MICHELLE GU
SELECTED WORKS | 2022 - 2025
MICHELLE GU
The University of Texas at Austin Master of Architecture Candidate michelle.gu@utexas.edu (817) 308 - 3374
ACADEMIC WORK
Integrative Studio | Fall 2024
Professor Martin Haettasch
1616 Willow St., Austin, TX
Collaborators: Natalie Stenman
material, and program: 1) Light, post and beam “tectonic” volumes articulated with generous glazing and a wooden slat system; 2) Heavy, “stereotomic” CMUStone cavity bearing walls that form cores that pierce through the volumes; and 3) Extensions from the volumes and cores, which activate the streetfront and help organize spaces within the community. Together, these also produce vibrant and dynamic collective courtyard spaces between the three bars of units where residents can find moments for privacy, ownership, and connection with their neighbors.
PROJECT NARRATIVE
Our project explores housing as an aggregation of components that come together to bring greater richness and distinctness in character to the variety of spaces needed in a home. We do this by using a sequence of 3 components that vary materially and formally in each of our 14 units, which repeat to form three bars that run north and south across the site. The 3 components are:
• Light, “tectonic” volumes: built using post and beam timber construction, with generous glazing, that is further articulated and shaded by a layered wooden slat/ louver system. TThe volumes themselves contain the more flexible residential program, or served spaces, like the bedrooms and living rooms. Heavy, “stereotomic” cores: piercing through the tectonic volumes in plan and section. They are made of 18” thick CMU/Stone rubble cavity bearing walls, with minimal small, square punch windows and concrete slabs, giving them a solid feel. Consequently, these cores house the fixed/private program, or service spaces, such as bathrooms, laundry rooms, HVAC and plumbing systems, and kitchens.
work over the rendering completed by
• Extensions: wooden frames and stone half walls: provide separation in a subtle and cohesive way, by connecting and using materials from both the stereotomic and tectonic components. The tectoninc slats selectively extend out from the units in the form of wooden pergolas to frame a various outdoor spaces. The stone half wall system slightly encloses people’s back patios and also the community as a whole without completely closing it off to the public. It also helps activate our community’s street presence by making the front setback occupiable with shaded seating and planters.
Between each bar of units exists vibrant, dynamic, and easily accessible collective courtyard spaces. The way the thin stone “cores” shear past one another creates nooks of exterior space for people to find privacy and a sense of ownership, yet also spaces for people to connect with their neighbors.
Photoshop
Natalie Stenman
DIAGRAMS
PROJECT DIAGRAMS
Repetition v. Sequence diagram
Program diagrams PROJECT DIAGRAMS Unit Distribution
DIAGRAMSPROJECT DIAGRAMS
Site plan and plan diagrams
Longitudinal site section
Photoshop work over the rendering completed by Natalie Stenman
Final model, above (rockite casting by Natalie Stenman); Ground floor plan, below (landscaping linework by Natalie Stenman)
Interior vignettes
CMU-Stone Wall Section (by me) paired with a rendered elevation (by Natalie Stenman)
MEP diagram (by Natalie Stenman)
ICE MERCHANTS
Vertical Studio | Fall 2023
Professor Cisco Gomes
Joao Gonzalez’s short film, Ice Merchants
In the short film Ice Merchants, a father and son duo live in a house hung precariously off a cliff. Every day they wake up, produce ice, skydive to the town below, take a motorcycle lift back up, and spend time eating and winding down together. This ritual and livelihood grounds them as they navigate grief and concerning issues of climate change. While they enjoyed the beautiful views and thrills of living hundreds of feet up in the air, the risks that came with it were near fatal when an avalanche causes their home to come crashing down the cliff.
This project is a new home design that allows them to continue their lifestyle higher up on the cliff with a sense of security while still preserving the little moments of precarity they once enjoyed.
While the loss of their home was difficult, I think that the loss of ritual - their livelihood and comfort - was even more tragic. Thus, the house and its furnishings, are fully protected and carved into the cliffside, safe from future avalanches. Furthermore, their routine is supported by the arrangement of spaces and the rhythms of the sun brought in through light wells. At the same time, stimulating moments still exist: cantilevered platforms for their open-air swing and ice production facilities, a sloped living room floor, and a glass vitrine that projects out of the kitchen, over the cliff edge.
Process models
Movement, light and acoustic, and ritual diagrams with elevation
BOX
For this project, I used cardboard to design an enclosure for a Chinese tea set. Tea is an especially significant part of Chinese culture. Thus, my design aims to: honor Chinese tea culture, highlight the beauty of the tea set, and protect the fragile ceramics while still efficiently collecting the pieces.
The box functions as both a portable container and as a shelf for display. The outer shell is folded from a single sheet of cardboard into a double layered box, and additional cardboard padding exists to protect and hold pieces in place. Its shape is stackable and reminiscent of other Chinese antiques; the lid reveals and echoes the designs on the tea cups themselves.
Vertical Studio | Fall 2023
Professor Cisco Gomes
Vertical Studio | Fall 2023
Professor Cisco Gomes
2200 TEU Container Vessel
This project reimagines the spatial possibilities of the superstructure on the back of a container ship, which houses crew quarters and the navigation bridge. My design proposal addresses the people’s need for variety in their day to day lives, which is exacerbated by the crew’s long periods of time they spend in the same place with the same people doing the same labor. Variety is created within the ship’s spaces with differing programs, scales, and levels of privacy. The ship is organized into three main zones each have their own character: the private cabins, circulatory catwalks and stairs, and communal spaces. At a smaller scale, the oblong shape of each cabin creates a gradient of conditions within. Most uniquely, each unit has an elongated private entry balcony that provides fresh air and reaches out like a diving board over the ocean as the boat moves.
PRIVATE CIRCULATION
SHARED
Program diagram and exploded axon
ENGINE ROOM (EXISTING)
Cross section showing three qualities of layers
Elevations and long sections across each layer
Fourth floor plan
CHIEF ENGINEER’S CABIN
SECOND ENGINEER’S CABIN
THIRD ENGINEER’S CABIN
CREW CABIN
CREW CABIN
CREW CABIN
QUIET RECREATION ROOM
GAME ROOM
MOVIE ROOM
Fall 2022
Personal Project
Austin, TX
Collaborators: Tiffany Lai
My roommate Tiffany and I worked together to design, prototype, and build this coffee table for our living room as our first woodworking project. We began this project because we had a cracked hardwood desktop on hand that we wanted to upcycle.
This multi-level, dark walnut stained coffee table is designed to scale well for a variety of spaces and usage habits. The upper, primary surface is suitable for use from a typical seating situation, and the lower, secondary surface is a comfortable height to use when sitting on the floor.
Prototypes and sketches
URBAN ROOTS EAST AUSTIN FARM
Advanced Studio | Spring 2024
Professor Aleksandra Jaeschke
7651 Delwau Ln., Austin, TX
This proposal for Urban Root’s East Austin Farm is about inviting the local community and farmers to come together and engage with the processes that bring food to our tables. The new building is designed at an intimate scale to house the farm’s essential programs. Its hybrid straw bale and wood construction results in a strategic modulation of thick and thin. Thick, plastered straw bale walls have niches carved out for seating, storage, and working, while large bifold doors and windows allow for light, air flow, and views. Most importantly, the fence, which keeps deer away from the crops also functions to engage and guide visitors to other programming around the site by taking the form of seating, display, shading, and raised garden beds. Lastly, areas of ecological restoration wrap around the site as shading and windbreaks.
diagram
SITE PHOTOS
Site photos and straw bale detailing Fence
Contemplations using watercolor and mixed media about food, specifically the lotus root as a cultural experience
BOK CHOY (BRASSICA RAPA VAR CHINENSIS)
BRASSICA RAPA VAR. CHINENSIS
URBAN ROOTS MASTER PLAN
SCALE: 1/16” = 1’-0”
FLOOR PLAN
GROUND
SCALE: 3/16” = 1’-0”
1’-0”
ELEVATION
3/16” = 1’-0”
CROSS SECTION SCALE: 3/16” = 1’-0”
SECTION SCALE: 3/16” = 1’-0”
ELEVATION SCALE: 3/16” = 1’-0”
SECTION
SECTION
3/16” = 1’-0”
SECTION
3/16” = 1’-0”
WEST
LONG
SCALE:
LONG
SCALE:
WEST
SCALE:
LONG
LONG
SCALE: 3/16” = 1’-0”
SOUTH ELEVATION SCALE: 3/16” = 1’-0”
Roofing
Standing seam metal roofing
Roof framing system (Plank and beam construction)
4X14 girders, beams
Spaced 4’ o.c. on module due to bales
4X8 purlins for shading devices
Wall infill system (Straw bale infill construction)
3-string straw bales at 15” tall X 23” wide X 46” +- 3” long
• Sets the 4 foot module for all 3 buildings’ construction systems
Lay flat orientation increases stability, thickness for shaping, and room for notching for the wooden posts
Coupled with plaster, resists shear forces without additional bracing Works as insulation and thermal mass due to thickness
Wall and floor framing system (Post and beam construction)
Finishes
2” thick finished wood surfaces for sink, niches, etc. 1-3/4” thick clay-lime, mesh reinforced plaster
Foundation (Concrete slab construction)
6” slab on grade with 1’ deep, 2’ wide footing
3X6 wood decking
PROFESSIONAL WORK
Collaborators: Jaime Alvarez (Architect)
This Austin History Center Campus project includes both the Faulk building (Austin’s former central library) and the Austin History Center. At the time of my internship, this project was almost complete, and I went on some construction site visits with the project architect to look at finishes and punch list items.
My main task was to continue the work of creating a booklet that describes the history and future for the “Austin History Center Campus”. This involved using Revit, Sketchup, and the Affinity Suite to touch up various drawings and renderings and selecting appropriate imagery to describe the history and process of the work. Snippets of the booklet are shown. Austin, TX
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REFUGE COFFEE CONCEPT DESIGN
Pro-Bono Intern Project | 2024
Lord Aeck Sargent
Clarkston, GA
Collaborators: LAS Interns (Parisa Beladi, Carter Moberg, Prajit Gupte) and Staff
Refuge Coffee is a non-profit organization run by and for refugees and immigrants that serves the community of Clarkston, GA and beyond. This pro-bono project involved creating a concept design for the renovation of their Clarkston location.
I worked on this project for 10 weeks with three other interns in the Detroit and Atlanta LAS offices. We worked with a few LAS employees and Refuge Coffee stakeholders to understand both the technical and cultural considerations we would need to take into account. This culminated in a presentation to the firm and people at Refuge Coffee along with a written report for them to use to apply for funding towards the work to be done.
Our site approach solves current issues with parking and circulation by taking a nod to the building’s former use as a gas station and auto shop. We called our overall strategy “The Front Yard” as Refuge Coffee in Clarkston is really like a second home to much of the community. As seen in the diagram above, we created a gradient of spaces from the street, to the parking lot, to exposed, then shaded, and finally, interior seating that can be even more easily accessible when the garage doors are open on a nice day. This configuration both increases variety and quantity in seating options for coffee shop guests and makes the space more accessible and adaptable for larger event use, which happen on a regular basis.
The existing interior spaces did not have accessible bathrooms nor adequate infrastructure for the coffee shop (as coffee was served from the food truck outside). We expanded the cafe and added support for the coffee shop, catering, a meeting room, and bathrooms in a way that allowed the coffee shop to lock down while certain amenities remained accessible even after hours for other events. We also proposed areas for merchandise marketing, community engagement, education, and flexible seating. It was important to Refuge Coffee that the character of the space remained the same: intimate and welcoming, so the finishes and furnishings we chose reflect that as well.
REFUGE COFFEE
A non-profit coffee company run by and for refugees and immigrants – serving the community of Clarkston, Georgia, and beyond.
VISION Worldwide Welcome.
MISSION
To use a delicious cup of coffee as a platform for job training and the personal development of resettled refugees and other immigrants.
SERVICES AND RESOURCES
events (Markets, 5K, etc.)
DRAWINGS AND ELEVATIONS
Various Projects | 2024
Lord Aeck Sargent
I worked on a series of rendered elevations for a new housing development project (a sample of the drawings, shown above).
I also worked on red lines for some plan and section drawings using Revit (a sample of the drawings, shown right).
Lastly (not shown), I did some site modeling in Revit for a project on the UT Austin campus and another housing development project.
MICHELLE GU
EDUCATION
University of Texas at Austin
Master of Architecture
July 2025 (Expected)
GPA: 3.87 of 4.00
University of Texas at Austin
Bachelor of Science, Computer Science
August 2015 – May 2019
University of Edinburgh
Semester Abroad, Informatics
January 2018 – May 2018
SKILLS
Digital Revit
Rhino Photoshop
Illustrator
InDesign
Enscape
Microsoft Office
Analog
Sketching
Model Making
Woodworking
Laser Cutting
Languages English
Mandarin Chinese
SERVICE
AIA Homes Tour Austin, Docent
October 2023
Casa Marianella, Volunteer
August 2019 – March 2020
INTERESTS
Climbing, Tennis, Running
WORK EXPERIENCE
Summer Design Intern
Lord Aeck Sargent, Austin, TX
Austin, TX
michelle.gu@utexas.edu (817) 308 - 3374
May 2024 - August 2024
• Participated in LAS’s Summer Design Intern Program, attended design and sustainability charettes and various seminars, and accompanied coworkers to construction site visits and client meetings
• Produced elevations for schematic design using the Affinity Suite and worked on site modeling and construction documents in Revit
• Assembled a booklet for a city project, which involved refining drawings and renderings using Revit, Sketchup, Enscape, and the Affinity Suite
• Collaborated with three other interns and community stakeholders on a pro-bono concept design of Refuge Coffee in Clarkston, GA
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
Graduate Research Assistant
January 2024 - Present Professor Elizabeth Danze, University of Texas at Austin
• Researching and reading about architecture, psychoanalysis, and architectural pedagogy to assist with publications
• Assisting with administrative work for the SOA and NAAB accreditation
Graduate Assistant
UTSOA Career Services, University of Texas at Austin
January 2023 – Present
• Advising students on portfolios, resumes, and their job searches
• Preparing presentations, running workshops, coordinating events, producing marketing graphics, communicating via email, collecting data for employment reports, and more
Associate Professor Hiring Committee
December 2023 - May 2023 School of Architecture, University of Texas at Austin
• Served as the graduate student representative on a panel reviewing and interviewing candidates for a tenure track associate professor position
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
Menu Designer, Ice Cream Scooper (Summer 2023) June 2023 - Present
Merry Monarch Creamery, Austin, TX
• Illustrating and designing chalkboard menus and signage for the trailer
Software Engineer III
Khoros, Austin, TX
August 2019 – July 2022
• Led engineering efforts for the Response team through several team transitions, managed project work, collaborated with the product team, and mentored new teammates
• Developed software for the Khoros Care and FlowAI integration and other initiatives using AWS, ReactJS, Java, MySQL, and ElasticSearch
• Facilitated the Backend Guild for engineers to share knowledge through tech talks and build a culture of collaboration, learning, and kindness