LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO
NE
LA E K BI
CHUANCHUAN (CHLOE) TANG UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
2007-2015 1
Education Background
08/2012 - 05/2014
University of Southern California
MLA
Los Angeles, CA, US
09/2005 - 06/2010
Ningxia University
BLA
Yinchuan, Ningxia, China
Working Experience
02/2015 - Present RPALA Group, Inc. San Juan Capistrano, CA, US Position: Landscape Designer / Job Captain • Produced complete landscape plan packages including construction, irrigation and planting plans, details and specifications, cost estimates and bid documents. • Prepared illustrative landscape design booklets with preliminary plan and color rendering. 08/2014 - 02/2015 DIG:designitGREEN, Inc. Ventura, CA, US Position: Landscape Drafter / Designer • Produced preliminary / finalized CAD construction documents. • Created conceptual design plans, plan development and package submissions. • Built SketchUp models with Lumion / Photoshop rendering to illustrate design elements. 05/2013 - 08/2013 cultureNOW, Inc. Los Angeles, CA, US Position: Intern • Collected geospatial data using ArcGIS and plotted a LA interactive cultural map 04/2010 - 07/2012 Yaxin Landscape Planning & Design, Inc. Yinchuan, Ningxia, China Position: Landscape Designer • Assisted in conceptual and construction design for commercial and mixed-use projects. 03/2009 - 03/2010 Kurt Bluemel, Inc. Baldwin, MD, US Position: Intern • Managed the production, propagation, development and sale of plants in 30 greenhouses • Designed and installed residential gardens and commercial plantations
Skills
• AutoCAD, SketchUp, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Rhinoceros, ArcGIS, Lumion • Architectural model-making, Freehand drawing, Photography • Native speaker in Mandarin Chinese, fluent in English
CONTENTS Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Works Los Angeles State Historic Park Design
4-13
Los Angeles River Bowtie Site Revitalization Design
14-21
Hollenbeck Park Design
22-27
Los Angeles River Downtown Industrial Site Design
28-35
Architecture Works Student Activities Center Design
36-41
Other Works Construction Drawings
42
Construction Drawings
43
Los Angeles Now Map
44
Site Suitability Analysis for LA River Park
45
E-mail: chuanchuantang@gmail.com | Tel: 213(880)-6680 | Address: 24501 Los Alisos Blvd, Apt286, Laguna Hills, CA 92653 2
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01
urban ecotones - transitional spaces for culture and nature
Location: Los Angeles chinatown Studio Time: 08/2013 - 05/2014 Instructor: robert harris Charles Anderson aroussiak gabrielian
URBAN ECOTONES TRANSITIONAL SPACES FOR CULTURE AND NATURE
design objective Create a cultural landscape to bring people into the Chinatown, a natural landscape to bring residents out of the Chinatown to the LA River, and connect the two with a green corridor in between to provide smooth transition and safe passage, producing a network of combined cultural and natural landscape.
design objective
Natural Ecology
Urban Ecotones
urban ecotone
Sub-cultural center along the River and Alameda street Elysian Park Residential
Cultural Ecology
Not a Cornfield
k Par
sw work Net
Residential
Green Catalyst
City
r
Cultural Landscaspe
LA Rive
Natural Landscaspe
Residential
ith Transiti onal Urb
Commercial
an E coto ne
Cultural Landscape
Ecotone: A transition area between two biomes
Chinatown
El Pueblo
Little Tokyo
Natural Landscape LA State Historic Park
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Existing green space along the River and Alameda street
Griffith Park Silver Lake Park Elysian Park
In this study, I want to form an urban ecotone, to provide a smooth transitional landscape between nature and urban culture.
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site map
land uses
design strategies 15-20 Year Forming
1-5 Year Preparing
e 5% Op Stepping Stone
Stepping Stone Connectivity
LA State Historic Park Corridor
ial
Patch
26% In
4%
Patch
dustr
nal
tio
titu Ins
e
n Spac 27% Residential
l
ercia
omm
C 38%
Warehouses Packaging Production Manufacture
Single Family Townhouses Apartments
Collect and reform vacant land into green spaces
Connect local communities with commercial and public districts
The River Park
10-15 Year Blending
5-10 Year Processing
The Natural Park
The Agricultural Park
The site is located near downtown between Chinatown on the west and the River on the east, within walking distance of City Hall. However, this significant location of Chinatown Cornfield makes it even more isolated and segregated fitting into the greater Los Angele. 6
Educational Civic religious Governmental
Office Buildings Hotel Shopping Malls Retail
Parks Recreational Facilities
The Cultural Park
The design of the project creates a range of parks from cultural to agricultural to ecological and to the river
Diversify district borders for dynamic experience
Establish activities and cultural programs in community
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master plan
section a-a’ Alameda Street Perspective View
Access hill top park and lawn from Broadway street via pedestrian bridge over rail roads C’ A
A’
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B
12 14
C
Broadway Street
Rail Roads
Pedestrian Bridge
Hill Top Park
Ramp
Community Plaza
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Great Lawn
Side Walk
Alameda Street
Side WalkRestaurant
B’
Wetland Perspective View
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section b-b’
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Diversified cultural and natural experience in urban parks beside Alameda Street 8 9
6 1
Museum
2
Visitor Center
3
Rock Garden
4
Cultural Park
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Cultural Plaza
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6 7 5 8 9 10 3
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2
4 1
New Commercial Center Botanical Garden Eco - Agricultural Farm Farmer Market
Urban Forest
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Pedestrian Bridge
14 15
Community Plaza Wetland
Lake
Main Plaza Rain Garden
Alameda Street
Lake
Pavilion
Lake
Lake Garden
Community Plaza
Ginko Grove
Rock Garden
Pavilion
Visitor Center
Art Gallery & Museum
Cultural Park Perspective View
Transitional spaces from urban park and green space to ecological wetland and riparian park 1’’ = 100’
The Park design blends culture and ecology with design elements ranging from history, agriculture to the Los Angeles River, expressing a relationship between downtown LA and the River. 8
Bridge
section c-c’
Great Lawn Hill Top Park
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Grove Promenade
Urban Forest
Community Plaza
Botanical Garden
Agricultural Farm
Hill Top Park
Mount Platform
Urban Forest
Community Plaza
Urban Forest
Wetland
Alameda Street
Bridge
Riparian Corridor
LA River
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planting diagram
A Transitional Space From Culture to Nature Supportive Plants Selections
Riparian Corridor
Riparian Plant Communities
Common Birds of The Los Angeles River
The design goals of park are interpretive, ecological and social, expressing the park as a unique cultural landscape
Wetland Ambrosia psilostachya
Alnus rhombifolia
Baccharis salicifolia
Platanus racemosa
Rosa californica
Salix lasiolepis
Coast Live Oak Forest and Woodland Ambrosia psilostachya
Open Lawn System
Artemisia douglasiana
Quercus agrifolia
Baccharis salicifolia
Mimulus cardinalis
Quercus Sambucus engelmannii
Urban Agricultural Farm
Juglans californica
Street Tree System
Cultural Plants Selections
Salix laevigata
Salix lasiolepis
Cinnamon Teal
Green-winged Teal
Bufflehead male
Bufflehead female
Cultural Park
Muscovy female
Heteromeles arbutifolia
Mallard
Urban Agricultural Park
Great Lawn Park
Rock Garden
Farm
Resting Yard
Museum
Education Center
Picnic Zone
Dog Park
Farmer Market
View Point
activity scenario
Rock Garden
Balloon Festival Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Cultural Center
Green Heron
River Plaza
Jogging
Art
Museum
Walking Movie Festival Hill
Agricultural Farm Herb Garden
View Platform
Citrus Groves
Neighborhood Park
Cultural
Horticultural
Agricultural
Ecological
Ginkgo biloba
Chinese pistache
Bambuseae
Liquidambar formosana
Magnolia champaca
Lagerstroemia
Nandina domestica
Prunus cerasifera
Urban Agricultural Plant Communities sity s Diver Specie
Target Threshold
Target Species
0
Kiwifruit
5
Lycium barbarum
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
A variety of natural habitats are created for upland and aquatic life through different plants communities that treat water as the living organism above, beneath, and within its surface matter.
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Apricot
Citrus sinensis
Citrus
Prunus persica
Long-billed Curlew
Cliff Swallow
American Coot
Red-tail Hawk
Black-necked Stilt
Visitor Center
Urban Forest Park
Citrus limon
Kiwifruit
Hooded Merganse Greater Yellowlegs
Hill Top Park
Botanical Gardens
LA River Tour Strolling
Mix-use Lawn
Wetland Park
Forest Area
Oak Woodland
View Point
Picnic Zone
Jogging
Habitat
View Point
View Point
Wetland
Citrus tangerina
Urban Street Tree Communities
Jacaranda mimosifolia
Ginkgo biloba
Tipuana tipu
Liquidambar styraciflua
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Alameda Street Perspective View
hill top park perspective view
alameda street perspective view physical model bird’s eye view of the site
This model is made by card board, chip board, white paper and plastic
farmer market perspective view
botanical garden perspective view
Farmer’s Market
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Vegetation
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02
REASSEMBLING ECOLOGIES - From protected to Natural River Bank
Location: Bowtie Parcel, Los Angeles river, Los Angeles Studio Time: 01/2013-05/2013 Instructor: Alex Robinson
existing conditions
Bowtie Site located in Taylor Yard lies within the Elysian Valley, framed by the hills of Elysian Park on the west and Mount Washington on the east. The main strategy is to regenerate a living landscape along the river with constructed wetland and ecological flood control, integrated into an overall restorative design to treat polluted river water and provide more riverfront open space. Los Angele River
Highway System
Street Grid
Vacant Space
site impression
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Design Goal
base schematic master plan
design strategy Increase Habitat Diversity
SECTION A
“ Army Crops” Master Plan
Design a multi-purpose riverfront park
Oak Woodland
Sage Shrub
Trail
Bike Path
Vegetation Terrace
Vegetation Terrace
Willow
Enhance Water Quality Wetland
Riparian corridor provide river habitat
SECTION B
Riparian Corridor
Willow Grid Oak Woodland
Control Flood Ecology
Create soft edge as wetland, marsh area
Trail
Bike Path
Vegetation Terrace
Wetland
Safe continuous pedestrian and bike trails Coastal Prairie
River Beach Create Recreation System
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SECTION C
Transition
The concrete bank has been removed along the river, and a naturalized channel edge functioning as riparian corridor has been established, which is highly resilient and rebounds quickly from flood and flow damage.
River Terrace
Hand Sketch of Initial Design
1’’ = 100’
Oak Woodland
Trail
Bike Path
Vegetation Terrace
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bird’s eye rendered drawing
circulation
hydrology
habitat
program
Multiple access points are established to create access to this hidden resource.
Urban run off is collected and cleaned, supporting the surrounding plant life.
Restores existing habitat, encourages natural settlement, rehabilitates natural corridor.
The river landscape creates a diversity of activities according to the distance to the River.
Railroad
Main Water Flow
Upland Oak Habitat
Secondary Water Flow
Sage Habitat
Upper Park Wetland Park Lower Park
Vehicle Path Stormwater Outfall
Chaparral Habitat
Wetland
Coastal Prairie Habitat
Willow Grid
Riparian Habitat
habitat diagram Chaparral
Terrance
Growing evergreen shrub oak and other drought-resistant habitat plants
Bike Path River Beach
Sage Shrub
Ramp
Low-growing drought-deciduous adapted to the semi-arid area
Vegetation Terrace Upland Chaparral Habitat Coastal Scrub Habitat Riparian Habitat
18
bird’s eye “skeleton” drawing
Riparian Cottonwoods and willow typically dominate the landscape
etl eW
d an
Dr
y
d lan
th Pa
d lan Up
ac
r ive sR
rr Te
ele ng sA
Lo
19
program diagram
physical model
rip-rap beach perspective view
1’’ = 40’ scale physical model Upper Park Offer gathering space and grand view of river
Pedestrian Trails
hand drawing of gabion wall
Provide biking, walking and jogging trails
Lower Park Resting, Fishing Birdwatching
and
circulation diagram Bike Trail
hand drawing of river terrace
Offer continuous and uninterrupted movement along the River
Pedestrian Walk Provide safe public access to the River
Adventure Walk Create public space and direct river access
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03
GREEN CATALYST - Hollenbeck Park Design
Location: Boyle Heights, Los Angeles Studio Time: 08/2012-12/2012 Instructor: Tiffany Beamer, Jennifer Jones, Jennifer Toy
Located at the edge of a dense residential zone, Hollebeck park incorporates active recreation including a great lawn, trails, water features and picnic areas in native habitat landscapes. It is conceived as a continuous and inter-connected matrix of topography and infrastructure that provides the movement of water decorated with wildlife, habitat and plants.
figure ground
city grid
topography
green open space
Downtown LA site
Boyle Heights
30 min 50 min
10 min 20 min
Hollenbeck Park is a city park in the Boyle Heights of east Los Angeles. It is an important node that connects the western downtown area and eastern Latino Community.
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Currently, the outmoded park is lack of attraction to people. It is also unsustainable because of artificial infrastructure and simple species planting.
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elements & issues
new sustainable park
Using Hollenbeck park as a opportunity to sprawling the green space, creating a new user-friendly green space in human and urban wildlife scale.
MASTER PLAN People
Culture
Environmental Health
Urban Canopy Urban Patches Backyard Stepping Stones Unattended Fragments
Society
Sustainable Oasis Sustainable Oasis
Social and Ecological Health
Hollenbeck park design strikes a new balance between human needs and environmental friendliness towards sustainability. To accomplish this goal, the plan embraces and tracks sustainability in five major categories: Nature, Water, Energy, Materials and People.
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10
2
Wetland
activity study
age study
the flow of people
KEY
design scenario Chaparral
8am Walking
Exercising
10am
12pm 2pm 4pm
6pm 8pm
4
Meadows
3 7
27% 50 and up 11% 31-49 30% 16 -30
Playing
1
Oak Savannah
Coastal Sage Scrub
6 8
1 Entrance Plaza 2 Pedestrian Bridge 3 Education Center 4 Wetland 5 Big Lawn 6 Gardens 7 Picnic Area 8 Shade Structure 9 Adventure Play 10 Park Loop
32% 15 or less
Gathering
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section A
hand drawing
section b
perspective view
section c
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27
04
CONFLUENCE - A Flowing Together of People and Water
Location: Los Angeles River Downtown Industrial Site, Los Angeles Studio Time: 08/2013-12/2013 Instructor: Charles Anderson
site map
now
future
The site borders downtown and residential neighborhoods with a culturally rich history and vast potential for development. However, because of layers of infrastructure, river, rails, and freeways, the site is disconnected from neighboring areas. The aim is to allow for significantly increased access to the river and diversify social and ecological life along the river.
Industry & Cultural Diversity
Riverfront Park
constraint Los Angeles River downtown industrial site is seen as the catalyst for urban renewal in adjacent neighborhoods, connecting the Boyle Heights community and the emerging Arts District to the river’s edge. Layers of Infrastructures
Vacant Space and Parking Area
Rails on both Sides of River
Wall and Dead End Street
“NOBODY KNOWS LOS ANGELES WITHOUT KNOWING ITS RIVER” JOAN DIDION, WRITER
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Site Analysis - Infrastructure
building outlines
circulation
design motive
master plan
Neighborhood Park Riparian Corridor Green Space
Pedestrian Bridge
Residential properties border the industrial area to the east of the River
Green Space
Highway
Freeways and rail meet at the site, and the River are tightly intertwined with them
Rail Yard Park
Bike Path
Flowing Natural River
Flowing Tea Terrace
River Terraces
Chinatown Civic Center
Rip Rap Beach
Highway
Entrance Plaza
Subway Little Tokyo
Staples Center
design process Vegetation Terrace
Line 1
Highway
Simple
park and open space
rail system
Commuter Rails
Discontinuous open space at LA River downtown Industrial area
Active rail and rail-storage facilities cut off the River from adjoining development
Line 2 Change
Line 3 Soft
The Project examines the relationship between landscape and infrastructure. The design proposal seeks to regenerate a living landscape, converting the large concrete channel into a green corridor with riparian, sage shrub, woodland and chaparral habitat.
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detail site plan
Plant Community
Riparian Scrub could be typically dominated by willows and cotton wood trees. Riparian vegetation is highly resilient and rebounds quickly from flood and flow damage. River Bank Terraces could be planted with riparian vegetation to create connections between in-river habitat and habitat adjacent to the channel.
Habitat Section
Coast Live Oak Forest and Woodland could be associated with upland areas that are on raised banks and terraces.
Open Program Lawn System
Rain Gardens will filter run off pollution, improve water quality and create habitat for birds & butterflies
Semi-dry Habitat
Wetland Habitat
River Habitat
Wetland Habitat
Semi-dry Habitat
Upland Habitat
1’’ = 40’
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bird’s eye view
Creation of riverfront parks on the east side of the River, connecting the Boyle Heights community to the water’s edge with terraces. The park allows and encourages sports and leisure activities, form walking to running, biking, skateboarding and a series of performance and relaxing areas connected by a network of paths or activity zones.
activity scenario
perspective view of river plaza
River Plaza
Art
Balloon Festival
Gathering
Biking
Walking Bird Watching Open Space
LA River Tour
Movie Festival River Plaza
Fountain Plaza
perspective view of river bikeway
The revitalization and restoration of the River in this special location re-establish visual, physical, social, and ecological connections to the Los Angeles River. What’s more, it should also address more than just a great open space, but also a place full of programs and activities that everyone could find their way to explore the urban river as well as the natural habitats.
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VIBRANT HUB - University Student Activity Center
Location: Northwestern a&f technology university, xi’an Studio Time: 03/2008-12/2008 Instructor: duanyuan gu, gang lou
The student activity center sits in the middle of the campus of Northwestern A&F Technology University and Ling Residential Neighborhood. It strengthens a hub of student life and activity, designed to cater to the increasing needs for sports and social activities from the rapid growing student population.
limited space in the campus
existing condition
design process
With the fast expanding school enrollment, the campus has become much more crowded than ever. More spaces are demanded for a comfortable campus life.
creating space with architecture
The student activity center follows the architecture style of most buildings in the campus, choosing square box as its general shape. From this starting point, boolean subtraction operation is used several times for better space manipulation. Student Activity Center is built following the shape of a lake to the north.
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space concept analysis
the building will breathe
master plan
Inside and Outside
Mix and Split Site Analysis
Landscape Analysis
Road Analysis
Dynamic and Static
The design follows the traditional Chinese philosophy of Yin-Yang, splitting the building into two separate parts with contradicting design concepts. The inner court encloses its contents from the outside, while the outer garden openly connects with nearby landscape.
First Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan
Third Floor Plan
Fourth Floor Plan
architectural scale analysis
architectural sketch
The design and model are developed together. The model help me understand the relationship between architecture and space, as well as inner and outer space.
the interests of people 7*7 homogeneous grid
first floor layout
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rearranged column grid
second floor layout
traffic spaced is on axis
third floor layout
insert the vitreous
fourth floor layout
the vitreous and the stairs
space relationship
the walls
south elevation
east elevation
final floor layout
39
bird’s eye view perspective
perspective view
The student activity center design emphasizes on bright elements. The lake facing side of walls in the north are all made with huge glasses reflecting the blue color of the lake. The center is divided into several sections with different functions. The north side of center are designed mostly for recreational and relaxing purposes. Students can enjoy the beautiful lake landscape view through the glass wall.
north elevation
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west Elevation
section 1
section 2
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construction drawings - construction details for urban plaza in yinchuan
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construction drawings - collection of various works
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08
other work - aia | los angeles 2013 internship
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other work - the site suitability analysis for la river
In this study, I tried to find location for new parks in low-income areas near the LA River using GIS (Geographic Information System)
Income Distribution
Population Density
LA County Parks
Building Outlines
gis intermediate processing results
The purpose of this study is to find the most suitable sites for a park along the LA River, targeting mostly low-income population, with a few other location restrictions. In the end, six candidate sites are selected and ranked using several geoprocessing tools. Three of them are good choices as open spaces satisfying all the conditions.
Los Angeles Now map 6
The main objective of my internship program is a mapping project called “MapLA�. It is a map database initiated by the LA branch of American Institute of Architects, trying to include iconic landmarks, important addresses, Los Angeles architects and historical or cultural buildings within the Los Angeles area.
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gis model builder flow chart
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