Last Summer I had the opportunity to intern with PKA and we did a foundation inspection on the foundation elements for a triplex project in Central Austin. The foundation system for all three buildings consists of concrete, slabs-on-grade, with interior and exterior grade beams. We were there to review the layout and dimensions of the slabs and grade beams, and the reinforcing steel sizes and spacings within those elements.

This week, I had the privilege of volunteering at Community First’s Genesis Garden. Here, they grow fresh vegetables, fruits, and flowers that are offered for free at the farmers market, where neighbors can pick them up every Saturday morning. Some of the fresh produce includes okra, Armenian cucumbers, and marigolds!

Last Summer I had the opportunity to intern with PKA, and we did a framing inspection for a 2 story residential building’s superstructure located in North Austin. The framing generally consists of OSB roof decks supported by timber roof rafters spanning between timber beams and wall studs. The floor framing generally consists of plywood floor decks supported by timber floor trusses spanning between timber beams and wall studs. We were there to inspect and make sure that all t

This Saturday I volunteered with the farmers Market at Community First. The produce offered here is a combination of food grown through the genesis garden and donations from the food pantry. Typically neighbors line up for vegetables, fruit, and coffee in the front, herbs in the middle, and deserts and flowers at the end. It was so fun getting to know all the neighbors, and such a privilege to be able to serve with this community!

While I'm interning for Pickett, Kelm & Associates, I had to opportunity to visit a water treatment plant to review its existing condition so we could plan ahead for the future expansion of the water treatment plant. We took a look at how the plant processes the river water to potable water to service the homes in the city of Bee Cave. This is the clarifier, it cleans the river water by removing the large sediment from the river water. That is the pump building, it pumps t

I was listening to a Ted Talk from Thom Mayne about how architecture can connect us. Architecture is a collection of process, its a way of synthesizing how people see the world and the design substrates and generative inputs that are used to create it. Take this for example, The Domain in Austin, Texas is a perfect example of the convergence between architectural processess that reflect the urban paradigm of the city. There’s blends between structured layout and architectur

Around 3,500 people are homeless in Austin, Texas. This includes people in emergency shelters and transitional housing, as well as people sleeping on streets. Because of this, there have been many approaches made to bring an end to homelessness in the city. Of these is a village dedicated towards providing community and housing to the homeless, called, Community First. Community First was founded in 2004 by Alan Graham, who first started out providing free meals to the homel

The city of Pflugerville is building a new downtown center. Because of this, they need to also build a road crosses over Gilleland creek and goes through the downtown center, in order for this to happen, a vehicular bridge must be built. This summer I interned with Pickett, Kelm & Associates and had the opprutunity to make a pre-poor inspection of the bridge abutment backwall, to verify that the reinforcing steel within the backwall was installed in accordance with the const

Honeybees can prevent global warming. But right now, honey bees are disappearing left and right to the point where not even a dead body can be found. This phenomenon is called colony collapse, where the adult worker bees in a colony suddenly disappear, and leave behind the queen. This effect not only hurts the environment but is also detrimental to economic commodity, consequently leading to increased price of vegetables and fruits. This tiny factor completely reshapes urban

I was recently listening to a ted talk by Jeff Speck and he stated that there are only four necessities to make a city walkable. Comfort, reason, safety, and interest. And when I think back about my trip to Japan last summer, I realized that a lot of these concepts are present. In Japan, walking was my first choice, but in the suburbs of the United States it's not even an option. Comfort: Taken from my trip to Japan Everything is near anything, and that makes the walk from

Summer air, cicadas buzzing, hot stones, a thousand rolly pollies. I sit outside my cousin's driveway, the tip of my finger gently poking the shell of an armadillidiidae, its antennae flare, body retracting to shell in the split of a second. Small and curious, my five-year-old eyes wonder; it’s as if a mini hurricane spins through the bug with each rotation, rolling, rolling, boom, as it hits the garage door. Laying down on the heated concrete, watching the bug climb back up,