Landscape architecture portfoLio Hiwot Tefera
2011
pLayground design
pLayground design
town square design urban farm
Although Zuli Ekimonde and I were in charge of designing and carrying out the drafting process, the origination of the concepts included two other members. Since the goal of this project focuses on children from 3-11 years old, we intended to create a playground that triggers the senses of hearing, touching, seeing and reacting to different spaces.
saLvaged conditions for aLternative beginnings
Our tactile elements vary from the rugged metal sculpted tree to the smooth organic soft vertical garden, our sound elements vary from the xylophone wall that children can interact with to the water feature that trickles using recycled water. In terms of seeing, the idea was to provoke visual sensory through different materials, wood, concrete wall, sand pit, plants, metal water feature, mulch, basket weaving. Moreover, evoking children’s reaction to different spaces was a design concept that drove us to create the wrapping wall for group play, the basket weaving houses for independent play, and the open spaces for parent and children interaction.
wetLand park design impLementation and documentation coLLege of environment and design buiLding Photo of water feature, living wall adjacent to basket weaves
urban case study design for heaLth
hampton hiLL Junior schooL Professional Designer and Drafter University of Kingston (Study Abroad)
Group: Zuli Ekmonde March 2009 (3rd Year) Professor: Simon Location: Hampton Hill, UK
Responsible for, drafting and communicating a construction plan with the board and the contractor with colleague Zuli Ekmonde for implementation.
My colleague and I were in charge of contributing our own design elements, and understanding the verbal description of the other group members and translating it in to a physical design layout. I specifically conceived dimensioning and materializing the living wall, the concrete wrapping wall, the water feature, the paving, and the dimensioning and placement of the basket weaves. Some of our final documents that we submitted to the contractor are the drawings in this portfolio. The final design was implemented with minor adjustments by the contractor.
Plan of Zoning Activities Zone 1: Zone 2: Zone 3: Zone 4: Zone 5: Zone 6: Zone 7:
Curving wall allotment Hanging wall Entrance Hanging Wall Storage Xylophone Living wall & water feature Zone 8: Climbers Zone 9: Climbers Zone 10: Seat wall Zone 11: Open space
Basket weaves
Compartments of wall with playing features
Concrete wrapping wall
pLayground design
Section of division of wall units according to uses
Metal sculpture tree The xylophone wall
Plan of elevation change
town square design The first stage of this project was to do social, economic, ecologic and aesthetic analysis of downtown Athens. As a part of the social analysis group I discovered the amount of homeless people that lived on the site, which led me to conclude not to eradicate their physical presence but to provide them with purpose for being. It also revealed to me the lack of space for public expression in Athens. In conceiving the design concept, I concentrated on one word that would enable me to design a public space with many activities. Concept cognition: noun
-the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. -a result of this; a perception, sensation, notion, or intuition.
TL: rendered street painting space. painting space. TR: inistial idea of central space. BL: sketche of the curve seat. BR: existing condition.
canvasquare athens civic space Academic Designer Final Project of fourth year
Independent Project April 2010 Professor: Pardue Location: Athens GA, USA
In this project I was responsible for creating a concept, designing civic space based on the concept, and organizing the programation of the adjacent building uses and transit systems.
The concept is derived from the notion that a true civic space has the responsibility to empower its people, intellectually and emotionally. The design incorporates areas of learning, processing, and expressing. The corners of the design are areas of expression and interaction between people. The statue of Athena is placed on the southeast, on the highest elevation of the site, for free speech and vigil ceremonies. The performing arts space is on the southwest because it is the lowest elevation of the site I formed an amphitheater to enjoy music and theatre. The center, a fairly leveled topography, is a place of reaction and painting while the library, and the proposed museum across the street are elements of teaching. Since the library is under Athens’ Public Library, it can shelve books specifically about gaining skills for work, therefore targeting the homeless by giving the opportunity to explore their interest and aptitude. The Scent, Color and Textural garden on the corners of buildings are dedicated to the way of knowledge through our senses. And the street painting aspect while providing a space for expression, it provides entertainment for the viewers. Accordingly, since the access of knowledge is equally as important, my design also concentrates on enhancing the transportation system of Athens.
Section cut
Master Plan
Section
Concept synthesis
urban farm Among the three design projects I did for my summer internship, one of them required an urban farm landscape and an outdoor classroom design behind a historic building in College Park, Georgia. The client envisioned the status of this urban farm to be that of a botanical garden therefore, my partner and I extended our vision by setting the following goals.
Phase 1: Temporary Civic Space
Phase 2: Programming
Top: Section of outdoor classroom pavilion. Bottom Left: Example of proposed plant description. Bottom Right: Example of proposed plant schedule.
Phase 3: Design Development Stage
city of coLLege park urban design Professional Designer Internship
Partner: Lauren McDonald July 2010 Supervisor: Gail Webb Location: College Park, GA, USA
The responsibilities of this project included, site surveying, generating a design, programming activities, and cost estimation of plants and materials. We produced a 20 page report on the execution of the design for the county so they can use it to ask for grant from the state.
Goals 1) Incorporate agricultural space for local food production for nearby residents 2) Encourage community activity in food production 3) Create a comfortable outdoor learning space 4) Provide spaces for social events, commerce and lounging The site did not have much limitation aside from existing invasive plants and deteriorating sheds that we proposed to remove. Therefore with plenty of space, we preserved the existing large oak and pecan trees and included the following elements in our final design. Objectives 1) A composting station for the commercial farm 2) A large commercial farm land to bring income to the institution 3) Two circular hardscaped multi-use open spaces 4) A sheltered classroom using a pavilion structure and open meadow for playing 5) A community garden space with 6�-12� raised bed for residents to rent In addition to designing, we were in charge of plant selection and availability, therefore this project included contacting nurseries and implementing native wild flowers, and suitable fruit trees for the site in a affordable manner.
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View of outdoor classroom pavilion and path to the multi-use open spaces
Master Plan
Rendering of proposed compost station behind the commercial farm
View of raised beds for the community garden leading to the circular open spaces Section
saLvaged conditions for aLternative beginnings
On a 10’x10’ site, the project required to finding a scarred space in downtown Athens, that can be healed by using the materials that contribute to its damage. The aim is to redesign the site by using recycled materials and to use cultural context as inspiration. Injuries and Solutions Social Injuries: Inaccessibility because it is closed off Solution: Break blocking wall and create a pathway Injuries: It doesn’t accommodate activity Solution: Provide seats, tables, and create view
Left: Idea of breaking the existing wall and adding a curved path and a door. Middle: Plan of curved path with concentric benches. Right: Sketch of sing curved light poles and existing theatre lights. Bottom Right: Perspecive view of design from the main street.
theatre on the street Academic Designer Fourth Year
Independent Project May 2010 Professor: Pardue Location: Athens GA, USA
The size of the site is a 10 x 10 feet scarred area in downtown Athens. I was in charge of generating a healing design and producing three schematic concepts, finalizing one and presenting a final plan, two sections, a perspective view, and a material implementation guideline.
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Economic Injuries: Under used thus its a lost asset to Georgia Theatre which is located adjacent to the site Solution: Change the aesthetic to create an animated space using theatre lights to attract view to Clayton street hence making Clayton Street the stage for drama. Concept Let the side walk and the street act as the stage and let the park act as the theatre where people can observe. The abandoned theatre lights shall enhance the drama of the street. This concept was inspired by the Georgia Theatre that burnt down two years ago and it aims to preserve the legacy of its importance to Athens’ music culture. Exploded axon of design elements
Site Analysis and Materials Palette The majority of the materials proposed for this design are found on the site. Damaged equipment from the theatre such as metal seats and theatre lights; and unused lumber from the current construction are to be used for this design. Master Plan
wetLand park design The Wey and Arun Canal Trust wanted to restore an old canal that has dried up from River Wey to River Arun. The Trust did not have an agenda for when to build the canal,thus in until the meantime this project proposal can provide use for the land and can function simultaneously even when the canal is built. Creating connectivity through the use of bike routs and pedestrian pathways is a major aim in this project since its strategically located between three town centers. At the same time accommodating flood plains, meadows, woodlands, and wild flower plants in this wetland is essential in reviving life in to the landscape.
annual flood level
Material use guidelines
existing channel previous bank edge
existing channel
new wetland basin
Section A: View to Clayton street from designed site Top: Section of wetland before and after it has been connected to the river. Middle: Photo of Tannery bridge. Bottom: Photomontage of Tannery bridge with proposed design.
wey and arun canaL Academic Designer and Drafter University of Kingston (Study Abroad)
Section B: View from behind Georgia Theatre
Independent February 2009 (3rd Year) Professor: Simon Location: Gilford, UK
In this project I did an extensive research about canals and their context in the UK. After understanding the nature of hydrology in the site I executed a wet land park design and produced construction details for the Wey and Arun Canal Trust.
Objectives 1) Create a wetland park that can be home to various plant species following the natural topography while respecting the flood cycle 2) Create promenades along the river that wrap around the wetlands, for biking, jogging and horseback riding 3) Provide sitting areas by the ponds and the river through the use of decking 4)Provide sheltered sitting areas through out the meadows through the use of Gazebos
Concept diagram Meadow and wetland vegetation Wetland ponds Leisure space Existing bike route Proposed bike route Existing main road
Proposed bike route
Proposed ponds and areas of leisure
Master Plan (South side)
Schematic design
wetland impermeable liner (30mm PVC) water table level surface flow
Detail for wetland construction
Section of deck on pond Proposed meadow
Inventory & analysis
Construction details
Rivers
impLementation and documentation
Bridge Design: Loading is determined by the amount of pedestrian and bikers. This a bridge connecting two bonds, no boats we will be passing through
The main objective of this project is to acquire the skills and follow the steps of documentation for a final implementation stage. Documentation stages are divided in to 6:
Accessibility
Bank Protection: In cases were there are marginal plants Bank Protection Type 1 should be applied. In cases where the river has a clear cut edge Bank Protection Type 2 should be used
1) Schematic Design 2) Grading Plan 3) Planting Plan 4) Material Plan 5) Stakeout Plan 6) Construction detail and specifications
Type 1
Schematic Design Narrative
Land use
Type 2
Schematic Design
Land use & features
Type 1 Wetland Edge: Type 1 is used for naturally sloping Edges and Type 2 is used for steeper sloping edge with marginal plants
uga war memoriaL garden Academic Designer and Drafter Implementation Documents Studio
Fall Semester 2011 Professor: Calabria Location: Athens,GA
Responsible for designing and carrying out all documentations for final construction stage. Flooding Type 2
This is a design narrative of a soldiers life. Reading left to right it starts with its militaristic ways of being linear, rigid, and organized in his or her training and embarking to war. Graduating and succeeding in her or his practice the arched pathway from the ROTC building symbolizes the walk of life in war and struggle. The spiral pathways represent life’s unpredictablity and its tendency to lead us in different directions. Eventually all paths direct us to the life garden where those who lost their friends, relatives and families, have the privilege to plant a seed or a plant a head to symbolize their loss. The planting ceremony should be done twice a year for war and cold season plants to keep it interactive. Plants are placed randomly and under no censorship, ranging from Kudzu, Petunias or Oaks to symbolize life’s impulsive nature. The paths are levelled in a flat elevation while at each edge there is a depression leading to a swale symbolizing our soldiers were living life on the edge for the sake of the country. Their paths are lead to rain garden that replenishes itself seasonally symbolizing recurring remembrance and sentiment.
Grading Plan
Section Cut for Construction Detail
Planting Plan
Construction Detail
Material Call Out Plan
Stakeout Plan: Dimension and Placements
coLLege of environment and design buiLding The concept behind the new College of Environmental Design building design is derived from the notion that landscape architects create rhythm on the landscape through their designs. Therefore, the building is imitative of two drums meshed together. The main circular building is the larger drum while the one adjacent to it is its smaller version. In order to truly mimic the characteristic of a drum, the buildings take on a cylindrical form that decreases as it goes down. Moreover the patterns of the windows represent the top part of a drum where the leather skin is stretched to the bottom using strings. On the other hand, Denmark is preserved because design something new doesn’t mean the old has to be wiped out. Since this college also contains a Historic Preservation program, the students of the HP program can enjoy the historical quality of Denmark Hall.
Basement Floor
1st Floor
3rd Floor
Top: Building form, Middle: Indoor perspective, Bottom: Building section A’-A
4th Floor
2nd Floor
5th Floor
Roof Plan
Even though an instrumental object inspires the form of the building, in laying out the floor plans land uses the objective is to encourage interaction between the different levels of program, create out door spaces through out the building to represent the professions unique relationship with the outdoors, and provide flexibility in rearranging uses. Design elements to encourage interaction
weLded drums Academic Designer Architecture Studio
November 2011 (5th year) Professor: Verma Location: Athens, GA
This project consisted of developing a concept for a new design building for the landscape architecture program. I completed illustrating floor plans, sections, section elevations and perspective views of indoor and outdoor spaces.
1) Niches on all floors for student lounging or access to a balcony or a green roof 2) A main connecting hallway through the second floor that allows for easy movement and places to gather. 3) An atrium on each floor that has an 8’ wall surrounding it, which serves as a connecting element for all the floors through the open 4’ open air. 4) Display walls located by the stairs and elevator for people to stop and observe.
North Elevation
West Elevation
Design elements that morph interior and exterior spaces
urban case study
1) A balcony or a green roof on each floor easily accessible from all the studios and offices. 2) Open air below buildings for pedestrians, meaning the three buildings are not a single block but are carefully dismantled to let air in. 3) A framed courtyard garden between the three buildings 4) Extended pattern of the 1st floor to the smaller drum and Denmark Hall for outdoor seating and bike parking.
The city under investigation in this research project is Tunis, Tunisia, particularly the region of Berges du Lac located on the northern shore of Lac de Tunis. Berges du Lac, ‘bank of lake’, is a micro city with in the city of Tunis, connecting the downtown Tunis in the south, the suburbs and the city
Design elements for flexibility 1) Open floor plans for the studios besides the designation of faculty offices. Columns are used to delineate hallways, and a few locker walls are used to separate studios, however most of the elements depicted on the floor plans are moveable and flexible prepared for change of use.
es
g Ber
Lastly walls and windows are designed for maximum light following an intricate pattern, to represent not only functionality, but also the building as a piece of art.
ac uL
Future development of Tunis in the direction of the green periphery
d
of Carthage in the north. The decision to pick the location of Berges du Lac for development in the last 20 years, a former sewage and wasteland, diverts
Current concentration and central points of the city
centralization lifting the weight off of the ‘medina’, downtown Tunis and Carthage, additionally restoring the ecological habitat of the lake. The study explores
Sewage and waste dump until the 1980, breaking point of the coastal settlements and the city
the developments ability to connect that scattered centers of Tunis, and its livability. Programming and zoning, leisure and entertainment, demographics, green spaces and open spaces, transportation, architecture, and design layout are the criteria evaluated in this research.
the Lac nord proJect of tunis: berges du Lac Academic Research Project Urban Design Studio
Spring Semester 2010 Professor: Pardue Location: Athens,GA
Research criteria: Chose a modern urban planning or design method from a specific city around the world and through research and analysis judge if the particular planning or designing method is successful.
Land use and Zoning
Conclusion Commercial & Office Spaces
How does Berges du Lac influence future urban planning
design for heaLth
and urbanization in Middle Eastern and Sub-Saharan
Public Green Spaces
African cities? The issue with cities of the third world is
Public Service Buildings
the rapid urbanization, the drastic switch in jobs from
Leisure & Entertainment
agricultural to industrial and public service sectors which
International Institutions
puts a heavy burden infrastructurally and economically
Residential
Client: Foundation Esther Boucicault Stanislas (FEBS),founded by Madame Boucicault, the first Haitian to publicly discuss having HIV/AIDS. FEBS put up the Kay e Sante nan Ayiti competition with the vision of creating a community and residences for HIV/AIDS patients to recuperate and build physical and mental strength and stability.
in the capital cities. Berges du Lac performs as a model
The land uses of Lac are not as divided as the map depicts, the map shows majority uses in terms of concetration.
for cites with large population and economic growth, containing new settlers or homeowners in the core of the city rather than spreading to the periphery where natural habitats, agricultural land is disturbed and heavy grading
Design Layout Differences
Goal: Design a residential community for HIV/AIDS patients where stress reduction and stamina building are the core concerns.
is required. The ‘medina’, the historical and cultural heart of North African and Middle Eastern cities has always
Location: Bois L’Etat 5.87km east of St.Marc Area: Approximately 13,400 sq.m. (3.3 Acres)
been endangered from rapid modern urbanization; Tunis is successfully increasing centrality outside of the ‘medina’, in Carthage, Gammarth, La Marsa and now Berges Atlantic Ocean
du Lac.
Modern European City
46.5m
Old Tunis ‘medina’
N 288.54m
DOM. REP
Saint Marc
279.39m
6m
39.5
Open spaces and Walkability
HAITI
Port-au Prince
Berges du Lac
kay e sante nan ayiti: housing & heaLth in haiti For the rest of Sub-Saharan cities, that severely suffer from sewage and wasteland management, where in different cores of the cities smell and toxicity averts
Paved public spaces between buildings
from settlement and causes health issues, Berges du Lac can be an example for these areas to be reclaimed, rehabilitated and perform as urban centers.
Vehicular and pedestrian traffic
Academic Designer and Drafter Terminal Year Project
Spring 2011 5th Year Professor: Pardue Location: St.Marc Haiti
Responsible of creating a senior project proposal, site visit, topic research, site inventory and analysis, master plan, site plan supplemental images, grading plan, construction detail and final report with exhibition.
Perspective of open lawn with different sized planters and two bamboo gazebos for organized exercising activities and people watching
Concept crescendo: noun
-a progressive increase in force or intensity
In music crescendo is the loudest and highest intense sound, where the music climaxes and comes to life. The goal of this design is to provide elements of physical and mental therepy thus bringing each patients to their maximum wellness. Therefore just like the climaxing points music, different features and activities of the design concentrate on increasing different parts the patients health. strategies of healing 1) healing through meditation 2) healing through socialization 3) healing through being surrounded by nature 4) healing through active gardening 5) healing through exercising
The activities concerning the wellness of psychology are located in Zone 2 where the topography has sharp and steep slopes. High hills and ridges provide striking views and places to gather and socialize, or individually meditate while gazing at the mountains or the ephemeral pond. As the slope change decreases and becomes more constant, the design provides features to increase the physical stamina of the patients. Wheelchair accessible walkways and trails through dense vegetation encourages exercising. These pathways will have benches and gazebos for resting and mental recuperation Master Plan
In Zone 3 there is an edible garden where patients learn how to grow vegetables and spices, therefore while acquiring a skill mental and physical healing occurs by have interaction with nature. The programing also encourages for patients to have organized activities such as yoga, tai chi, and stretching exercises in the lawn surrounded by the triangular planters with
Functional Diagram
Indoor Relationship Private
Concept
Outdoor Relationship
Social
Balcony
Parking Bedroom WC
Bedroom Bedr oom WC
Bedroom Bedr oom
Living/ Kitchen
House
Veranda
We Welcome center and Medical unit of offices
Balcony View Central gathering space
Active Garden
Transitional Tr ansitional Space
Master Section
shading trees and gazebos. Finally Zone 1 the flattest and the nears to a main road is going to be a service area, where medical buildings, solar panels, parking lots and golf cart parking is located. Section B-B’
“the porch can be seen as a piece of the house that is part of the street or a piece of the street incorporated in to the house.� -The Afro-American tradition in decorative art
Roof Plan
Site plan of ephemeral Pond, meditative terraces, bridges, housing and covered seating Second Floor Plan
Building Exploded Axon
First Floor Plan