ACADEMIC PROJECTS

Below are a culmination of previous academic projects which I completed throughout my time in The College of Architecture as an undergraduate student.

SUSTAINABILITY JOURNAL

As part of my Study Abroad Program, we focused on learning about sustainable practices used throughout Europe. One of the assignments for CARC 301 — Field studies in Design Innovation: Germany tasked us to create a Sustainability Journal which documented photos of individual places with unique and innovative sustainable practices which we encountered through our travels abroad. Each page of my sustainability journal outlines various locations throughout Europe which I had the privilege of visiting, each experience, its unique sustainable practices.

Learn more about my SUSTAINABILITY JOURNAL.

LE QUARTIER CENTRAL

In our CARC 331 class— Field studies in Design Philosophy: Germany, students were given a list of 8 different locations which used sustainable practices throughout Germany. Groups of 3 were then created and each group was to choose one location in which they wished to present upon. Together, my team of two other partners, and I chose Le Quartier Central. For this assignment we were required to visit the project and interview the main figure (developer) of the project. After the site visit and the interview, each group then created a 30-minute presentation over the development and conducted a 15-minute Q&A with our audience. Following the presentation, a compiled In design booklet was then created to provide additional support to the presentation and the project. Below you can view both the LE QUARTIER CENTRAL PRESENTATION and LE QUARTIER CENTRAL BOOKLET.

CENTURY TREE CENTRE

During my URPN 483: Studio in Urban and Regional Science, we were provided an already-existing area in College Station in which we had to create a mixed-use urban village with aspects of functionality, sustainability, and walkability. Century Tree Centre was previously known as the 42.02-acre Central Station Shopping District located within 2 miles from the Texas A&M University Campus. Century Tree Centre was the final project, for Four Urban Planning students: Sarah Bergman, Grace Henry, Breanna-Lynn Montalvo, and Spencer Solomon. Each team member collaboratively worked together over the course of roughly 9 weeks.

The project was split into three phases. The initial phase was roughly 2 weeks long and required a presentation of a site analysis and a case study. The site analysis included: visiting the site, data collection for the site and the surrounding area, communicating with local planners on zoning and the College Station ordinance, and a case study which included studying various urban developments similar to the site. The second phase was roughly 4 weeks long and included a final formal business presentation of the complete design for the Master plan. For the final master plan, the area was required to be fully developed and renamed. The presentation required sections, perspectives, as well as 3-D renderings of the site. Lastly, the third phase took roughly 3 weeks and included the final formal printed report.

Century Tree Centre was carefully designed to incorporate a space in which families and young adults can have a place within College Station, where they are able to work, live, shop, and play in one central location. The design encompasses the four main aspects of Urban Planning, which include: Economic, Social, Environmental, and Cultural factors. The team used the idea of aesthetically pleasing and sustainable development as their main focus while designing the site.

Century Tree Centre en-compasses the ideas of four very creative Urban Planning majors in order to employ multiple transportation options to and through the property, decrease overall auto-dependence for residents and visitors to the site, incorporate sustainable development strategies, and consider compact, mixed-use design strategies. Click the link to view our CENTURY TREE CENTRE development.

CITY OF IVANHOE, TEXAS: HOUSING

As part of our undergraduate Capstone class, URPN 493, we were tasked with a real-world case study, Ivanhoe, Texas. As part of this class, Urban Planning students were able to use their culmination of knowledge they attained during their time in the program. Our class made periodic trips to meet/speak with citizens & council members, analyze the city & its surroundings, and make adequate recommendations to attract visitors & growth. To understand the City of Ivanhoe, my team and I decided to analyze various housing situations within the town. As part of our project we reviewed and presented on the State of Community (SOC) report, gathered in-depth information on our specific topic, and created a S.W.O.T analysis over Ivanhoe.

After having done copious amounts of research, each group was tasked with presenting its findings, goals, objectives & strategies created for Ivanhoe, Texas. Pictured above is a photo which was taken after our group presented on Housing alternatives during a public City-Council hearing to Ivanhoe’s citizens, and council members.

View our group’s CITY OF IVANHOE poster.

THE PLANNING PAGES

“The Planning Pages” was the first of six projects assigned to the students in the URPN 483 studio design class. The purpose of the project was to study various regulations, zoning laws, ordinances, and policies of those normally set by Urban Planners themselves. Students were expected to photograph and/or locate photographs of 17 items normally found in city designs. After finding various photographs, students were expected to create a S.W.O.T analysis for each of the 17 items on the required list.

S.W.O.T stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & threats; the analysis also helps individuals properly assess an area or design. S.W.O.T analyses are done on an individual case basis and can help assess potential problems and solutions. I traveled through various cities around Texas in order to study the urban form of various locations throughout the state. “The Planning Pages” is a collection of photographs (mostly taken by me), along with analyses of each listed urban form which help to understand the designs which create or inhibit our quality of life in our communities.

Click the link to view THE PLANNING PAGES.