Spend a Day in Kansas City with El Dorado's Caitlyn Biffle

Caitlyn is a recent graduate of Auburn University where she received her Bachelor of Architecture. For her fifth-year thesis, she participated in Rural Studio where she worked alongside three teammates on a design-build project completing a partially-built Moundville Community Pavilion in Moundville, AL. She recently joined El Dorado — an integrated architecture, urban design, curatorial, education and fabrication practice — as a designer and has had a hand in a variety of projects including affordable housing projects for the Brightmoor neighborhood in Detroit and the Highlander neighborhood in Omaha, NE. Currently, Caitlyn is working on the design and fabrication of a trellis system for Overland Park's InterUrban Arthouse.

6:00am: I am a morning person so I always like to get up early, although I can occasionally be lazy and lay in bed while playing on my phone for a little bit. The first thing I always do though is make my pour-over coffee. I like to sip on this while I read. After that, I try and squeeze in some exercise. Depending on if it is nice outside, I will take a walk around a local park or do pilates in my living room.

Sketching out massing ideas. Photographed by Teddy Walters.

7:30am: After getting ready and having breakfast of avocado toast and a fried egg, I head out the door. It is a ten, maybe fifteen, minute drive to El Dorado from my house, which is the perfect amount of time to listen to Up First with NPR to catch up on what is happening in the world.

8:30am: I typically arrive at work around 8:30. I start the day by checking my email and seeing what I might have missed from the Portland office the day before since they’re in Pacific Time and Kansas City is in Central Time.

9:00am: On this particular day, I started my morning working on a new multi-family housing and townhome project in Lenexa, KS. This project is currently in the Permit Development phase, therefore, we’re working on massing and construction possibilities. For this project, we’ve considered using prefabricated modules to streamline the building process. Having never worked with prefabricated modules, I spent the morning researching and sketching out how this construction type could inform the design and articulation of the facade. This process helps me get out any initial thoughts and ideas before implementing them into digital massing diagrams to share with the team.

12:00pm: Around noon, I take my lunch break. I typically eat some leftovers and then call my mom while taking a walk around the Crossroads, the artist district near downtown Kansas City that El Dorado calls home. This helps me get some fresh air while also seeing what is happening in the neighborhood!

Measuring drill holes for fabrication. Photographed by Teddy Walters.

12:45pm: After my walk, the early afternoon slump starts to hit. To boost myself up, I make a hot cup of black tea with honey. On this particular day, I was scheduled to work on a small fabrication project that I have been on for almost a year now. The project is a new shade structure for the non-profit organization InterUrban ArtHouse in Overland Park, KS and will allow them to be able to host outdoor activities comfortably in the summer heat. One of the reasons I was drawn to El Dorado as a young designer was the opportunity to continue to “learn by doing” in their steel shop. This philosophy is important to me because it helps me understand the practicality of what I draw as an architect. This project has been a great way to learn how to detail, fabricate, and weld a steel structure. In the early afternoon, I cleaned up Shop Drawings and printed them out on large 24x36 sheets to use in El Dorado’s steel shop on the first floor of the office.

2:30pm: Now and then I will have an afternoon meeting, either with a client or an internal office call. On this day, I met with the multi-family housing team to go over what we had accomplished since our previous client meeting and discuss the next steps. This was a great way for everyone to collaborate together!

Drilling and cutting with Teddy in the Shop. Photographed by Derik Eckhardt.

3:30pm: Afterward, I changed into my shop clothes and headed downstairs to the shop. We recently received the materials to start fabricating the shade structure so I began the process of prepping the material for welding. My co-worker Teddy and I started cutting the material to size, drilling fastener holes, and grinding the areas where we will later weld. For me, this is the best way to end the day. When the weather is nice we roll up the garage door to let in the fresh breeze and sunshine! Around 5:15 I will start cleaning up and put away any leftover materials. After changing back into office clothes and checking my email one last time, I start heading home.

5:30pm: Depending on the night, I will either eat leftovers or start working on dinner. I love to cook because it is a time to focus on one task and de-stress from the day. I have always had a hard time coming up with recipes to use so, I recently decided to challenge myself to cook through the cookbooks on my shelf. Currently, I have been working through Molly Baz’s More is More cookbook, I highly recommend it!

7:30pm: After dinner, I either head to the Kansas City Ballet for a ballet class or I will relax and watch TV for a little bit. I then clean up the kitchen and make some sleepy-time tea which cools while I get ready for bed.

10:30pm: I try to stay off my phone once I am in bed and so I like to read a mystery or fantasy book before dozing off to sleep.