FALL 2022 - ARC 401
DANIELLE MARIE BREYTON 03
SP 2021 - ARC 302
SP 2021 - FALL 2022 - ARC 410E/F
SP 2023 - ARC 498 CAPSTONE
Growing up in a small town east of San Francisco, I was exposed to amny different styles of architecture and design. From traveling into the city or North-East to Tahoe or south to Santa Cruz; I was continually exposed to city, mountain or beach style of architecture of home, buildings and landscape. Un-sure of what I wanted to do when I was older, I always knew it would revolve around some sort of design. As a young girl, when my mother would wake me up for school, she would find that my room had been completely rearranged from the time I went to bed. I would stay up until 2 a.m. changing the layout, rearranging the pictures on my walls or even sometimes painting my room a new color. Little did I know I was actually preparing myself for the late nights in studio. Fast forward a few years, I made the decision I didn’t want to attend college however my Dad suggested I apply to the University of Arizona. I thought about it and decided to give it the “ol’ college try”. After a year of being an undecided major, I met with the Architecture advisor after which I knew, architecture would be a great fit for me: it aligned with everything I loved to do. After many late night coffee runs, sleepless nights and a little blood, sweat and tears, I graduated with my Bachelor of Architecture May 2023 from the University of Arizona. With the skills I have gathered over the past 5 years I am confidently ready to enter the “work world” to bring new ideas, energy and collaboration to the people I work with.
Bachelors of Architecture Jan 2019 - May 2023
University of Arizona
Graduated May 13th of 2023
Student Profile Interview: https://capla.arizona.edu/profiles/2023/danielle-breyton
American Institute of Architecture Students
• Active Member
• 2019 - Current
Freedom by Design
• Active Member
• 2021 - Current
Onyx Creative
• March 2022 - March 2023
• Full & Part - time Architectural intern & Design Professional
• Worked on several projects in different software programs. Ranging from residential homes in the Tucson area to department stores located all over the U.S.
• Worked and collborated with other Onyx offices around the country.
• As part of the Design Build Program at the UA, we worked in teams to build 2 faculty homes which were 2 bedroom 1 bath. We designed and built everything; from the framing to the windows to the bathrooms and most importantly the kitchen. This program taught me the “real world challenges” of designing the building, building the building and all the while keeping the project within our finacial contraints.
PEER MENTOR 2018 - 2019
• Mentored incoming freshman at the UA, addressing many concerns they may have. Provided guidance and leadership for a pool of 25 students.
What was once a vast open desert is now a densely populated urban city.
It’s the year 2030 and design has changed massively over the years. Design solely revolves around the people and their connection to the site and the building and ‘Pockets of Peace’ does just that. With Pockets of Peace placed in the center of the site, visitors have a unique but equal travel distance and experience upon arrival to anywhere on the site. With entrances in all directions Pockets of Peace is easily accessible and inviting with its large clusters of vegetation through out the site. Once a visitor has reached the building, they are met with two structures that come together as one as you rise the second floor. Built primarily with hemp concrete and steel, this building stands tall with 5 stories tall with many different amenities. Pockets of Peace creates memorable experiences throughout the building, whether it’s grabbing a snack at the cafe or being on one of the many private/ public terraces admiring the views in all directions. Pockets of Peace was designed to create special moments for the visitor or even just the passerby-er; regardless of who experiences Pockets of Peace, it will be a memorable one.
V Viiew ew f ro rom so soututhh we wesst t couourt tr ya yard rd
The goal of this project is to have the building itself, be a work of art. After doing extensive research on the day of the dead and the murals through out the Tucson area, a perforated offset facade was designed to resemble common patterns seen in the day of the dead celebrations. This facade starts with small perforations at the bottom and they gradually become larger as the facade rises. The goal with having the perforations get larger, is to allow more light to enter the building as one travels upward. With this facade, one could consider the front of this building a mural itself. The beauty of this building can be appreciated from the exterior on 6th street, but also from inside, appreciating the shadows being cast on the inside floors. The viability of this building is shown through materiality and form. The program of this building is quite simple, it includes long and narrow hallways that make up two floors of the building. These long open spaces allow for them to be filled with historical, contemporary and local art to be displayed off to whomever visits this building. This building includes a fullsize kitchen with indoor and outdoor dining areas as well as a green roof that includes walking paths and relaxation areas.
Engineered Soil With Planting
Green/ Living Roof
Concrete/ Structural Support
Perforted Facade - 1/4” Thick
Steel Connection From Slab
Concrete Floor - 8” Thick
Concrete Footing
Detail Of Facade Connection To Slab
Detail Of Perforated Facade
Detail Of Stair & Ramp
Detail Of Stair Facing North
As a part of our architecture experience at the UA, we were separated into clusters to further our knowledge in a specific field. I chose the material matters cluster and within this cluster we were able to choose from different studios where I was selected to join Design Build. In this studio we got first hand experience on how to design and construct 2 homes, both 2 bedroom 1 bath. We were tasked with individual projects on the sites where we designed and built parts of the home. Design build gave me real life experience on how construction works, designing with fiscal constraints, solving problems as they arise all while gaining an appreciation for physical labor.
My first home, I was part of a two person team, tasked with designing and building the kitchen. For my second home, I tasked with designing and building a storage/ lounge nook in a wall. While the kitchen can be the soul for many homes, we designed in a manner in which the kitchen was the focal gathering area.
For my second home, I tasked with making use of a nook created by preframed structrual walls. Without being able to change the dimensions we were working with, we decided to create a warm and cozy yet useful nook inside the wall. With everyone always needing more storage we wanted to include cabinets as this wall indent is right off of the main living area. We included a seating area/ bench where one would be able to look out to the main living area and beyond through the floor to ceiling windows. When assembling everything we came across an issue of the wall being out of plumb and not square making our designed wood slats out of alignment. In the field we adpated our design to utilize the materials we already had cut and to make sure we did not waste any time or material.
For the introduction of our final year, we were tasked with identifying a specific biome and environmental issue located in Arizona. Looking at the characteristics of Arizona, I found I was most interested in areas of forestation. I chose to research the Coconino forest which surrounds Flagstaff, AZ. While researching the key elements of the Coconino Forest, I came across a web-page which informed me that Flagstaff has an abnormally large drug and alcohol problem which has lead to many hospitalizations and deaths. After learning more about this, I realized I wanted to design an in & out-patient rehabilitation center for Flagstaff in the Coconino Forest. I found an ideal site which was located off of the top of Lower Coconino Avenue, embedded in the edge of the forest. This site is set back far enough so that there won’t be outside influences of the city lights and noise but close enough for convenient travel to and from downtown. Once I had chose the overall area of my site, I started with an analysis to determine which exact location would be best fit for my program. Atop of the mountain I found a site that was level which worked well with my campus.
My research inspired me to really look at how to develop a campus which focused on mental health and wellbeing. I researched and visited local Arizona rehabilitation centers to understand what key elements of architecture play a role in helping patients heal. This research helped me find the soul of my project.
Discovering there are only in-patient rehabilitaion centers in Flagstaff, I wanted to design an in & out-patient center which allowed people to continue their everyday day lives if needed. Being located close to Northern Arizona University, I wanted to give the chance for students to attend Ponderosa Pathways while still being able to continue their education.
After doing extensive research on the benefiting factors natural wood has on the health of a person, I decided to construct Ponderosa Pathway completely out of Cross Laminated timber. CLT allows for many health benefits from being exposed to natural wood but also utilized the timbers which were cut down to make room for the campus. In addition to the CLT, floor to ceiling windows are in every room to increase sun exposure and allowing for even more wood exposure since you are embedded within the forest. The pathways to each building wind through-out the forest, cutting down as few trees as possible. These paths are exposed to the elements
Entry and Out-patient
and
Doctors & Private & Ground T
herapy
Doctors & Private & Ground Therapy
Recreational Building
Recreational
Reflection Room
Communal
Communal Building
Living Quarters
Living quarters - looking south
After completing my education at the University of Arizona, along with my experience from working at Onyx Creative I feel I am not only qualified but excited to put my knowledge to the test and collaborate with others.
I can best be reached via email, danielle.breyton@gmail.com or by phone (925)708-5532
I look forward to hearing from you, Thank you