Birkeland portfolio by Jennifer Birkeland

JENNIFER BIRKELAND

design portfolio

04 DREXEL UNIVERSITY PLAN FOR THE PUBLIC REALM

Philadelphia, PA, spring 2015

08 PRESIDIO PARKLANDS COMPETITION San Francisco, CA, spring 2014

14 COMPETITIONS FOR THE NATIONAL MALL Washington DC, spring 2012

20 THE ORANGE COUNTY Irvine, CA, 2007-2009

GREAT PARK

28 UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS LANDSCAPE MANUAL Fayetteville, AR, fall 2013

32 ANNAPOLIS CITY DOCK Annapolis, MD, summer 2012

MASTER PLAN

36 FIELD CONSTRUCTS COMPETITION Duck Blind in Plain Site, Austin, TX, fall 2015 42 GOWANUS AXIS CIVITAS COMPETITION Field Station of the Industrial Sublime, summer 2015

44 PLAYSCAPES COMPETITION Plant a ball park, competition, summer 2013

48 REDFORD GARDENS COMPETITION Grand-Metis, fall 2014

52 FAR ROCAWAY COMPETITION

Conduit Communities, Rocaway NY, summer 2013

56 PATCHING THE VOID

Cities along the Erie Canal, spring 2011

DREXEL UNIVERSITY PLAN FOR THE PUBLIC REALM Through discussions with University staff and the Public Realm Plan steering committee, it was clear that Drexel University wanted to embrace its urban identity. Understanding this, the design team divided the campus into villages, each of which is integral to the University but still maintains its own framework and character. These villages were the Western Gateway, the Eastern Gateway, the Academic Core, the Student Neighborhood, and Powelton. Within each of these villages, the team identified a priority project, one that would significantly impact the identity of its village and improve hierarchy across campus. Market Street, Lancaster Walk, Innovation Neighborhood, Student Housing, and Korman Plaza were the priority areas that the design team focused on. Design solutions were used as a tool for discussion and analysis. These discussions allowed the team to get targeted design feedback and at the same understand the true complexities of Drexelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban campus. West 8 was interviewed and awarded the project in early 2015. I prepared the original proposal and participated in the interview. I have been the project manager working with a team of consultants to complete the master plan.

[West8, partners: Adriaan Geuze and Jamie Maslyn Larson, 2015]

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

student dorm analysis

550

TREES ADDED

MARKET STREET

4,200

LINEAR FEET OF BIOSWALE OPPORTUNITY

MARKET STREET

820,000 GALLONS

OF STORM WATER DIVERTED PER ANNUAL STORM EVENT

INCREASE TREE CANOPY

REDUCE HEAT ISLAND EFFECT

420,000 SQUARE FEET OF PAVED SURFACE PV STREET ELEMENTS

PERVIOUS PAVEMENT HIGH SOLAR REFLEX INDEX ROAD CROWN

RECHARGE GROUNDWATER

SIDEWALK

BIOSWALE

RECHARGE GROUNDWATER

DRIVE LANE

BIOSWALE

CYCLE TRACK

SIDEWALK

market street

building entry analysis

31st Stree

32nd Stree

DREXEL UNIVERSITY

33rd Stree t

34th Stree

PUBLIC REALM PLAN

Street

35th Street

Hamilton

36th Stree

Street

Market Street - Market Street will receive a treatment that an artery of its significance deserves. The new tree-lined boulevard will have arching trees that provide shade, a wide recreation lane, and a pedestrian promenade anchoring Drexel’s academic core.

Lancaster Walk - As an extension of one of the historic highways of Pennsylvania, Lancaster Walk will align itself with Lancaster Avenue. The new area will serve as a significant opportunity to brand and inspire Drexel’s identity and define the quintessential Drexel student space.

Korman Plaza - Korman Plaza is an integral part of the public realm, and it is a key component not only for the Academic Core, but for the entire campus. It represents the crossroads of so many students, faculty, and ideas and really has the potential to be a great signature space for the University.

Drexel Square - Drexel Square sits at the confluence of the Innovation District, Market Street, the Eastern Gateway, and Drexel University. Drexel Square is modeled after the five historic squares of Philadelphia and has potential to be the University’s major public space. It sits along the historic Woodland Walk, and connects 30th Street Station, JFK Esplanade, Drexel, and Penn.

Student Neighborhood - The student neighborhood aims to foster community through public space. The area is anchored by a green core, providing an inclusive collegiate space that, as a backyard, touches most of the residence halls. The improved streetscapes are modeled after those of the historic Powelton area, bringing a markedly different pace to the student neighborhood and public realm.

30th Street Station

Chestnut Square

One Drexel Plaza

Armory

Philadelphia Innovation Neighborhood

Buckley Field

38th Stree

37th Stree

Garden

Spring

Baring

Street

Pearl Street

r Av

Ave

University Crossings

Buckley Green

Peck Alumni Center

The Summit

Perelman Plaza

Drexel Park

Main Building

The Highline

Chestnut Street

17 Filbert Street

Arch Street

Schuykill Expressw ay

Powelton

Market Street

30th Street

15 John F Kenned

y Bouleva

1 Ludlow Street

John F Kenned

y Bouleva

10 Chestnut

Street

11 Market Street

Sansom Street

Walnut Street

31st Street

Chestnut

30t

h Str eet

Locust Walk

33rd Street

34th Street

37th Street

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

Street

ROOF INFLOW

WATER FEATURE

5,000 GALLONS

27,000 GALLONS

OF COLLECTED STORM WATER PER ANNUAL STORM EVENT FIRST FLUSH TO BASIN

SEDIMENT SUMP DIVERSION STRUCTURE

INFLOW FROM PAVED SURFACES

BULK TANK EMERGENCY OVERFLOW

FILTERING AQUATIC PLANTS PERVIOUS PAVING

OVERFLOW RECHARGE GROUNDWATER

water feature design

POWELTON

STUDENT HOUSING

WESTERN GATEWAY

STUDENT VILLAGE LANCASTER WALK

MARKE

ACADEMIC CORE

T STREE

EASTERN GATEWAY

INNOVATION NEIGHBORHOOD

KORMAN PLAZA

drexel "villages"

lancaster walk studies

626.893.8610

PRESIDIO PARKLANDS COMPETITION The historical Presidio is nestled in the heart of San Francisco. With sweeping views from downtown to the Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio created a new landmark capping a highway and connecting the parklands with the waters edge. The new gateway is singular, unlike anything in San Francisco, yet it complements both the Presidio and the City, offering both a large frame for civic events and intimate spaces for quiet days, and allows each visitor to make it a place uniquely their own. Within the West 8 proposal, each space is nuanced and calibrated, imbued with many meanings, creating a destination for all: A simple garden walk with fog rolling in animates the landscape; a destination event in the dramatic â&#x20AC;&#x153;bowlâ&#x20AC;? with a citywide crowd; a day of learning and discovery in the wet and dry laboratories for the school kids, or to a moment of peaceful reflection in the colonnade, the possibilities of place are seemingly limitless as layers of programs and activities engage and animate the spaces of this proposal. The Presidio Trust held an international five month design competition, which I was involved with from the initial phases, managing the team and working in both Rotterdam and New York.

[West8, partners: Adriaan Geuze and Jamie Maslyn Larson, 2014]

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

presidio sketches by local illustrator wendy macnaughton

ALCATRAZ ISLAND

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

HOPPERS HAND

FORT MASON CENTER

TORPEDO PIER WARMING HUT

YACHT HARBOR CRISSY FIELD

F-LINE PALACE OF FINE ARTS 101

MAIN POST

THE PRESIDIO

TENNESSEE HOLLOW

waterfront analysis

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

S AVE. VAN NES

ERO ST.

DIVISAD

PARK PRESIDIO BLVD

Beach Cle an Up

Presid io

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Te t Fe st iv m er

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Pa rk

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Camping Nigh

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Back to School

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HALL OF SERVICE

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of J u ly ar ds

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St ew

July Pa rk

Cr is

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tra

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PROMENADE

Ga rd

a st n g u lo A u iath Tr

O N C O L

M ar

SF Li

Float

Day

ague

trick’s

ttle Le

St. Pa

Deco

Fe sti va l

The Presidio 10 marathon April

Easter Sunrise

Earth Day

of the

e Hik

Flags

Three

ria

Bik ut Brid e to W gin g C ork D ere a mo y ny May HISTORIC VIEW CORRIDOR

Bi oB lit z

ratio

event calendar ns

itis un Fo f Anz

thr ps o

ath

Gir

Ar otste

o TUNNELS DOWNTO WN SA N FRA NCIS VIEWS CO

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EMBRACING THE SITE SAN RAFAEL

Pasad

e Celeb

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4 th

isc s Fe

LGBT Prid

nc e

In th

nF ra

GOL DEN GAT E VIE BRIDG WS E

/ AZ / SF BAY ALCATR VIEWS

Sa Kit

MASON STREET 603 603

218 220

program analysis

5 Wild

er stival De ce mb Lights Fe Holiday Date Ice Skate rathon Run Ma l Jingle Bel

alk nW e tio Jun da

Ja Ne n u a ry w Ye ars Ru n

GGNPC

THE PRESIDIO

THE ECLIPSE

presidio analysis

626.893.8610

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

site diagram

parklands tunneltop connecting to crissy field

626.893.8610

COMPETITIONS FOR THE NATIONAL MALL The National Mall is one of the most iconic and revered landscapes in America. The landscape of the Mall brings the diverse Washington community and visitors together from around the world, promoting social sustainability at the core of this quintessential American public landscape. The Sylvan Theater is oriented around a sequence of settings that together define a new performance landscape. The design anticipates a future phase that expands the definition of a high performance landscape, connecting the mall to the Tidal Basin, improving traffic flows by consolidating roadways, and creating space for a new working landscape. Constitution Gardens, "a museum without walls," integrating architecture, infrastructure and art to create a socially sustainable civic experience. Acting as a natural tread between the surrounding memorials, its infrastructural systems are designed as a contrast to the Mall and act as a self contained setting. The Trust for the National Mall held a three-stage design competition for three selected sites on the Mall which were in need of restoration. I was involved with stages two and three of the design and worked on both the design and project management of both sites, Sylvan Theater and Constitution Gardens.

[OLIN, partners: Hallie Boyce, Skip Graffam and Weiss + Manfredi, 2012]

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

626.893.8610

seasonal visitorship

flexible program

daily visitorship

seasonal programming

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

626.893.8610

THE ORANGE COUNTY GREAT PARK The Great Park is a 1,380-acre metropolitan park which was previously the El Toro Marine Corps Airbase, located in Irvine, California. Residents were presented with two options for the future airbase, continue to have the site be used as an airport, or convert it into a regional park for greater southern California. An international design competition was held in 2006, and Ken Smith Landscape Architect was selected as the lead designer. I was hired as a young designer and worked on multiple phases and portions of the park’s design. The greatest undertakings were the Orange Country Great Park Master Plan, as well as the schematic design for the entire 1,380 acres. I participated in composing multiple city presentations, and was actively involved in coordinating the construction drawings and administration of the Great Park Balloon. The 27-acre Balloon site is the first area of the park to be completed, and serves as a preview site of what is to come for residents. The balloon is meant to be used as a viewing platform for observers to float into the air and see the park “grow” beneath them. [Ken Smith Landscape Architect, principals: Ken Smith & Mia Lehrer, 2007-2009}

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

balloon park site plan

626.893.8610

site plan

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

botanical gardens

community garden

trabuco gate market

626.893.8610

ramada layout

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

aerial view of balloon farm

view of raised beds

constructed raised beds

626.893.8610

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS LANDSCAPE DESIGN MANUAL The University of Arkansas is embedded in a deep campus history of traditions and rituals that have shaped to campus landscape till today. OLIN provided a campus framework to build upon this existing state as well as take future planning and development into consideration. This project focused on current best practices and how this type of change has been implemented in the United States. The plan is also crucial for the community of Fayetteville. The University is embedded near the downtown and the campus is a destination for academic, social, and cultural interactions for the community. The primary goal for this plan was to provide a strong collaboration between the University Planning Staff and the Design Review Board. The interaction on this plan ensures a common vision through development guidelines and recommendations. I was the project manager on the project. I met with the client and the design team, reviewing the goals, guidelines, and proposals for this plan. [OLIN, partner: Skip Graffam, 2013]

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

CAMPUS

F R A M E WO R K

Campus Framework Framework Plan

GARLAND AVENUE

Draft 12.10.13

CLEVELAND STREET

RAZORBACK ROAD

DICKSON STREET

Draft 12.10.13

ARKANSAS AVENUE

STADIUM DRIVE

MAPLE STREET

Landscape Guidelines Streetscapes

FRAMEWORK PLAN

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BOULEVARD

EXISTING BUILDINGS FUTURE BUILDINGS

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

Landscape Guidelines Campus Circulation

Draft 12.10.13

University of Arkansas Landscape Design Manual Draft 12.10.13 path with

2’

5’

NATIVE PLANT LIST

varies based

Botanical Name

2’

edge condition varies based on location

TYPICAL PLAN VIEW

x.xx

4” granite curb

classic pedestrian pole short

TYPICAL SECTION VIEW

For use in zone

Common Name

Hydrologic Indicator

Notes

LARGE TREES Acer negundo

Box Elder, Ash-Leaved Maple

Acer rubrum

Red Maple

FAC

Acer saccharum

Sugar Maple

FACU-

FACW

Betula nigra

River Birch

FACW

Carya cordiformis

Bitternut Hickory

Carya illinoinensis

Pecan

FAC+

Carya ovata

Shagbark Hickory

FACU

Carya texana

Black Hickory

Catalpa speciosa

Northern Catalpa

Celtis laevigata

Sugarberry

FACW

Celtis occidentalis

Common Hackberry

FACU

Fagus grandifolia

American Beech

Fraxinus americana

White Ash

FAC

Fraxinus pennsylvanica

Green Ash

Gleditsia triacanthos

Honey Locust

FAC-

Juglans nigra

Black Walnut

FACW FACU

Liquidambar styraciflua

Sweetgum

FAC+

Liriodendron tulipifera

Tulip Poplar

Maclura pomifera

Osage Orange, Horse-Apple, BoisD’Arc

Nyssa sylvatica

Black Gum

Pinus echinata

Shortleaf Pine

Platanus occidentalis

Sycamore

FACU FAC FACW-

Populus deltoides

Eastern cottonwood

FAC+

Prunus serotina

Black Cherry

FACU

Quercus alba

White Oak

FACU FACU-

Quercus falcata

Southern Red Oak

Quercus macrocarpa

Bur oak

Quercus marilandica

Blackjack Oak

UPL

Quercus muehlenbergii

Chinkapin Oak

FAC

Quercus rubra

Northern Red Oak

FACU

FAC

Quercus shumardii

Shumards Oak

FACW-

Quercus stellata

Post Oak

FACU

Quercus velutina

Black Oak

UPL

Robinia pseudoacacia

Black Locust

Taxodium distichum

Bald Cypress

Ulmus americana

American Elm

FACW

Ulmus rubra

Slippery Elm

FAC

x.xx

cobble

Ulmus thomasii

Rock Elm, Cork Elm

FAC

x.xx

concrete walk

SMALL-MEDIUM TREES Aesculus glabra

Ohio Buckeye

FACU

Alnus serrulata

Hazel Alder

FACW+

Draft 12.10.13

Campus Framework Landscape Zones

University of Arkansas Landscape Design Manual Draft 12.10.13

ECOLOGICAL PATCHES RIPARIAN ZONES AND FORESTED PATCHES GARLAND AVENUE

Use the natural hydrologic features that exist on the site for proposed improvements or new development, or directly adjacent to the site, as the primary driver for landscape planning and stormwater management design, through conservation of drainage patterns, water budget, soils, and vegetation. SPECIES & DISTRIBUTION • Preserve and restore native canopy and subcanopy trees, as well as shrubs and groundcover, to ensure a diverse, healthy, and functioning ecosystem in forest and riparian areas.

Promote watershed health and ecological function through a diverse plant palette in riparian buffer plantings on Mullins Creek North and South.

ARKANSAS AVENUE STADIUM DRIVE

•

Enhance and restore the native woodland with a diverse selection of vegetative species which help promote ecological health and more seamlessly connect the different patches that have been set aside as woodland conservation easements, providing further habitat connections, updating maintenance practices to better support natural regeneration (limiting mowing in woodland areas with regenerating native understory).

MAPLE STREET

ECOLOGICAL PATCHES

DICKSON STREET

RAZORBACK ROAD

•

CLEVELAND STREET

LANDSCAPE CHARACTER GARDEN CHARACTER PARK CHARACTER MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BOULEVARD

NATURAL CHARACTER

11 30

626.893.8610

ANNAPOLIS CITY DOCK MASTER PLAN This master plan was to intended to create a vision which appropriately aligned the proposed uses for the area with the historical significance of this vibrant downtown center. The vision creates a dynamic urban plan, reflecting on the history and waterfront amenities which optimize economic stimulants. OLIN was in collaboration with Jakubiak & Associates, and together worked with the City on the Annapolis City Dock Master Plan. A redevelopment project to re-imagine this historic waterfront destination at the heart of Marylandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s state capital. The site is situated at the confluence of the Severn River and the Chesapeake Bay. Annapolis is a city historically tied to its waterfront as its financial center. Over the years, the waterfront has grown from a working commercial seaport into a popular leisure destination. With community input, out team was able to help to visualize the siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s immense potential and developed a design that expanded the public open space for outdoor recreation and cultural activities. The plan also improved pedestrian and bicycle access, increasing connections to the waterfront and integrating City Dock into the fabric of Annapolis for generations to come.

[OLIN, partners: Skip Graffam and Richard Newton, 2012]

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

market square

city dock promenade

exiting and proposed open space

exiting and proposed affected flood zone

626.893.8610

FIELD CONSTRUCTS COMPETITION DUCK BLIND IN PLAIN SITE This proposal for a temporary pavilion at Circle Acres called attention to the double identity of the park. The site had previously been a land fill and had now been restored as a nature preserve and park for the local community. Our proposal, "Duck Blind in Plain Site," commented on this contextual tension. Heightened through its material composition: a double-sided brick construction features high-contrast post-consumer recycled materials as cladding on the interior, while the exterior features grass harvested from the seasonal cycle of local ecologies. Our design proposal was selected for construction and display during two week long artist festival known as East Austin's We organized and performed the delivery and construction of the piece on site, working through many of the design issues in the months prior to the event. The bricks were constructed from a polypropylene and cut on a CNC mill and constructed through a series of complex folds and fasteners. We reached out to and collaborated with the local children's museum, The Thinkery and held workshops for the children in the community regarding geometry, camouflage, and pattern making.

[op.AL with And.Either.Or, 2015]

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

Traditional Hunting Blind

Pixilation studies

dimensional camouflage

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

Military Camouflage

Ghillie Suit

626.893.8610

camouflage raffia

mesh exterior face plate

structural "duck" brick

interior face plate

during installation

installation outreach

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

view through oculus

first visitor

626.893.8610

GOWANUS AXIS CIVITAS COMPETITION FIELD STATION OF THE INDUSTRIAL SUBLIME

The Gowanus Canal Conservancy hosts an annual international ideas competition regarding redevelopment along the canal. Axis Civitas invited designers to locate an urban field station to monitor the canal's condition and host community events. Our proposal looked far into the canal's future and deep into its past. Since its colonization by the Dutch in the 17th century, New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outer boroughs have been a geography of externalized infrastructure, a landscape of displaced logistics necessary for the functioning of the ever growing metropolis. Now, as the center periphery based expansion of New York washes new people into locations such as the Gowanus the process repeats and pushes these invisible ugly infrastructural systems farther afoot. The Field Station of the Industrial Sublime was situated as a linear object on this edge condition and incorporated two infrastructural systems. The historic canal is drained to serve as waste water treatment infrastructure for Brooklyn, and Gowanusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; adjacent ghost streams will be reclaimed as wetlands to aid in storm-water mitigation. The reintroduction of this historic ghost stream adjacent to the canal will increase the holding capacity of the watershed during large storm events and naturally filter the street runoff from Park Slope before it can reach Gowanus Bay.

[op.AL, 2015]

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

UNION ST

CARROLL ST

3RD ST

9TH ST RED HOOK SCHOOL

COLUMBIA ST

HICKS ST

DIMATTINA PLAYGROUND

SUMMIT ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL

PAVE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL

THE BROOKLYN NEW SCHOOL

HENRY ST PS 29

CLINTON ST RED HOOK RECREATION CENTER INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BROOKLYN

KIDVILL CARROLL GARDENS

COURT ST

RH-601

HANNAH SENESH DAY SCHOOL

RH-035

RH-031

CARROLL PARK

ST MARYS PARK

SMITH ST

PS 58 THE CARROLL SCHOOL

PS 32

HOYT ST

OH-607

BOND ST

RH-034

RH-033

RIVENDELL SCHOOL

RH-038

RH-037

RH-036

OH-007

OH-005

RISING ALTERNATIVE

ENNIS PLAYGROUND

BOERUM PARK

SAINT AGNES SCHOOL

NEVINS ST / 2ND AVE THOMAS GREENE PLAYGROUND

3RD AVE

PS 372 THE CHILDREN’S SCHOOL

PS 124 SILAS B DUTCHER

AL-MADINAH SCHOOL

4TH AVE

PS 133 GARDEN OF UNION

5TH AVE

WASHINGTON PARK

AVALON ACADEMY

MIDDLE SCHOOL 51 BEANSPROUTS NURSERY SCHOOL

PS 39 HENRY BRISTOW

THE BERKELEY CARROLL SCHOOL

WILLIAM ALEXANDER MIDDLE SCHOOL 51 PARK SLOPE COLLEGIATE

PARK SLOPE SCHOOL

HELEN OWEN CAREY CHILD DEV CENTER

PARK SLOPE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

6TH AVE

7TH AVE

PS 77

8TH AVE

GOWANUS CANAL - COMBINED SEWAGE OUTFALL, ADJACENT LOCAL EDUCATION FACILITIES, GHOST - STREAMS

GHOST STREAM

UNION ST

SEDIMENTATION TANKS

CARROLL ST

3RD ST

9TH ST

SECONDARY AERATION ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS

RED HOOK

DISINFECTION TANKS GOWANUS

FIELD STATION

OWLS HEAD

+ +

NEWTOWN CREEK

CONEY ISLAND

ACCESS BRIDGES

BROOKLYN SEWER-SHEDS

PLAYSCAPES COMPETITION PLANT A BALL PARK The competition hosted by the Building Trust International had over 500 registered entrants and a jury including representatives from, Project for Public Spaces, BMW Guggenheim Lab, Landscape Architects Network, 3Space, Neon Stash, Land8 and academics & professionals from the fields of architecture and landscape design. The brief was to design a playscape, either sited or siteless. The jury awarded Plant-A-Ball parks an honourable mention due to the proposals high level of originality, innovative prefabricated design and ability to be constructed on various sites. Plant a BALL parks created a series of play structures that not only generate a sense of place, but also house a synergy of interventions at the site and city scale. The sphere is ideal for capturing the imagination of children as well as providing a versatile shape in which to encapsulate the proposed interior play program. A flexible primitive volume that can be manipulated into other platforms of play. The orbs height and scale provide adequate housing for the planting compartments above, as the shellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design enables the trees and plantings space to grow through the membrane and stabilize itself with the existing sub-grade. This experimentation of play, integrated with ecology, provides an educational component for the children while they play amongst the BALLS. In addition to the BALLS being rehabilitation vehicles for different types of play: slides, swings, pools, climbing, and spinning; they also bring an ecological component into the parks. Through appropriate selection of tree and plant types, the BALLS could also provide habitat in both the urban and rural settings. Establishing these structures as multi functional facets for each site, they also allow high flexibility in terms of applicable program, based on the scale of each site.

[op.AL, 2013]

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

pool ball

climbing ball

merry go round ball

ball section

swing ball

slide ball

ball plan

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

626.893.8610

REDFORD GARDENS COMPETITION ABOVE THE GRAIN The Redford Gardens solicits proposal each year to replace a series of gardens for the opening of the summer festival. Each temporary gardens are to be designed with an individual central concept that could be clearly articulates a degree on interactivity that encourages visitors to enter with enthusiasm and leave with a wish to dialogue and discuss. Fields of grain yield the most crops when planted as dense wall of vegetation. Insulation and pollination rule this typical agricultural condition, establishing a dense grain forest, often utilized as setting to heighten mystery and suspense in cinema. A periscope is an instrument that creates an optic threshold, transporting the viewer to a previously inaccessible datum to perceive activities beyond an obstruction. In Above the Grain a range of periscopes are deployed across the garden, wherein traditional crop rotation takes place, establishing an active ecological system as well as a new field for discovery and memory. The three types of crop, corn, soybean, and wheat were selected to both reflect the grains of the Canadian landscape, but also to establish multiple heights of visible obstacle when meandering in the field. Visitors wander through the grain maze with walls of flourishing vegetation above their heads, at their eye level, and at their ankles throughout the seasonal garden.

[op.AL, 2014]

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

clustered periscopes

site plan

FE ST I VA L: J U N E 2 7 – S E P T E MBE R 2 7

Poacea Zea Mays / C O R N 8'–10'

Fabaceae Glycine Max / SOY B E A N 6’–7’

Poaceae Triticum / W H E AT 4’–5’

4 2 feet jan

feb C ROP COV E R

periscope height vs crop cycle

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

mar

apr

may G ROWTH

jun

jul

aug F U LL H E I GH T

sep

oct

nov HARVEST

dec

variable height secondary mirror

vinyl decal

orange powdercoated aluminum

non-reflective flat black coat

Mirror fastened in corner

shallow pre-cast concrete footing

626.893.8610

FAR ROCAWAY COMPETITION CONDUIT COMMUNITY Storm surge and sea-level rise have gained much attention with regard to the design of our cities in the last two decades due to the noticeable increase and frequency of intense hurricanes in dense areas. In combination with climate change and rising sea levels these cataclysmic events are becoming more destructive financially, identifying weaknesses within current infrastructural and physical planning. This natural problem calls for new landscape and urban planning prototypes that armor the shoreline while still enabling it with the development demands of contemporary society. Conduit Community, as a prototype for the larger Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waterfront strategy, creates a raised promenade laminating an infrastructural line with cultural meaning. This promenade bends, thickens and offers spurs to absorb other infrastructural nodes such as the elevated subway dropoff and nature preserve. The main spur connects to a floating energy collector lookout platform over the Atlantic. The energy sphere, works bi-fold to collect the natural energy resources of its surrounds. The skin of ETFE with Photovoltaic inserts channels the sun while it is connected Booey system harnesses wave energy; feeding all the energy back into underground Dyke Conduit.

[op.AL, 2013]

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

solar panel energy ball

new development

nature preserve proposed systems

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

626.893.8610

PATCHING THE VOID: CITIES ALONG THE ERIE CANAL Cities undergo continual changes to their development and currently many post-industrial cities are shrinking. These changes are continuous and intensified by different social, political, environmental, economic, and technological conditions which make cities an ever-evolving organism unique unto themselves. In the past, the focus of planning was for growth and then for redevelopment, but now, many cities are exploring how to best reverse engineer their existing development. How do we, as landscape architects, attempt to undo or alter the growth that has taken place in these areas and is now in need of remediation? There are a number of possible answers and frameworks to address these questions; however, this project focuses on current best practices and how this type of change has been implemented in the United States. In addition, as the post-industrial cities I examine enter a new phase in their history, I strive to use the redevelopment tools of landscape architecture to promote a positive and more balanced future. My goal is that through changing the core of their landscapes, these cities can begin to improve not only the natural surroundings but also the physical, social, and economic environments for their residents. [Graduate School of Design, spring thesis 2011, advisor: John Stilgoe]

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

270,240

207,284 2.3 average household size

2.4 average household size

9.4% UNEMPLOYED

9.8% UNEMPLOYED

residents with income below 50% of the poverty level

45%

44%

31%

residents with income below 50% of the poverty level

48%

45%

26%

20%

16% 18% 8% WHITE

BLACK

AM. INDIAN

ASIAN

Demographics of Poverty

.09%

47% female male

construction .02% manufacturing transportation trade retail finance services public administration

WHITE

BLACK

1% 2%

AM. INDIAN

ASIAN

HISPANIC

Demographics of Poverty

25%

agriculture mining

HISPANIC

53%

5.19% 5% 5% 7%

mining

manufacturing transportation retail finance

40%

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

.1%

female

construction 0%

trade

10%

26.4%

agriculture

services public administration

52.2%

4.6% 8.86% 6.32% 5.75% 8.7% 4.33%

47.8% male

34%

NEIGHBORHOODS

42 sq. miles of land HOUSING

COMMERCIAL

COMMUNITY

INDUSTRY

TRANSPORTATION

4.78 sq. vacant

BUFFALO

RECREATION

VACANCIES

11% vacant 67 sq. miles of land

NEIGHBORHOODS

HOUSING

COMMERCIAL

COMMUNITY

INDUSTRY

2.5 sq. miles vacant

ROCHESTER

TRANSPORTATION

RECREATION

VACANCIES

4% vacant

LP LANDSCAPE PATCH

PP PARK PATCH

EP ENERGY PATCH

FP FARMING PATCH

CP COMMUNITY PATCH

AP ART PATCH

EP EDUCATION PATCH

EP ECOLOGY PATCH

jbirkeland@post.harvard.edu

small (0-3,000 sq. ft.)

medium (3,000-50,000 sq. ft.)

PROGRAM

FEATURES

• minimal planting • native plants • multi-purpose use

• trees • shrubs • native grass

• • • • • • •

dog park sports park pathways playgrounds hiking trails picnic areas skate park

trees shrubs native grass sports fields rest rooms site furnishings hardscape

• renewable energy forms • sun harvesting areas

• solar panels • biomass facilities • electric transformers

• • • • • •

medium scale agriculture production poly culture crop rotation orchards crop harvesting community outreach localism

• • • • • •

crops fruit trees composting parking hardscape water harvesting

• • • • •

raised beds hydroponics heirloom vegetables cut flowers farmers markets

• • • • • • •

construction tools fencing timber beds composting green houses seeds water harvesting

• • • •

opportunity for art rotation graffiti wall art exhibitions festivals

• walls from used buildings • signage

• • • • • •

reading rooms amphitheater nature center historic sites connected to schools pedestrian friendly

• • • • • • •

• • • •

animal habitat restoration migratory birds fly overs wetland restoration limited human access

• pathways • informative signage • nature center

gathering spaces informative signage bike racks hardscape site furnishings parking water collection

large (50,000 + sq. ft.) 626.893.8610