3D Printing

I fell in love with 3D printing during my residency at TXRX Labs, so of course I had to get a 3D printer for my office! I chose the same model used at TXRX for years - the Prusa i3 mk2s. This printer is developed in Germany, it's open source and upgradeable with multi-material heads. Many of the printer parts are actually 3D printed pieces as well. I assembled the printer from a kit a parts (which took about 5 hours!) and the kind folks at Prusa were thoughtful enough to include a pack of gummy bears with the installation kit!

Fully Assembled!

Kit of Parts

Base Frame complete

Wiring Process

Calibrated!

Printing in progress

Sample prints

I'm excited about printing custom components for projects - custom cases for electronics and sensors, custom angle joints for the PVC frames in the Smart Garden, replacement parts for tools - the options are truly endless. Let me know if you would like to collaborate on any 3D printed projects!

Visiting the Salk Institute in La Jolla

Melissa and I just returned from a friend's wedding in San Diego, which was a great time to take a detour up to La Jolla and visit the Salk Institute. 

The Salk Institute was designed by Louis Kahn in 1960 for Jonas Salk, the developer of the first safe and effective polio vaccine. The goal of the project was to create a collaborative environment where researchers could explore and study potential treatments for a range of diseases. 

Visiting the Salk Institute

View of the Pacific Ocean

View of the restored teak

The Institute was wrapping up the restoration of the teak panels (see the black covered areas in the photo), but the experience was still incredible. I think that standing in the center court and gazing out to the horizon was one of the most powerful architectural environments I've experienced, and I encourage anyone who gets the chance to stop by and see it for themselves.

More information about the Salk Institute here.

Learning at TXRX Labs

The YAF DesignMake Residency is underway and I'm having a blast learning all sorts of new fabrication methods and technology. Here's an update of the latest activity:

MIG Welding & CNC Plasma Cutting
Working with steel. MIG Welding takes a bit of practice, but it's well worth the effort. Drawing custom shapes in CAD and then watching the CNC Plasma Cutter blast those intricate shapes out of steel plate has been my favorite experience so far!

Welding I

Learning the basics of MIG Welding

MIG Welding

Learning the basics of MIG Welding

Horizontal Band Saw

Using the horizontal band saw to cut through steel profiles

Sheet CAM Software

Learning software to drive the CNC Plasma Cutter

Plasma CNC

Watching the CNC cut custom profiles out of sheet steel

Steel Products

Preliminary components resulting from metal workshops

Woodworking
Spending time in the TXRX Woodshop and learning to use the following tools: Compound MIter Saw, Planer, Jointer, Tablesaw, Bandsaw, Sanders, Drill Press, & Router. The Woodworking I course teaches safe and efficient operation of these tools as you create your own cutting board.

Woodworking I

After cutting and gluing, Day 1 ends with everyone's boards drying overnight

Woodworking I

Future cutting board clamped and drying

Woodworking I

Finished Cutting Board after planing, cutting, drilling, routing, sanding, and finishing!

Woodworking I

Detail of the finished cutting board

Programming
Learning to code and program the Arduino and Raspberry Pi. The architectural applications for these devices and remote sensors are limitless, and I'm looking forward to integrating these components into future designs.

Intro to Arduino

Wiring Diagram

Intro to Arduino

Wiring up the breadboard

Arduino Programming

Connecting analog sensors - Temperature, Humidity, and Soil Moisture

Arduino Programming

Adding additional sensors - UV and Luminosity

Rasperry Pi Meetup

Presenting real time soil moisture readings

3D Printing
Learning how to operate the Prusa i3 mk2 FDM printer. Modeling complex geometry and then watching it materialize in real time is incredible!

3D Printing

Prusa i3 mk2 FDM printer with PLA filament

Slicer Software

Slicing the 3D model to create gcode - the language of 3D printers

3D Printing

Custom 3D models materializing

Designing and Building the Home Garden
Learning the basics of home gardening at Finca Tres Robles, a farm located in Houston's East Side just four miles from Houston's City Hall. They transformed a vacant 1.25 acre lot into a farm that is providing healthy and accessible herbs, fruits, and vegetables for the community.
Find out more about Finca Tres Robles here.

Registered through the TXRX Website

View of the Farm

Produce from the Farm!

Presenting at TXRX Labs

Last Friday, I presented my progress on the Smart Garden at the TXRX Labs Open House. I have learned so much at TXRX Labs and it was great to share my experience with the community. Excerpts from my presentation are contained below:

Visiting New Zealand

Melissa and I just returned from our honeymoon trip to New Zealand! We traveled across the north island with a company called Active Adventures, and our itinerary including hiking, biking, snorkeling, rafting, and learning about the culture and history of the country. The trip culminated with an all-day hike on the Tongariro Crossing - a 12-mile alpine hike with steep climbs that included views of smoking volcanic craters and vibrant sulfur pools. This was a grueling trek but we absolutely loved it!  We finished our hiking adventure with a visit to Hobbiton where we wandered around the Lord of the Rings movie set. We hope to return to New Zealand soon!

Hiking Cape Brett

Hiking Cape Brett

Hiking Cape Brett

Hole in the Rock

Mangawai Heads

Rainbow Mountain

Rainbow Mountain

Sulfur Pool below!

Rainbow Mountain

Tongariro Crossing

Mt Ngauruhoe - Also known as Mount Doom from the Lord of the Rings!

Red Crater

Red Crater

Emerald Lakes

Emerald Lakes

On our way to Blue Lake

Visiting the Shire!

Baggins Residence

Hobbiton

Selected for AIA Design-Make Residency

I'm excited to share that I have been selected for the AIA Houston Young Architects Forum Design-Make Residency! 

The AIA Houston Young Architect’s Forum Design‐Make Residency is an innovative program that bridges the gap between theoretical design and physical production. Throughout the program cycle, residents will develop their selected project and area of study, culminating in the production of object(s) to be displayed at Architecture Center Houston. The program provides support in the form of workshop space and access to tools via TXRX Labs, a non-profit maker space in the greater Houston area that offers courses and training.

My area of exploration is to focus on sustainable garden design and local food production for residential sites. Modular garden components, automated systems, including sensors and remote monitoring, will be part of my study. Given many surrounding areas best suited for food production are being lost to develop low density housing, investigating new prototypes for urban and suburban garden design has great importance for our sustainable future. 

Schematic Diagram of the connected smart home garden

Tools and Resources available at TXRX Labs

• More information about the YAF Residency program can be found here.
• More information about TXRX Labs maker-space can be found here.

Volunteering with Citizen Schools

I just finished leading a 10-week Architecture Apprentice Program with Citizen Schools and the AIA Houston Kids & Architecture Committee.  I enjoyed working alongside other architects as we taught the 6th grade students of Sugar Grove Academy Middle School about architecture and design thinking. The students learned to design their dream houses through sketching, floor plans, collages, and model building! The program culminated in an open house where the students presented what their new skills to the visiting parents and teachers. 

More information about Citizen Schools and the incredible work they are doing through their apprenticeship program can be found here. 

Married!

2016 has been quite a year, and I'm happy to share that on October 22, I married my beautiful wife Melissa in Kerrville, Texas!  Melissa and I met in middle school, dated in high school, and then we took a break for 10 years. One day, we found each other and fell in love again. The picture below is from our high school prom, and for some reason I thought growing my hair out then was a good idea. Here's to our next chapter!

Summer with Texas Lions Camp

I've just returned from two weeks in Kerrville, Texas where I took a break from architecture in order to volunteer with the medical staff for Texas Lions Camp. My fiancée and I served alongside 60+ medical volunteers and the countless other staff that run the camp operations for over 400 campers with Type 1 Diabetes. Our med staff responsibilities included educating campers about their diabetes management and checking the campers' blood sugar levels before each meal, during activities, at bedtime, and at midnight. This was a new experience for me (and in the beginning I was way out of my comfort zone!) but I had a great time working with some amazing people and I learned so much.

Med Team "D" (photo taken right before we began our nightly midnight blood sugar checks)

Nightly Med Staff Meeting in the Infirmary

2016 Medical Staff from all across the state. Many have volunteered for 5+ years!

Texas Lions Camp provides a summer camp experience at no charge to children with medical conditions (and they have been doing so since 1949!). Some of the activities include archery, horseback riding, swimming, ropes, and of course a camp out under the stars. The entire camp is fully accessible and staffed by some of the greatest people I've ever met.  Find out more about the camp here. 

Melissa and me at "Inspiration" camp ground - the highest elevation at camp

Back from Honduras!

I'm back from our mission trip to Honduras and I'm happy to report that we successfully drilled a new water well for a village in Lucia. The mission trip was organized through Sugar Creek Baptist Church and Living Water International, and it truly was an incredible experience!