Kathy Le_Architecture Portfolio_2024

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Three Times

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curriculum vitae

Growing up Vietnamese American, I have always found such excitement, value, and beauty in the experiences we can have with other peoples and cultures. To me, what we can learn from and have with others can occur at a number of different scales and forms. And I have found that the field and practice of architecture not only fosters these opportunities, but also needs these relationships. People are at the heart of what we do. But I am inspired by design that also nurtures our natural environment. My passion for architecture is rooted in designing spaces and experiences that are engaging with, informed by, and responsive to social, cultural, and ecological contexts. Design that is of greatest interests to me involve: site specificity, place-making, cultural processes, ecological restoration, and experiencedriven projects.

education

Master of Architecture

University of Arizona

May 2024

Bachelor of Arts in Art History

University of California, Irvine

June 2015

relevant work experience

Architecture Intern

Cooper Carry

Atlanta

2023

Graduate Assistant

University of Arizona

Tucson

2021 - Present

Manager

URBN

Santa Ana + Tucson

2018 - 2021

Marketing Assistant

Zuvich Corporate Advisors

Irvine

2017 - 2018

skills

Digital Professional Material

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe InDesign

Revit

AutoCAD

Rhinoceros Grasshopper

Enscape Lumion

Bluebeam Revu

Laser Cutter

CNC Router

3D Printer

Woodshop

Metalshop

Marketing Initiative Organization Planning Collaboration

Leadership Communication Problem Solver

Retail: plugged into a variety of retail projects ranging from large scale mixed use, to medium scale entertainment venues, to small scale independent food and drink establishments.

Historic Preservation + Adaptive Reuse: modeled and created plan, section, and elevation drawings of historic buildings in Revit as pre-design for adaptive reuse projects.

Interior Design: joined in the design of architectural pro-bono project from beginning (schematic design) to end (contract documents), which allowed for venturing into interior design and finish selections with a budget.

Practice Management: assisted the Principals in securing projects through putting together marketing materials and proposal packages that communicated the firm’s experience and brand.

Positions: Recruiter, Graduate Ambassador, Peer Advisor, Administrative Assistant, and Teaching Assistant (per the University’s request).

Responsibilities: prospective student outreach, student-faculty-administration documents facilitation, academic advising assistance, admissions assistance, student interface developments, and grading.

Management: oversee store operations, delegate tasks, manage time and finances, collaborate with team and corporate office, monitor performance using statistical data, and visually merchandise product to represent the brand.

Interior Design: Specialty training ranging from furniture, decor, kitchenware, to linens. Crafted custom interior design orders, using product knowledge and customer service.

Marketing: spearheaded renewal of corporate real estate company’s marketing materials, building onto the company’s brand and acquisition of new business.

Client Acquisition: conducted research on clientele, properties, and real estate market in order to put together marketing materials, proposals, and company data.

three times

“The atom bomb killed victims three times pressure wave, and radiation – and was unprecedented in its ability to kill en masse.”

- Yoshiro Yamawaki

83 Years Old | Nagasaki Survivor | 2.2 KM

Times Magazine’s “SURVIVORS OF THE ATOMIC BLASTS IN HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI SHARE THEIR STORIES”

Rhinoceros, Lumion, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator material

3D Print, Basswood, Silverleaf, Paint, Baby’s Breath, Sand, Charcoal

wind circulation

heat

Exposure to the natural elements at White Sands National Park.

trace pressure

Sense of pressure from spatial compressions + material transitions.

radiation

Focus on an individual experience of a memorial with minimal structure + intimate spaces.

Extension of the architectural conditions into the site’s natural landscape.

materiality

Exploring the physical properties and material culture of charcoal as a symbol and vehicle for destruction, trace, ephemerality, and renewal in different forms and scales throughout the memorial’s procession.

In the dark, slats of charred wood become a tactile form of wayfinding. The walls peel back open to reveal the memorial’s central space, where a round and dense mass suspends from a ring of light, merely five feet off the ground. In the light, the visitor is confronted with the traces of charcoal on their hands and feet-- the traces of themselves of black fingerprints and footprints on the white sand. Under the scale and proximity of the tainted metal mass, this space of the memorial becomes one of impact.

confluence park

brief

Immersion Studio IV: Land Ethic Urban Park, Market, and Building by the Santa Cruz River

The brief asked the project to integrate the Santa Cruz River and the neighborhoods’ activities that circulate around and within the river. As a result of the decentralized urban sprawl of Tucson, effects of population increase, resource exploitation, heat pollution, and decrease of tree canopy, has contributed to the general climate change and directly impacted the Santa Cruz River and its riparian habitats. The project aims to transform the site into a confluence of science and community that would demystify both the issues of climate change and what we can do in our every day lives to help the environment. digital Rhinoceros, Enscape, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator

Mapping the consequences of the decentralized urban sprawl of Tucson: population increase, resource exploitation, heat pollution, and decrease of tree canopy, as well as the general climate changes over the past 10 years. Overlayed are the animal and plant species that have faced endangerment, extirpation, or extinction from these changes to their native habitats.

The proposed project aims to provide a threshold between the Menlo Park-Mercado neighborhoods and their activities, with the Santa Cruz River and its own habitants. The site is located at point of confluence, where there are existing residential, commercial, and recreational activities. It also sits at junction of multimodal transportation, accessible by pedestrians, bicyclists, car users, as well as public transportation users.

outdoor classroom

At the heart of the park is the outdoor classroom, which features a microbiome of the Santa Cruz River. The micro-biome bridges science and community, welcoming immersion, exploration, and admiration the riparian habitat

confluence

The junction provides thorough access of the park. One walkway slopes down towards the bike-loop and Santa Cruz River, while the other slopes up toward a viewpoint of the river.

grove + plaza

Blue Palo Verde and Velvet Mesquite trees form a grove around both the paved plaza and sunken courtyard. Users can experience the trees at different elevations

outdoor market + museum

The radial aggregation of polycarbonate walls and light steel frame shade structure forms outdoor museum spaces, seating, and occasionally the market. The semi-protected outdoor spaces engages users with the landscape.

floodplain

cacti, yucca, agave, native flowers

riverbank

blue palo verde, velvet mesquite

riverbed

cottonwood, cattail, shrubs

transparency tectonic modular variable

polycarbonate panels + glu-lam timber frame

mesh + solid steel panels over light steel frame

radial aggregation of elements and material

applicable to the market, services, and outdoor classroom.

To bridge community and science, the architecture strives to be transparent, thus approachable and engaging. The predominant material is polycarbonate, in clear as well as opaque white where needed. The polycarbonate diffuses softened light and visuals during the day and at night. Also being a material commonly used for greenhouses, it strives to be innovative but humble. Creating a thick wall system with the polycarbonate, timber, and air space, can provide protection from the sun and heat while mediating architectural obstruction of the natural environment

emerging connections

As People of the Desert, many Native American tribes in Arizona would journey to find seashells emerging from the earth. This journey to and from the Sea of Cortez carries great cultural and spiritual weight. To the local native tribes, the seashell represents birth, resilience, and interconnection. Seashells are blessings from the ocean, holding the spirit of and connection to the water, the life force that has flowed through every generation. Seashells are collected to be used as art, jewelry, ceremonial artifacts, and trade goods, cultivating relationships and traditions between the many tribes. The seashell continues to be prevalent in many cultural and spiritual practices, connecting Native American peoples to the earth and their ancestors.

university of arizona mall

Comprehensive Studio II: Assembly UANAI Community Center

AIA Community Design Studio Award Winner 2023 digital

Rhinoceros, Grasshopper, Enscape, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator material

3D Print, Chipboard, Basswood, Felt, Paint, Baby’s Breath

emergence preservation

seven generations the land

The architecture for the Center is inspired from the form and guiding principles of the seashell. The building is formed around the needs of the occupants.

Emerging from the earth and reaching toward the sky, the architecture and land shape on another other and become part of each other. The project breaks away from the University’s non-native landscaping to restore a native landscape on site where ethnobotanical plants can be grown and used for cooking, crafting, and performing ceremonies. The accessible green roof leads visitors on a winding journey through the Sonoran Desert landscape towards the summit: a rooftop cultural gathering space that connects visitors to the mountain peaks and constellations of stars. Each level visually connects with each other, representing the Native American worldview of seven generations of interrelatedness. Radiating from the central core of gathering spaces of each floor, are the academic, social, and cultural amenities of the Center that serve the community of Native American students, alumni, visitors, and their families. The envelope, technical systems, and programming of the Center were designed to allow immediate and flexible access to the outdoors, maintaining connections to the land, per the community’s desired uses of the spaces.

Situated prominently at the entrance to campus, the Center becomes a symbol of Native and Indigenous presence, resilience, and success at the University.

makers + exhibition spaces + garden (level B)

journey up the native green roof (level G)

ethnobotanical farm to kitchen (level G)

Gender

Collections

Help Desk

Multi-Media Lab

Services

Computer Servers

Audio Booths

Maker’s Space

Study Rooms

Lecture Hall

Exhibition Spaces

Exhibition Event Space Custodian Storage

Harvest Pantry

Farming Demo Classroom

Open Work Area

Club / Study Rooms Study Rooms

Cultural Gathering / Event

Native Ethnobotanical Farm

The Native American community’s input drove the project. By conducting surveys and organizing meetings with various tribes’ members throughout the entire state of Arizona, the project could be informed on how best to serve the needs of the community.

As the project was ultimately presented to the Native American community, the content created for the project was tuned to serve the Native American community.

green roof assembly

vegetation

soil (6”)

filter mesh

retaining gravel (2”) waterproofing insulation

vapor barrier

radiant slab (6”)

column capital

suspended ceiling slats w/ active chilled beams + suspended lights

metal insulated panels wall system (8”)

metal panels insulation

vapor barrier sheathing finish

guillotine

curtain wall system

gfrc panels

aluminum standoffs (2ft offset)

aluminum mullions double pane glazing

radiant concrete floor slabs (6”)

sub-grade wall (8”)

cement fiber board

sheathing

vapor barrier

batt insulation (3.5”)

steel stud (3.5”)

sheathing finish

foundation

radiant concrete slab (6”)

pile footings (2’)

rigid insulation

vapor barrier

gravel fill

The client is the owner of an art gallery in Sweet Auburn, a historic African American neighborhood in Georgia. The entire project was an adaptive reuse of few historic commercial buildings in phases. The scope of my work was assisting in the conceptual and schematic design, design development, and contract documents of Haugabrooks. The probono renovation breathed life back into the historic Haugabrooks Funerary Home to serve the neighborhood’s art community with a coffee and gift shop.

brief

Adaptive Reuse of Haugabrooks Funerary Home in Sweet Auburn, GA.

Cooper Carry (Atlanta, GA)

digital

Revit, BIM 360, AutoCAD, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop

Inspiration: sweet auburn, street of pride

Sweet Auburn is home to some of the oldest African American owned businesses history, vibrant culture, and beautiful community. The project preserves the exterior features of the historic funerary home, while the contemporary art gallery that now resides in one half of the building. With the project’s once occupied by offices, and applying the humble yet effective use of paint gallery’s collection of contemporary African American art.

THERE’S BLACKNESS AND GREATNESS KINGS AND QUEENS AND A MECCA WHERE BLACK FOLKS REALIZE THEIR DREAMS

I AM SWEET AUBURN: STREET OF PRIDE”

historic exterior art gallery inside neighborhood character

demolition plan

demolition plan

original program: funerary home offices

construction plan

new program: coffee + gift shop

construction plan

finish selection

other creative works

06.

brief

Digital fabrication with Grasshopper to generate a G-Code that deconstructs a polysurface into paths and translate to non-planar 3D printing.

digital

Rhinoceros, Grasshopper, Notepad, Cura, Repetier-Server Pro, Adobe Photoshop material

3D Printed Polylactic Acid (PLA) Filament

control

Polysurface sliced by Cura with a uniform 45° overhang.

Result: 3D print ran correctly.

inverted + adjusted extrusion

Extrusion reduced in tightness as contours tapered.

Result: Extrustion struggled with a 45° overhang.

adjusted extrusion + reduced speed

Removed Taper + Adjusted Extrusion

Result: Extrusion struggled with longer stretches.

brief

Diagrammatic physical model of a precedent study: Parc dels Colors by EMBT digital

Rhinoceros, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop material

Plywood, Basswood, Acrylic, Baby’s Breath, Piano Wire

Right: Buenos Aires: Mapping the Effects of Migration Patterns on Its Economy and Culture

HO CHI MINH CITY

2-WHEEL STREETS

THE CITY OF

Left: Ho Chi Minh City: Mapping the Effects of the Motorized Scooter

brief digital Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop

Waves of Immigration New Patterns of Emigration Sustainable Tourism