Portfolio Spring 2024

PORTFOLIO

Christian Walker | Spring 2024

CURRENT LOCATION Christian Walker July 16, 1998 Phelan, CA Tucson, AZ (949) 769-9569 walkerchristian29@gmail.com 402 E 9th Street, Tucson, AZ @wellinthedesert_

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

2021 - 2024

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE

2016 - 2020

Master of Architecture

ARCHITECTURE INTERN

2023

Bachelor of Science in Mathematics

Minor in History of Art

ASSISTANT LEARNING SPECIALIST

2021 - 2023

SUBJECT/EXAM PREP TEACHER

2021

Cooper Carry

Contributed to the design of ongoing projects through multiple phases in the Mixed-Use design studio. Participated in consultant and client meetings and assisted in the submission of design packages.

C.A.T.S Academics

Advised and supported University of Arizona student athletes in their academic endeavors. This role involved collaboration and teaching.

Huntington Learning Center

Led tutoring sessions and remedial learning programs for students of various ages. This role involved teaching and strong communication.

DIGITAL

proficient to advanced PRODUCTION

Adobe: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign

BIM: Revit + BIM 360

Modeling: Rhinoceros + Grasshopper, Autocad

Rendering: Enscape, D5, Lumion, Twin Motion

Misc: Procreate, Bluebeam Revu, VR

Woodworking, CNC systems, Drafting, Concept Modeling, Watercolor, Alternative Photography

SONORAN URBAN GREENWAYS Fall 2023

YESTERDAY PARK Fall 2022

CULTURAL CULTIVATION Spring 2022

ONGOING MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT Fall 2022

STUDIES & EXPLORATIONS 2021 - 2023

Sonoran Urban Greenways

Downtown Tucson AZ

Production: Rhino, Grasshopper, Illustrator, D5 Render, Photoshop, ArcGIS

A car dominated urban environment with fragmented pedestrian accessibility . Context

An collection of underused or vacant lots and corridors connected by the historic railway in downtown Tucson

Concept

A pedestrian green corridor that demonstrates a more environmentally conscious approach to designing public spaces in the urbanized Sonoran Desert.

Pavilions featuring dynamic branching structures that implement water management strategies adopted from traditional Sonoran landscape ecology

A demonstration of architectural agency as a means of symbiotic integration within complex ecological systems

symbiotic, interconnected system of nature and architecture

systems of overstory and understory

the olla as a self-metering system for water storage and dispersal

Formerly vacant, railway sites with reintroduced native landscaping that is supported by ecological pavilions

Expansive pedestrian corridor that connects major urban centers with anticipation of future expansion.

Pavilions implement strategies such as nursing , understory , water storage and diffusion drawn from keystone species in the Sonoran Desert.

Structures adapted from natural form generation methods and L-system branching algorithms

Experiments

Taking inspiration from regional flora including the Mesquite and Palo Verde trees, a major component of this project was the integration of experiments in form finding and branching patterns . After developing a number of parametric recursion algorithms, forms were generated and evaluated for implementation in larger pavilion structures.

starting line (stem)

new branch from endpoint scaled by variable factor

copied and rotated by variable angle

Tree with 6 Iterations

Angle: 30°

L Factor: 0.60

Tree with 8 Iterations

Angle: 60°

L Factor: 0.85

complete iteration

Tree algorithms were further developed and integrated into structural pavilions

Experiments

As another means of exploring natural growth and organization , a series of scripts were developed to simulate hydrostatic forces acting on a network of cords as can be seen in spiderwebs or as famously demonstrated by Frei Otto in a series of “wool studies.”

This method forms optimized paths by minimizing detours along a larger network

Using parametric tools, these natural organization simulations were implemented into unique structural pavilions

attraction forces acting on small network resulting in canopy forms

attraction forces simulated on complex 12 node network

experimental pavilion iteration with combined form finding methods

organic network as catenary dome structure

organic network implemented into structural pavilion

This project was developed following a research based study of the Sonoran Landscape as a product of complex change across over hundreds of millions of years.

This research, suggested in the timeline below, set the conceptual framework for the design. Pavilions derive from natural forms while integrating into the natural landscape through water and nutrient management systems. The project demonstrates that architecture need not be separate from nature , but rather can strive for a symbiotic relationship within it.

Train Depot Pavilion

Yesterday Park

Tucson AZ

AIA Student Design Excellence Award Winner

Production: Rhino, Grasshopper, Illustrator, Enscape, Photoshop

Context

The Developing Mercado district of Menlo Park , Tucson’s “birthplace” along the struggling Santa Cruz river.

An area with starkly new development , under-utilized park space, and limited culinary variety.

Concept

Moments of personal and communal reflection through the preservation and enrichment of Tucson’s culinary heritage.

Address what we have and what can be shared with a community minded approach to food.

Defy standard assumptions of a park, connecting the planes of urban development and the life giving Santa Cruz river.

A park sunken below ground and retained by angular walls of mass volcanic rock sourced from the historic local quarry.

Tunnels that house communal kitchens and incubator style food stalls offer a place to practice, share, and develop culinary craft.

Communal gathering spaces at the heart contrasted with introspective underground shrines for person reflection.

Flexible native gardens spaces for recreation and market vending.

Laminated timber and corten steel roof structure of geometric patterning spans the sunken park and raised terraces.

Apertures influence the experience of spaces below and direct rainwater.

Tunnels that house communal kitchens and incubator style food stalls offer a place to practice, share, and develop culinary craft.

A small conditioned center serves as a recipe library and administration.

Materials speak of time , memory , and change, conditions that thematically underlie the design and our assessment of the river.

Structural Module isometric view

Laminated Timber

12”x24” Beams

16”x16” Columns

Structural Module Elevation view

Laminated Timber

12”x24” Beams

16”x16” Columns

Aggregation in isometric view

Timber structure

Aggregation in isometric view

Timber structure with steel sheeting

Steel Panels

Angular geometry for drain channels

Steel Panels

Curved geometry for drainage

& Development

Cultural Cultivation

University of Arizona

AIA Community Design Award Winner

Production: Rhino, Grasshopper, Enscape, Photoshop

Within the heart of the University of Arizona campus , an institution built on the lands of Native American and Indigenous peoples

Following the announcement of tuition waivers for Native American students from federally recognized tribes in Arizona.

A campus with limited resources and dedicated cultural spaces for Native American and indigenous students.

The idea of cultivation with respect to three key aspects of campus experience.

Cultivation of autonomy and resiliency for Native & Indigenous students.

> Social engagement with numerous integrated social spaces

> Options for personalization , alteration , and expansion.

> Community centered student housing inspired by regional Native American community planning.

Cultivation of the public’s awareness , consideration , and recognition of Arizona’s Tribal communities

> Spaces of craft-making , music , and achievements brought to the public level.

> Ephemeral experiences demonstrate traditional Native & Indigenous recognition of natural systems.

> Languages , symbols , and Native American building forms referenced throughout the design.

> Achievements of Native & Indigenous faculty, their research, and programs represented and celebrated .

Cultivation of a sustainable , habitable , and regionally appropriate environment.

> Native & Indigenous land practices as strategies for contemporary environmental concerns.

> Overall form defined by interconnected outdoor pedestrian sanctuaries that are specific to the Sonoran Desert.

> Outdoor spaces available for the construction of traditional Native & Indigenous structures.

Light Screening

Light Screening

Inspired by regional building strategies, a colorful terracotta screen covers the exterior

Inspired by regional building forms & strategies, a colorful terracotta screen covers the exterior

Light & Language

Greetings in Native American languages are made through light and shadow

open lobby atrium

student dorm rooms

workshop

private studies

meeting

galleries

& Language

Greetings in Native American languages are made through light and shadow

Greetings in Native American languages are made through light and shadow Light & Language

diffusion of light into lower floors

laminated timber structure

Henry Koffler Bldg Weaver ScienceEngineering Library

Bear Down Gymnasium

Bartlett Academic Success Center

Bear Down Field

Pueblo de la Cienega

Charlotte NC

Cooper Carry, Mixed-Use / Residential Studio

Production: Revit, BIM 360, Enscape, Photoshop

Ongoing Mixed-Use Development

A mid-sized, ongoing development in Carolina

Designed and managed by a Mixed Use / Residential design studio with additional consultation from both inside and outside the firm.

The development includes 430 residential units contemporary above street level retail spaces . The form encircles an open air green space with an integrated parking tower along the back of the site. A key consideration for this project is the increase of urban density and pedestrian connectivity while maintaining the character of the historic industrial neighborhood.

My contributions to this project extend through design, schematic design, and into design development initially conducted of local vernacular architecture, mixed-use geographic mappings project developed, I contributed by creating program diagrams summaries of relevant configurations residential units with in-house interior designers. As I became more integrated into the project I was tasked with , layout of rendering Development & Contributions

A3.02SCALE:1/4"=1'-0"

A3.02SCALE:1/4"=1'-0" 32BRKITCHEN-ELEVATION1

A3.02SCALE:1/4"=1'-0" 82BR&STUDIOBATH-ELEVATION1

A3.02SCALE:1/4"=1'-0"

Studies & Explorations

Parametric Form and Structure Modeling

Production: Rhino, Grasshopper, CNC Tools

framework for 3 dimensional form

In this series of exploratory models , I study a few unique approaches to dome and vault structures using parametric tools and physical modeling with CNC tools . These models include angular folded plate structures and a nested hoop dome

surface generated from framework concave / convex curves for final forms

CNC Router Form Finding

In this project, I study the qualities and limitations of a three axis CNC router as a means of generating form . Access of a router head presents unique challenges for geometry along curved surfaces . I use this condition as a generator of form.

router limited by vertical access

vertical tangents aligned along curves

framework for 3 dimensional form

surface generated from framework

geometry generated by limitations of machinery

concave / convex curves for final forms

Selected Drawings

Charcoal & Graphite

Alternative Photography

In-Camera Cyanotypes & Salt Prints

Initially, a homemade box-camera fitted with a lens was used to capture scenes on photosensitive cyanotype emulsion. Often called a “blueprint,” cyanotype was once used extensively as a means of cheaply printing architectural documents and other images. Cyanotypes require extended, direct exposure to UVA light . Using cyanotype for photography in a camera requires exposures of multiple hours or days to produce a clear negative image.

Experimenting with this process I developed multiple cameras with greater operability and expanded to other photographic methods including a specific silver halide emulsion called a salt print . The Images featured here are impressions of scenes from my daily life captured over extended periods of time and made temporarily permanent.

Studio Interior

Cyanotype on cardstock

48 hour exposure

Palo Verde Salt print on cardstock

2 hour exposure

View Across Speedway Blvd (Top)

Cyanotype on cardstock

12 hour exposure

Parking Lot (Left)

Cyanotype on notebook paper

24 hour exposure

thank you

phone: (949) 769-9569

email: walkerchristian29@gmail.com

address: 402 East 9th St, Tucson AZ

social: wellinthedesert_