AJ PetersPortfolio 2012-2014

AJ Peters

Email:ajpetersemail@gmail.com

Phone:(703)-945-3344

Address:11801 Triple Crown Rd.

Reston, VA 20191

EducationMajor: B.S. of ArchitectureMinor: Global SustainabilityUniversity of VirginiaCharlottesville, VA 22903

August 2011 - May 2015

ExperienceUVa in Vicenza University of Virginia School of Architecture Developing freehand drawing and composition techniques.

May 2014 - June 2014

UVa Sustainable Europe in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland University of Virginia Urban and Environmental Planning, Virginia Tech Furthering my education in Global Sustainability.

June 2013 - July 2013

Internship Hill Studio, Roanoke, Va Architecture Intern Construction document and design conceptualization work.

May 2013 - August 2013

AwardsUVa School of Architecture Rivanna Vortex CompetitionFaculty Award

Skills

January 2013

3D Modelling Rhinocerous v4 + v5 Grasshopper Bongo Autocad Revit SketchupVisualization Adobe CS6 Illustrator Photoshop Indesign VRay MaxwellOther Hand Drafting Sketching Model Making 3D PrintingLanguages English (Native) Spanish (Proficient) German (Elementary) Italian (Elementary)

Downtown RevivalLynchburg, VAArch 2010 Fall 2012

Pre-Intervention Analysis

Intervention

The semester's final goal was to create an intervention in downtown Lynchburg, Va. By studying the flows of the town and the relative densities of commercial and social traffic we narrowed the prime sites down to a few in the CBD. My intervention is placed on the site of an abandoned parking lot. While we had to intervene, the site's original function had to be maintained. From this came my idea to create a rooftop performance venue, with parking below, and commercial space at the bottom.

Mass Housing InstallationCharlottesville, VAArch 2020 Spring 2013

Pre-Installation Experimentation

Installation

My second semester of studio was driven by my choice of Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation as my mass housing precedent early on. Initially the studios were councilled to break down the precedents into their pieces and reassemble them to emphasize the modularity mass housing so often needs. By the midpoint of the semester I had settled on a

similar unit geometry to the Unite, but with a drastic internal redesign, and a radically different movement strategy.

We, as beings with perceptive faculties, perceive objects. We sense them, and acknowledge their existence.

In the act of perceiving these things, we, and other life forms with similar faculties, lend a life to these objects. We make them into things.

But without our perception these things return to being objects, and lose whatever life-like qualities they may have.

As well, these perceptive faculties are unique to life forms with functioning senses.

Accepting this, our perceptive abilities that lend these objects life also serve to acknowledge our place as an exception, reinforcing the divide.

The Politics of ThingsCharlottesville, VAArch 3010 Fall 2013

The Power of the Thing

This studio began as more of a thought exercise than any previous studio of mine. We were tasked with learning of the power of things in human life. The thing that I based my work on was the earth, and the geological, biological record of history it holds. Early on I studied the local geology, constructing an exhibit displaying samples and facsimiles of the earth's record. Later, my design tapped into the beauty of the record by cutting deep into the earth by my installation. The installation itself was intended for use by the University Student Council, including offices, meeting, and cafe spaces.

N

1/16” = 1’

Installation

MonsterWashington, DCArch 3020, Spring 2014

Finding the Monster

This, the second iteration of the Monster design studio, focused on the boundaries between public and private spaces. Beginning with a breakdown of public and private spaces in precedent structures. Then, using Grasshopper generated patterns, those spaces were layered and categorized abstractly. In my project the gradient became clear between public and

private spaces, creating an ascending pattern. Moving to the final site in Washington, DC, I began work on the monster itself. The globulous structure contains a series of walkways that act as both the pathways to the residential aggregation, and as a roaming pattern library. The library, I think, is integral to the idea of the transition from public to private. A quiet buffer between the lower commercial spaces, and the private residences above.

Monster Installation

Design DevelopmentCharlottesville, VaArch 4010, Fall 2014

Working the Stone

The Design Development studio was the most restrictive studio I've been in yet. On day one I chose the material I would have to use for 98.5% of my structure, stone masonry. Within the restrictions of what my material was capable of, and the site conditions of an imaginary acre in Charlottesville, I designed a temple to the four elements: Fire, Water, Earth, And Air. Each room, structure and substructure, is designed to play up each element's unique qualities.

Temple of the Elements

27'

31'-4"

23'

2'

10'14'

7'-4"7'

24'23'-10"23'-8"

4'3'-4"

2'-8"

3'

3'

31'-4"

29'-6"30'-2"

30'-6"

27'26'-2"

25'-10"25'-2"

29'-4"

25'24'

8'2'

2'

12'

8'