ADRIAN Y. SUZUKI
234 South Figueroa Street, #1639 Los Angeles, CA 90012 (626) 375-4137
design portfolio 2009 - 2012 PARKS AND PUBLIC SPACES
FRONT COVER Keeler Beach California, Sketches and Observations (VARIOUS) 3” x 5” Ink on paper Instructor Alexander Robinson, Principal, Office of Outdoor Research
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Hoover2 : Re-design of recreational public space for inner-city youth PAGE 1 City Currents : An urban park designed to accommodate large, outdoor city events
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Keeler Beach, CA : Topographical design of a salt-water alluvial plane, set within the California High Sierras Legacy Park Los Angeles : Re-design of a cultural landmark proclaiming America’s victory in the war of 1846
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design portfolio 2009 - 2012 PARKS AND PUBLIC SPACES
HOOVER
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The intersection of Hoover Street and Jefferson Boulevard within the Los Angeles inner-city street grid forms a rectangular parcel that is owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles, Department of Recreation and Parks. The site serves as a recreational facility for after-school programming, such as: arts and crafts, performance arts, in-door and out-door sports. The site serves approximately 1,600 neighborhood children year-round, and serves as one-of-a-few open spaces within the surrounding community. Programming of exterior spaces are defined by 1 playground space for toddlers and young children, 1.5 basketball courts, 7 picnic spaces, with Barbeque-pits, and 1 sports lawn that is seasonally utilized for U10-Adult Soccer.
The parti diagram above illustrates the daily solar, and wind patterns; points of access; lines of sight; and programmed activity nodes.
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Overuse of the programmed spaces informed the need to multiply the service provided by the recreational facility, while maintaining secure open-space for age-specific programming, sports recreation, and interior, performances spaces.
The drawing above illustrates a north-to-south section of Jefferson Boulevard, a 16’ sidewalk, 24’ transitional space, 18’ picnic space, and a custom trellis-system.
As a response to site issues of over-crowding and wasted spaces, the design scheme segments the parcel into portions that allow for the increase in programmed space for the toddler-through-U10 soccer user group category. The design provides additional office-space; 1 additional U10 Soccer court; 1 additional play-yard space; and 0.5 additional basketball courts. The proposed site design provides twice the amount of user activity-space and serves an exponential amount of after-school programming. With the additional security required for sports-fields, the design scheme includes a net-like structure that is designed to serve multiple purposes; such as: an enclosure for the sports ball, a shade structure for surrounding spaces, and a trelllis-system for decorative landscaping. The rigid roof-forms are informed by the sharp angles caused by the site’s triangular shape, and over-hang projections are strategically located to shade anticipated gathering spaces.
ADRIAN Y. SUZUKI
234 South Figueroa Street, #1639 Los Angeles, CA 90012 (626) 375-4137
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CITY CURRENTS : an urban event park
The Cornfield Park is home to the Zanja Madre, or the Mother-Well, for the indigenous people of Los Angeles. Current site conditions are defined by its prior use as a rail yard, its current uses as a state-owned recreational space, and it’s preservation as a historic cultural landmark. The park has been re-mediated through the process of cultivating the soil with crops of corn, which has invigorated interest in the site as a destination for urban dwellers. The park’s restoration process as a cornfield served as a visual contrast against the surrounding industrial land-uses, and inspired the design to also provide the opportunity for visual contrast within the urban realm.
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The site is located along the Whittier Narrows Blind Thrust Fault; which raised the question of how to design within a dangerous landscape; or landscapes that may be prone to natural disaster.
GIS mapping and historic accounts of regional flooding informed the site’s need to remain clear of permanent structures and heavy development, while providing access to the natural environment.
DANGEROUS LANDSCAPES can be defined as segments of the landscape that may be prone to natural disaster; such as the proximity of this site to an active earthquake fault. With this inspiration, a focus was brought to convection currents; the cause of earthquakes, wind-patterns, and global ocean-current patterns. CONVECTION CURRENTS can essentially be defined as the rise and fall of heat - such as that in a boiling pot of spaghetti noodles. A sectional cut through a convection current resembles a sectionelevation, and a plan-view resembles a radial pattern, centered on the single hottest point. The rise and fall pattern found within convection currents helped define the vertical dimensions of the site design, and introduced the notion of creating a spectrum of site temperature experiences, further defined by responsive programming. The sport of Hot-Air Ballooning was an instant programme choice for reflecting the essence of convection currents. And provides for the desired visual contrast against the surrounding industrial, urbanized land-uses.
ADRIAN Y. SUZUKI
234 South Figueroa Street, #1639 Los Angeles, CA 90012 (626) 375-4137
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CITY CURRENTS : an urban event park
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CITY CURRENTS : an urban event park CONVECTION CURRENTS served as an inspiration for the physical nature of the park design. By discovering the elements that define convection currents - the design interprets the rise and fall of heat metaphorically in the form of the rise and fall of activity. ACTIVITY CAPS were imagined over the CITY CURRENTS as an attempt to define low- and high-points within the sites vertical design. Various hand-drawn models were utilized to further define the design concept; circulation patterns become curvilinear, and plantings are grouped into desiredtemperature zones, and activity levels were adjusted to reflect the designed shift in temperature.
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Temperature currents were mapped utilizing recorded temperatures for previous years, and were programmed for a full spectrum of activity. The broad range of site activities begins to define the site as an URBAN EVENT PARK - characterized by a constant fluctuation of activity levels, user accommodations, and contrast against the surrounding land-uses.
ADRIAN Y. SUZUKI 7
234 South Figueroa Street, #1639 Los Angeles, CA 90012 (626) 375-4137
CITY CURRENTS : an urban event park
Detailed sections illustrate the vertical qualities of the park design. The experience of convection currents is replicated in the system of circulation patterns, and access points. The shift in grade will be most dramatic where there may be high amounts of activity - here the rise and fall of energy is designed into the gradual ramping of the pedestrian walkways. Retaining walls have been included in the park design to support the required shift in grade, while also providing a visual cue to the curvilinear dimensions found throughout the park design.
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ADRIAN Y. SUZUKI
234 South Figueroa Street, #1639 Los Angeles, CA 90012 (626) 375-4137
KEELER BEACH : a stellar place to be
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The design challenge for Owens Lake was to resolve the conflict of low water levels, high salinity, and windy conditions against visitor accommodations and attractions. The design study was centered from the perspective of the Visitor; i.e. postcard/greeting card/attractions, experiential mapping, and landscape conditions. As a resolution, the proposed design takes inspiration from an existing gateway-sign identifying “Keeler Beach”. From this point, and after much technical study of the site, a segment of OWENS LAKE was identified as a best-framed visitor point-of-view. This particular portion of Owens Lake shall be re-designed to become KEELER BEACH - a stellar place to be. Owens Lake serves a multitude of infrastructural systems, that are shared by adjoining jurisdictions. It is at this point where the Los Angeles Aqueduct draws its water from the Colorado River, and since its construction in 1913, has endangered Owens Lake’s ecological security and long-term existence as a navigable body of water. Mobility was a topic of interest for the design solution because of the high-industrial machinery required to manage the day-to-day operations associated with the lake’s maintenance. Food-service vehicles were also of interest to the study because of conversations had with site-employees, and the lack of food-service provided on site.
ADRIAN Y. SUZUKI
234 South Figueroa Street, #1639 Los Angeles, CA 90012 (626) 375-4137
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KEELER BEACH : a stellar place to be SKIM BOARD sporting was identified as a primary program from a process of drafted marketing tools for proposed visitor attractions. It was important to detail the visitor experience as viewed from connector points, designated stopping points, and activity nodes. Much of the existing site-characteristics were incorporated into the design proposal through the restoration of historic dimensions and details. Activity spaces were designed to encompass entertainment vending, parking, and a consistency in hours-of-operation.
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The design called for a landscape treatment that provided direction for the flow of water, access from the point-of-view of the visitor, and vehicular access and pedestrian accommodations. The design builds a plateau for SKIM BOARD sporting, vista points, and sunbathing. Access roads are proposed to navigate through the narrowest portion of the surrounding wetland delineation, and are intended as turn-around systems with central points for parking and washing facilities. As a whole, the KEELER BEACH experience is intended to be rhythmic, slightly extroverted, and seasonal in operation.
ADRIAN Y. SUZUKI
234 South Figueroa Street, #1639 Los Angeles, CA 90012 (626) 375-4137
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KEELER BEACH : a stellar place to be
ADRIAN Y. SUZUKI
234 South Figueroa Street, #1639 Los Angeles, CA 90012 (626) 375-4137
LEGACY PARK : culture in the city of angels The historic context of what is known as FORT MOORE, and as the campus of Central Los Angeles High School #9 for the Performing Arts, is rooted in the sites location as a high-point within the city. It was from this site that Mormon Battalions fought and won over Mexican troops in the war of 1831, explaining the sites dedication as Fort Moore. The site was dedicated in 1976; however, the site is currently under utilized by the general public and is under distress due to lack of attention and maintenance. Historic planning documents for the City’s visionary plans each locate the site as the centralaccess point for the surrounding civic center, and as the pinnacle of culture in the City of Angels. Panoramic studies of existing vistas span north into residential Chinatown; east, to Union Station and La Iglesia Nuestra Reina De Los Angeles; and, south to City Hall and the Civic Center.
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The current site-use is Central Los Angeles High School #9; which leads a curriculum focused on dance, theatre, visual arts, vocal performance, and music arts. The student population ranges from 12 to 17 years-of-age.
CULTURE IN THE CITY OF ANGELS
The Central Los Angeles High School Campus is located north of the 101 Freeway; which has been identified for its potential as a cap-park system. The site is framed by Grand Ave. to the west, Ceasar Chavez to the north, and Hill Street to the east, with sloped, pedestrian passageways from the Music Center, Civic Buildings, the Historic Cultural Core, and Union Station.
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Central Los Angeles High School #9
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Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
La Iglesia de Nuestra Senora C Reina de Los Angeles
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Los Angeles D
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Union Station
Edward Roybal Federal Building
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City of Los Angeles City Hall
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County of Los Angeles Administrative Offices
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Los Angeles Music Center
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ADRIAN Y. SUZUKI
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
234 South Figueroa Street, #1639 Los Angeles, CA 90012 (626) 375-4137
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LEGACY PARK : culture in the city of angels The park design was inspired by outdoor performance spaces, such as: The Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles, Millennium Park in Chicago, Dance Theatres in Colorado, Seattle Sculpture Park in Seattle, WA, and Lincoln Center in New York City. The design and engineering of these spaces enhance the vistas upon a performance, or the city, while remaining an outdoor spaces. Cultural experiences throughout the urban form are often seen through art installations scaled to fit the mass of urban life. The forms of art installations in New York city parks, or Chicago city streets, and sculpture parks that are also cap-park systems accentuate the culture and richness that can be found within the city form.
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The design of LEGACY PARK will fluctuate with seasons, trends, movements and culture in the city of angels. Plantings were chosen for their overstories, or floral decoration; and performance spaces were scaled to provide rehearsal space for the adjacent high school students. The tiered nature of the design is intended to maximize landscaping, connectivity, exposure and existing panoramic vistas.
NATURE
TREE CANOPY MID-STORY ACCENT PLANTINGS
PERFORMANCE MUSIC THEATRE / DANCE VISUAL ARTS
CITY ORCHESTRA: 0 FT MEZZANINE: + 10 FT BALCONY: + 25 FT
ADRIAN Y. SUZUKI
234 South Figueroa Street, #1639 Los Angeles, CA 90012 (626) 375-4137
LEGACY PARK : culture in the city of angels
Acknowledgments USC / School of Architecture MLA +3 2009 - 2012 - Hoover2 : Professor Rachel Berney, Interim-Director, Master of Landscape Architecture Programme - City Currents : Instructor Gerdo Aquino, President/Principal, SWA Group - Keeler Beach, CA : Instructor Alexander Robinson, Principal, Office of Outdoor Research - Legacy Park Los Angeles : Professors Douglas and Regula Campbell, Principals, Campbell & Campbell
RESUME ADRIAN Y. SUZUKI
234 S. Figueroa Street, #1639, Los Angeles, California 90012 (626) 375-4137 AYSUZUKI1020.AS@GMAIL.COM SUMMARY Responsible, curious, and insightful individual; driven to improve the built environment. Experienced with permit processes, zoning regulations, and implementation of regulatory policies. Proficient with interpersonal communications, MS Office, and task management. Eager to learn, work, and thrive within the field of Urban Design.
EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE School of Architecture June 2012
City of Los Angeles, Urban Design Studio STUDENT INTERN Los Angeles, CA February 2008 – August 2009 • Gather and submit award application submittals for the Downtown Design Guide and Street Standards. • Interpret, modify and summarize design guidelines for the Hollywood Community Plan;¬¬¬ • Evaluate urban design chapters from 37 Community Plans for consistency and ease of application;
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA INTRODUCTION TO LEED Extension October 2008 California State University, Northridge, Northridge, CA Bachelor of Arts degree
URBAN STUDIES AND PLANNING May 2008
EXPERIENCE City of Pasadena, General Plan Update STUDENT INTERN Pasadena, CA November 2009 – June 2011 • Consolidate and analyze response data from Citywide Move-About Tours and outreach surveys; • Graphically represent response data in the form of figures and charts; • Provide general information at public outreach events in a welcoming and friendly manner.
Glen Dake, Landscape Architect PROJECT MANAGER Los Angeles, CA October 2012 - Present • Oversee and organize the installation of community garden, design-build projects; • Scout and document prospective community garden properties; • Serve as a Liaison between The Los Angeles Community Garden Council and the respective Community Garden Leaders.
City of Pasadena, Design and Historic Preservation STUDENT INTERN Pasadena, CA January 2007 – July 2007 • Review storefront renovations, signs and awnings; utilizing zoning code regulations and Citywide Design Guidelines; • Analyze modifications to historic properties; utilizing the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Rehabilitation of Historic Structures; • Prepare Staff Reports, Decision Letters, and architectural resource descriptions in a timely manner. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION • Languages: Fluent in Spanish References Available Upon Request
ADRIAN Y. SUZUKI
234 South Figueroa Street, #1639 Los Angeles, CA 90012 (626) 375-4137
design portfolio 2009 -2012