Landscape Architecture Portfolio

BENJAMIN NICOLOSI - ENDO

benjamin.nicolosi@parks.nyc.gov

EDUCATION

University of Pennsylvania

Master of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, 2013

Harvard University - Career Discovery Landscape Architecture Discipline, Summer 2008

School of Visual Arts

Bachelor of Fine Art Film | Video, 2000

WORK EXPERIENCE

NYC DEPT.

OF PARKS & RECREATION

Landscape Architect, June 2016 - Current

• William McCray Playground - Managed and oversaw a team to assist with the design process from community outreach to schematic design, contract documents, consultant management, and project transmittal.

SKILLS

General:

Design Development, Drafting, Research,

Construction Documentation, Illustration, Drawing, 3D Modeling, Writing, Curation, Photography Video Editing and Effects, Project Management

3D Representation:

Media: Graphic Design:

AutoCad, Rhino, SketchUp

Final Cut Pro, Premiere, After Effects, AVID Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign

VOLUNTEERISM

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Horticulture Department

2008 - 2015

ArTalk International International Youth Art Exchange

2006 - Present

LINKS TO WORK HISTORY / EXAMPLES

• St. Vartan Park - Managed an inter-disciplinary team, delivered presentations, provided site analysis, estimates, montages, and landscape designs.

SWA

Designer, January 2014 - February 2015

• Huizhou, China - Created diagrams, montages, and landscape designs for a multi-tower residential development

• Fort Wayne, Indiana - Analyzed site, designed masterplan frameworks, and developed compelling design presentations for a waterfront proposal

University of Pennsylvania

Teaching Assistant, September - December 2012

• Delivered presentation on urban frameworks and representation

• Provided guidance on project development, aesthetics and design intent

SCAPE Studio

Intern, June - August 2012

• Blake Hobbs Park, Harlem - Mapped data, built conceptual models, facilitated community meetings, and designed park concepts

• Petrochemical America - Coordinated exhibition, created collage proposals, edited images, curated digital archives, and prepared layouts https://www.linkedin.com/pub/benjamin-n-e/31/a9a/2ba

PROFESSIONAL

INTERNATIONAL / DOMESTIC PROJECTS AND INTERNSHIP

WILLIAM MCCRAY PLAYGROUND

William McCray Playground is located in Central Harlem. I am the project manager and lead designer for the .53 acre playground. This project is part of the Community Parks Initiative, which seeks to improve parks with the greatest needs. Due to ground subsidence, the playground is closed to the public. Of primary importance is the amelioration of this area to provide a safe and stable surface. The proposed design will provide enhanced features for a broad range of user groups. Exciting play areas for all ages will be established, and fences will be lowered for a more welcoming space. The layout will include a spray shower, opportunities for seating and gathering, swings, and a new basketball court. The total funding for the project is $5 million. During the course of the project I created designs, models, estimates, analytical studies, RFPs, and contract drawings. I also presented to the public and directed staff and consultants to ensure timelines were met.

EXISTING SITE PHOTO LOOKING WEST

EXISTING LAYOUT`

BIRDS-EYE VIEW LOOKING EAST

ST. VARTAN PARK

St. Vartan Park is located in Murray Hill just south of the entrance to the Queens Midtown Tunnel. I was the project manager and lead designer for the .5 acre playground in the park. The design intent was to create distinct play areas for different age groups and well-defined entrances for enhanced safety. New features intially included a bike/scooter track, accessible spray shower, play equipment, plant beds, and improved circulation. The total funding for the project was $4.49 million. During the course of the project I created designs, estimates, analytical studies of existing conditions, and extensive research. The complexities for drainage and water supply for the site required an rfp for a consultant engineer. Throughout the community board process the design needed an agile response to address new demands.

ORIGINALLY NAMED, ST. GABRIEL’S PARK

HISTORIC RESEARCH

LAYOUT`

BIRDSEYE VIEW LOOKING EAST EXISTING

EAST SIDE OF PARK LOOKING NORTH

WEST SIDE OF PARK LOOKING NORTH

EXISTING CONDITIONS

CONCEPT PLANS

ELECTRONIC ACTIVATOR

DIRECTIONAL JETS, 6’ HT.

DIRECTIONAL JET, FLUSH

MIST JETS, 9’ HT.

UMBRELLA JETS, 7’ HT. VIEW FROM ENTRANCE

JET STREAM, FLUSH

VIEW FROM PICNIC AREA

VIEW FROM NORTH BIKE/SCOOTER TRACK VIEW FROM SOUTH BIKE/SCOOTER TRACK Key Map

Key Map

BENJAMIN NICOLOSI-ENDO

RE-DESIGN

The initial design, which responded to the community’s desire for a bike/ scooter track, swiflty received several approvals in the process from reviewers including the Parks Commissioner and Community Board. However, after the approvals a few members of the community expressed concern over the inclusion of a bike /scooter area and the reduction of play equipment due to its large footprint. Additional comments also mentioned the desire for more traditional play equipment, swings, and less plantings. These requests triggered a holistic revision of the schematic plan to address the new needs of the community.

2/28/2020

No Track For Bikes/Scooters Substitute Tire Swings & Playhouses

VIEW LOOKING WEST FROM SPRAY SHOWER

BIRDS-EYE VIEW LOOKING SOUTHWEST

JACOB JAVITS PLAYGROUND

Located near the entrance to Fort Tryon Park, Jacob Javits Playground is a 1.2 acre scenic landmark. The playground offers dramatic views of the the Hudson River and features three playground areas, adult and pre-teen fitness zones, spray shower, basketball courts, and a scenic overlook. The project was designed by Katherine Bridges, and my role was to assist from the schematic design phase through project transmittal. I created design renderings, presentations, construction documents, estimates, sourcing, and designs for the site’s paving patterns. The project is currently in construction and I am still involved in offering support through shop drawings, RFI’s, and bi-weekly progress meetings on site. The playground is expected to open to the public in the summer of 2019.

In addition to being responsible for working on some larger site plans such as removals and grading, I was also tasked with more detailed work. I designed paving patterns for an allee and overlook, and worked on details that made use of salvaged materials from the existing site.

BOULDER SLOPE STABILIZATION

As construction progressed, it became necessary for me to make revisions to drawings in the contract set. A large quantity of stones were found on site during excavation. This development allowed us to use schist stone from the site for some wooded areas and not a quarry as we had planned. Stones were measured at catalogued on site for further use. Slope stabilization along the overlook was further refined to create a terraced condition that worked with existing grades to create a more formal design that enhanced the prominence of the overlook.

CARL SCHURZ PLAYGROUND

Located in the southern portion of Carl Schurz Park, the .75 acre playground was designed by Chris Crowley. The playground features a large spray shower, play equipment for a variety of ages, gametables, free play zones, and seating areas. My role was to assist from the schematic design phase through project transmittal. I created design renderings, presentations, construction documents, estimates, and planting designs for the project. I also did a significant amount of research to determine structural and drainage conditions that were not apparent from our survey. My investigations required me to coordinate with numerous departments from engineering to the site’s plumbers to troubleshoot issues effectively in order to deliver an optimum design.

AERIAL VIEW

(8B) (4B) (8B)

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(8B)

(8B) (4B) (8B) (8B) (8B)

BUT NOT LIMITED TO WATER AND SHADE. ANY DAMAGED PLANTS SHALL BE REPLACED AS DIRECTED, AT THE CONTRACTOR'S EXPENSE.

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(8B)

SPRAY SHOWER

I devised the spray shower phasing through numerous configurations to ensure that it maximized play and physical activity. For the development of the design I worked closely with the manufacturer to institute an electrical system that could be housed in the nearby comfort station, and meet the gallons per minute limit.

Carl Schurz Park Children’s Playground | Perspective View

LA PLAZA CULTURAL GARDEN

This community garden is located in the East Village and has a prominent history in the arts. The site once held a geodesic dome by Buckminster Fuller, and currently features a amphitheater by Gordon Matta Clark. In more recent years art was employed as a security measure. To keep people from entering the garden at night, reused refuse was sculpted to place along the top edge of the perimeter fence. This measure proved to be only minimally effective. As a project manager and lead designer for this site, I helped implement a stronger perimeter fence for security, and an edge curb to prevent existing erosion from the garden. As of April, 2019 this project is in construction, and I am responding to rfi’s and shop drawings to keep the project on schedule.

LAYOUT PLAN NEW FENCE DETAILS

Fence at E. 9th Street

AERIAL VIEW

EXISTING FENCE

DYCKMAN FARMHOUSE

Dyckman farmhouse is the oldest Dutch Colonial style farmhouse in Manhattan. It sits several feet above street level at the corner of Broadway and West 204th Street. The current main entrance to the grounds of the farmhouse is small, dark, and difficult to see. I developed a concept plan for the Historic House Trust of NYC to create a more welcoming and noticeable entrance. In addition, I prepared an estimate for the projected cost of construction, and revamped the design to address sidewalk conditions at the request of HHT.

EXISTING ENTRANCE

HUIZHOU THOUSAND FLOWER ISLAND

Thousand Island Park will be a 12 hectare residential and commercial site in Huizhou, China. Our team researched the local Hakka culture and looked to the regional context to provide a foundation for the development of the landscape. The design emphasizes movement and connection within the park by staging a series of public spaces that reveal themselves through the ripple of landforms. Residents will be able to engage their surroundings through various programmatic elements that include adult and children fitness parks, community farming plots, flower gardens, pools, and outdoor reading rooms.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

CHARACTER OF THOUSAND FLOWER ISLAND

GARDEN

CENTRAL PLAZA

COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY LAKE

CHONQING ELLIPSE PARK

Chonqing Ellipse Park is the heart of an important gateway of Yuelai Eco-City’s new town development. This central park is at the intersection of many street axis’s and combines complex program elements including stations for bus rapid transit and the City’s subway system. The park will also contain retail, strolling gardens, water features and large informal gathering spaces. The design emphasizes a pedestrian-first circulation strategy for connections to the entire development. A pedestrian-first connection network is emphasized as it ties into the planning strategy at a larger scale. Pedestrian crossings are largely at grade with two large entry plazas that are formed to direct the flow of pedestrians from the outer edges into the highly active center plaza. Each entry plaza is framed with interconnected shade trellises that not only direct flow into the center of the park, but also create a more walkable pedestrian network.

ICONIC ELEMENT

MAJOR VISUAL CONNECTION

MAJOR PEDSTRIAN CONNECTION

BOSSIER CITY REDEVELOPMENT

The study area is in the heart of South Bossier, Louisiana. It is situated between the Red River and Barksdale Air Force Base, just east of Shreveport. A freight rail line parallels the east side of Barksdale Boulevard, and greatly limits redevelopment and circulation. The vision of the study was to establish clear strategies for both public-sector improvements and private-sector investment. Public improvements include parks, trails, pedestrian and bicycle enhancements, streetscape and urban design elements, lighting, and local identity, which are strategically considered to spur private-sector investment while offering greater connectivity between neighborhoods.

Barksdale Boulevard and Arthur Ray Teague Parkway are effective at moving high volumes of vehicles at high speeds, but they do not provide easy connections for pedestrians and bicycles to navigate along or across them to. By adding and improving crosswalks, sidewalks, trails and bike lanes, these barriers can be mitigated in order to provide better access to the riverfront greenway.

PRIMARY THOROUGHFARES + CONSTRAINTS

Barksdale Boulevard and Arthur Ray Teague Parkway are effective at moving high volumes of vehicles at high speeds, but they do not provide easy connections for pedestrians and bicycles to navigate along or across them to. By adding and improving crosswalks, sidewalks, trails and bike lanes, these barriers can be mitigated in order to provide better access to the riverfront greenway.

PRIMARY THOROUGHFARES + CONSTRAINTS

BARKSDALE BOULEVARD CORRIDOR REDEVELOPMENT PLAN

WALKER PLACE

RIVERFRONT

The existing linear park runs parallel to Arthur Teauge Parkway for just over two miles. Because of its proximity to the Red River, this open space offers an excellent opportunity to add series of riverfront destinations. that include the use of the levee for views to the river, Shreveport and beyond.

ICONIC ENTRYWAY

GATEWAY STRATEGY

Major gateway monuments at the terminus of the ShreveportBarksdale Bridge and the Jimmie Davis Bridge build on the unique character of their locations. The remnants of a pecan grove at Jimmie Davis Bridge can be enhanced by increasing the number of pecan trees along the street to create a strong axis into Bossier City. Color and gateway signs that continue the aesthetic of the bridge can also help establish a sense of arrival. Planting at the Shreveport Barksdale Bridge can point the way into Bossier while providing visual interest from above. The form of the planting can also echo the character of Barksdale Air Force Base.

BIKE PATHWAY

PECAN ALLEE

SHADED SEATING

RIVERFRONT FORT WAYNE

A community inspired masterplan drove the vision for a new destination in downtown Fort Wayne. The city is framed by three rivers, the Maumee, St. Joseph, and St. Mary’s. These rivers once spurred development and helped create a thriving city through their regional connections. Today Fort Wayne’s rivers are hidden by industrial development, infrastructure, and an unmanaged riparian edge. The design of the masterplan is focused on revealing the river’s as a great asset to to create a thriving economic and ecological downtown once again.

CONFLUENCE PROPOSAL

RIVERFRONT BEACH

* MASTERPLAN

sedimentation, some of which deposited upstream of the Maumee River dam.

LEVEES

The three rivers flow from west to east and include impoundment areas behind the Hosey Dam on the Maumee River and the St. Joseph Dam on the St. Joseph River. Fort Wayne City Utilities can lower river levels a few feet by opening a gate at the Hosey Dam to allow more water to flow downstream. Between October 15th and April 15th the tainter gate is left open and rivers fall to a low winter pool level. Periodically, during the summer, the level of Fort Wayne’s rivers may be lowered for planned construction or maintenance projects. During the spring the level of the St. Joseph River north of the St. Joseph Dam is raised. This allows more water to pool upstream to help ensure that the City has an adequate supply of raw water to use for making treated drinking water.

MCB-MARTINSVILLE LOAM, 0-2% SLOPES

GH-GENESEE SILT LOAM

MRB-MORLEY SILT LOAM, 2-6% SLOPES

MFA-MARTINSVILLE SILT LOAM, 0-2% SLOPES

MCA-MARTINSVILLE LOAM, 0-2% SLOPES

Like many early cities, Fort Wayne’s river system is used to drain excess water, with combined storm and sewer outfalls (CSOs). This technology quickly moves large volumes of water during and after a rain event to prevent or reduce possible flooding. While this is a benefit, water quality can be compromised by heavy precipitation. During rainfall, water can pick up sediments and other contaminants that would otherwise not enter the water system or would be filtered out under natural conditions. To reduce water speed and overflowing conditions, the implementation of green infrastructure is recommended to promote healthy river functions.

The river system in Fort Wayne poses challenges that include flooding, combined sewer overflows, and agricultural runoff. Levees often block access and views to the river.Water levels are influenced by the Hosey Dam on the Maumee River.

DAMS WATERSHEDS

Despite the challeges the rivers pose, there are many opportunities due to the flexibility of landuse adjacent to the rivers. This allows interventions to reveal the rivers by peeling back the levee and to thicken the riparian edge with a native plant palette. Downtown can also support riverfront commercial development with connections to existing destintions.

WALKING DISTANCE

RIVERFRONT FORT WAYNE

RIPARIAN VEGETATION

EXISTING SOIL TYPES

LEVEES + FLOODWALLS

COMBINED SEWER OUTFLOW

RIVERFRONT LAND OWNERSHIP

PUBLIC COMMENTS AND FRAMEWORKS

Several iterations of the master plan were presented to the public throughout each stage of the process. Collected feedback from the public and the project stakeholders were utlimately incorporated into the design. At the same time a team of consultants vetted the feasibility of master plan components from the standpoint of hydrology, ecology, infrastructure and economics. Three frameworks were created based on the themes of interest that developed through public input.

PEDESTRIAN NETWORK

Pedestrian pathways connecting across the river tie the northern district to the downtown. As plans move forward, the pedestrian experience should be emphasized to promote discovery (of activities and services) along the riverfront trail.

RECREATION TRAIL / BIKE

CIRCULATION

A network of streets and pathways were created to strengthen connections and increase public engagement with Fort Wayne’s rivers. Bridges, lookout points, and riverfront walkways are proposed to establish a dowtown core that encourages movement between parks, neighborhoods, commercial districts, and regional trail systems. VEHICULAR CIRCULATION

PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION

SECTIONS

The river system, as existing, typically has flow velocities of less than 4 feet per second during flood conditions. Grass and naturally vegetated slopes generally have a capacity which exceeds this velocity, which means that there are no currently identified areas in need of additional erosion protection at present. However, many species occupying the river’s edge are invasive and block views to the river. Sectional studies suggest a terraced planting design that offers the public better connections to the water through a series of paths, plazas, lookout points, boat launches, and amphitheaters. Implementation of this vision begins by removing invasive and overgrown plants that block access to the river. Enhanced lighting, planting, seating and signage shape the newly designed edge.

STREETSCAPE

Urban streets that currently focus on vehicular traffic can be renovated into a “complete street” or “living street” that promotes and accommodates pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular traffic paired with visually appealing, sustainable stormwater management practices.are strategically considered to spur private-sector investment while offering greater connectivity between neighborhoods. Statement streets give a special identity to district components near the river. The sidewalks should be extra wide to accommodate shopping and outdoor dining. Inviting seating elements and signature materials can be assembled with permeable pavers that aid with stormwater management.

MAIN DOWNTOWN CORRIDOR REIMAGINED

Parks within the plan offer many programs for a variety of ages from a gaming plaza and ropes course to an educational playground for children that sits adjacent to a science museum. Parks also include a beach , terraced gardens, and interpretive trails. A “lake” is carved out of the southern edge to provide greater opportunities for interaction with the river.

Lawton Park was bought to be used as an Indiana State Fairgrounds in 1866, (it was called Northside Park until the turn of the century). In 1918 Lawton had 40 acres and along with Swinney remained one of the city’s largest parks for many years. Cannons became part of the Lawton Park scene in 1901. Offering many activities for all ages, types and seasons, from beach activities that border the river to a science central educational park plaza for kids that connects to the museum. The park also includes terraced gardens, zip lining courses, amusement attractions and many other activities for the public. All these zones are surrounded by a soft landscape edge with trails, trees, and water from Spy Run Creek.

Park was bought to be used as an Indiana State Fairgrounds in 1866, (it was called Northside Park until the turn of the century). In 1918 Lawton had 40 acres and along with Swinney remained one of the city’s largest parks

PETROCHEMICAL AMERICA

For the launch of Kate Orff’s and Richard Misrach’s book, Petrochemical America, I helped curate a national exhibition that displayed the work presented in the book. In addition, I created collages, layout studies, models, edited images and text, and managed print production.

COLLAGE STUDIES

BLAKE HOBBS

Blake Hobbs Park is located in Harlem, NYC. It sits near public housing, a senior center, and a charter school.

For the project I acted as a facilitator to gather input from local community members and to help present early design ideas for the park. I also conducted site analysis, created diagrams, maps, scale studies, material studies, conceptual models, and drawings.

NY HARBOR

Maps and structural studies were made to help initiate the development of areas in NY Harbor. Focus on the reintroduction of native species was to act as a catalyst toward the remediation of polluted waters and resilient landscapes.

CREDIT: SKETCH IMAGE - SCAPE

ACADEMIC

INTERNATIONAL / DOMESTIC PROJECTS AND INTERNSHIP

agri- Culture

GROUP

Agri-Culture operates through three scales of intervention in order to create a socially driven and integrated urban landscape system. A disused bread distribution center along Lancaster Avenue can be reanimated as a node for managing produce from Lancaster County. This node can strengthen regional ties to Philadelphia through existing rail infrastructure that runs parallel to Lancaster Avenue. Local produce will have a direct point of entry in a sector of the city that is greatly lacking nutritious food access. By re-activating Lancaster Avenue as a commercial food destination, an armature can be established that engages communities by linking to a proposed tertiary network of vacant lots, schools and urban agriculture. These community links can be a catalyst that strengthens the development of urban agriculture and community involvement with the landscape.

SEEDING 40th St. sowing the ground for community health and prosperity

INDIVIDUAL

The area of 40th Street between Lancaster Avenue and Fairmount Park borders the neighborhoods of Mantua, Belmont, and East Parkside. It is considered an area of great need due to its poverty, poor health and lack of higher education.

CORRIDOR Strategy

One of the major barriers to 40th St. has been the closing of the 40th St. bridge several years ago. The lack of a bridge cuts off access to Fairmount Park and East Parkside. This creates a stifled stretch of 40th St., which differs greatly from the more prosperous character of the street south of Lancaster Avenue. The bridge was scheduled to re-open at the end of the following year making this stretch of 40th St. a great opportunity for an intervention.

EXISTING SLOPE AND TOPOGRAPHY

Low elevationa coincide with a density of vacant lots; it is an optimal location for urban agriculture.

VACANT LOTS + FOOD DESERT

CLOSED BRIDGE + TRAFFIC

EXISTING CONDITIONS

CORRIDOR STRATEGY

By utilizing the street’s many vacant lots, adjacent schools and social programs with a system of urban agriculture, a vibrant culture can emerge through a renewed identity as an active food destination. Stategically placed gardens act as anchors to catalyze further sustainable development.

IRRIGATION STRATEGY

Community gardens can be irrigated through a rain water harvesting system from roofs and streets through a transparent process of remediation involoving plants and cisterns.

Community Garden Community Garden Community Garden School Garden School Garden Farmer’s Market Farmer’s Market Local Eateries Wild Garden Wild Garden Local Food Industry

SPECTACLE - TRANSITORY WILDFLOWER GARDEN

ANCHOR - COMMUNITY GARDEN

40TH ST. BRIDGE - RENEWED THRESHOLD COMMUNITY GARDEN - 40TH AND OGDEN

SANTO DOMINGO PUEBLO (KEWA)

The Santo Domingo people are part of an ancient Pueblo culture that stretches back thousands of years. In order to help preserve their culture and spiritual identity, the following design proposal suggests an artist’s community that would help provde economic, environmental and social wellbeing. Existing arroyos are employed to capture and direct water for an agriculture centered on plants that are used for native crafts. Visitors can learn the craft in a proposed art center near a rail station and a historically important trading post. They may also watch the Pueblo people forage and make their art through varying vantage points that provide different degrees of privacy for the Santo Domingo people. Thresholds are delineated through elevations that echo the surounding mountains and runnels that recall the Rio Grandean important feature in Pueblo culture that is considered their source of well-being.

THREE LARGEST ART MARKETS

Post

LEARN SHARE COLLECT

Art Retreat and School

late 19th c

early 19th c

Interest wanes for pueblo crafts. The Trading Post burns down in 2001. The community lacks a center for their cultural arts.

The Trading Post opens when the rail reaches Santo Domingo. The pueblo is exposed to many tourists. Their craft becomes a way of life.

1930 to present Explorers from outside Santo Domingo discover the unique quality of the pueblo’s craft and it becomes valued as art objects which become a commodity and placed in museums.

circa 700 AD

The people of Santo Domingo have developed their craft of pottery and jewelry for centuries. Materials were obtained locally and through trade with other tribes. Items were largely utilitarian or ceremonial in purpose.

Demonstration Garden BENJAMIN.NICOLOSI@PARKS.NYC.GOV 55

SANTO DOMINGO PUEBLO

TACONY, PENNSYLVANIA

Tacony is a neighborhood located along the Delaware River in northeast Philadelphia. On Tacony’s eastern edge lies a vacant shipping lot approximately 130 acres in size with a major elevated highway running through the property. Diverse habitats and enclosures were created by an armature to allow for a series of succession, while initiating links toward the amelioration of neglected adjacencies. A rhythm of expansion and contraction leads visitors as they move through a variety of spaces that frame the river. The main circulation path was primarily linear and meant to provoke deviation as rooms in the vegetated landforms opened and enticed visitors with the promise of discovery.

MATERIALITY + HISTORY

EDGE CONDITIONS

The resulting design for Tacony Park utilized an armature of dense planting and subtle landforms to provide a highly differentiated space that re-engages inhabitants with the Delaware river. Preliminary pattern studies based on natural formations served as a framework for the creation of a park at the location. Subsequent site investigations looked closely at soil, hydrology, vegetation, and community relationships to the site.

STUDY MODEL

WOOD STUDY MODEL

MILDRED’S LANE

Mildred’s Lane, located in rural northeastern Pennsylvania, is a collective collaboration between artist J. Morgan Puett, Mark Dion, their son Grey Rabbit Puett, and their friends and colleagues. “Mildred’s Lane attempts to coevolve a rigorous pedagogical strategy, where a working-living-researching environment has been developed to foster engagement with every aspect of life.” The studio’s main objective for the site was to collaborate with artists, engineers, hydrologists, architects, and others to plan an aquatic environment for both humans and non-humans using algorithmic concepts and landscape principles for the design and build phase.

PONDHOUSE SPRINGHOUSE POND

FORECAST

"When ducks suddenly emerge from a pond covered with duck-weed, I have twice seen these little plants adhering to their backs; and it has happened to me, in removing a little duck-weed from one aquarium to another, that I have unintentionally stocked the one with fresh-water shells from the other. But another agency is perhaps more effectual: I suspended the feet of a duck in an aquarium, where many ova of fresh-water shells were hatching; and I found that numbers of the extremely minute and just-hatched shells crawled on the feet, and clung to them so firmly that when taken out of the water they could not be jarred off, though at a somewhat more advanced age they would voluntarily drop off. These just-hatched mollusks, though aquatic in their nature, survived on the duck's feet, in damp air, from twelve to twenty hours; and in this length of time a duck or heron might fly at least six or seven hundred miles, and if blown across the sea to an oceanic island, or to any other distant point, would be sure to alight on a pool or rivulet."

CHARLES DARWIN

ANCHOR

Torch Festival cattail acts well as tinder and the lit ends can create warmth for winter.

AUTUMN

Cattail Down Harvest fluff from cattail seed heads are often used for blankets, pillows, and earthen walls.

WINTER SUMMER

Weave And Eat leaves of cattail make excellent mats and roofs. The shoots, rhizomes, and pollen are edible.

EARTHWORK

Our team began exploring our ideas through sketching, clay modeling and looking at the styles of earthwork artists like, James Turrell and James Pierce. What developed were landforms inspired by Chinese mythology. The circular mound leading to the apex of the site is a symbolic form that echoes the cosmos. The terrace that lies below with its rectilinear form represents the earth as it does in Chinese geomancy. Our goal was to design a place that has a greater connection with the environment, and one that integrates natural processes. To the south of the mound is a vortex that redirects the flow of the river. Water pitching from the higher elevations travels down a swale and is redirected to the pool and then downstream in a cyclical manner. The whirlpool is also meant to a have a temporal dimension, so that over time the circular form enlarges.

* GROUP WORK