Leah Kite 2018 Architecture Portfolio

Leah Kite

Architecture Portfolio 2018

Resume Contact leahkkite@gmail.com (913)-653-4441 issuu.com/leahkkite Lawrence, Kansas

Skills Technical Revit

Education The University of Kansas School of Architecture and Design Master of Architecture Student Graduation in May 2020 Grade Point Average 3.6

Shawnee Mission South High School High School Diploma Graduation in May 2015 Grade Point Average 4.2

Adobe Software Lumion AutoCAD

Employment History

Sketch Up Drafting

Professional

Present August 2018

Time Management Organization Leadership Communication

May 2018 August 2016

References Kori Bohn (913)-488-7325 Former employer for nanny service.

Tim Moore

August 2016 May 2016

(913)-439-0467 Co-worker at Brookridge Day School.

Julianna Haller (785)-840-5069 Supervisor at Michaels.

May 2016 March 2013

Acme I help customers with their shirt design needs from start to finish.

We talk through what they want, and I design their shirts using Illustrator. I also help make the shirts, using the ink and vinyl processes in the store.

Michaels Craft Store I used products available in the store to teach crafting classes for customers from five to ninety years old. I was typically given just 30 minutes to learn the activity, find the supplies, and set up the room. The job taught me patience and flexibility and helped me learn to be quick on my feet.

Francesca’s I helped customers find clothes and accessories that fit their needs by asking guided questions and providing customer service.

Brookridge Day School As an after school care giver I usually worked with about twelve children. The rest of my time was spent assisting in the office, kitchen, or with routine maintenance.

Studio 108 Fall 2015 Table of Contents Washington Square 4th year

Crossroads Cultural Center 3rd year

Olathe Public Library 2nd year

Studio 509 3rd year Eco Machine 2nd year

Drawings and Draftings

Washington Blvd.

Map of Kansas City, Kansas

7th

10th

State Ave. Minnesota Blvd.

Washington Square At the beginning of the semester, tons of

backing up to a one-way residential street. This

research was done on Wyandotte county and the

way neighbors feel they can enjoy the space,

people who live there. A few facts stood out as

and kids aren’t playing close to a busy street. The

being vitally important to any new development.

bodega was placed at the corner of Tenth Street

First, Wyandotte County is one of the most diverse

and Washington Boulevard. This put it across the

counties in the county, as well as one of the least

street from the Beatrice Lee Community center.

healthy. In addition to these challenges, there

Inside the shop there are a few essentials, and

is a high population of kids. Because of these

a lunch counter that serves people walking-up

challenges, a careful approach to housing was

to the outdoor window. This window looks onto

developed. The goal was to develop a project

a patio covered by a pergola wrapped in plants.

that felt personal, while being affordable and

These plants provide shade and tie together the

incorporating a bodega as well as a day care.

earth tones of the building around it.

In order to keep the units feeling personal, each unit is a walk-up style home with a front door as well as a porch or balcony. The plan to keep the building affordable was to use simple solutions. In order to keep running costs down, cross ventilation is utilized in the apartments, and highly insulated walls so that the demand on the mechanical systems would be minimal. On the site, there is a community garden, as well as a basketball court,

Rendering of Garden Space

Interior rendering of an apartment

Interior rendering of the bodega

Interior rendering of the preschool

Form Diagram

The initial form of the building, that came from all the initial iterations of the project, pushed the building close to the street. This decision left

also broke down the scale of the building so that it didn’t feel as large.

The outdoor spaces were then covered in

tons of space for outdoor public spaces behind

plants while the housing was clad in terra cotta

the building, but with the concept of walk ups,

and wood. This was another attempt to make the

the building was pushed away from the street a

building feel smaller and give it a more human

bit. This move, separated the spaces for cars and

scale. The different materials broke down the scale

for people. An additional public space was then

of the building, and signaled different spaces, like

created on the corner of Tenth and Washington

the preschool and bodega which are both a cream

by separating the building into two. This space on

colored terra cotta.

the corner was intended to be a very public space to go along with the bodega. Finally the building form was pushed and pulled at creating insets for doors and pop outs for more interior space. This

South Elevation

East Elevation

Aluminum Flashing Terra Cotta Cladding Clamp Air Gap Rigid Insulation Air Barrier Oriented Strand Board

Insulated Studs Gypsum

Aluminum Flashing Rolling Shade Double Glazed Window

Wall Section with Detail

First floor plan with the site

Public Spaces

1 - Lunch counter kitchen

2 - Bodega

3 - Resident’s Gym

4 - Leasing Office

Residential Spaces

5 - Upper apartment’s patio

6 - Single bedroom apartment

7 - Single bedroom’s patio

Preschool

8 - Library

9 - Kitchen

10 - Entrance and flexible space

11 - Office

12 - Preschool Classroom

13 - Kindergarten Classroom

14 - Infant and Toddler Classroom

15 - Crib room

16 - playground

Outdoor

17 - Basketball Court

18 - Community Garden

Second Floor Plan

Third Floor Plan

Metal flashing Roofing membrane Insulation Cast in place concrete Metal decking Steel beams Gypsum board

Wall Section

Crossroads Cultural Center In the fall of third year, the studio was tasked

in different colors. Those diagrams helped express

with developing a cultural center to add to the

what kind of materials to use for the different types

art hub in the Crossroads district of Kansas City.

of spaces; private spaces like dressing rooms,

The assignment was to build a center that would

needed to be solid, but the atrium seemed to want

add an auditorium and a multipurpose room

to be covered in glass. This way patrons could see

to the district full of galleries and performance

some of the city’s landmarks. Most of the buildings

spaces. The space was intended to be a small

Crossroads District are made of or clad in brick,

performance venue for accoustic performances. In

so it was an obvious decision for the cladding

addition, we were asked to design a bookstore and

material, but to make the building stand out a

cafe. The beginning of the project was all about

bit, different patterns of brick were used on the

dividing up these spaces, the backstage, public,

facade. This way the building fits into the context

and administrative spaces were then diagrammed

but doesn’t totally blend in.

East Elevation

Second Floor

First Floor Plan

Basement Floor Plan

Sectional Model

Rendering of the Crossroads Cultural Center

Olathe Public Library Like many suburbs around the country, Olathe,

heights and interstitial spaces.

Kansas, is looking to re-invest in its downtown.

The city plans to build a new court house, library,

The building was formed around a central

and shopping district. This second-year studio

atrium, with all of the spaces formed around it.

looked into designing the library with the program

This way it is easy to navigate around the building,

put forth by the city. It was completely different

since the atrium is always visible. Once all of the

than previous studio projects. The professor put

spaces were placed around, the building facade

emphasis on making the building work from a

was pushed and pulled. Since all of the buildings

practical point of view. He always asked, “where do

around the project are brick, copper was chosen

the employees take the trash out at the end of the

for the facade material.

night?� and lectured on appropriate floor-to-floor

Library Rendering

Balsa Wood Model

UP

DN

UP

Second Floor Plan

Site and First Floor Plan

Third Floor Plan

North Elevation

Photo by Casey Churuh: Student Studying

Studio 509 In this design-build studio, the class was

in-panel lighting to go along the wall, and lighting

tasked with reimagining seventeen study carrels,

fixtures for a few spaces. During the construction

alcoves in the university library for students to

phase, most of the work was in coordinating

use. The design emphasized lighting, privacy,

with the wood shop to prefabricate panels for

and comfort. As the leader of the lighting team,

installation. Once those were ready to go, the

the work was a delicate balance of delegating

class stained the wood, framed the windows and

and picking up the slack. To light the carrels, the

installed lights.

project needed task lighting to go on each desk,

Previous study carrels

Photo by Dean Daas: Leah Kite reading in the study carrels

Photos by Casey Churuh: Student

Photos by Casey Churuh

Analytical drawings of ambient lighting and electricity

Eco Machine Eye Level View

Eco Machine The Eco Machine project was the most interesting project of second-year. The building was meant to house a living machine system. This

University of Kansas campus and bring visitors to see the school.

The building was planned to be in the middle

process takes waste water and cleans it using

of campus on a steep slope. The idea that the

plants and sunlight. The idea was that the building

water filtration process should flow down the hill,

would didactically show what it was doing. The

did a lot to shape the building. Between the site

building was shaped to catch rainwater, with its

factors like the nearby buildings, slope, and natural

butterfly roof, and bring in as much natural light as

factors, the building became rectangular in plan,

possible, this way the plants that clean the waste

and tall in elevation.

water grow and continually clean the water. The plant would purify water for use in buildings on the

Ventilation Diagram

Daylighting Diagram

Drafting, Studio, Spring 2016

Drawings and Draftings

These drawings run the gamut from simple sketches

from a study abroad trip to timeconsuming draftings that took days to complete. This drawing to the right, was a simple sketch of the only cubist light pole in the world, in Prague, Czech Republic. The drafting on the previous page is of a model from my first year of school.

Sketch, Study Abroad, Summer 2018

Drafting, Spring Semester of 2016

Sketch, Study Abroad, Summer 2018

During the study abroad trip, most of the stops to sketch things were only a few minutes. This sketch was of a museum in Berlin, Germany. Many of the museums there have gone through a lot of distruction, so the reconstruction combines the old structure with new components.