Licensed Architect with 20 years of professional experience. Highly skilled in all aspects of project delivery, from initial concept design through Construction Contract Administration. Project Architect with leadership experience across a robust range of building types and scales. Experience includes developing concept designs with hand drawings and computer modeling, feasibility studies, construction documentation and specifications, and technical detailing. Self-motivated, collaborative, disciplined, and highly capable. Professional interest in building enclosure design and associated technical science and philosophy. Passionate about mentorship and seeking an opportunity to build on active mentoring experience to help develop and encourage younger Architects.
EXPERIENCE:
Olson Kundig | Seattle, WA
Senior Architectural Designer / Project Manager
Moonlight Basin Big Sky, Montana
12.2020 - Present
73 key hotel and resort for international luxury hotel brand One & Only, the first in the United States. One of the main hubs of the overall resort is a 27,000 sf Ski Lodge and Gondola that connects the resort to the Big Sky ski area.
Field Cabin Sun Valley, Idaho
Small 1,600 sf private residence that is a companion to one of Olson Kundig’s most recognizable and published projects, Tom Kundig’s Bigwood Residence (Sky Cabin).
Gensler | Austin, TX
Project Architect
The Moody Center Austin, Texas
10.2018 - 12.2020
A new multi-purpose sports and entertainment venue for the University of Texas at Austin, replacing the aging Frank Erwin Center.
5th & Tillery Austin, Texas
180,000 sf office building in East Austin conceived as a sustainable spec development to reuse an existing warehouse site.
Matt Fajkus Architecture | Austin, TX
Design Architect
RigUp Austin, Texas
07.2014 - 02.2017
Tenant finish out of a 23,000 sf raw floorplate in downtown Austin. The client is an up-and-coming tech startup, looking to create a single office space that consolidates multiple satellite locations spread throughout the city.
Westlake Dermatology Marble Falls, Texas
Small medical office building for a prominent Austin dermatology clinic. The first in a series of new clinics expanding outside of the Austin metro area.
The Beck Group | Dallas, TX
Associate / Project Designer
Royal Gorge Visitor Center Cañon City, Colorado
05.2005 - 07.2014
New Visitor Center for the iconic Royal Gorge Bridge & Park, replacing the existing original complex after it was destroyed by wildfires in 2013.
Urban Worship Center Dallas, Texas
A prominent church in downtown Dallas replaced 1.5 city blocks of its existing campus with a new state of the art facility that included a new 3,000 seat worship center auditorium, production studios, and 5-story education building.
Iksan and Kochuk International Design Competitions South Korea
Member of 2 competition design teams for a new cultural center in Iksan and a large church and education facility in Seoul.
Walker Brands Tampa, Florida
Early career design study that was an alternate scheme for a small branding company. The client opted for a much lower-budget version, but the scheme was submitted to the local AIA chapter and won an unbuilt design award.
EDUCATION:
University of Texas at Arlington — Master of Architecture | 2005
University of Texas at Arlington — Bachelor of Science in Architecture | 2001
• Graphic Design & Video - Adobe Photoshop / Illustrator / InDesign / Premiere / After Effects
• Full Microsoft Suite and various Project Management platforms
PROFESSIONAL & ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS:
• Licensed in the State of Texas since January 2009; NCARB certified, LEED AP since 2006
• Participated in the inaugural Dallas AIA Emerging Leaders Program, 2009
• Co-created a company Mentorship program for The Beck Group starting in 2010
• AIA Tampa Bay Honor Award (unbuilt category) 2007, as co-designer for Walker Brands
• Awarded the AIA Henry Adams Medal, 2005
• Awarded the Arch Swank Fellowship in the Craft of Architecture, 2004
INTERESTS:
Astronomy | Music Production | Travel, Hiking, and Camping | Cartography
WALKER BRANDS
2006 Tampa, Florida
Project Status: Unbuilt Scheme
Position: Design Intern
Project Role & Contribution: provided alternate conceptual design scheme for client; created conceptual strategy and model for presentation.
Overall design supervision by Brian Miller, Principal
Walker Brands is a small company based in Tampa, FL that specializes in branding solutions for a broad range of clients. Their goal in creating a new dedicated office space was to mirror a mission statement based on collaboration and connection.
The project is conceived as two opposing L’s in section containing the primary programmatic zones for office and multi-use space. These two elements overlap to form a double volume connection zone, intended to be a central hub for generating ideas. This connection zone is paramount to the company’s culture
The diagram provides transparency front to back, from the public entry to an employee garden in the rear. Using the company’s own branding and color scheme, a translucent orange box represents the central space where the creation of ideas takes place.
In 2007 the scheme received an Honor award in the Unbuilt category from the Tampa Bay Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Concept & Axonometric Diagrams
IKSAN CULTURAL CENTER
2009 Iksan, South Korea
Project Status: Competition Entry
Position: Project Designer
Project Role & Contribution: Member of Competition design team; prepared 3D models, sections, elevation drawings, concept diagrams, and formatted final presentation boards. Overall design supervision by Brian Miller, Principal
The city of Iksan held an open international design competition to transform an unused block of land adjacent to their aging existing cultural center. The new expansion was set to house a museum, offices, 1,500-seat auditorium, and a public space amenity for the city.
Jewelry and metallurgy serve as traditional forms of industry for Iksan and the surrounding area. This thematic element drove the design concept as the manifestation of a centuries old tradition in the region.
The building was the result of an imagined set of natural forces acting on the earth to create the angular jutting forms, invoking the same processes that create precious gemstones. These forms are further refined and honed with glass, steel, and stone to produce a crafted JEWEL.
Drawings by Jayson Kabala, Jae Lee & Brian Miller
KOCHUK
2008
Project Status: Competition Entry
Position: Project Designer
Seoul, South Korea
Project Role & Contribution: Primary Designer; produced concept schemes, diagrams, 3D models, and presentation boards
Overall design supervision by Michael Kaiser, Principal
Due to rapid growth, the Kochuk Presbyterian Church sought to expand their existing campus into a massively larger auditorium as well as new administration spaces. The condensed site in downtown Seoul was faced with tight zoning restrictions that proved problematic for the large amounts of required programming from the client. A unique strategy was proposed which would place the largest program element (the auditorium) underground, with all other elements stacked in a tower above.
To deal with significant grade changes, multiple strategies were investigated that incorporated terraced gardens and a grand processional staircase. This terracing circulation would transpose on to the front facade of the tower, leading to a small chapel on the top level. This provided a public amenity for the community and an informal “pilgrimage” from the city to the elevated chapel that bypassed the daily functions of the church.
The terrace garden provides an open space amenity to the city, but also allows for a series of light wells that will naturally illuminate the worship room. Following the pedestrian circulation up the facade of the building, the public zone exists as both a horizontal and vertical garden.
CONCEPT SKETCHES & PRECEDENTS
Level 4 (Admin)
Level 3 (Auditoriums) Level G (Worship Center) Site
COMPETITION BOARDS
Design Concepts and Drawings by Jayson Kabala, Jae Lee & Michael Kaiser
3D renderings by Alexander Models
URBAN WORSHIP CENTER
2008 - 2012
Project Status: Built
Position: Project Designer
Dallas, TX
Project Role & Contribution: Lead Designer and Project Architect for exterior envelope
Overall design supervision by Michael Kaiser, Principal
One of the oldest churches in downtown Dallas has been in operation since the late 1800’s, undergoing multiple periods of growth and change. In 2008 the congregation took steps to embark on a major overhaul of its campus, building new facilities for worship, education, and public use.
Existing buildings were in decline and unusable for the needs of weekly services and daily community programs. An entire city block was cleared to make way for the new campus. It was required that the new facility seamlessly connect the new Worship and Education buildings to the existing 19th century historical sanctuary and a multi-purpose building completed within the last decade. The church also wanted to take the opportunity to create a unique public space and garden that would integrate into the recent emergence of new downtown Dallas parks.
The conceptual strategy creates an urban pocket carved into the city block, simultaneously connecting major program elements with a single sweeping gesture composed of large expanses of north facing glass. This form is raised to the Piano Nobile, providing a pedestrian connection between the east and west sides of the block through a public garden at street level.
SITE STRATEGY CONCEPT SKETCH
The Auditorium is housed within a complex curved form, creating a dynamic shape clad in iridescent stainless steel panels. This form sits juxtaposed to the exterior curtain wall skin - the interstitial space becomes the public lobby and pedestrian concourse connecting the entire campus together.
A geometric solution using tangent arcs is established to resolve the complex curves and translate them into a modular curtain wall system.
ROYAL GORGE VISITOR CENTER
2013 Cañon City, CO
Project Status: Built
Position: Project Designer
Project Role & Contribution: Lead Designer; responsible for design and detailing of exterior envelope, managed all structural coordination
Overall design supervision by Michael Kaiser, Principal
In the summer of 2013, the area surrounding the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado (the highest bridge in the United States) was consumed by wildfires, destroying most of the existing park facilities. With a local treasure almost lost and the potential for the park to lose revenue for an entire season, the project had to be designed and constructed in less than a year.
The owners wanted a building that hearkened to the angular fractured landscape while consolidating the former program under one roof. A series of shifted roof planes was assembled to house the park functions within an otherwise standard rectangular box.
With a tight budget in mind, the interior spaces were left raw while charred remains of the wood planks used for the bridge roadway, were re-purposed into the exterior skin of the visitor center.
A viewing deck is precariously perched out over the side of the 1,000-foot deep canyon, while also receiving an aerial tram and a zip line - taking visitors across the gorge, high above the Arkansas River.
Photo courtesy of Royal Gorge Bridge and Park
WESTLAKE DERMATOLOGY
2015 - 2017 Marble Falls, TX
Project Status: Built
Position: Project Manager
Project Role & Contribution: Lead Designer; responsible for design drawings and concept renderings, all Contract Documents and Specifications, consultant coordination, Construction Contract Administration, and coordinated directly with Client through the entire process
MF Design Team: Ian Ellis
Westlake Dermatology commissioned MF Architecture to design a new 3,000 SF building in Marble Falls to replace it’s older existing facility. The site exists on the edge of town with little to no infrastructure in place; coordination occurring between city officials and LCRA to get the necessary utilities installed. Negations with a neighboring HOA also provided challenges for both the design and the overall project timeline.
The relatively small site slopes away toward beautiful views of the hill country in the distance. The client did not want to block the view, but rather embrace it and create a structure that acted as a frame. The scheme reflects the client’s love of Donald Judd’s concrete boxes in Marfa, TX. The objective was to design an open and transparent “portal” through which the distant landscape could be viewed, the concrete shell hearkening to Judd’s seminal works.
The interiors incorporated a simple layout with minimal material finishes except for the reception area, clad in Texas Pecan wood to highlight the threshold from public to private.
Professional photography by Charles Davis Smith, courtesy of
RIGUP
2018 Austin TX
Project Status: Built
Position: Project Designer / Project Manager
Project Role & Contribution: Responsible for design drawings and renderings, all Contract Documents and Specifications; consultant coordination; Construction Contract Administration; coordinated directly with Client through entire process
MF Design Team: Ingrid Gonzales-Featherston, Sarah Johnson
RigUp is a small upstart tech company that specializes in job placement and allocation within the oil and gas industry. Their Austin offices were a combination of temporary spaces mixed with co-working space rentals, resulting in a staff that was disjointed and disconnected. They desired a singular office space to house their growing employee base. The company culture is one of flexible work environments, break-out spaces for ad-hoc collaboration, and casual inclusiveness.
Rigup wanted a space that was less corporate and more residential feeling, with warm textures, materials, and lighting. The furniture and steel partitions were all custom fabricated by KKDW, a local design-build shop. We worked closely in collaboration with both fabricator and general contractor to execute Rigup’s vision for the future of their company.
The design takes clues from the unique nature of the host building, incorporating two prominent geometries, a triangle and chevron, which permeate throughout the overall design.
Due to an internal schedule, the entire project was fast-tracked, with design and documentation taking 8 weeks and construction complete in 5 months.
Professional photography by Hua Liu & Rachel Deng, courtesy of MF Architecture
THE MOODY CENTER
2017 - 2022
Project Status: Built
Position: Project Architect
Austin, TX
Project Role & Contribution: Design and coordination of exterior envelope; coordination of building structure
Project Designer: John Houser
Principal: David Lynch
Project Manager: Kirk Funkhouser
Senior PA: Laura Brodersen / Travis Albrecht
The University of Texas at Austin expanded its sports complex to include a new state of the art arena for the Men’s and Women’s basketball teams. The facility will also serve as a concert and event venue to add to Austin’s already cemented reputation as a live music destination.
The primary formal gesture is a dramatic roof line that begins as an interior sloping form at the upper level concourse and curves into a horizontal ceiling that transitions to the exterior soffit. At its most extreme the roof maintains cantilevers upwards of 60 feet.
The concourse is enclosed 360° by a 20 foot high curtain wall system, offering panoramic views of the surrounding context. At the west end of the concourse the glazing opens to an exterior terrace that overlooks the university and the downtown skyline.
Below, the west entrance of the facility extends to a public plaza that will serve to connect the arena with the south expansion of DKR football stadium. This new outdoor space will showcase the layered exterior of the west facade, comprised of transparent glazing, metal panel skin, and a system of vertical sunshades.
3D SECTION & ENVELOPE STUDY
Professional photography by Chase Daniel & Ryan Conway, Courtesy of Gensler
5th & TILLERY
2017 - 2022
Project Status: Built
Position: Project Architect
Austin, TX
Project Role & Contribution: Executed the contract documents through Design Development and Construction Document phases; managed Construction Contract Administration
Project Designer: Michael Waddell
Principal / PM: David Lynch
The post-industrial site at the intersection of 5th and Tillery streets in East Austin was conceived as a sustainable spec office developement of an existing derelict warehouse building. The bent-frame steel structure could not be re-purposed, so the design pivoted to a ground up 3-story structure comprised of a hybrid steel and mass-timber frame.
To mitigate the intense summer heat and bring light into the center of the 60,000 sf floor plate, the design carved out a central courtyard. This space would serve as a light well and exterior respite for building inhabitants. All circulation would be exterior within the courtyard, opening up to a massive solar plaza on the south end of the building, inviting the public into the space and forming a connection to the community.
The courtyard includes elements such as a fountain and water runnel that recirculates collected stormwater and uses it for landscaping irrigation. Large sycamore trees create ample shading with the open volume providing cooling breezes. The solar array on the roof, which continues onto the open trellis shading the entry plaza, can generate nearly enough power to almost offset all energy costs.
Professional photography by Matthew Neimann & Ryan Conway, Courtesy of Gensler
FIELD CABIN
2021 - 2025
Project Status: In Construction
Position: Project Architect
Sun Valley, ID
Project Role & Contribution: Assumed leadership at the end of Design Development, managed completion of Construction Documents, and conducted CCA.
Partner in Charge: Tom Kundig
Principal: Edward Lalonde
This modest 1,600 sf residence is a companion piece to Tom Kundig’s iconic Bigwood Residence (Sky Cabin) in Sun Valley, ID. While the Sky Cabin opens up to the surrounding landscape and frames views of distant mountains, the Field Cabin is introspective and inward-focused. The roof line follows the slope of the site and helps to define a series of outdoor private courtyards.
The companion cabin has an intergenerational narrative: the clients eventually plan to downsize, making use of the single-story layout, with their children taking over the larger residence in the future. The program consists of an open Living & Dining space, two Bedrooms, and a Study/Library.
Similar to Sky Cabin, the material palette is simple - exposed steel framing, board-formed concrete walls, and glass infill. The interior is primarily clad in plywood siding throughout the home. Unlike Sky Cabin, which has a roof plane that appears to float above glass walls, the roof plane of the new residence rests on the structural concrete walls, engaging the site in a more tactile way.
Field Cabin is scheduled for completion in April 2025.
EXISTING BIGWOOD RESIDENCE (SKY CABIN)
FIELD CABIN CONCEPT SKETCH
Photograph by Benjamin Benschneider
FLOOR PLAN
MOONLIGHT BASIN
2020 - 2025
Project Status: In Construction
Position: Project Architect (Ski Lodge & Gondola)
Big Sky, MT
Project Role & Contribution: Assumed leadership as PA at the end of Design Development, managed completion of Construction Documents, and conducted CCA.
Partner in Charge: Tom Kundig
Prinicipal: Jamie Leppert
Project Manager: Claudia Maggiani
Luxury hotel brand One & Only chose Big Sky, Montana as the location for their first-ever resort in the United States. Moonlight Basin sits in the Madison Range at the base of Lone Mountain, with views of the Spanish Peaks to the north and the Madison River valley to the west. The west entrance of Yellowstone National Park is only an hour to the south.
The resort includes a 73-key hotel split between three lodge buildings, 68 private residences, guest cabins, spa, and the Ski Lodge and Gondola that provide a private-use connection for guest and residents to the Big Sky ski area. Total site development consists of 100 acres of pristine Montana wilderness.
The Ski Lodge and Gondola are an ideally-situated gateway connecting guests to Lone Mountain. The Ski Lodge includes a Restaurant and Bar, Outfitters, both Day-Use and Members’ Lockers, and services such as ski tuning and equipment storage. Due to the geographic limitations of the unique site, the gondola structure comprises a massive cantilevered steel frame that encloses the terminal. This dramatic architectural gesture sets the stage for an unparalleled experience traveling from the resort to Lone Mountain.
Ski Lodge & Gondola scheduled for completion October 2024.
