Sam Wirth

Portfolio
Samuel R. Wirth

Wirthlots@gmail.com
 Table of Contents

International Projects
- Village Planning - Congo 3-4
- University Design - Rwanda 5-6

Residential Design/Build
- Design Build Project 7-8
- Pool Design Build 9-10
- Freelance Design 11-14

School Projects
- Photoshop Project 15
- Entrance Design 16
- Conservation Subdivision 17-18
- Urban Planning 19-20
- Architectural Poster 21
- Resort Pool Design 22
- Mixed Use Development 23-25
- Pencil and Sketch Up Concepts 26
- Urban Plaza/ Architectural Sections 27-28
- Study Models 29-30

Resume 32
Makana Village Project- Congo
On a trip to the Congo with Engineering Ministries Inter-
national in March 2008, I had the opportunity to work on
a multidisciplinary team of architects and engineers on a
village planning project in the Republic of the Congo.
The team surveyed the entire existing
village in order to locate which build-
ings would be removed from a road
right of way. The team also worked
towards trying to located a clean wa-
ter source for the village and design
new homes for the village. I helped to
develop and render the master plan
which we presented to the US Am-
bassador to the Congo for funding.

The article on the following page was

written by US Embassy personnel
and outlines the work we did while in
the Congo.
This is an article written by the US Embassy in Brazzaville
Congo. The pictures below were taken of the people in the
village we were working in.

4
University Project- Musanzee, Rwanda

While interning with Engineer-

ing Ministries International, I
had the opportunity to travel to
Rwanda to work on the design
for a University master plan and
building architecture. For this
project I assisted in the master
plan design and graphic presenta-
tions. I also spent time building
a sketch-up model of campus to
present in a “fly-through” movie
to Rwandan government officials
in our final presentation.
Pictured left- The design team reviewing
master plan concepts and meeting with the
client to review the program.

Below- Sketch Up models built and made

into a movie to convey the architectural
style and design. The design was presented
to the Presidential cabinet in Rwanda
through a video fly-through of the model.

http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=oKQTSR1OSf8

6
Carlton Residence- Roswell, GA

This project was a design build

project designed in collaboration
with and built by Integrity Land-
scape Group.

For this project I created several

sketch-up models of the pergola
structure to present to the client
showing different shapes and ma-
terials.

The pictures to the right are before,

during and after pictures of the
design build process.

The construction process of this

project was filmed for an episode
of HGTV.
Carlton Residence

The Carlton residence master plan,

designed in collaboration with
Integrity Landscape Group. This
rendering was created in AutoCad
and photoshop. This color render-
ing used to depict the overall design
intent during the filming of the
episode of “Ground Breakers” on
HGTV.

8
Pool Landscape Design-Roswell, GA
This residential pool and
landscape was designed
in collaboration with and
installed by Integrity Land-
scape Group and Masterpiece
Pools.

For this project I had the op-

portunity to create a concep-
tual planting plan (seen on
next page) to present to the
client as well as to observe
the construction process of
the pool and landscape.
Jacuzzi Fire pit

Pool
Arbor

Patio

Turf

10
Tummler Residence- Colorado Springs, CO

The Tummler residence was a de-

sign project that I took on myself
as a freelance design. This project
was located in Colorado Springs
CO.

One challenge I faced in this proj-

ect was coming up with a plant list
since many of the plants I would
normally specify in Georgia will
not thrive in Colorado. I was able
to take a trip to a local nursery to
select plants for this project.

The before and after pictures are

photoshoped photo montages
given to the client to help them
perceive the design as it would be
installed.
 The planting plan, deck and patio
design was created in AutoCad and
color rendered with photoshop.

Part of the project was to redesign

the deck and add a patio space
where a sun room would be torn
off the house.

I created a sketch up model for

the client to give them perspective
views of the proposed deck and
patio design (seen below).

MASTER PLAN

12
Chilivis Residence- Athens, GA

The Chilivis residence was a design

project that I took on myself as a
freelance design. This project was
located in Athens GA.

The client had restored 4 historic

cabins from the Athens GA area on
their private property as a vacation
home and asked for a landscape
design that was fitting with the
place and the historic character of
the structures.

The before and after pictures are

photoshop photo montages given
to the client to help them perceive
the design as it would be installed.
The planting plan, and patio space
design was created with a combi-
nation of hand graphic and Au-
toCAD and color rendered with
marker, colored pencil and pastel.

The scale and complexity of this

residential project required me to
go through extensive analysis. Some
of the process graphics, analysis
and schematic bubble diagrams can
be seen below.

14
Photomontage- Before/ After

This is a photoshop exercise

intended to create a concep-
tual idea of an installed land-
scape on a newly developed
home.

The before picture above and

the completed photomontage
to the right.
 School Entrance Design- Athens, GA

This project was for a planting design class. The goal was to design a planting plan for a local middle
school and draw an elevation of a proposed sign for the school. This drawing was hand rendered with 16
pen and pencil.
Conservation Subdivision- Athens, GA

For this class project we were

given a parcel of land and
instructed to develop it as a
conservation subdivision.

The drawings to the right are

the site analysis drawings.

The completed master plan of

the subdivision is on the follow-
ing page.

These were drawn in AutoCAD

and rendered with marker.
18
Urban Design- Atlanta Belt line Development

This project was an exercise in schematic massing and urban planning. The program called for a certain amount of residential, and com-
mercial square footage and a certain amount of open green space fit onto a designated site. This particular site was historically a lake
that had been drained so I chose to bring those water features back onto the site for storm water retention and for aesthetic benefits.
Town Planning- Covington, GA

TOWN SQUARE
COVINGTION, GA

Problem- Limited pedestrian access

causes town square to go unused and
unappreciated.

Solution- Remove 16 parking spaces

from around the square to make
room for raised pedestrian crossings.

Far left- Site analysis shows heavy

traffic and limited pedestrian access.

Top- Plan shows location of pro-

posed pedestrian crosswalks.

Bottom- Photoshop concept of

pedestrian crosswalk.

20
Architectural Style Poster

This project was a research and presentation on architectural styles. The goal of this project was to create a graphic
poster which mixed words and graphics that accurately described and reflected the style and era studied.
 Resort Pool Design

The Marbella Resort pool de-

sign program called for a pool
area of a certain square footage
while planning room for a min-
imum number of pool lounge
chairs on a site. I decided upon
a rectilinear pool design that
would mimic the shape and
form of the site that the pool
accommodated. This project
was rendered in photoshop.

Below is a bubble diagram,

which shows the ideal spatial
relationship between program
elements.

22
Sketched Pool Island Concept
Mixed Use Development

This is the master plan for

a large mixed used develop-
ment. This development con-
tains retail space, town homes
and 190 single family lots.

The following sheets detail

specific areas of this site
Single Family Residential

This sheet was a graphic exer-

cise representing examples of
single family lots and the poten-
tial for nice gardens in a small
back yard space.

The elevation below is a render-

ing to depict the architectural
character of the single family
homes.

24
Mixed Use Development

For this class project we were

given a parcel of land and in-
structed to develop it as a mixed
use development.

The program called for a certain

square footage of commercial/
retail, a certain number of town
homes and a certain number of
single family lots.

The drawings to the right are

concepts of what the commer-
cial area of the site would be
like.

The previous pages showed the

master plan and the conceptual
landscapes on the single family
residences.

These notions and concepts

were hand rendered with
marker.
Sketched Concepts

On the left are some sketched

concepts that I drew while in
the design development stages
of an urban plaza project which
required an entry gateway and a
pedestrian bridge. The related
project can be seen on the next
pages.

The rendered concepts of an

entry arch and arched pedes-
trian bridge were put together
from the pencil sketches.

26
Arch Plaza- UGA Campus

This project was to take a space on the UGA campus and make it into more of an urban plaza for large gatherings. The
driving forms are an abstraction of the historic UGA arch. Some design process graphics are featured to the left.
These sections were taken
through The Arch Plaza.

The goal of these sections is

to show the elevation changes
through the site as well as con-
vey the architectural character
of the surrounding buildings.

Given the historic location of

the plaza, I decided to keep the
facades of the buildings very
traditional.

28
Study Models

This is a cardboard study model

of an urban plaza space. These
are pictures taken of the study
model from the perspective of a
person in the space.

The image in the bottom right

corner was of a sketch up mod-
el built of the site and space.
The foam core model on the
left was built for a site engineer-
ing class to represent a finished
grading plan of the site.

The balsa wood model on

the right was built for a deck
construction class. The model
is built to represent wood deck
construction methods.

30
Samuel R Wirth :: Wirthlots@gmail.com

Objective- Seeking an entry level position in the practice of Landscape Architecture.

Skills and Qualifications
Experience working internationally on interdisciplinary design teams
Computer skills include AutoCAD, Microsoft Office, Adobe CS2, and Sketch-up
Exceptional digital and hand rendering techniques
Unique leadership abilities and experiences
Achievements
Over 225 days volunteered in 6 states and 3 countries since 2004
Sigma Lambda Alpha Honor Society Member
Recipient of the Neel Reid Travel Scholarship and Garden Club of Georgia Scholarship - 2008
Recipient of the Brooks E. Wigginton Scholarship - 2007
Twice Awarded “Top Five Design” in a Residential Design course - 2007
Awarded 1st Place in a team competition for urban plaza design hosted by Kimley - Horn Inc
- 1st Place of 10 teams in weekend design competition
Renderings and design work featured on HGTV “Ground Breakers” episode- 2007
Earned Eagle Scout – 2001
Landscape Design and Maintenance Experience
Wirthwhile Landscapes, Athens GA- 2007- present
-Freelance residential landscape designer
Engineering Ministries International, Colorado Springs CO - 2008
- Summer intern- Land planning and design projects in Republic of the Congo and Rwanda
Covington Metropolitan Studio, Covington GA -2008
- Urban and community planning
Integrity Landscape Group, Alpharetta GA - 2007
- Design intern
State Botanical Gardens, Athens GA - 2003-2005
- Grounds crew
Sam’s Lawn Service, Marietta GA- 2000-2003
- Owner and operator - Maintained 30 clients when sold in 2003
Additional Work and Leadership Experience Education-
Baptist Collegiate Ministry - 2003-2009 The University of Georgia, Athens GA-
- In leadership positions on 6 disaster relief and home repair trips. BLA Candidate with Horticulture minor- May 2009
- Organized and managed up to 60 students on work sites. Cumulative GPA- 3.3/4.0, Deans List
Mustard Seeds and Mountains, Northfork WV - 2006
- Summer home repair intern and team leader
University Housing, Athens GA- 2005-2006
- Resident Assistant
Kids Across America, Branson MO- 2005
- Camp Counselor for inner city teens 32
LoftsAway- Bed Loft Removal Service- Athens GA - 2003-2005
- Owner and operator- Managed detailed service schedule and four employees