Projects
Projects, Designs, and Samples
Master's Thesis
The Impacts of Sustainable Development Policy on Facility Maintenance Management
Austin, TX | Primary Investigators: Dr. Katherine Lieberknecht, Dr. Bob Paterson, Marc Coudert | Aug 2023
AAM6485_MCRP_MSSD_thesis.pdfTruncated abstract: This paper discusses how maintenance at a municipal level is impacted by public mandates, policies and initiatives that address climate change mitigation or adaptation. The paper looks at Austin, Texas, as a case study to understand and analyze the effects that the municipal climate change related policies have on the ability of maintenance management to achieve their goals. Because maintenance is extremely important for sustainable building goals, this thesis looks to understand that connection. Results are that most of the success for sustainable building policy comes from the city staff working to connect ideas and people to achieve sustainable goals that they find important and ordinances from the city requiring city-owned properties to create sustainable building. However, new technologies without seeing the whole project maintenance, a continuing and common lack of communication and involvement of maintenance stakeholders in the design and implementation stage, and budgeting that requires catastrophic emergency systems to be most important hold back sustainable policies and initiatives from being as compatible with facility maintenance management than it could be.
Environmental Planning
East End Lagoon Master Plan
Austin, TX | Gulf Coast Design Lab | Dr. Coker | Jun - Aug 2022
MasterPlanPrelimAnalysisSlides_GulfCoastDesign_Summer22.pdfHalf of our studio created a Master Plan for the East End Lagoon project near the Houston Canal in Galveston, TX. We worked with the Galveston Park Board of Trustees, the City of Galveston and the Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council to produce a potential this plan for their restoration and some development of this highly natural area. My main contributions included writing and editing the vision and summary, extensively mapping ecosystems, creating a suitability analysis for camping conditions, and a case study analysis of types of glamping/primitive camping in similar ecosystem types in the SE. Those are pictured above. Including myself, all of our team worked on styling and placement of signage and trail developments with interactive/digital components. It was one of my favorite experiences in graduate school.
Ecology Action of Texas Entrance Sign Design
Austin, TX | Gulf Coast Design Lab | Dr. Coker | Jun - Aug 2022
I worked in a group of five other students, a mix of interior design, architecture, and planning masters students to create a new entrance for an ecology-focused non-profit in Montopolis, Austin called Ecology Action's Circle Acres. We worked directly with our stakeholder who ran the site, and visited frequently before creating our design. Because the site was originally an industrial dump site remediated for open natural parkspace, we got inspiration to mix the industrial material accents as well as blending into the natural landscape. Our class built the structures ourselves, using power tools, mixing concrete and a budgeting for materials we purchased ourselves. In addition to helping construct, I contributed with the official overhead sign design, new map, and input into the design itself.
Mini Comprehensive Plan for Dove Springs Neighborhood
Austin, TX |Sustainable Land Use Planning | Dr. Lieberknecht | Jan - May 2021
Dove Springs_EnvironmentalRe_MatthewsAudrey_AM2021.pdfPart of the final assignment was each student creating an analysis of a particular element in a hypothetical comprehensive plan for a particular neighborhood. My element was Environmental Resources and I chose to map, with ArcGIS Pro, floodplains, watersheds, urban heat, and park access as well as reading news articles of concerns of residents. My analysis includes a SWOT analysis of the priorities I brought to the group for the final assignment.
Dove Springs _ _ Matthews SwintonGinsberg Seung Skawin SLUP Future Land Use & Scenario Plan.pdfOur final future land use mapping project cumulated my group's vision statement and applied it to a Land Use Map in ArcGIS Urban. I contributed my environmental resource knowledge, much of the language for the GOP's, and organized formatting of the document.
Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA) Evaluation: Kennedy Space Center Mission to Mars Launch
Austin, TX |Environmental Impact Analysis | Dr. Paterson | Jan - May 2021
Matthews Audrey FEIS Mars Mission 2020.pdfFor our final project in this class, we were to evaluate a current or past EIA from the state or federal government. I chose a place close to my home in Florida, the Mars Mission Launch, part of the MEP program. Overall, this is a unique EIA that is one larger EIA for the MEP, with sub-EIA attached. The uniqueness of this was very interesting, but gave a thorough understanding of the parts of an EIA and public process. With this learning, I took my understanding of EIA and applied it to my work with the GLO in mini-EIAs for grant approvals.
City of Austin Adaptation Analysis
Austin, TX |Climate Adaptive Cities | Coudert | Aug - Dec 2022
Our class chose the most impending hazards facing Austin to analyze the current issues, history, and forecasts in order to make suggestions for the city. Our finished project was a website that both policy creators and residents could use to better understand each hazard, how it affects them, and what to do better. I personally formatted the website, contributed to content on the Drought section, and populated a chart for solutions.
Brownfield BFI Recycling Center Redesign Plan
Austin, TX |Brownfields| Dr. Paterson | May - Aug 2021
In a class surrounding the history, types, impacts and solutions to brownfields in the US, we were asked to "redevelop" an existing brownfield that was previously a recycling center next to a historically Latino/a and environmentally harmed neighborhood in Govalle. For my project, I suggested to lean into the uses currently and illegally utilized, BMX and skateboarding, and use the center as a piece of community vitality, with food trucks, a small stage, and not too much change to the existing landscape. Because of the location so close to a gentrifying neighborhood and a polluting highway, these uses seemed appropriate and not too expensive to change from what already existed.
BFI Site Audrey Matthews.pdfSustainable Design
Walnut Creek Library Sustainable Design Retrofit
Austin, TX |ARC: Sustainable Architecture and Design | Dr. Felkner | May 2023
SAD - Spring 2023 - Final Project - LWC Library Retrofit.pdfIn a group with two architecture students, an engineering student, and myself, we attempted to retrofit an existing public structure in Austin, the Northern Walnut Creek (Rundberg) Library to be more sustainable and integrated into the Rundberg community where it resides. My role was doing the sustainability analysis or Austin Energy Commissioning to see how to change existing fixtures, mechanical systems, and materials to create less of a water and energy impact on the community. While hypothetical, we took a site visit, spoke with library staff about previous renovations, and used existing facility guides from the City of Austin for data, analysis, and presentation. Our final project included replacing the roof and air conditioning units while expanding an overhang into the parking lot for outdoor patio use.
Air Quality Near Dumpsters Analysis
Austin, TX |CE: Air Quality, Aerosols and Public Health | Dr. Mitsztal | Aug - Dec 2022
My classmate and I wanted to understand the composition and volume of particles outside of apartment dumpsters around the campus housing near UT. We utilized a P-Track device and sampled air with vacuum canisters that we analyzed the composition of with the help of our Professor's Sniffer Lab, we were able to find that most concern from dumpster fumes is from personal hygiene product perfume VOCs, the effects of which are not totally clear yet. We were able to conclude the fumes from surrounding food trucks and apartment garages certainly posed a higher threat to human health.
LEED O+M Analysis: UF Lacrosse Locker Rooms
Gainesville, FL | LEED Lab | Jan - May 2019
University of Florida Lacrosse Locker Facility Lighting Team.pdfAt UF, Dr. Bahar Armighani had us do a full LEED credit report on O+M of the Women's Lacrosse Locker Room Facility, full with luminocity readings, CO2 monitors, and a full trash and recycling audit. Later, most of us took the LEED exam at the end of the semester.