Jingchen Zhao Landscape Architecture and Urbanism Portfolio by JC Jingchen Long

JINGCHEN ZHAO

JINGCHEN ZHAO is an emerging landscape architect interested in sustainable urban design. Having graduated in 2017 from the MLA program at USC School of Architecture, Jingchen was previously enrolled at Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Penn State University for a year and a half. Studied abroad in China, Brazil and Ireland and graduated college with a bachelor of science degree in agroecology at Penn State University, she has held internships in major design firms as well as government and university entities.

MLA

University of Southern California

2017 Thesis Project in Frogtown, LA, CA (II)

2016 Hyper Urbanism in L.A Neighborhoods, CA Thesis Project in Frogtown, LA, CA (I)

2015

Internship Individual Project

MLA

The Pennsylvania State University

Internship

LA River Bowtie Park, CA Lee Ann Marienthal Gardens, CA Newport Beach Sealevel Rise, CA Christian Louboutin LA Office Entrance, CA

2014 Nicetown Skatepark, Philadelphia PA Bassenian Lagoni Architects, CA

2013 Fraser Heart Plaza, State College PA B.S.

The Pennsylvania State University Internship

2012 The Arboretum at Penn State, PA APGA Conference, Columbus OH B.S. in Agroecology, Penn State, PA

CONTENTS l.a river bowtie park newport beach sealevel rise hyper urbanism fraser heart plaza nicetown skatepark industrieel living selected work resume

1-6 7-12 13-20 21-28 29-32 33-42 43-48 49

LA RIVER BOWTIE PARK+TERRACE REDESIGN Professor: Alexander Robinson, USC

Yet

Guest Critique: Mia Lehrer

, whether it is extra width, ideal flow conditions, or a particular design, engineers would agree that there is room for improvements that would not jeopardize the existing flood protection. However, up till now it has been impossible for designers to find or carefully work within the specific and small windows of opportunities that there are. In this studio I looked refer to the formative visual traditions in landscape architecture as one of the influences in the formal re-design of the river system.

I explored what extent the intricate visual traditions of the picturesque and others can be helpful in reconfiguring the river. Because total restoration is not possible, we had to pick and choose, finding optimal positions balance between instrumental concerns and aesthetic.

TO BOWTIE

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

ENTRANCE

PEDESTRIAN

BIKE LANE

My take on designing a new form for the channel banks adjacent to the BowTie site, is to break apart the concrete channel and introduce the geotextile technology to re-shape the river bank. By using California native chaparral and sage scrubs, it’ll add resilience to the non-concrete river and stablize a thriving ecology.

5’ concrete pathways are constructed to separate the [human, wilderness] layers but to engage the [human, third nature] interaction at the same time during non-flood season. The concept to get “wet feet” and go as deep or as shallow as wanted will allow a critical multi-functional field and generator of cultural, urban, and ecological processes.

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

COASTAL TERRITORIAL DESIGN -- NEWPORT BEACH Professor: Esther Marguiles, USC

“H

istorically, the state’s interest in the ocean has been fragmented and infrequent. Special interest departments within state government have viewed this all-important resource with an extremely limited perspective. They have acquired and developed beaches, leased and granted tidelands, regulated the production oil, protected fish and wildlife, and regulated commercial fisheries with little or no coordination and without a comprehensive plan or framework by which wise and broad-based decisions could be made. At present, no clear statutory statement of responsibility for the development and use of the coast’s finite resources exists. The use of the shoreline is presently proceeding in a random, often uncontrolled fashion, not always in the interest of all people.”

Therefore, the purpose of the California Coastal Plan adopted in 1970 was to preserve natural resources, scenic landscape and recreation opportunities that can be used by all. By using the coastal plan as a design guideline in a regional design studio, the project in Newport Beach also adopted the 100 years sealevel rise scheme in response to current climate change issue.

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

+ strategies

Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coast faces everincreasing risks from sea-level rise. In the near future, sea-level rise is expected to exacerbate the impacts of high tides, storm surges and erosion. In the more distant future, sea-level rise could permanently inundate some coastal areas. Sea-level rise will result in valuable infrastructure, ecosystems and recreational areas facing increased risk. Policymakers and coastal administrators will be charged with making critical mitigation and adaptation decisions.

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

In this studio, I used the 50 years and 100 years sea-level-rise data and developed 5 strategies to make Newport Beach more resilient. First to raise houses on silts in Balboa Island for immediate 10 year storm surge. Then to build sea walls as hard protections before moving residents and commercials from Newport Pennisula to inland. Then to build coastal dunes to prevent 100 year storm surge.

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

HYPER URBANISM STUDIO -- ATWATER VILLAGE Professors: Gerdo Aquino, USC Ying-yu Hung, USC

“Y

Guest Critique: Ken Smith

uccie” is a new term for young urban creatives. They are a very unique group of people living in atwater village neighborhood. But current public spaces are neither sufficient nor encouraging the diversity of this neighborhood. To celebrate an identity of a community, research began with understanding every byte of the yuccies.

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

Yuccies are strictly “judged“ by what they eat and drink, where they go for hangouts, and every other aspect that defines their extreme urban hipster’s lifestyle. Over priced coffee shops, “cool“ open spaces are always on their radar. If we design a space that fulfills their needs, and lead them to social activities such as children education programs, community engagement and even hands on make-their-own park workshops, the yuccie energy can be amplified as a new urban identity of Atwater Village as well as to foster an interactive community.

Imagined Maker’s Shop

Urban Fabrics

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

roposed intereventions on Glendale Blvd include a wisteria corridor that will engage neighborhood festivals and other activities; corten steel planters serve as storm water bumpout to separate vehicle and bycicle circulations; reusable planters to widen and replace the current lawn island.

ight couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be a better time to hunt the yuccies down. On the Los Angeles river bank, musicians and street artistis will gather and enploy their talents to a comunal river talent. People who simply take a stroll will be on display and be an active part and contribution to the river night scene.

arks and open spaces in atwater village did not provide many needs of its citizens nor did it encourage diversities. Proposed urban fabric is a strategy to address the increasing life styles and encourage an urban attitude by the river.

Plan view of vegetable gardens in a balcony sized retaining structure made of stainless steel.

Perspective view of how its users perceive and conceive the river culture and make a vivid community interaction.

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

URBAN PLAZA DESIGN -- FRASER HEART PLAZA Professors: Christopher Counts, PSU Maria Counts, PSU

Guest Critiques: Aki Omi Ron Henderson

The Frazer plaza locates in the heart of a small

suburban town in central PA. In the first year studio I have learned design methods through model making and hybrid drawings. The combination of analog and digital techniques has advanced the project in conceptualization and visualization.

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

Hybrid drawings based on physical models

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

Physical models made at 8th scale provide a sense of the physicality of the space. The plaza features a gathering space, an amphitheater, a fountain plaza, a strolling garden and a poplar court. Through programming and planting design the urban plaza was given multiple functions and was able to address a diversity of needs of urban beings.

Spring season skateboarding at the plaza by the amphitheatre

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

Fall season at poplar court and pumpkin carving competetion

Winter season Christmas carolers

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

NICETOWN SKATE PARK -- PHILADELPHIA Professor: C. Timothy Baird, PSU

Nicetown skatepark is proposed in the Nicetown area

in Philadelphia. My design aims to provide a safe, open and sharing community by promoting skateboarding, social gathering in a public space. With safety problems addressed while conducting precedent studies, nicetown skatepark design proposal responded by providing an open perspective and pleasant planting scheme with various plant selections. Riparian marshland accomodates the needs of stormwater management.

From the city data aggregation, 6,188,463 people living the Metropolitan Area in 2000 (city-data.com), 1,517,550 of city residents in 2000 (city-data.com), 2924.42 or more people have experienced burglaries per 100,000 people. The reason why we need a park in this specific location is to advocate children education, provide community program opportunites and arise social responsibility.

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

JINGCHEN ZHAO

3 Residential

2 Roberts Avenue

See Enlarge Plan

Skateable Path

W Cayagu Street Bioretention Cell Outdoor Seating Annual/Perennial Display

Skating Bowl

Germantown Avenue

Bridge

Residential Bioretention Cell

Grass Hill Skating Bowl

Overlook Plaza

Ferns Hill

Skating Bowl

Breeze Plaza

Amphitheater

Lincoln Highway

Skateable Path

Prairie Hill

Skating Bowl

Basketball Courts

Bioretention Cell

4 Property Border

Skating Bowl

Bioretention Cell

Riparian Plants

Bioretention Cell Container Gardens

Skating Bowl Reading Plaza

Bridge

Wayne Avenue Gratz Street Bioretention Cell Residential

Dennie Street

Exploeded Axon Jingchen Zhao LARCH 520

Tree Planting Plan

Tree Planting Layer

Ground Cover Planting Plan Ground Cover Planting Plan

Lawn

Bioretention

Skateboard + Pedestrian Circulation

Skateboard+Pedestrian Circulation

Skating Bowl

Skatable Path Pedestrian

Skateable Path Pedestrian

Vehicular Circulation Vehicular Circulation

Nicetown Skate Park Plan Nicetown Skatepark Plan

Basketball Court

Outdoor Seating Area Vendor/Festival Area

Plaza

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

In Nicetown, Philadelphia, the site is located right underneath across the Lincoln Highway Bridge. To design an urban park specifically featuring skateboarding in a high crime rate neighborhood and partically covered by the bridge, design strategies need to address multiple performances such as its safety, limited planting palette, user behavior. An amphitheater will provide the openess and allow sufficient lighting in order to enhance park safety. The combination of plaza and planted hills will balance the depression of the skating bowl structures.

Residential

W Cayuga Street

Pedestrian Skateable Path

Bioretention Cell

Skating Bowl

Annuals/Perennials Display

Germantown Avenue

Outdoor Seatings

Oak Grove

Vendor Area

Event Lawn

Skating Bowl

Breeze Plaza Ferns Hill

Lincoln Highway Skateable Path Bioretention Cell

Property Border Line Bioretention Cell

Skating Bowl

THESIS PROJECT -- INDUSTRIEEL LIVING Professor: Peter Culley, USC

lmsted and Vaux laid out the central park plan in the 19the century to fulfill the fantasy of an English pastorial painting living in the city; Later in the 20th century Peter Latz renewed the heavy industrial site in Ruhr, Duisburg-Nord Park. It became the most successful model and pioneer in landscape architecture since remediating polluted post-industrial site was much needed in central Europe in the 20th.1

The purpose of this thesis project is to open a dialogue of what it is that we desperately need for landscape architecture to address in this century -- was widely and intensively discussed in the Landscape Urbanism symposium and exhibition in 1997-- and test the design ideas of inhabiting not dead industries but active industries to redefine expanding urbanistic, programmatic and infrastructural areas.

James Corner has touched base on a much different future landscape architecture is heading toward “In the opening years of the twenty-first century, that seemingly old-fashioned term landscape has curiously come back into vogue (eg. the High Line). The reappearance of landscape in the larger cultural imagination is due, in part, to the remarkable rise of environmentalism and a global ecological awareness, to the growth of tourism and the associated needs of regions to retain a sense of unique identity, and to the impacts upon rural areas by massive urban growth.”2

To research on this topic, Taylor Yard adjacent to the Los Angeles River is chosen and has provided a design medium. Designing a livable yet public space in an envisaged active water recycling plant in Taylor Yard is the key method along with archival research, site visits, case studies, and design case studies.

1 Udo Weilacher, Syntax of Landscape: The Landscape Architecture of Peter Latz and Partners, Birkhauser, 2008. 2 James Corner, “Terra Fluxus” in The Landscape Urbanism Reader, Charles Waldheim, ed. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006.

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

Baldwin Hills Oil Field A first study at the Baldwin Hills Oil field helped me understand the cultural aspects of an oil field landscape and the potential for public access, and laid a foundation for quickly designing a recreational park responds to the huge unnecessarily vacant space in Baldwin Hills. Then taking away the site for a moment, I will look at the broader urbanized Los Angeles area, analyzing the increasing urban density and identifying the potentials for public access to industrial setting.

Imagined Industrial Park

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

Los Angeles River--Taylor Yard Realizing parks are not just green spaces with aesthetic values, and that is definitely not enough for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urbanism, I will shift my eyes to inhabiting a new operative industry -- gray water cleansing utilizing the technologies from Lauren Bonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s water wheel, constructed wetlands and inflatable dams to achieve spray irrigation water standards. Other technologies of inundation (daming and flooding control), phytoremediation (mushroom fields) and polishing effluents using productive crops (canola fields) are also employed.

1. 20â&#x20AC;&#x2122; above ground paltform 2. constructed wetland on platform 3. housing across platform 4. mushroom field with oaks trees 5. canola field 6. flood observatory 7. los angeles river 8. bridge access

Soil Remediation

Canola and camelina from the brassica family are proposed in the fields for agriculture reservation. Research shows the capability to grow canola and camelina as a winter rotation in southern California. They will improve the soil quality overtime.

Water Treatment

Raised concrete platforms to allow buildings to built upon and over constructed wetlands. There are 8 native California wetland species in the contructed wetland provided by the Metabolic Studio. The plants will infiltrate water pulled from the Los Angeles river and remediate water quality to become irrigated to the canola field.

Inundation

Widened river channel with proposed inflatable dams will allow seasonal inundation. Porous membrane used to retain mushroom fields and infiltrate water. Water wheels from Metabolic Studio pull water from the river and dams control artificial flooding.

Increasing Density

Opportunities

In the past 100 years some landscape architects have really put together amazing work and revealed the unlimited vistas of landscape urbanism can become. They also broke the binary from complete dead industries to complete residential.

Although, industrial land use with large open spaces that people canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have access to is very much objectifying the landscape and using it as a total instrument. Some revitalization projects are no better than fantasizing the dead instruments or beating the dead horses in a non-poetic way.

A challenge to emerging landscape architects is to see the opportunities of city inhabitation and so much more that copes with the authenticity of a landscape and its special cultural significance -- industrial history. Strategic design combined housing opportunity with clean water treatment takes place in Taylor Yard, a previous (and current) industrial site.

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

2027 Los Angeles “...I sometimes indulge myself, by looking forward to a peroid of leisure, when I may collect these scattered fragments into a one more perfect whole.” --Humphry Repton “The Red Books“, 1790 As we lose touch with where our water goes, where our power comes from or how our food is processed, there is a missing aspect in our life. For example the way people look at the Baldwin Hills Oil Fields has been fearful, rejective, everything but interactive or educational. There are primary industries right in the middle of the city but the boundaries couldn’t have been more clear. As higher density residential starts to build up in frogtown, the river edges become heavier and indigestible, which could accelerate the fragmentation/separation of the river and make a community less interactive and more monotonic. Chances are, some architects/designers are tackling the designs that begin to connect movement to industries. Lauren Bon’s building project-- “Bending the river back to

the city” expresses the wish of integrating the river culture with the community by utilizing treated river water for irrigating surrounding urban parks through giant water wheels and constructed wetlands. Similarly Eggborough Power Plant, was designed to be “aesthetically pleasing and ecologically sound, it respected nature while celebrating technology; it refused to hide the products of modern industry, though it did integrate them harmoniously with the existing environment“, as an important approach to embrace a power plant as a living situation. (Katie Campbell, Icons of Twentieth- Century Landscape Design, 2006). My thesis project means to test living environments in new digestive industries at a human scale instead of an industrial scale, The test will use the Los Angeles River to inoculate new living typology into sustainable technologies.

It seems impossible to imagine human living experiences inhabiting the native Los Angeles River-- not just the perimeter but infusing the river culture. As clean industry is springing in Taylor Yard, it might be a good place to start the thesis project of Industrieel Living. With bio-degrading interventions on separate layers but overlapping with each other, the project aims to increase the city/river’s elasticity. By taking in all the water sources directly from the water wheels on the river (including treated black water, untreated gray water, stormwater runoffs...), the system will start to digest the “urban sludge” through layers of inundation, mycological filtration, ecological filtration and biomass production. Such practices are not only to improve living suitability but the overall health of the river ecology.

Relocated Factories and Learning Centers Renovated Galleries+Living Spaces

Flood Observatory Union Pacific Railroad Pedestrian Bridge

Condos Living within Industry

Townhomes Living within Industry

Inflatable Dam

SFH Residential

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

Communal Housing 20 Foot Platform with Constructed Wetland Filtered Water Storage

Filtered Water Storage

Illustrative Perspectives from Rhino Modeling

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

SELECTED WORK

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

Furniture Design ARCH 481 USC Fall 2015

LIGHTING DESIGN ARCH 577 USC Fall 2016 CUBAN CIGAR BAR

Cigar Lounge Area

Cigar Bar Area

Humidor

HYATT LOBBY--LONGBEACH

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

CLOTHING STORE--3RD STREET PROMENADE Using lighting design program AGI3, these projects achieved certain design criteria and codes for california commercial use. Visualization and calculations are generated from the design models. Dressing Room

Store Display

MATERIALITY -- OUTDOOR FURNITURE DESIGN Professor: Christopher Counts, PSU Maria Counts, PSU Beginning with designing 3 urban plaza elements with precisions lead to a final product of how they function together and serve as urban design instruments. Furniture including paving, seating and lighting. After a semester of material research we took on finding the best combination in an urban context through design.

JINGCHEN ZHAO | Master in Landscape Architecture

Digital model to physical model making

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T S R Q P O N

+ HP [1.RENDERED EDITED FOLDED SURFACE 2.CONTOURS ‘PLAN VIEW’ 3. REGULATING GEOMETRY 4. ANNOTATIONS: HIGH+ LP POINTS, LOW POINTS, SECTION CUTS] + HP

[1.RENDERED FOLDED SURFACE ‘PLAN VIEW’ 2.ORIGINAL GEOMETRY 3. REGULATING GEOMETRY]

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[1.SERIAL SECTIONS 2. ANNOTATIONS: HIGH POINTS, LOW POINTS, SECTION CUTS]

L K

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J I

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3D MEDIA PROTOTYPING G F

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ARCH 548 C USC Spring 2015 B D

Death Valley National Park Precipitation Wind Flow SCALE = 1:1

FOLDED SURFACE

SCALE = 1:1

EDITED SURFACE

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FOLDED SURFACE

SERIAL SECTIONS

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[1.RENDERED FOLDED + HP SURFACE ‘AXON VIEW’ 2.ORIGINAL GEOMETRY + LP 3. REGULATING GEOMETRY] + LP

SCALE = 1:1

+ HP [1.RENDERED EDITED FOLDED SURFACE ‘AXON VIEW’ + LP 2.GRID FRAMEWORK] + LP

TOPOGRAPHICAL CONTOURS GRID FRAMEWORK

MOLDED FOLDING

+ HP + HP[1.RENDERED EDITED FOLDED SURFACE ‘AXON VIEW’ + LP 2.CONTOURS + LP 2. ANNOTATIONS: HIGH POINTS, LOW POINTS]

TOPOGRAPHICAL CONTOURS TILES

Jingchen Media Assignment 1.2:09.27.2013 02.22.2015 Name:Zhao: Media 540 L548: : Assignment 1.2:

02/06/2015

08/18/2015

11/18/2015

JINGCHEN ZHAO

810 Stratford Drive, Apt. 10, State College, PA16801 Cell: 814-777-7737 EMAIL: jcdawn07@gmail.com; jingchez@usc.edu

EDUCATION

University of Southern California 17’ MLA | School of Architecture Pennsylvania State University 13’-15’ MLA | College of Arts and Architecture Pennsylvania State University 12’ B.S. | Agroecology Major (Plant Science Option) | College of Agricultural Sciences Plant Pathology Minor | College of Agricultural Sciences

WORK AND AWARDS President of the ASLA USC Student Chapter, University of Southern California, 2015-2016 Academic Scholarships, University of Southern California, 2015-2017 Departmental Assistant of the College of Arts and Architecture, Penn State, Spring 2014 Display/event preparation, coordinating within the department of landscape architecture and administration duties. American Public Garden Association (APGA) Conference, Columbus, Ohio, Jun18- Jun22, 2012 Student awardee of Penn State, volunteered as a lecture room monitor for the conferences.

INTERNSHIPS Summer Internship at Lee Ann Marienthal Gardens, Costa Mesa, Jun 2015- Aug 2015 Summer Internship at Bassenian Lagoni Architects, Newport Beach, Jun 2014- Aug 2014 Accurately preparing and presenting detailed plans and technical drawings, including illustrative site plans, construction details and specifications for the projects. Deliverable package preparing and documentation translating. Internship at Pennsylvania China Center, Shanghai, China, Mar 2013- May 2013 Document translation, marketing research, assisting registration of Wisconsin Center Opening Ceremony with Governor Scott Walker, proposal drafting, meeting and event setups. Sales Representative at Longwood Garden Shop, Philadelphia, Nov 2012- Jan 2013 Cashier and shop assistant on plant choices. Public Garden Management Internship at The Arboretum at Penn State, May 2012- Nov 2012 Curatorial assistance of plant labels, plant records, herbarium collection. Developmental involvement in fund raising, marketing, event assisting, pumpkin festival hosting, arboretum landscape design and giving informative tours to kids through k-12 and college classes. Daily maintenance at the arboretum and container garden design. Internship at The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), China, Summer 2011 Worked as a project officer solving exchanging issues among the Chinese government, the United States and British colleges and the Egyptian Agricultural Department. Assisted Dr. Geoffery, the president of Iowa State University and ambassadors from the Egyptian Department of Agriculture and translated documentation.

RESEARCH Internship at Plant Pathology Lab of Plant Pathology Department, Penn State, Fall 2011- Spring 2012 Worked for Dr. Backman of the Department of Plant Pathology with graduate students on their quinoa research, washing lab glassware, planting quinoa in the growth chamber and greenhouse for experiment preparation; bacteria inoculation, preparing PDA petri dishes, irrigation and other lab duties. Independent Research at Fusarium Lab, Penn State, Fall 2010 and Fall 2011 Worked for Dr. David Geiser of the Department of Plant Pathology on the project related to Fusarium specimens from India. Mainly worked on: Harvesting from pathogen inoculums and DNA extractions; Setting up PCR products; Centrifuging; Agarose gel electrophoresis; Comparing DNA sequences; Keeping track of sequenced data. Internship at Maize Genetics Lab of Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Penn State, Summer 2011 Worked for Dr. Chopra of the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences as a lab assistant doing basic gene extraction, DNA preparation, isolation of the plant pathogen, herbicide inoculation on plants, data collection and maize pollinations. Including both lab and field experiences.

SKILLS

LANGUAGES

English | Chinese | Korean (Intermediate) 49