Gabrielle Castriotta Landscape Architecture Portfolio by Gabrielle Castriotta

Gabrielle Castriotta Landscape Architecture Portfolio

Table of Contents Without Trees: Restoring Southern California’s 1 Forests Kelp Forests

2 Green Building Blocks

1-8

9-18

3 Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook Test Plot Preparation

19-20

4 Baldwin Hills Oak Woodland Microforest Network

21-26

Explorations: Models, Contours & 5 Topographical Grading in MacArthur Park

27-28

6 Topographical Explorations of the Imagination

29-30

7 For the Curious: A Freelance Oboe Career

Forests Without Trees: Restoring Southern California’s Kelp Forests

Santa Barbara and the Southern California Bight Asher Guzik, Project Partner Studio of Professor Aroussiak Gabrielian Landscape Beyond Land University of Southern California School of Architecture Spring 2021

Climate change has been reducing kelp forests off the shores of California. A system of onshore and offshore aquaculture and artificial kelp reefs, placed in strategic locations near natural kelp beds, aims to restore kelp ecosystems and some of their inhabitants along the coast of Southern California. A true collaboration, this project proved to me that working as a cooperative team can be a satisfying and productive experience. The project was featured on the USC Architecture Expo.

The shore off Coal Oil Point in Santa Barbara, currently occupied by patches of sandy ocean floor, could host a much larger kelp habitat given the right conditions. Toward this end, an artificial kelp habitat reef is constructed. Rocks and rubble are deposited in the appropriate location, and gradually kelp begins to colonize the reef. Scuba divers monitor the reef and bring excess purple urchins to the onshore aquaculture facilities. The kelp continues to grow, and eventually the kelp forest supports a full and thriving ecosystem complete with apex predators like sea otters and California sheephead to naturally control the urchin populations. 1

Marine Primary Production Mangrove

DISTRIBUTION Worldwide in tropical to warm temperate latitudes

Main Threat

0° N

PHYSICAL OCEAN CHARACTERISTICS Shallow, brackish, nutrient-rich, low-energy waters SUPPORTED KEYSTONE SPECIES Wading birds (storks, herons, etc.), mangrove crabs ECOSYSTEM SERVICES Juvenile habitat for fisheries species, carbon storage, coastal protection, firewood

Shrimp aquaculture

Seagrass

DISTRIBUTION Worldwide in tropical to polar latitudes

Main Threat

PHYSICAL OCEAN CHARACTERISTICS Clear, shallow, nutrient-rich, low-energy waters SUPPORTED KEYSTONE SPECIES Manatees/dugongs, Green Turtles ECOSYSTEM SERVICES Juvenile habitat for fisheries species, carbon storage, coastal protection Agricultural runoff

Kelp

0° S

Main Threat DISTRIBUTION Worldwide in temperate to polar latitudes PHYSICAL OCEAN CHARACTERISTICS Cold, shallow, nutrient-rich, medium-energy waters SUPPORTED KEYSTONE SPECIES Sea urchins, Rockfishes, Sea otters, Seals ECOSYSTEM SERVICES Fisheries, ecotourism, kelp bio-products

Commercial kelp harvesting

Phytoplankton

ator

Equ

DISTRIBUTION Worldwide with higher concentrations at coasts and the equator

Main Threat

PHYSICAL OCEAN CHARACTERISTICS Cold, shallow, nutrient-rich, medium-energy waters SUPPORTED KEYSTONE SPECIES Phytoplankton serves as the base of nearly all marine food webs where light penetrates ECOSYSTEM SERVICES Carbon dioxide reduction, fishing, tourism

Global warming-induced ocean acidification

Chemosynthetic Bacteria

Emergent

DISTRIBUTION Worldwide at the edges of tectonic plates

Main Threat

Saltmarsh Estuary

Shallow

Mangrove Swamp

Seagrass Meadow

Kelp Forest

Open

Coral Reef

PHYSICAL OCEAN CHARACTERISTICS Extremely deep, low energy, low nutrient waters in tectonically active areas SUPPORTED KEYSTONE SPECIES Giant Tube Worms, Deep-sea Mussels, Yeti Crabs ECOSYSTEM SERVICES Potential source of bio-products like medicines and other natural compounds

Source: oceana.org

Deep sea mining Mangrove

Seagrass

Kelp

Phytoplankton

Open Ocean

Weak

Currents

Warm

Upwelling

Mangrove +

The project started out global in scope, mapping the ecosystems of the world’s oceans, the primary producers driving them, their main threats, water chemistry, and Marine Protected Areas. The map at left uses the Spilhaus projection, with Antarctica at the center and the world’s oceans one continuous, uninterrupted body of water.

Strong

Cold

Focusing in on the Southern California Bight, the bend in the coast from Point Conception to San Diego, we identified key components of the ecosystem web as well as environmental stressors such as pollutants and oil pipelines.

Seagrass + Major Rivers

Kelp +

Saltmarshes and Estuaries

Hydrothermal Vents Phytoplankton +

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) 13,500 Marine Protected Areas (2016) 2.07% total ocean area 1.03% “no take” ocean area

Mangrove

Seagrass

Kelp

Phytoplankton

Chemical Concentration

Mangrove Seagrass Kelp Phytoplankton

Looking for methods to restore kelp beds, we found the Wheeler North Artificial Reef, an artificial kelp bed restoration project off the shore of the San Honofre Nuclear Power Plant in San Clemente, CA, and modeled our restoration methods after this precedent. Additionally, we looked to projects like Urchinomics to create an aquaculture system as a restoration method, educational tool, and economic aid to the health of California’s kelp forests. Overgrazing purple sea urchins have created urchin barrens, and continue to survive in an emaciated condition, making them inadequate for prey or human consumption. Urchins would therefore be removed, fattened, and sold as food, while endangered white abalone would be raised to restore to the kelp forests. Aquaculture centers would also cultivate giant kelp, ogo, dulse, and rock scallops, research sea star wasting disease, and provide interactive visitor exhibits.

Pacif 2

O2 Greenland

NO3 - PO - SiO Indian 4 2 NO3 - PO - SiO Pacific 4 2

O2 N Atlantic

O 2 S Atlantic

O 2 NE Paci

To site our restoration/aquaculture locations, we identified places along the bight with the appropriate sediment type, sea floor depth, and nearby natural kelp beds for creating artificial reefs, as well as possible visitor center locations and accessible onshore-offshore aquaculture connections. Sites would serve different purposes depending on their attributes. We chose to spotlight Coal Oil Point, near UC Santa Barbara, as it could support the full range of our project’s goals as well as a research lab connected to the university.

437.5

875

1,750

2,625

Deep

Abyssal Plain

Hydrothermal Vent

Miles 3,500

5km

Conservative solutes*

Al 3+ Fe

Al 3+ Fe 3+ Ni 3+ Pacific 3+ Ni 3+ Atlantic

O 2 Indian

NO3- PO4- SiO2 Atlantic

Depth

fic

CO At 2 lantic

*Cl - Na+ Mg2+ SO42- Ca2+ K+ HCO3- Br Sr2+ H3BO3 F- Li+ Rb+ MoO42- Ba2

All of the large maps were equal collaborations. Asher focused on the onshore aquaculture, while I focused on the offshore aquaculture and restoration. I was the primary author of the aerial, most of the section perspectives (pp. 1-2), the offshore aquaculture detailed plan and section, restoration aquaculture plan and section, seasonality chart (pp. 5-6), and systems diagram (p. 7); he was the primary author of the onshore aquaculture plans, perspective, and urchin chart, as well as the Coal Oil Point Plan (p. 8). However, we both had strong input on all drawings.

Chemosynthetic Bacteria

Southern California Bight Kelp Ecosystem

Gabrielle Castriotta & Asher Guzik

Giant Kelp Eeelgrass

Concentration

Saltmarsh

Chlorophyll

Siginficant Colony/ Nesting Site

Watershed Quality Slightly Impacted

Moderately Impacted

Giant Kelp

MACROCYSTIS PYRIFERA

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM This fast-growing seaweed grows to 30m or more and anchors the ecosystem of the coastal Southern California Bight. Kelp provides food for creatures including sea urchins and crabs, as well as a protective habitat for many others.

Eelgrass

ZOSTERA MARINA

Highly Impacted

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM A flowering perennial grass, eelgrass provides food and habitat for animals, as well as carbon sequestration and acidification reduction. HUMAN INTERACTIONS Eel grass can be used as round cover and for roof thatching.

HUMAN INTERACTIONS As algin, an emulsifying agent, kelp can be found in many products, like ice cream, cereal and toothpaste. It is also used to create soda ash and fertilizer, and is a food source itself.

Severely Impacted

THREATS Pesticides and sedimentation from agricultural runoff.

Rivers

THREATS Overharvesting; sedimentation and pollution; overgrazing.

Marine Protected Areas Phytoplankton

VARIOUS SPECIES

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM Microscopic photosnthetic organisms, phytoplankton form the foundation of all marinelifeand are consumed by everything from zooplankton to whales.

Reserve

Kelp-Encrusting Bryozoans MEMBRANIPORA SERRILAMELLA

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM Small invertebrates that form colonies encrusting kelp blades, these bryozoans eat phytoplankton and bacteria and are in turn consumed by urchins, crustaceans, and fish.

HUMAN INTERACTIONS Aquaculture, carbon fixation.

HUMAN INTERACTIONS Water filtration.

THREATS Climate change; acidification. Blooms can be harmful to other organisms.

THREATS Ocean acidification.

Conservation Area

Special Closure

Rock Scallop

CRASSODOMA GIGANTEA

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM Scallops feed on plankton and detritus, and their shells are home to organisms like bryozoans, sponges, and anemones. Sea stars and crustaceans eat scallops.

Purple Sea Urchin

STRONYLOCENTROTUS PURPURATUS

No Take

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM Purple sea urchins feed on algae, and are prey for sea stars, sea otters, and fish. Without enough predation, sea urchins can overgraze and decimate their kelp forest homes.

HUMAN INTERACTIONS Water filtration, aquaculture and fishing, fertilizer (shell).

HUMAN INTERACTIONS Fishing.

THREATS Ocean acidification and sediment pollution.

THREATS Ocean acidification, ocean warming, pollution.

Commercial Kelp Beds Open

Leasable

Sunflower Sea Star PYCNOPODIA HELIANTHOIDES

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM This sea star eats purple sea urchins, helping to keep them in check, as well as sea cucumbers, snails, chitons, crabs, abalone, and other sea stars. Large fish and other sea stars eat them.

California Anchovy

ENGRAULIS MORDAX

Leased

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM Also found in the open ocean, a major food source for many kelp forest organisms, including sea lions and brown pelicans

HUMAN INTERACTIONS Pest to fishing industry.

HUMAN INTERACTIONS Commercially important, a major food and bait fish.

THREATS Sea star wasting disease, pollution.

THREATS Overfishing

Closed

Sediment Chemistry Pollutants

Northern Kelp Crab

PUGETTIA PRODUCTA

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM An herbivorous crab, largely feeding on kelp and other algae. Food source for many larger organisms.

Kelp Bass

PARALABRAX CLATHRATUS

HUMAN INTERACTIONS Not used for food.

Nitrogen and Carbon

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM A secondary consumer, with adults consuming other fish. Consumed by many species.

Plastics and Solvents Pesticides

HUMAN INTERACTIONS Commercially important; a valuable food fish, especially in Mexico.

THREATS Habitat loss, pollution, acidification.

Petroleum

THREATS Overfishing, habitat loss

Inorganics Invasive Species Oil Pipelines & Rigs

California Moray Eel

GYMNOTHORAX MORDAX

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM One of the few subtropical morays, with larva coming up from Baja when warm waters push into the bight. An apex predator that feeds on kelp bass and other fish.

California Sea Lion

ZALOPHUS CALIFORNIANUS

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM An apex predator in the kelp forest, usually feeding on anchovies. Also food for larger predators (sharks, whales) outside of the kelp.

HUMAN INTERACTIONS Not commercially important (may be posisonous). Popular with divers.

HUMAN INTERACTIONS Once hunted for fur and meat, no longer commercially important, but culled due to fishing interests.

THREATS Overfishing of prey, loss of habitat (needs rockery)

THREATS Overfishing of prey species, loss of coastal breeding habitat

3.5

Miles

Threats Sea Otter

ENHYDRA LUTRIS

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM A keystone species that controls herbivory of kelp, especially by urchins. Formerly throughout the Bight, now only to Gaviota State Beach and San Nicoals Island. HUMAN INTERACTIONS Nearly hunted to extinction for fur, now mainly conflicts with fishermen. THREATS Endangered; loss of food and habitat, cyanobacteria poisoning, genetic bottlenecking

California Brown Pelican

PELECANUS OCCIDENTALIS SSP. CALIFORNICUS

ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM A diving bird that feeds largely on anchovies.

Ocean Acidification

Overharvesting

El Nino

Nitrogen and Carbon Pollution

HUMAN INTERACTIONS None currently; formerly contributed to guano harvested on the Channel Islands. THREATS Loss of food and habitat, DDT (on Endangered Species List until 2009)

Offshore Aquaculture Section

Offshore Restoration Section

Offshore Aquaculture Plan

Offshore Restoration Plan

Pesticides

Plasitcs and Chemical Solvents

Petroleum

Inorganic Pollutants

Proposed SiteLocations Locations Proposed

+ +

Mixed Use Site

Restorative Aquaculture Site

Concentration

Giant Kelp

Gaviota

Coal Oil Point

Mussel Shoals

Chlorophyll

Watershed Quality Slightly Impacted

Moderately Impacted

Point Mugu

Point Dume

Highly Impacted

Ballona Creek

Severely Impacted

National Seafloor Sediment Gravel Sandy Gravel Muddy Gravel Muddy Sandy Gravel

Point Vicente Seal Beach

Rivers

Point Fermin

Sand Slightly Gravelly Sand

Dana Point

Slightly Gravelly Muddy Sand Gravelly Sand

Marine Protected Areas Reserve

Muddy Sand Gravelly Muddy Sand

Conservation Area

Mud Slightly Gravelly Mud

Special Closure

Slightly Gravelly Sandy Mud Gravelly Mud Sandy Mud

Del Mar

Artificial Reefs

No Take

Sediment Chemistry

Pollutants

Chula Vista

Nitrogen and Carbon Plastics and Solvents Pesticides Petroleum Inorganics Invasive Species 0

Onshore Aquaculture Detail

3.5

Miles

Kelp Forest Seasonality in the Southern California Bight

Thermocline: layer of water where temperature transitions from warm to cold between the sun-warmed, wind-mixed top layer and colder bottom layer. Deepens during warm spells. Changes in thermocline affect nutrient content. Turbidity: light interference by tiny particles suspended in water, frequently greater near river outlets and less in deeper zones. Increases in winter with more runoff. Algae & microbes also increase with greater runoff in winter storms and cause higher turbidity.

The various parts of our system are all designed to work together: excess urchins from our restoration and natural offshore kelp forests are fattened and sold for human consumption at our onshore aquaculture sites; their shells are retained and recycled as aggregate for restoration site concrete blocks. The Wheeler North Artificial Reef obtained quarry stone from Catalina Island for its reef; concrete rubble was also tested, but it must be clear of pollutants. Urchin shell concrete fits the bill. Abalone and scallops are bred onshore, but transferred to offshore aquaculture sites and restoration reefs when mature. Hopefully, they can also migrate to the nearby natural kelp forests on their own. Kelp, ogo, and dulse are harvested for various uses at our offshore aquaculture locations, but also feeds the urchins, scallops, and abalone on our onshore aquaculture sites. Some offshore aquaculture sites in polluted waters are designated for bioremediation and not human consumption (restoration aquaculture). Visitor centers aim to educate the public about kelp forests and our restoration efforts. 7

Systems Diagram

Onshore Aquaculture Plan

Onshore Aquaculture Section

Purple Sea Urchin Life Cycle & Use

Onshore Aquaculture & Visitor Center Perspective

Offshore Aquaculture Plan

Coal Oil Point Plan

Onshore Aquaculture & Visitor Center Plan

Green Building Blocks Glendale, CA

Studio of Professor Jessica Henson Urban Design: Edge Conditions University of Southern California School of Architecture Fall 2020 In a neighborhood transected by multiple freeways, waterways, and a rail line, Green Building Blocks seeks to increase green space, park and habitat access and connectivity at a critical point while simultaneously creating more housing for a city facing environmental and homelessness crises. This project was featured on the USC Architecture Expo.

Green Block 1 Green Block 1, closest to Griffith Park and the LA River, supports several different types of housing, including mixed-use towers, townhomes, and bungalows, all at varying cost points, including affordable units. Residents of all backgrounds should be able to live here and appreciate not only the large park space but the amenities, including a daycare, playground, rec center, athletic facilities, shops, and restaurants. 4 16-story towers 15 residential floors, 1 commercial 166’ high, 220 x 60’ footprint 120-150 units each 480-600 units total 18 2-story townhouse groups 200’ x 40’ (8-10 units) x 6 = 48-60 units 160’ x 40’ (4-6 units) x 30 = 120-180 units 120’ x 40’ (3-5 units) x18 = 54-90 units 16 single-family bungalows 40’ x 40’ 718-946 units total 10 units/acre 9

Green Building Blocks Context

Glendale, especially in the Grand Central and Riverside Rancho neighborhoods, is ripe for redevelopment. Several new projects, including a new Metrolink station, an upgraded river walk along a portion of the LA River, as well as a walk along the Verdugo Wash, are proposed for the area. Large and growing businesses, such as Walt Disney and Dreamworks Entertainment, provide employment here, and nearby housing for their numerous employees would be a boon. Unfortunately, there is also a large commercial/industrial zone that is uninviting, unattractive, and inefficiently spaced, a relic of a time when property and homes in this area were not in such critical demand. In order to ensure the sustainable redevelopment of the neighborhood, developers need incentives and a plan to follow to create lots of housing as well as green space. The developments should include mixed-use buildings, mixedincome units, varying density, and large vegetated areas. Upon completion, the developments should provide a walkable path to connect environmentally important areas for both animals and people. The increased vegetation and permeable ground can help collect and filter stormwater. Recreational areas will encourage a healthy community, and more trees will help lower air pollution in one of the most polluted parts of California.

Glendale

Los Angeles County California

The four superblocks would feature higher density housing near transportation centers and medium density in areas formerly zoned for single family homes. This increase in density would allow for ample shared green space, similar to the Village Green in Los Angeles or Lafayette Park in Detroit. A continuous pedestrian path, with bridges modeled after the habitat bridge in Kenneth Hahn State Park, would provide a connection for both humans and animals from Griffith Park to the Verdugo Hills through the Green Blocks. I continued to develop Green Block 1 in my landscape construction class, in particular the entrance plaza on the northwest corner of the development, North Plaza. Located near the corner of Sonora and Grand Central Avenues, this plaza would function as the main entrance for most people entering the development from the transit centers and retail areas located at the bases of the towers, as well as from the pedestrian bridge of the connector path, so it was important for it to be welcoming. Inspired by the Colorado Center Park in Santa Monica, it also could host outdoor dining from the restaurants and grocery stores located in the towers, and provide programming, including live entertainment, for the development. The ADA-accessible, triangular raised patio features light-colored flagstone to keep temperatures down, retaining walls on two sides, and a sloped planting bed on the third. The southeast corner contains a raised wooden deck that can also function as a stage. Native plants create shade and a pleasant environment to linger over a meal with friends.

Materials Plan & Details

Planting Plan & Sections

Illustrative Sections The landscape of Green Block 1 features California native ecosystems: as you enter on the northwest side through North Plaza on Sonora Avenue, you walk southeasterly on the main pedestrian path through the Oak Woodland Zone, with native oaks creating dappled light. As you progress, you enter the Coastal Sage Scrub Zone, with colorful shrubs and gentle hills. The path opens into the Grassland Zone, a lovely meadow featuring native annuals. As the terrain dips toward the river, you enter the Riparian Zone, where sycamores and cottonwood provide ample shade in the River Connection Park before you leave the development for the Glendale Narrows Riverwalk to continue your journey.

Section AA’: Oak Woodland

Section BB’: Coastal Sage Scrub

Section CC’: Grassland

Section DD’: Riparian

Green Block 1: An Aerial Perspective from Griffith Park

Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook Test Plot Preparation Culver City, California Studio of Professor Jen Toy Test Plot University of Southern California School of Architecture Fall 2021 Test Plot is a collaborative and ongoing project between several entities, including Terremoto Landscape Architecture, USC, California State Parks, and the Audubon Society. Each location tests certain aspects of native plant cultivation. The Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, a California State Park located on the north face of the Baldwin Hills Parklands, is a popular place to exercise due to its 282 irregularly-sized stairs leading to a sweeping view of the city. Before creating the test plot, various aspects of the location and the possible effect on native plants was explored. The BHSO Test Plot experimented with the addition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the soil, as well as three different types of California native plant communities: the current coastal sage scrub, the past oak woodland, and the possible future grassland. Test Plot explored the role of care and labor in the work of a landscape architect.

Baldwin Hills Oak Woodland Microforest Network Los Angeles, California Studio of Professor Jen Toy Test Plot University of Southern California School of Architecture Fall 2021 Aiming to populate the Baldwin Hills Parklands with oak woodlands by planting a spreading network of microforests in order to provide myriad benefits, the project explores three possible different future climate scenarios and the effects on microforest health and plant palette. Additionally, the varying labor and maintenance methods for creating and expanding the microforests in three key locations within the park. Originated by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, microforests use a native plant palette, overplanting, and soil preparation to create small, fast-growing patches of trees. The communication and competition of this format encourages plants to grow faster. Katherine Pakradouni translated the method for California native plants, and established a microforest in Griffith Park in 2021. California native plants prefer no soil additives. Varying sizes and species of plants are interspersed, planted in 5 gallon or smaller containers. Plants can be caged, and microforests are fenced off to prevent predation. They need regular watering and weeding for the first few weeks, and watering gradually tapers off. After 2 years, the microforest is considered established, the fence is removed, and watering stops. They need full or mostly full sun to prosper.

Baldwin Hills Parklands, encompassing Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook State Park, Kenneth Hahn State Park, and hundreds of oil wells, sits in the center of the Los Angeles basin and serves a multitude of diverse people. With increasing population and climate change, the area could greatly benefit from the ability of forests to sequester carbon, reduce heat, and bioremediate polluted ground. Forests could help stabilize the hillside, as well as retain and filter stormwater, helping to recharge LA’s groundwater. Although much of the local native ecology is coastal sage scrub, oak woodland is a plausible habitat for the area, and could provide more tangible benefits. Populated in Southern California by coast live oak and Engelmann oak and featuring walnut, buckeye, and bay laurel, oak woodland habitats once dominated the landscape here but have retreated since the arrival of Europeans and the cessation of indigenous land management. The first envisioned future scenario, a plan for the status quo, anticipates warmer temperatures but no major precipitation changes. The hillside of the BHSO demonstrates how a network of microforests would gradually grow together, by weeding ever larger perimeters around the growing number of microforests, replacing invasive annuals and growing the extant native woodland. The second scenario depicts a drier climate, demonstrated by microforests at the Inglewood Oil Fields. The oil wells are gradually replaced by microforests for bioremediation as they are decomissioned. The oak woodland invites other tree species equipped for drought, like the island ironwood and the Torrey pine, while water-dependent species like walnut or rose die off. Alternative sources of water, such as Cocoons, could be used to help establish a microforest in the context of scarce water. Finally, the third scenario, near Kenneth Hahn Park’s lake, gradually eliminates invasive woodlands, and imagines a climate with more precipitation and greater humidity, accompanied by the spread of Sudden Oak Death (SOD) into Southern California. This disease affects several types of oaks, and is hosted by bay laurel, toyon, and ceanothus. These trees would all be replaced by water-tolerant species unaffected by the SOD pathogen, such as walnut, cottonwood, and sycamore.

Topographical Explorations: Models, Contours & Grading in MacArthur Park Los Angeles, CA

Studio of Professor Takako Tajima Topographies for Succession: A New Forest in MacArthur Park University of Southern California School of Architecture Spring 2020 This studio examined LA’s MacArthur Park and different possibilities for its future. The first model creates an urban forest of native trees while still saving some of the park’s historic trees and replaces the lake, in dire need of renovation, with raised athletic fields. The bases of the fields create bioswale water sources for the trees, which will help shade the athletes as they play. The project also creates a green pedestrian bridge over Wilshire Blvd. to connect the two halves of the park. The miniature, 8”x8” models are based on the concept of “intersections.” The original mixed media models were translated into hand-cut contour models. The top model was then translated into a further development of the urban forest concept for MacArthur Park: the intersection of native and “immigrant” tree species over 100 years. The design captures stormwater runoff from the three parking lots, accommodating 120 vehicles, as well as the surrounding area, for filtration and infiltration, and features both a retention and detention basin. The north-south pedestrian allees each contain different tree species: the western allee contains only trees on the original MacArthur Park tree list; the middle, passing through the riparian areas of the retention/detention basins, contains only California natives; and the third contains only non-native species not on the original tree list. The allees intersect with wider, east-west paths that double as fire lanes. Ultimately, the forest knits together immigrant and native species as the trees fill in the park over time. 27

Topographical Explorations of the Imagination Professor Aroussiak Gabrielian Media for Landscape Architecture University of Southern California School of Architecture Fall 2019 This class began with a trip to Catalina Island, where we made plaster molds of boulder surfaces on the beach and brought them home. These 8-inch square models were reimagined as miniature landscapes, where we installed paths, bodies of water, and trees. We then scanned and modeled them in Rhino, before dissecting them into sections. These models were then transformed into lasercut contour models.

For the Curious: A Freelance Oboe Career While at first glance, landscape architecture and oboeplaying might appear quite unrelated, they actually have a fair amount in common. Oboists make their own reeds (the mouthpiece of the instrument that creates the sound) out of arundo donax, the same plant that is an invasive pest in California. Reedmaking is extremely precise and demanding, and the medium is plant material, just as in landscape architecture. Playing any instrument proficiently requires a great deal of time and effort; oboe, known as a difficult instrument, requires a significant degree of perseverance, as well. To play in an orchestra, a professional musician must not just develop their own rhythm, intonation, and technique to the highest level, but they must prepare their parts before rehearsal and then play together with their colleagues with nuance and grace. All of these skills can translate to other fields quite well: develop your skills, prepare your own components diligently, and be kind to your colleagues. The biggest difference is temporal: musicians must prepare their work to be played correctly and emotionally in the moment; landscape architects’ work is developed but then stays in place to grow and be experienced over many years.

Francis Poulenc, Trio for Oboe Bassoon, and Piano, 2016 https://youtu.be/4AxTeulVsNI

J.S. Bach, Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C minor, 2017 https://youtu.be/ugviDg1cswc

Reedmaking https://youtu.be/TPR8knqvT4k 31