U of W Spring 2022 Architecture Portfolio

S A M I R A A H M E D

PORTFOLIO

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June 14th, 2022

To Whom it May Concern, I had the pleasure of working with Samira Ahmed during her Winter 2022 Co-Op term at Weston Consulting. I would strongly recommend her for upcoming architectural co-op positions.

As the Design Director at Weston Consulting, I recruited her and directly oversaw her active projects and daily tasks. Throughout the four months, Samira showed a strong aptitude for design excellence.

Samira was always ready to contribute to projects of various sizes, using her comprehensive technical expertise to help us develop and showcase the projects. She learned new software quickly and was integrating into active projects relatively quickly. Her sense of aesthetic judgement and relevant Adobe skills made her quite involved in several projects and client meetings. Many times, her work was instrumental in conveying complex design strategies to clients, developing work from base sketches and turning it into completed graphics. Key presentations were built around graphics and drawings she produced.

She contributed to many aspects to our collective department meetings and was always willing to ask pertinent questions to achieve the task at hand. Her personable attitude helps her be very successful in teams. She was always eager to help in whatever way she could.

I encourage you to take the opportunity to work with her.

I would be more than happy to discuss this recommendation.

SHANE MORGAN Design Director Vaughan 905.738.8080 x238 Toronto 416.640.9917 x238 smorgan@westonconsulting.com

VAUGHAN OFFICE | 201 Millway Avenue, Suite 19, Vaughan, Ontario, L4K 5K8 | T. 905.738.8080 TORONTO OFFICE | 268 Berkeley Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5A 2X5 | T. 416.640.9917

westonconsulting.com 1.800.363.3558 F. 905.738.9937

My name is Samira Ahmed.

I’m in my second year as an Architecture student at the University of Waterloo.

I aspire to create atmospheric architecture that manifests through plays on material, dynamic spaces, and lighting. I want to design an all-encompassing experience as a person enters a space, with moments of drama, connection, and inspiration.

I begin my process with the site context, and it is through this that I make connections between it and the function of the building.

After a lenghty process of iteration, I allow the project to “decide” the aesthetic.

This is represented through drawings and renders, which I craft to convey the large ideas and architectural moves.

Email:

Linkedin:

s377ahme@uwaterloo.ca

Samira Ahmed

Phone#:

Website:

(647) 514 7545

samiraahmed.ca

Location: Toronto, ON

TABLE OF CONTENTS

00

Curriculum Vitae

01

Between the Perimeter

02

Crystalline Library

03

The Warren Apartments

04

The Sacred Fire

axo

plan front elevation

0 0 CURRICULUM V I T A E Objective

Skills

i am seeking a 4 month architectural internship starting in September 2022.

Rhinoceros 7 Revit Adobe Illustrator Adobe Photoshop Adobe Indesign Enscape Microsoft Office Model Making Microstation Sketchup

Education University

of

Waterloo

Bacherlor of architectural studies (BAS) co-op program

2020 to present

CNC Milling Grasshopper Laser Cutting Woodworking (Power tools)

Work Experience Acheivements Presidents

Scholarship

Weston Student 2020

•

University of Waterloo, 90 94.9% academic average McPhie Architecture

Family scholarship

2020

University of Waterloo, 80%+ academic average

Linkedin: Samira Ahmed Website: samiraahmed.ca

• 2020 to present •

Consulting, Designer

2022

Constantly collaborated with senior designers to design drawings and presentations for clients.

Attended client meetings and participated.

Mcdonalds,

University of Waterloo, outstanding student Excellent Academic Standing

•

Urban

Front-End

Taking, preparing, and presenting customer orders with a smile and a positive attitude.

Maintaining constant communication with team members to provide fast and exceptional guest experience.

2021

Extracurricular West49, Sales •

•

•

2020 to 2021

Working and communicating with supervisor and co workers to gather, pack, and ship online orders quickly and efficiently.

Assessing and verifying order paperwork for accuracy and storing it according to set procedures.

COS, •

E-commerce Associate

Customer

Care

Greeting and actively assisting customers with product and style questions.

Conducting stock checks in-store on schedule and creating a list for product stock up.

F_RMlab, Member •

•

Member of the fabric design subteam for the designto 2022 installation “murmur” Attended biweekly meetings and digital software tutorials to improve proficiency.

Zero Experience, Member • 2020

•

joined the zero experience, an innovation program focused on quick problem solving. it involves the problem, solution, and innovation cycles.

Lead a cross-disciplinary team to research future cities and sub problems that can be solved to work towards it.

Sustainability Collective, Member •

•

Joined the club to gain knowledge on climate issues and actions in canada.

Participated in tote design workshop made from old clothing to reduce plastic bags when grocery shopping.

2021 to present

2021 to 2022

2021 to 2022

0

1

B E T W E E N T H E PERIMETER Course Design Studio, Second Year Location Kitchener, ON

The aim with the re-designing of the existing police building, was to create a juxtaposition of the old and new.

By maintaining most of the façade, its history is preserved while creating a new experience for the occupants. With the parti model, I was able to vacuum seal the existing form with a tight fabric. This molding to the form was executed with a ceramic façade that creates both moments of privacy and openness. To emphasize the juxtaposition, circulation is forced between the perimeter. Overall, the ‘S’ form pulls the site more inwards.

Transverse Section

PARTI Wooden cubes form the existing building at the site.

The 3D form is then wrapped in a pantyhose that “vacuum seals” the building. The curvature created by the fabric then forms the basis of the façade system.

Longitudinal Section

Ground Fl. Plan

Exisiting Brick Exisiting Limestone

Basement Fl. Plan

Upper Fl. Plan

Exploded Axonometric

Unfolded Elevation

0

2

CRYSTALLINE L I B R A R Y Course Design Studio, First Year Location Toronto, ON

The Crystalline library aims to unify the intersection by infusing one architectural element of each of the 3 buildings at the intersection- prominence, columns, and openness.

It engages with the site by existing as a permeable building to draw people in, and by integrating architectural elements of the other prominent buildings at the intersection- the crystalline library thus remains in harmony with its site.

Ultimately, its a library that doesn’t want to hide, exclude, or limit, but rather exist as a space that amplifies its surroundings and the experience of its users.

PARTI

Bring in surroundings

Give back to intersection

Massing and concept diagram

Site Plan

Front Elevation

1st Floor

2nd Floor

Featured Program: upper floor maker lab interior

Quieter

Privacy Diagram [in correspondence with roof height]

Loud

Longitudinal Section

Transversal Section

Roof

Exterior Facade

Structure

Maker Lab Floor

Program

Library Floor

Library

Site

Exploded Axonometric

Exterior Render

0

3

W A R R E N A P A R T M E N T S Course Design Studio, Second Year Location Waterloo, ON

The design of the Warren Apartments revolves around challenging the idea that affordable small student housing is visually unappealing.

Thus, the apartment focuses on a variety of footprints for shared and independent living. The spaces are then organized by a set of four different wall curves that are strategically placed. These walls act functionally as partitions and storage, and aesthetically, by providing each apartment with unique spatial configurations. The walls play on lighting and curvature to draw users inwards. The walls as whole then create a maze within the ordinary façade that guide users through the building. The apartment is complete with a game room on the upper floor, in front of the elevator for connection and transparency.

EXLPODED AXO A set of 4 wall curves make up the spatial organization of the apartment. Each wall is strategically placed to create dynamic spaces, and a unique maze-like experience.

down

UPPER FL. PLAN

up

LOWER FL. PLAN

SECTION

0 4

T H E S A C R E D F I R E Course Design Build, Second Year [In Progress] Location Waterloo, ON

Team Daisy Zhang, Alexey Vasiliev

This project involves designing/ re-purposing an existing courtyard that belongs to the School of Architecture, into a Sacred Fire that would facilitate Indigenous cultural ceremonies. In collaboration with William Woodworth, Rawe:nokwas, as the Elder in Residence at the School of Architecture.

The process involves designing the site and circulation, a fire pit cover, and signage that would mark the site more meaningfully.

SITE PHOTOS

You are on Six Nations Land.

Laser-engraved text

We acknowledge that the University of Waterloo School of Architecture is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. We are on the traditional territory of the Neutral, the Anishinaabeg, and the Haudenosaunee peoples.

200mm

The waters – the blood in her viens

The Earth Our Mother

200mm

Reclaimed wood

“words before all else”

1300mm 1900mm

Thanksgiving

Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen

Our “duty’ as the ones “who walk about on two legs”, the people.

Routed/burned designs

300mm

Steel bolts T-blade post anchor

front

front

Anchor bolts Concrete footer

section

SIGNAGE DESIGN

axo

ax

plan

front elevation

20.00

318.98 62.74

6.00

11.79

137.76

464.22

56.00

65.71

59.06

64.13

119.63

SITE PLAN 0m

1m

2m

3m

4m

5m

SECTION

Filled and Graded

SIGNAGE PROGRESS After designing the set of signage columns, we built sketch models to determine a sense of space. We decided on spacing and amount, before making use of reclaimed wood beams. Before we can CNC them with designs pertaining to the indigenous community, we first have to prepare the wood.

ITERATING THE DESIGN IN REAL LIFE TO DETERMINE SCALE AND AMOUNT OF COLUMNS NECESSARY, AS WELL AS SPACING.

Prep

Signage Sketch Model

Column Iteration

PREPARING THE RECLAIMED TIMBER FOR CNC [ONGOING].

Remove Nails

Pry Excess Wood Off

Hammering Down Nails

Cutting Down the Wood

Smooth Imperfections

Sand

S A M I R A A H M E D