A Portfolio of Works in Landscape Architecture
Daniel Rodriguez
EDUCATION
WORK EXPERIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA CURRENTLY ENROLLED: BLA EXPECTED GRADUATION 04/2018 3.2 GPA
EDSA, INC. 01/15 -08/15 INTERN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
PALM BEACH STATE COLLEGE ASSOCIATES DEGREE GRADUATION DATE 04/2012
JESLA 05/12-03/13 AUTOCAD TECHNICIAN
OBJECTIVE
ORGANIZATIONS
WITH A PASSION FOR SOCIAL EQUITY I STRIVE TO DESIGN SPACES THAT ARE SENSITIVE TO ALL WALKS OF LIFE, ALLOWING INDIVIDUALS TO FEEL A SENSE OF BELONGING. AT YOUR FIRM I AIM TO STRENGTHEN MY DESIGN TOOL-KIT IN PURSUIT OF A FUTURE CAREER AS A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
UF ASLA STUDENT CHAPTER 08/2015 - PRESENT VICE PRESIDENT STUDENTS FOR THE NEW URBANISM CO-DIRECTOR OF TACTICAL URBANISM 08/2015 - PRESENT
GROWING UP ON THE ISLAND OF PUERTO RICO I DEVELOPED INTERESTS IN ART, TRAVEL, NATURE AND MUSIC. THE MELTING POT OF CULTURES I WAS SURROUNDED BY EXPOSED ME TO POINTS OF VIEWS THAT INFLUENCED MY CHARACTER AND ARTISTIC EXPRESSION.
SALTZ MICHELSON ARCHITECTS INTERN ARCHITECT
UF ASLA STUDENT CHAPTER SOCIAL CHAIR 08/2014 - 05/2015 COMMUNITY
SKILLS
ARCHITECTURE COLLEGE COUNSEL PRESIDENT 08/2014 - 01/2015
SNU SHARROW SPRAY TACTICAL URBANISM PROJECT LEADER
10/2015
ACTIVE STREETS POPUP PARK TEAM MEMBER
10/2015
PARK(ING)DAY POPUP PARK PROJECT LEADER
09/2015
01/10-05/10
TECHNICAL PROFICIENCIES AUTOCAD HAND GRAPHICS ILLUSTRATOR INDESIGN LAND F/X PHOTOSHOP RHINO SKETCHUP
DCP AMBASSADORS PR DIRECTOR 01/2014-12/2014 INTERESTS
COTLEUR & HEARING 05/14-08/14 INTERN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
GRAPHIC DESIGN PUBLIC SPEAKING ABSTRACT THINKING ACOUSTIC GUITAR WATER COLOR PAINTING FLUENT IN SPANISH
TABLE OF CONTENT IMPERMANENCE PARK............................................................................1 - 4 INNOVATION PLACE...................................................................................5 - 8 RIO DE JANEIRO ........................................................................................9 - 12 INTERNSHIPS.............................................................................................13 - 18
A University of Florida Educational Facility, Gainesville, FL
Impermanence Park Nothing lasts forever and landscapes are the perfect medium to exhibit impermanence through natural systems: continental shifts, seasonality of plant material and remediation of toxic soils. When asked to design a park as the container for an hypothetical University of Florida research facility, I knew I wanted to use the language of sculpture, site grading and bio-remediation to exhibit the impermanence within nature; everything changes and all things must come to an end in order to have a new beginning
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Hand Crafted Model Exploration : To truly grasp the user experience I explored the design using a hand crafted topographic model. I then rendered materials, trees and human figures to design the space based on the human scale. The aggressive topography and gentle movement of the landscape inform the individual as to where one should travel. Nodes intended for high energy activities are gently sloped while spaces intended for exploration, repose or play have steep grade changes.
A
B C
Canopy trees throughout provide adequate shade for the user. The tile wall in Figure A gives the architecture a dynamic pull that compliments the topography’s motion.
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Section A - A’ : NTS
Experiential Sections: Impermanence symbolizes life as a constant state of flux; therefore, change should not be met with apprehension, but with an open mind. The institute in the park takes toxic soils and purifies them, the topography starts out level and has drastic sweeping motions, the canopy tree bosque transitions to a palm grove. These changes in the park are intentional and symbolize the changes that occur in life and nature. Section A shows the user starting at grade then moving into the park along a dynamic tile wall, no angle meets at 90 degrees on the facade. Section B shows the transition between environments with the cantilever platform. The grade is now transitioning with steps as opposed to ramps and the terrace grove on the right is planted with palm trees, in contrast to the canopy species on the opposite side o`f the park.
A
B
Section B - B’ : NTS 3
A
B
E
F
C
D
G
v Key: A. Street Trees B. Cantilever Plaza C. Movable Chairs/Tables D. Impressed plaza E. Terrace Grove F. Institute (below grade) G. Flowering Shrubs
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UMU-2 DEVELOPMENT: URBAN DESIGN IN GAINESVILLE, FL
Innovation Place A once rural Gainesville has transitioned to a hub of innovation with a hunger for the urban landscape. As the city pushes for an Urban Design that reflects these goals they are rejecting the car as the primary focus in city planning and are hoping to incorporate pedestrian, bike, and public transportation infrastructure throughout future development.
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The Analysis:
8 MIN WALK
The parcel is currently a parking lot at the terminus of Innovation Hub. The Hub is between the University of Florida, to the West, and downtown to the East.
5 MIN WALK
A five minute walk will get you to the University campus, bars, restaurants, convenience stores and urgent care facilities. On site there are two man made retention areas that feed water directly to Tumbling Creek, which drains out in Paynes Prairie. There are no parking requirement, which allows for flexibility in the design, and water retention on site is required, allowing for a larger building footprint. With the Historic district on the West property line there is a restriction on building heights adjacent to the site. The city has an approved Master Plan for Innovation Hub to the North, so connecting the site to the proposed Master Plan is an opportunity that was not overlooked in the design process.
UF Campus
Water’s Flow
Historic District
The Bicyclist’s Choice
Site
The Car’s Domain
Grid
Walkability
Overlay of Circulation 6
Green Infrastructure is the key to developing a true hub of innovation: The challenge to design a community that is urban, dense , innovative, and is just a block away from Gainesville’s Historic District, called for an innovative architectural style and natural water filtration system. With Tumbling Creek connected to the site it was crucial to buffer the site with rain gardens along the property line. Green roofs collect water and route them along the green walls. Water is then collected on site where it can be used as the primary irrigation source. Water that overflows will be redirected to the creek as a clean water source.
Micro Apartment with Green Roof Lawn with vertical Sculpture Ramp and Stair System Preserved Wetland and Boardwalk
Plaza with dynamic paving and seating Underground Parking Structure Bus Terminal with Green Roof Shade Structure 7
Section A - A’ : NTS
A SW 4TH AVE
A B
C D
E
F G H
H
A’
SW
H
5TH
AV E
Key: A) Redesigned street B) Bus terminal with green roof C) Mixed Use/MultiFamily apartments D) Plaza with dynamic paving pattern and planting E) Mixed Use/Micro Apartment Housing with green roof and green walls F) Surface parking leading to underground parking. G) Undulating lawn with Sculpture. H) Preserved wetlands with wood deck access.
Illustrative Master Plan : NTS 8
Communicating through Design: Analysis and Interpretation
RIO DE JANEIRO Design Communication I and II were courses taken over two semesters. We were given a site to study for the two semesters and were asked to communicate various ideas about our site: the park network, city center, and culture were themes I investigated. I chose to study Parque du Flamenco and a block network adjacent to the park, in Brasil. I made use of Adobe Creative Suite, AutoCAD, Skethcup and Rhino to communicate my ideas.
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Analyzing the city’s core: For Design Communication it was crucial to understand one’s audience in order to create attractive graphics that effortlessly relate one’s idea. How better to reach a level of empathy than to analyze the city they call home? The process of building a portion of the city of Rio de Janeiro in AutoCAD and exporting the line-work to Rhino to create a The City Form 3-dimensional analysis puts one in a better position to understand the culture. In a sense, one is reverse engineering the landscape to better understand its function in the community. Rio de Janeiro is constantly in motion, even its paving design cannot remain still as the tiles dance around the city , guiding one towards Parque du Flamenco. I approached the analysis with a study of texture, city atmosphere , vehicular and pedestrian networks and the artwork of Rio de Janeiro; Green Space Between As shown below.
The Pedestrian Path
Public Transit
The Approach to the Park
The synthesis
Perspective 10
A Gateway to the Park: The city is cut off from the Parque du Flameco by a wide highway. However, pedestrian bridges aid in circulation from the busy city to park bad beach. A plaza at the Museum of Modern art is the ideal gateway to the park. Designed by Robert Burle Marx, the plaza has a wavy paving design, modern reflection pools and a bosque of trees that create an outdoor room for patrons of the museum.
Perspective (refer to symbol on master plan for location)
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A A’
Illustrative Master Plan: Parque du Flamenco
World War 1 Memorial Landscape Berm Promenade and Pier Access
Section A - A’ : World War 1 Memorial NTS 12
A Real world application of Landscape Architecture
An Intern at Work Having interned at two firms, EDSA, INC. and Cotleur and Hearing , I have benefited from two schools of thought and multiple strategies when approaching a design. EDSA, with a focus on projects abroad has broaden my perspective as a designer, while Cotleur and Hearing, with projects focused throughout Florida, has given me relevant design experience within my home state .
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Puerto Los Cabos, Mexico: Shrub Plan
The site has steep topography leading towards the ocean. With a plant palette of water tolerant plants the landscape provided beauty to the site with limited impact to local resources.
Under the instruction of the studio’s project manager I drew the shrub beds by hand, scanned the drawings and then tracing the beds in AutoCAD. I used Land F/X to hatch and label the plant beds and to generate the plant list.
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Secrets Capa Cana, Dominican Republic: Water Calculations and Illustrative MP With a strong design team unimaginable things can be accomplished. Multiple concepts were rendered for Secrets Capa Cana, and at 9’ long it was the largest rendering I’ve ever been a part of. I was also given the task to do a water analysis and create plant palettes for the design booklet.
9’
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Hand Rendering Pen + Marker
I had confidence in my artistic abilities, but still, there was a level of intimidation when presented with having to render drawings intended for a client. I learned to use a pen with confidence and I realized not every gesture needed to be so calculated. Drawing became a learning process; I needed to build a toolkit of images to convey my ideas on paper. Over the eight months I interned at EDSA the progress I had made wasn’t just apparent to me, but to my studio as well. I left EDSA with a new found confidence in myself and with a connection to the traditional form of design communication
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FDOT District Four Branding Strategies: A new way to envision Florida’s Interstate Roads
Developing the graphic standard for the FDOT booklet for the rebranding of Florida’s interstate roads was challenging and rewarding. Driving through South Florida gives me an overwhelming solidarity with the communities I pass by. Using Photoshop, I rendered multiple plans, diagrams and a sections and the Florida Department of Transportation used these plans to rebrand the interstate roads. With InDesign the team prepared a design guideline booklet for FDOT’s official use.
SR 808: Casual Elegance
SR 70: Historical Florida
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High Ridge Landings New Urban Communities PUD
PUDIl
This design was a summer long effort between the office’s Urban Planner, Landscape Architect and myself; from the survey, site plan to rendering, all the way through to the submittal to the city. Working on this project gave me my first opportunity to site in on a client and team meeting. Here I observed and took notes to make sure the design was cohesive between every member of the design team. This new-urban community is close to schools, the Palm Tran, and a local brewery. There is a significant number of compact car spaces and to reduce water use grasses are only used where public park space is required.
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