Portfolio of Emiley Switzer Masters of Landscape Architecture, 2022 University of Toronto
Studio Work 1
Riverdale Park
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Root Nation
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Bridging the Gap
Technical Skill Samples 4
NJBB - Regional Scale Infrastructure
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Fort Jackson - Atmospheric Rendering
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Carolinian Forest Courtyard - Planting
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Natural Infrastructure - Details
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proposed site plan Riverdale Park
01 RIVERDALE PARK: GROWING URBAN STEWARDSHIP
01 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.
EMILEY SWITZER 2022
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Building Soil Cows from Riverdale Farm roam the meadows twice a year to catalyze soil building and create a community event.
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increased albedo
pollinator habitat
food production
water retention
carbon storage soil formation
water purification improved soil pollinator meadow ecosystem services
01 RIVERDALE PARK: GROWING URBAN STEWARDSHIP
storm water management
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accessibility for cows and people
EMILEY SWITZER 2022
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marshland placemaking
01 RIVERDALE PARK: GROWING URBAN STEWARDSHIP
06 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
EMILEY SWITZER 2022
defoliation
conflict with wires
weak foliage
yellowing foliage
reduced crown
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improper pruning
girdling root
road salt
dead soil
insufficient root space
compacted soil urban street tree health
02 GROWING URBAN FOREST STEWARDSHIP
02 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. EMILEY SWITZER 2022
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02 GROWING URBAN FOREST STEWARDSHIP
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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.
EMILEY SWITZER 2022
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02 GROWING URBAN FOREST STEWARDSHIP
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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.
EMILEY SWITZER 2022
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.
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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. 02 GROWING URBAN FOREST STEWARDSHIP
2021
2030
2050
2070
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EMILEY SWITZER 2022
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03 BRIDGING THE GAP: A COMMUNITY-BASED LANDSCAPE
03 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. EMILEY SWITZER 2022
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03 BRIDGING THE GAP: A COMMUNITY-BASED LANDSCAPE
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Bioretention Ponds Adjacent spaces become storm water storage, eventually aligning Allen road for a changed identity
EMILEY SWITZER 2022
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Subway station with one entry in residential neighbourhood
03 BRIDGING THE GAP: A COMMUNITY-BASED LANDSCAPE
A central community open-space
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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 SWITZER 2022
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03 BRIDGING THE GAP: A COMMUNITY-BASED LANDSCAPE
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Viewmount Park
EMILEY SWITZER 2022
0 Technical Work Samples
Specific Skills & Professional Experience
04 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 system in Galveston district, Texas.
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Comite canal , Louisiana
Section of Levee Design in Galveston, Texas
04 REGIONAL GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
Lilly Bayou Million Mountain Park
Baton Rouge Bayou Park
1 large mound approx 120 yd high looks onto Mississippi & chemical plants
1.71 mi Small mounds for families and kids Series of mounds leading to mountain meadow planting
Cyprus Bayou Walk
White Bayou Swamp Trails
‘Neighbourhood’ Park 2.69 mi with space for amenities Close to Zachary/Baker Meadow Planting
3.39 mi trail Floodplain + swamp ecosystem planting
60% peak
gentle slope
Entry Entry
15%
40%
50%
Entry 20%
15% 30% 20%
50%
= 100,000 CY
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Offsite Hardwood Modifier East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Open Understory Modifier
Soil volume plan for the Comite Canal connecting the Comite river to Mississippi river to mitigate flooding in Baton Rouge
EMILEY SWITZER 2022
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05 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/
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05 ATMOSPHERIC RENDERING
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05 ATMOSPHERIC RENDERING
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EMILEY SWITZER 2022
06 Seasonal Planting Plan Carolinian Forest Courtyard
Urban ecological revitalization through increasing vertical, spatial and seasonal heterogeneity for climate change resiliency. Professor: Mark Laird
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Spring
Summer
Winter
Autumn
06 SEASONAL PLANTING PLAN
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EMILEY SWITZER 2022
07 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.
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Live Cribwalls
07 NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE DETAILS
Dormant Post Plantings Log brush Shelters
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Brush Mattress
EMILEY SWITZER 2022
Portfolio of Emiley Switzer Masters of Landscape Architecture, 2022 University of Toronto