A L E X A N D E R Z ATA R A I N PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORKS
A L E X A N D E R Z ATA R A I N
Portfolio of Selected Works
2011 - 2015
Education
Honors + Awards
University of Oregon Master of Landscape Architecture 2014
Merit Award, ASLA Oregon Chapter 2014
The Evergreen State College Bachelor of Fine Art 2009
Study Abroad Kyoto, Japan 2013
Uzbekistan & Kyrgyzstan 2009
Experience Designer Stemmler Design 2015 Layout Artist Sustainable Cities Initiative 2014 Graduate Research Assistant University of Oregon 2012 Intern Rick Mather Architects 2005
Betty Marie Laudahl Johnson Memorial Traveling Scholarship 2013 Dorothy Martone Scholarship 2012
Skills AutoCAD Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe InDesign Google Sketchup Microsoft Suite Hand Drafting Sketching Model building
FREMONT ST.
CURRENT WORK
WALLED POOL GARDEN
The bare concrete backyard of this North Portland home is reimagined as a versatile, beautiful garden that can comfortably accomodate a lively pool party or serve as a relaxing retreat. Surrounding the existing pool is a concrete seating wall providing flexible seating while also protecting the lush plantings from the clients’ dogs. Near the house a large trellis and vine covers a wooden deck and dining area. Custom pavers are inset into the deck in order to prevent wear and tear to the deck from the dogs running in and out of the house. My role at Stemmler Design ranges from sketches and conceptual design, design development, to the creation and presentation of compelling presentation drawings to the client. In addition to hand drawing, programs used on this project include Photoshop, Illustrator, and AutoCAD. RIGHT Schematic design LEFT Top: Existing wall Center/Bottom: Proposed wall treatments
CESAR E. CHAVEZ BLVD.
P ortland , OR | 2015 | S temmler D esign
LAW
Narrow path with stones
Existing wall
Groundcover between paving
Wood deck at grade with covered trellis
Concrete seating wall
Custom paving inserted into deck
Existing wall
WN HOUSE
POOL
Grill & custom counter
Hot tub
GARDEN GATEWAY SANJO KEIHAN STATION
K Yoto , J aPan | 2013 | P roF . r on l oVinger The concept is to revitalize the Sanjo-Keihan multi-modal station and to provide an exceptional public greenspace in the heart of Kyoto. This gateway to Japan’s “Garden City” is a place to gather, grab a bite to eat, enjoy a beverage or just watch people going to and from transit lines. The present station’s inward-looking shopping center is replaced with a new building at the eastern edge of the site. Its structure recalls the shape of an Ogi, or Japanese fan. The building overlooks a large reflecting pool whose waters cascade into an amphitheater below. The sound of the falls masks the busy traffic of the nearby boulevard. Japanese hydrangea softens the amphitheater’s hardscape. Cryptomeria and Japanese maples serve as vertical accents to the horizontal pathways that pass over the amphitheater and reflecting pond to the building.
To create the station’s pathway, lines are drawn from the center of the site to surrounding areas of interest. In this way the paths act as way-finding guides for travelers emerging from underground station, directing them toward notable sights and districts. The gently curving road serves as a transit center for several bus lines and is a unique feature in a city otherwise dominated by an unrelenting orthogonal grid.
CURVED BUS LANE
ICONIC STRUCTURE
The gently curving road behind the site serves as bus lane and is a unique feature in a city otherwise organized in an orthogonal grid.
The building recalls the shape of an Ogi, or Japanese fan and captures the activity and energy from the nearby intersection
shopping district
shrine
Kamo River
Gion district
WAYFINDING PATHWAYS The main circulation paths radiate outward, leading travelers emerging from the subway towards surrounding areas of interest.
VERTICAL CONNECTION A sunken amphitheater creates a vertical connection and active communication with the existing underground mall and subway.
existing underground mall
amphitheater
reecting pool
existing subway
mixed-use building
PUSH & PULL
KIMBALL AVENUE PARK
C hiC ago , il | 2011 | P roF . K enneth h elPhand Kimball Avenue Park is one of five parks along the Bloomingdale Trail, an abandoned elevated railway that is being transformed into a 2.7-mile linear park. The challenge: to provide ramp access to the Bloomingdale trail while also creating a welcoming street level park for the surrounding neighborhood. Rather than merely providing an access point, the ramp is designed to be a procession -- a series of choreographed experiences. First, the ramp gently curves around the park boundary, embracing a lower courtyard and fountain. Finally, a small earthen mound at the top obscures the view until the path wraps around it to reveal a unique, elevated perspective of the neighborhood. The shape of the ramp informs the site’s cross-section. The change in elevation is exaggerated by pushing a segment of the courtyard down to form a small pool with a fountain and by raising the upper lawn to form a grassy rise.
ON THE EDGE
BOOTH KELLY DISTRICT
S PringField , or | 2013 | P roF . i rene C UrUlli Located at the nexus of the Booth Kelly Natural Area and a proposed mixed-use development, Springfield’s back porch overlooks a vernal pool in the Natural Area. One of the primary design goals is to soften the edge between the built and natural environments, thereby increasing urban residents’ access to nature. A large1907 wooden deck overlooks the vernal pool while wooden boardwalks link the natural and urban areas. This design is a civic place for the public to relax, take lunch, or spend a quiet moment and move through. 1907
1936
1951
2012
The form of the deck is configured to reflect the historic circulation patterns and building footprints of the sawmill that used to occupy the site. The vernal pool references the historic log pond and is located where logs were pulled from the water into the debarker and sawmill. Plantings of Douglas fir around1936 the pool’s shore imagine a1951 new function 1907 homage to the timber industry that helped Springfi for the site while paying eld flourish.
1907
1936 HISTORIC CIRCULATION & BUILDING FOOTPRINTS
1907
1936
1951
1936
1907
1951
2012
2012
1951
1936 2012
1951
2012
PERSPECTIVE
DETAIL
MATERIALS AND PLANTING The site is located at the confluence of Springfield’s downtown, millrace, and nature park. This is reflected in weaving of disparate materials and planting styles. The planting and site materials work together to both honor the site’s past and emphasize the site’s new function as a transitory space and gateway from the cultural to the natural realm. Moving west to east, tree plantings transition from an allée to groves of trees and finally to natural clumps and groupings. The path transitions from concrete paving to wood to dirt trails, reflecting the movement from the urban to natural environment.
ALLÉE
CULTURAL URBAN
GROVE
NATURALISTIC
NATURAL ECOLOGIC AL
CULTURAL URBAN CONCRETE PAVERS Signify the urban realm. Dark color adds visual interest and demarcates pedestrian walkway.
CONCRETE PLANK PAVERS Long plank pavers reminiscent of the doug fir planks, serve as a transition between the urban and ecological realms.
DOUGLAS FIR Reflects the site’s past as a sawmill. The ‘natural’ wood boardwalk signals the conservation area. NATURAL ECOLOGIC AL
STACKED LUMBER BENCHES Rising seamlessly from the boardwalk, these benches constructed of stacked 3x6 lumber evoke memories of the site’s past use.
REIMAGINING PEDESTRIAN SPACE POP-UP PARKLET
e Ugene , or | 2014 | C itY
oF
e Ugene
This temporary parklet was designed for the City’s South Willamette ArtWalk in partnership with the City of Eugene and the bicycle shop Arriving By Bike. The parklet was sited in front of the popular bicycle shop. The shop owner requested a pleasing space for activities, such as bicycle repair, and small workshops, but one that did not obscure the storefront. The design-build team identified the need not only for a functional gathering place, but a more welcoming pedestrian space protected from the noisy traffic and summer sun. Built entirely from donated materials, the final design “pulls” the storefront out to the sidewalk, providing a refuge that also serves as display space. It is a unique landmark on an otherwise bland and auto-centric street.
strong vertical element serves as landmark & distinct signage shade awning display space “pulls� storefront to the street lush planting to soften the extensive hardscape
ABOVE Concept drawing RIGHT Before and After of project
gather
display
notice
REVEALING A TRASHED LANDSCAPE A warded
MASTER’S THESIS
the
ASLA O regon M erit A ward
The visualization of landscape – how landscapes are seen, imagined, and drawn – underlies all of design and planning. Through traditional research, as well as the creation of several art pieces, this project critically examines the way we visualize the landscape today through the prism of historic landscape paintings and design. It is an attempt to see around and behind the singular romanticized landscape image and proposes new ways that landscape design can critically engage and actively shape the society in which it functions.