land • mark, winter 2017-18

CSU landscape architecture magazine / winter 2017

v

ANNIV

land mark

EDITOR’S MESSAGE Welcome to this special fifth anniversary issue of land.mark! As we celebrate this milestone and contemplate where the magazine started as well as where it is headed in the future, trajectory seems a fitting theme. This enterprise began as an exercise in ‘learning as you go,’ figuring out the intricacies of producing a magazine of this scope on the fly with a staff of eager, but untested, student editors. Could undergraduate students write compelling, themed articles for an audience of alumni and professionals? Would the magazine be of interest to anyone outside the family of the Landscape Architecture Program at CSU? Would Joe McGrane be willing to produce caricature sketches of the editorial staff year after year? The answer to all of these questions has been a resounding YES, and the feedback we’ve received from our readers has been overwhelming and gratifying. The trajectory of this project has been steady, consistently improving upon the high standards set by the first issue five years ago.

Of course, this chosen theme of trajectory is a natural fit when it comes to landscape architecture. Perhaps more than any other design field, landscapes are constantly changing and evolving, revealing the cyclical patterns of the seasons and recording the long arc of time as plants grow and mature, materials weather, and environments change in dramatic ways. Greg Howe ‘19 explores a unique Colorado landscape forever changed by the detritus of war; Jessica Ricalde ‘18 and Charlie Smith ‘17 take a journey into the mind of ‘soundscape’ creator Dan Pound; and Anna Chevalier ‘20 talks with artist Michelle Muldrow about her striking depictions of the landscapes of American consumerism. Finally, our alumni q+a segment features professionals who began their landscape journey at CSU with similar educational experiences, but whose professional trajectories have taken them to every corner of the profession, often far from the well-worn path.

We hope you enjoy reading these stories of trajectory as much as we have enjoyed writing them. Thank you for following us on this expedition over the past five years and supporting the program and its students. We look forward to all the places and experiences that this publication will lead us to in the future.

-Jane Choi, Associate Professor and Managing Editor

THE COVER: A long-exposure photograph of a fireball being continuously spun around from the end of a steel wire, creating a central circle of light that ejects sparks at a variety of tangents, signifying the multitude of various trajectories we are capable of assuming from a single origin.

COVER DESIGN TEAM: (L to R) Andrew Baklaich ‘17 BSLA, Baron Meeks ‘19 BSLA, Anna Chevalier ‘20 BSLA, Lauren Riordan ‘19 BSLA, Kynan Franke ‘18 BSLA, Ian Swalling ‘18 BSLA

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news & events

18

feature articles

52

alumni q&a

84

student awards

88

people

musings...

14

faculty news

74

studio works

people • 1

THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM Administration

Faculty

Dr. Jessica Davis

Jane Choi

Tracy Smith

Kelly Curl

Kathi Nietfeld

Brad Goetz

Sarah Solano

Patrick Martin

Danielle Martin

Joe McGrane

Department Head, Professor jessica.davis@colostate.edu

Director of Undergraduate Advising tracy.smith@colostate.edu

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

Account Manager sarah.solano@colostate.edu

Academic Support Coordinator d.martin@colostate.edu

Associate Professor jane.choi@colostate.edu

Associate Professor, Co-key Advisor kelly.curl@colostate.edu

Professor, Director 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

2 • news & events

PROGRAM 01 New Head, New Era: Mapping the Trajectory of the Department with Dr. Jessica Davis

The Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture has a new Head, Dr. Jessica Davis. Although new to the position as our Department Head, Dr. Davis has been serving the College of Agriculture here at Colorado State University for several years now. Initially coming to CSU from the University of Georgia to work in active engagement with local farmers in their decision-making, she soon started teaching in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. As a professor, she used her practical fieldwork experience to provide her classes with examples of issues they might face, and used her students’ questions to trigger ideas for future research. Through her years of extensive fieldwork, research, and classroom teaching at CSU, Dr. Davis has found her way to Head of the Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture (HLA).

Although she will tell you her path there has been a “winding one,” she will also say, “one commonality throughout my journey has been my desire to address real-world challenges through multi-disciplinary collaborations and the scientific process.” It is in this spirit that she hopes to influence the Department’s future trajectory.

Dr. Davis has had extensive experience working as a soil scientist for fruit and vegetable crops, making her transition to horticulture very natural. Until recently, however, she has not yet had the opportunity to become familiar with the profession and study of landscape architecture. After her first semester as Head of HLA, she explained her exposure to the discipline of landscape architecture as moving her thinking higher up Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs.’

While she is familiar with helping to meet the physiological needs of communities by supplying sustainable food security, she is somewhat new to thinking about the complex socio-psychological needs, such as safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. These less tangible benefits are often manifested in communities in the form of streetscapes, public spaces, leisure or therapy gardens, and other manipulations of the built environment.

As Dr. Davis begins her journey of familiarity with our uniquely multi-disciplinary field of landscape architecture, we in the Landscape Architecture Program also have an opportunity to link what tend to be the more abstract benefits of our designs to more tangible metrics and outcomes. Dr. Davis views this as an opportunity to bridge the gap between the various disciplines required to manifest this entire hierarchy of needs in the landscape. One way in which she is immediately attempting to do so is by hosting guest speakers and lecturers for the horticulture students in the Natural and Environmental Sciences Building (NESB), so horticulture students can traverse the small green

space between Shepardson and NESB to be exposed to the LA studios and potentially engage with LA students on their projects. She is also interested in holding open lectures and discussions with sociologists and soil scientists within the department as a way to address real world challenges through multi-disciplinary collaborations.

As Department Head, Dr. Davis says “one of my top priorities has been to develop a strategic plan for the next five years, elucidate a vision of where we want the department to be, and to map out how we can achieve that vision together.” In discussions with the faculty and staff of the department, it seems a few goals are coming to the forefront.

These include: enhancing opportunities for students to get hands-on experience; reversing the decline in our student enrollment numbers; increasing engagement of students and faculty with our research centers around the state, including the ARDEC South (a.k.a. the ‘Hort Farm’), San Luis Valley, Grand Junction and Rocky Ford research centers; and bringing faculty and staff together around common goals of enhancing urban community well-being through horticulture and design.

In short, Dr. Davis would like current, past and prospective students of the Department to know that she is “committed to listening to people’s ideas and concerns, seeking win-win approaches, and moving us forward together for the benefit of all.” She continues, “I am eager to connect with our alumni, so please do not hesitate to reach out to me (jessica.davis@colostate.edu). I would love to hear your ideas for HLA’s future or to get together and chat on the phone or over coffee. I look forward to meeting you!”

land.mark student editor, Andrew Baklaich (left), with HLA Department Head, Dr. Jessica Davis (right)

news & events • 3

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Model Making Game-Changer

3D printing is now accessible to students of CSU! There are three buildings where students can 3D print: Morgan Library, the Art Department building, and the Idea2Product Lab in the Engineering Building, which features nine printers of various makes, models, and printing bed sizes to suit a range of needs. (https://idea2product.net) Whether it be topography, custom landscape elements, or historical landscape precedents, students of the landscape architecture program are changing the way they approach physical model making.

4 • news & events

NEWS 01 ASLA 2015:

SCASLA goes to Chicago The Student Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (SCASLA) at CSU procured a travel grant from the Associated Students of CSU (ASCSU) to fly three students to Chicago for full attendance at the Annual ASLA Meeting & Expo 2015. The three students attended a myriad of eduational sessions throughout the conference, which were hosted by many of the profession’s leading practitioners. The students also explored many innovative landscape-related creations at the expo, all the while enjoying the priceless opportunity to meet, mingle, and network with renowned professionals from the world over.

02 LAF 50-Year Summit:

SCASLA goes to Philadelphia The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) held its 50-Year Summit at the Irvine Auditorium at the UPenn Campus in Downtown Philadelphia during a June weekend in 2016. This was the first professional meeting of its kind and caliber since 1966, when Ian McHarg and other pioneers of the profession met to discuss and define the goals and role of landscape architecture for the next 50 years. The purpose of the LAF 50-Year Summit was to revisit these goals and not only measure how far we have come since 1966, but also redefine our profession’s goals for the next 50 years. SCASLA students had the pleasure of attending this rare and momentus occasion, gaining valuable insight into the amazing potential for global change the profession of landscape architecture has to offer as we proceed into the limitless future.

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news & events • 5

03 Urban Lab Introduces a

Parklet to Fort Collins

03 DESIGN INTENT > Planter Pot (Concrete fill as pergola base)

Wood Stump (1.5’, 2’, 3’, 4’ heights, 8”-114” Diameter)

In order to create a visually striking, inviting space that promotes a sense of community and social interaction; the creation of a playful spatial rhythm and balance was employed, created, and deployed throughout the space through the use and placement of different heights, lengths, and sizes of common elements.

The fluctuating heights of the wood logs and lengths of the lanterns play off each other creating a playful spatial rhythm and balance that injects energy and life into the entire space as they vary throughout. The wood logs allow for and promote a variety of seating orientations and positions which echo the playful spirit of the space.

Further, the materiality of the candle-lit red paper lanterns, and the earthy wood logs provide a natural, cozy, grounded feel to the space to contrast the highly synthetic materials of the turf carpet and plastic vines. The overt occupation of artificial greenery as employed in the turf carpet and pergola vines are intended to compliment and help induce the hyperbolic metaphorical theme of the design.

The Urban Lab, eager to provide the first portable parklet for the City of Fort Collins, hired a carpenter to work with Andrew Baklaich and Andy Madrick, the two CSU student competition winners to adapt their temporary proposal into a permanent version that would fit the Fort Collins city code standards for an outdoor public space. This model is providing a compelling precedent as the city moves forward with plans for additional parklets for Old Town Fort Collins.

Iron Plumbing Pipe Pergola

Paper Lantern (Candle lit) 18’ Artificial Turf

Within the design is a theme that helps create not only a place-ness but also a narrative for the parklet. As the thickly wrapped vines around the iron plumbing pipes that form the structure of the pergola jet straight upward from the plane planting pots then meet over the space to produce oversized hanging fruit (which are characterized by the glowing red paper lanterns), it creates the playful illusion of some sort of super genetically altered fruit producing orchard. The shiny; skinny, geometrically grown, super fruit producing plants provide a theme and a narrative pertinent to our current modern food culture.

Artificial Vine

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Under the direction of Professor Jane Choi, the Fort Collins Urban Lab, a community organization dedicated to advocating for quality urban design and public spaces in northern Colorado, hosted a parklet design competition to solicit creative ideas from CSU’s landscape architecture students for a temporary parklet during the First Friday Art Walk in Fort Collins.

Several students put together proposals and one was selected as a jumping-off point for creating a more permanent, portable parklet.

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The combined design aspects of the playful visual and programmatic rhythm and balance along with the unique and currently relevant thematic narrative of the parklet design help to create a unique place-ness that is sure to attract and evoke interaction for many, with many, within a community that strives for sustainability and environmental awareness.

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6 • news & events

LA DAYS The program’s flagship event of the year once again showcased the best the profession has to offer. This long-running, student-organized event brought some of today’s most prominent practitioners and academics to the CSU campus for one-of-a-kind presentations and workshops.

David Rubin hosts an open portfolio review and professional interview workshop for CSU landscape architecture students.

Lucinda Sanders,

2016

EVENTS

fellow of ASLA and CEO of OLIN, explored the gradient scale of her work with students beginning with her personal endeavors and ending in large-scale urban projects.

Sanders queued students in on her home life, describing herself as a lifelong learner in drawing, painting, and meditation, as well as showing off the garden that she designed for her own home. Her attention to detail is also on display in her sensitivity towards hydrologic systems, such as Mill River Park, stating that “you don’t see something until you’ve graded it.”

David Rubin,

founding principal of Land Collective, introduced students to Steven Hawking’s theories, speaking of the here-and-now as the collision point between the past and future. Rubin specializes in inclusive landscapes and advocates for amenities such as electrical access and comfortable benches for the disadvantaged. He spoke of his recent planning efforts in Baltimore’s Bromo Arts & Entertainment District, where vacant land is abundant and problematic.

news & events • 7

The Student Chapter ASLA from University of Colorado Denver visited Fort Collins to dine with the CSU Student Chapter ASLA for dinner with Jerry Van Eyck.

Thomas Woltz,

FASLA, is principal of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architecture, working out of both New York and Virginia. He highlighted projects rooted in ecological restoration, such as Houston Memorial Park and Powell Avenue Steam Plant Plaza, as well as more manicured gardens, such as the Carnegie Hill House in New York City. Woltz shared entertaining photos of workers hanging off a cliff in order to install a fence that would keep invasive rats off a property in New Zealand.

Laura Solano,

principal of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, delved into the theme of “razing limitations in a world of rising expectations.”

Her work with MVVA is largely based on pleasure—meandering riverfronts, public parks for children, and urban garden retreats—while also tackling complex limitations such as degraded infrastructure and hyper-urbanized natural systems. Solano showed students images of garden hoses mimicking the paths of the future Monk’s Garden, and the playful light fixtures and play features of Maggie Daley Park. “Don’t ever lose the joy component” is the statement she closed with.

Jerry van Eyck,

founder of Melk! Studios, entertained the audience with a spoof video of a man milking an elk (melk, get it?) before introducing students to his design firm. van Eyck showcased the context around his signature vertically-scaled elements, highlighting his recent project. “The Park,” along Las Vegas Boulevard, remains the only significant landscape architectural work on the strip. He describes the lavishly-customized plaza landscape as having “the botanic splendor of the desert,” deeming it “an ecological crime to irrigate the desert.”

8 • news & events

EVENTS

into

2016

FALL LA

Mark Johnson

Landscape architects and designers from around Colorado come to CSU to speak to students about their firm’s work, specialities, and experiences, as well as news from the profession. Many guest speakers are former alumni of the CSU LA program and come to network with current students about career opportunities.

Civitas co-­founder, Mark Johnson, discussed some profound projects that he has spearheaded in recent years that he felt embraced his way of thinking about our profession and its impact on society.

His public housing project in Kabul, Afghanistan helped residents to inhabit affordable and suitable housing. Johnson also talked about his work with Bette Midler on the New York Restoration Project - The Haven Project. NYRP works to “improve the health of people through green measures.”

news & events • 9

Wendi Birchler

Josh Brooks

Stacey Weaks

Norris Design Principal, Wendi Birchler, another CSU graduate, talked to students about the importance of a well-designed, consistent portfolio. She handles a lot of the interviewing for her firm, and gave students valuable insights into what she personally looks for when reviewing portfolios. Her talk was very helpful in addressing many of the mistakes she encounters with student portfolios. Birchler also made it a point to tell students to take every opportunity to improve themselves and their skills.

Design Workshop Associate, Josh Brooks, spoke to students about the transition from graduation to entering the workforce. He discussed the importance of taking writing classes while in school, because writing is a huge part of professional life that most schools don’t adequately prepare you for. Brooks also talked about the varying types of projects you may encounter once you’re working at a firm. Projects that he presented addressed issues of storm water management, intelligent infrastructure and green infrastructure.

Norris Design Principal, Stacey Weaks, a CSU graduate, discussed with students several projects he is currently working on, and some of the challenges that arise from them. He also talked about how budgeting and design don’t always work together, and how it is best not to get too attached to any one idea because it may need to be altered or eliminated altogether. Some projects that he presented included sites located in Colorado and Arizona.

10 • news & events

EVENTS

FIRM VISITS One of many local artist-commissioned pieces strewn about the office.

Members of the Student Chapter ASLA (SCASLA) carpool to Denver to visit landscape architecture offices for the afternoon to inquire about the nature of their work and to get a feel for their office culture.

Students take it all in while touring the office. SO MUCH TO SEE!

WENK Associate J.C. Culwell shows students the masterplan for the Taxi Campus before their tour.

Students check out Design Workshop’s working project pin-up wall.

Students admire award-winning project boards from CIVITAS.

Native plants in the bioswales manage all stormwater at Taxi.

news & events • 11

CIVITAS was the first firm visit of the day. Upon

entering the office, one is greeted with motorcycles, colorful art, and modern architecture. The office atmosphere encourages fun, creativity, and ingenuity. Sarah Maas, a landscape designer at Civitas, presented us with a slideshow of her past and present projects at the firm.

Landscape designer, Sarah Maas, shows students around.

Local artists paint murals at one of the office entrances.

WENK

Associates recently moved to a new office building that was formerly a church. It offered lofty architecture to serve as a cozy, intimate space for designers. Associate J.C. Culwell gave us a tour of one of their current redevelopment projects, known as Taxi. The area, named for a former taxi dispatch site, is surrounded by industrial context.

Wenk focuses on recycling materials that are found nearby in new and clever ways to create wetland habitats and better stormwater management. They focused on creating open parking and streets where cars and pedestrians can move freely about in a slow and respectful manner. The Taxi site was a very unique development for students to see and experience.

Curbless roads feature painted linework to direct visitors to various entrances around the complex.

DESIGN WORKSHOP offered a calm,

structured atmosphere that encouraged detailoriented design. Upon entering the office, there is a large collaboration table and wall for everyone to share current projects. Associate and CSU alumna, Anna Cawrse, gave a presentation about the firm and some of her current projects in the area.

Students admiring the firm’s in-progress work.

CSU Students attend the annual ASLA Colorado End of Summer Social at The Denver Botanic Gardens.

14 • news & events

In 2016, Kelly Curl was promoted to Associate Professor and earned tenure. Curl recently had a chapter published in Representing Landscapes: Hybrid, edited by Nadia Amoroso. This book series represents various techniques for introducing hybrid drawings within the design process.

Several student hybrid drawings were selected and were part of the publication. Selected landscape architecture students included Jie Li, Taylor Hickey, and alumni Klara Rossouw, April Sorenson, and Christian Drury.

Kelly Curl Associate Professor

news & events • 15

Curt and Nancy Richardson

Professors Kelly Curl and Brad Goetz were selected to be part of the original planning ‘StratOp’ team for the newly-announced Richardson Design Center at CSU. The goal of the new Design Center is “to be an iconic destination that inspires creative, influential discovery. Through powerful ideation and inspired synergy, students explore complex problems using cutting-edge resources to create a meaningful impact on the quality of life.” The Richardson Design Center will provide state-of-the-art creative spaces for students and faculty in programs across campus, including interior design, design and merchandising, landscape architecture, art, engineering, product development, entrepreneurship, and construction management. The Richardsons, cofounders of OtterBox and Blue Ocean Enterprises, and alumni of the CSU Interior Design program, have pledged $8.1 million for the new design center, which will open in January 2019.

Professors Curl and Goetz continue to assist with the planning and proposed curriculum for the Design Center. We greatly look forward to what the new design facility may offer for our students in the future.

Conceptual Rendering of the new Richardson Design Center by 4240 Architects

16 • news & events

Associate Professor Jane Choi continues to serve as a consultant to professionals and municipalities regarding best practices for sustainable urban design strategies and advocating for leading-edge ideas in the design of the public realm. Much of this work is accomplished through her involvement with the Urban Lab, an organization that serves to engage, educate and benefit the Fort Collins community through its numerous initiatives and events. Professor Choi was instrumental in several significant initiatives implemented last year, including the first demonstration ‘living wall,’ which started as a service-learning design project for students in her Irrigation and Water Conservation course. This vegetated wall, the first of its kind as a research and educational amenity, was fully funded and installed last spring at the new Fort Collins Utilities building.

Jane Choi Associate Professor

CONFLUENCE AND ENCOUNTER. THE TWO BLOCKS BETWEEN LAUREL STREET AND MULBERRY STREET WILL COME TO BE KNOWN AS THE SWITCHYARD. A PLACE DESIGNED TO MINDFULLY FACILITATE THE ENCOUNTERS OF PAST AND PRESENT, UNIVERSITY AND DOWNTOWN, AND ALL USERS. RATHER THAN TURN OUR BACKS TO THE RAILROAD, WE CHOSE TO DRAW UPON KEY TOUCHSTONES OF THIS RICH HISTORY: RAIL, LUMBER, AND LIGHT, TO MEDIATE THE INTERTWINING OBJECTIVES EACH USER HAS.

Professor Choi was also instrumental in the city’s first-ever urban design competition. Using her past experience on successful large multi-disciplinary teams for international design competitions, and having served on professional juries, she assisted in writing and editing the competition brief, facilitated the design review process, and helped to organize the public event at which the winners were announced to the public.

CONTINUING THE MASON ST. CORRIDOR BIKE TRAIL. A 5-FOOT CYCLE PATH RUNS THE ENTIRETY OF THE SITE, ON EACH SIDE OF THE STREET, SEPARATED FROM THE PEDESTRIAN PARK

BY BOLLARD.

THE MOVING CARS. THIS TURNS THE TRAIN INTO A PLATFORM FOR COMMUNITY EXPRESSION, AMPLIFYING THE ARTS, PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUALLY CURATED EXHIBITIONS TO FILM FESTIVALS.

TRACK 3. MOTORIZED VEHICLES: FOR THE MOST PART THE ORIGINAL CONFIGURATION OF SOUTH MASON STREET HAS BEEN KEPT, EXCEPT FOR A ROAD DIET ON THE SOUTHERN DRIVING LANE, WHERE THE SECOND LANE AND ON-STREET PARKING HAVE BEEN REMOVED. THE STREET WILL MAINTAIN THE EXISTING MAX BUS RAPID TRANSIT SERVICE STOPS, ALLOWING THE MASON STREET CORRIDOR TO CONTINUE TO FUNCTION AS A MODEL IN MULTI-MODAL TRANSPORTATION. WHILST PRIVATE VEHICLES ARE ALLOWED THROUGH THE SITE, THROUGH VARIOUS TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES, IT IS INTENDED THAT PRIVATE VEHICLES WILL ONLY USE THE STREET FOR LOCAL ACCESS.

SITE FURNITURE RIDES ATOP THE EMBEDDED RAILS GIVING USERS ULTIMATE FLEXIBILITY IN MAKING THE SPACE THEIR OWN. THE FURNITURE’S MODULARITY ALLOWS IT TO BE FURTHER CONFIGURED TO SERVE AS PLATFORM SPACE FOR BUSKERS, ACTORS, AND EXHIBITING ARTISTS.

TRACK 1. PEDESTRIANS: THIS PORTION OF SOUTH MASON STREET WILL BE DEDICATED FIRSTLY TO NON-MOTORIZED USERS, THEN BUSES, AND FINALLY PRIVATE VEHICLES. PEDESTRIANS WILL FIND A LINEAR PARK ON EACH SIDE OF THE STREET, WITH EMBEDDED RAILS RUNNING THROUGHOUT THE GROUND PLANE, DELINEATING THE VARIOUS PROGRAMMATIC ASPECTS OF THE SITE.

FEATURES: AS TRAINS APPROACH, GLOWING LED LIGHTS ON THE SIDES OF THE RAILS BECOME ILLUMINED, SYNCHRONIZING WITH THE TRAIN’S POSITION AS IT MOVES THROUGH THE SITE. THESE WILL BE POWERED BY SOLAR PANEL INSTALLATIONS, SITTING ATOP THE BUS STOP STRUCTURES.

TRACK 2. BICYCLISTS: THE SWITCHYARD SERVES AS CRITICAL BIKEWAY INFRASTRUCTURE BY

PASSING TRAINS ARE TRANSFORMED INTO A DYNAMIC CANVASES WHEREUPON DIGITAL PROJECTIONS OF FILM RANGING FROM NATURE TO THE EXPERIMENTAL ARE MAPPED ONTO

THE OVERWHELMING IMMENSITY OF THE TRAINS PRESENCE ON-SITE IS REDUCED BY A SCULPTURAL SCREENING ELEMENT RUNNING ALONG BOTH SIDES OF THE TRACK. COMPOSED OF RAIL AND RAILROAD TIES, THE SCULPTURE ALLOWS FOR GENEROUS VIEWS TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET, WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY PROVIDING A SAFETY BARRIER BETWEEN THE TRAIN AND OTHER USERS. LIGHTING EMBEDDED WITHIN THE RAIL TIES AND CONNECTED TO THE SOLAR PANEL NETWORK IS ALSO CHOREOGRAPHED WITH THE TRAINS PASSING THROUGH THE SITE. A ROBUST ECOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IS ALSO PROPOSED FOR THE SWITCHYARD. LARGE SWATHS OF NATIVE PRAIRIE PLANTINGS FLOW THROUGH THE SITE, FURTHER GROUNDING IT TO THE REGIONAL CONTEXT, PROVIDING URBAN HABITAT, AND ALLOWING FOR STORMWATER MITIGATION.

for t co lli ns re si de nts Sta ke ho lde r w or ks h op g oal s * VI SI O N STATEMENTS S OU RC ES FROM STAK EHO LDER S WOT, Apr i l 2 0 15 ht t p: / / w w w . fc g ov. c om / planni ng / dow nt ow n/ pdf/ 2 0 15 S tak eholder I nt er vi ew s S u mmar yS WOT. pdf

CONNE C T I N G F O R T CO L L I N S A link for pedestrians and cyclists

goal: Increase the number and size of pedestrian only spaces * THE CREATION OF A PEDESTRIAN AND CYCLIST WOONERF ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE SITE ALLOWS FOR PASSIVE RECREATION AND AN EFFICIENT BICYCLE PATH FOR CYCLISTS TO TRAVEL BETWEEN DOWNTOWN AND THE UNIVERSITY.

G R E E N IN G FO R T C O L L IN S A prairie ecosystem in town

goal: focus on beautification - more green space, plants, alley spaces * LANDSCAPING THROUGHOUT THE SITE EMBRACES A PRAIRIE ECOSYSTEM, CREATING A UNIQUE URBAN HABITAT FOR BOTH FLAURA AND FAUNA. SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN PERMEABLE SURFACES ON SITE EFFECTIVELY CAPTURE AND TREAT STORMWATER ON SITE.

CELEBRATING FORT COLLINS a space for informal and organized gatherings

goal: create a performance space in the central area * 'RAIL CAR' SITE FURNITURE IS LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE SITE. EACH PIECE RIDES ON A TRACK NETWORK ALLOWING THE CITY AND GENERAL PUBLIC TO CONFIGURE FORMAL AND INFORMAL SEATING AND EVENT SPACES. REGISTRATION NO.: 738 (1)

“The Switchyard” (competition winner)

Visitors admire ‘Off the Rails’ design competition proposals.

news & events • 17

Installation of the demonstration ‘living wall’ at the Fort Collins Utilities building (image credits: Institute for the Built Environment)

Competition juror Walter Hood discusses the winning design as Fort Collins Mayor and juror Wade Troxell looks on.

18 • features

The following three articles were conceived and written by CSU students and address the trajectories of various people, places, and events.

features • 19

The 4th year studio...where all the magic happens!

20 • features

AREA D TEXT and GRAPHICS by Greg Howe ‘19 PHOTOS by Greg Howe and Edward Monczynski

features • 21

DENIAL

22 • features

“War is destruction, and the more destructive it can be made with the least suffering, the sooner will be ended that barbarous method of protecting national rights. No doubt in time, chemistry will be used to lessen the suffering of combatants, and even of criminals condemned to death.”

- Lyon Playfair, British chemist, 1899 This is a story about a very unique landscape, known as the Black Hills Army Depot (BHAD). But before that story begins, let’s locate ourselves in the right place and time, namely the landscape of western Europe at the dawn of the 20th Century. Consider the following passage from H.G. Well’s “The War of the Worlds,” told from the perspective of Well’s everyman narrator, an Englishman who sees the interplanetary conflict firsthand. He vividly describes the effects of one of the weapons most characteristic of the Martian invaders in a positively Lovecraftian moment: “It was heavy, this vapour, heavier than the densest smoke...it sank down through the air and poured over the ground in a manner rather liquid than gaseous, abandoning the hills, and streaming into the valleys and ditches and watercourses...So, setting about it as methodically as men might smoke out a wasps’ nest, the Martians spread this strange stifling vapour over the Londonward country...men and horses near it...choking and writhing on the ground...And then night and extinction--nothing but a silent mass of impenetrable vapour hiding its dead.”

The spreading of this black smoke over the landscape is a method of cold, scientific killing without any trace of conscience, and serves as a chilling snapshot of the Martian mind, with their “intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic,” as the famous turn of phrase put it. The painful truth was that soon after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, many of Well’s continental readers would be considering each other just as coldly as they fought, in what increasingly became known as The Chemist’s War, on the battlefields of Europe.

Before we jump into the proverbial trenches let me first add this word of caution: I wouldn’t advise visiting BHAD. Edgemont, South Dakota is a town of friendly people in a sublime landscape...but closer to the site, you’ll be less welcome. A well-known family owns most of the property around there and they are not particular fans of trespassers, scrappers, poachers, college students, or any other type of undesirable miscreant.

features • 23

The local herd looks into a decontamination area.

24 • features

Part 1: A Glossary of Conventional and Chemical Weaponry* *because searching for some of this stuff on Google is shady Area Denial Weapon: A type of weapon that is used to deny the enemy use of an area, or the ability to travel through it. Think booby traps, land mines, chemical and biological weapons, or even nuclear fallout. Nasty and to be avoided by definition. Like stepping on a Lego brick barefoot.

BHAD: Black Hills Army Depot (our case study and plucky underdog hero). Over a million pounds of ordnance, chemical and otherwise, was stored here in over 800 concrete bunkers from the years 1942 to 1967.

When it was closed down, the site was badly contaminated through the process of destroying its conventional and chemical stockpiles. This has rendered it a highly toxic site. Additionally, the ground is peppered with dangerous unexploded ordnance. It is a land use conundrum of the highest order.

BHOD: Black Hills Ordnance Depot. This was the original name for the site.

Blast Overpressure: The gas pressure resulting from a high speed chemical decomposition. The human body is very susceptible to this.

The best protection is distance, as the blast overpressure obeys the inverse square law; in other words, for every doubling of distance from an explosion, you will received only one quarter the blast effect.

Booster: The lump of explosives needed to transfer the explosive wave from the fuze to the burster. This often constitutes the visible bottom half of a fuze. Boosters are the Goldilocks of explosives. Sort of sensitive, sort of powerful. They bridge the gap between sensitive primary explosives (Tuco’s fate in Breaking Bad, anyone?) and powerful main charges like TNT, C-4, or Composition B. Burster: A narrow cylinder of high explosives positioned in the center of the chemical payload. When this detonates the liquid chemical is turned into an aerosol and fills the air around the target. Some chemical agent will be lost in this process, but testing ensures that it isn’t so much as to defeat the purpose. This testing was done in Utah and Maryland.

are present in concentrations far higher than what the EPA deems to be safe for residential use. At “Burning Ground 1,” one of site’s most highly contaminated areas, samples showed dangerous levels of antimony, arsenic, chromium, lead, thallium, vanadium, and others. Just one example, Chromium, was found to be at a concentration of 117 mg/kg of soil. That is over 400 times the limit required to initiate remediation.

Forget California, even Alabama thinks those levels will cause cancer.

CWM: Chemical Warfare Materiel (toxic chemical compounds controlled by treaties). Very strict laws now govern its transport and storage.

Detonation: A supersonic shock front caused either by the decomposition of bare high explosives (a stick of C-4) or low explosives that have been put into a container (Civil War cannon balls). Solids become gases. Fast.

Detonation Velocity: The speed at which a detonation wave travels through an explosive. These range from about 400 meters per second (black powder) to an impressive 8,000 meters per second (C-4).

Downrange: This is the most central danger area inhabited only by qualified technicians. In a broader sense, it’s the place where the danger is. The opposite of the safe area. The term has several meanings.

EOD: Explosive Ordnance Disposal. They blow stuff up that blows stuff up for a living. Included are both men and women from every branch of the armed forces trained exclusively at the Navy’s EOD School in Niceville, Florida. They are all trained to identify, render safe, and dispose of any type of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or conventional ordnance. Although they generally work in three person teams, only two are present during remediation activity.

CONUS: Continental United States (don’t worry, it just sounds dirty).

Frag: Thick slivers of razor sharp metal that are propelled outward from an explosive blast. If you pick up freshly created steel fragmentation, that is without cutting yourself, you’ll be surprised as to how hot it is.

The larger the piece, the farther it goes. It presents a problem due to this longer safe distance needed (versus blast).

COPC: Chemicals of Potential Concern. These are heavy metals and other toxic compounds resulting from the prior activities at the site. Most

FUDS: Formerly Used Defense Site. Sites that the military used to own, but are still responsible for in some way. Like BHAD.

features • 25 Fuze: A device, either mechanical, chemical, or electrical, that creates an explosive wave. They are like puzzles that are being sequentially solved by forces like gravity, inertia, spring tension, and so on. If each piece of the puzzle is solved, a series of increasingly sensitive explosive parts will directly align, and this creates an explosive pathway to fully function the ordnance, whatever the end result may be.

ring sections connect, modifying the length of the fuze’s overall “powder train.”

High Explosive(HE): A detonation velocity faster than the speed of sound (like nitroglycerin or TNT). These are capable of detonation without the buildup in pressure allowed by a container.

Sympathetic Detonation: When an explosive wave from one detonation causes the detonation of another nearby explosive. This principle is used creatively by EOD techs as a way to fully eliminate caches of weapons that would otherwise require large volumes of explosives to

IHF: Intermediate Holding Facility (like a Vault from the Fallout video game series). A secure place to keep any discovered CWM.

destroy. It is also the principle underlying the function of all fuzing. It can either be your best friend, or your worst enemy.

Kick Out: A piece of ordnance that flies off the top of a shot without detonating. Often this is caused by an air gap between explosives preventing sympathetic detonation. Avoided at all costs. Many of the more random, scattered UXOs at BHAD were caused by this.

USACE: US Army Corps of Engineers (they hold clipboards and make concerned faces).

Leak Sealing: Procedure of securing a leaking or damaged UXO containing CWM. It’s a Low tech method that is necessary to transport or store it safely. Practiced by all EOD, but only performed by select units.

Shot: Items neatly prepared for demolition and all blown up at once.

Anything from a single flare to multi-million pound stacks of bombs and artillery shells. Constructing more complex shots is an art form.

UXO: Unexploded Ordnance (likes long walks on old battlefields, modern war zones, and hanging out in Grampa’s war chest up in the attic).

A very real public safety hazard that is handled largely in secret.

Low Explosive: An explosive with a detonation velocity slower than the speed of sound (like gunpowder).

NAVSCOLEOD: Navy School Explosive Ordnance Disposal. It’s a Navy school so they do silly things like calling the floor “the deck” and the flagpole “the mast.” They believe that buildings are ships that sail on the land. ‘Tis a silly place.

Ordnance: A quick way to describe military stuff that blows stuff up. Not to be confused with an “ordinance” which is a rule that a city passes so it can hassle its citizens...as if sitting on my back porch blasting Creed at 3 AM is a problem. Huge overreaction.

Overpack: Department of Transportation approved shipping container.

On the outside they look like crates taken straight from the warehouse at the end of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”

PTTF: Powder Train Time Fuze. A type of adjustably timed fuzing often used with early chemical weaponry. By rotating concentric brass dials the user is actually adjusting the locations where various gunpowder

Empty Overpacks await recovered CWM in the IHF.

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Part 2: Chemical Warfare Agents and Their Uses Blister Agents

Blood Agents

Mustard (H/HD): It looks more like honey than mustard, but we’ll go with it. Ranging from light to dark in color, it’s a sticky chemical compound that smells like garlic and creates large blisters anywhere it touches, even in your respiratory system. It takes hours for the blisters to form, reminiscent of the delayed effect of an allergen like poison ivy. All of these things made it perfect for insidiously polluting the trenches of the enemy. What soil was safe, and what wasn’t? It was effective psychologically. The longer the chemical stays on, the worse the blistering will be. So don’t delay, lazybones! The choice of professionals is now Dawn™ dish soap (not kidding). The blister agents are stable chemicals that are easy to store in large quantities. Most of the mustard filled ordnance, including thousands of rockets, bombs, and projectiles, were destroyed in the early 1960s by gathering them in large trenches, covering them with diesel fuel, and burning them. It still contaminates the soil there as a result. Lovely.

Cyanogen Chloride(CK): I would have called it “CC,” but what do I know? If you are on the battlefield and then get a notion that you can’t catch your breath...no matter how much you actually breathe, congratulations, you just breathed in a blood agent! Cyanogen Chloride(CK) is one of the most deadly of them. It also has a bad reputation for eating through protective mask filters, highly inconvenient for anyone seeking to work safely around high levels of this chemical. Over 5,000 bombs containing this blood agent were destroyed by incineration at BHAD in 1966.

Lewisite (L): Much the same as Mustard except now it’s loaded with arsenic, hate, and pain. Even though you aren’t an expert, I’d wager that you’d instantly notice the difference if it touched you (hint: it's the pain).

It also lives in the soil at BHAD. Pro: Blister agents can create high numbers of casualties while contaminating equipment and soil, ruining the enemy’s position.

Con: It denies everybody use of that area. This becomes a theme.

Pro: It eats through mask filters and then makes blood stop working.

Con: It is rather volatile so it may not work well outdoors.

Nerve Agents G-Series: “G” as in German agents, as in they were developed by German scientists. That way you know they’re good! Nerve agents are like Raid for humans, and were created as a result of the development of chemical pesticides. Saddam Hussein was a big fan. They come in many flavors and work by disrupting the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, causing loss of nervous system function and often death. Well, that is unless you are carrying military grade chemical countermeasures (but who doesn’t?), in which case stab away with that auto injector, you're going to need that antidote and fast (not kidding). After that, get another one and stab it into another place for good measure (still not kidding). A combined 454 tons of this and VX were stored at BHAD in 1962.

Pro: It works pretty well and it’s pretty easy to store. You can also cheat treaties by storing two legal chemicals and then combining them to make an illegal binary G agent when the need arises or the inspectors leave. A popular hobby of Saddam’s old regime.

Sulfur Mustard molecule

Con: The ambient temperature matters. A lot. So much, in fact, that it could be as if a chemical attack never even took place...that is unless there is a temperature inversion at the time...driving the toxic cloud downward...in which case hiding in a basement or other low lying area would be a distinctly poor choice for anyone trying to avoid it. I say poor

features • 27 even though, just a second ago, it was decidedly a good choice, you know, back when they were hiding from the incoming artillery projectiles. So maybe that’s actually a “pro.”

Choking Agents Phosgene(CG): A colorless gas that smells just like freshly cut grass.

It was dispersed just like chlorine and served much the same function.

It damages the lungs and causes choking. During the “Great War” soldiers would line up big tanks of this gas, wait for the wind to be at their backs, and just open up the valves. It was that simple, yet it had a large psychological impact. It’s one thing to avoid a big visible green cloud of chlorine that’s drifting towards you. It’s another to take a breath you thought would be like any other and realize the phosgene cloud is already on top of you. It caused the vast majority of casualties during World War 1, not the more commonly discussed Mustard agent. The first US Army battalion that encountered it in 1918 lost 33% of its troops in a single attack. This gas was stored in large volumes at BHAD, and records mention destruction “by venting.” What they are very euphemistically referring to is that the ordnance was emptied by soldiers in gas masks that were wielding pick axes and probably having a good old time of it.

Pro: It wounds people rather than killing them (this requires more resources to address, and also explains what land mine designers have in mind).

compressed BZ, a device seemingly out of a 1960s Batman episode.

Pro: Subjects are known for disrobing and spouting gibberish.

Con: It is rather silly.

Persistent Nerve Agents VX: It stands for Venomous Agent X. I’m not making that up. This is one of the most evil substances ever created, even more evil than Vegemite. Contact from a droplet the size of a pinhead is more than enough to kill an adult. It's odorless and colorless. It tried to kill Nicholas Cage during the events of The Rock. Despite this (or perhaps because of this?) we are destroying the last of our supply of it as fast as we can.

Well, that or we're abiding by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1980. Probably the Nicholas Cage thing, though. It was stored at BHAD until 1962, when it was moved to another location.

Pro: It kills in mere minutes and then sticks around to do it again if it gets the chance, even long after the initial attack. This effect of essentially poisoning a battlefield to prevent the enemy from occupying was and is known in the military as “area denial.”

Con: Super evil thing that should never have been made. The Sauron of chemicals. It should not be synthesized for any reason other than training and study.

Con: Winds shift, and when they do, well, I'm not sure how you didn't see that coming. It happens a lot.

Incapacitating Agents BZ: This is the notorious "Gay Bomb." I will leave it at that and a Google search. The scientist at Edgewood Arsenal Maryland that tested this agent for the US military (after its Swiss invention) refused to use it on anyone else until he had tested it personally. What a nice guy! After dosing himself he instructed his lab assistant to follow him around with a small mattress to make sure that he didn’t crack his head when he passed out. BZ is sort of like LSD, only stronger. The idea justifying the weaponization of it was that soldiers exposed to it would lose the will to fight. Testing of various delivery systems showed promise. These included, quite amusingly, a prototype aluminum hand grenade filled with

VX molecule

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The hill behind these bunkers is the location of Burning Ground 1.

The fencing is modern, placed to protect the bunker serving as the IHF.

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Part 3: That Time New Jersey Exploded For Three Days 1942 was the beginning of the American military involvement in World War II. Suddenly, there was a great need to store large quantities of explosive and chemical ordnance. The barren landscape of southwestern South Dakota provided just such a locale. To understand why this location was selected, and not something perhaps more convenient, we once again must look at the era of World War I and before.

For hundreds of years low explosives (all that existed at the time) were stored immediately in and around cities within sturdily built stone buildings known as gunpowder magazines. They were seen as sufficient during the era of low explosives, although accidents and sabotage were certainly well known. A peculiar example of one of these magazines is upstate New York’s Bannerman Castle, a sturdily built stone arsenal situated on Pollepel Island, a small strip of land just north of the US Military Academy at West Point. An enterprising businessman used the stone “castle” (well, it is crenelated) to store a large quantity of explosives a safe distance from New York City, where it was making many nervous. More on this later.

The central crater of the 1918 blast. Photo by Unknown.

The end of the 19th Century saw the invention of the first practical explosive with a speed faster than gunpowder: nitroglycerin. The era of high explosives had begun, and the public safety stakes had been raised without any notice. An unforeseen disaster was inevitable, and it occurred in central New Jersey in the fall of 1918, near the closing of World War I.

explosives had detonated, enough to supply the bulk of the American Army in Europe for an entire six months. Over 100 people had lost their lives, and an entire town had been essentially removed from the map.

An accidental detonation occurred during an otherwise uneventful evening at the T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant. The ordnance items surrounding the initial blast then sympathetically detonated, due to their close proximity. This domino effect continued unabated. As the site held over 300 out buildings, many packed to the brim with every type of artillery shell and bulk explosive known to man, the situation quickly became a significant disaster.

Due to public outcry, the US Congress reacted with a set of public hearings and sweeping regulatory decisions. The net result of these decisions was a raft of new regulations stipulating exactly how ordnance should be stored, and in what type of buildings. They came up with several bunker designs to improve on the old magazine, and they quickly popped up at military installations across the country. Most military units still use the same design on a daily basis. Also using them? BHAD... at the time our best effort in creating a safe alternative for munitions storage.

Detonations rocked the site at frequent, random intervals, throwing out dangerous fragmentation, chunks of buildings, rail cars, and many ordnance kickouts creating a widespread UXO problem. When the explosions finally stopped over three days later, the reports that emerged stunned newspaper readers and officials across the nation. Windows had been broken over 25 miles from the site. Over 12 million pounds of

Oh, and remember Bannerman’s Castle in New York? A large part of it blew up in 1920. You can now take tours of the ruins.

Starting in 1942, more than 800 bunkers were built at BHAD, and with incredible speed. Each interior is approximately 30’ x 90’. Bearing this in mind, the quality of the concrete work deserves high praise.

To create so many large structures so rapidly and to have them show

features • 31 very few flaws is a testament to the engineers and workers who built this remote site. Between each pair of bunkers, they dug open-air pits.

Ordnance was stored in those as well, once the bunker capacity had been reached. These pits were not ideal from a safety standpoint since they exposed the ordnance to the weather, but the sloping walls of the surrounding bunkers could do a lot to redirect an accidental blast wave were anything to go bottoms up.

The soldiers assigned to BHAD initially had nowhere to stay. The town of Igloo, South Dakota was born to accommodate them. They named it that because the rounded bunkers reminded them igloos. Hundreds of families moved into the area, creating a type of pop-up city, reminiscent of any military base built in the same period. The most significant problem was water. In typical World War II fashion, they solved it with brute force. They hired oil drilling experts to dig a water well nearly a kilometer into the earth. Due to geothermal heat, the water was so hot when it reached the surface that it needed to be greatly cooled before it could be used. This cooling tower is, to this day, the most notable landmark in the ghost town that is now called Provo, and it illustrates the incredible lengths they were committed to going in order to achieve their goals.

Over the years, trains came and went, transporting what was, at its peak, storage for over a million tons of ordnance. Many of its residents look back on it and see an idyllic picture of a place that was remote, and yet home. Military bases often develop this type of “we’re in this together” mentality. Igloo was no exception. The residents were not happy to leave when the site was closed in June of 1967.

Within twenty years it had become a beloved place with its own fully-developed community. The town also housed around 300 Italian prisoners of war (who probably thought they were being taken to the Moon).

When the war ended, some decided to stay, establishing some of the Italian-American families that still live in nearby Edgemont to this day.

During the closing of the site, much of the ordnance that was not moved was destroyed in large batches called “shots.” Chemical weapons were drained, burned, or vented. Sometimes they would pour the liquids out into bulk containers, and then move it to other sites. Trenches were dug and filled with scrap, then burned. By modern standards, these operations constituted an ecological disaster.

Although the procedures to clean this site up literally fill up gigantic three-ring binders, I can sum up the activity of remediation thusly:

A heatmap showing areas with subsurface anomalies that correspond to the locations of historical trenches used for destruction.

Photo courtesy of US Army Corps of Engineers.

Helicopters fly low over the site in overlapping search patterns, carrying powerful magnetic sensors. The rationale is that where you find scrap metal, you will also find contamination or UXOs. Any ferrous material in the ground shows up on a digital heat map of the site overlayed with the topography (see above). Former trenches and areas of interest then become blatantly obvious. Priorities of work are set, deciding where to dig what are called “investigational trenches.”

Consider these to be like a biopsy, and the contamination the cancer itself. The intent is to sample these areas of interest, discovering what chemicals or other hazards might be present there. To do this, new trenches are dug by backhoe perpendicularly to these historical trenches, allowing a cross section of the historical site to be seen. It can feel almost like archeology or paleontology in that sense. Sophisticated monitoring equipment, run by laboratory professionals, sniffs the air coming out of the hole as it is being dug. Releases of small levels of phosgene or other volatile gases are common to see. The chemicals have been locked up in the soil for decades, preventing weatherization from neutralizing them.

When you are digging for chemical weapons, you’d better be prepared to find them. One of the funny (hey, you can either laugh or cry) realities of this work is that the person in the backhoe must be in full chemical protective equipment during the digging, as there would be no time to don the gear or a mask in case of such an accidental discovery. Once

32 • features A trench in the process of being dug. As this was an investigational remediation, the soil was later returned to the trench.

features • 33 you’ve smelled it, it’s already too late. A remote backhoe was attempted early on, eliminating the need for this, but the rate of digging was found to be too slow. Bummer. Therefore, shifts on the digger are short. The hard right is always preferred over the easier wrong. This explains why overall, the process is so slow. Hazards are plentiful and they must be mitigated. Injuries while cleaning up this site would be ironic, calling into question the ostensible purpose of the remediation: that of safety. In the case that ordnance or anything grossly contaminated is discovered, the EOD techs on site are called in to address the problem. This is, happily, quite rare; it is also why remediation is considered a “good gig.”

in the near future.

The Army made this mess and it does have to clean up its own messes.

It is legally obligated to do so. The Corps of Engineers manages this and other remediation projects, but as a point of fact they are not all this remote. One is at American University near Washington DC, a dense urban area. They accidentally built a housing development there on top of such a site and then realized it too late. Work there has been ongoing for decades. More work remains.

effort to protect our landscape not just from improper use or industrial mismanagement, but from the scourges of war, lest we deny an area not just to the enemy, but to ourselves as well. The chemicals never discriminate between friend and foe.

It will always remain a military priority to be able to deny an area to the enemy. The only question is how we will decide to do it. Chemical, biological, and radiological weapons once filled this role, but many civilian and military experts now agree that they do not show us a way forward.

Tragically, land mines have filled this gap in the meantime. Awareness has already grown about the global catastrophe resulting from the use of land mines in war. They are a threat that does not end when the war does, but that problem will be dwarfed by what will follow if such devices are given autonomy or swarm behavior. We should make every

BHAD itself has been through years of planning, investigation, and remediation that persist to this day. Until that work is finished, it is merely a field for grazing, one that cannot be used otherwise until all of the problems have been addressed. It could take decades, and will no doubt in the end come at great expense to the taxpayer. The future of Edgemont, South Dakota is also anyone’s guess. Some residents want to build a uranium mine, others want additional petroleum businesses. Others still want the return of the land to the tribes of the nearby Pineridge Reservation. It is truly anyone’s guess what the future holds for BHAD.

Epilogue I hope you now have a new perspective on what is otherwise an obscure subject. The American landscape is full of mystery and beauty.

We must not ruin it in our attempts to protect it.

More pointedly, my concern is that the societal journey we have taken with chemical weapons will be mirrored in the future by other, even more dangerous emergent technologies. Often the devil you don’t know is preferred to the one you do know. Automation, artificial intelligence, and nano-scale manufacturing are only some of the fields where advances are poised to make weapons more autonomous and more lethal

Unidentified UXO unearthed at Burning Ground 2. This is a good example of how badly oxidized and damaged many UXOs are. Note the burster rod running through the center. The presence of this is one of the chief ways that EOD technicians can help to identify possible chemical fills in UXOs. Photo by Edward Monczynski.

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SOUND S THE

OF

DAN POUND

By Jessica Ricalde ‘18 & Charlie Smith ‘17

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CAPES ...a Q+A

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What is a soundscape?

DP: I use the term loosely to describe my music, which is very visual by nature. Upon hearing my tracks, listeners often describe that they tune in with eyes closed and are transported in space and time to another plane, and that it is akin to being on top of a mountainous vista looking down into a sprawling valley, or in the deepest of oceans exploring alien like topography, or the ineffable sensation that is experienced by simply looking up into the sky on a dark night and taking in the infinite expanse of the stars and planetary structures that surround us. All of this and more is experienced by the three-dimensional space of the mind’s eye, which is induced by the music that is heard. So in essence, ‘Soundscapes’ simply refers to the internal landscapes and aural atmospheres projected by the mind’s eye, which is facilitated by these sounds and this kind of music.

In the art of music mixing (and in my case composing as well), we are taught to think of each sound/part in a mix in terms of colors. Some are big, warm and bold. Others are subtle, cool and soft. Some are like shadows, and others like bright light. Some are in the foreground and others sit back and behind. Then there’s the application of different textures, focal points, perception of depth, shading, highlights etc...So creating these soundscapes is almost like how an artist looks at his canvas and applies the elements to create a ‘scene’ of sorts. So, I guess you could say it’s three-dimensional visual sound art.

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When did you first know you wanted to pursue soundscapes?

DP: I grew up playing and learning many instruments, so I always had a fascination with sound in general. My first pursuits were of the singer/songwriter type. I was pretty good at songwriting, knew theory, and understood the q and structure thing pretty well. I was also a fair poet/lyricist. But then I discovered ambient artists like Tangerine Dream, Steve Roach, Brian Eno and the likes. Soon I realized that this kind of music was limitless.

There are no rules, structures, formats or barriers. Being the rebel and individualist that I am, I seized the idea that I could make this kind of music. At first I was more or less emulating what I had been listening to and learning the newly acquired equipment. Then as I added more instruments and started building my studio up, (meanwhile also learning recording engineering and how to use the studio as an instrument), I began to experiment more and develop ‘what works’ for me, and in turn started developing more of my own sound.

In 2004 I started releasing homemade CD’s that I made in my studio over the internet. Then in 2007 after starting my own official label, I had the extreme fortune to meet with Steve Roach and stay at his ranch in Arizona for an extended weekend of one on one mentorship. This was a pivotal event in my life that has stayed with me since. He taught me so much in his studio (about the art and the biz) over that long weekend, and I’ve retained it all to this day. Most importantly though, he instilled in me the need for me to stay true to myself as an artist. My emulating days were officially over. After returning home, I completely turned my studio around, added more equipment, and by the next year released my first album on my new Pound Sounds label. Haven’t looked back since.

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Where did you grow up and how has this affected the trajectory of your life, music, and career?

DP: I was lucky enough to grow up in Laguna Beach, California, and then the Oregon coast in summers.

Laguna was very much (and still is) an artist’s town, so the influence of cultural arts and creative passion was always surrounding me. The coast of Oregon had all the natural beauty and open natural spaces that a boy and young man could want for exploration and to meditate on. So, both of these crucial places I was living in and growing up in were definitely catalysts and trajectories for me to want to explore artistic expression, creativity, and ultimately to write music based on themes involving the environment and our natural world.

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Is your music an outlet for other aspects of your life?

DP: Indeed. It’s a creative outlet, a way of expressing myself. I find life is troubling and turbulent a lot of the time, filled with high anxiety and high emotions. Any art form or creative process helps human beings tap into their deepest selves and darkest corners to reveal and explore the natural inner process that drives us all. My music is a way for me to tap into this and bring it out. Ultimately, that helps me deal with life and its processes. If I’m upset because of the deterioration of Earth’s natural resources or climate change; I compose music that expresses that. If I’m feeling lonely and missing a lost loved one; you can hear that in the music.

If I’m in bliss because of the beautiful clouds making up the sunset; that comes out. It’s an expression of my truest self. It is my therapy.

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Would you talk in depth about where you draw inspiration from? What is your process and initial analysis?

DP: Inspiration can come from many sources, and my albums tend to be thematic. In other words, even though there are no lyrics or words, they are concept albums. Usually one theme will encompass the entire album. The inspiration for these themes typically are either of an ecological subject and/or philosophical in nature. Books and reading can be a source. Sometimes it’s drawn from other works of art; movies, something in the news, or even just walking on a long stretch of beach, or gazing at the moon and stars can inspire my work.

Then the process begins with sound. Either the sound comes first, or the inspiration that is already there, and the emotions derived from that can be what drives and produces the sound. Either way the theme develops on its own, it seems. Then the multitude of instruments can be tools for experimenting and probing these themes and emotions, and hopefully some good sounds will be discovered and produced this way. It’s a pretty natural process for me to dig deep and pull out these feelings and express them in a musical way. Then if something sounds right, it’s hit-the-record-button-time. A lot of this process is improvisational and you go in just trusting your gut instincts and letting go. The magic is when it all just happens just right. Then you go back and listen. If it’s worthy of the project then it’s time to think about what that track wants alongside it, or needs in it (if anything). Then it’s the same process basically all over again.

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Personally, what is your favorite album or song that you’ve composed? What makes it significant for you?

DP: Most of the time when asked this I would say my latest album, whatever that is at the time. But if I had to pin it down I would say “Eros Thanatos” is my favorite album. For one, making it made me go further beyond my usual borders by using mostly just guitar and effects boxes. It’s hard to believe when you hear it that most of the sounds you’re hearing are produced just by the guitar. In particular, I would say my favorite tracks are the last one on that album called “From Beyond” and the last track from Cocoon, called “Release.” These both have such a mystical and purity of beauty quality to me. It’s hard to achieve that caliber all the time. I would say when I leave this Earth, those would be the two tracks to play during my farewell wake. Given the titles of those tracks, wouldn’t you say that’s appropriate?

For more information on Dan Pound, visit http://www.danpound.com

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The Nation’s Landscapes

Through the Eyes of Michelle Muldrow

By Anna Chevalier ‘20 bsla

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Michelle Muldrow had always drawn landscapes, but they did not resonate for her on a conceptual level until after college. Muldrow realized that drawing and painting people did not hold her interest, but landscapes continually invited her to think and expand. She feels that she has not even come close to exhausting her interest in landscape.

Every series she creates reflects a different aspect of landscape and place. Muldrow considers herself a quintessentially American landscape painter, as her work is a mirror on American experiences.

“I could go on and on – but truly, to psychoanalyze it, I am sure it comes down to the military kid rootlessness, the loss of home, the search for home, the trying to figure out place, culture, people – all of it channels through landscape for me.”

Muldrow’s grandfather cultivated her love of art when she was a young child by taking her on cherished trips to the Art Institute of Chicago. A child of the armed forces, Muldrow continually moved to different Air Force bases throughout America as she was growing up, the ever-changing landscape scenes molding the mind of a now nationally-recognized painter who finally settled in Portland, Oregon.

“I was a very sad child that experienced trauma at a young age and my way of coping was to try to appear normal. I did normal things – made friends wherever I moved, assimilated – but when asked by my second-grade teacher to bring in my favorite song based on a poem, I brought in “Richard Cory” by Simon and Garfunkel. I still think that is pretty hysterical.” That said, music and art were Muldrow’s places of greatest comfort as a child. She lived in a private world of creating music, drawing scenes, writing poems, and making illustrated books. Her comforting solitude was an unlimited place for creation. Muldrow realized at an early age that her expression through art, though a solo undertaking, impacted others around her. She noted that on a practical level, when she was the new kid at school and a talented artist, it inspired other students to be more curious about their surroundings and open in their own expression.

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“As an artist, this translated into leaving an established language and body of work and hoping where I am going is going to make sense.”

TOP: Blight and Consumption 2009 gouache on watercolor paper LEFT: New Pastoral 2009 gouache on watercolor paper

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This drive to create translated into Muldrow’s education when she graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting. Currently, she lives in a universe of constructing art and music. She is represented in the Microsoft Art Collection, the Cleveland Clinic Art Collection, the California Cryobank Art Collection, The William LouisDreyfus Art Collection, and the Indy Bank Art Collection. Everything in her environment is an influence and a muse for Muldrow; she lives to create stunning pieces and express her unique vision of the modern landscape surrounding her.

Muldrow says that she is usually frustrated and angry during the creation of a new series.

Her compulsion to express something is challenging and cannot be articulated easily. But in 2009, Muldrow overcame her initial vexations and began to successfully communicate and articulate through her Relic of Landscape series, which she describes as “built around the aesthetic theories of the Picturesque.” Her two paintings, Blight and Consumption and New Pastoral,demonstrate the rules of ruin, decay, architecture and flora beautifully and concisely.

46 • features

In 2010, Muldrow’s vision of landscape shifted. Her unique and personalized vision of consumerism and the massive “big box stores” that can be found throughout the United States inspired her to create the Cathedral of Desire series, where she mulled over the concept of the sublime from views of Bierstadt. Taking a philosophical viewpoint, Muldrow painted immense images as “our own modern sublime,” depicting the horrors of mountains of consumer goods replacing the natural environment. These immense scenes, such as Boxing Rhapsody, truly take a unique viewpoint on modern landscapes and culture.

“...our own modern sublime...”

LEFT: Boxing Rhapsody 48” x 48” casein paint on kaolin clay panel RIGHT: Altar in Orange 48” x 48” acrylic on canvas

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LEFT: Locater/Location 30” x 40” casein paint on kaolin clay panel RIGHT: Search Markers 30” x 40” casein paint on kaolin clay panel

“I became interested in Google Maps as a portal into how we view landscapes, our own nostalgia for places, and our own memories.”

Constant movement on the physical plane, gravitating from place to place, is extremely relevant in Muldrow’s most recent work. Her creations are evolving to explore the symbiotic relationship between landscape and technology – specifically how people map our history and the environment. Muldrow is using her Air Force childhood homes and access to imagery of neighborhoods through Google Maps as images for her paintings. “I became interested in Google Maps as a portal into how we view landscapes, our own nostalgia for places, and our own memories,” she said, when asked about this current project.

It is clear that Michelle Muldrow’s nomadic experiences throughout her childhood fundamentally changed her outlook on culture and the expression of landscape. These forces influence her to this day, with familiar childhood scenes appearing as backgrounds for works in her most recent series.

Her paintings demonstrate the human marks left on our modern landscape and continue to serve as a reminder that our landscape is a cultural construct, constantly transforming through time.

Michelle Muldrow is represented by Koplin Del Rio Gallery in Los Angeles, Jen Bekman Gallery in New York City and Bonfoey Gallery in Clevelnad, Ohio. Website: http://mmuldrow.com/

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Student’s Landform Ideation Studies

52 • alumni news

q&a Alumni News and Interviews

by Sydnie Stahler ‘18 bsla & Zhiyao Shu ‘19 bsla

Our alumni have traveled across the wide world making names for themselves within many a great variety of niches the profession of landscape architecture has to offer, all the while 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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Danial Tal’s Placemaker Render Civic Commons, Cheyenne, WY.

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q&a with

DANIEL TAL ‘98, RLA is a licensed landscape architect who freelances on a range of projects and consults on technology education and software development. He consults on SketchUp-related tools, conducts workshops and seminars on 3D modeling, and beta tests future software releases to assure that they meet the needs of professionals. http://danieltal.com/

In a design profession called upon to create places in the landscape, 3D modeling is an essential piece of the process. When it comes to experts in 3D modeling of the environment, alumni Daniel Tal is the man to know. Daniel Tal has built an incredible career in landscape architecture within the ever-expanding niche of 3D digital modeling. Tal graduated from Colorado State University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture. With extensive experience that allowed him to build his career around 3D modeling, a major component of Tal’s work is education. In 2013 he published Rendering in SketchUp and in 2016 he published SketchUp for Site Design. His books, along with blogs and a new video series, are all devoted to teaching anyone in the profession the art of 3D modeling and rendering. He strives to make the content accessible for everyone, especially students and emerging professionals.

Along with his educational services, Daniel Tal is the owner of Ambit3D, a 3D modeling, visualization, and BIM (Building Information Modeling) studio for Stanley Consultants, and also serves as the tech-editor for Landscape Architecture Magazine. Most recently, he has developed a

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Placemaker Render - San Fransisco, CA

new modeling platform called Placemaker.

Before switching to the landscape architecture program at CSU, Tal was studying to be an architect. His love of the outdoors and environment lit a spark that inspired him to change course. The Landscape Architecture Program was a struggle for him, but one that Tal learned to love. He was taught to unlearn what he thought he knew in order to embrace the creative process. Tal expressed an appreciation for how the program at CSU taught him to problem solve, to let go of the need for deadlines, and to find satisfaction in the process that leads to the end result. Daniel’s educational experience at CSU was not a consecutive four-year stretch, however. After three years he was struggling to grasp the concepts, so he took a year to regroup and rebuild, a time he is thankful for because it allowed him to return refreshed and ready to do some work. However, he does wish that

after he returned from taking a year off, he would have spent some more time on expanding his understanding of the field’s scope. He would have liked to research more firms, explore more internships, and read more about landscape theory.

Before Daniel found his way to 3D modeling, he had a love of hand drawing. Perspectives and hand renderings came before the 3d modeling, but with an introduction to a limited graphic design program, a door was opened in the design process. The door that opened led in to the world of 2D drafting and 3D modeling. This new interest allowed Tal to expand his scope and become fully immersed in the design process. Daniel enjoys the problems of each new design, as each requires new strategies, has new issues to address, and ultimately, new solutions. The projects are stimulating in the sense that they require new thinking. Daniel Tal’s work sets him apart from others because he is constantly

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finding new solutions to the problems he encounters. His perspective of the field is shaped by his understanding of the 3D space. Not only in his position at Ambit3D but also in his role as tech-editor at Landscape Architecture Magazine, Tal has immersed himself in the technological aspects of the field. He has come to understand that this technology can reshape our urban fabric and create new pathways in the future. The future is moving towards more automated systems and technologically-linked spaces, and 3D modeling is the gateway to that future.

When Daniel Tal finds himself at a roadblock, or when he needs a boost of creativity, he looks to others to help collaborate. A key to the design process is to connect with a network of people both internally and externally.

It is always in the best interest of an individual designer, and in the interest of the collective good to detach from ourselves and step into another’s perspective. With this philosophy at the forefront, Tal strives to help others through teaching and learning. He pushes himself and his employees to share as mush as possible. We increase in knowledge together, and no matter your position or years of experience, there is always more to learn. Daniel is constantly learning and helping others to learn through personal interaction, videos, books, and blogs.

Part of the process of learning is the inevitable experience of failure. Daniel Tal views failure as an essential piece of the profession, and of the human experience. Failures allow us the opportunity to change our perspective and learn for the next time. Tal sees the time when he dropped out of CSU for a year as one of many failures that allowed him to grow and create the foundation on which he now stands.

There are some deign projects in particular that Daniel is especially fond of. One example is a plaza in Denver, for which Tal collaborated with Laurie Olin and was

TOP (L to R): Placemaker - Roads & Paths, 3D Buildings, Modeling on Terrain BOTTOM: Placemaker - Site Base

58 • alumni news

influenced by the formal qualities of his designs. For another, a rest stop at the Prospect Road exit off I-25 in Fort Collins, Tal was able experiment with design through his use of the Fibonacci sequence. Likewise, there are other projects of which Tal is not so fond. On one occasion, he completed a planting design of which he is not proud. The project is located close to his house, serving as a constant reminder not of his failure, but of his opportunity for growth.

Outside of work, Tal enjoys spending time with his family and exploring the mountains. He values his work not just for the flexible schedule that allows him personal time, but also because it helps reinforce his values. Travel is another aspect of Tal’s life that adds value for him and his professional work. Travel has taught him to see the environment and to feel the space of a landscape. Some of his more memorable travels include backpacking through Canada and summers spent in Italy. Experiencing the world first hand helps him to develop and understand his design process. Music is another inspiration in his work and life. When working, he listens to a variety of genres, including classical, bluegrass, and techno.

Although his specialty is in 3D digital design, Daniel Tal emphasizes the importance of hand drawing as well.

He believes that hand drawing is a key foundational skill and the best way to express a design quickly. He says that young designers need not be afraid of creating bad designs, but should instead be open to the chance to retry and to create new solutions. Daniel’s other piece of advice is to study the profession. Invest time in understanding the theories and foundations that shape where the profession came from and where it is headed.

He advises that students stay aware of what others are doing and always learn from them. Spoken like a true teacher.

Placemaker Render - Venice, Italy

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q&a with

A

ngela Milewski is the president of BHA Design Incorporated, located in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Her design passion was first aroused during her years in high school. “I always wanted to do something related to art or design.” In the process of exploring design professions, she was lured west by the gorgeous Rocky Mountains and her love of nature and outdoor activities. She consequently made her decision to study landscape architecture at CSU. As a student at CSU, she took the opportunity to work as an intern at DHM Design, a role that acquainted her with a wide variety of aspects of design practice.

This internship validated her decision to pursue this profession and allowed her to study practical drawing skills. Her constant effort impressed the DHM Design manager, who then hired her as an assistant designer.

ANGELA MILEWSKI ‘92, RLA is a Principal of BHA Design in Fort Collins, CO. In this role, she leads the firm’s collaborative culture, driven to provide sustainable, smart designs which renew, restore, and artfully enhance public spaces. Specifically, Milewski is a leader in creating spaces that reflect the unique experiences of each community and client. She has made a name for herself in recent years as a leader in the design of therapeutic gardens, which have been featured and celebrated all across Colorado.

http://bhadesign.com/

After designing for various kinds of projects, she started her research on therapeutic gardens several years ago, the result of having worked on several hospital landscape projects. She found that patients in hospitals need the external environment to adjust their emotions and relieve stress. Our senses are brought to life through physical experiences of outdoor spaces, from designed landforms to native plants, to the sound of flowing water, and these natural forces can relieve stress far more effectively than a view of a parking lot or blank walls. Milewski started to study horticultural therapy and found it fascinating, developing her knowledge of how to implement therapeutic designs and manifest the healing influence outdoors. She began to travel to other states to learn from others and familiarize herself with many outstanding designs of therapeutic gardens. For instance, when she toured the Oregon Burn Center, she learned about patient sensitivity to sunlight after severe burn injuries. The designers of that garden installed many large trees and other various structures to provide shade for these patients in an outdoor therapy area.

One of her hallmark designs is the McKee Medical RIGHT: Medical Center of the Rockies, Fort Collins,CO

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Center, a cancer center located in Loveland, Colorado.

When she began designing the garden, the building had just been completed. The proposed design space was very limited in size, but Milewski and her team designed a screen of dense vegetation to hide the parking lot. She and her team found that many patients take chemotherapy at the center and it always takes about four to six hours to complete a round of therapy.

So Milewski made it a priority to distract patients from their pain and isolation and relieve their stress.

The team used a painterly method of planting design, with layers in the foreground, middle ground, and background, to create an exaggerated sense of space to make the views more rich and artistic, with small cobblestone paths connecting the views. The patients can really find peace and relaxation walking in this small garden.

Another significant project is the environmental design for Medical Center of The Rockies. This hospital serves emergent and very ill patients of severe diseases as well as victims of traumatic accidents. There is an air of intensity that comes with the constant stream of tremendously ill patients, their concerned families, and the people that treat them every day. To counter this intensity, Milewski designed an abundance of water features and floral vegetation in the landscape to help people relax and decompress. Landscapes like these attract wildlife such as birds and butterflies, which further elevate the garden’s therapeutic effect.

The sound of different birds has a wondrously positive affect on stress relief, so attracting preferred species is always a main goal.

Milewski admits she has faced a lot of challenges in the process of designing and implementing therapy gardens. One of the toughest types of challenges comes in convincing clients to accommodate various aspects of her designs. Helping the client to understand what it feels like to sit or lie in a small spot and look outside, and understand how the design will affect the process of physical therapy, is a challenging educational process to walk her clients through. In LEFT and RIGHT: McKee Medical Center - Loveland, CO

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order to create appropriate plans and concepts for the treatment of different types of patients, her team also needs to learn about related diseases and disorders, and understand what various patients specifically need in order to best accommodate their healing process.

When she designed the conceptual plan for the Children’s Sensory Center, she had to consider that there are children with sensory disorders. Some are very sensitive to over-stimulation, so they prefer secret, small spaces to avoid they overwhelming pressure of sensory overload. Others are hyperactive outside and need facilities to prevent them from engaging in dangerous behavior. Milewski explored the various symptoms of different kids to understand what each specifically needs in order to come to a solution.

“Although we are not health care professionals, we need to provide health care services to various patients in the form of tailored environments, while also protecting them, to help them recover.”

Another challenge to therapeutic garden design is that some of the more practical landscape materials and plants found in a traditional garden may negatively affect patient therapy (plant allergies, for example), so other options must be found. The requirements for therapeutic gardens can also be restrictive in terms of design freedom. But these are the types of challenges that draw Milewski to this type of work. She excels at applying her proclivity for empathy to her design process and finding new ways to help people heal.

It adds a dimension to design projects that can’t be found in any other kind of work.

Milewski says her greatest reward is to see patients benefiting from her gardens and finding relief from their illnesses and injuries. “My designs affect people in need of help,” she says, “and that gives me the power to go on.” Her greatest aspiration is for her designs to help bring people and communities peace, relief, and relaxation. Her work is a great reminder that design can be a potent force for good for countless people and can truly make the world a better place.

LEFT: McKee Medical Center - Loveland, CO

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q&a with

JIM ENGH ‘85, RLA

is Founder and Chairman of Jim Engh Design. Throughout the years, Jim has ascended to legendary status as a golf course designer, accruing a plethora of prestigious awards with his partner Mitch Scarborough within the world of golf course design and construction. Although he has designed golf courses in a variety of countries around the world and received an unprecedented number of unique awards, Jim will tell you the most rewarding aspect of his 33 year career is the friendships he has made along the way. https://www.enghgolf.com/

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A

TOP: Tullymore Golf Club, Stanwood, Michigan. Named the “Best New Public Upscale Golf Course” of 2002.

LEFT: Green Topograghy Construction Document BELOW: The Creek Club at Reynolds Plantation Greensboro, Georgia BOTTOM: Harmony Golf Club, Timnath, Colorado

degree in Landscape Architecture can lead to a career with limitless possibilities and specializations, as evidenced by the career of distinguished alumnus Jim Engh, who specializes in golf course design. After graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Landscape Architecture and a concentration in Turfgrass Science from Colorado State University in 1985, Engh received a certification in project management from the University of Wisconsin. Jim went on to gain years of experience, working with several well-established golf course designers, including Dick Nugent, Ken Dye, and Joe Finger. While working with Cotton Pennick, Jim became the Director of Golf Course Design for International Management Group Developments at their London headquarters. In 1991, he opened his own firm, James J. Engh Golf Design, a firm which has built an astounding reputation that has earned him Golf Digest’s Best New Course Award four times since 1997.

From a young age, Jim Engh had a passion for creation. He originally wanted to be an architect working in the world of buildings. In high school and college, Jim Engh played golf competitively.

This background not only influenced his eagerness to design golf courses but also gave him a welldeveloped understanding of the game, a base of knowledge that is expressed in the courses he creates.

He pursued an education in architecture prior to discovering landscape architecture. During a summer position as a draftsman at an engineering firm, he had the opportunity to consult with a highly-regarded golf course designer, Dick Phelps. This interaction influenced and inspired him to follow a new path.

He, like so many in this field, realized that landscape architecture would fulfill his passion, in this case a passion for golf course design.

Engh recalls his time at CSU as being filled with endless hours in the studio and a tunnel-vision determination to make it to graduation. He looks back with fondness on the education he received and the classmates to which he grew quite close.

68 • alumni news

He credits Professor Merlyn Paulson with inspiring a passion for excellence and acknowledges how far a fear of failure can go in terms of motivation and drive. A piece of the Landscape Architecture program that Jim does not remember with so much love is his summer experience at the Pingree Park Mountain Campus. Although now grateful for the challenge if that summer, he did not enjoy it at the time.

TOP: The Creek Club at Reynolds Plantation Greensboro, Georgia RIGHT: The Club at Black Rock - Coeur D’Alene, Idaho BELOW: Dongguan Hillview Golf Club Guandong Province, China BOTTOM: Dragon Hills Golf Club - Ratchaburi, Thailand

During his summer at Pingree Park, Jim found out he had landed a job working construction at a new golf course, a great job which would earn him tremendous experience in his desired concentration. He was therefore unenthused about a summer of counting dear scat in the mountains. His lack of excitement, combined with a rebellious side, lead him to fail his summer experience at Pingree Park. As a result, Jim was required to take a class entitled ‘Remote Sensing.’

In his words, “that class truly opened my eyes to being able to understand and interpret large sections of land.” In this way, a great failure revealed an opportunity for immense learning, as is often the case.

In the field of golf course design, not everyone in the industry comes from a background of design or landscape. This specialized field is powered by a wide range of experiences and methods of operation. Some people are in charge of driving the bulldozer while others create the smallest of details in construction documents. These are aspects of the specialty that Jim finds most rewarding. Engh most enjoys the part of his job where he turns the lines on a page into a masterfully built design. His dedication to his craft has paid off, earning him great recognition in his field. Jim feels tremendous gratitude for the professional success he has achieved, but where he finds the most success is in his family. He feels blessed to have a job that he loves and the means to spend time with his family.

In terms of the specifics of his work, Jim looks at each of his projects like children; they are the fruits of his labor and each is unique in its own way. In that sense, there is no one project that Jim is more passionate about than the others. That said, occasional disappointment is inevitable when passion is poured

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into a project and for one reason or another the project is never brought to life. The ideas are created in Jim’s mind and legitimized through the lines on a page, but when the dream is not manifested into a physical form, it is a heartbreaking reality that most designers are periodically faced with in their careers.

The foundation of Jim Engh’s designs lies within the Linksland of Ireland. The wild has no rules, only the truth of landform, and from there, a simple game of pleasure was born. As with many designers, he says the most challenging part of the creative process is at the beginning. Sometimes creative ideas come like a light bulb, born out of nowhere, while at other times the process is more difficult. Jim spends time doodling until an idea is absorbed into the right side of his brain. For him, music is a trigger for inspiration.

He enjoys music that is soulful and honest, where the passion of the composer is evident. Listening to ‘The Lion’ by Van Morrison is a must for his workday playlist. He believes that music, like the works of Van Morrison, speaks to a creative heart.

Engh’s creative heart is motivated by the challenge to inspire people through his personal art form. His foundation is built on uniqueness, variety, and creativity that force him to think outside the box. Golfing is a special experience in which a person is fully immersed in the art form while also competing against it; this aspect is what attracts him to the art he loves. He finds the entire process, from the construction all the way to opening day, to be a rush. He has been most impressed by the places that his work has taken him.

In his career, he has lived in, traveled to, and worked in, over 47 countries. During that time, he’s created friendships and had experiences that shaped him as a designer and as a human being.

His advice for young people in the profession is to travel and experience the world. He believes that the kind of influence these experiences have is lifechanging, for the better. Travel on your resume not only elevates you above 80% of other applicants, it is also a foundational aspect to one’s design ideology and character.

TOP: Fossil Trace Golf Club, Golden, Colorado LEFT: Lakota Canyon Ranch, Newcastle, Colorado BELOW: Jangsu Golf Resort, North Jeolla Province, South Korea BOTTOM: True North, hole18

Professor Joe McGrane discusses the important elements to note during a site visit for a project

74 • 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 2016.

“Better Philly” project montage by MLA students Rita Manna, Klara Rossouw, and Sam Cranshaw

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76 • studio works

APRIL SORENSON bsla ‘16

CONVERGENT BOUNDARY: CULTIVATING A COLLECTIVE IDENTITY ALONG THE ELBOW RIVER Calgary, AB. Canada

The project site is located at the convergence of many geologic, cultural, and economic transects. Geographically, the site is located along the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers in Calgary, Alberta. This site poses a unique opportunity to “converge” all of these geologic, cultural and economic qualities. The intent of the project is to generate a cohesive design that unites all of these qualities in order to enrich the city’s collective identity. There is a significant amount of neglected land surrounding Stampede Park, providing the opportunity for a unique space to emerge.

This space has the potential to become the common thread that connects all of the diverse elements of the site together. The design will include: a flood mitigation channel, a system of bike and pedestrian pathways, increased public green space, new residential living, retail, nightlife, and an increased riparian buffer for the Elbow River.

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HOUSTON’S HEART: RESUSCITATING THE BUFFALO BAYOU Houston, TX. USA

Winding through the center of Houston, Texas, the Buffalo Bayou connects one of the most ethnically and ecologically diverse regions in the country. Since the founding of the city in 1836, the “Mother Bayou” has played an important role in shaping the identity of Houston.

While its dynamic nature has been preserved, ecologically sensitive areas around its banks have slowly disappeared. By re-imagining a vacant stretch of land near downtown, the Buffalo Bayou will be at the heart of a site that combines social, environmental and economic factors to create a truly diverse and unique experience. Houston’s Heart restores ecological areas, while providing space for economic development and community events. This natural oasis will be a sanctuary for local animals and give inner-city residents the chance to experience and enjoy the beauty of nature.

AUSTIN M. LUCERO bsla ‘16

78 • studio works

REINVENTING THE INVISIBLE COMMUNITY Smeltertown, CO. USA

BRANDON YOXHEIMER bsla ‘16 The invisible community is a post-mining or industrial community that has lost its cultural heritage and has since been forgotten as a place in the world. It is invisible to those who live outside of it. This place used to have a vibrant mining and working class culture and was a prominent industrial area. Now it is just a combination of abandoned houses and rundown businesses along with half the site being a rock quarry that is on contaminated soil from the industrial use of the site. The only two remaining cultural artifacts are the old train station and smokestack. The intent of my design is to redevelop this struggling community around its historical monuments and rich mining heritage.

I’ve incorporated New Urbanist strategies to restore the social aspects of the community and phytoremediation to clean the toxic soils over time, restoring the environment. This approach will foster growth and prosperity in the community from the inside out.

One try is simply never enough...

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REINVENTING THE STEEL Bethlehem, PA. USA

DOUGLAS ELGAR bsla ‘16 Bethlehem Steel Corporation was at one time in history the second-largest steel production facility in the world. After closing operations in 2003, the community of Bethlehem was forced to reinvent their identity and make up for nearly 20% of lost tax revenue. In partnership with the nonprofit organization, ArtsQuest, Bethlehem has slowly redeveloped into an arts and entertainment destination, taking advantage of its proximity to New York and Philadelphia. What remains of Bethlehem Steel Company today is a series of industrial buildings and the iconic Steel Stacks, all of which are considered by the community to be indispensable. This concept will reclaim the buildings and open them to retail business. The industrial infrastructure will be preserved so as to understand and learn from our nation’s industrial past rather than reject it.

In an otherwise featureless landscape void of vegetation, a series of parks, promenades, and courtyards will help revitalize and connect the area.

80 • studio works

MAY LIU bsla ‘16

THE [GREEN] STITCH: STITCHING BACK THE WILLAMETTE RIVER TO SOUTH PORTLAND Portland, OR. USA

The South Waterfront is the last major underdeveloped area within Portland’s Central City. The area is bounded by the Willamette River, which topped the list of waterways by number of unique toxic chemicals. The existing riverbank is an amalgamation of byproducts from the concrete, maritime and other manufacturing industries that located in the district for most of the last century.

The former and current manufacturing and industrial uses have left behind significant contaminants, contributing to an official brownfield designation for the district. However, South Waterfront is poised to play a critical role in the city’s newly-christened “Science and Technology Quarter.” With that in mind, the proposed South Waterfront Master Plan will reinforce the district’s relationship to the riverfront, providing a restored natural habitat for wildlife and developing a multi-functional riverfront greenway to increase social human interaction along the riverfront.

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(RE) CREATING SYSTEMS: RECLAIMING HUNTER’S POINT San Fransisco, CA. USA

Hunter’s Point, a former US Navy Shipyard located just south of San Francisco, ceased activity in 1994 and is now abandoned. After World War II, the shipyard expanded and turned into one of the major nuclear research laboratories on the west coast. This ultimately led to large amounts of radioactive land contamination and was a main reason of why the doors were finally closed. A mixture of coal- and oil-fired power generators impacted the land greatly and destroyed ecological habitats in the surrounding area. This area is a true eyesore, acting as a barrier, closing off surrounding neighborhoods from access to the shore line. Hunter’s Point Shipyard offers an abundance of opportunity to not only rehabilitate the existing site, but also to improve surrounding neighborhoods. A large decontamination and remediation project would be most beneficial to the land, as it would restore health to the area for both wildlife and people. The proposed master plan includes a heavily vegetated waterfront that is focused on bioremediating the surrounding water and lands. The parkway highlight would be a place of human invitation, encouraging people to walk and explore the former Navy base and learn its history.

NICK RAEL bsla ‘16

82 • studio works

SUN VALLEY: FROM PROJECTS TO PROSPERITY ELIZABETH PHILBRICK mla ‘17

Denver, CO. USA

Traditional publicly-subsidized housing has been subject to stigmatization, and the people benefiting from it, subject to isolation. Often these ‘projects’ are tucked away in the least desirable real estate, and degrade over time due to lack of funds and attention. In order to provide low-income housing, governments across the country have tipped the scales toward the need for these amenities to be economically viable at the sacrifice of livability, and in some instances, human dignity. With 1,500 residents condensed into a 10-block Denver Housing Authority (DHA) project, Sun Valley in Denver, Colorado is no different.

By providing needed services, we can assist the citizens of Sun Valley in the best way a government can: by providing education, health, and welfare. Together with a connection to culture, we can remove the isolation from an individual’s past and connect children with history and the important bond of a community’s identity. We can smooth the transition from the rapidly gentrifying surrounding neighborhoods by providing a strong sense of place. Sun Valley can be a model for how we can balance the economic costs of public housing with human dignity.

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BETTER PHILLY

(L to R)

Philadelphia, PA. USA

SAM CRANSHAW mla ‘16 RITA MANNA mla ‘16 KLARA ROSSOUW mla ‘16 Nestled between The University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, The Philadelphia Zoo, Fairmont Park and the Schuylkill River, the Belmont/ Mantua district of West Philadelphia is suffering from poor infrastructure, poor health, high crime rates, and a lack of access to environmental goods. Sidewalks are cracked, roads are crumbling, vacant lots are overgrown and neglected, and more than 300 homes are currently vacant, boarded up and decaying.

The community is under great pressure to survive economic stress – instead of being able to make lifestyle choices, they are faced with working multiple jobs, a constant fear for their safety, and as a result, community health and quality of life is declining. Given adequate resources, this strong and passionate community has an incredible potential to rebuild through a groundup approach.

After careful consideration, we have adopted a ‘Just Green Enough’ approach (as coined

by Jennifer Wolch of UC Berkeley), using an environmental justice framework. The goal of this strategy is to implement small interventions within the neighborhood and community.

This will alleviate economic stress, provide a platform to grow healthy foods, and provide fun opportunities for the community to engage in physical activity and spend more time outside.

The overarching umbrella for this strategy is mobilizing and strengthening the sense of community.

84 • 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 contributions to the unique culture and exceptional reputation of the Landscape Architecture Program at CSU.

2016 ASLA Student Honor and Merit Awards National Award: Top Seniors nominated by faculty; final selections voted by visiting jury of practitioners Honor Award

April Sorenson

Merit Award

Nick Rael

May Liu

Brandon Yoxheimer

Douglas Elgar

Austin Lucero

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.

student awards â&#x20AC;˘ 85

Outstanding Senior Award Top senior as voted by faculty

April Sorenson

Nick Rael

Exemplary Leadership Award Highest dedication to the program as voted by faculty

May Liu

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

Brandon Yoxheimer

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

Daniel Adams

The Gerard Paul Monger Senior Award Highest academic achievement as voted by Faculty

April Sorenson

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

Peter Grotemeyer

Jeff Zimmerman, Principal of Design Workshop, answers questions from CSU students about his firm and what it means to be a professional landscape architect.

88 • musings

Where are we headed?

In the midst of our everchanging economic, environmental, and political climates in the United States, I begin to wonder about the future of landscape architecture.

Through the years of my college education, I have overheard peers and professors make statements such as, “Nature no longer exists, because every inch of the Earth has been affected by humans.” I haven’t decided if I agree with this statement, but it is certain that our natural systems have been affected by human action (and inaction). The priorities and moral direction of landscape architecture has always been reactive to social, environmental, and political systems, which makes it a perpetually evolving profession. Early English landscape architecture was rooted in the principle of enhancing the natural, “wild” landscape.

musings • 89

Italian and French landscape architecture consisted of structured plantings that symbolized man’s ability to manipulate the natural world. Current landscape architecture in the United States attempts to weave nature back into an already fragmented landscape. The Industrial Revolution and urbanization broke apart our natural environment, and we have witnessed the consequences in recent decades. Thankfully, awareness about the environmental impacts of suburban sprawl has increased exponentially since the 1970’s and 1980’s. People are starting to see landscape architecture as a necessity to improve quality of life, rather than an aesthetic detail. This plays an important role in the evolution of the industry.

The question remains: Where do we go from here?

My prediction is that landscape architects will begin to direct their focus to addressing social issues. Gone are the days when we are hired for high-end private projects. The landscape is shifting back to the public. Mindfully-designed landscapes have the potential to be powerful tools to make positive social impacts. This concept is already being implemented in a few different ways, such as urban planning that encourages diverse communities and increasing the amount of public parkland and streetscape planting in low-income neighborhoods. If landscape architects put their creative minds together, we will discover new and innovative ways to make positive social changes through designed outdoor spaces.

Writing & Watercolors by Kyra Czerwinski, BSLA ‘17