land • mark, winter 2016-17

land mark Colorado State University landscape architecture magazine / winter 2017

identity

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Illustrations by Joe McGrane, Associate Professor

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1. andrew baklaich '17 2. ben schnake '15 3. jane choi, associate professor 4. carl vogt '17 5. christian drury ‘15 6. may liu ‘16, student editor 7. cameron mccamy ‘17 8. allie bunker ‘16 9. kyra czerwinski ‘17 10. lindsay hand ‘18 11. scott carman, instructor 12. doug elgar ‘16 13. cori burt ‘16

editor’s message Welcome to the winter 2017 edition of land.mark magazine, built around the theme of identity. “Identity” seems at first blush to be a simple enough concept: the way in which something is known to be what it is; the set of characteristics that make a person, or thing, or idea, unique. Dictionary.com defines identity as the “condition or character as to who a person or what a thing is; the qualities, beliefs, etc., that distinguish or identify a person or thing;” and “the condition of being oneself or itself, and not another.” But identity is not a changeless, immutable fact, particularly for humans and their endeavors. Our bodies, ideas and emotions change over time, sometimes dramatically, changing our identities simultaneously. Perhaps, then, identity is best described as a snapshot of what a person or thing is at a particular moment in time. In that vein, this issue explores the idea of identity: for individuals, for designers, for the profession and study of landscape architecture. In addition to our standard updates on the CSU Landscape Architecture Program and its people, our student authors have tackled the complex issue of identity in their feature articles. Douglas Elgar ‘15 explores the rapid pace of change on the Colorado State University campus, and what that means for the future of the institution and the memories of its alumni. Kyra Czerwinski ‘16 presents a biopic of NYC artist Marie Lorenz, who travels the world’s urban waterways, finding meaning, beauty, perspective and ultimately, an identity of place in those waters. Finally, Carl Vogt ‘16 interviews retired Fort Collins Sustainability Officer and landscape architect Bruce Hendee about his own experiences with understanding and helping to shape the identity of Fort Collins.

We hope you enjoy these musings on identity and as always, we welcome your letters, comments and feedback.

We look forward to engaging with you and expanding the reach and impact of the magazine as its own identity continues to evolve in 2017.

- Jane Choi, Associate Professor and Managing Editor

THE COVER: A representation of the growth of landscape architecture students beyond the boundaries of their perceived identity.

Designed by May Liu ‘16 BSLA

land•mark is the annual e-magazine of the Landscape Architecture Program at Colorado State University. The contents herein were produced as a uniquely collaborative endeavor amongst interested students and faculty with a shared commitment to creating a forum where alumni, students and members of the landscape architecture community can have a greater voice and connection to our program. It aims to allow readers to stay apprised of newsworthy activities and events, to serve as a hub for current landscape architecture news, and to provide links to other sites of interest.

Each issue of land • mark celebrates a unique moment in time, a slice of the present at CSU, offering a glimpse into the focus and priorities of students, faculty and professionals. Thank you for being a part of our community.

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contents 3 Background Illustration Design: Andrew Baklaich ‘17, Allie Bunker ‘16, Cori Burt ‘16, May Liu ‘16

people

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alumni news

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studio works

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news & events

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feature articles

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faculty news

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education abroad

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student awards

musings

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Advance your design skills!

Advance your theoretical skills!

Advance your representational skills!

Advance your technical skills!

ATTENTION, BSLA DEGREE HOLDERS! Please consider our new Master of Landscape Architecture program for your graduate degree. Its principles-, methods- and skillsbuilding studios and opportunity for focus in CSU’s leading environmental disciplines are geared for both promotions and new directions in firms and agencies.

Your accredited BSLA will satisfy requirements for advanced standing in the MLA program.

For application details please contact Professor Brad Goetz at 970-491-7690 or bradley.goetz@colostate.edu or Professor Merlyn Paulson at 970-491-7594 or merlyn.paulson@colostate.edu

people • 3

people THE LA PROGRAM Administration

Faculty

Jessica Davis

Jane Choi

Kathi Nietfeld

Kelly A. Curl

Tracy Smith

Brad Goetz

Sarah Solano

Patrick Martin

Danielle Martin

Joe McGrane

Department Head, Professor jessica.davis@colostate.edu

Office Manager, Graduate Coordinator kathi.nietfeld@colostate.edu

Director of Undergraduate Advising tracy.smith@colostate.edu

Account Manager sarah.solano@colostate.edu

Academic Support Coordinator danielle.abeyta@colostate.edu

Associate Professor jane.choi@colostate.edu

Associate Professor kelly.curl@colostate.edu

Professor, Director, Co-key Advisor bradley.goetz@colostate.edu

Associate Professor patrick.martin@colostate.edu

Associate Professor j.mcgrane@colostate.edu

Merlyn Paulson Professor, Co-key Advisor merlyn.paulson@colostate.edu

For more information and news from the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, please visit our website at <hortla.agsci.colostate.edu> and ‘Like’ our Facebook page at <www.facebook.com/CSU.land.mark>

4 • news & events

news & events EVENTS L.A. Days 2015 The long-running “L.A. Days” springtime event, a student-organized program bringing the most prominent practitioners and academics to CSU’s campus for an amazing lecture series, has expanded to the fall season. Called “Fall into Landscape Architecture”, this additional series features leading local practitioners who share topics and disseminate ideas that are critical to our region.

Julia Czerniak Associate Dean and Professor, Syracuse University School of Architecture

Claire Fellman Director, Snøhetta, New York.

Snøhetta is an integrated design practice of architecture, landscape, interiors, furniture, graphic and branding design. In her presentation, Fellman described the unique culture of their office and the daring results that result from out-of-the-box thinking and cutting-edge approaches to design. <www.snohetta.com>

Czerniak is the founder of UPSTATE, a design research organization at the Syracuse School of Architecture that works at the intersection of design, research and real estate. Her design work focuses on the potential for landscape to remake public urban space. She is also a prolific writer, arguing powerfully on behalf of the profession for a larger role in the shaping of contemporary cities. <soa.syr.edu/live/ profiles/22-julia-czerniak>

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Ying-Yu Hung Managing Principal, SWA, Los Angeles; Lecturer at the University of Southern California Hung’s project designs live at the nexus of environmental and development issues as they relate to large-scale landscape infrastructure and urban design. She has been leading the effort to revitalize the downtown Los Angeles area, with numerous projects underway, including the new park over the 101 freeway.

David Walker Partner, Peter Walker Partners Walker leads many of the international design projects for PWP. Walker’s presentation focused on the firm’s desisgn for the World Trade Center Memorial in New York City, a project he led that has garnered numerous awards and is now one of the biggest attractions in New York.

<www.swagroup.com>

<www.pwpla.com/firm/ partners/david-walker>

Andrea Cochran Principal and Founder, Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture Cochran’s work aims to sculpt and navigate spaces through the integration of landscape, art and architecture. Creating sophisticated, poetic designs for both public and private clients, Cochran’s firm has been recognized as one of the foremost design forces in contemporary practice. <www.acochran.com>

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EVENTS Fall Into Landscape Architecture 2015 <w

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David Tr o a s t is the City M a n a g e r o f Hackensack, New Jersey, where he works to implement the essentials of successful downtown districts. David highlighted the importance of landscape architects in city planning and gave students a glimpse of the ongoing revitalization of Main Street in Hackensack through concentration of housing units and introduction of urban green space.

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Jim Leggitt i s t h e p r i m a r y visualist for studioINSITE and is an urban planner, architect, illustrator, and author in touch with both classical and digital drawing methods. In his presentation to students, Jim emphasized the use of hand-drawing techniques in combination with use of digital SketchUp frameworks for representing designed landscapes.

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Anna Cawrse, Associate a t D e s i g n Workshop and graduate o f CSU’s LA Program, gave students her advice on becoming inspired via “aesthetic absorption” and discussed how inspirational elements are translated into design. She spoke of her path through academia and discussed what students can e x p e c t f r o m p r o fe s s i o n a l l i fe .

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Chris Dunn, Principal of Dunn + K i l ey P l a n n i n g a n d Landscape Architecture, shared stories of what it was like to work for Dan Kiley during the early years of his career and presented his current work with D+K, mostly focusing on ski resorts and residential landscapes. Dunn also touched on his most recent development of tangible sustainability standards fo r “ c e r t i f i e d h e a l t hy ” p l a c e s .

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Jesse Clark, founder of S t r ea m Design, gave concise overviews of four of his most influential stream projects in the Denver area, each involving the enhancement of urban hydrologic systems. Jesse works to restore waterfronts, solve grading concerns, and manage urban stormwater issues using ecologically sound, selfsustaining methods of remediation.

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Bill Wenk, founder o f W e n k Associates, presented a handful of his most recent projects which have transformed communities to accomodate aspects of changing lifestyles and increasing diversity associated with younger generations.

Bill’s designs address concerns of climate change, pollution, and water constraints while prioritizing contemporary uses in a practical way.

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A Tradition of Excellence: CSU SCASLA By: Andrew Baklaich ‘17, BSLA

C olorado State University’s Student Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (SCASLA), is the first, and was for a very long

time the only, student chapter of ASLA in the state of Colorado. Founded over twenty years ago, SCASLA is a student-run organization lead by several officers who spearhead event planning, strategizing, and marketing for a wide variety of events and functions designed to enhance the academic and career development opportunities for students, as well as boost the prominence of the Landscape Architecture Program at CSU. In coordination with affiliates such as the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Colorado Chapter of ASLA (CCASLA), the Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, the College of Agricultural Sciences, and Colorado State University, SCASLA provides a forum for the students of CSU’s Landscape Architecture Program and a public face for the Program, both within the University and throughout Colorado and the nation.

Some of the more popular SCASLA-planned functions and events include visits to landscape architecture firms around the Denver area and hosting of bi-weekly guest lectures by principals and key designers from these firms. Volunteering at CCASLA events and functions in addition to providing a platform for a mentoring program for the students are some of the activities SCASLA does in alliance with CCASLA. A few years ago, SCASLA provided a strong volunteer presence at the ASLA 2014 national convention in Denver, as well as at the 2015 ASLA conference in Chicago, with three SCASLA officers receiving a Travel Grant from CSU to fly out and attend the 4-day conference.

Among the many volunteering, networking, learning and career development opportunities SCASLA plans and provides, the largest is LA Days. Each year, SCASLA plans and orchestrates this week-long lecture series that hosts renowned landscape architects and designers from across the country through various fundraising and marketing strategies. LA Days is the main event that SCASLA undertakes every year and it consistently draws attendance from not only a variety of CSU

student majors, but also students from the CU-Boulder and CU-Denver architecture and environmental design programs, not to mention the many local professionals and alumni who attend each year.

LA Days has been a SCASLA tradition for over 23 years and has been a great success at exposing students to the prospect and potential of the profession of landscape architecture. The series inspires and enlightens students through live presentations by some of the world’s top practitioners and provides opportunities for one-on-one dialogue with various esteemed designers in a variety of settings, ranging from the student studios on campus to dinner at fine local restaurants.

Through such events, SCASLA provides a platform through which further academic and professional enrichment can occur and allows CSU’s landscape architecture students to reach out and network with others within the academic and professional realms of landscape architecture.

Officers and members of SCASLA, through the hard work and dedication required to put on the wide variety of operations, not only receive the rewarding benefits of direct exposure to, and interaction with, the broad spectrum of landscape architects practicing today, but also gain the experience and skills necessary for leadership and career advancement.

In this way, SCASLA continually provides new perspectives, approaches, and insights to the landscape architecture student experience at CSU, allowing students to explore the meaning of the profession at the same time that they are finding their own identity and voices as designers.

For more information about SCASLA, please refer to their website at <http://scasla.agsci.colostate.edu/.>

Opposite: SCASLA students visit the office of Wenk Associates

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FACULTY NEWS Associate Professor KELLY CURL was honored to be selected as the recipient of the 2014-2015 Charles N. Shepardson Faculty Teaching Award from the College of Agricultural Sciences for her dedication to teaching excellence.

In the spring of 2015, Curl presented her research titled Reshaping PostMined Land for Future Use at the annual CELA Conference at Kansas State University. She also had her photographs commissioned for the short film LOOKING DOWN: Rediscovering Urban Ground, authored by Katya Crawford and Phoebe Lickwar. This film is a collection of photography of urban grounds, studying and recording the urban ground surfaces, making us more aware of materiality, composition, and the complex built and natural systems in which we live. Curl was also on one of the One Health research interdisciplinary teams to be selected for funding and continued research by the University. Their research is an Idea Flow Proposal titled Human, Wildlife, and Land Health in Residential Ecosystems. <www.kellycurl.com> <http://la.agsci.colostate.edu/people/kelly_curl/>

Curl was also selected to be part of the jury for the Stanley Hotel Maze Competition in Estes Park, CO. The jury reviewed over 300 entries from 34 countries and selected Mairin Dallaryan Standing of New York as the winner.

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FACULTY NEWS Professor MERLYN PAULSONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S current technical service efforts involve community and river restoration design and planning for landscapes devastated by the Larimer County flood of September, 2013 (please see <www.youtube.com/ watch?v=stghpQxrbUQ>). The overall goals are to protect the General Store and historic hotel in Glen Haven from future flooding, create a central public gathering space along the river, slow runoff, and mitigate flow surges during storms.

Objectives include restoring the river and creating new landforms with meanders, pools, riffles, backwaters, falls, gravel bars, cut banks, and riparian vegetation, resulting in lower water temperatures and improved habitat for fish, benthic organisms, amphibians, songbirds, raptors, and wildlife. New cultural shrub patterns reference the historic private property boundaries of the river valley. The images shown here are representative of ongoing concepts presented to the community and to the Big Thompson River Restoration Coalition. <http://la.agsci.colostate.edu/people/merlyn-paulson/>

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FACULTY NEWS Associate Professor JANE CHOI’S design firm, C2 Studio Landscape Architecture, teamed up with architects, engineers, coastal ecologists and others to participate in an international competition called ‘Boston Living with Water.’ The competition was organized by the City of Boston, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the Boston Harbor Association and the Boston Society of Architects, with the intent of finding solutions for the growing threats of sea level rise and storm surge for the City of Boston. The team was a large and diverse multidisciplinary group of individuals, in keeping with the complexity of the design challenge.

Jane and her design partner, Scott Carman, were key decision-makers on the team, responsible for proposing landscape measures that would mitigate the effects of storm surge while adapting to rising sea levels in a way that enhances the City’s coastline. Five very talented landscape architecture students at CSU (Emily Harrison MLA I ‘15, Jessica Doig BSLA ’15, Taylor Tidwell BSLA ‘15, Long Li MLA II ‘15, Matthew Bombard BSLA ‘15) and one from the University of Colorado Denver (Kate Bolton MLA I ‘17) assisted with the voluminous research, conceptualization, design, graphic representation and writing tasks required for a competition of this magnitude. Choi’s team was selected as one of twelve finalists from over 50 submittals originating in eight countries. <http://www.bostonlivingwithwater.org/portfolio/semifinalist-thehydroelectriccanal> <http://la.agsci.colostate.edu/people/jane-choi/>

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FACULTY NEWS Associate Professor JOE MCGRANE was recently commissioned through the City of Fort Collins Art in Public Places Program to create a public art piece for the new addition to the Gardens on Spring Creek. Recently, he has been working with Logan Simpson Design, the City of Fort Collins Planning Department and local land owners to develop a vision for the Mountain Vista Subarea, the last of the Fort Collins greenfields, located between the Anheuser Busch plant and the city. He continues to work with the College of Agricultural Sciences, the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and the University Facilities Department in preserving and enhancing the PERC garden site as construction of the new on-campus stadium moves forward. <http://la.agsci.colostate.edu/people/joe-mcgrane/> Mountain Vista Community Agriculture Workshop with Kurt Friesen â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;94, Director of Park Planning and Design, City of Fort Collins. Joe McGrane is at far right.

Mountain Vista Community Agriculture Workshop Idea Graphics

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Big Mine Park Master Plan Illustrations for Mundus Bishop Design

University Gardens Study, Ft. Collins, CO

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Students Matt Bombard ‘15 and Taylor Tidwell ‘15 exchanging ideas on studio projects

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Alumni Interviews by Allie Bunker â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;15, BSLA

Our alumni have traveled all across the world and are continuously pushing the boundaries of the profession. Meet three of our notable alumni and see where their journeys as design professionals have taken them since leaving the program at CSU.

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Cannon Ivers’ Harvard GSD “Wanderer” Topography project

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Different Values in the World

Takako Kato ‘04. As an international student, Takako Kato came to Colorado State University with a different perspective and background than most undergraduate students. After finishing high school, Takako moved to an area of Tokyo called Kichijoji, and it was there where she first discovered the field of landscape architecture. Takako remembers that while she was an industrial design student, a visiting professor from the United States gave an introductory lecture on landscape architecture. In what may have seemed like a rash decision, Takako decided almost immediately to come to Colorado State University to study this profession.

Significantly, it was her childhood in Japan that had a profound influence on her perspective of the profession and approach to design.

Growing up in Japan, a relatively small and homogeneous country, Takako learned the importance of observing and understanding other cultures. In Colorado, she experienced a wide variety of different cultures and environments, and it was this “difference” that greatly impacted Takako’s identity as a designer. After graduating from CSU in 2004, Takako went back to Japan with an understanding of the “different values in the world” and worked for four years as a designer for a landscape construction company, before switching to a design focus with her current employer, Ai-shokubutsu Landscape Planning Office. Her work at Ai-shokubutsu is primarily softscape design with a focus on planting plans and consulting services for gardeners and landscape managers. This set of responsibilities allows Takako to get involved in a wide range of landscape architecture projects and to

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provide technical knowledge on the project as it relates to landscape issues.

One notable recent project was the reclamation and redevelopment of barren land that was formerly an old factory site in the Tokyo Bay area. The goal for this urban center was to provide green space for two apartment buildings and a green network within the greater bay area, while considering both the current and long-term ecological impacts on the site following the completion of the project. The long-

Right: Workshop with residents in Tokyo Bay who are being taught how to plant daffodils.

Bottom: Site visit to Tokyo Bayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s old factory site where reclaimed land fronts a canal.

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term management of the site was controlled by Japanese landscape architects who were involved in the design, construction, maintenance and management of the grounds. This design approach allowed for the formulation of an ecological restoration program for a site that was previously considered unusable, resulting in a reclaimed condition suitable for residential development. In large part, the success of the design and the project was due to careful research focusing on the flora and fauna, as well as a robust knowledge of the site’s ecology, including the introduction of new wildlife habitat within the green spaces. The project also included an educational component, with the landscape architects remaining involved in the monitoring of the habitat at the site and teaching the residents of the apartments about the land they live on.

Throughout her studies at CSU and her practice as a landscape architect in Japan, Takako has discovered that her clearest definition of identity in landscape architecture is “place,” an accumulation of nature, culture, climate, customs and industry. These factors are essential for landscape architects to take into consideration during the design process in order to create the best possible design for the space. In Japan, there is a term similar to the meaning of the identity of a person or thing: “rashisa.” For Takako, her consideration of and her respect for the rashisa of the space to be designed are significant factors when she designs landscapes. Another important element of identity in Japanese culture is conservation, and this is especially the case with regard to landscape. For both new and historic gardens, conservation reflects the value that is placed on the landscape. The conservation of the site can be expressed in many ways, including references to historical background, engineering developments and design style. These aspects of a design are what Takako finds truly rewarding in her work. Another facet of conservation is sustainability, which Takako suggests will become increasingly critical for the landscape industry. In her dissertation “Children’s Garden for Education for Sustainability Development (ESD),” she examined how landscape can contribute to sustainable development, particularly through the design of educational children’s gardens. In these places, landscape can be the perfect medium to teach youth about many facets of the environment and natural ecology. Takako hopes to have many more opportunities to engage in this type of inspiring work as her career in landscape architecture continues to evolve.

Right: Walking Tour with residents at Tokyo Bay

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Constant Flux through the Trajectory of Design

Cannon Ivers ‘03. From great backyard adventures in a national forest in southwest Colorado to circumnavigating the globe, Cannon Ivers has immersed himself in outdoor spaces. He was raised in agricultural hamlet of Bayfield, Colorado, where he discovered man’s capacity for creativity. Originally, Cannon came to Colorado State University to study Fisheries Biology, however he quickly became fascinated with the discipline of landscape architecture after taking his first history of landscape architecture class.

It is Cannon’s great belief that his frequent travels have significantly impacted his identity and that he and others are shaped by the “sum of our experiences.” Without these experiences, many of Cannon’s works and his identity as a landscape architect may have had a much different trajectory.

From the study abroad trip to Europe that many of CSU’s landscape architecture students embark upon and a separate ‘Semester at Sea,’ Cannon experienced many different countries and their unique cultures during his circumnavigation of the globe. In particular, the Semester at Sea, which Cannon refers to as a “touchstone” in his life, was a floating campus that stopped in ten different countries along the way and is a journey that Cannon frequently reflects on, due to the great inspiration he felt from the amazing landscapes that he saw. Because Cannon only needed to finish a Spring Semester at CSU to graduate, he spent his final Fall Semester interning at EDAW (now called AECOM). After graduation, Cannon transferred to EDAW’s London office where he has remained for ten years.

London was a city that Cannon had previously visited during his landscape architecture study abroad trip to Europe. In London, he was constantly inspired by an energetic city with a diverse demographic makeup and a culture that is dramatically shaped by the palimpsest of London’s layered history. Much of London’s identity is derived from the layers of urban habitation that have been built up over centuries. This layering of culture attracted

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Opposite: Cannon Ivers Top: Model of Cannonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seating concept for the Milan project.

Bottom: Built seating project in Milan.

Sketch of Florence from Piazza del Michaelangelo

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Cannon to the city and has also inspired many of his projects. For a design charrette for Ground Zero in New York City, Cannon saw and developed solutions that layer the emotional and nationalistic context of that site and created a fascinating experience for visitors.

Another project, Burgess Park, is a 128 acre park in London, which previously contained urban infrastructure (e.g., houses, streets, factories, canals, and warehouse), with little green space available.

Much like the identity of greater London, the Burgess Park site had a rich history, which includes being repeatedly bombed during World War II, resulting in changing and re-purposing the abandoned area into a park. Burgess Park speaks of its history without plaques or memorials, but its historical and overlapping identity is conveyed to those who now know it as a great green space to enjoy.

By immersing himself in so many landscapes and by experiencing a myriad of cultures, Cannon’s travels have greatly impacted him and allowed him to bring more nuanced thinking to the projects he’s worked on. Without all of these great adventures, he believes that his “cone of vision” would be limited to his Colorado experiences or to thoughts and images published in magazines or other project precedents. This growth has allowed Cannon to use an applied analysis and design response that encourages a certain sensitivity to the special factors that many projects require.

To continue his professional growth, Cannon decided to attend the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) so he could continue to learn about this transforming profession and particularly to study the trends concerning programmability and space-as-stage ideas.

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process for the present and as it impacts the aging of a design.

During Cannon’s years at Colorado State University and throughout his professional career, he’s found that technology continues to profoundly impact landscape architecture as the profession continues to mature. It was partly this fascination with technology and a desire to grow as a designer that led Cannon to continue with Harvard’s GSD program and to explore digital fabrication, coding, and parametric design. Working with tools such as Grasshopper, Cannon has found that there is the potential to utilize software to help the designer find the outcome that will result in the most interesting and evocative designs. Another such digital tool, geographic information systems (GIS), helps contextualize sites and enables new methods for analysis and allows the designer to fully consider the impacts of larger systems.

Cannon feels that each site has a unique identity and a site-specific DNA that makes each project distinct from all others. His career has given him the opportunity to work on projects such as Battersea Power Station in London, Ground Zero in New York City and the 2012 London Olympic Park, and on each site, he has been able to find that special DNA. With different specific cultural, emotional, environmental, iconic and historical contexts and characteristics, each site must be considered as a separate entity within a larger context of urban systems that will have different impacts on visitors to the site.

Another area of focus for Cannon is social ecology and the study of urban spaces, which he feels should work harder, rather than just serving as a unidimensional space. An additional area of interest for him is the accommodation of visitors to a site while considering the fine line between flexibility and banality. It is Cannon’s aspiration to explore this trend as it evolves in the coming decades.

Finding it hard to leave London during the ten years he’d lived there, Cannon believed his design process was “becoming stale, predictable and threadbare,” and he wanted to find a fresh spark. He reports that he found that spark at Harvard. In particular, Cannon’s studies focused on the concept that time was a consideration for designers and that time impacts sites and their identities. Time should be considered throughout the design process and seen as an active

In reflecting on the profession, Cannon said “we shape the spatial qualities of the built environment, sure, but we are also engaged with social sciences, psychology and human behavior, ecology and natural systems and the sensorial aspects of a place” and that the sum of these elements is the identity of our profession. We don’t design just to solve one problem, he says, but to address current and future issue as well. Designs that are “good design that function on so many levels is paramount,” and for many sites it is a very specific design that is required in order to create something that is aesthetically engaging as well as democratic and inclusive.

Opposite: Harvard GSD “Wanderer” Topography

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Battersea concept ideas for “Enchanted Forest”

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Molding the Landscape

Tom Flood ‘82 Growing up in the mill city of Manchester, New Hampshire, Tom Flood had a constant interaction with the environment while also beginning his lasting experience with, and dedication to, environmental awareness. Having spent the majority of his time outside, he developed a deep respect for the natural environment that lead him to an interest in architecture and forestry. It was within this landscape that Tom saw the dysfunction and the disrepair that landscapes can fall prey to through neglect and misuse. He witnessed first hand his own city’s dump burning tires weekly and residents dumping their trash in ditches or next to a creek, creating a river that was polluted and choked with sewage.

Feeling a strong attraction to the Rocky Mountains, Tom came to Colorado State University to study forestry and to become a forest ranger. After a climbing trip in Bolivia, he discovered that landscape architecture was a good blend of both design and construction.

After graduating, Tom worked for a local design-build firm in Fort Collins before taking a position as a Grounds Manager for Poudre Valley Hospital. Managing the five-acre fitness park and its gardens, he “discovered that managing a landscape well really impacted the environment and that a good design was only as successful as the way it was managed.”

Finding a new path at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Tom became the Director of Landscape Services and eventually managed the landscape architecture and landscape construction for the campus. Under his guidance, the campus’ previous “mediocre green space” became what is now known as the University of Missouri Botanic Gardens, which spreads throughout the campus. His previous experience at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, which

included the creation of master plans and garden development, fed his growing knowledge of landscape architecture and construction and played a significant role in this project.

Following on his success at Mizzou, Tom found his calling and identity as a landscape architect at Elon University in North Carolina.

For 13 years now, he has evolved the campus landscape from the “southern estate” look to more of a southern “garden,” giving the entire campus the feel of a lush arboretum. By transforming the identity of the landscape, he has in turn created a new visual and physical identity for the university.

The most satisfying part for Tom is that he gets to be a part of the entire process; from designing the project, seeing it through to completion, and having the landscape continue to mature for years to come.

For Tom, landscape architecture is about “...great landscapes that are living legacies. They might be great university quads or intimate nooks, creating many different spaces for people to enjoy or reflect on. Creating places that bring a moment of pleasure to their lives, a place for that first kiss, or planting trees that will grace a space for generations, has definitely been the most rewarding part of my career.”

Landscape architecture is constantly changing and is such a rich and complex profession, it’s often difficult to describe. But it is our job to combine varied pursuits and fields: being an architect, sculptor, land engineer, planner, and horticulturist to the best of our abilities. Tom suggests finding your niche and your joy, and following it; you don’t have to be at the most well-known design firm for your work to make a statement and have a lasting impact.

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Top: MCE Courtyard Right: Carnahan Quad at the University of Missouri

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“Tree of Life Labyrinth” meditation garden at Elon University

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SCASLA Students explore Denver between firm visits

38 • feature articles

Colorado

And The Preservation of Place Identity

by Douglas Elgar ‘15, BSLA

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W

here are you from? For most who live in this state, they’ll be quite delighted to tell you. Colorado has an especially proud and contented group of citizens. I’m looking at you, Toyota 4Runner with the ‘Native’ bumper-sticker, a ski rack, and what I can only assume are your two copilots: a six pack of any local beer and of course, a dog. I’m thinking of the people who have no fewer than three or four Colorado T-shirts, Broncos hats, or Rockies koozies somewhere at home. The people who have forgotten more about Chaco’s, ‘fourteeners,’ and how to avoid traffic on I-70 than out-of-staters will ever know. But there’s a reason they’re all infatuated with where they’re from.

It’s the land that calls them, and it’s likely to be an integral part of who they are.

Of course there’s quite the combination of lifestyle identities in this state.

There’s pretty much everything from the people who can’t spend another minute indoors, to those who don’t travel far out of the city. You’ve got hippies and cowboys, quiet suburban families, ski bums, and every aggregate, range, or singular quality of just about any personality you can think of. It’s why accountants who live in downtown Denver still hike on weekends. And it’s why Stetsons and Grateful Dead shirts are seen at the Opposite: Lory Student Center at CSU. Top: Gateway Natural Area.

Bottom: The Three Apostles.

All Photo Credits: Emily Morris

very same bar. But enough with the stereotypes. Let me explain why the cognitive relationship between mankind and landscape is formed with such ease and ferocity. I should preface this by not claiming that Coloradans think their state is better than that of any others who own and epitomize their place in the world. I would only make that claim unofficially. Rather, I think that similarly to others’ sense of place, we form our own sense from the land, and the land forms us.

There is of course academic affirmation to support this, as well as some debate over the meaning and function of place identity. “Some academics consider ‘Sense of Place’ a larger topic that comprises place identity, place attachment, and place dependency,” as explained by Jeni Cross, an

40 • feature articles Associate Professor of Sociology at Colorado State University. Jeni has deep roots in Fort Collins. She was born in Poudre Valley Hospital. Her family is from here. She lives near Masonville, right outside of town, which is named after her great-great grandfather. “By the time Christmas came my freshman year of college, I knew I needed to be back here. So I have family history here, I have my own personal biography here and every time I’ve been away I feel that sense.”

Everybody has a story about where they’re from. Sometimes it’s said with a smile. Other times with weight. “My husband, who’s from New Jersey, has always felt that lack of belonging,” Jeni said. For some people it takes years and multiple U-Haul rentals before they stumble onto the place they belong. Some don’t identify with or attach themselves to a place at all.

“The best examples of this are Army brats,” she says, “those who’ve moved between military bases and never had a chance to develop a biographical attachment. Instead, they developed the skills to feel at home wherever they are.” Some people are certainly more accustomed to change that way; “…they feel a kind of wanderlust. You’ll see they’re much more mobile.”

The majority eventually find the place they feel most at home. For some, it takes time to immerse themselves in the environment and community, but eventually, they will never want to leave. For other’s, it’s a quicker process.

They stumble onto it or take that leap of faith and they know immediately.

Jeni explained: “It’s called spiritual attachment; it’s an emotion that they just feel, and they feel it immediately upon the first time they encounter this place.”

In the modern day context, it’s important to remember that most people in this country live in urban areas, over 80% since 2010. There are cities that foster that kind of attachment very well. There are others that are less motivated to preserve the elements that people fall in love with. Colorado’s not perfect in this category. Denver is a really great city. So are Boulder, Fort Collins, Breckenridge, and Aspen. But there are some truly memorable cities out there in the world. And, more importantly, there are cities that haven’t changed significantly in a century or more. American cities are young by global standards, and regrettably, Coloradans have made, at best, perfunctory attempts to construct timeless and beautiful landscapes and cities. Instead, they create the infrastructure ‘that will do,’ and tear it down some years later to make something just a little bit better.

feature articles • 41 Mark Fiege, a professor of history at CSU, had a great deal to say about creation and destruction in this state. “I took my daughter to Washington State, where I got my master’s degree. It was in a graduate seminar that I met my wife. I showed my daughter Wilson Hall (at Washington State University), which is still there; I don’t even think the tables and chairs were different from 1982. I said to her ‘I was sitting right there, your mother was sitting right there when I laid eyes on her.” Being able to revive that memory has got to be an extraordinary feeling. But what if that building had been torn down? What if they had replaced that building with some gaudy monstrosity? Luckily for Mark, he got to share that place and his memory. “You know, if I had a million dollars, I would have walked right over to the administration building and written a check to WSU. It’s a powerful thing.”

Mark fears that CSU doesn’t share the same values in the preservation of its alumni’s memories. Things change to something unrecognizable in less than a decade here. I frequently hear reference to this phenomenon through the gentle mocking of the CSU acronym: Construction Site University. The important thing to remember is that people meet their friends and spouses here. They form meaningful lifelong relationships that are forever a piece of their story about where they’re from and where they’ve been. They experience moments of extreme joy, stress, excitement, fear, pride, and probably inebriation. In the four years most people spend at this school, one almost unavoidably forms a deep and profound connection. “If you look at the Ivies, the wealthiest, smartest universities, they don’t tear down a God damn thing unless they can help it. No matter how junky you think it is now, you need to preserve that thing, because that’s a site of memory for somebody,” he says.

Last fall, CSU broke ground on a new 300 million dollar football stadium.

The site was home to two massive parking lots and an artery for vehicular traffic into campus. More importantly, they’ve removed greenhouses and an agricultural research plot to make way for the new construction. James Klett, CSU professor of horticulture, planted trees and shrubs on the site, nearly 40 years ago, at the beginning of his tenure here at CSU. They were very recently all torn out. I asked him if they were going to remove the perennial gardens. “I’m hoping not. Tony Frank said I’ll be pleased with the outcome, but we’ll just have to see.” Students as well as faculty were quite involved in these gardens for both personal academic purposes. Mark continues: “You’ve got to have places that stay the same. The University is so ready to tear things down. Mostly I’ve felt that the Oval is the one place on this campus that is sacrosanct. I think they wouldn’t tear that place down, but you know what? I’m not so sure any more.”

Coloradans who have been here awhile know that change first hand. Carol Sabey is a student in the MLA program at CSU and is a longtime resident of Fort Collins. She went to grade school and college here and started a family here. “Change has been really constant. The campus has been completely redone. Everything is different. And everything south of Drake is just a whole different world.” Volumes could be written about the problem this region has with urban sprawl. The population of Fort Collins was a little over 65,000 in the 1980 census. Today it’s right around 161,000. This rate of expansion is fairly consistent with major cities along the Front Range.

“Back in the 70’s, Fort Collins was such a small town. The far south edge

Opposite Left: CSU Lagoon.

Opposite Right: Long’s Peak.

This Page: CSU’s Oval. One would hope students and alumni will fight for the preservation of this incredible landmark for decades to come.

42 • feature articles used to be Foothills Mall. Everything east of Lemay was cornfields. I look around today, places I’d go and ride my bike, it’s just total solid housing, I can’t even recognize the area.”

“One of the things that fascinates me about being here is that so many people in Fort Collins and at CSU are from someplace else,” Mark Fiege said to me. It’s true. Colorado ‘natives’ account for 42% of the population, the fifth lowest ‘homegrown’ percentage in the country. Between 2008 and 2009, 21,000 Californians and 19,000 Texans moved to Colorado. “People were coming in and changing everything,” Carol Sabey observed. “They come here because they love our lifestyle but then suddenly we have to have a Walmart in the middle of town.”

Change is often a difficult thing to contend with. But there is a tradeoff.

“At first I was resentful, but you know, it’s change, it happens. And a lot of those Californians are really nice people. And we have great restaurants now and a downtown life,” said Carol. And when people move here, you have a whole new generation that learns to love this place. They create new memories and sites of significance. One would hope that all the construction and development happening around town would create a place that is perfect, so that the next wave of CSU alumni can come back and revive those memories the way Mark did at WSU.

I have my own opinions about what an urban environment can mean to someone, but this conversation changes enormously concerning the rural and wild places in this state. And it shows, especially in the realm of conservation. Many residents here are eager to voice their opinions in heated conversations on this topic. Anything from fracking to reintroducing

wolves to the natural areas, Colorado has seen quite the mishmash of controversial environmental issues. There are many who would argue that conservation relates pretty directly to place identity. But conservation is an uphill battle.

I think you’ll find that Colorado doesn’t necessarily rank as the most ecofriendly state, but I’d say we’ve fared alright, considering the century and a half of aggressive mining campaigns, logging frenzies, bureaucratic water grabbing and vast ranching and farming operations. Of course it makes sense to fight for the land that you love; it’s reflexive. But life is more complicated than that. “Farmers and ranchers are a unique breed,” Jeni Cross explains. “They are dependent on the wealth that the property produces. People like to criticize them because they don’t always do the

feature articles • 43 best thing in the realm of conservation, but talk to any of them and the vast majority of them have a deep sense of stewardship.” Naturally, their vision on policy related to their land is seen differently from those who don’t depend on the land economically. Others see it as an environmental, aesthetic, and recreational commodity.

Some places have changed very little over the course of our lifetimes, however. In Colorado, we’ve managed to set aside many places from the reaches of the marketplace. We’ve got four unforgettable National Parks, thirty-eight mind-blowing Wilderness Areas, forty-two State Parks, and seventeen primary mountain ranges with fifty-two fourteen-thousandfoot peaks. Perhaps these places are better at fostering and preserving a geographic identity than our urban environments. This state’s sources for sites as memory are enormously iconic and picturesque. Carol explained: “It’s still quite raw here. I like that idea that you can go somewhere really far away here, be very isolated, go someplace completely wild.”

Still, it’s apparent that bond is weakening. We’re rapidly approaching eight billion people on this planet now, and it doesn’t make it any easier to prevent development and offer the resources and environments where people feel most at home. The job market prefers people who are mobile and willing to move on a whim. “You might make the case that we no longer feel tied to land in a more holistic way like native tribes do who depend on it economically as well as spiritually. Now we’ve undercut the economic reasons for being tied to some place. It dislodges all of the connection to the one that’s the least material,” Mark said.

So what are we to do to encourage the identity that revolves around these places? How do we take care of our cities and landscapes to get people excited about preserving them? We don’t connect with the land as easily as we used to. “We need more landscape architects. We need more people schooled in place,” Mark says. “Through literature, through history, art, and science. I think landscape architects are ideally situated to create places that have enduring value and attractiveness and attach people to them but also maybe to help people think about how to preserve landscapes.

No matter who you are or where you sit on the political spectrum, I think everyone could agree that community and attachment to place and to each other is a good thing. Life is better that way.”

Top: Dr. James Klett, Professor of Horticulture at Colorado State University, in front of the Perennial Gardens Bottom: Sawatch Range This page: Steamboat Ski Lift

44 • feature articles

Trash or Treasure?

The Exploration of Urban Waterways and the Artistic Expression of Wonder

By Kyra Czerwinski ‘17, BSLA

Opposite: Drift Boat - Southern Exposure Gallery. San Francisco, CA 2014.

This Page (background image): Collograph from Smokey Hill River.

Right: Artist Marie Lorenz.

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Marie Lorenz is an artist with a unique source of inspiration.

She has traveled the world exploring urban coastlines, and collecting the objects

that litter them. Lorenz represents her experiences in each place by building intricate artistic projects, widely ranging in both style and medium.

Lorenz was born in Twentynine Palms, California and grew up traveling with her military family. She received a B.F.A. from Rhode Island School of Design and an M.F.A. from Yale. Lorenz has received grants from Artists Space, the Harpo Foundation, and the Alice Kimball English Travel Fellowship. In 2008 she was awarded the Joseph H. Hazen Rome Prize for the American Academy in Rome. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally, from High Desert Test Sites in Joshua Tree, California, to MoMA PS1, in New York City.

She has completed solo projects at Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, England, Locust Projects in Miami, and at Jack Hanley Gallery in New York. Her ongoing project, ‘The Tide and Current Taxi’ is an exploration of the coastline in New York City.

Lorenz intends for her projects to be “disjointed and unsettling.” She is fascinated by the contrast between humans’ natural connection to water and our fearful unknowingness of water bodies. Water is one of the elements of our being, and yet we still feel discomfort when in a small boat being pushed around by the currents. These emotions are an important factor in the design of Lorenz’s artistic representations.

Lorenz has a theme to her work: abstracting the concept of negative human impact on the environment. Currently, she is working on two different projects.

The first is studying the buildup of garbage along the gulf coast. She sees a symbolic nature of the trash, and describes it as “[representing] an idea that we are trying to forget, some nagging thought […] as an ecological problem.

The more I find out about it, the more confusing it seems.” She goes on to say, “pollution is, in a sense, a cultural product, [therefore] this artwork is trying to unpack culture.”

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“I see waterways in cities as a parallel universe, full of interesting contrasts and insights in relation to the city. I try and take people into this area, whether they are in my boat, or seeing an artwork in a gallery.”

An installation in the Casey Kaplan Gallery in New York, NY invites viewers to sit in a small foam boat and float through the art exhibit. The emotions that come with floating in water adds to the artistic experience.

Waverunner XV: Indices and Abstractions.

For this project, Lorenz built a series of wooden floating ramps and rode a jet-ski overtop of them. These prints represent the structural nature of jet-skis. With this project, Lorenz hoped to capture the essence of floating in air over water for a brief moment.

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“Valley of Dry Bones”

Islip Carriage House

Opposite (background image): Collgraph from New York

“I Am Half Sick of Shadows”

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Lorenz has been working on a project since 2005, entitled “Tide and Current Taxi”. Each summer, she hosts boating expeditions into New York Harbor. She has a different theme to these adventures every year, ranging from “inaccessible places” (that can only be accessed by boat) to trips with other artists. She takes pride in the fact that others are involved in her artwork. When she includes strangers on her journeys, it not only provides a pair of fresh eyes on the experience, but adds depth to her understanding of human interaction with water. She studies the currents of the water, and plans her trips to take place during the strongest current times. This makes each adventure exciting and unpredictable. Every excursion with her guests creates new memories and stories of the water. “I have always thought that the Tide and Current Taxi is a collaboration with hundreds of people,” says Lorenz.

Through her work, Marie Lorenz challenges us to explore urban waterways in a way we never have. Many times, this entails immersing ourselves (sometimes literally) in the water, and intentionally studying the parts of urban coastlines that we would otherwise turn away from. A prime example of this is garbage. We are constantly littering our waterways, and to Lorenz, the trash buildup along coastlines is symbolic of our wasteful culture. By inviting visitors to join her in exploring these wonderfully disgusting areas, she challenges them to dig deeper. Instead of looking the other way, we need to face the problem head-on. The trips that Lorenz hosts are eye-opening to her guests. She takes them to explore places that they never would have seen otherwise. Although these places are beautiful and mysterious, they show us exactly what our impact on the Earth is. Dense urban cities are the future of human living, and water is a necessary part of human life. Lorenz helps us explore the interaction between the two.

Marie Lorenz on an expedition in her homemade boat

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Think

Big : the Identity of a City

By Carl Vogt ‘17, BSLA

Bruce Hendee and the City of Fort Collins have a long history together. Following his graduation from the Master of Landscape Architecture program at the University of Colorado Denver, as a member of only the third graduating class from that program, he worked for a few small firms in Denver before moving to Fort Collins to work for the renowned international firm, EDAW. When EDAW moved to Denver, he didn’t want to leave the place where he had started a family. Because of this, he decided to start his own firm, Bruce Hendee Associates (BHA Design), in 1992.

Bruce came to landscape architecture in much the same way as many others: he fell into it. An avid surfer and hiker with a love of nature, he had earlier acquired his Bachelor’s degree in psychology from CU Denver. On the prescient advice of one of his professors there, he chose to pursue landscape architecture in graduate school.

He didn’t really understand what he was getting into, and even all these years later, says “little did I realize my entire career, landscape architects would still be defining what landscape architecture is.”

Throughout his early career, he developed a technical aptitude that would serve him well in later years. He also learned to speak the language of engineers and figured out how to coordinate large design teams. Over the years and through the course of many projects, he came to know the Fort Collins City Manager rather well. This in turn led to the opportunity for him to fill the position of Chief Sustainability Officer starting in 2010, thanks to his reputation in the community, knowledge of the issues and his ability to successfully run a business.

He remained in that position for four years and retired for a second time in early 2015. That short period was long enough to accomplish what City Manager David Attebury had originally tasked him with, which was to elevate the discourse and goals for sustainability in the city. It took a year and a half to develop the current working model of the triple bottom line, as well as establish

Top: Redtail Ponds Supportive Housing Left: Bruce Hendee

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strategic plans, management teams and organize the systems used to manage sustainability initiatives in the city. This triple bottom line program is unique in the world, combining economic health, social sustainability, and environmental services. To create this new sustainability model, numerous working groups from an array of City departments were combined to form the first new city service in nearly 100 years.

This achievement makes Fort Collins quite special. It is one of only a few cities nationwide where the technical expertise and political will have come together to make this kind of program possible. A big part of that puzzle is the presence of Colorado State University, home to some of the nation’s leading research into sustainable technologies and practices. Although there are many cities around the nation that have sustainability programs, such as San Jose,

Palo Alto and Fayetteville, none of them are as aggressive in their initiatives or goals as Fort Collins. In addition to creating the City’s Sustainability Department, Bruce also worked to create one of the most far-reaching climate action plans in the nation, seeking to reduce the City’s carbon emissions by 80% by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2050.

In his own words, “I always had the view that Fort Collins would be a leader internationally in effective strategies for climate action.”

The creation of the Social Sustainability Department has led to projects designed to alleviate poverty and homelessness through grant programs and affordable housing. In terms of economic health, Bruce worked hard as the lead negotiator to keep Woodward, a major international developer of aerospace and clean energy technology, headquartered in Fort Collins. He also helped to get the

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stalled Foothills Mall redevelopment off the ground and helped to create a 100-year masterplan for the Mason Street corridor, which includes the new MAX bus rapid transit line. He helped redefine all of the City’s streetscape standards to be more water-wise, while improving overall aesthetics.

Fort Collins is projected to grow in population to approximately 230,000 people by 2035. This means the city has a rather challenging future to plan for. Through the Natural Areas program, the city has managed to create community buffers, insuring that the city will remain literally green even as development pressure increases in the coming years. Looking ahead, Bruce sees an interesting future for the city. He predicts that we won’t drive cars, instead utilizing some form of transportation that hasn’t been invented yet, which would impact how communities are laid out and the very nature of development. He believes the community will become more integrated and generate its own power with the use of geothermal heating and cooling, wind turbines and photovoltaic cells, with Elon Musk’s Tesla batteries providing the storage capacity and stability for the system. Given this shift in the location of power generation, the electrical system will probably shift from alternating current to direct current, which is more useful at smaller distances. The existing open spaces that attract so many to the city will most likely be maintained and expanded. The need for water will continue to

be a standing problem, though a manageable one, unless or until a major drought stresses the system. All of this will transform how we look at landscapes and communities. “Everyone is concerned with what the world will look like,” he says, “but how can we make it into the best possible world?”

Looking back on his education and long career, Bruce’s advice for landscape architecture students is this: “I would encourage landscape architects to think big; it’s so easy to get focused on day to day assignments, but you need to think big because you’ve got the skills and the understanding to really help with major issues that face us. Whether they are social, economic or climate related, I would dare you guys to think big and to always think big.

Continue to stay at that visionary level even though you have to be able to operate at the level of the individual project. You also have to constantly push yourself and read widely. Don’t just read Landscape Architecture Magazine. Read other stuff that’s going on in the world and be well-informed. And as professionals, it will serve you really well. It’s served me extremely well. I would dare the landscape architects that are bent that way to think big. You can accomplish so much more and you can have a real impact on the country. Get involved.”

Well, you heard the man. Get out there and think big!

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Opposite: Newly-installed solar panels near Old Town Fort Collins.

This Page: MAX bus rapid transit line.

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Students having fun at the clock tower on the Piazza del Campo in Siena, Italy for the summer education abroad course

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EDUCATION ABROAD

By Ben Schnake â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;15, BSLA

All places have an identity, be it a park, a city, or a country. These distinguished characteristics are exemplified through numerous facets of culture: food, fashion, language and landscape, to name but a few.

From Tiananmen Square of Beijing to the Superkilen of Copenhagen, there are a wide range of public spaces in the world that represent the distinctiveness of their place.

We asked landscape architects Mark Johnson of Civitas, Wendi Birchler of Norris Design, and Eric Pearse of Wenk Associates, all of whom have traveled extensively, to comment on what landscape identity means in an international context and what we as designers can absorb from the world around us.

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Experience

Working Abroad One thing that rings true with places is that they all have their intricacies that make them unique. This can be observed in adjacent neighborhoods, cities, and countries that, albeit sometimes subtle, have their own distinguishing characteristics. In this context, designing internationally has the same implications as working domestically: an equally foreign perspective, striving to adhere to the norms of that particular culture.

Traditionally, if selected by a foreign client to design in their country, the expectation is not to replicate their customary design but to implement your own style. It’s a thin line to finesse.

Johnson highlights how designs must meet the mental image held by the locals, particularly at the level of composition and craft. Congruently, Pearse finds a responsibility to understand the people that are the end user, as they, the public, are the activators that make projects real.

Commitment to Public Space When asked about countries with great commitment to public space, I was given specific examples of exemplary public squares. The Superkilen in Copenhagen was championed by Pearse as an active, ethnically diverse half mile ‘square’ that presents artifacts of various distinct cultures from around the world as park features.

Johnson noted Trafalgar Square in London for its longstanding cultural roots, and substantial use. Lastly, Birchler was partial to the Mercado de la Boqueria in Barcelona, Spain, an activated, lively market place, which is particularly effective in facilitating social interaction. In the discussion of commitment to public space, the overriding theme from the interviewed professionals was that European cities are superlative in their design. Our own country is deprived of activated, cared for, or even well-used civic centers compared to other countries. From my own travels it seems that the largest difference is the automobile-oriented cities of America, compared to the pedestrian- or even bicycle-oriented cities of Europe. Access to all basic needs by foot tends to emphasize the individual, rather than cars and roads.

Engaging in travel seems to be a valuable pursuit for developing as a landscape architect. Even on a local level, getting out and experiencing the world is important. Birchler emphasizes this and the benefits of thoughtfulness and observation, which she practiced in her travels abroad during the first Colorado State University Education Abroad Course, twenty one years ago. The exercise of mindfulness is fundamental to learning, and can be done anywhere at any time, allowing us to see new perspectives of the world.

Pearse finds that it is important to be an ‘audience member’ rather than ‘a performer’, from time to time, when experiencing new places. He reveals that “to sit in silence and observe, with a good beer” can be more impactful than one might anticipate. Overall, however, Johnson asserts that the only way to understand the range of projects is to travel the world and see them all first-hand.

58 â&#x20AC;˘ studio works

studio works The following pages reflect the diverse body of work from some of the top students in the CSU BSLA and MLA programs from Spring 2015

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Studio concept model by Anna Dillé ‘15, BSLA

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Anna Dillé ‘15, BSLA Insert [LIFE] Here - The Gowanus Canal Brooklyn, New York The Gowanus Canal presents a unique opportunity for urban reclamation and remediation. The abandoned canal’s location within the urban framework of Brooklyn, combined with its toxic levels of contamination, cause the canal to act as a barrier between communities.

The proposed “Insert [LIFE] Here” plan will provide vital natural infrastructure focused on reconnecting these Brooklyn communities. These ecological frameworks will restore natural habitat for wildlife, alleviate water contamination through phytoremediation, and encourage human interaction with a reinvigorated canal. The Gowanus Canal reclamation and revitalization will establish economic, social, cultural, and ecological connections with the surrounding environment at an urban scale.

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Sara Armgardt â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;15, BSLA Amplifying the Pier: Restoring and Enhancing Port Hueneme Ventura Beach, CA For my capstone project, I chose to study the re-design of a beach I visited many times as a child. This area is known as Port Hueneme Beach, located in Ventura, California. It recently underwent a reconstruction of the pier and is currently enjoying a revitalization of the sand dunes. With all the structural changes of the beach and the money being spent to restore the pier, I believe it needs a design update. For my design concept, I reflected back on the drainage surrounding the site and how one line continues through the landscape with other sections draining into it. Since there are drainage basins that lead directly to the beach, I created a brackish wetland to reduce the amount of pollution draining into the ocean.

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Christopher Fortin â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;15, BSLA Plum Creek Trail: Canvassing the Landscape Castle Rock, CO The location of Plum Creek and its path provide a unique opportunity to establish a strong connection of fading communities through a pedestrian waterfront rather than the conventional roadway. The waterfront is under-developed and has massive potential for improvement. Running through the three main communities in Castle Rock (The Meadows, RedHawk, and Old Town Castle Rock), the area offers opportunities to explore everything Castle Rock has to offer. The communities are not the only thing lacking direction and a sense of place, as scattered just off the trail are areas of interest that are missed by most users, such as art installations from local high schools. A strong connection is present with the existence of Plum Creek. Given its location, the creek offers the promise of re-connecting communities that seem to be coming apart. This connection can be re-energized through stitching the community back together with nature and celebrating everything Plum Creek has to offer.

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Jessica Doig ‘15, BSLA The Forgotten River Washington, DC This project is located on the banks of the Anacostia River, connecting two geographically distinct neighborhoods.

The challenge of this project was to bring together areas that lacked in open space and recreational opportunity, promise economic vitality and restore a historic natural wetland habitat. The Forgotten River design developed into a rich cultural landscape that celebrated the history of its people and the complex environmental river system. Major elements of the design included: an illuminated memorial field, drumlin wetlands, a layered pedestrian bridge, a cherry blossom river walk, green street gateways, and a river bioremediation system. The goals of the project were to create common ground with pedestrian bridges for both neighborhoods, connecting people with the river and opening up gateways for entry to the site. This project is socially and ecologically important to the area and will be the basis of a strong foundation for future growth.

IMPACT

ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

AFRICAN AMERICAN SUBURBS

60S

ANACOSTIA FREEWAY I-295

30S

BONUS ARMY

1854

UNIONTOWN

SEAWALL CONSTRUCTION SHIPPING PORT + POLLUTION

PIERRE L’ENFANT

JOHN SMITH

1791

1608

TRADE CENTER

NACOCHTANK TRIBE MARSH LAND + RIPARIAN MEADOW

10,000 BC

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Emily Morris â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;15, BSLA Viewpoint in Pulpit Rock Design Competition Stavanger, Norway 10,000 years ago, glaciers encasing Norway melted and carved out its iconic system of fjords, nearly as deep as the surrounding mountains are tall.

Over time, as water worked its way into the crevices of the granite mountains, a cycle of freeze and thaw began to expand these fractures. Eventually, the fractures became dramatic enough to split faces off of the mountain, creating sheer edges and a flat pedestal 2,000 feet above the water. This unique pedestal serves as the focus area for the Viewpoint in Pulpit Rock Design Competition .

Through a complex systemic framework, a network of curves was designed to echo the landscape surrounding Pulpit Rock. The form is intended to be powerful, but not overpowering; to complement, but not dominate, the landscape. The most quintessential views of Pulpit Rock lie in the vista out towards the curve of the river and in the view down, off the edge of the cliff. The form of the wooden structure highlights these views, as well as the rolling forms of the mountains surrounding the Fjord of Light. Its structural engineering incorporates ergonomic seating opportunities and expands surface area over the edges of the cliff. As the structure reaches over the cliff, transparent safety railings create the illusion of being unharnessed, and the transparent floor provides the thrill of lying face down, peering at the 2,000 foot drop beneath. Together, these systems capture the majesty of Pulpit Rock and its surroundings.

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Long Li â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;15, MLA II Morgan Library Courtyard Fort Collins, CO This redesigned courtyard at CSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Morgan Library proposes a strategy that aims to invent a new typology, combining both functional and aesthetic aspects together, giving the space a new life on the campus. The existing design does not provide any privacy, making for an uneasy space where people feel they are being watched.

Furthermore, the old-style paving and furnishings are not appealing to students, nor inviting as a place to spend time, relax, read and study. Another deficiency is that there are no light fixtures in the courtyard, so it can only be used during the daytime.

This first approach to redesigning the courtyard is to change the form to a more curvilinear shape, which will add a more dynamic flow and break from its current simplistic geometry. The use of a bright red accent color emphasizes the modern sensibility of the new design. The most important aspect of this proposal is that the red structures define small, spatially-private areas, where each space contains seating and lighting elements. Students cannot be disturbed while reading or studying in these intimate spaces.

These red structures resemble a red ribbon flowing through the whole courtyard. Additionally, when peering out through the library windows during the winter, the scenery will be an amazing contrast between the stark white of the snow against the fluid bright red structures.

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student awards DEPARTMENTAL AWARDS EACH YEAR, the landscape architecture program recognizes the efforts of our talented and dedicated students with awards that are voted on by faculty and visiting distinguished critics. From an undergraduate program of over 100 students, the following individuals rose to the challenge and stood out in their contribution to the unique culture and exceptional reputation of the Landscape Architecture Program at CSU.

2015 ASLA Student Honor & Merit Awards National Award: Top seniors nominated by faculty; final selections voted by visiting jury of practitioners Jurors for the ASLA Presentation in May 2015 Included (L-R): Steve Sigler, Landscape Architect, Logan Simpson; Sheri Sanzone, Principal, Bluegreen; Craig Karn, Principal, Consilium Design; Scott Jordan, Principal, Civitas.

Honor Award

Sarah Armgardt

Merit Award

Katherine Botwin

Jessica Doig

Christopher Fortin

Anna DillĂŠ

Emily Morris

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Student awards are an important source of educational funding for those students who earn them each year.

Please help support our outstanding students with a donation to the Amy Rose Brobst Memorial Scholarship Endowment <advancing.colostate.edu/amybrobstscholarship> or the Landscape Architecture Program <advancing.colostate.edu/hla/give> and please note in the ‘Questions and Comments’ section that your gift is for the Landscape Architecture Program.

Outstanding Senior Award Top senior as voted by faculty

Amy Rose Brobst Memorial Scholarship Top returning student as voted by Brobst family and faculty

Anna Dillé

Emily Morris

Exemplary Leadership Award Highest dedication to program as voted by faculty

Gerard Paul Monger Senior Award Highest academic achievement as voted by faculty

Jessica Doig

Anna Dillé

Mark Allen Kauzlarich Memorial Award Highest academic progress as voted by faculty

Russell L. Butler II Memorial Scholarship Recommended by Butler family; final selection voted by faculty

Jacob Schneeberger

Kyra Czerwinski

68 • student awards

UNIVERSITY AWARDS The talented pool of students in our five-year-old Master of Landscape Architecture program has garnered a considerable amount of attention since its inception. Students from our program have been invited to present their proposals to City of Fort Collins Planning officials and they’ve gone on to work at some of the top firms in the country. And last year, two of our students were selected out of only 32 winners at Colorado State University in the annual Graduate Student Showcase for Fall 2015. The winning proposals by Rita Manna and Klara Rossouw are featured here.

UNDERGRADUATE CHOICE AWARD

Rita C. Manna ‘16, MLA I The Ascent - Restoration of the Belden Mine Gilman, CO The Ascent is a restoration project which addresses ecological issues surrounding the contamination caused by the Belden Mine in Gilman, Colorado, while encouraging economic revitalization in the area through tourism, recreation activities, education and historic preservation.

The purpose of this landscape program is not only to provide an exceptional human experience, but also to restore the mountainside and propel the area onto a healthy, sustainable, ecological trajectory. Restoration of this mine will occur in distinct stages to promote compounding rehabilitation efforts, which ensure a healthier ecosystem with each passing year. Focus areas addressed in this project include the watershed, township and mine site soils and air quality surrounding the town of Gilman and the Belden Mine. Through deliberate cleanup processes involving phytoremediation, THE ASCENTsoil removal, hillside stabilization and water quality efforts, these areas will be naturally cleansed.

REVITALIZATION OF THE BELDEN GOLD MINE & GILMAN, COLORADO Rita C. Manna // Colorado State University // 2015

THE BELDEN MINE & GILMAN, CO BACKGROUND & HISTORY:

THE BELDEN MINE & GILMAN, CO CURRENT CONDITIONS:

The town of Gilman, Colorado sits at an elevation of 8950 ft (2,700 m) on a dramatic 600-foot (180 m) cliff above the Eagle River on the flank of Battle Mountain. The town was founded in 1866 during the Gold Boom to support miners and their families. This unique mining town is located southeast of two world class ski resorts, Beaver Creek Resort and Vail Resort, and is conveniently situated along the scenic byway, U.S. Highway 24 between the town of Minturn and scenic Tennessee Pass.

The 235-acre site includes the Belden Mine workings, the former town center of Gilman, 8 highly contaminated mine tailings piles, and 14 major waste rock piles. The Eagle River flows northwesterly through the site and past the town of Minturn (population 1,514) and joins the Colorado River 35 miles west in Eagle, Colorado.

The 65 miles of underground tunnels below the surface of Gilman are flooded with acid mine drainage and as a result are collapsing. The Liberty Well, located upstream from the mine collects clean groundwater and is diverted directly into the river.

LOCUS MAPS VAIL

THE STATE OF CLORADO BEAVER CREEK

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THE ASCENT PHASING:

The Ascent is a place for healing, wonder, and a look into the past. With tall rock cliff faces, a rushing river with class 4 rapids, thrilling sky-walks, underground mining tours, spooky ghost town hiking trails, revitalized forest walks, and a rich mining history, the Ascent is a place for the adventure seeker and the explorer in us all.

PHASE ONE: CLEAN SOILS & CLEAN WATER INITIATIVE - Remove Tailing Piles - Establish Aspen Forest through cribbing and terracing - Remove AMD Contaminated Soils - Establish Mollusk Cylinders - Establish Phytoremediation Depot - Remove Contaminated Soils - Reinforce Retaining Walls Where Necessary.

The Ascent is a restoration project which addresses ecological issues surrounding the contamination caused by the Belden Mine, while encouraging economic revitalization to the area through tourism, recreation activities, education and historic preservation.

The Ascent will be a place for remembrance and reinvention. It will quickly become a highly prized asset to the Vail Valley community. Initiatives to clean up and stabilize the soils, revive the watershed, restore the Aspen forests and reduce acid mine drainage are of the utmost importance. The 235-acre tract of land will be restored in three phases.

PHASE TWO: BUILDING & STRUCTURAL RESTORATION - Revive Asbestos Laced Structures - Rebuild Historic Downtown & The Station Areas - Establish Infrastructure

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DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION (PHOTO MONTAGE 02)

WATER TREATMENT PLANT CAPPED GILMAN, CO NW CORNER MINE TAILING WHITE RIVER PILES NATIONAL FOREST

GILMAN, CO MAIN VILLAGE

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CLIFF SIDE LOOKING NORTH

MINE TAILING CONVEYER

Shortly after the mine’s closure in 1984, the EPA deemed the town to be too contaminated for human habitation and forced its residents to relocate. At this time, the soils in Gilman and surrounding the Belden Mine were laced with heavy metals including Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, Manganese and Sulfur. The standing buildings are also highly contaminated with asbestos.

Raw sewage from the town was also being directed into one of the mine’s deep mine shafts. It is currently one of the most famous ghost towns in the United States. The remnants of the town-site are visible along the hillside curves of scenic highway 24.

BELDEN MINE PROCESSING BUILDING ON THE EAGLE RIVER,

GILMAN, CO LOOKING NORTH

Train tracks run adjacent to the river. Ground water flows beneath the train tracks and into the river. The area consists of sheer cliffs, of which mostly consist of mine tailings and waste rock. Wood cribbing structures (retaining walls) hold loose waste piles atop steep cliff faces. However, high concentrations of sulfur contained within these piles are quickly eroding wood retention walls, threatening safety of anyone located below.

These tailing piles are also well posed to subject visitors and the surrounding area to air contamination. Particulate from these piles easily is picked up during high wind events, and often deposits these contaminants on the nearby Vail Mountain School, and can drift as far as the town of Minturn.

Waterways, including the Eagle River running on a northerly trajectory, are highly contaminated with AMD drainage and heavy metal settling. The river continues to be subject to Acid Mine Drainage and raw effluent seeping out of the closed mine, despite clean up from the EPA. Waterways are devoid of native species of aquatic life, including fish, insects and mollusks.

Currently, the river is inhabited by brown trout, a non-native carnivorous species introduced to the area in the late 1800s for sport fishing.

EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS & OBSERVATIONS TOPOGRAPHY

HYDROLOGY

Historic trails and former roadway system found through the town of Gilman are converted into pathways for hikers and explorers. Visitors will walk among the trees on the steep hillside and will walk the paths once used by town residents. Patrons will have the ability to tour the inside of several restored homes, while many homes will remain off limits and in dilapidated condition.

THE LOOK OUT: (PHOTO MONTAGE 01) AMPHITHEATER & WEDDING DECK Utilizing one of the most profound views on this site, The Look Out is a amphitheater carved out of the hillside on the north end of the site. From here visitors can enjoy views of Mount of the Holy Cross, Notch Mountain, and view down valley towards Minturn and Vail. The amphitheater can also be used for live music concerts, theatrical events, or wedding.

The purpose of this landscape program is not only to provide an exceptional human experience, but also to restore the mountainside from an ecological standpoint and point the area in a healthy sustainable ecological trajectory. Restoration of this mine will occur in distinct stages to promote compounding rehabilitation efforts which ensure a healthier ecosystem with each passing year.

Focus areas which have been addressed in this project are the watershed, township and minesite soils, and air quality surrounding the town of Gilman, CO and the Belden Mine. Through deliberate clean up processes involving phytoremediation, soil removal, hillside stabilization and water quality efforts, these areas will be naturally cleaned.

SOIL CLEAN UP: Stage 01: Remove and cap all major tailing piles.

Strip soil of major contaminated waste Stage 02: Stabilize hillside.

Erosion Control through cribbing & terracing.

Stage 03: Phytoremediation on open cliff faces using Buttercrunch Lettuce, Lupine, Canola, Rudbekia, & other pioneer species introduction to remove heavy metals and lower soil pH. - In exceptionally high areas of contamination or high pH, Gypsum will be mixed into soil Stage 04: Reforestation using succession of pioneer species, then introducing aspen forests.

BUILDING RESTORATION: Stage 01: Demolition of the most toxic and Asbestos contaminated homes.

Stage 02: Restoration of historic landmarks and homes. (Removal of asbestos.)

Stage 03: Contaminated soil surrounding buildings removal and capping.

CIRCULATION

SECTION 02

In this situation, watershed health, air quality and soil quality are of the utmost importance in order to restore and rehabilitate the town of Gilman and the Belden Mine. Under its current conditions, the site is not only dangerous for human visitation, but provides a serious ecological threat to the animal populations and natural environments surrounding this site.

WATER QUALITY: Stage 01: Mollusc & Fish Species Revival Stage 02: Mine waste runoff Filtration with underground filtration facility. (Phytoremediation Depot) Stage 03: Continued funding of Water Treatment Facility

HISTORIC DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION (PHOTO MONTAGE 02)

As a prized historic village, the integrity of the ghost town will remain in tact. The church, school, bowling alley and other major areas of attraction will be revived in this downtown area. Many new buildings will be added to create a more cohesive and comprehensive downtown experience. Main street will be converted into a walking plaza, paved with historic brick up-cycled from the site. The downtown will feature restaurants, shops, education opportunities, artists spaces, and mixed use development. The downtown will be the main attraction and central space at the site. From this location patrons have access to all amenities of this area.

Phasing Diagram Phase 01: MAGENTA Phase 02: BLUE Phase o3: YELLOW

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CLIFF WALK & MINE TOUR (PHOTO MONTAGE 03)

ELEVATOR TO THE SKY A renovated rail system which once transported tons of ore from the top of the mountain to the train station and processing plant at the canyon’s base. This rail system has been revived to transport patrons from the top of the cliff to the base. Views of Battle Mountain and Mount of the Holy Cross will amaze guests as they ascend upon the valley floor.

SECTION 01

Patrons go out onto thin iron pathways anchored into the side of the cliff face. The pathways and stairways allow visitors to scale the face of the cliff in a safe but thrilling experience. Pathway floors consist of mesh iron bracings which allow the visitor to see the valley floor below. The pathways loop into existing mine tunnels, providing the visitor with the enclosed experience of a miner. This experience is juxtaposed with the exposed experience of the cliff walk.

THE STATION: MINING MUSEUM, CAFE & REC CENTER

SUBTERRANEAN PHYTOREMEDIATION

(PHOTO MONTAGE 04)

Located inside the main entry to the mine, this underground phytoremediation water filtration system will catch and filter contaminated mine run off. Plants such as canola and lettuce will be placed in a raised aquaponics system which utilizes AMD contaminated waters.

Treated water is then filtered through subterranean tubing system to the water filtration plant down valley for further testing.

A revitalization of the historic mill, and Rio Grande train stop. This area will feature a mining museum, cafe, gear shop for rock climbers, white water rafters, bikers, and cross country skiers, and other amenities, such as restrooms, for visitors. The Station will be located at the base of the Elevator to the Sky, and will be situated along the newly constructed bike path.

REFORESTATION

MOLLUSK REVIVAL

Aspen Forests will reclaim the hillside to help stabilize soils and prevent further wind and water erosion. As a known first successional species, Aspen forests help to cleanwcontaminated soils from heavy metal deposits to encourage biodiversity. Forest will be planted utilizing cribbing and bare root planting techniques.

In attempts to bring back the native mollusk population to the Eagle River, cylinders containing purified habitats for native mollusk populations will be deposited in the river. These populations will also be accompanied by stocked native fish populations which provide hospice for mollusk larvae. Mollusks will also help to naturally filter the water of the Eagle River.

THE MINERS PICK

THE GILMAN RAIL TRAIL

10' CONTOURS

CONTAMINATION

CLIFF WALK (PHOTO MONTAGE 03)

THE GILMAN GHOST WALKS:

RED CLIFF

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The Belden Mine, operated from 1866 - 1984, has its main entrance located at the cliff base just below the town of Gilman. The mine contains over 65 miles of tunnels running throughout the mountainside directly under the town’s residences. The mine, originally mined for its extensive gold and silver deposits, was later utilized for zinc, lead, and copper production.

In its current state, the town of Gilman, CO and the Belden Mine inhabit the Eagle Mine Superfund Site.

TAILING PILES

THE LOOK OUT (PHOTO MONTAGE 01)

PHASE THREE: CIRCULATION, AESTHETICS & AMENITIES - Create The Look Out - Establish Hiking Trails - Complete Cliff Walk and Mining Tour Loop - Restore The Elevator To The Sky - Establish The Gilman Rail Trail

THE ASCENT ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

MINTURN

EAGLE COUNTY, CO

THE ASCENT A POSITIVE INVESTMENT

STRUCTURES & HISTORIC VALUE

A Rock & Ice Climbers Paradise. Extensive rock and ice climbing routes for climbing enthusiasts of all levels. Features plotted routes, belay tethers, clip routes, and climbing platforms.

A pathway for cyclist, skiers, and pedestrians. As a way to provide safe passage for cyclists traveling from the Vail area south towards Tennessee Pass and Leadville, the Gilman Rail Trail is a revitalization of the Rio Grande Railway which traverses the site along the Eagle River. The Rail Trail will be paved with concrete and will provide a safe and secure way for cyclists to avoid the dangers of climbing highway 24.

0'

400'

800'

1600'

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CLIFF WALKS & MINE TOUR

VIEWS

CURRENT VEGETATION

PRESERVED CLIFF SIDE

ELEVATOR TO THE SKY CLIFF WALKS & MINE TOUR HISTORIC HOME RESTORATION TERRACE & CRIBBING SYSYEM STABILIZE HILLSIDE

SECTION 01 VIEW OF HOLY CROSS MOUNTAIN

Mining Cliffs Section View.

Please note the Elevator to the Sky, The Cliff Walks, The restored area of The Station, The Gilman Rail Trail, and the Subterranean Phytoremediation Depot. Note that the cliff side is left exposed for historic value and to bring light to the destructive nature of the mining process.

GILMAN RAIL TRAIL

GHOST WALK HIKING PATH

PHYTOREMEDIATION DEPOT

SECTION 02

REVEGETATED & REINFORCED MOUNTAINSIDE SECTIONS ARE NOT DRAWN TO SCALE

ROCK CREEK BRIDGE

Gilman Ghost Walks in Section View.

Please note the reforested hillside, the terraced systems, the Rock Creek bridge, and steep northern hillside. (left) THE STATION & THE GILMAN RAIL TRAIL INTERSECTION (PHOTO MONTAGE 04)

student awards • 69

EXCELLENCE IN DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD Klara Rossouw ‘16, MLA l RAD Resurgence Asheville, NC

The RAD Resurgence project essentially has two components – it is both a restoration and a planning project.

The site is situated on the banks of the French Broad River in the River Arts District (RAD) of Asheville, NC. This project explores design methods and strategies to overcome the brownfield status of the previously industrial site, and to prevent gentrification from happening as a result of the site improvements. Phytoremediation specific to the identified soil contaminants is proposed as part of the first clean-up phase. The second phase looks at site engineering to provide flood control. The final phase proposes a Skywalk to bring people into the site to experience and celebrate its cultural and industrial heritage. All of the existing buildings are kept on site and will become canvases for local artists. Community arts centers as well as greenhouses are proposed on the site in order to create ‘green jobs’ that employ citizens and provide opportunity for previously marginalized communities. Specific zoning is also recommended to ensure that the housing surrounding the new park stays affordable and integrated. The vision for the site is for it to be a vibrant and celebrated community amenity that provides outdoor recreation and job opportunities to this community in need.

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Students conversing with recent graduate Drew Button â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;14 (3rd from left) about professional life at Wenk Associates

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72 â&#x20AC;˘ musings

musings...

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Houses Here, Houses There Cori Burt, BSLA ‘16

Houses here, houses there Houses that stretch from Horsetooth to just about everywhere Houses that stack from California to Maine This really can’t be a society gain It’s uniform It’s boring No individuality No sign of identity The sprawl of suburbia Splattered across the earth’s skin The American dream has brought some things That really isn’t how the freedom bell rings To each family one home, one yard To each individual a car I am guilty of this American tradition Much wasted space Much less of a public place And more space for luxury Not a place of anyone’s fantasy Excess and opulence In the American landscape Is creating a deep scar The good and the bad crisscross The luxury comes with a real cost It is a slow and painful process For the mother earth And the landscape architect’s aesthetic The slow splatter of suburbia