christopher ferguson // the university of … university of texas at austin christopherferguson.us...
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CHRISTOPHER FERGUSON //
BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE 2013THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
+1 972 816 1993
table of contents
resume + work historycover letterwork samplesmodel-makingphotography
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Christopher Ferguson1302 W. 24th St. #208Austin, Texas 78705+1 972 816 1993
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Education
The University of Texas at AustinBachelor of Architecture // May 2013GPA - 3.8
Work
Residency Intern // Andersson-Wise ArchitectsMay 2012 - December 2012Austin, Texas
Media Curator // Energy Inside, Inc.April 2010 - June 2011Austin, Texas
Server // Campisi’s Italian RestaurantJune 2007 - August 2009Dallas, Texas
Honors
Inductee, Tau Sigma Delta Honors Society, Mu ChapterFall 2012
Featured Speaker, White House Young America SeriesSpring 2012
Nominee, Unrestricted Endowed Presidential ScholarshipSpring 2012
Nominee, Design Excellence AwardDecember 2010
Winner, Design Excellence AwardMay 2010
Winner, C.R. Smith Endowed ScholarshipFall 2008
Exhibit Participation // Print Inclusion
Capturing Light and TimeUniversity of Texas Visual Resources CollectionSpring 2011
ISSUE 007 (ISBN 978-0-9786228-6-2)Univerisity of Texas at Austin School of ArchitectureSpring 2011
Design Excellence ShowcaseUniversity of Texas Goldsmith Mebane GallerySpring 2011
Additional Skills
Photography // Canon EOS450D
Software // Adobe Suite, Autocad, Rhinoceros, Sketchup, Revit, GIS, IDX/Vray, MS Office
Model Making // Casting, laser cutting, 3D printing
Freelance writing, online PR management, copy editing
Leadership
Design Assistant // Design II StudioInstructor Michael Hargens // UT School of ArchitectureSpring 2013
Mentor // UASC SOA Mentorship Program2009 - Present
President, Vice PresidentAmerican Institute of Architecture Students (UT AIAS)2010 - 2011, 2008 - 2010
Undergraduate RepresentativeStudent and Faculty Awards Committee2009 - 2010
Hello!
My name is Christopher Ferguson and for the past five years I have been a student of architecture at the Uni-versity of Texas at Austin.
Through my education I have learned to appreciate de-sign at many scales, and my studios have afforded me travel throughout much of Europe and parts of South America. Seeing the world as a student has taught me that there is a lot more to learn.
I am a lover of design, but foremost I am a problem solver. I am passionate about simplifying a task and attacking it directly, and then communicating the lessons learned to those who will listen.
You have recieved this portfolio of my student and professional work samples because I would love the opportunity to learn from you, in any capacity.
I am focused, organized, collaborative, and sometimes even make jokes.
I’d love a chance to speak further!
Thank you for your consideration,Christopher Ferguson
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Pampulha Hotel + Conference Center - Spring 2012Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Pampulha is a man-made lake outside of Belo Horizonte, Brazil that is renowned for thoughtful Niemeyer buildings scat-tered along its perimeter. The expansive flatness and scenic beauty is cherished by locals who must navigate a sprawling urban metropolis fraught with congestion, gentrification, and sometimes decay.
The studio’s task was to confront these challenges by in-troducing a cultural hub that served locals and visitors alike, while also addressing problems of congestion and water qual-ity degradation at an urban scale.
The University of Texas at AustinBachelor of Architecture ‘13
WORK SAMPLES // MODEL MAKING // PHOTOGRAPHY
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The resulting scheme is a programmatic collage meant to ref-erence the successful sculptural qualities of modern Brazilian landscape architecture. The mild climate offers an opportunity for an ultimate connection to the outdoors, and pavilion-like structures peek out from a sunken plaza, providing framed views of the lake. Each element is strung together by a winding pathway that allows visitors to maintain a sense of exploration and discovery without straying too far from their intended course.
A one kilometer pedestrian and cycling bridge connects two sides of the lake to fight congestion along its perimeter paths, while small mini-islands suggest space for public programs that could help reintroduce economic diversity to the area.
Exceptional moments occur by introducing varying elevations.
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Transect studies of the pe-destrian bridge and its islands created interesting opportuni-ties for material composition.
Sprawling plazas are connected by water and vegetation. The entrance to the courtyard serves as a junc-tion between hotel and public space. In the rendering above, individual hotel cells are located immediately ahead and to the right, while a water cistern flanks the left side of the frame. This is an intersection of park level, courtyard, hotel, and lake. The pedestrian bridge connects tenuously at park level.
At lake level the intent to collage program is more evident. Tight, cu-bic concrete cells, esposed to the sky, contrast vividly with the open bar, library, and seminars of the conference center’s spaces. How-ever, there is dialogue between the various elements encouraging circu-
lation. Through sometimes imposing and other times playful forms, pro-gram is divided along a meander-ing path through the campus. As a visitor descends, they experience increasing amounts of intimacy. The public sculpture garden overlooking the lake yields to the private court-
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yard, submerged in earth at water level. The library, punctured by light wells functioning as reading coves, is even more private. The visitor can appreciate these “stumbled-upon” moments as unique to their individual experience. They create their own adventure with each visit.
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WORK SAMPLES // MODEL MAKING // PHOTOGRAPHY Espada Chapel + Columbarium - Fall 2010San Antonio, Texas
A non-denominational chapel sited adjacent to the 18th cen-tury Mission Espada lies half buried, a thin concrete canopy hovering above, punctured by structural light wells that hang like stalagtites in the sunken reflection space below.
The form intends to evoke imagery of wind, and is sited according to the prevailing summer breezes to allow for a natural ventilation and cooling. Once underground, a forest of translucent columns provide for soft illumination. Columns that puncture the floor contain nondescript cubic urns, an abstrac-tion of typical columbarium walls found in many cemeteries throughout the region.
The thin concrete shell gives an almost alien presence to the flat, remote site. Two distinct pieces reference both heaviness and weightlessness. One peels back to suggest occupiable space below, the other sits lofted, an enigmatic advertisement to the curious chapel in and of itself.
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Experiments in the chapel’s form were rigorously pursued, first with planar, sharp geometries.
These studies were effective at space making, but ultimately did not result in any compelling scheme.
With the help of a pack of Marl-boro Reds and a box fan on “low” I was able to photograph smoke, which eventually led to the generation of the chapel’s final form.
The final model was 3-D printed and set into a block of cherry wood. Columns are represented with 1/4’’ x 1/4’’ plexiglass rods.
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Austin Swim Center - Spring 2011Austin, Texas
Located just south of downtown on the shore of Lake Austin, this proposal for a new city swim center is forced to respond to a variety of constraints imposed by a tricky site.
The program is divided into two buildings connected by a shared plaza which engages an existing hike-and-bike trail that is widely used by the city’s active populus. A leisure pool extends from within the lower structure, its roof becom-ing a generous plaza at street grade. A competition arena sits next door, with a low slung, faceted roof offering copious indirect lighting inside without obstructing its neighbors’ views of the water.
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As the dual-building scheme emerged in design, the form of the competition pool canopy changed dramatically. The studio required the completion of a 1/2’’ = 1’-0’’ sectional bay model (top, right) demonstrating the structural strategy employed over the long span of the competition pool. An inverted truss superstructure reconciled the site’s grade change with the desire for a low street profile, while also not compromising spectators’ views of the water.
Spectator seating is available just off the sidewalk behind a glass curtain wall, giving passerby the chance to peek inside without interruption. Large, inverted trusses corre-spond to viewers’ sight lines and allow for maximum light exposure with minimal glare and heat gain. light exposure with minimal glare and heat gain.
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WORK SAMPLES // MODEL MAKING // PHOTOGRAPHYSectionally, the strategy of marrying struc-ture with views and exposure to light is clear.
The building envelope stops short, offering an open, public connection to the existing hike and bike trail. The trail traffic and street traffic will be within eyesight of each other with the exception of during times of competition.
In plan the two buildings exhibit their unique character. Always present is the connection to the shared plaza of the competition pool, views to the outdoors, and relationship to the water.
WORK SAMPLES // MODEL MAKING // PHOTOGRAPHY
Exploring composition in model was strongly emphasized throughout this studio, and before long I found myself hoard-ing dozens of whimsical formal study models. The process was relentless, but rewarding. Each model was compelling in its own way, and the method of extracting what made each design potent became second nature.
With my pile of models came a tool-kit that I drew from during the rest of my semester. When it came time to implement the final scheme I had a set of components that made sense and were familiar to me.
The process of creating, and then learning something new from what I had just created, is what I consider to be one of the most rewarding aspects of design.
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The southern, lakeside elevation (above) shows the constrasting profiles of the street-grade leisure pool and its neighboring fac-eted, competition arena. The structural diagram (right) shows an early iteration of how the competition pool’s trusses meet its canopy.
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for Andersson Wise ArchitectsAustin, TX
WORK SAMPLES // MODEL MAKING // PHOTOGRAPHY
Bunny Run Residence: Site Model
Scale: 1/32” = 1’Dimensions: 40” x 24” x 32”Materials: Foam core, bass woodIteration 1: May/June 2012 (lead role)Iteration 2: October 2012 (final detailing)
WORK SAMPLES // MODEL MAKING // PHOTOGRAPHY
This model served as both a presentation and iterative study model of a sloped property along Lake Austin. The program features a main residence, guest house / home office, and multi-level boat dock.
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Bunny Run Residence: Guest “Tree House” Scale: 1/2” = 1’ Dimensions: 40” x 30” x 17”Materials: Foam core, bass wood, corkJune 2012
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The model was developed and refined over a period of four weeks as a design de-velopment tool. The building functions as a guest house to an adjacent main residence situated on a sloped site along Lake Austin. A space below contains a wine cellar and dining area that opens to the outdoors for entertaining.
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Canon EOS 450D
WORK SAMPLES // MODEL MAKING // PHOTOGRAPHY Ronchamp, France
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La TouretteLyon, France
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San Antonio, Texas
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Siena, Italy Pitigliano, Italy
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SANAA
Mona
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Marfa, Texas Ouro Preto, Brazil
Austin, TexasThe Vatican, Rome 48
Significant Software ExperienceRevit 2012 / 2013Vectorworks 2008Photoshop CS3 / CS5MS Office Suite
Construction Administration Field Work Topfer Theater at ZACH / Austin, TexasSt. Stephen’s Episcopal School Dining Hall / Austin, TXMaebius residence / Austin, Texas
PR / ASI / CD Set Assistance / Presentation DrawingsTopfer Theater at ZACH / Austin, TXSt. Stephen’s Episcopal School Dining Hall / Austin, TXBunny Run Residence / Austin, TXCowan Residence / Carmel, CA
Office Management / Project ManagementCoordinated purchase of four desktop computersCoordinated purchase of office external hard driveCoordinated and directed UT AIAS tour of AWA officesCoordinated submission of set for permitting at city
Continuing Education Seminars Kalwall Corporation Daylighting and Sustainable Design Program Number : KAL010 Education Credits: 1 AIA/CES Continuing Education Hour Health / Safety / Welfare / Sustainable Design Date of Program Completion: October 11, 2012
ABET, Inc. Rain Screen Principle Education Credits: 1 AIA/CES Continuing Education Hour Health / Safety / Welfare Date of Program Completion: July 26, 2012
Analog Modeling Experience Bunny Run Project: Guest “Tree House” Scale: 1/2” = 1’ Dimensions: 40” x 30” x 17” Materials: Foam core, bass wood, cork June 2012
Bunny Run Project: Site Model Scale: 1/32” = 1’ Dimensions: 40” x 24” x 32” Materials: Foam core, bass wood Iteration 1: May/June 2012 (lead role) Iteration 2: October 2012 (final detailing)
FAIA Submission Portfolio PreparationContent selection, printing / shipping coordinationArthur Andersson - FAIA submission portfolioPrimary Consultant: CYMK GroupAugust 2012
Professional Residency InternshipAndersson Wise Architects // Austin, TXMay - December 2012
W Austin Hotel + ResidencesAndersson Wise Architects // Austin, TX
Presentation PreparationAdvised content selection, directed presentation layoutLecture at 2012 TSA ConventionOctober 2012
PhotographyPhotography assistance / stand-inSt. Stephen’s Episcopal SchoolDormitory & Faculty ResidencePhotographer: Andrew Pogue PhotographyAugust 2012
PR / Marketing Direction / Publishing Coordination
Press (magazines) “Przychylnie Naturalnie” Swiat Rezydencji Wnetrz & Ogrodow (Poland) Featured project: Stone Creek Camp December 2012
“The Topfer Theatre at ZACH” Tribeza Featured Project: ZACH Theatre October 2012
Design Bureau (unreleased) Featured Projects: Cabin on Flathead Lake, Stone Creek Camp, Temple Ranch Submitted: July 2012
“Set the Scene” Garden Design Magazine Featured project: Collector’s House June 2012
Press (books) Hotels (working title, unreleased) Hi-Design International Publishing Featured Project: Block 21 + W Austin Hotel Submitted: November 2012
The Language of Hypermodern Architecture (unreleased) Publisher: Editions Parentheses Featured project: Stone Creek Camp Submitted: September 2012
HIDEOUTS (unreleased) Publisher: Gestalten Featured projects: Tower House, Flathead Lake Cabin Submitted: August 2012
The Stone Book (unreleased) Publisher: LOFT Featured project: Stone Creek Camp Submitted: June 2012
Online Brand Management Facebook content selection / brand management Facebook.com/anderssonwise May-December 2012
MARCH 2013AUSTIN, TEXAS // USA