40 YEARS OF
I M PAC T
Olmsted Woods at National Cathedral, Washington, DC
green stormwater infrastructure
1976
sustainable rating systems
policy
2017
landscape performance research
campus as public space
2017
2012 2012
landfill reclamation
landmark public landscapes
native plant communities
public - private partnerships
learning landscapes
2010 2001 2001
1990 1991
an–dro–POH–gone \ n: We know - it’s a mouthful. Andropogon is a scientific category for a group of common North American field grasses. Wherever land has been disturbed, Andropogon grasses are one of the first living things to emerge. They colonize the ground, build soil so other plants may join it, and provide self-sustaining cover for a gradual, successional return to forest. It’s more than just a name for us - it’s an idea. An ethos. An aspiration. It is the greatest of the many gifts given to us by our founders. And it continually inspires us.
Founding principal Colin Franklin’s sketches of the gradual successional return to forest
For over forty years, Andropogon has expanded the impact of landscape architecture through its ecological planning, research, and design.
In 1975, four students from the University of Pennsylvania—Carol Franklin, Colin Franklin, Leslie Sauer, and Rolf Sauer—founded a landscape architecture firm rooted in the ecological principles espoused by Ian McHarg. They named their firm Andropogon, after a pioneer species of field grass. Now led by principals José Almiñana, Yaki Miodovnik, and Thomas Amoroso, Andropogon continues to push the boundaries of truly regenerative design, to find solutions for complex environmental issues, and to improve the quality of life for our communities. These goals are demonstrated by our sustained commitment to ecological design at every scale and for every site.
WHO WE ARE
place first Our goal is to understand and express the essential character of a place. We tell the story of a site by learning what it was, understanding what it is, and realizing what it can become.
harmonize people and place If we can create a deep bond between a place and the community that supports it, we can guarantee its longterm success.
heal ecosystems Our core approach is to build dynamic, holistic systems and establish a healthy web of relationships.
high-performance landscapes Our work is best when we are solving tough problems
design principles we live by
that demand creative, linked, overlapping solutions.
economy of intervention We strive to develop the fittest and most efficient solutions that yield the greatest impact.
beauty is more than skin deep Our landscapes are not just beautiful; they are studied, measured, and optimized – their success is built on a foundation of data.
No landscape, no matter how derelict or developed, is untouched by natural processes.
We see every site intervention as an opportunity to improve ecological health by reestablishing and enhancing the processes necessary to sustain natural systems. These processes encompass the complex interrelationships between terrain, water, vegetation, fauna (including humans), and climate. Andropogon’s pioneering ecological planning and design work in parks and gardens outside the city now informs high-performance landscape design in the urban realm. Our work has shown how the landscape can positively impact the quality of life in our cities by promoting ecosystem services in all aspects of urban life.
ECOLOGICAL DESIGN
at ever y scale and for ever y site
FRESH KILLS LANDFILL Staten Island, New York 1990
how could we heal an urban landfill through ecological restoration? Before there was Fresh Kills Park, Andropogon worked with the City of New York to plan for the future of Fresh Kills Landfill after it was closed. Together, we established a path forward and helped the community to reimagine this waste landscape as something new. The re-design of the site into a park would come later, led by the talented team at James Corner Field Operations, but it was our job to first help set the ecological systems back on track. Working with the city, Andropogon developed a series of experiments to help identify cost-effective methods for establishing native habitat on a landfill without compromising the integrity of the cap that covers the buried waste. We found that the biggest challenges to landfill planting were erosion and moisture retention, which is also a common problem on agricultural sites. By re-tooling an existing agricultural technique of land-imprinting for grassland restoration, the landfill cap was retextured at a fine scale and simultaneously reseeded through the same machine. With this technique, we were able to design an effective management program for vegetation establishment and habitat creation, one that has since been used in many landfill restoration projects.
CROSBY ARBORETUM Picayune, Mississippi 1999
how could ecological processes transform derelict farmland into a biodiverse landscape? Our work at the Crosby Arboretum transformed derelict Before
farmland into a showcase of plant communities and habitats native to the Deep South. The entire site was designed to be an ecological educational exhibit, with each element revealing and expressing the patterns and processes of the place. It was the first arboretum to preserve, display, and interpret the native plant communities and habitats of the Piney Woods region of southern Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana. The regional biodiversity of savannas, wetlands, and woodlands was revealed through the dynamic interplay of fire, water, and people. The meadows of the savanna have been maintained through cycles of prescribed burning and regrowth. Crosby’s wetland
During Construction
habitats vary based on seasonal changes in water depth, temperature, and chemistry. The wet and dry woodlands have been managed as a successional landscape, expected to mature over the next 300 years into an increasingly diverse ecosystem. We continue to learn from this place and the dedicated arboretum staff who maintain the landscape. Crosby Arboretum remains an open narrative, providing lessons in how to rebuild ecologically-healthy landscapes using the richness of the place itself.
Prescribed Fire
After
KROC CORPS COMMUNITY CENTER Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2011
how could an industrial brownfield site support the health of a community? At the heart of many American cities, shuttered industrial sites riddle the urban fabric, leaving behind Before
contaminated soils and unemployment. The Kroc Corps Community Center serves as a beacon for how to transform these challenging urban areas with highquality facilities that are carefully designed to promote the health of the whole person, their community, and environment. Both programming and facilities were developed with a holistic approach to not just provide services, but to enrich lives; to not only reuse vacant land, but to heal it and make it productive. It shows that even neighborhoods with limited resources deserve the best design can offer. Using a comprehensive, sustainable landscape approach, our design dramatically transformed an abandoned, brownfield site into a dynamic community center set within an expansive, green oasis. The richly programmed landscape creates a hierarchy of activities arrayed around a central green. The landscape captures, filters, and reuses rainwater, restores native habitat, and supports urban agriculture. During construction, our zero-waste approach resulted in nearly all of the site’s existing pavements being recycled and reused on-site. Our work has demonstrated measurable ecosystem benefits that can be used as an example for the design and benchmarking of other urban brownfield redevelopments.
BARTRAM’S MILE
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2017 how could a post-industrial landscape reconnect a community to its river? Following decades of industrial development, decline, and then neglect, Philadelphia has begun to reclaim the brownfield sites along its rivers. We were eager to be part of this effort at Bartram’s Mile, a one-mile stretch of formerly industrial river frontage along the western banks of the Schuylkill in the Kingsessing neighborhood. The trail reconnects historic Bartram’s Gardens and the adjacent community with its riverfront. In the future, it will also serve as a gateway to a continuous, 130-mile long Schuylkill River Trail Network. Our work began with a rapid civic engagement and public planning process that brought together community representatives, as well as key stakeholders. Design involved the salvage and reuse of site elements, from remnants of industrial heritage to existing trees and shrubs. Our research department has launched a 3-year landscape performance study to investigate whether biochar can help establish meadows in degraded, post-industrial landscapes. We created three constructed berms that are uniformly seeded with a native meadow mix. Biochar was applied to two of the berms during construction, while the third functions as an experimental control. Our research will help us design better methods for restoring native ecology in these disturbed landscapes.
DANAOKE MOUNTAIN PARK Shenzhen, China 2018
how could ecological restoration influence design on a city-wide scale? Between the twin cities of Shenzhen and Hong Kong lies the Deep Bay region, an important node on the east Asian-Australasian birds migratory flyway. At the center of Shenzhen stands Danaoke Mountain. This critical, ecologically-rich landscape has changed dramatically during 50 years of unprecedented urban growth, which has ravaged the region’s natural resources and disrupted ecosystem function. The Danaoke Mountain Ecological Park plan seeks to transform the 5 hectares of degraded landscape into an environmental sanctuary, for both Shenzhen’s people and wildlife, by building on the fundamentals of place. The plan is inspired by the spirit of Shenzhen, which is known as the City of the P’eng bird, a large, sacred, mythical bird whose home is said to be on Danaoke Mountain. The plan weaves together the P’eng’s resilient spirit with the regenerative power of healthy, native ecologies. The goal is to craft a balance between the reestablishment of native habitats and the creation of an accessible, muchneeded, biophilic experience for the city’s community. The Park draws on the strengths of Shenzhen itself to develop a unique, place-based solution to improve health and wellbeing for this dense, degraded urban landscape through a process that can be a model for megacities in other regions.
We believe that transdisciplinary collaboration is essential for the development of a truly sustainable approach to landscape architecture.
We promote the blurring of boundaries between landscape architects and soil scientists, civil and water quality engineers, ecologists, agriculturists, arborists, geomorphologists, social scientists, architects, community builders, economists, and others. We have learned that the successful implementation of high-performance landscapes requires a truly integrative design process. Through partnering with forward-thinking academic and professional organizations, Andropogon tests new performance-based rating systems, researches how design impacts our environment, and advances proven sustainable design strategies. Andropogon’s transdisciplinary collaborations have given expression to the complex web of relationships knit together by natural processes.
TRANSDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIONS
MORRIS ARBORETUM Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1976
how could a parking lot support ecological health? In many ways, the Morris Arboretum is where it all began for us. It was here that we began integrating 2016
art and science at the scale of human experience to reveal our critical relationship with the environment.
31 = 1,000 million gallons of rainwater infiltrated to soil, not conveyed to sewer
neighbors’ lifetime supply of drinking water
Our design for a new parking lot at the Morris Arboretum carefully layered multiple functions: parking lot, stormwater infrastructure, and horticultural exhibit. We worked with civil engineers Meliora Environmental Design, who specialize in water resource management. Together, we developed new techniques for collecting and filtering water from the parking lot’s surface. The parking lot is an important demonstration exhibit for sustainable design and is engineered to model the natural cycle of stormwater. The lots are carefully integrated into the existing topography, curving to follow hilltop contours, which hides them from visitors in the gardens below. When it rains, water runs off the regular asphalt in the center aisle towards the porous asphalt parking bays on either side. The rain water rapidly percolates through the porous paving into an underground basin, where it slowly seeps into the ground. To maximize water collection, the parking area is designed as level terraces which also gives them an elegant visual quality. A central pathway that runs between the parking terraces is richly planted
regular asphalt 1990
porous asphalt
as a demonstration garden with species adapted to urban conditions.
SIDWELL FRIENDS SCHOOL Washington, DC 2006
how could a site’s water treatment system enhance the academic curriculum? Sidwell Friends School demanded innovative, outof-the-box thinking. They wanted more than a new school. They wanted a living laboratory that would grow with their kids. We love that we are still working with them today. The Sidwell Friends School courtyard was integral to the design of the new middle school building, where place-making was inspired by essential natural processes. It was envisioned as both an expression of the school’s values and a teaching tool for the science curriculum. We worked alongside architects, civil engineers, and ecologists to design a closedloop water system that treats the building’s black- and graywater. The wetland mimics the form of terraced rice paddies, following the site’s natural topography. The high-quality outflow from this system is reused for toilet flushing. Sidwell students and faculty have been monitoring the courtyard wetlands from the beginning. They have found that the operational and energy efficiency of this kind of wetlands-based system is very high compared to most conventional treatment systems. Each year, the site prevents 317,900 gallons of water from entering the DC sewer system. In addition, the wetlands create habitat for plants and animals. Sidwell’s science curriculum is tailored to this living laboratory, inviting students to be part of scientific research that can make the world a better place.
GATEWAY CENTER AT SUNY ESF Syracuse, New York 2013
how could a green roof sustain and promote regional biodiversity? The green roof at the SUNY ESF Gateway Center is a truly unique place. The 9,400-square foot, intensive green roof serves as an outdoor classroom and laboratory, giving faculty, students, and visitors unique access to rare, native New York plant communities. We worked extensively with horticulturalists, ecologists, and native plant nurseries to develop a planting scheme that highlighted two rare plant communities whose natural, harsh growing conditions are similar to that of a green roof. Together, we established a protocol for assessing the viability of native plants on green roofs that can be adapted to other regions, expanding the plant palette for green roofs on a national scale. We evaluated potential plant communities in test beds on a nearby roof, adjusting variables such as soil depth, water regimes, and wind controls, to see what worked best in this climate. This allowed us to adjust our planting plans and construction details to optimize plant health. Continued monitoring by the University is teaching us all how designing with native plant communities can impact our environment.
DREXEL UNIVERSITY
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2018 how could an urban campus promote ecological health? An urban campus can break through the city’s street grid, weaving pedestrian-friendly green spaces through the dense development and heavy traffic. These can be hardworking places that maximize ecosystem functions, such as stormwater management and biodiversity, while providing places for respite, connection, and collaboration. Our work at Drexel University began with a biophilic plan. We worked with the Drexel community and Goody Clancy architects to develop a master plan that created iconic new spaces, enlivened the streets, and established a more sustainable campus. Then we redesigned the heart of Drexel University as a web of woodland walks with diverse plant communities within a canopy of shade trees. We created gathering spaces to accommodate daily interactions with flexible seating and food trucks, as well as large scale celebrations. At the main quadrangle, we were able to decrease the impervious cover by 96 percent through a combination of porous paving, planting areas, and a new central green space. The site will reduce the urban heat island effect and support biodiversity, providing important environmental benefits for the University City neighborhood.
GEORGIA TECH LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE + ECOCOMMONS Atlanta, Georgia 2018
how could our sites be truly regenerative, giving back more than they take? The Living Building Challenge is inspiring owners and designers to create regenerative, net-positive places that give back more than they take. Studies have shown that protecting natural areas is not enough. In addition, we must take a critical look at where we develop and how we manage our landscapes. We’ve been working with Georgia Tech to advance a regenerative approach to development through our work on The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design and the adjacent Eco-Commons. By designing to meet the stringent, net-positive standards of the Living Building Challenge, the University hopes to create a living laboratory where both the university and urban community can learn, through first-hand experience, how innovative water, energy, and food management solutions within the built environment can contribute to health and wellbeing. Andropogon’s design for the two projects seamlessly integrate the landscape with the architecture in order to meet the requirements to be net-positive for water, energy, and waste. The building and site work together to maximize performance of both.
We advocate for progressive policies that treat water as an invaluable natural resource.
From the beginning, our work has pursued the development of innovative water management strategies as an integral component of our sustainable planning and site design. In recent years, we have seen how evidence-based design with proven performance can impact water policy. Andropogon has embraced the integrated, transdisciplinary One-Water resource management approach to site design with the goal of breaking down barriers to the implementation of new site development strategies.
COMPREHENSIVE WATER MANAGEMENT POLICY
STAPLETON TODAY Image courtesy of Forest City Development
STAPLETON AIRPORT REDEVELOPMENT MASTER PLAN Denver,Colorado 1996
how could the restoration of the natural water cycle inform a large-scale redevelopment? In the mid-1990s, we were asked by the Stapleton Redevelopment Foundation and the City of Denver to develop a plan for a sustainable mixed use community on the site of the former Stapleton Airport. Our goal was to establish an expansive system of natural drainage on the site that mimicked the original drainage patterns, while also supporting an active, healthy, residential community. A natural drainage system inspired the creation of a large open-space network that threads through the entire community. The restored drainage system reconnects to an existing creek while addressing remediation requirements. The restored creeks, floodplains, and wetlands manage stormwater management, control flooding, and provide native habitat, as well as serve as the recreational and park system for the community. Our proposed 1,600-acre system was flexible and integrated golf courses, bike paths, trails, and several distinct park types, from natural open space to active community centers. Working closely with local ecologists, we provided the Stapleton Foundation with a manual that detailed the restoration and stormwater management strategies for each proposed natural environment, as well as for the golf course and the city park. This was a transformational approach to redeveloping brownfield sites, organized around the restoration of natural hydrological function.
LUBERT PLAZA
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2008 how could public spaces improve the performance of urban infrastructure? Our hometown of Philadelphia, like many older cities, drains rainwater and wastewater into a single, overburdened, combined sewer system. Our work at Lubert Plaza foreshadowed the city’s groundbreaking Green City Clean Waters program, which emphasizes green infrastructure as a critical way to lighten the load on the municipal sewer system. Lubert Plaza proved that dynamic public space could also demonstrate impressive stormwater management functions in Philadelphia. Lubert Plaza functions as the new “heart of campus” at Thomas Jefferson University, welcoming students, faculty, and the community to take a break from the urban grid. The plaza accommodates academic events and ceremonies, as well as provides respite for the broader community with its cafe, public art, and diverse, shady seating areas. In an effort to reduce the burden on the municipal sewer system, we increased the pervious surface area to increase evapotranspiration and allow rainwater to infiltrate the site. We also designed methods to capture condensation from the neighboring building’s air conditioning system and rainwater from the building’s roof. We collected this water in an underground cistern beneath the plaza and reused the water to irrigate the site. This dramatically reduces the amount of run-off that enters the city’s sewer system from this site each year.
SHOEMAKER GREEN
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2012 could we measure how well urban green space provides ecosystem services? Shoemaker Green unfurls like a green carpet, welcoming you into the University of Pennsylvania’s iconic athletic precinct. But that deceptively simple campus green is also an urban work-horse. It manages an impressive amount of rain water, supports native plant and animal habitats, and accommodates gatherings large and small, while seamlessly providing universal access throughout the park. We know that Shoemaker Green works because of an interdisciplinary, 3-year, postoccupancy research and monitoring project. Shoemaker Green is designed like a large bathtub, where evapotranspiration and irrigation reuse is VEGETATION
critical. A sand storage bed, rain garden, and 20,000 gallon cistern, along with tree trenches, planting beds, and various other conveyance systems, route nearly every drop of water on the site—including air-
HARDSCAPE
conditioning condensate—through a matrix of plants and soil and to the cistern for irrigation. , Quantitative data from site-embedded data loggers proved that this integrated green stormwater infrastructure system can manage at least three
STORMWATER SYSTEM
times more stormwater runoff than the engineering models predicted. Also, it proved that native floodplain species and un-compacted turf are stormwater workhorses. It is our hope that this research will influence future stormwater policy to emphasize the significant role of plants and soils.
EXCAVATION
CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPES
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 2012
how could our designs advocate for net-positive environmental policy? The Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL) was a dream project for us: a steeply-sloped and degraded site, a visionary client, an amazing design team, and a challenge to build and certify the greenest project possible. This 24,350-square-foot net-positive water and energy facility demonstrates a new design paradigm in which building and landscape systems are functionally interdependent. The CSL is uniquely positioned to showcase restorative landscape strategies and advocate for ecologically-based water treatment systems. The building-site systems are revealed to express the benefits of sensitively orchestrated human occupancy within the natural environment. The CSL building and site functions as net-positive water, with all rainfall and sanitary waste treated on site, through soil- and vegetation-based systems, including green roofs, rain gardens, bioswales, a lagoon, pervious asphalt, and high-performance native landscapes. All of the CSL building wastewater is treated on site using integrated settling tanks, constructed wetlands set within a formal lagoon, and sand and UV filters prior to reuse as flush water within the building’s restrooms. Excess, treated sanitary water is used for site landscape irrigation, thus maximizing the reuse of all the water within the project site and reconnecting the hydrological cycle.
MOORHEAD ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLEX Avondale, Pennsylvania 2012
how could our work advance a one-water approach? Working with the experts at the Stroud Water Research Center on their Moorhead Environmental Complex was an enriching experience. We also hope that it will be a productive collaboration for advancing a one-water approach to water management. The Center wanted their new education and research building to reflect their pioneering research in protecting our freshwater streams and rivers. They asked the design team to incorporate an integrated, one-water management approach. This approach recognizes that all water, whether stormwater, wastewater, or freshwater, has value and should be managed as a critical resource that provides an essential service. Andropogon, teamed with M2 Architecture, designed the site as an outdoor classroom where the landscape mimics the earth’s natural hydrological cycle. The Complex makes the abstract design concepts tangible for visitors and students, while also gathering data regarding rainwater capture and decentralized wastewater management, with the ultimate objective of promoting policy changes at the state-level in Pennsylvania. At the Complex, rainwater is collected, treated, and monitored for water quality in order to reuse it as potable water and for research experiments. Over time, through proven performance, this innovative landscape could impact future development throughout the state and beyond.
We are committed to sharing our knowledge with the next generation through publications and teaching.
Today this commitment is formalized in the Integrative Research Department, which rigorously measures the performance of its past and present landscape interventions. The team actively engages in original research that spans the physical and social sciences, often in collaboration with academic researchers. Their work informs future projects and is disseminated through a variety of communications. Through these activities, we continue to help clients and designers understand, quantify, and verify the benefits derived from the ecosystem services provided by healthy, high-performance landscapes.
DIALOGUE, STANDARDS, WRITING, AND RESEARCH
LOANTAKA BROOK RESERVATION Morristown, New Jersey 1986, revisited 2013
what could we learn by revisiting our past work? When a new pipeline was approved to cut through the Loantaka Brook Reservation, we were asked to help restore the landscape after installation. Instead, we developed new demolition and construction processes to minimize the site disturbance during construction. Our goal was help the forest recover more quickly post-construction. The project focused on four critical modifications: (1) realigning the pipeline route to target previously affected areas within the reservation; (2) limiting the construction zone width from a typical 75-100 feet to only 35 feet on average; (3) minimizing habitat disturbance during construction; and (4) conserving soil structure and plant communities by leaving the topsoil in place within the construction zone and removing and then reinstalling thick blocks of the upper soil layers and vegetation above the trench. We returned to Loantaka in 2013 to understand how well these strategies worked 30 years later. We assessed biodiversity and soil health in areas within the construction zone, and those that were undisturbed. We found that the diversity of the native understory plant communities and soil compaction levels were very similar in both disturbed and undisturbed zones. The Loantaka Brook Reservation case study demonstrates how simple, cost effective changes during construction can protect natural resources while installing infrastructure.
“SEA AND SURVIVAL” 50 YEARS LATER Long Beach Island, New Jersey 2018
how could we raise awareness of coastal resiliency in impacted communities? The 50-year anniversary of Ian McHarg’s chapter, “Sea and Survival” from his seminal work Design with Nature, inspired us to revisit the conditions on Long Beach Island. The Long Beach Island Foundation’s exhibition offered us a chance to reach out to the local community and explore how the relationship between humans and this dynamic landscape functions today. Long Beach Island is an 18-mile long barrier island off the coast of New Jersey, facing the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and forming Barnegat Bay with the mainland to the west. With the growth of Jersey Shore tourism and permanent population in the twentieth century, beach erosion has become a growing concern. As we face the rising seas of climate change, Long Beach Islanders will need to rethink their relationship with their environment. As we contemplated a healthier future for Long Beach Island, we were inspired by the Long Beach Island Foundation’s role within the community as a steward of both Art and Science. As water levels begin to rise and our current littoral edge is disrupted, we will need to restructure and reimagine our relationship to Barnegat Bay. This process requires careful ecological planning and creative approaches that engage the community.
UNITED STATES BOTANIC GARDEN Washington, DC 2017
how do we communicate the importance of sustainable landscapes to the public? As advocates for sustainable landscapes, we couldn’t ask for a better platform than Bartholdi Park, a 2-acre park at the foot of our nation’s Capitol that is managed by the U.S. Botanic Garden. Working closely with experts at the botanic garden, we redesigned the park to showcase accessible, sustainable gardening strategies. The U.S. Botanic Garden further committed to certifying their new park under the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES), which provides a rating system to guide sustainable land development. The redesign of Bartholdi Park follows SITES guidelines to achieve an integrated design that positively impacts local climate, vegetation, healthy soils, water management, and sustainable gardening practices. The design creates synergistic solutions, and builds dynamic, holistic systems that are interpreted for the urban home gardener. The goal is to inspire visitors with the beauty of the site and to share sustainable strategies and knowledge with each visitor. The project was recently certified as SITES Gold.
SITE COMMISSIONING WHITE PAPER SITE COMMISSIONING WHITE PAPER U.S. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION PUBLIC BUILDINGS SERVICE U.S. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ARCHITECT PUBLIC BUILDINGS SERVICE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ARCHITECT JULY 2017
SITE COMMISSIONING WHITE PAPER U.S. General Services Administration 2017
how could we expand the verification of landscape performance nation-wide? Achieving resilience in the built environment requires a paradigm shift in how we view land development.
What does this document recommend? Front-end investment in high-quality facility planning, design, and construction, to achieve long-lasting facilities with reduced, long-term operational and replacement expenditures, improved worker productivity, and lower risk for liability and insurance claims.
We believe that site commissioning is the next
Adopt an inclusive project development process (in which owner, designer, contractor, site manager, and commissioning agent work collaboratively) beginning during the planning / pre-design phase, to establish owner’s triple bottom line benefits, craft performance goals, enhance team integration, and ensure buy-in.
frontier in sustainable, high-performance landscape
Leverage ecosystem services by designing and managing site systems that further performance goals (e.g. habitat biodiversity and resilience), while recognizing that the performance of one system may affect the measurable performance of another.
design.
Launch a 3-year pilot program, inclusive of diverse facility types and geographies, to test and fine-tune GSA’s site commissioning process. Split site maintenance into two phases: “early-stage management“ to accommodate intensive care during plant establishment (years 0-2 after construction), followed by less intensive “long-term management.” Finance the former with the facility’s capital budget and the latter with the operational budget.
Commissioning is a process in which performance
Anticipate performance trajectories to factor predictable changes in dynamic, living systems over time, particularly when integrated building / site systems drive a facility’s operational performance.
goals are established, then measured, and verified
Create an agency-wide information feedback loop that manages risk by improving GSA’s land development and management processes, given the agency’s build-to-own model.
over time. It has become an increasingly common
Confirm true costs and benefits associated with site commissioning’s added development and operations costs, and the agency’s tangible and intangible benefits at the facility and regional scale.
practice for sustainable building design, but the
Embrace a long-term outlook that accommodates fiscal fluctuation; climatic variability; programmatic flexibility, assessment, and adaption; and the time associated with creating an industry.
GSA’s Site Commissioning White Paper, proudly produced by Andropogon, is the first paper to discuss Image credit: D. Nystedt photographer, Andropogon Associates
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land development model in which practitioners can
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assesses the feasibility, and then details a strategy,
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and major redevelopment. The Site Commissioning
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White Paper uniquely demonstrates how landscape
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architects can help shape policy nation-wide as advocates for a more resilient built environment.
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commissioning as it might apply to sites. The white paper proposes a path towards a new
MONITORING FREQUENCY* Only during construction
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ASSESSMENT METRICS
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* = Frequencies recommended by Working Groups to gain basic performance data that balances cost, accuracy + usefulness
44
landscape architecture
master planning
Site Analysis
Program Analysis and Development
Site & Landscape Design
Mixed-use & Residential Development
Landscape Management
Institutional Visioning and Development
Permit and Regulatory Preparation
Stormwater Management
Construction Documentation & Observation
Ecological Restoration
Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse
Brownfield Redevelopment Funding Strategies
regional planning Environmental & Land Use Planning
research
Environmental Assessment
Post Occupancy Evaluations and Case Studies
Feasibility Studies
Environmental Monitoring
Natural Resource Management
Soil Biology Analysis
Open Space and Trail Systems
Social Monitoring
Community Planning and Facilitation
Experimental Design Monitoring Protocols
certification strategies
Adaptive Landscape Management Programs
SITES AP, LEED AP, Living Building Challenge
Public Outreach and Presentations
Site Selection
Grant Writing and Technical Writing
Environmental Assessment Site Planning & Design Stormwater Management Brownfield Redevelopment
MORE FIRM INFORMATION ser vices
AS L A L A N D S C A P E ARCHITECTURE
FIRM AWARD - 2018 2018 ASLA HONOR AWARD in Analysis and Planning
2016 AIA COTE TOP TEN AWARD from the AIA
for Shield Ranch Master Plan
Committee on the Environment for the J. Craig Venter
2018 SARA NY DESIGN AWARD from the Society of
Institute, with ZGF Architects
American Registered Architects - NY Council, with
2016 SCUP MERIT AWARD for Excellence in Planning
Cannon Architects
for an Existing Campus from the Society for College and
2018 EXCELLENCE IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION
University Planning for the Temple University Health
from the Preservation League of New York State for the
Sciences Campus Framework Plan, with Payette
Richardson Olmsted Complex, with Flynn Battaglia and
2016 LAND ETHICS AWARD OF MERIT from Bowman’s
Deborah Berke Partners
Hill Wildflower Preserve for the green roof at the SUNY
2017 ROUSE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE from the
ESF Gateway Center, with Architerra, Inc.
Urban Land Institute Philadelphia for Bartram’s Mile
2015 GROUNDBREAKER AWARD FINALIST from the
2016 GSA DESIGN AWARD from the U.S. General
Delaware Valley Green Building Council for Lower Venice
Service Administration for the United States Coast
Island Recreation Center, with Buell Kratzer Powell
Guard Headquarters, with Perkins + Will
2015 SCUP MERIT AWARD for Excellence in Architecture
2016 ASLA HONOR AWARD in the Research Category
for Building Additions from the Society for College and
for Shoemaker Green at the University of Pennsylvania 2016 AIA COTE TOP TEN AWARD from AIA Committee on the Environment for the Center for Sustainable Landscapes at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, with The Design Alliance
University Planning for Kline Fitness and Squash Center at Dickinson College with Cannon Design 2015 PRESERVATION AWARD from the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office for Duke Farms, with VITETTA
recent awards
2014 HONOR AWARD from the AIA NY Committee on
2014 AIA COTE Top Ten AWARD from AIA Committee
the Environment for the Kohler Environmental Center
on the Environment for the SUNY ESF Gateway Center,
at Choate Rosemary Hall, with Robert A.M. Stern
with Architerra, Inc.
Architects
2014 HONOR AWARD in General Design from the Tri-
2014 HONOR AWARD from AIA Philadelphia for
State ASLA for the Clemson University ICAR Technology
the Karabots Pavilion at the Franklin Institute, with
Neighborhood 1 Plaza, with Seamon Whiteside
SaylorGregg Architects, now a Studio of JacobsWyper
2014 SCUP MERIT AWARD for Excellence in Landscape
2014 ASLA HONOR AWARD in the General Design
Architecture-General Design from the Society for
Category for Shoemaker Green at the University of
College and University Planning for Shoemaker Green
Pennsylvania
at the University of Pennsylvania
2014 GROUNDBREAKER AWARD FINALIST from the
2014 MERIT AWARD in General Design from ASLA NY
Delaware Valley Green Building Council for Shoemaker
for the SUNY ESF Gateway Center Green Roof, with
Green at the University of Pennsylvania
Architerra
2014 AIA NYS AWARDS including a Design Award
2013 SUSTAINABLE DESIGN AWARD from the Boston
Citation and an Excelsior Award for Public Architecture
Society of Architects for the SUNY ESF Gateway Center,
for the SUNY ESF Gateway Center, with Architerra, Inc.
with Architerra
2014 HONOR AWARD for Excellence in Architecture
2013 SPEAS AIRPORT AWARD from the American
for a New Building from the Society for College and
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics for innovative
University Planning/AIA-CAE for the SUNY ESF
stormwater management at Chattanooga Metropolitan
Gateway Center, with Architerra, Inc.
Airport, with ARCADIS
10 shurs lane philadelphia, pa 19127 215 487 0700
706 mountford ave raleigh, nc 27603 919 800 0523
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