gaĂŤlle gourmelon landscape architecture design portfolio
00 P E R S O N A L S TAT E M E N T Revealing the invisible—or, rather, celebrating the overlooked—drives my interests in landscape architecture. I find great beauty in the workings of hidden biologies and seek to tap into the enigmatic power of plants and soil to enhance wellbeing. I tap into the cryptic ecological, social, and sensorial landscapes by contributing ideas that stem from an intense appreciation of site and a sensitivity to the generative power of context.
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01 RAM NAGAR ECONURSERY & W E T L A N D PA R K
AL
CALIFORNIA AQUEDUCT
ACTIVE AND CAPPED OIL FIELD
TULE ELK RESERVE STATE PARK
AGRICULTURAL LAND
KERN COUNTY WATER BANK
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1 inch of rain
ON SHIFTING GROUND SEEDING PATCH DYNAMICS IN THE SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN N
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03 FRIENDSHIP COURT A CHARLOTTESVILLE JEWEL
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06 IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES AND VIRTUAL WORLDS
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08 DRAWING | MODELS | CRAFTS
01 RAM NAGAR ECONURSERY & W E T L A N D PA R K | J A I P U R The project focuses on unfolding a dignifying space that economically supports the informal community of Ram Nagar in Jaipur, Rajasthan and ecologically connects the site to a larger Indian context, feeding into state afforestation efforts and bird migratory flyways. By bringing value to a degraded zone where the city, the hills, and the river of Jaipur meet, this project proposes a phased assembly of lively systems organized primarily through the integration of a working nursery and wetland. Individual Project | Fall 2019 Research Studio, Profs. Maria Gonzalez Aranguren & Pankaj Vir Gupta
JAIPUR FOUNDED by Maharaj Jai Singh II
BRITISH GAIN JAIPUR
DEFORESTATION: RAILWAYS
MESQUITE INTRODUCED
as a protectorate
640,000 wood ties used for Delhi rail
aggressive tree overtakes hills
JAIPUR FOREST ACT banned cutting trees in protected zones
DEFORESTE only 9% of fo on Aravalli H
1975
dunes at base of hills
1939
1930s
1863
1818
1727
1700s
SITE: UNINHABITED
1865
SITE: EDGE limit of urban development
1973
after East India Company
for commercial exploitation
1947
after East India Company
BRITISH FOREST POLICY
1939
INDIAN FOREST SERVICE
1919
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA
1894
1864
1858
FOREST PROTECTED annual tax due, forest products could be used
DEFORESTATION: WORLD WAR I
DEFORESTATION: WORLD WAR II
INDIAN INDEPENDEN
increases wood extraction in India
increases wood extraction in India
ends colonial rule
ED orests remain Hills
outlawed bovine slaughter
in 10 days due to botulism
SITE: FAILED RESETTLEMENT hills flattened and water diverted
2018
2008
EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS The existing site is considered a void. Trash and wastewater are disposed of near dirt paths and shrubland.
2016
2006
1990
DROUGHTS below average monsoons
18,000 BIRDS DIE
2019
1995
SITE: INFORMAL SETTLEMENT limit of urban development
2005
1969 1970 1972 1979 1982 1983 1987 1992 2000 2016 2017
NCE
NOTICE ISSUED TO STATE for air pollution cased by deforestation
RAJASTHAN BOVINE ANIMAL ACT
JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT
FOREST RIGHTS ACT
COMPENSATORY AFFORESTATION FUND
failed due to lack of participation
gives communities co-management over forests
industry funds used for reforestation
◀ REGIONAL TIMELINE Major national and regional policies and shifts shape the site, including divisive livestock laws, conflicts about forest rights, and limited climate change responses.
1
4
6
9
9 10
4
3 A
11 6
13
8 14
1
2
Wetland overlook
3
Wetland park
4
Service road
5
Compost station
6
Public toilet
7
Wastewater collection
8
Seedling production
9
Grazing pasture
10
Stormwater retention
11
Sand extraction
12
Mature grove
13
Water distribution point
14
Research park
6
6 14
13
Vendor stalls
10
7
2
1
13
12
14 6
5
4
proposed
existing
5-STEP STRATEGY ▶ In response to marginalization and habitat destruction on the site, this project proposes that this region become a hybrid of production and inhabitation through five major moves.
1 | INCREASE ACCESS FOR PEOPLE & GOODS IN/OUT
bus stop primary road secondary road tertiary road
ACCESS PATHS
RING ROAD
2 | ESTABLISH SANITATION INFRASTRUCTURE AT EDGES
water piping
DECENTRALIZED WASTEWATER COLLECTION
trash pickup & water source (500 m radius)
TOILETS TRASH PICKUP WATER SOURCE WASTEWATER PIPING
COMPOST STATION
3 | REUSE WASTEWATER & RETAIN RAINS MONSOON RETENTION POND
stormwater waste water storage pond
WASTEWATER CAPTURE
MONSOON RETENTION POND
4 | CREATE ZONES THAT SUPPORT LIVELIHOODS commercial zone productive zone SMALL STOREFRONTS
400 ft
N
◀ PROPOSED SITE PLAN The project proposes a system made up of a productive tree nursery, mature grove, and wetland park. Most easily accessible to the community for daily tending are north-facing terraces.
SEEDLING & SAPLING PRODUCTION
TREE PRODUCT & TIMBER PRODUCTION
COMMERCIAL ROAD
5 | IMPROVE HABITATS FOR PEOPLE, LIVESTOCK & BIRDS recreational park protected reserve open access land
ROTATIONAL PASTURES COMMUNITY MANAGED GROVE
WETLAND PARK
CONSTRUCTING
DECISION-MAKING
x1 researching
SOIL-PREPARING
x5 assisting
x4 x3
RESOURCE-COLLECTING
coordinating
x5 management
x50 construction
promise-making
x10
x2 advocating
x50
manure collecting
wetland planting
LEGEND
x30
high-skilled trained traditional
x10 path building
waste collecting
temporary seasonal constant
x2
estimated number of people involved
x50
fence building
sand harvesting
x10
waste shredding
x5
compost turning
x5
soil amending
x5
soil baggi
ing
PRODUCING
SELLING
TENDING
x50
seed processing
x100
x20
fruit selling
patrolling x60 x50
twig processing
x20 x20
seed planting
x40 caring for seedlings
x20 thinning
x20 transplanting
x30 caring for saplings
protecting
x10
x100 distributing
direct selling
teaching x30
x30 watering
x30
intercropping
x100 x100 lumber cutting
trash removing
JOBS CREATED Operation of the site would be an experiment in urban forest management. It would produce hundreds of jobs, which would vary seasonally. Women, whose mobility is culturally more limited, would benefit most from having employment close to home.
INTERCROPPING
SAPLINGS
SAND
TREE PRODUCTS
BIRDS TO HOMES
MATURE GROVE
SAPLING TERRACES
STOREFRONTS
MONEY
URBAN SERVICE JOBS
SE AS O
TO HOMES
AL N
ER AT NW I RA
LIVELIHOODS MONEY
WATER PIPING
VEGETATIVE BUFFER
BIRD HABITAT
INFRASTRUCTURE
HABITATS
TOURISTS
DRINKING WATER
SERVICE ROADS
WETLAND
TO HOMES
BIRDS
WASTEWATER COLLECTION
GRAZING LAND
PARTIALLY TREATED WATER
SLUDGE LEGEND
MANURE
BROWN WATER
SOLID WASTE COLLECTION
SERVICE ACCESS CORRIDOR
new ring road WATER COLLECTION
EXISTING
SOLID WASTE
STORMWATER HARVESTING BLUE WATER
FLOW
COMPOST
ENHANCED
ADDED
WATER STORAGE
retention pond
TO LANDFILL
SAPLING PRODUCTION
shade structures
MAN UR E
TO CANAL
NEW METABOLISM Compared to its previous linear waste flows, the site will have a new metabolism that attributes value to all of its inputs and outputs.
RESOURCE FLOWS â–¶ Most seedlings will be sold for reforestation efforts, but others will be planted on the flattened region, allowing them to mature into a large communal grove used to harvest leaves, branches, and wood.
GRAZING PASTURE
TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR
PEDESTRIAN PATH new paths
WATER STORAGE
SAPL ING S
UCTS OD PR E E TR
TREE PRODUCTS
PO , COM ST, SLU ER DG AT E W E T AS W
GOODS SHIPPING CORRIDOR
SAND water storage SANITATION toilets & water ATM SEEDLING PRODUCTION
retention pond
failed resettlement structures
end of vehicle access
free-roaming livestock
sand
sparse grazing zones
standing wastewater
non-functional latrines
trash
EXISTING
EXISTING
GROWING TREES SUPPORT BIRDS; BIRDS HELP DISPERSE SEEDS
GROWING TREES SUPPORT BIRDS; BIRDS HELP DISPERSE SEEDS
LEAVES FOR FODDER
trees grown to maturity SAND FOR TERRACE AMENDMENT
trees for shade and shelter
new service road COMMUNITY-REGULATED LUMBER EXTRACTION
ROTATIONAL GRAZING LAND SUPPORTS FREE-RANGING CATTLE
tree guardians
grasses regrown after fallowing
TREES REDUCE TEMPERATURES THROUGH SHADE
Forest Service officer path to commerce corridors CATTLE PRODUCE FERTILIZER FOR NURSERY
COMMUNAL HARVEST OF TWIGS, FRUITS, LEAVES
CANOPY CREATES COOLER MICROCLIMATE
fodder to supplement grazing
PROPOSED
PROPOSED
KEY:
existing feature
design element
IMPACT
KEY:
existing feature
design element
IMPACT
main road trash
outlet to city canal
free-roaming livestock
wastewater
wastewater
monsoon spillway
trash
city edge steep slopes
free-roaming livestock
EXISTING
EXISTING
street shade trees
planted wetland shared sidewalk
sculpted ponds STREET VENDOR CORRIDOR
service road
TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR
linear boardwalk
PARTIAL WATER TREATMENT
DIRECT CONNECTIONS TO TRANSIT AND COMMERCE
SERVICE
ECOTOURISM INCREASES VISITORS
CORRIDOR
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION SAPLING PRODUCTION
paths stairs SEEDLING PRODUCTION
path
BIRD SPECIES ATTRACTED TO SITE
livestock exclusion barriers
MANURE COLLECTION
PROPOSED
GRAZING
PROPOSED
KEY:
existing feature
design element
IMPACT
KEY:
existing feature
design element
IMPACT
CALIFORNIA AQUEDUCT
ACTIVE AND CAPPED OIL FIELD
TULE ELK RESERVE STATE PARK
AGRICULTURAL LAND
V I R G I N I A A S L A C O M M E N D AT I O N A W A R D
KERN COUNTY WATER BANK
02 ON SHIFTING GROUND TO BAKERSFIELD
SEEDING PATCH DYNAMICS IN THE SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN
The thriving agricultural and oil industries of the Southern San Joaquin Valley are quickly approaching their limits. Instead of aiming to fix the region’s problems of subsidence, saline soils, contaminated groundwater, poor air quality and vulnerability to drought, we propose a menu of strategies to layer flexibility and complexity into the system as it meets difficult realities. When layered together, the strategies can transform, repurpose, or hybridize obsolete, static land use types into a responsive system of rotating land patterns and maintenance regimes. We acknowledge the unavoidable obsolescence of infrastructure and contemporary land use and provide an alternate vision for the process of “failing.” 1 inch of rain
Manifesto: https://vimeo.com/360571478 N Group Project | Spring 2019 Foundation Studio, Profs. Bradley Cantrell, Brad Goetz, Andrea Hansen Phillips Te a m : Ta r y n W i e n s , C h l o é N a g r a j JAN
FEB
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AVERAGE MONTHLY RAINFALL, BAKERSFIELD
All work is individual contribution unless marked otherwise.
NOV
DEC
~0-1850s
x-1911
ACTIVE AND CAPPED OIL FIELD
485
CALIFORNIA AQUEDUCT
WORKERS CAPPED WELLS ACTIVE PUMPS ROADS TRUCKS PRODUCED WATER
WATER CONCRETE WATER MONITORS POLLUTANTS
450
400
350
300
281 250
200
1880s-1930s
x-1953
TULE ELK RESERVE STATE PARK PARK RANGERS TULE ELK GRAZING LAND FLOOD WATERS VISITORS
1930s-1991
KERN COUNTY WATER BANK BIRD SPECIES FLOODABLE AREAS SHRUBS ACCESS ROADS PUMPS WATER
x-1953
Bakersfield
AGRICULTURAL LAND CROPS TRACTORS FARMERS IRRIGATION PESTICIDES FERTILIZERS
◀ EXISTING LAND USE In Kern County, California, extremes in oil production, wildlife conservation, water banking, and agriculture define patterns in the landscape. These functions are currently highly segregated from each other.
MACHINES AND PEOPLE Existing land uses are not erased, but by 2060 the edges start to blur. This drawing shows the many machines and plants that may be involved at a particular moment in the shifting mosaic. (Lead design by Chloe Nagraj)
VISUALIZING CHANGE ▶ These animation stills show the transformation from the existing grid of “productive” and “non-productive” parcels with rigid infrastructure to a landscape where those boundaries are released and the form of the landscape can respond to conditions of soil, hydrology, and climate. https://vimeo.com/360578724
â—€ OIL FIELD SALT PARK Imagining new hybrids in regions nearing obsolescence are needed to blur land use lines. Here, salt from increasingly saline cropland is placed in a park of decommissioned oil rigs, celebrated rather than dismantled.
RIVER PULSE FLOW â–ś Inspired by a decision to periodically release dammed water in the Colorado River, this project proposes the use of farming equipment to shape the ground before a temporary wet ecology is created in the dry San Joaquin River bed.
â—€ DOCUMENTING: CENTRAL VALLEY photography | 2019 | field work The Central Valley of California has a complicated relationship with water and land. During a site visit, I documented questions of access, change, and dependence on water.
03 FRIENDSHIP COURT: A CHARLOTTESVILLE JEWEL
This proposal uses the ground as a tool to shape social spaces. Rather than use coarse, orthogonal terraces that often separate neighborhoods from each other, sculpted facets connect people to one another, to the earth, and to places. Like those of a gemstone, the facets of Friendship Court reveal existing potential. Beyond simply modifying the surface, this proposal challenges the segregating topography of the city. The neighborhood pushes back against the barren flatlands of parking lots, contrasts with the elevated markers of racial exclusion, and counters the past’s timidity of design through a celebration of identity. Individual Project | Fall 2018 F o u n d a t i o n S t u d i o , P r o f. B et h M e y e r
ELEVATED-ESTABLISHED
COURTHOUSE
CIVIL WAR MEMORIAL
LEE
JACKSON
◀ EXISTING: SEGREGATING TOPO Today, Charlottesville is racially and economically divided, a separation that is reflected in the topographic variation of the city. High points in the city are dominated by institutions of power and symbols of racial repression. Public housing projects are sequestered in lower elevation stream corridors.
• • •
highest elevations within original city lines institutions of power
• • •
areas separate from daily life rotating industrial uses artificially lifted railroad tracks
• • •
lowest elevations patched after Urban Renewal megablock separate from matrix
TED F A R ED-G
399’ OR LOWER
FRIENDSHIP COURT
LIFT
400’ – 442’ 443’ OR HIGHER PUBLIC HOUSING
SUNKEN-PATCHED
COMMUNITY-RUN RETAIL
vertical exaggeration 3x
CAREER TRAINING INDUSTRIAL KITCHEN COMMUNITY GARDEN COMMUNITY-RUN CAFES AND RESTAURANTS
PARK COMMUNITY STAGE GATHERING SPACE OUTDOOR MOVIE THEATER
BASKETBALL
MIXED CAFE SEATING BUS STOP HUB OUTDOOR EVENT SPACE SEATING CRAFT MARKET
GRILLING PRIVATE PARTIES/GATHERINGS OUTDOOR SEATING
FRONT YARDS PLAYSPACE EARLY EDUCATION PARENTING SUPPORT
CONVERSATION POCKET
SHARED BACKYARD
CONVERSATION POCKET BASKETBALL PARKING GRILLING PRIVATE PARTIES/GATHERINGS OUTDOOR SEATING
FAMILY
COMMUNITY
REQUIRES SPENDING MONEY
â—€ PROPOSED: FACETED TOPO Modifying the topography of the site allows the ground to be activated for a variety of uses, while maintaining a separation between spaces for the residents and those where the broader Charlottesville community can gather.
FACETED SURFACES Through simple faceting, spaces are activated to address the needs of the Friendship Court community. Places of intimate meeting, family connection, and neighbor gathering are unified by a common design language. The design can easily be modified to respond to evolving desires of the residents.
45 0 460
+HP 459
+454
0
46
+452 +441
44
0
450
+457
440
+455 +455
450
INTENTIONAL TOPOGRAPHY ▶ Taking a found surface, a product of Urban Renewal, the site is intentionally transformed using three scales of faceting.
+452
+443 +436 +450
440
+438
+436
+444
44
+432
0
+446
+442
+435
43
0
+434 +436
+430
+432 +434 +432 +431 +430
+436
+434
+424
+424
+426
45
0
+LP 422
+432
+424
+431 +432
430
FLEXIBLE VARIATIONS ▶ Facet dimensions, edge thickness, slope amount, and orientation are manipulated to activate spaces for a variety of uses, avoiding “lost” spaces in the compact building plan.
+430
0
+430
43
+430
44 0
430
+LP 425
+428
UNIFIED LANGUAGE ▶ Using a simple geometry allows for a cohesive design language throughout the site and into neighborhood connectors.
+426
45
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+430 420
+432
46 0
+430
+428
+434
430
+LP 425
+426 +434
Ficus carica Amelanchier laevis
0
0
43
46
0
45
Diospyros virginiana
0
44 0
Carya illinoinensis
41
Cercis canadensis
420
Existing tree
47 0
+430
N +437
47 0
+LP 402
◀ EXPANDABLE LANDSCAPE Faceting can expand into nearby streets, bus stops, underused parking lots, and entrances to nearby nieghborhoods. The planting pelette supports gathering areas, while also providing foods for harvest, as requested by current residents.
CONCEPT: FROM FOUND SURFACE TO INTENTIONAL FACETING
common gateway
gathering dip
serendipitous seat
conversation pocket
edible woonerf
harvesting hill
dutch door garden
sunny slope
CONSTRUCTING SOCIAL SPACES
concrete, wood, turf or plantings
3.5’ max
PHYSICAL CATALOG OF FACETS
18” 6”
18”
2%
5%
15%
45%
100%
NE
SW
04 B AT D I S COV E RY PAT H
This path challenges the invisibility of wildlife in the city, particularly of the solitary, nocturnal Eastern Red Bat, Lasiurus borealis. By providing opportunities to respectfully view these secretive animals, the path reminds us that wildlife exists in spaces and during times that we tend to overlook. It reconnects us with the living unseen. The design focuses on using vegetative structures to disperse visitors, modified topographies to increase daytime bat roosting interactions, and a series of glowing panels to visually highlight nighttime foraging. Individual Project | Fall 2017 Foundation Studio, Profs. Leena Cho & Brad Goetz
DISPERSAL
OBSERVATION
INTERACTION
PATH | HABITAT
Leaf litter collects on West-facing slopes for winter roosting; steep slopes prevent human passage through winter habitat
Quercus montana provides preferred roosting habitat; high canopy provides safety for day-roosting bat
Fraxinus species provide preferred roosting habitat; high canopy provides safety for day-roosting bat
Respectful introduction of human exploration into the Eastern Red Bat habitat requires dispersal of groups of people, provides opportunities for observation from a distance, and allows for interaction through modified topography.
N 10
0 ft
20
25
PEOPLE
DISPERSION
Possible path Bat viewing
N 10
0 ft
20
25
PEOPLE
High
Low
Traffic over path
1. PLACE PATH
Possible path Bat viewing Dispersion point BATS
2. PLACE DISPERSION CUES Direct
Subtle
Vegetative dispersion cues
00 ftft
25
5050
100 100
OBSERVATION
Canopy gap for flight Roosting site
3. CREATE VISIBLE ROOSTING SITES
4. MAINTAIN CLOSED CANOPY, USE EDGE
INTERACTION
Closed canopy forest Forest edge No canopy
RETENTION
Managed canopy gaps
5. SELECT PLANT FORM AND SPECIES
Dispersion point BATS
Canopy gap for flight Roosting site
◀ STRATEGY DIAGRAM Four parameters define the path and placement of plantings and mounds. ◀ MANIPULATIONS Serial sections along the site depict interactions between ground and canopy, showing spaces of dispersion of people, observation of bats, retention of mounds, and interaction between visitors and bats. MOUNDING & CURVING ▶ A curved wall along each mound catches sediments as the soil erodes and recreates a new, climbable form.
GLOW: ATTRACT INSECT PREY FOR BATS
GLOW: SILHOUETTE FORAGING BAT FOR VIEWING
CURVE: SLOW WATER FLOW TO REDUCE EROSION; MAINTAIN OPEN FORAGING SITE
CURVE: TRAP SEDIMENT TO FORM NEW LANDFORMS; MAINTAIN HUMAN-BAT INTERACTION OPPORTUNITIES NEAR ROOSTS; MAINTAIN SOUTH-FACING SLOPES FOR WINTER BAT ROOSTING
05 PROMENADE-EDDY Public seating activates the in-between. It gives meaning to the spatial interface between home and the private unshared. By allowing temporary ownership of space, it makes sense of places that simultaneously belong to all and to no one—a place of both attachment and detachment. It is a material form where cross-sections of society pause to contest spatial ownership and initiate control, revealing their shared or conflicting presence. It is a multidimensional feature—not static, but rather an ever-changing representation of duration, interaction, and appropriation. This proposal modifies the distance between people on a bench and those walking along an overlapping promenade. Because of the dynamic nature of the structure, interaction is augmented, making the public space a place of negotiation and social contact. Individual Project | Fall 2018 F o u n d a t i o n S t u d i o , P r o f. B et h M e y e r
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT Early explorations of a bench that can accomodate various experiences of privacy and sociability, responding to the body scale and site. The curved bench idea evolved into the later rotating bench concept.
ENCROACHING ON THE WALKWAY The bench is set on a circular track that overlaps the primary and secondary walkways of the allĂŠe. Different configurations of the bench create opportunities for right-of-way negotiation with strangers.
BENCH + WALKWAY CONFIGURATIONS
A DYNAMIC BENCH The dynamic bench can move to accomodate climatic conditions and desires for privacy or sociability. The tracks are set in the lawn and into the walkway, changing the flow of pedestrians.
DENSE CANOPY
BRIGHT BARK
LAWN MATRIX
PERFORATED STEEL
SECONDARY WALKWAY
ACACIA 1.5� SLATS
PRIMARY WALKWAY
IN-GROUND STEEL RAIL
06 IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES AN D V I RT UAL WORLDS
Through engagement with a broader audience, these projects aim to open minds. Whether as site-based installations, field guides or imaginative video games, they aim to alter the way we engage with the world around us. I believe that projects like these are the gateway to engaging with the field of landscape architecture.
THE CORNER HERBORETUM A P OP- U P M US E U M OF W E E D S
The Corner Herboretum project hijacks mainstream tools of legitimization—serif typeface labels, logo branding, foamboardmounted signage, mapping and a social media presence—to bring appreciation to spontaneous vegetation, plants that are often seen as illegitimate or unwanted. By identifying, highlighting and tagging plants that are normally overlooked, this temporary installation celebrates vegetation sprouting in our forgotten spaces. Despite the short life of the project (linked to the short life of some weeds), the project found allies who carefully replaced fallen tags or shared the project online. Individual Project | Spring 2019 U r b a n W i l d s , P r o f. J u l i e B a r g m a n n Materials: PRINTED BROCHURE L AS E R- CU T L A B E LS I N S TA G R A M A C C O U N T M A P O F P L A N T L O C AT I O N S M O U N T E D P L A N T P O R T R A I TS
INTRODUCTION More than 41 store and restaurant fronts exist in Charlottesville’s Corner. This is a daunting number for a beginning site-reader who is merely trying to identify the commodification of labor in which social relations of domination are reproduced through material traces in the landscape. This field guide is the first step into understanding this unique place.
Site-reading—nowadays more frequently called “being a feminist”—is enjoyed by millions of people. The challenge lies not only in finding certain landmarks but also in accurately identifying engrained power structures, especially in places with deep historic contexts of racism and sexism, and this requires both preparation and experience.
This guide invites you to ask: Can The Corner’s present social structures of consumption and labor be separated from its allmale, all-white legacy and its historic dependence on widows and black slaves as a source of labor? Read on!
FIELD GUIDE TO THE CORNER This project is designed to question our relationship to Charlottesville’s universityadjacent commercial neighborhood, The Corner. Printed with two identical front covers, this guide juxtaposes “front of house” material traces when read in one direction with “back of house” traces when read from the other. The field guide is a collection of archival material, photographed trash, sketched clothing, and overheard conversations which present the mainstream or a feminist observations of the site, based on which direction the guide is read. Within each collection, excercises and guiding questions are folded in to encourage personal exploration. Individual Project | Fall 2019 Relational Landscapes of Care, P r o f. S a r a J a co b s
Materials: HAND-BOUND FIELD BOOK
PAST: MATURE FOREST The geological past of the Appalachian Plateau is seen in the rocks strewn around the dimpled landscape. Broadleaf trees dominate this biologically rich area.
PRESENT: FOREST DESTRUCTION As she keeps walking, the player reaches an altered, silent landscape punctuated only by sounds of passing machinery. The forest and bird song are gone.
WHAT’S MINE(D) IS YOURS: E X P E RI E N CI N G M OU N TAI N TO P R E M OVA L
Mountaintop removal is a brutal act of landscape transformation. For many, the scale and impact of this mining method is incomprehensible, frequently invisible, and conceived only through distant satellite imagery. This project seeks to create an experiential journey through mountaintop removal using the gaming platform Unity, from a familiar present of forested terrain to a future alien landscape of resource extraction. The side effects of harvesting coal—from loss of habitat to disruptive explosions and altered geologic and hydrological processes—are made virtually physical. The gaming platform allows players to move through space and time to experience a radically altered landscape and a pugnacious biological future after mining. Preview: https://vimeo.com/305792416 Individual Project | Fall 2018 D i g i t a l P r a c t i ce s , P r o f. M a t t h e w S e i b e r t S o f t w a r e : U N I T Y G A M I N G P L AT F O R M
FUTURE: MATERIAL EXTRACTION The player walks along a preextraction surface, passing between jarring blasts and large blocks of earth transported to nearby valleys. Eventually, the landscape is dotted only with sparse islands of trees.
07 PROFESSIONAL WORK
Extensive internship experience has allowed me to produce a variety of technical and exploratory projects. I have detailed for construction documents for embassies, rendered playgrounds for developers, created plant palettes for rememberance parks, researched rocky outcrop green roof analog communities, presented on design links to well-being and more. My previous work in public health, sustainability, communications and research inform my projects today. Firms represented in this section: SCAPE New York , NY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE BUREAU Washington, DC AGENCE TERRITOIRES Besanรงon, FRANCE
SCAPE
N e w Yor k , N Y J a n ua r y 2020
My main project at Scape was to model and render an on-structure playground and two rooftop terraces on a proposed New York City waterfront multi-family property. Once the model was built, I helped to identify problem areas, proposed design options, and modeled alternatives. Featured here are some stills from a rendering from this project using Lumion software. Software: Rhino, Lumion Te a m : Timothy Clark, Internship Supervisor Lena Smart, Landscape Designer
A
C
D
5'-0"
3'-9"
3'-4"
2'-7 1/4"
2'-2 1/4"
B
3'-4 1/2"
3'-3"
1
A.ii
A.iii
5'-9"
A.iv
10'-0"
B.iii
5'-9"
21'-6 1/8"
C.iii
8'-5 3/8"
46.15°
D.iii
8'-5 3/8"
7'-5 3/8"
63.29°
2
C.ii
7'-5 3/8"
4'-3 3/8"
16'-10 5/8"
3'-7 3/4"
5'-0"
55.70°
3'-3"
2'-2 1/4"
3'-8 1/2" 45.00°
1'-0 3/8"
A.i
B.i
1'-1 1/8"
B.ii
7'-11 1/4"
C.i
8'-7 3/8"
5'-2 5/8"
D.i
D.ii
8'-6 1/4"
6'-5 1/2"
4'-3 3/4"
14'-11 3/4"
16'-6 5/8"
3
114.60° 73.58° 70.35° A.vii
6'-2 1/2" 6 3/8"
B.vi
A.viii
A.ix
10'-0"
6'-2 1/2"
95.85°
B.vii
8'-8 1/4"
115.49°
84.96°
C.vi
6 1/4" 8'-2 3/8"
113.65°
3'-5 7/8"
2'-9 1/2"
1'-8 5/8"
110.38°
1'-9 7/8"
1'-5 1/8"
1'-0 3/8"
D.vi
C.vii
5'-7"
5'-7"
8'-5 1/8"
22'-5" 16'-10 5/8"
11'-2"
PLANTER BEYOND, TYP.
4
3'-9"
2'-9"
45.00°
60.74°
5'-0" 3'-5 1/2"
A.v
64.21°
A.vi B.iv
6'-1 3/4"
1'-9 7/8"
B.v
C.iv
2'-3 1/2" D.iv
C.v
D.v
6'-1 3/4" 6'-1 1/2" 12'-3 1/2"
6'-1 1/2"
5'-9"
3'-3 1/2"
4'-10 7/8"
6'-0 1/8"
1'-6" 12'-2 7/8"
9'-0 1/2"
10'-11"
1'-6 1/8" 5'-0"
133.40° 3'-4 1/2"
2'-11 7/8"
5'-0"
5'-0"
2'-0 5/8"
5'-0"
3'-4 3/4"
4'-1"
4'-10 1/8"
5'-0"
2'-7 3/8"
5'-0" 113.13°
A.x
A.xi
A.xii
A.xiii
A.xiv 82.46° 4'-7 5/8"
6'-6 5/8"
5
B.viii
4'-3 3/8"
B.ix
117.36°
C.viii 62.63°
97.54°
10'-0"
C.xi
C.x
66.87°
118.47°
D.vii
8'-0 3/8"
10'-0"
7'-9 7/8"
4'-8 7/8"
4'-9 1/2"
129.95°
8'-2 3/4"
12'-3 1/2"
D.viii
14'-11 3/4" 100.54°
B.x
14'-8 1/4"
102.46° D.ix
91.16° B.xi
A.xv
3'-8"
B.xii
16'-10 5/8"
54.41°
53.94°
5'-11 3/4" 3
Assembled Planter Layout Scale: 1/4" = 1'-0"
5'-0"
6'-10 1/2"
69.07° 2'-3 1/2"
4'-11 3/4"
6'-3 3/4"
8'-5 1/2" 10'-0"
C.ix
6'-10 7/8" 21'-6 1/8"
16'-8 1/4"
5'-0"
[LAB] LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE BUREAU Wa shi n g ton , DC J ul y - Aug ust 2019
While working at LAB, I was involved in both research and design projects. I detailed four custom planters, coordinating directly with the fabricator for cost estimates and construction process information (far left). I created greenroof plant cards for native plants from rocky outcrop analogue communities, focusing on wildlife value and availability in nearby nurseries (left). I drew and rendered design options for a developer project (below). As part of an office-wide initiative, I led research on landscape design and well-being interactions. Software: VectorWorks, InDesign, I l l u s t r a t o r, P h o t o s h o p Te a m : Joe Chambers, Internship Supervisor Michael Smith, Project Manager Xibei Song, Project Manager
OPTION A
OPTION B
AGENCE TERRITOIRES Besançon, FRANCE June 2019
While at Agence Territoires, my main responsability was the full drafting, illustration and layout of a project proposal narrative in French within a three-week turn-around time. Because the call for projects stemmed from a previous planning study, I was able to learn about the site quickly, respond to the client’s priorities and develop a proposal that featured the site’s unique nature as a phased active gravel quarry site and proposed playground. The project proposed to tie together sites across multiple towns and cities from two countries (France and Switzerland) while prioritizing green corridors, active transit safety, and placespecific identity. I coordinated with our project team (including a sociologist, an educational illustrator and a playground designer) to highlight the strength of our design team.
Software: VectorWorks, InDesign, Photoshop Te a m : Etienne Voiriot , Internship Supervisor
08 DRAWINGS | MODELS | CRAFTS
Creating, making, and shaping are central to my experience as a designer. I observe the world in a deeper way with each line drawn on paper, each material in a model and each interaction. Thinking through my hands unlocks new ways of exploring and untangling complexities.
◀ TWISTED HAND charcoal 2009 | class project study of foreshortening in hands ◀ SIDE STUDY pencil 2010 | class project ten-minute study with live model
PLANT SKETCHES ▶ pen 2018 | field notes detail of flora on site
NUDE WITH LIGHTS ▶ pencil 2010 | class project thirty-minute study with live model
◀ ASPHALT SPONTANEOUS FLORA plants and glycerin 2018 | class project representation of roots of parking lot plant species
◀ REVEALING THE ICE WALL 3D printed model; stained plexiglass 2018 | class project MVVA’s Teardrop Park Ice Wall structure modeled to show concrete structure and stone veneer
◀ STACKING PLAY BLOCKS white oak, bee’s wax 2018 | personal project modeled after Tumi Ishi blocks used in Waldorf Schools ◀ COFFEE TABLE mixed wood, aluminum 2018 | personal project wood scrap coffee table with center panel riser
SUMMER DRESS ▶ fabric 2016 | personal project fitted dress with V-back SPRING DRESS ▶ fabric 2012 | personal project petal dress with pockets
THANK YOU!
gaĂŤlle gourmelon landscape architecture