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UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
CHRIS CREASEY PORTFOLIO
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Purpose & Intent “The number one rule is to always keep breathing.” My instructor’s words floated through my mind as red and yellow faded from the visible spectrum. A halo of iridescent bubbles made their way towards the surface, shimmering in the diluted sunlight as I slowly descended beneath the boat’s twin engines. I held my nose and blew; pop, Pop, POP. Each equalization was louder than the last as the building pressure receded from my ears. Down, down fifteen feet, then thirty, then fifty... Five minutes from shore and sixty feet beneath the ocean, crevasses began appearing through the crystal blue world. I signaled an a-ok to my dive buddy Bri and we kicked towards Big Tunnels. The name didn’t do it justice. My bug-eyed visage scanned the area, taking in a massive grotto. Vibrant, alien life clung to its walls like impossibly bright tapestries in a grand cathedral. I smoothly kicked, arms at my sides and the clouds of sparkling fish parted, exposing more twisting tunnels and columns. “Hiss, Fwhoosh,” more bubbles escaped my respirator, forming pockets of shimmering air in the pockmarked calcium carbonate ceiling. As Bri and I sat on the boat a few minutes before, our captain Jason had told us to pause and listen when in the tunnels. “New divers often find coral reefs eerily silent,” he said. At first, the clenched respirator feeding me breath after breath seemed my only reminder of ties to the surface, of the sense of sound. I closed my eyes and listened closer though. Gradually the clack of lobsters scrabbling in the shadowy overhangs and fish slicing through the water formed a picture in my head. This microcosm was as busy as any city. Lost in a myriad of bright orange sponges and schooling yellow tailed snappers, I found myself alone with these thoughts. “Bri must be around the corner,” I thought, kicking towards a rounded edge of limestone leading towards the open seas. Suddenly I was over the reef’s edge, my eyes glued downwards. 6000 feet of water was below me, enough to drop twenty Lady Liberties in. The absurd thought of all this water suddenly disappearing, leaving me to fall made me laugh through my respirator and the spell cast by the infinite distance was broken. Much like my first diving experience, upon entered Utah State University two years ago, I was somewhat disoriented. In my previous college career I explored majors in English, Communications, and Environmental Science, yet none of these seemed to quite fit. After taking off school for a year to work in Florida, I was ready to have a set path to pursue. I came to USU and after a semester discovered the LAEP program. My father is a national park superintendent and long time park ranger and my mother also spent time as a wilderness firefighter and trail crew member. Both helped me pinpoint my interests and find my place here. Growing up, they inspired me to learn about my outdoor surroundings and established a paradigm of environmental stewardship. I seek to understand “natural cities” such as forests, reefs, and rivers along with man-made creations in equal measure. I would like to work in the public sector and help design landscapes where intelligent design is needed or govern landscapes in their natural forms. I am interested in working internationally, especially on water issues. We take clean water for granted but much of the world could benefit from design to raise their standard of living. The following pages contain examples of my work as I have advanced through the LAEP Undergraduate program. Thank you for considering me for matriculation.
This page image credit: wallpaperswide.com/tree_roots-wallpapers.html Front cover image: imgkid.com/black-and-white-tree-drawing-with-roots.shtml
Contents
bASIC gRAPHICS
1 - 2
tHEORY OF dESIGN
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cOMPUTER gRAPHICS
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Site Inventory & Analysis
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Site Planning
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Personal photography
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BASIC GRAPHICS My first true LAEP course, Basic Graphics gave me an understanding of how to represent designs by hand. I had very little previous hand graphic skill and the long hours I put into each project gave me an appreciation for other graphics I have seen. Many of the techniques I learned have carried over to the digital graphics I now produce.
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THEORY OF DESIGN Theory of Design challenged students to think outside of the box to understand underlying design principles in a new way. Through both computer graphics and 3D models, design was explored in ways most people were not familiar with. For our final model, a program was required, making students think about how their site would function in a real situation. I chose to transform the old Ag building site into a concert venue and relaxation forest.
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Chris Creasey LAEP 1350 2/16/14
Tools: Pline, Raster Image Placement, Scale, Rotate PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
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COMPUTER
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East Commerce Street
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Graphics. AutoCAD was a strong focus and I gained a strong foundation for creating plan views, construction documents, and site elevation documents.
ive: In a timely manner convert a photo into a CAD drawing using
arned so far PRODUCED BY ANScale, AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT Hatch, Labels, Offset, Trim, Line, Raster Imaging
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Parking
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Drawn By: Chris Creasey A01822121
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Objective: Add intrigue to a base map22by using Photos Tools: Layers/ Layer Management, Clipping Masks, Bru Future Improvements: More realistic vegetation, an e
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Cache Valley Design Center
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Utah State University Landscape Architecture LAEP 1300 Spring 2012
Fin. Floor 22.50 22
Raster Image
programs over the couse of the semester in Computer
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Bo Yang exposed students to a wide variety of
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GRAPHICS
Objective: Gain an understanding of how to draw detailed documents and use
a raster
Grading Plan
the hatch tool. Learn the importance of expansion joints and their role in cement 21 22 Tools: Hatch tool, Pline, Line, Labels 21
L2
North
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20
30
1" = 20'-0" 40
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
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Drawn By: Chris Creasey A01822121
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Utah State University Landscape Architecture LAEP 1300 Spring 2012
Utah State University Landscape Architecture LAEP 1300 Spring 2014
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
Drawn By Chris Creasey A01822121:
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
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Cantilevered retaining wall
Grading Plan
L2
North 20
30
L1
1" = 20'-0" 40
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EXPLORE
WATER
HISTORY
ART
U N I NTEN DED USAGE
ADA EQUALITY FOOD
PLAY
SITE INVENTORY & ANALYSIS Design, both good and bad, is all around us. Understanding how an area was designed and what the physical, cultural, and biological factors are that influence it is crucial to making informed design decisions. In Todd Johnson’s class we learned to think critically about sites, something that has carried over to Site Planning. The design process we learned has been indispensable in many areas of my life. Studio Culture was also a large focus of this class, and it successfully brought together our class leading to better collaboration.
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Underutilized Green Strip Sidewalk in poor condition
Front Yard: Views across street
Views to Temple
Existing Vegetative Barrier Relational Space to Barn
Entries Alley
Rear Green Space
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SMELLIE RESIDENCE PERSPECTIVES My passion for design has driven me to constantly improve my graphic skills to better represent my thoughts. Using Photoshop, SketchUp, and Lumion, I was able to produce effective graphics for Dave Smellie’s new home. The ability to show him what his unbuilt home will look like, whether or not the outdoor design is included, was incredibly rewarding.
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PLAN VIEWS From Basic Graphics to Site Planning, I have advanced my abilities to represent a design from above. My classes have taught me what techniques read best and I strive to improve the readability and aesthetics of my plan views with each project.
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PHOTOGRAPHY
One of my hobbies is photography. I enjoy exploring nature and memorializing the experience through images. Taking those “you had to be there� moments and capturing the essence of them is a rewarding experience.
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CHRIS CREASEY PORTFOLIO c.creasey@aggiemail.usu.edu 508.341.6102