1. Dana Blaschko
Master of Architecture
University of Texas at Austin
December 2009
Bachelor of Science in Design
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
May 2007

3. Dana Blaschko
McDonald Observatory Hotel and Support Facility
Mount Locke, TX
University of Texas at Austin
Spring 2009
Partner: Erin Stark
The McDonald Observatory is one of the premier astronomical
observatories in the world, with scientists traveling far for time with
the 82 inch telescope. The facility is in need of new hotel and
support facilities. This design is situated to take advantage of
the views into the Davis mountain range. The hotel structure is a
dual-cantilevered steel truss in which the rooms are housed.
5/8” PARTICLE BOARD
PLASTER FINISH
2” FURRING STRIPS
BIRCH DIMENSIONAL LUMBER
PAINTED STEEL SLIDING DOOR
SLIDING WINDOW
STEEL CABLE RAILING
2” POLISHED CONCRETE TOPPING
4“ RIGID THERMAL INSULATION R=16
6” CONCRETE SLAB
CORRUGATED METAL DECKING
2’ 9” DEEP WATER BASIN
1” METAL LINING

5. Dana Blaschko
McDonald Observatory Hotel and Support Facility
Mount Locke, TX
University of Texas at Austin
Spring 2009
Partner: Erin Stark
A full 26 page drawing set was created for this project, includ-
ing construction details, HVAC and plumbing plans, interior room
details and elevations, and a complete interior finish schedule.

7. Dana Blaschko

9. Dana Blaschko
Caldwell County Courthouse
Lockhart, Texas
University of Texas at Austin
Fall 2008
When most Texas county courthouses were built, around 1900,
these monumental structures not only served their governmen-
tal function but also as venues for social interaction and even
entertainment, with trials being widely attended. However, these
courthouses no longer serve that function. As such they should
not monopolize the central square without making the provision of
those social services a priority.

10. Caldwell County Courthouse
Lockhart, Texas
University of Texas at Austin
Fall 2008
In my design, the courthouse facilities are submerged underground, opening up a plaza
above to support social functions: community parades and festivals, the local farmer’s
market, wedding receptions in the covered courtyard and public movie nights.
Connection of the two planes occurs through the light wells by which natural daylight
is brought into each courtroom, the central courtyard covered by a cantilevered canopy
and the change in ground plane based upon the height of the spaces below. The
plaza is programed to support specific civic functions ensuring community use.

11. Dana Blaschko

13. Dana Blaschko

15. Dana Blaschko
Media Cabinet
Wood Design
University of Texas at Austin
Fall 2008
I designed and built this cabinet of solid Texas pecan wood. The
piece is 5 feet 6 inches long and 17 inches tall. It is constructed
of through mortise-and-tenon joints pegged with aluminum dowels.
I planed each of the boards used in construction to a thickness of
5/8 inch. The darker heartwood of the pecan creates interesting
variation within each plane of the piece.

17. Dana Blaschko
Media Cabinet
Wood Design
University of Texas at Austin
Fall 2008
Entertainment centers typically are designed as dual compartment
pieces of furniture. These designs are poorly suited to modern
theater equipment. The three bay design better serves this
equipment configuration by providing a centralized bay. It also
features three drawers which are hidden by a single face place;
this creates a uniform front facade for the piece.

19. Dana Blaschko
House for an Amateur Astronomer
Mount Locke, TX
University of Texas at Austin
Spring 2009
Partner: Erin Stark
This house is naturally ventilated and is situated to optimize
astronomical viewing area. This structure has minimal interior
space and emphasizes the use of outdoor living spaces. The steel
telescope shelter is retractable and moves by way of rails on
either side of the house to open up the viewing platform.

21. Dana Blaschko
“Diver”
Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
University of Texas at Austin - Study Abroad
Fall 2009
The diver’s body represents perfection in human proportion and
musculature as well as the quality of grace. I chose this subject
so that I could explore the human form and try to capture that
element of graceful movement.

23. Dana Blaschko
“Diver”
Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
University of Texas at Austin - Study Abroad
Fall 2009
This piece was created through the lost wax casting process. It
was first created in clay, then cast in wax, where finer details
were sculpted and finally cast in bronze.

24. Competition entry: Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum and Library Addition
Bloomfield Hills, MI
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Spring 2007
The concept behind this design was to create an underground structure which through
the undulation of its elements would create an altered ground plane. This will make
users the above Saarinen museum and library aware of the addition without marring
the impression given by that designer’s work.

25. Dana Blaschko

27. Dana Blaschko
Competition entry: Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum and Library
Addition
Bloomfield Hills, MI
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Spring 2007
The tubes ask the viewer to walk over them and experience a man-
made topography which stands a sharp contrast to the naturalism
of the nearby woods. The museum tubes are lined with fiberglass
shells which serve to house and light the art.

29. Dana Blaschko
Bus Stop
Lincoln, NE
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Fall 2006
This bus stop was designed for a nondescript site in Lincoln, NE.
My design goal was to create a simple structure with minimal
design moves that should support all functions of a bus stop: shade,
shelter, and seating. The slot in the roof helps to provide sun and
water to the grass planting in the bus stop bench. It also serves to
make the interaction between the sun and the shelter more dynamic.
This design was part of a class wide design competition at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This design won class choice.

30. Alternative Education Elementary School
Austin, TX
University of Texas at Austin
Spring 2008
Based upon psychologist Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences, this al-
ternative education elementary school portrays both the conventional aspects of the
educational process retained in the theory and the innovative changes. This system
is based upon group learning and teaching so that students learn from each other as
much as the instructor guides them. The glass web of the inner facade creates spaces
to foster student interaction and serves as a reminder that this school is different and
that each of the different types of intelligence a person can have is equal.

31. Dana Blaschko

33. Dana Blaschko
Architecture Hall Addition
Lincoln, NE
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Fall 2005
The most striking thing about an architecture school is that it is
occupied and people are moving throughout the space at all hours
of the day. I wanted to use my design to highlight and display
this movement of people. This linear building pushes all of the
circulation to the atrium space. Movement can be observed at all
levels of the building from this central vertical space. The lighting
scheme reinforces the circulation paths and aids in the display of
the movement of people.

35. Dana Blaschko
Market Canopy
Lincoln, NE
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Spring 2005
For this design I took inspiration from the structure of central-pivot
irrigation systems to re-think the conventional space frame structural
concept. This canopy provides shade and shelter from rain and
snow for the farmer’s market it hosts.