MLA Application Portfolio

Portfolio

selected works from Ethan Olson

Table of Contents

A Social, Public Nursery

EXTEND San Diego, CA 16 acres

Fall 2021 | Introduction to Urban Ecologies

Professor Teddy Cruz 1.

How might we take a hydrologically-partitioned parcel of land in one of the most polluted watersheds of North America and transform it into a plant nursery that not only returns native vegetation to the land, but that also acts as the heart of reforestation efforts in the San Diego-Tijuana region? This nursery offers a spatial pedagogy for understanding how native plants are grown and what ecological service they provide through a grid of thin metal frames that can eventually form a trellis between the site and an adjacent riparian forest.

Typology 1: Wild Habitat

In the last row of frames before the site meets the adjacent riparian forest, plants grow naturally, in a chaotic, serendipitous fashion.fully open to pedestrian traffic, located in close proximity to high densities of residential students, adjacent to the school’s largest recreational spaces, and bordered by a central bus route.

Typology 2: Organized Wild Habitat

Plants grow in the ground, but are organized spatially and maintained through pruning, trimming, and other structural means.

Typology 3: Large Container Plants

Plants in large containers, approaching maturity, are available to people looking to quickly implement green infrastructure for their projects.

Typology 4: Small Container Plants

Young plants can be bought here, desirable for smaller backyard projects and people without access to large pickup trucks.

Typology 5: Seeds, Seedlings, and Education

This row stores seeds, seedlings, and gardening tools. Programmatic functions include education classrooms, community gathering, and ecological lab space.

Typology 6: Agrobiodiversity Labs

These ecological labs allow people to learn about food production techniques that promote local biodiversity, which they can replicate in their own backyards.

Site Systems

While typologies of plant size and organization define the nursery’s north-south system, the selection of species for each row along the eastwest axis are determined by the ecological services that each native plant provides. Thus, from the entrance of the site, one can walk westward across these rows until they find the ecological service they require help with, and then move northward towards the riparian forest to see how these species of plants develop over their life cycle and behave with other types of species.

DIMENSIONAL MONOTONY

How might we turn a historic eucalyptus grove at UC San Diego into a space with more dimension? The core of this project is about balance: balance between the cultural heritage of the eucalyptus tree as a campus icon and the space they take away from native plants; balance between giving a university that is rapidly densifying recreational open space and preserving local ecologies; balance between the active and the passive; balance between the formal and the informal; balance between curiosity and security.

Site Context

Located in the northern part of campus, the site is unique for a variety of reasons. It is the terminus of an impressive open space corridor, at the crux of new residential density, and within close proximity to major public spaces and transportation corridors.

Ecological Surveying

12 sample plots measuring 20 ft. x 20 ft. each were randomly selected and documented. For each, a skyward view of tree canopy coverage, a photo of the plot, a plan view of existing flora, and soil samples were collected. The maximum circumference of the trees within each plot, as well as their distance to their nearest neighbor, were also recorded, revealing a slight positive relationship between the two - confirming assumptions that the current grove is overcrowded.

Spatial Forms

The magic of the grove today lies within its diverse set of surreal spatial typologies. The grandeur provided by the patterned repitition of eucalyptus trees, the secretive tunnels created by understory shrubs in the north, and the emptiness of the forest floor in the south provide visitors with different levels of comfort, seclusion, and adventure.

Site Plan

As one moves further and further into the grove, uses become increasingly passive.

An elevated walkway provides better accessibility, and encourages less foot traffic in sensitive habitat.

The grid of eucalyptus is maintained, but it is widened so that native understory plants can flourish and create a maze of chaparral scrub to wander through.

Community Garden Outdoor Classroom Ampitheater

Gathering Space Outdoor Gym Outdoor Gym

Transition Process

1. Existing Conditions (9 ft x 9 ft eucalyptus grid

2. Eucalyptus Thinned to 36 ft x 36 ft grid | Light Infrastructure and Formal Pathways Added

3. Native Understory Established

4. Circulation

Three circulation types encourage varying levels of activity and offer different perspectives of the grove. An elevated walkway keeps people off of the more ecologically sensitive habitat space in the eastern part of the grove, while a boardwalk provides people with access to the activity spaces concentrated along the site’s western edge. Formal footpaths provide a system of orientation for visitors, while smaller meandering paths connect secluded “rooms” of open space. space hidden by a thick understory of chapparal scrub.

5. Planting Zones

Planting zones are inspired by existing ecological zones across UC San Diego’s vast campus and regional ecological needs, such as that for monarch butterfly refuge and the preservation of the torrey pine community. The northern part of the grove is left largely untouched, as it already possesses a mosaic of healthy understory densities.

6. Land Use

As one moves from west to east, activity intensities decrease from active sites (outdoor classrooms, outdoor fitness parks, and a community garden) to more moderately active sites (quiet gathering spaces and an interactive art display) to passive sites (outdoor sculpture “rooms” occupied only by a work of art and an occassional bench). This activity gradient ensures that the eastern portion of the site, which sits adjacent to the UC San Diego Ecological Reserve, remains relatively unimpacted by human activity.

VIVERO HORMIGUITAS

An Activist Nursery for the Canyon Slums of Tijuana

Tijuana, MX

1.3 acres

Spring 2022 - Fall 2022 | Internship

Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman 8.

How might we transform an unproductive native plants nursery in one of North America’s poorest informal settlements into a sustainable business operation, vibrant community center, and educational space for urban reforestation? As an intern for Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman, I was tasked with creating schematic designs for Vivero Hormiguitas - a small, one-man operation located at the edge of a mesa overlooking Los Laureles Canyon - that would help it become a center for a greater urban-ecological vision for the polluted canyons in western Tijuana.

Site Plan

Improvements to the vivero include a metal-frame, open-air greenhouse; several outdoor classroom spaces, improved walkways, and demonstration gardens that showcase how native reforestation strategies can help alleviate urban challenges such as pollution and erosion.

Flower Seasonality

A circular calendar of the blooming times and colors of the nursery’s native plant stock allows visitors to select species according to temporal and visual tastes.

Site Systems

1. production flow

2. five gallon nursery container plants

3. one gallon nursery container plants

4, seedlings and seeds

5. programmatic flow

6. classroom spaces

7. demonstration gardens

REPRISAL

Transitioning a Marine Terminal into a Sustainable Future

National City, CA

105 acres

Winter 2022 | Green New Deal Superstudio

Professor Kathleen Garcia 10.

This proposal seeks to redevelop approximately 94 acres of the National City Marine Terminal into a public space-oriented neighborhood, fit with mixed-use developments that will provide housing and jobs; an open space corridor with community gardens, recreation activities, and gathering space; and transportation options to create a cohesive, resilient community. This is a proposal to look both back and forwards in time - to acknowledge detrimental changes to the landscape, to understand current socio-economic needs, and to accept the inevitability of sea level rise.

History, Present, and Future

The existence of the marine terminal today conceals not only a rich history of Indigenous inhabitation, wetland habitat, and post-war economic growth, but also a radically different future due to the threat of sea level rise. Existing conditions maps to the left show that the terminal is underutilized, incredibly impermeable, and restricted to the public.

Site Plan

Remembering Scars

Rather than erase the identity of the land as it exists today, this proposal uses the existing shipping infrastructure - in the form of rail lines, parking stripes, and storage structures - to guide the forms of the open spaces that will replace them, encouraging people to critically engage with the land and ponder the sacrifice that comes with certain land uses, particularly parking lots.

AN UNNATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM EXHIBITION

An Art Installation, An Art Showcase, And A Publication About Climate Change

San Diego, CA

Spring 2022 | The Climate Change Review

curve of global average surface temperature data projected behind it. The goal of this piece, as well as the larger art exhibition and The Climate Change Review as a whole, is to translate data about climate change into a powerful narrative that inspires activism.

The Climate Change Review is a studentled publication devoted to climate change that involves undergraduates and graduate students alike across the nine University of California campuses. To date, we have published over 110 pieces across disciplines ranging from economics and politics to philosophy, food systems, and energy. The Review has also hosted a climate change art exhibition, featured faculty research via published interviews., and hosted in-person “Climate Talks” on contentious questions related to mitigation and adaptation. My personal contributions - highlighted to the left - focus on topics ranging from international climate regimes and socioeconomic critiques to urban design, architecture, and local public health impacts.

CHAPARRAL MEADOW

Terrace,

Although many homeowners are hopping on board the xeriscape, drought-tolerant landscaping trend, few are doing so by utilizing native plants. As a result, a complementary objective of this project was to showcase how native plants species of the dry chaparral environment can create a beautiful, even pastoral, effect for a front yard while promoting local ecosystem health. This was a hands-on project completed almost solely by myself.

Allen Chickering sage

Apple Blossom Yarrow

Asparagus Fern

Austin Griffiths Manzanita

Bert Johnson Manzanita

Black Sage

Brazilian Peppertree

Bush Monkeyflower

Bush Sunflower

California Buckwheat

California Fuschia

California Lilac - Woollyleaf

California Lilac - Yankee Point

California Wild Rose

Chrysanthemum

Cleveland Sage

Crepe Myrtle Daylilly

Dwarf Coyote Brush

Foothill Penstemon

Foothill Sedge

Indian Hawthorn

Lavender

Love Child Sage

Mandevilla

Margarita BOP Penstemon

Pink Monkeyflower

Purple Sage

Red Bush Monkeyflower

Rose

Society Garlic

Sweet Susita Monkeyflower

Terra Seca Sage

Toyon

Woolly Bluecurls

Site Systems

1. drainage 2. circulation 3. plant heights 4. pre-existing plants 5. California native plants 6. locally native plants 7. bee-friendly plants 8. hummingbird-friendly plants

Flower Seasonality

Below, a circular calendar of the blooming times and colors of the yard’s new plant mix demonstrate how increased biodiversity adds color to the landscape. Flowering plants were chosen with the owner’s affinity for reds, purples, and magentas in mind.

Process

Replacing the turf with a drought-tolerant, native yard was a labor-intensive process that required the excavation of the existing turf, digging French Drains to decrease the risk of flooding near the house, spreading mulch and gravel across the yard to act as a natural weed barrier (chemical pesticides and insecticides were not used), and planting native species from trusted producers in the local region. The whole process took roughly one week for me to complete.