JESSICA MARIE NIELSEN
DESIGN PORTFOLIO
Auburn University Masters of Landscape Architecture
CONTENTS D E S I G N W O R K S 4 - 33 O R C H E S T R AT E D M A N AG E M E N T
4 - 11
R E S I L I E N C Y R E V I S I T E D 12 - 19 A Q UA U R B I S 20 - 27 CO N N E C T I N G I N F R A S T R U C T U R E 28 - 35 A N A LY S I S 36 - 39 T H E T E N N E S S E E TO M B I G B E E WAT E R WAY
36 - 39
R E S E A R C H F O R D E S I G N
40 - 48
M A K I N G P E R F O R M AT I V E R OA D WAYS
40 - 48
A B O U T J E S S I C A 40 - 49 H I S TO R Y A N D R E S U M E
40 - 48
DESIGN WORK
Bananas
Bananas
O R C H E S T R AT E D MANAGEMENT
S U M M E R 2018 G A L A PAG O S I S L A N D S
B R E A K I N G D OW N T H E B A R R I E R B E T W E E N P R E S E R VAT I O N A N D P R O D U C T I O N.
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Image shows an axon of coffee, bananas, and Scalesia (a tree endemic to the Galapagos) being grown together on farms in the rural zones of the archipelago.
Scalesia
Preser ved patches
Coffee
Image of design strategy: layering productive species with endemics, natives, and habitat-supporting species
O R C H E S T R AT E D M A N A G E M E N T
S T U D I O I V S U M M E R 2018
G A L A PAG O S I S L A N D S
Working with a team that included a landscape architecture student from Auburn and an architecture student from Quito, this design sought to increase sustainable agricultural yields on cattle and coffee farms while also allowing access to these areas for migrating tor toises. Our strategy was to assume that all belong in this place, and to determine how best to allow this coexistence to occur. We coupled preser vation with production by layering coffee plants with endemic Scalesia trees, and we also inter wove cow pastures with remnant forest patches and gaggles of productive orchards. Finally we choreographed cattle grazing rotations to ensure that pastures would be kept permeable for migrating tor toises (which would be fed by the remnant patches and also by the fruit dropping in orchards) and productive enough to meet cattle grazing needs. This project also seeks to expand the discipline of landscape architecture by integrating design with land management strategies. While it does provide public access, it seeks to go beyond typical park designs and probe what the potential is for landscape architects to respond to larger questions about sustainable production and land preser vation.
P E R C E P T I O N: H U M A N I T Y D I V O R C E D F R O M E C O LO G Y?
Other Team Members: Alejandro Ramos | landscape architecture student Luis Loaiza | architecture student
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R E A L I T Y: N AT U R E K N O W S N O B O U N DA R I E S
T H E H U M A N N AT U R E D I V I D E |
C O N C E P T I M A G E | BY LU I S LO A I Z A
O R C H E S T R AT E D M A N A G E M E N T
S T U D I O I V S U M M E R 2018
G A L A PAG O S I S L A N D S
CONTEX T MAP
The site was located within the island of Santa Cruz’s rural zone, which is entirely surrounded by protected national park. It is set aside for human cultivation, and assumed that preser vation is not taking place, yet endangered tor toises migrate through twice a year.
CONTEX T & CONCEPT MAP
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SITE PLAN
I M A G E BY A L E JA N D R O R A M O S
O R C H E S T R AT E D M A N A G E M E N T
S T U D I O I V S U M M E R 2018
G A L A PAG O S I S L A N D S
This design was born from an initial discover y about the current and expanding relationship between cattle and tor toises. Currently, many farmers seek to block tor toises from entering their lands, but we saw an oppor tunity to match cattle grazing with tor toise migration. A great amount of time was spent determining a pattern for rotation that would maximize the number of cattle per lot while ensuring ample food for grazing, and a clear path for tor toises.
In addition to the cattle grazing/tor toise migration design, we layered as many forms for production, extraction, and preser vation as we could into the site. The location already had patches of forests, and we determined that these should be selectively cleared for cattle grazing and for the timber necessar y to complete the building por tion of the design, as well as farm fences. Where a patch was needed but not existing, we proposed planting new patches using endemic species. These patches combined made up many of the cattle plot edges. Other edges were fenced, or adjacent to orchards, which featured citrus trees.
C AT T L E R OTAT I O N P R O V I D E S O P E N M I G R AT I O N PAT H S F O R TO R TO I S E S
I M AG E S BY A L E JA N D R O R A M O S
CO M B I N I N G C AT T L E R A N C H I N G W I T H O R C H A R D S A N D R E S TO R AT I O N
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GRAZING M I G R AT I O N INTERACTION P R OT E C T I O N
H A B I TAT Tourist path
ORCHARDS Productive gaggles
Preser ved Patches
Migrating tor toises
Grazing cattle
Permeable Edges
RESILIENCY REVISITED
S P R I N G, 2018 M O B I L E, A L
P R OV I D I N G R E S I L I E N T L A N D S C A P E S TO COMMUNITIES EXPERIENCING E N V I R O N M E N TA L R AC I S M
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FORMER LANDFILL
WETLANDS
INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR
T H E B OT TO M N E I G H B O R H O O D
FORMER GAS PLANT THE CAMPGROUND NEIGHBORHOOD
M O B I L E D O W N TO W N
RESILIENCY REVISITED M O B I L E, A L
This design focused on reorienting the ebb and flow of water, infrastructure and cultural systems in Mobile, Alabama. A study of the histor y of the places revealed that the waning and waxing of these systems seems to have been influenced not by the interests of the Campground and Bottom (those neighborhoods existing right on the edge and within these systems), but by others. But despite getting “the shor t end of the stick,” these neighborhoods have proven incredibly resilient, adapting to changes as they’ve come. In the wake of both cultural and ecological change, it’s time to grab hold of that community resiliency, and see what can been done to help bolster existing community strength and create new conditions that will allow these relationships to flourish.
trajectories to continue, but in such a way that will actively seek to provide stability and culture for the people and systems at work, including urban concentration, expanded wetlands, and a network of parks. Additionally, the site design was located at the old gas plant in the Bottom neighborhood which historically provided electricity to the wealthy white neighborhoods downtown. The design transforms the gas plant’s remnant structures into constructed wetlands by resurrecting old walls and building on the old footprints. The new site becomes a community park providing ecological resiliency and a new space for cultures to emerge.
To accomplish this, I proposed allowing the current neighborhoods’
LO C AT I O N O F A D JA C E N T S I T E P L A N
COMMUNITY MASTER PL AN
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LOCATION OF PL ANTING DIAGRAM
SECTION ON NE X T PAGE
B U I L D I N G F O OT P R I N TS S E M I -R E CO N S T R U C T E D TO F O R M W E T L A N D S A N D N E W S T R U C T U R E S
FORMER GAS PLANT SITE PLAN
S E C T I O N T H R O U G H W E T L A N D S A N D V I E W O F P L A N T I N G S T R AT E G I E S
The piece of the park closest to the main street, and adjacent to a public school and college, provides ample space for people to gather, both in smaller groups and for larger events. Each structure is built in tandem with an ephemeral wetland.
Where buildings were not constructed, such as near the nor th-east corner of the design, planting strategies follow old building footprints as well. These areas are designed to change and adapt with time, just as the community has and will continue to do.
LO C AT E D A D JAC E N T TO A M A I N S T R E E T
B I O-S WA L E CO N S T R U C T E D E P H E M E R A L W E T L A N D
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PLANTING PLANS REVEAL LO C AT I O N S O F O L D B U I L D I N G S
P L A N T I N G S T R AT E G Y A N D S C H E D U L E ( N E A R 14 O N S I T E P L A N )
WA L L S O N S I T E M A R K T H E LO C AT I O N O F F O R M E R BUILDING EDGES
WEEP HOLES A L LOW F LO O D I N G WAT E R TO E N T E R G R A S S Y O P E N S PAC E
CO M M U N I T Y S TAG E
CONSTRUCTED WETL ANDS
C U LT U R A L M E M O R Y
RESILIENT COMMUNITIES
A DA P T I V E S Y S T E M S | R E S I L I E N T C O M M U N I T I E S
The focus of this design became determining ways in which public spaces could provide strength and ser vices to communities through their adaptive potential. Each moment in the park is designed to be usable in a variety of ways, in all conditions.
The perspective here illustrates this concept in a location which would receive periodic flooding. The concrete material makes it durable in the rain, and stepped levels allow visitors to determine how close to the water they want to get.
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F L O O D A B L E PAT H S
RIVER ACCESS
AQUA URBIS
FA L L 2018 L A N E T T, A L A B A M A
R E O R I E N T I N G U R B A N L AY O U T S TO C O N N E C T W I T H H Y D R AU L I C SYSTEMS
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AQUA URBIS L A N E T T, A L
Burdened by past industrial and infrastructural networks, how can communities adapt to new future circumstances, while preser ving cultural memor y and reorienting themselves to the physical landscape?
Tasked with pursuing a design which responded to many of the hydrologic-centered issues Alabama faces today, including contamination, loss of biodiversity and lack of water stewardship, this project sought to shif t the urban development of a post-industrial town in rural Alabama in ways which would bring economic and cultural value to the people, while also reinvigorating ecological and hydrological per formance. Many of water-related challenges in Alabama can be traced to larger-scale development trends. I began my design with an indepth analysis of what led to the current relationship Lanett and the adjacent town of West Point, Georgia have to the Chattahoochee river. Af ter tracking shif ts in urban development, and uncovering a uniquely “rail-oriented-water-adjacent� scheme, my response focused on three essential shif ts I hoped to instigate. The first shif t was to overcome the lack of connection and provide the community connection to the river, for how can we value that with which we have no relationship? Secondly, the design sought to integrate hydraulic processes and ecological generation, both with the aim of increasing water returns and hydraulic habitat. Finally, at the risk of beating a dead horse, the success of this design hinged on responding to the economic impact of the loss of industrial production. Rather than condemn production as an inherent evil, I embraced it as containing within itself the seeds of a new-old identity for the community. I used sites of past production and reintroduced new types of production. Each of those layers of connection, ecology and production looked to current systems in order to inform their layout on the site. For hydrology I used geography, existing ephemeral constructed canals and an existing grid of pecan trees. For production I used river morphology and process (to the south it informs location and orientation, to the nor th it informs program of agriculture because of the rich soils). And finally, on top of those layers of hydrology and production, public space cuts through and fingers out, aligning with the axis of the urban grid, and then shif ting on the river ’s axis to lock into the hydraulic grid. The public spaces were then programmed in as much as they were connected either to water collection or production, and thus they ultimately became about experiencing those things, and then finally having access to an open river bank for recreation.
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AQUA URBIS L A N E T T, A L
LAND BRIDGE
TO W N C O M M O N S
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REMAINING MILL BUILDING-NEW COMMUNITY HALL
V I S I B L E WAT E R C O L L E C T I O N
Orchard expanded across railroad
Demolished materials piled and seeded with meadow plants
New production under old orchard
ACCESSIBLE EDGE
Fisheries spawning pools
E X I S T I N G WA S T E WAT E R T R E AT M E N T P L A N T
Urban runoff collection in constructed wetland
AQUA URBIS L A N E T T, A L
SITE PL AN IN CONTE X T OF L ARGE - SCALE PROPOSAL
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Waste Water Treatment Plant
CONNECTING INFRASTRUCTURE
FA L L 2018 AU B U R N, A L
C R E AT I N G P U B L I C C O N N E C T I O N TO I N F R A S T R U C T U R E T H R O U G H E X P E R I E N C E S S T I M U L AT I N G N E W P E R C E PT I O N S
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View Point on Public path
CONNECTING INFRASTRUCTURE AU B U R N, A L
In a society which devalues infrastructure and is disconnected to the systems which allow it to operate, this design focuses on the growing discourse in the field of how to re-imagine public works facilities by changing people’s perception of those places. It is the unfor tunate reality that most people’s experience of an industrial or infrastructural landscape in general, and at waste water treatment plants especially, is like that of visiting a place with any terrain unfamiliar to your own--outside of a lived experience and appreciation of the inner-workings of that place, we do not value it. Spoiled by our love-affair with pastoral picturesque landscapes, we have a hard time overcoming our first impressions of less manicured landscapes. And for the past 200 years, the trajector y of urban system’s relationship towards its infrastructure has been one of segregation, limited access, disuse. Rarely do we propose to create infrastructure that is integrated into the public sphere, and in consequence, rarely does the public care to be integrated with the systems it so heavily depends on. In light of the current status of this relationship, I proposed a design intended to shif t that trajector y as it exists in Auburn, AL back towards an integration of infrastructure into larger systems. I reintroduced the surrounding public to their waste water treatment plant using a connecting path, a series of encounters, and a blurring of the edge of the waste water treatment plant with the surrounding ecosystems. I used a strategy of connecting people to the plant, and moments within the plant to each other, of creating spaces which allow visitors to stop and encounter the plant at cer tain moments of interest, and of integrating the surrounding ecosystem with the plant’s landscape.
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Miles
CONNECTING INFRASTRUCTURE AU B U R N, A L
S E C T I O N T H R O U G H WA S T E WAT E R T R E AT M E N T P L A N T PAT H
ACCESSIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE 32
1/2� rebar space for weep-holes foundation backfill
AESTHETIC VIEW POINT FOR WA S T E WAT E R P L A N T V I S I TO R S
concrete
CONNECTING INFRASTRUCTURE
P L ABN A NADL P E R S P E C T I V E AU U SR N,
FOLLOWING T H E WAT E R
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V I S I TO R ’ S PAT H C R O S S E S C L E A N E D WAT E R ’ S PAT H
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A N A LY S I S A N D C O M M U N I C AT I O N D R AW I N G TO U N D E R S TA N D A N D D R AW I N G TO C O M M U N I C AT E F I N D I N G S TO OT H E R S
THE TENNESSEE TO M B I G B E E
FA L L 2018 A L A B A M A R E G I O N A L E CO LO G Y
U N D E R S TA N D I N G T H E INTERSECTION OF H U M A N A N D E C O LO G I C A L SYSTEMS This project provides an example of the type of research I might engage in prior to, or during a design. Here I have mapped commodity flows on the water way, spatialized the development of the system, and probed the ecological effects of connecting two previously disconnected water ways.
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RESEARCH FOR DESIGN D E S I G N R E S E A R C H C O L L A B O R AT I O N: M A K I N G P E R F O R M AT I V E R O A D WAY S G R A N T AWA R D E D TO B E U S E D F O R R E S E A R C H, D E S I G N P R O P O S A L, A N D C O N S T R U C T I O N Work presented to Lee county Master Gardner ’s Society Opelika, AL, October 2018 Abridged version presented to Transpor tation Research Board Washington DC, Januar y 2018 Other team members: Valerie Friedmann (Professor) Alejandro Ramos (fellow student) Looja Shakya (Fellow Student)
M A K I N G P E R F O R M AT I V E R O A D WAY S While many landscape typologies make up our world, roadways have become more prevalent since the early 20th centur y. These landscapes, consisting not only of the asphalt itself, but also strips of vegetation on either side and sometimes in the middle of the road, take up and unprecedented amount of space. Rights-of-way (ROW) can be more than 100 feet on either side, and these strips of land, though they of ten resemble meadows, are far from simple. These are novel ecosystems berated by harsh conditions, and they are becoming more common. As these landscapes grow, it is impor tant for designers to take an active par t in imagining how they can fit into larger urban systems. Current methods of interaction are generally limited to mowing
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regimes. But more could be done if we are willing to take the time to understand their novel characteristics and the challenges they pose, including the challenge of public perception. This research therefore has two goals. 1. To understand what tools designers have to work with in these landscapes in terms of the vegetation that is able to handle the stressful conditions. 2. To evaluate the potential of this vegetation to per form functionally: both ecologically and aesthetically.
Q U A N T I F Y I N G R I G H T S - O F - WAY
A L A B A M A | L E E CO U N T Y | AU B U R N
M A K I N G P E R F O R M AT I V E R O A D WAY S
AU B U R N, A L
I M A G E S BY VA L E R I E F R I E D M A N 44
The study of the appearance of roadside vegetation was conducted from April 2017 to August 2018 in Auburn, Alabama along a typical urban roadside condition, mowed once weekly. Four one-meter by onemeter plots divided into quadrants were set up along the road, each one meter apar t from the next. One plot was mowed weekly, one was mowed monthly, one was mowed quar terly, and one is mown yearly. Each week, the researchers marked out the location and species of all vegetation growing in the different plots on sheets that showed the vegetation locations from the week before. In addition to weekly records of plant locations in the plots, photo records of ever y species were taken on a monthly basis to create a visual record of the plant’s characteristics throughout the year.
D I A G R A M BY VA L E R I E F R I E D M A N
M A K I N G P E R F O R M AT I V E R O A D WAY S
AU B U R N, A L
The second por tion of this research, which aimed to evaluate the ecological and aesthetic per formance of roadside vegetation ranks plants found at the site in Auburn, AL and also plants found along roadsides in Alabama that have been allowed to grow without being mown on a regular basis. It then compares this data to determine whether roadsides that have been mown regularly have an
I M A G E E X C LU D I N G TA B L E S BY LO O JA S H A K YA 46
established seed bank that will provide the necessar y functions and value, or if seed banks of other roadside natives must be established. Af ter completing the ranking analysis, the scores of plants found in the research plots were compared to those of other roadside vegetation.
A P P LY I N G M E T H O D TO F O U N D P L A N T S P E C I E S TO Q UA N T I F Y A N D V I S UA L I Z E P E R F O R M A N C E
P R O P O S I N G A F O R M TO E N H A N C E C O M M U N I T Y V I S UA L I Z AT I O N
M A K I N G P E R F O R M AT I V E R O A D WAY S
AU B U R N, A L
The proposed design identified storm water management as an impor tant ecological ser vice that roadways could provide. To create bioswales, the team designed a steel weir which could be slid into the ground without a foundation. The weir also included an adjustable notch so that it could be raised or lowered depending on water levels. Hydrophilic plants would be planted in the center of the swale, and a small por tion around the swale would be kept clear of vegetation. The rest of the meadow would be mowed on an annual basis. The design finally proposed that meadow species be planted in order rows, then the species allowed to drif t and intermingle, creating a more wild and woolly look.
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A B R I E F H I S TO R Y Jessica Nielsen hails from the small town of Colville in the northeast corner of Washington State. It was during her time hiking in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains behind her house that she first fell in love with the land, a love which she has been cultivating ever since. She attended the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University in Wayne, PA, where received a bachelor’s degree in history, and spent four years reading philosophy, theology, politics, Arthurian Romance Literature, and obscure fifth century Roman hagiography. While indulging her love of history, she also made time for minors in Environmental Science and Biology, and it was through those studies that she became interested in the world of landscape architecture. Coupling her love of the land with her passion for civic life, Jessica chose to set aside pursuing an advanced degree in Late Antiquity studies, and instead headed down south to Auburn University, where she has been studying landscape architecture for the past two years come May. Since starting at Auburn, she has greatly expanded her interest in the intersection between human culture and the physical world, and she hopes to pursue a career which will allow her to share her passion for making carefully cultivated places designed to ensure the flourishing of all systems, ecologies, and cultures. When not studying, she greatly enjoys gardening, hiking, cycling, trying (and not always failing) to bake bread, reading romantic poets like Gerard Manely Hopkins, and cuddling with her cat, Romeo.
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A B B R E V I AT E D R E S U M E Education
AUBURN UNIVERSITY MAY 2019 Masters of Landscape Architecture GPA: 4.0 Auburn, AL EASTERN UNIVERSITY MAY 2017 Major: History, Minor: Environmental Science GPA 3.95 Philadelphia, PA OXFORD UNIVERSITY FALL 2016 Associate Student Studies: Early Middle Ages, Romance Literature Oxford, UK
Fellowships and Awards
AUBURN UNIVERSITY OLMSTED SCHOLAR Chosen as the University’s 2019 recipient and in the running for the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s national Olmsted award JACK WILLIAMS SCHOLARSHIP Awarded for academic excellence and for showing excitement in design exploration SIGMA LAMDA ALPHA Member of student landscape architecture honors society AUBURN CADC STUDIO AWARDS Recipient of Top Project Studio Awards Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 TEMPLETON HONORS COLLEGE Member of the 2013 Cohort Recipient of Templeton Academic Scholarship
Experience
AUBURN GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT: CURRENT • Contributing to research efforts • Making drawings and construction details for design proposals • Engaging in mapping efforts and data collection • (Past) Designed posters for conferences and research presentations • (Past) Data collection for roadside garden experiment FARMER MORGAN VOLUNTEER INTERN: FEBRUARY 2018 • Worked at week-long community charette • Created community concept maps • Contributed to site research and analysis • Assisted in hand rendering • Created digital renders for portions of the design WILDLAND FOREST FIREFIGHTER: 2014-2016 SUMMERS • • • • •
Engaged in fire suppression activities Built trails for fire suppression and for recreation management Worked long hours doing physically rigorous activities Trained with GPS, navigation, and basic forestry skills Provided information to the public on fire safety
Proficiencies • • • • • • •
Adobe Suites: Photoshop | Illustrator | InDesign ArcGIS AutoCAD Rhinoceros Extensive coursework in ecology Extensive coursework in civic theory Significant experience with publication
ABOUT JESSICA
THANK YOU FOR VIE WING
Jessica Marie Nielsen | jmn0032@auburn.edu Auburn University Masters of Landscape Architecture | 2019