1. P O R T F O L I O
2 0 1 5
A C A D E M I C
h a v e l k a
2. A C A D E M I C P O R T F O L I O 2 0 1 5
Heather Leigh Havelka
3. HEATHER LEIGH HAVELKA
375 VT Route 100 Stockbridge, VT
05772
Email: hhavelka@email.arizona.edu
Cell: (203)-917-8007
OBJECTIVE: To obtain a federally
governed corporate position that
enriches and enhances outreach
services, which utilizes programs of education and
rehabilitation to design and construct urban and
residential housing under LEED guidelines, for indi-
viduals with moderate to severe disabilities.
EDUCATION
The University of Arizona, College of Education, Tuc-
son, AZ
Dual Bachelors of Science in Special Education and
Rehabilitation with Rehabilitation Emphasis, Decem-
ber 2013
GPA: Cumulative 2.35
Pima Community College, Tucson, AZ, December
2011- December 2013
Bachelors of Science in General Education
GPA: Cumulative 2.53
Norwalk Community College, Norwalk, CT, Septem-
ber 2010 - July 2013
Bachelors of Art in General Education
GPA: Cumulative 2.50
Norwich University, Northfield, VT, August 2009 - July
2010
Bachelors of Science in Architecture
GPA: Cumulative 3.73
Ridgefield High School, Ridgefield, CT
General Education with an Architecture and Engi-
neering Emphasis, June 2009
GPA: Cumulative 3.75
EXPERIENCE
Architect Assistant to Senior Principal during Intern-
ship, Trillium Architects, Norwalk, CT, January 2009
- July 2009
* Responsible for learning the business
* Assist with clients
* Answer phones
* Accurately file all documents
* Assist in creating condominium complex’s using
AutoCAD Architecture Software, Revit Architecture,
AutoSketch and SketchUp
Internship to Vice President, Westech International.,
Poughkeepsie , NY, August 2002 - October 2007
* Responsible for learning the business
* Assist answering phones
* Accurately file all documents
* Assist and learn blueprints
* Assist going into the field to learn how to maintain
co-worker productivity and efficiency
* Assist going into the field to learn material control
through exercising reconnaissance
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4. COMMUNITY SERVICE
Appalachian Service Project, West Virginia, June
2008 - June 2009
* Provided free accommodations for residents
* Engaged in demolition and rebuilding of interior
floor plans
* Engaged in stabilizing home foundations
* Engaged in roofing and building additions to pre-
standing homes
Hurricane Katrina Disaster Recovery Mission Trip,
Louisiana, December 2008
* Reestablished safety guideline certification to
homes in order to declare them as livable
* Engaged in repairing and replacing of exterior
home framework
* Engaged in stabilizing house foundations
* Engaged in building home add-ons for additional
space
TECHNICAL SKILLS
* Microsoft Office (Power Point, Outlook, Word, Ex-
cel, Publisher)
* Adobe Photoshop Lr, Adobe Photoshop CC, Ado-
be Photoshop Elements 12
* AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD, AutoCAD 360
* Revit Architecture, Revit LT
* SketchUp
* Autodesk Revit, AutoSketch 10
* Microstation
CONTENTS
Connection to the Stars 6-7
The Path 16-17
Journey’s Resolution 18-21
Indirect Connections 4
Inspiration in a Bottle 5
There is no Truth 12-15
Nature’s Edged Wave 8-11
3
5. Indirect Connections
This project’s intent was to acquaint the fledgling architect to the past. I approached
this project with the understanding of the human memory and how it affects psycho-educa-
tion. I then took the footprints and materials left behind in forgotten cities and incorporated
them into a design of ghostly images meant to have the viewer experience flashbulb memo-
ries (snapshots or emotional arousing) in order to understand the correlation between memory
and place; this signifies the use of the episodic and semantic memory which are the memories
of autobiographical events (time, places, associated emotions and other contextual knowl-
edge, structured recording of facts, meaning, concepts and knowledge about the exterior
world). I did this to show that forgotten cities and the art of them play an equal part in under-
standing that architecture is supposed to speak to us.
January 16th-20th 2012 (5days)
Connectionto
theStars
ThePathJourney’s
Resolution
Indirect
Connections
Inspirationina
Bottle
ThereisnoTruthNature’sEdged
Wave
4
6. Inspiration in a Bottle
This project was to have the nov-
ice architect learn how to turn simplicity,
normalcy and commonness into extraordi-
nary. I advanced into this project knowing
that the plastic bottle, seemingly insignifi-
cant in the study of architecture, had the
ability to enlighten better design theories. I
accomplished this concept by manipulat-
ing the plastic bottle through twisting and
crushing motions, turning it into a contem-
porary sculpture. I then emphasized the
new shape by displacing the clearness of
the bottle with a 2:1 part black solution,
which allowed illumination by either a nat-
ural or generic light, at various heights and
angles to change the bottles light and
shadow play (interiorly and exteriorly). This
unique change in space is supposed to
signify the ability to easily alter the experi-
ence one can have with architecture and
design; that despite the type of material
used to achieve a design theory, the most
important ele-
ments are the
sun, moon,
and seasonal
colorations
to turn an old
space into a
new one.
Connectionto
theStars
ThePathJourney’s
Resolution
Indirect
Connections
Inspirationina
Bottle
ThereisnoTruthNature’sEdged
Wave
September 19th- 30th 2011 (10days)
5
7. There is no TruthConnectionto
theStars
ThePathJourney’s
Resolution
Indirect
Connections
Inspirationina
Bottle
ThereisnoTruthNature’sEdged
Wave
The site that this project was conducted at was Old Main, the historical building of The
University of Arizona, built October 1st, 1891.The purpose of this project was to understand the
relevance of image placement in order for the viewer to have an individualized experience
by depicting a story. An individual’s own story with the building forms a personal relationship
with the textures, shapes and colors of the structure. Knowing that each person’s interpretation
is going to be different, making the experience no truer than it is false, my objective became
picking sections that where easily relatable to making one feel as if they were there. The reli-
ability is then in the angle one is viewing each section in, for the viewer will know that they are
looking up, down, straight or to the side and relate that to a thought. It is important for the
architect to want people to experience; therefore the architect is to be the middle man be-
tween a physical object and the imaginative one.
October 3rd-7th 2011 (5days)
6
11. With understanding
the concept that nature
and humans can coex-
ist I chose the Pascal’s
Triangle and the Sierpinski
Triangle, took the native
Barrel Cactus and Spiral
Aloe Polyphylla Cactus
of Arizona with a 4:3:1:2
sequence and 70/50
degree angles in their
needle clusters and ap-
plied it to the pieces to
construct a wave model.
This not only created the
building blocks for the
structure but also format-
ted the blueprints of each
piece to create a distinct
design. The overall model
mimicked natural proper-
ties of shape, shadow and
light normally seen in the
cactus and wave phe-
nomena.
Connectionto
theStars
ThePathJourney’s
Resolution
Indirect
Connections
Inspirationina
Bottle
ThereisnoTruthNature’sEdged
Wave
10
12. This structure is 1 entity but has viewers seeing 3 different types of environments that could accom-
modate to diverse kinds of people. The idea is that an architect is supposed to have their work accommo-
date the mass population, not just a singular community.
11
13. Connection to the StarsConnectionto
theStars
ThePathJourney’s
Resolution
Indirect
Connections
Inspirationina
Bottle
ThereisnoTruthNature’sEdged
Wave
As a fledgling architect I had been assigned to this project to learn how to find, then
change human pattern, which can be achieved by placing a common area in the center
of a busy walking site. The site that I had chosen for my structure was the courtyard between
2nd Street and Olive Road at The University of Arizona, where students had higher volumes of
interaction. Although the requirements
were to just create a structure to change
human flow, I designed mine to also ac-
commodate to outdoor classroom ses-
sions, personal study, and escaping from
Tucson’s seasonal temperature changes.
November 7th- November 18th 2011 (1st 1/2: 10 days)
November 28th - December 16th 2011 (2nd 1/2: 15 days)
12
15. Connectionto
theStars
ThePathJourney’s
Resolution
Indirect
Connections
Inspirationina
Bottle
ThereisnoTruthNature’sEdged
Wave
The interior section had
large steps for students to sit
during lectures and the exterior
room was a secluded single sit-
ting area. Having education in
mind, I kept the structure’s ten-
sion beams exposed. The ten-
sion beams were in a sequence
to connect to the constellations
in the hemisphere. At night, the
structure can still be used for an
enriched educational experi-
ence for astronomy enthusiasts,
scholars, or can be a way to
romantically impress your date,
but overall, it stimulates the
understanding of the universe.
To keep nature as an element
in each project, I also ensured
that the shadows the model
displayed throughout the day
resembled the surrounding foli-
age (the Olive Tree).
14
16. The modeling was constructed out of multiple materials. The site model was fabricated out of card-
board and each individual on the team took part in its construction. The structure presented was created
with 100% cotton at a 35 Lb weight, wood rods, and metal piping, cut down, and molded to the rods for a
natural reflection and fishing wire. Coverage of the model was at 30%.
15
17. The PathConnectionto
theStars
ThePathJourney’s
Resolution
Indirect
Connections
Inspirationina
Bottle
ThereisnoTruthNature’sEdged
Wave
The purpose of being an architect is to be able to
change with new confronting dynamics and each project is
supposed to have them. At the same time an architect is sup-
posed to build on what they have already done. This project is
a build on “The Connection’s to the Stars.” Taking the dimen-
sions of the covered section of the model previously con-
structed to make new objects to develop a new environment.
Structures were to be built in relation to each other to create
a direct path to follow upon visiting the site. You are construct-
ing how visitors are to enter, walk through, and exit the site,
so they see it in the way you intended it to be seen. I had my
project represent the Arizona canyons, mimic the coloration
of the desert when walking through the site, and resemble
the cactus by having the structure go underground suggest-
ing roots. Again this site complements the person’s exposure,
while protecting them from natural elements.
January 23rd - February 10th 2012 (15 days)
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19. Journey’s ResolutionConnectionto
theStars
ThePathJourney’s
Resolution
Indirect
Connections
Inspirationina
Bottle
ThereisnoTruthNature’sEdged
Wave
The final project for the as-
piring architect is to combine all
previous projects to form a single
model.
This portion of the project
analyzes the connections and
has one understand the size of
the beams in relation to a flash
drive as well as the angles found
within the structure to create a
fitted exterior shell. A diagram
of how to place these wooden
beams together is made so that
one can easily construct the
structure without supervision or in-
struction from the architect. Scal-
ing is another key lesson within
this exercise that the architect is
supposed to gain.
February 13th- March 9th 2012 (1st 1/2: 20 days)
March 26th - May 4th 2012 (2nd 1/2: 30 days)
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21. Connectionto
theStars
ThePathJourney’s
Resolution
Indirect
Connections
Inspirationina
Bottle
ThereisnoTruthNature’sEdged
Wave
Now we continue mov-
ing forward with constructing
the final piece by incorporating
human memory and place with
the Arizona’s Barrel and Spiral
Aloe Polyphylla Cactus ratios
found in the Pascal’s Triangle
and Sierpinski Triangle. We also
add into the equation an archi-
tect’s ability to manipulate en-
vironments to create a set path
or experience within a structure
to produce a story. Therefore
I made a model of a building
that is constantly changing. I
achieved this by the models
orientation facing East off a cliff
in the direction of the famous
Arizona sunrises and moonrises.
The openness of the structure
has the same percentage of
coverage as the previous model
“Connection to the Stars,” 30%,
so rooms are more defined by
light play that the open beam
structure manipulates as the
sun/moon rises and sets.
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23. Connectionto
theStars
ThePathJourney’s
Resolution
Indirect
Connections
Inspirationina
Bottle
ThereisnoTruthNature’sEdged
Wave
With this in mind the openness also has the coloration of the Arizona desert in each
room making a watercolor exhibit, leading to a calm and inviting environment. Having the
structure not take away from nature, but add to it, I kept the structures resemblance to the
Claret Cup Hedgehog Cactus and had the structure have a vertical wave flow, similar to that
of the horizontal wave in the project “Nature’s Edged Wave.” Simple aesthetics were used in
this model to not diminish the enrichment and perspective one would have within this set en-
vironment. This environment therefore because of its ability to change, accommodates to the
mass population, and creates a human/animal immigration relationship.
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25. Your heart is in your dreams and aspirations and transfers to your designs through your hand.
. The only challenge is finding one to believe in that heart and help it grow and prosper. Take a chance.
Believe.
26. P O R T F O L I O
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A C A D E M I C
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