Emiley Switzer MLA Portfolio 2022

Portfolio of Emiley Switzer

Masters of Landscape Architecture, 2022 University of Toronto

Studio Work

NJBB - Regional Scale Infrastructure

Fort Jackson - Atmospheric Rendering

Carolinian Forest Courtyard

Natural Infrastructure - Details

Planting

proposed site plan Riverdale Park

Restoring the Meaning of Place Growing Community-Engaged Sustainable and Accessible Ecosystems

Individual Project Advisor: Behnaz Assadi Fall 2020

Toronto ravines are known to be ‘extraordinary urban ecosystems’ that according to a recent study is ‘an ecosystem in decline.

To restore ravine ecologies and revert them to an earlier, more productive successional stage, a transformation in Riverdale Park, will bring concepts of growth and sustainable coexistence, emphasizing the importance of landscape literacy in urban communities.

Four ecosystems can be remapped into our park with consideration of where they lye traditionally and where we could utilize their services for modern climatic issues in cities like storm water management, flooding and soil formation.

Building Soil

Cows from Riverdale Farm roam the meadows twice a year to catalyze soil building and create a community event.

pollinator habitat

food production

increased albedo carbon storage soil formation

improved soil

pollinator meadow ecosystem services

water retention water purification storm water management

accessibility for cows and people

EMILEY

marshland placemaking

Reconfiguring Marshland

Gentle slopes are constructed to recreate the lost riparian edges of the Don River providing visitors some of the largest expanse of marshland in Toronto

urban marshland exposure

urban street tree health

defoliation

girdling root

conflict with wires weak foliage yellowing foliage reduced crown improper pruning road salt

dead soil

insufficient root space

compacted soil

Growing Urban Forest Stewardship Streetscape Design Prioritizing Root Space

Collaborator: Samantha Dauphinas

Studio Advisor: Liat Margolis Spring 2021

https://urbanforeststewardship.cargo.site/

Challanged to reimagine the urban landscape with a critical lens of reconciliation, we found the space alloted for urban street trees to be disconcerting.

Trees can tell us they are not healthy through a variety of indicators, and with the research of Dr. Danijela Puric-Mladenovic, we’re able to map trends of poor trees, tracing their maladies primarily down to their roots.

Toronto street tree standards are improving, but we proposed an entirely new way of thinking about the urban streets relationship to tree root system.

We propose a boad walk system, distancing our relationship to the ground physical, but culturally intensifying the relationship through hands-on engagement with soil building in tree planting in University of Toronto’s West Campus.

Student Life vs Tree Life

Degraded and compacted soils from student foot-traffic is an additional impact the spread and connectivity of root systems in this urban condition.

Root Space

Space for the roots of urban tree is still not ideal but, acknowledging the lack of room and appropriate soil conditions for street trees is the first step in ensuring their considerations of future green city standards.

Re-Defining Public Realm

30 years after planting, trees mature to create a dense canopy, submerging the boardwalk. Dense growth provides relief from urban heat, while below ground, existing tree roots have expanded freely forming an uninterrupted network of roots.

Phasing Engagement

It starts by maintaining existing healthy trees then the careful removal of surrounding paved surfaces. Over time the ground is reclaimed by rich soils, fueling the development of healthy litter layers that will allow the forest to nurture itself.

Bridging the Gap

A Community-Based Landscape Social Infrastructure Project

Collaborators: Afsah Ali & Atousa Blair

Studio Advisor: Fadi Masoud Fall 2021

https://bridgingthegap.cargo.site/

Can landscape architecture reconnect the social and physical fragmentation caused by transportation infrastructure in modern cities?

Tasked with the incomming Light Rail Tranist the Eglinton Crossway, we discovered a trend of infrastructural induced fragmentation that began with the Spadina Expressway in the 1970s.

Research revealed the use of highways to distance communities of different social, economic, and racial backgrounds occurs in America and all over the world.

Our project aims to bridge the gap between communities that were disconnected with the Expsressway construction. Through a serise of land bridges and and increased density, Allen Road becomes a destination, a backbone of social programing for adjacent communities.

Bioretention Ponds

Adjacent spaces become storm water storage, eventually aligning Allen road for a changed identity

A central community open-spaceSubway station with one entry in residential neighbourhood

Tranit node is overshadowed today by the constant construction of the LRT and heavy traffic

Establishing public realm identity at the LRT Crostwon and Subway Line 1 transit connection

EMILEY

Technical Work Samples

Specific Skills & Professional Experience

Regional Green Infrastructure Research Assistantship Justine Holzman

Worked with the Dredge Research Collaborative and Army Corps of Engineers on grant funded research to develop a public park scheme for a canal north of Baton Rouge in Louisiana and a levee

Comite canal , Louisiana

Section of Levee Design in Galveston, Texas

Bayou Million Mountain Park

large mound approx 120 yd high looks onto Mississippi & chemical plants

Rouge Bayou Park

mounds for families and kids Series of mounds leading to mountain meadow planting

Cyprus Bayou Walk

‘Neighbourhood’ Park 2.69 mi with space for amenities

to Zachary/Baker Meadow Planting

Entry

White Bayou Swamp Trails

Soil volume plan for the Comite Canal connecting the Comite river to Mississippi river to mitigate flooding in Baton Rouge

Atmospheric Rendering Fort Jackson, Mississippi

Visual narrative of the civil war relic abandoned and consumed by the Louisiana landscape; sinking from rising sea levels and dismantled from catastrophic storms.

Professor: Fadi Masoud https://fortjackson21.cargo.site/

Seasonal Planting Plan

Carolinian Forest Courtyard

Urban ecological revitalization through increasing vertical, spatial and seasonal heterogeneity for climate change resiliency.

Professor: Mark Laird Spring

Autumn

Summer

Natural Infrastructure Details Research Assistantship with Alissa North

In Partnership with CIER, investigating the integration of Indigenous Knowledge in the design and construction of a natural infrastructure network for the south Lake Winnipeg Basin.

Live Cribwalls

Log brush

Brush Mattress

Portfolio of Emiley Switzer

Masters of Landscape Architecture, 2022 University of Toronto