Undergraduate Architecture Portfolio

3rd - 4th year work

University of Houston

Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design

Sarah Jordan

RESUME

Personal Statement

I am currently a 4th-year undergraduate architecture student at the University of Houston. In addition to majoring in architecture, I am also minoring in energy and sustainability. I would like to explore sustainability more in the field of architecture. I am eager to learn new skills and surround myself with others with the same passion for architecture.

Phone: (512) 567-5391

E-mail: sarahjordan475@gmail.com

Location: Houston, TX, 77047

Education

Fall 2019 - Present

University of Houston l G.D. Hines College of Architecture and Design

Bachelors Degree of Architecture

Minor - Energy and Sustainability

Expected graduation date May 2024

GPA - 3.88/4.0

Experience

January 2023

Freelance Architectural Model Maker

• The architect tasked me and one other student to build a scale model of an ongoing project at the firm

• Modeled a detailed structural roof including the truss system

• Digitally modeled parts of the building in Rhino3D

Interdisciplinary Academic Projects

Spring 2022

Building Technology 4 l ARCH 3328

• Used ClimateStudio and Cove.tool to estimate the energy consumption of my current studio project and created a more optimized building

• Explored solar analysis, daylight simulations, thermal loads, energy use, and renewable energy sources

• Graphically presented findings

Spring 2022

Case Studies - Energy and Sustainability l ENRG 4320

• Worked in a team of 5

• Examined the Biden Administration position on renewable energy and sustainability

• Prepared a proprietary study and research paper proposing new policy on energy and sustainability for a possible client running against Biden in the 2024 election

Honors

Fall 2019 - Present

Fall 2019 - Present

Software Skills

Academic Excellence Scholarship

Dean’s list

Rhino3D AutoCAD

Grasshopper

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe InDesign

Microsoft Suite

Sarah Jordan

MENIL

MENIL FOR THE YOUTH

Youth Art Gallery

Project Partner: Julius Magno Marzo

After studying Museo Jumex as a precedent, we started by exploring figure ground studies creating massing around the existing site conditions of trees. Through these studies, we developed a building shaped by the existing trees, lifted above a recessed lower-level mass. The sawtooth was created based on the massing dimensions, resulting in a modularized roof creating a grid that is used in different parts of the design. The grid of the roof determined where each piloti outside of the building and each column inside of the building would be located, as well as the position of the cores between the structural system.

The skin panels wrapping around the building are separated into vertical panels meeting each down point of the sawtooth and then wrapping along the top of the roof, further emphasizing the sawtooth as a determining factor for the rest of the building. The strict vertical grid of the skin panels is contrasted with a playful perforated pattern flowing across each face of the building, mainly concentrated on the window openings. This playfulness carries out to the landscaping with planters shifting along the sawtooth points adding movement to the plaza and garden spaces.

Menil Campus Site Map

Cafe Balcony Perspective

Concept Diagrams

Description: After studying Museo Jumex as a precedent, we adopted and applied the leading design strategies to our site on the Menil campus. These strategies include a grid created based on site conditions, Le Corbusier’s pilotis holding up a mass, a sawtooth roof providing diffused natural light and an iconic appearance from the outside, and a Miesian grid facade.

GRID

Museo Jumex Aerial View

Museo Jumex Core Diagram

Facade Design Process Description: Photoshop was used to paint a design on the facade of the building, then put into grasshopper image sampler to create a parametric design.

Wall

Angle Iron Steel Channel

Steel Z Clips Screws GFRC Panels

Facade GFRC Structure Detail Description: Each facade panel is attached to the wall using steel channels with z-clips and screws.

BATHHOUSE Planar Bath Surface Individual Project

Located at the intersection of I-10 and Yale St, this bathhouse responds to Reyner Banham’s urban ecologies: Autopia, (reverse) Foothill, Plain of Id, and in Houston’s context Humuribia. First, the rectangular form recalls the everyday commercial strip already existing on the site as the ecology Plain of Id, ignoring the real landscape (foothill). Next, the free-flowing form interrupting the box simultaneously opens the program and sequence to the foothill and autopia. These free-flowing forms bring in another ecology of nature, typically lost in Houston’s highly industrialized city.

Inside of the Bathhouse the circulation is shaped throughout the building by compressing and expanding the spaces to create transitions and movement. The sense of movement created with the circulation inside the building is also seen with the skin system wrapping around the facade. The skin is composed of vertical ceramic pieces that slip between the overhanging floor slabs serving as a shading system and a system that marks the more private areas of the building. Private spaces are also distinguished by low ceilings and wood cladding. Public spaces, such as the atrium and entry have high ceilings and light concrete flooring.

Yale St. Perspective

Aerial Perspective

Four Ecologies Diagrams

Description: Diagrams highlighting Rayner Banham’s Four Ecologies applied to the project site in Houston.

Autopia

Foothill

Humurbia

First Floor

Isometric Diagram

Environmental Isometric Section

Description: The south facade has a more concentrated skin system made out of ceramic tubes, plus a roof overhang pulled toward the south direction above the entry to shade the glass. The building is located with the long facades facing northeast and southwest resulting in more strategic shade and ventilation planning than if the building were oriented with the long facade facing north and south. This is made up for by creating roof overhangs where harsh sun hits, as well as a skin system that can move throughout the year by sliding the pieces around. The skin system becomes more dense where more private spaces are located, in addition to where high solar radiation occurs (ex. south facade). Several green courtyard spaces are placed on the second level with tall vegetation to allow diffused light to enter into both floor levels without being too harsh.

RECYCLING CENTER

Industrial + Nature Individual Project

This project is located on Brady Island, which is currently used as a shipyard. The entire site of Brady Island was rethought, turning it into a place for the community to thrive. The program located around the island consists of parks, sports fields, markets, gardens, and solar panels to produce energy to run the facilities. The main design project was focused on the recycling center. The facility has three streams of recycling; metal, plastics, and paper. In addition to serving as a recycling facility, there is an education department to teach visitors about the process.

The major concept of this project is combining the industrial with nature. The building is wrapped by a skin system with perforated panels that are dense in areas in need of more light. There are balcony spaces for visitors to view each direction of Brady Island. This allows people to watch the process of the cargo ships dropping off recycling or to look out at the city line while drinking coffee from the cafe. The building is divided into two buildings connected by a sky bridge. In one of the buildings, all of the recycling equipment, drop-off lanes, offices, and employee lobby are located. In the other building, there is a major lobby with displays of recycled artwork and information to explain the recycling process. Off of the lobby are classrooms and on the floor above is a cafe for visitors and employees.

Site Outline

Entry Perspective

Second Floor

First Floor

Section A

Section B

South Elevation

West Elevation