladding

Air Barrier

Rainscreen

Insulation

Steel Structure Insulation

Interior Finishes

Window Glazing

Mullions

Glass Door

Metal Handrail

U Chanel

Drain Pipes

Planting

Steel Beam

Wood Decking

Flooring Beams

Substructure

Main Beam

Steel Column

Steel Studs

Foundations

Wood Platform

Boathouse Project : Pratt Institute

SP-17

Prof. Jane Lea Design 302

John Walter Belen Cavdar

Plan Detail

Figure 7 : Technical Section. Drawing by John Walter.

John Walter

Figure 8 : Main Level. Drawing by John Walter.

Thanks!