AboutI am Peyton Lallas, a fourth-year architecture student at Northeastern University, driven by a passion for design and its ability to shape meaningful experiences. Growing up in Chicago, I was surrounded by a dynamic architectural landscape; one that continuously evolves while preserving its rich history. Witnessing this interplay between past and present has deeply influenced my perspective, fostering my fascination with the relationships between light, space, and human interaction.
In this portfolio, I’ve included a selection of model photographs, renderings, and drawings from recent studio projects that highlight my creative approach to design. These works reflect my ability to think critically, experiment with spatial composition, and develop architectural narratives that respond to both context and community. I’m always looking for ways to refine my process and develop thoughtful, well-crafted designs that respond to their context and users.
Southwest Hub
Southwest Hub:
A Community-Centered Destination in the Southwest Corridor
Southwest Hub is an urban design proposal that transforms an underutilized site into a vibrant and inclusive community anchor, strengthening connections between the Southwest Corridor and the surrounding neighborhoods of Boston. The project focuses on fostering local engagement by integrating locally-owned retail, diverse housing opportunities, and dynamic public spaces that encourage social interaction and economic vitality.
By weaving pedestrian-friendly pathways through the site, the design enhances accessibility while supporting cultural vibrancy and neighborhood identity. Green spaces offer flexible areas for recreation and gatherings, reinforcing the project’s commitment to livability and sustainability. Southwest Hub reimagines urban space as a catalyst for connectivity, activity, and economic prosperity, shaping a landmark destination within the evolving landscape of the Southwest Corridor.
FRAMEWORK COMPONENTS
CONNECTIVITY
Design pedestrian pathways that connect seamlessly with the Southwest Corridor, inviting visitors and residents from nearby communities into the site. Enhance interaction with the corridor through engaging outdoor amenities.
ACTIVITY
Develop a vibrant central retail corridor, making the site a destination rather than a place to pass through. Place local businesses and amenities along busy streets to attract visitors.
FLEXIBILITY
COMMUNITY
ECONOMIC PROSPERITY
Create a network of public and semi-private green spaces across the site, featuring a versatile plaza and urban park along the Southwest Corridor for events and activities.
Implement resident-focused amenities, including a community center with a makerspace. Reflect the neighborhood’s residential character by incorporating triple-decker homes and rowhouses.
Include a large office and incubator building hosting local businesses and start-ups. Place locally-owned retail along busy streets to provide wealth opportunities for business owners and local consumers.
Southeast Corner Entrance Along Southwest Corridor
Rowhouse
Design Guidelines
This intermediary zone functions as a shared courtyard space, serving as a transition between the private residential units and the public streetscape. Designed for both semi-private and semi-public use, it fosters a sense of community among residents while maintaining a degree of separation from the surrounding urban environment. The space accommodates a variety of activities, from casual gatherings and relaxation to small-scale urban gardening and recreation. Defined by a mix of soft and hard landscaping, it provides pockets of greenery, seating areas, and pathways that encourage interaction while preserving a sense of privacy for adjacent residences.
Enscape Renderings
These renderings were created during my co-op at RBA Architecture Inc. using SketchUp for modeling and Enscape for rendering. They represent a range of projects I worked on, focusing on design development and visualization.
Fenway Graduate Housing
ARCH 2140 | Urban Institutions | Spring 2023
This project explores modular urban housing in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood, designed primarily for Northeastern University graduate students. The design emphasizes shared community spaces and opportunities for social interaction, both within individual buildings and across the site. A central atrium and light well serve as focal points, with interior balconies creating layered connections between units. Overlapping views and visual links between buildings further enhance a sense of community, reinforcing interaction through both physical and visual connectivity.
SW Axon
Section
Urban Housing Study: Diagoon Dwellings
ARCH 2140 | Urban Institutions | Spring 2023
Herman Hertzberger’s Diagoon Dwellings consists of eight row houses. Each unit is formed by four L-shaped split levels with two fixed cores diagonally placed from one another and a lightwell in the center. The levels are left open to the void created by the light well. This allows each level to have an interior balcony establishing a relationship and a diagonal visual connection between the different floors. The cores are defined as wet rooms (kitchen/ bathroom) and the staircase. These spaces are the only fixed areas in each house. The open floors and other interior walls are all flexible creating an undefined condition.
With this project, Hertzberger introduced the design concepts on polyvalence, which is the ability of spaces to be interpreted in multiple ways, and the half-product, which inspired the users to adapt their house to their personality. Both of these concepts aim to get rid of the collective labels of individual living patterns in order to allow for an individual interpretation of communal life.
BPL Chinatown
ARCH 2130 | Site, Space, & Program | Fall 2022
This project is a proposed library for Boston’s Chinatown, designed for a vacant lot where rowhouses once stood in the mid-20th century. The remnants of these rowhouses left a visible imprint on the adjacent building, which, along with the site’s diagonal boundary, informed the design. The roof serves as the project’s defining feature, creating a protective envelope for the space below while establishing a strong historical connection to the site.
These renderings show how light interacts with the design, with each skylight serving a specific purpose. The skylight above the main reading space casts shifting shadows throughout the day, adding depth to the interior. Outside, a second skylight creates a shadow that guides visitors toward the library entrance, reinforcing the connection between light, movement, and space.
Chinatown Pavilion
ARCH 2130 | Site, Space, & Program | Fall 2022
This pavilion, located just south of Boston’s Chinatown Gate, is defined by three triangular roof forms that shape the space beneath them. Each canopy shelters a distinct program, creating a sequence of spaces that transition from public to private as visitors move through the pavilion.
Double House
This project is an interlocking double house where the boundary between the two homes shifts on each floor. The central space alternates ownership, making the two houses appear as a single unit from the exterior. Situated on a site with a 9-foot incline, each house follows a raumplan design, adapting to the changing elevations and creating dynamic interior spaces.
