PORTFOLIO
Selected Works
SamanthaWeidner
“Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success.”
- C.S. Lewis
Samantha Weidner
636.543.1466 | weidners15.2003@gmail.com
Education
University of Kansas
Graduation May 2026
Master of Architecture
Skills
Adaptability
Work Experience
USACE, Engineering & Construction
Design Branch-Structural/Architectural Section
Summer Architecture Student Intern
June 2022 - August 2024
Calculate various quantities for L&D 25 lift gate replacement
Created 3D model of L&D 25 Control House & Control Shelter
Created 3D model to elevate a home above the flood plain
Ran load analyses and populated excel sheets for review
Review construction documents for 65% submittal
Time Management
Conflict Resolution
Teamwork Communication Organization
Software
Sketchup
Revit
Rhino Microstation
Lumion
Adobe Suite
Awards
AIA St. Louis Scholarship
Media Professional
@samanthaweidner
@samweidner_architecture
ISSUU
@samantha_weidner
References
Joe Colistra - Professor jcolistra@ku.edu
Suzanne McAlisterSupervisor suzanne.mcalister@ku.edu
University of Kansas, Office of Academic Affairs
Student Office Assistant
Nov 2021 - Present
Ensuring visitors to the building & office feel welcomed & are assisted properly
Answering the phone & addressing the needs of the caller properly
Creating weekly announcements of events on and off campus for UNIV 101 classes
Dirt Works Studio
Project Manager
Aug 2023 - May 2024
Create the construction schedule and adjust as needed over the course of the year
Create construction documents for permitting Assign tasks on the job site and ensure everything is done in a safe and orderly fashion
Run the job site when professor is absent
Involvement
School of Architecture Bylaws Committee
Student Representative
Oct 2024 - Present
Sit in on bylaw committee meetings for the School of Architecture as a representative of the student body
Women in Design Member
KU Campus Christians Member and Treasurer (Aug 2023 - Present)
Community Service
Mission Trip
With KUCC to New Jerusalem Missions
Mission Trip
With KUCC to Mission ABQ
Oct 2024 - Present
Aug 2021 - Present
Spring 2022 Spring 2024
Helsinki, Finland Mixed-Use - Residential
Bentonville, AR
Mixed-Use - Residential
Phoenix House
Käsityötalo
- Residential - Mass Timber Finland
Residential - Sustainability
Residential - Masterplanning
Front Elevation (West) Credit:
01 Phoenix House
1140 Oregon St, Lawrence, KS
Junior Year 2023 - 2024
Professor Chad Kraus
Dirt Works Studio
Role: Co-Project Manager
Softwares: Revit
For this design-build project, our studio partnered with the local non-profit Tenants to Homeowners to create an affordable, durable home for someone transitioning out of homelessness. We worked together as a studio to design the home and produce all the construction documents in the fall, and then built the home in the spring. We strived to create a low-cost, energy efficient home that would feel welcoming for any inhabitant.
Dirt Works Studio Members: A. Mehanovic, A. Hall, A. Hunnicutt, A. Willen, C. Bolton, G. Bernie, H. Ford, J. Bond, M. Dawson, M. Campbell, M. Kime, R. Gilmore, & S. Landis.
The site is located in a quiet, close-knit neighborhood in East Lawrence. The site is next door to a community garden and community compost, as well as the Burrow’s Creek Trail. It is a few blocks from Hobbs Park and a bus stop. The site receives lots of light and breezes throughout the year. We’ve placed the building on the northwestern corner of the site to keep it away from the flood plane.
2. Bedroom
Credit: M. Dawson
5. Kitchen
Credit: M. Dawson
4. Living Room Credit: M. Dawson
6. Bathroom
Credit: M. Dawson
Project Management
I was co-project manager. I was in charge of weekly team meetings, creating the construction schedule, contacting reviewers, assigning tasks during construction, and making sure all work was done on time. I was also one of the on-site managers when our professor was absent.
We spent a winter intersession course prefabricating our interior partitions, ceilings, and sofits. During this time, I also created a Revit model for our CLT supplier, with all of the rough openings and sply connections, to expedite production.
Construction Schedule
CLT Model for Prefabrication
CLT Installation Day 1
Building/Wall Sections
T/O PEAK 12' - 8 1/8"
T/O WALL 2
T/O WALL 1
- 0"
B/O DROP CEILING
- 0"
B/O UPPER CABINET 5' - 0"
T/O COUNTER / B/O WINDOW 3' - 0"
BED PLATFORM
T/O SLAB
- 0"
B/O FOOTING -1' - 4"
B/O UPPER CABINET
PLY CROSS LAMINATED TIMBER ROOF, EXPOSED
PANEL 1/2" GYPSUM BOARD CLAD IN WOOD PLANKS
GYPSUM BOARD CLAD IN WOOD PLANKS
PLY CROSS LAMINATED TIMBER, EXPOSED 1/2" GYPSUM BOARD CEILING, PNT 02
PLATFORM 3 PLY CROSS LAMINATED TIMBER ROOF, EXPOSED
Front Elevation (South)
02 Käsityötalo
Helsinki, Finland
Junior Year 2023 - 2024
Professor Chad Kraus Softwares: Revit, Sketchup, D5 Render
Käsityötalo is located along the southern coast of Helsinki, Finland, right at the end of a large expanse of parks. Käsityötalo is also a mixed-use affordable housing site where the artists of Helsinki can come to perfect their craft. Included in the building are several maker spaces and workshops for creating, as well as a gallery and retail space to display and sell their items. The building also includes 16 apartments with designated studio spaces where artists can live and work.
The site is located at the end the largest park in Helsinki, which runs along the Baltic Coast. The peninsula to the West is being redeveloped from an industrial shipping port to a mixed-use residential urban park. Helsinki wants to increase urban densification while also increasing green space and biodiversity. Surrounding the site to the North is an artistic district and a historic district, demonstrating the diverse vernacular of Helsinki.
ElementarySchool
1. Site Extrusion
2. Axis and Courtyard 3. Shift Levels
Parti Diagram
3rd Floor
Parapet Cap
6” Insulation
4” Insulation
Composite Wood Decking
4” Insulation
Metal Bracket
Connection
Metal Plate with Dowels Connection
Low-E, Wood Window
Wood Blocking
5-ply CLT Moisture Barrier
6” Rigid Insulation Wood Rainscreen
Wood Rainscreen
6” Rigid Insulation Moisture Barrier
5-ply CLT Moisture Barrier
6” Rigid Insulation Wood Rainscreen
Raised Wood Flooring
Mechanical/Plumbing Chase
Acoustic Mat
7-Ply CLT
Parapet Cap
6” Insulation
4” Insulation
Composite Wood Decking
4” Insulation
5-ply CLT Moisture Barrier
6” Rigid Insulation
Wood Rainscreen
Wood Blocking
Low-E, Wood Window
1. Apartment 8
Total Length: 152’/250’
2. Apartment 1
Total Length: 164’/250’
3. Break Room
Total Length: 166’/250’
4. Wood Shop
Total Length: 218’/250’ Egress Selected Cases Apartment
Sustainability
The primary structure is Cross-Laminated Timber bearing walls and floor plates. The exposed mass timber creates a warm and inviting interior while also sequestering carbon.
The building also has a green roof with water collection and a PV array. The PVs provide energy to the building while the green roof collects water for reuse in non-potable tasks.
I used triple pane, low-e windows to prevent heat from escaping during cold months while reflecting harmful solar radiation.
Northwest Corner on a Snowy Day
Southwest Aerial View
03 Iris Pointe
Bentonville, Arkansas
Senior Year F2024
Professor Andrew Moddrell Softwares: Revit, Sketchup, Enscape
Iris Pointe Apartments is located in Bentonville, Arkansas. Bentonville is known for its mountain biking, biodiversity, and industrial vernacular style. Arkansas is also known for having an “Oz”/”Over the Rainbow” theme, with different colors scattered throughout the city of Bentonville. Iris Pointe Apartments is a mixed-use residential building with a cafe and daycare, focused on housing singles, young couples, and small families. One of the primary goals of this project was to create community within the building and with the larger Bentonville community.
We started this projects in groups of 4 to create a masterplan for the 16-acre site. Our group focused on maximizing green space and fostering community between all 13 buildings. We created a large promenade down the center of the site and added several public amenities such as sports courts and a picnic pavilion. We also created mixed-use programs for each parcel with the encouragement to have primary storefronts engage the promenade and the street. After masterplanning, we each picked our parcel and continued with our individual designs.
Connection to Promenade & Razorback Trail
Shift Levels to Create Outdoor Space
Create Cut-Throughs for Small Pockets of Communal Space
Parti Diagram
ALLEYWAY PARKING GARAGE RAMP
STREET LAMP
FIRE HYDRANT
POST INDICATOR STANDPIPE
SPRINKLER PIPE
EXISTING BUILDING
PROPERTY LINE
FIRE HYDRANT
RAZORBACK TRAIL
CREEK
DONE BY OTHERS
ENCLOSED PLAYGROUND
PUBLIC PLAYGROUND
BIKE TRACK
PICNIC PAVILION
BENCH
TRASH CAN
TENNIS COURT
BIKE RACK
Multi-Family Units
Single Units
Programming
Bentonville has an average age of 32, with a growing amount of children between 0-9 years old. However, most people in Bentonville live alone or with an unrelated roommate, due to a lack of 1-bedroom and studio apartments. I wanted to fill that gap in housing while providing room for growth.
I chose a daycare and cafe to supplement this. The daycare provides convenient childcare for working parent, allowing both the children and the parents create community. The cafe allows the building’s community to interact with the larger Benotnville community.
View of Courtyard from 3rd Floor Balcony
Cafe Interior
Daycare Classroom
Sustainability
The building uses a mass timber structure supported by CMU cores and a concrete sub-structure to support the underground parking garage.
The green roofs collect water in a cistern stored in the basement to be reused for non-potable tasks. The PV array provides energy to the building while the sliding louver system allows residents to adjust how much sunlight enters their apartments.
These systems are supported with radiant flooring and geothermal cooling, and triple pane, low-e windows.
Structure
View of Building from Pump Track
Trash Chute
Fan Coils
Supply Chase
Return Chase
Electrical Chase
Supply Return
Cooling
Radiant tubing runs across entire floors
Aerial View from Promenade
