Eli Lowry | LA Portfolio

Education and Experience

University of Michigan

Masters of Landscape Architecture

Western Michigan University

Bachelors of Science in Geography

Sep 2020 - May 2023

Sep 2013 - May 2016

Matthaei Botanical Gardens Sep 2020 - Present Arboretum Caretaker

University of Michigan, SEAS Sep 2022 - Dec 2022 Graduate Instructor, Planting Design

Friends of the Rouge

Ecological Restoration Assistant

Software

Adobe InDesign

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Premiere

Contact enlowry@umich.edu

313.346.6229

Address Ann Arbor, Michigan

AutoCAD

ArcGIS

Q GIS

Apr 2021 - Sep 2022

SketchUp

Rhino 3D

Twin Motion

Linkedin linkedin.com/in/enlowry/

Portfolio

https://issuu.com/enlowry

Eli Lowry

As a Master of Landscape Architecture student in my final year at the University of Michigan, I bring a diverse background in landscape design ecology, and horticulture to the table. Before pursuing my studies, I worked as a landscape contractor, horticulturist, field technician, and sustainability researcher. My passion for native plants and planting design has been the driving force behind my professional journey. During my studies, I have had the opportunity to delve into the science of natural ecosystems and develop innovative methods for integrating plants into the built environment. Stormwater management practices and a passion for designing ecologically functional spaces are the foundation that I would like to build upon as a landscape architect. I am eager to bring my skills and experiences to projects that promote harmony between humans and nature.

FOTR E nvironmental Restoration

Location Southeast Michigan

Year 2021-2022

Position Restoration Assistant

Friends of the Rouge (FOTR) is an environmental non-profit, founded in 1986 to raise awareness about the need to clean up the Rouge River in southeast Michigan. As a Restoration Assistant I was worked primarily on the Scared Grounds Program. A partnership with the National Wildlife Federation and Sierra Club designed to promote and implement stormwater management practices for Detroit houses of worship. Primary objectives were to reduce city drainage fees for the clients, retain stormwater, and create diverse wildlife habitat within the city.

Mangrove Campus Bioretention Garden

Project Sacred Grounds

Location Detroit, Michigan

Year 2022

Bioretention Plan

The City of Detroit encourages the grass roots implementation of green stormwater infrastructure by offering non-residential property owners credits on their stormwater drainage fees. Bioretention practices can award significant discounts for clients. To be eligible this practice was specified to drain within 24 hours after a 2 year, 24 hour rain event.

Dimensions and Elevations

Preparation and Excavation

MarygroveBioretentionCollege

With a limited budget the challenge of this project was to design a bioretention practice that would award a drainage credit from the city of Detroit with the greatest ROI for the client.

I had to consider drainage area and ease of access to the roof drainage system while keeping in mind aesthetics and visibility.

With the help of volunteers from US Ecology we were able excavate the basin, install engineered soils and plant the practice, while staying within the project budget.

Project Completion

Plant Schedule

An additional goal of the Sacred grounds program was to incorporate wildlife and pollinator habitat into the designs. This was accomplished mainly through incorporating Michigan native genotypes supplied by specialized local nurseries. Many of these gardens have limited budgets and staff to perform regular maintenance. In this design I sought to find a happy medium between simplicity and diversity. Plants were arranged in masses for ease of maintenance and identification. Attention was paid to bloom times, plant habit and winter interest to provide ecosystem services throughout the season.

Bioretention Planting Plan

Bioretention section

Urban Design

D etroit River Arts District

Course Metropolitan Studio

Location Detroit, Michigan

Year 2022

The Detroit River Arts District (D-RAD) is a design concept intended to transform the I-375 corridor of Downtown Detroit into a vibrant people oriented and arts focused streetscape. The D-RAD project aims to acknowledge the history of music and culture that once buzzed through the primarily African American neighborhoods of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. Before being cleared for the urban renewal project of I-375, Black Bottom was home to jazz and blues clubs that attracted patrons from all parts of the city.

D-RAD PLAN

The design will convert a significant portion of the sunken highway into a street level urban park dubbed the Hastings street park. A space for gathering that will support local entrepreneurship and culture, complete with an amphitheater and sheltered vendors spaces. North of the park a portion of the sunken highway will be converted into a district sized bioretention basin, helping manage stormwater runoff and flooding during rain events. The D-RAD will end at the riverfront where the seawall will be replaced with a boardwalk and art pier. The softened shoreline will feature a wetland restoration lagoon and kayak launch allowing visitors to interact with the Detroit river right from downtown. Greektown

Bioretention Bridge

2.5 acres of the sunken highway will be repurposed as a bioretention basin to treat the stormwater of the surrounding developments

Hastings Street Park

36.5 acres, available for recreation space, affordable multifamily housing, and commercial retail space

Riverfront Art Park

15.25 acres of underutilized riverfront that can be converted to allow access into the river expand the wetlands and create gathering space

Pedestrian Bridge

Bioretention

Lafayette Park

I-375 Corridor

Riverfront Art Park

The Detroit River Arts District (D-RAD) is a design concept intended to transform the I-375 corridor of Downtown Detroit into a vibrant people oriented and arts focused street scape. The D-RAD project aims to acknowledge the history of music and culture that once buzzed through the primarily African American neighborhoods of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. Before being cleared for the urban renewal project of I-375, Black Bottom was home to jazz and blues clubs that attracted patrons from all parts of the city.

Art Pier and Gathering Space

Boardwalk in place of Seawall

Riparian Buffer and Wetland Restoration

Kayak Rental and Launch

Hastings Street Park

The I-375 Corridor will be converted into the Hasting Street Park. The highway will be brought to street level and the openspace will be converted into an urban park that will act as a bridge between the Downtown and the near east neighborhood. The Park will feature a functional gathering space for night markets and food truck rallies. A secluded meadow in the center of the park will be created through green screens and buffers using native trees and vegetation The center of the park will feature a natural playground outfitted with large climbable boulders for kids and adults to enjoy.

Amphitheater

Night Market and Food Truck Space

Natural Playground and Picnic area Native habitat and green Screen

Planting Design

D ana Commons

Course Planting Design

Location Ann Arbor, Michigan

Year 2021

This reimagined Dana garden planting design maintains the spirit of the original design by incorporating important Michigan native species. To improve the design techniques such as massing and repetition were incorporated to

increase the legibility of the design. The vernacular design incorporates appropriately sized native plants in orderly frames, bridging the gap between the wild and conventional.

Planting Layout

Bloom Chart

(ST) prairie dock

(CP) plantain leaf sedge

(HM) Japanese forest grass

(OP) black mondo grass

(PA) black fountain grass

(SH) prairie dropseed

(AC) Japanese spikenard

(CE) redtwig dogwood

(HQ) oak-leaf hydrangea

(AL) nodding wild onion

(AS) visions astilbe

(CL) pink turtlehead

(EV) blue globe thistle

(EY) rattlesnake master

(HM) rock geranium

(GM) wild geranium

(GT) prairie smoke

(LS) blazing star

Bloom

Focal Point Garden

Wayne State University I-Bioswale

In the Summer of 2019 the Wayne State University I-Bio Center, hired the Detroit Biodiversity Network to replant an easement. The planting lacked interest and plant diversity. Our design style was a layered diverse planting composed of a variety of native forbs intermixed within a sedge grass matrix. The goals were to reduce maintenance, facilitate water infiltration, and provide pollinator habitat. Thousands of plant plugs were successfully established consisting of over 25 unique Michigan native species.

Planting design and install by Natalie Lyon and Eli Lowry, digital rendering design by Amy Xiao Zho

Planning R ural Development

Course Landscape Planning

Location Leelanau County, Michigan

North Port

North Manitou

South Manitou

Peshawbestown

Suttons Bay

Glen arbor

Leland Twp

Empire

My team was presented with the challenge to develop a rural development plan for a northern Michigan community. We chose Leelanau County for it’s rich natural resources, unique agricultural opportunities and the presence of the Grand traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa. The county faces challenges providing affordable housing and attracting the next generation of residents. Our objective was to design a framework that promotes development of the county while protecting high quality and sensitive natural areas. We began our process with an in depth analysis and inventory of the county.

Daily Traffic Volumes

The east coast receives the greatest traffic volumes

Recreation Lands

80+ Parks & Preserves

59,000 Acres Conserved

Wetlands

1,450,000 acres of wetlands and lakes

DEVELOPMENT ISSUE

Land Use Suitability Model

For our analysis we used ArcGIS model builder to develop land use suitability models. A land development suitability model and an agricultural suitability model were produced. The two models were combined to generate a composite suitability model that located prime regions for both agricultural preservation and urban development.

High Ag Suitability

Low Ag Suitability

No Suitability

Low Dev Suitability

Highly Dev Suitability

The top 25% of suitable agricultural land is confined to 3% of the total land area

AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION

DUNE

AGRO-FORESTRY Nutrient Retention Diversified

Typologies

Land Management

DIMINISHED WINDROW Minimal wind control

SILVOPASTURE Nutrient Retention Livestock

DUNE GRASS Species Diversity Erosion Control

We developed Land management typologies to provide stakeholders with examples of various levels of development intensity. The information would be formatted into an interactive online survey application to be shared with stakeholders to gather data on their design preferences.

Planning Simulator

The planning simulator concept is intended to provide stakeholders with an interactive gaming experience where they pick and chose various land use typologies for specific land use scenarios. The survey would be organized into three land use scenarios: agricultural, development, conservation. Once the users completed the exercises they were provided with feedback that ranked their decisions based on environmental, recreation and economic preferences. This information would then be analyzed and used to inform a county wide land use plan.

Stakeholders will be asked to use this interactive tool to gather feedback on land typology preference

They will also be given feedback on the environmental, social and economic consequences of their choices

Conservation Scenario

Scenario

Site plan

Site Design

E berwhite Woods

Course Place and Environment Studio

Location Ann Arbor. MI

Year 2020

Section Diagram

The greenhouse and nursery will allow for the production of native trees and shrub stock to be used on site to replace invasive species in EEW and serve as an educational activity for students and community members.

Tree Nursery and Greenhouse

Permeable Parking Lot

Retaining Wall Canopy Walk

Rain Garden Stabilized Creek

Water Cistern

The challenge of this project was to design an environmental interpretive center for a small forested lot within Ann Arbor MI. My design intends to preserves the environmental quality of the site while incorporating recreational and educational uses. The site plan incorporates several infrastructure improvements including regrading and compacting trails to be ADA compliant in order to increase access to the green space. Boardwalks were incorporated into wetland areas to reduce foot traffic through the sensitive habitat and green infrastructure was incorporated to manage stormwater.

Interpretative signage

The welcome and orientation panel is strategically located along the main entrance trail along Liberty Street. The panel features a site map to serve as a directory for the major ecological and recreational features of the Eberwhite Woods Interpretative Center. The signs were designed to comply with the National Park Service interpretive signage ADA height specifications, with an 18 inch mounting height.

The panel highlights the unique variety of bird and amphibian life that can be found in Eberwhite Woods at various time throughout the year.

Welcome and Orientation

The wildlife viewing panel is placed on Liberty Street adjacent to the Canopy Walk entrance.

Panel 1

Panel 2

Wildlife and Habitat

Eco Design A rbor Highlands

Course Ecological Site Design

Location Ann Arbor. MI

Year 2020

Ecological site design challenged students to redesign a storage unit space into an affordable ecological housing development that could meet the needs of future Ann Arbor residents. With the guidance of professor Joan Nassauer I developed a housing solution that met the following requirements of 0.5 contiguous acre habitat patch, off street parking for 32 cars, and 32 housing units on a 3.6 acre site.

Site Analysis

Local Watershed Conditions

Total Area - 5 Miles

Impervious Surface - 55%

Forested - 1%

Open - 2%

Wetland - .05%

Contaminant Issues

Excess nutrients

E. coli and other Pathogens

Oils (PAH’s) and heavy metals

Channelization, flashy flow and erosion

High stream temperature from paved surface runoff

Data and Map: Huron River Watershed Council

Site Existing Conditions

Impervious Surface -73%

2.65 Acres

Building Area

1.83 Acres

Parking Lot Area

.82 Acres

Soil

Site Plan

Site Amenities

3.6 Acres

32 Housing units

Small Children Playground

Covered Patio Area

Basketball Court

Nature Trail

Stormwater Management

32% Impervious Surface

68% Permeable Surface

24,655 sf Retention Basin

11,540 sf Detention Basin

2,216 sf Rain Gardens

Parking

32 Vehicle parking spaces

7 ADA Accessible

40 Distributed bike parking spaces

SCALE 1”=40’

Entrance Improvements

DIVERSE PLANTING

VISUALSCREEN

BLOCKSCOLD WINTER WINDS

Wall and Windbreak

Design Iterations