MLA 2021 UMN
Landscape Architecture Portfolio
Ky l e Fr a n t a
C e d i n g C o n t ro l ; I n v i t i n g C a re
04
Mower County Collective
12
Casting Climate
20
Unveiling Decay
30
S o u t h D a ko t a Tr a n s e c t 4 4 ° N o r t h
38
Pa l i s a d e s Pa v i l i o n
42
Pa t t e r n P l o t
48
Contents
In what is now Minneapolis/St. Paul, wild rice - Zizania palustris, manoomin, psin - once thrived within the Mississippi River. This natural grain provided a significant and stable food source for Dakota and Ojibwe people and was a symbol of a healthy ecosystem. But this grass no longer grows along this stretch of the Mississippi. Here, Wild rice is a memory. With western colonization came commodification of land and water. The river was channelized, dammed, and dredged; and exploitation overcame care. This project looks to wild rice as the pinpoint of change. An indicator of time and place, of climate change, culture, and ecology. This natural grain can be understood as a way to get to know a place, to understand different cultures and perspectives - both human and more than human - and to understand possible futures. Can wild rice be welcomed back to the urban Mississippi River? This project explores a series of interpretive docks that provide access to the river in new ways, while encouraging the growth of this lost aquatic grass. Whether or not wild rice can ever return to this stretch of the Mississippi River is outside the scope of this project. Instead this project only seeks to provide an invitation for rice to return, while unlocking the memories that this place holds to be known by those who visit.
4 Ceding Control; Inviting Care
Creating Reciprocity with the Mississippi River • Capstone • Spring 2021 • UMN - MLA
C e d i n g C o n t ro l ; I n v i t i n g C a re
Key Definitions
Food Sovereignty The right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations. Food Justice Food justice is a holistic and structural view of the food system that sees healthy food as a human right and addresses structural barriers to that right. The movement draws in part on environmental justice Environmental Justice The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Keystone Species A species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.
6 Ceding Control; Inviting Care
Mapping Lost Wild Rice Ford Dam
Hidden Falls Regional Park Minehaha Creek
Crosby Farm
Bdote
Coldwater Spring Pike Island
Fort Snelling
River Edge 1890 River Edge 2021
A Brief History This project lies along the Mississippi river just above its confluence with the Minnesota river. It is one of the most historically significant landscapes in Minnesota, known to many Dakota people as Bdote. It is a place where rivers and people have come together for at least 10,000 years.
Forced Rice Migration
The recent changes to this now urban river become obvious when two outlines of the same river are compared. One river, shown in white, is as the Mississippi appeared in 1890. Here you can see a number of islands, side channels, and a rougher meandering edge. The other River shown as a black outline depicts the river as it is today, straightened and channelized to meet specific industrial functions. Daming and dredging have made this river nearly unrecognizable to what it once was, and those changes have had dramatic impacts on ecology and culture.
Wild Rice as a Site
A
The proposed locations for the 4 docks are shown as the black radiating circles. They will connect to the existing trails of Minnehaha and Hidden Falls regional parks. The first dock lies within the shadow of the dam itself, on a manmade island remnant often visited by kayakers. Here water moves slowly as it’s protected by the lock and island. It is also a good test site for reseeding if the dam were to ever be removed. The second dock location will be near the mouth of Minehaha creek. The topography of the river is encouraging and its proximity to a popular trail makes it a great spot to provide access to people. The third dock location will be at the mouth of floodplain inlet. This is the only connection to the old floodplain at this part of the river, and this location will serve as a good test site for reseeding if floodplain reconnection ever happens. The final dock location would be at the existing hidden falls boat launch. The water is shallow and slow moving here, and the proximity to parking makes it a great access spot for canoers or kayakers to load and unload.
B
C
Key Existing Trail Existing Road 1890 River Edge
D
Proposed Dock + Seeding Area Ford Dam
A
Minnehaha Creek
B
Flood Plain Inlet
C
Boat Launch
D
8 Ceding Control; Inviting Care
Dock Seasonal Change 01 All Year Round
Wild Rice Annual Life Cycle
02 Germination + Harvest
03 Late Spring - Early Fall
Dock Functions This dock is designed to assist rice by floating with fluctuating water levels. The docks provides access for ricers and everyone else. The low impact design works with seasonal cycles and is easily constructed and deconstructed allowing for change over time. The dock acts as a monitor for river health, as the source of seed will eventually take to the river bottom once river health improves. This is a space for community, for learning, and for access. Most importantly this is a space for wild rice.
10 Ceding Control; Inviting Care
Reestablishing Agriculture.
Community
Control
of
Industrial
Mower County Collective - the proposed incubator farm, community kitchen, and educational resource - seeks to model a resilient and productive future for Mower County and other agrarian communities nationwide. The collective looks to alleviate localized food deserts, give capital to a new and diverse generation of farmers, cultivate a sustainable polycultural crop system, and generate local economic activity. By working alongside the necessary yet flawed industrial agriculture systems, Mower county collective works to understand the rich agricultural heritage of Southeastern Minnesota and utilize that asset to create an indispensable community amenity centered around food; grown by people and for people.
12 Mower County Collective
Designing better agricultural practices • In collaboration with Mitch Bezier M.Arch • 5 weeks • UMN - MLA
Mower Count y Collective
Mower County Land Use
prairie 68% farmland 1%
P
<1% - Far
3.2K - P
people 3.2k
U
oak savannah 31%
Oak S
1850
Far
Hum
Oak
Pra
We
Minnesota Central Railroad complete
Chicago Board of Trade develops standardized futures contracts
Census shows for first time that more Americans live in urban not rural areas
Wheat Monoculture
Pre-Settlement Early Settlemt
14 Mower County Collective
Peak of public drainage ditch construction
1920
1865
Treaties of Traverse de Sioux and Mendota open up lands for Euro-American Settlemnt
1910
1864
Minnesota land is survey and the first plat maps are drawn
1841
One of Minnesota’s First Federal Land Offices opens
1848
1848
1800 The Dakota Sioux hunt for bison, gather native plants, and farm small plots of corn, squash and beans.
Diversification + Dair
Oak Savannah
Mower County Land Use 1850
Farmland
Prairie
Human Settment
1% prairie
Oak Savannah Prairie
92.5% farmland
Wetland
rmland - 90%
People - 39.1K
39.1k people
Urban
2% oak savanna
Savannah
1990
rmland
man Settment
k Savannah
airie
etland
Peak of public drainage ditch construction
Glyphosphate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is invented at Monsanto
WWII + Postwar Industrial Farming
1990
Depression + Interwar
Soybeans become Minnesota’s third largest cahscrop, rising from only a few acres in 1930
1970
Developmemnt of Livestock Industries
Meatpacking becomes Minnesota’s largest employer
1946
The Dustbowl devestates the agrarian landscape
1940
1939
1930
1935
1929
1924
ry
Number of Minnesota farms peaks
The infamous insecticide DDT is first introduced
The stock market crashes
Number of Minnesota farms peaks
Developmemnt of Livestock Industrie
Diversification + Dairy
Early Settlemt
Farmall Tractor introduced; widespread tractor use begins
Farmall Tractor introduced; widespread tractor use begins
Wheat Monoculture
Pre-Settlement
The stock market crashes
Census shows for first time that more Americans live in urban not rural areas
1935
Chicago Board of Trade develops standardized futures contracts
1929
Minnesota Central Railroad complete
1924
Treaties of Traverse de Sioux and Mendota open up lands for Euro-American Settlemnt
1920
1865
1910
1864
Minnesota land is survey and the first plat maps are drawn
1841
1848
1848 One of Minnesota’s First Federal Land Offices opens
e Dakota oux hunt for son, gather tive plants, d farm small ots of corn, uash and ans.
Many of Minnesota’s Ethonal Plants are built in the decade
Depression + Inter
ING
MCC Sight Plan Zoom
MCC SECTION
Community kitchens, office space, canning facilities, garden and test plots, residential units, vending space, and event space. These are just some of the amenities used to give capital to hopeful farmers seeking to grow outside of the mechanized agricultural world that has largely become the norm in America.
MCC Sight Plan
LOOKING EAST
Plot orientation was designed to allow for various garden sizes catering to different user needs. The smallest plots are located near the parking lot for easy access to people with disabilities.
FARM PLOTS
COMMUNITY GARDENS
GRAIN ELEVATOR
16 Mower County Collective
PARKING
270TH ST.
TRAIN PLATFORM
KITCHEN FOO
Parking + Wetland The Lawn The Plaza
The Collective The Garden The Platform
OD HALL BREWERY
Typologies of the mcc site provide opportunities for individuals or small businesses to grow foods, and on site amenities to process and distribute healthy foods to the local community. Residential units are available to people who wish to live on site.
GRAIN LOADING
GRAIN ELEVATOR
270TH ST.
The Plaza
The Platform
18 Mower County Collective
Agriculture accounts for only 3% of GDP, but consumes over 75% of water in Madrid. Farming has a major influence on how water is diverted from wet to dry regions, and how Spain’s limited river system is largely interrupted by hundreds of dams which affect natural systems and communities downstream. Current climate predictions suggest a 10-15% decrease in available water in the near future, as higher temperatures brought on by global warming mean more water is lost through evaporation and evapotranspiration. These current and projected conditions warrant a new way of thinking about the relationship between water and agriculture, and Casting Climate highlights the ways in which water harvest and utilization of microclimates can partner together to create a robust, and energy efficient crop yield for people while preserving the increasingly limited and coveted resource of water.
20 Casting Climate
Study broad Madrid • 3 weeks • UMN - MLA
Casting Climate
CastingClimate Climate Casting
0.9m
Harvested Energy X6
1 panel produces
1.7m
2.24kWh/d 927kWh/y
28°
1 person consumes 13.2kWh/d 4,818kWh/y
23°
19° 44mm
42mm
16°
all
Rainf
44mm 36mm
11° 10°
ure
10.8h
t era
p
Tem
30mm 9.4h 8.3h
6.8h
5.5h
26mm
7.0h
ht
Daylig
4mm
Jan
22 Casting Climate
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Harvested Rainwater
33° 31°
30,767,036 l/y 639 people
Matadero footprint
Total: 71,027 m2 Roofs: 41,067 m2
Rainfall/y
27°
Madrid: 436mm/y Marrakech: 286mm/y Madreilenos: 48,180 l/y
59mm
20° 50mm 37mm 12.5h
11.4h
14° 11°
27mm 8.8h 6.6h
9mm 1mm
Jul
4.5h
9mm 3mm
Aug
4.3h
6mm
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Madrid climate projections
Ext Dis Was
Natural Recharge
Water C
24 Casting Climate
r Stored Ground Wate
Collection
Mist
Piped Recharge
Control Valve
Sand
Sand + Gravel
Soil Profile
Buoy\Pump
Bobber Guide
Top Soil
Bedrock Irrigation details + soil construction
Sun Hours
Water Use [mm/week]
Artichoke
Produce [kg/ha] 5,458
36
Chickpeas
522
38
Cucumber
294
25
2,730
Eggplant
37
Okra
3,592
26
Peppers
1,653
25
Quinoa
2,043
9
308
Roma Tomato
51
Rhubarb
6,654
26
Sweet Potato
2,927 38
Swiss Chard
3,683
25
2,638
Watermelon Watham Broccoli
Growing Season
38
Asparagus
50
5,660
37 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12
0
10
20
30
40
2,070 50
60
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Crop specifications
[01] Retaining Wall Berm
[02] Footing
[03] Sub-surface Resevoir
berm construction + water reservoirs. [04] Overflow Pipe
26 Casting Climate
Berm construction + water reservoirs
Potential Expansion Degraded Lands 8,715ha Arable Lands 17,379ha Feeds 104,376 people
Madrid’s vacant lots
Sun P ath UTC +1 :0 0 28 Casting Climate
Repurposing Concrete
[01] Cut Existing Concrete
[02] Assemble Microclimate Berms
Berm Shadow Study
[03] Crush Remaining Concrete
[04] Aggregate for Water Collection
Aerial perspective of berms and garden plots + shadow diagrams + concrete reuse.
Unveiling Decay looks to reveal the importance of fungi in Northern Minnesota forests and beyond. The project aims to understand the complex relationships that are symbiotically formed between fungi, mycelium, and trees. Due to climate change, these relationships are in jeopardy. As climate change pushes existing tree species out of their habitable range, the forest is left to die, and the fungi are threatened to lose their tree partners. However, by utilizing species that are expected to thrive in the changing climate, and can simultaneously fill the niches of the trees that are expected to die out, the relationship between plant and fungi can be preserved. It is the goal that by maintaining this strong relationship, the species expected to decline can be saved, but if this is not possible, a healthy, productive forest of new species will be left to replace the old. The site, the Clouqet Research Forest in Northern Minnesota, is currently used to study the shift of Minnesota’s forests against climate change. This project aims to make this site accessible to the public through a series of interactive paths that highlight the forest’s generally un-noticed qualities.
30 Unveiling Decay
Climate change mitigation in Minnesota forests • 4 weeks • UMN-MLA
Unveiling Decay
Discovering Fungus - Dead Pine
Discovering Fungi Experiential Collages
Change Over Time Strengthening and maintaining the mycorrhizal network is imperative to the health of forests. However, a forest’s network strength is only as good as its plant diversity. It is important to have a variety of canopy, and understory plants that all fill vital niches in the forest. The path directs viewers to discover decay Each of these species form a symbiotic bond with the mycorrhizal fungi, and offer their own unique benefits to the forest system. The stand proposal calls for this diversity, but in a controlled system such as a research plot, the forest needs help to carry out its checks and balances, ensuring that one species is not left to take over the system. To maintain this diversity, a controlled burn regimen has
SEGMENT ONE | ASPEN + SA
A
B
Forest Diversification Using Controlled Burns Discovering Fungus - Dead Pine
300 Year Strategy
0
25
50
Northern Red Oak Sassafras Quaking Aspen Paper Birch Red Pine White Pine 100 Year Burn Cycle
33
32 Unveiling Decay
Controlled Burn
75
100
125
Discovering Fungus - Felled Tree
been set in place to maintain the strong forest diversity that would be found in a human-less forest. The strategy is focused on burning one quarter of the stand every 25 yeas, meaning that every 100 years the entire stand would have been burned once. This management Felled trees provide queues for direction change along the path practice creates a system of forest succession, giving opportunity to all species to thrive and make their own contributions to the forest. Burning every 25 years is also important because it ensures that accumulating woody debris is managed more gradually, instead of setting the scene for an uncontrolled catastrophic fire event. Maintaining forest diversity will ensure the success of our forests.
SEGMENT ONE | ASPEN +
A
B
Discovering Fungus - Dead Pine
150
175
200
225
250
275
300
34
Path Development Mycorrhizal Network Hub / Mother Tree Mature Tree Juvenile Tree Unrelated Species Mycorrhizae
Diversification Strategy White Pine + Birch - Oak Transition Old Growth White Pine Red Pine - Ponderosa Pine Transition Aspen - Sassafras Transition Oak + Aspen - Sassafras Transiton
Current Plant Life Birch + Jack Pine + White Pine White Pine Red Pine + White Pine Clear Cut + Rasberries
Path
Topography 1284 1282 1280 1278 1276 1274
34 Unveiling Decay
y
A Shifting Climate Shifts Plant Species
STAND 57 + Adjacent Stands
1984 JACK PINE
2018 RED PINE + WHITE SPRUCE
1990’s RED PINE + JACK PINE
0
25
1981 RED PINE
50
75
100
Promoting Decay
materiality directs portions of the path to decay
Exposing the Subsurface
36 Unveiling Decay
Tree Diversity Relationship to Mycorhizal Communication
Designing Fungal Diversity
In the recent past, schools of Landscape Architecture have discarded plant materials in their curricula as a result of an increased emphasis in landscape urbanism, urban infrastructure, and larger scale planning. This accordion book argues the importance of plant selection and expands the scope of planting design to include and emphasize the factors that determine the location of native species within a given biome. In a small group, we developed a simple framework to illustrate the relationship between climate, temperature, precipitation, soil substrate, and water holding capacity and the plant materials present in a given locale. For that framework, we chose to strike a line through the 44th parallel and develop a section through the state of South Dakota. The accordion book was reproduced and distributed to design professionals and educators in the state of South Dakota with the intent of providing them with a useful tool in their design arsenal for implementing planting designs that agree with the cultural and biotic demands of each specific biome in the Northern Great Plains.
38 South Dakota Transect 44° North
ASLA honor award winner • In collaboration with T. Schneider, E. Roeber, C. Tschetter, C. Roberts, and R. Drietz • SDSU - BLA
S o u th D a ko t a Tr a n s e c t 4 4 ° N o r th
40 South Dakota Transect 44° North
A sample of the accordion booklet contents
Palisades pavilion is an award winning parklet project that was installed during Design Week for the Sioux Falls Design Center Parklet Competition. The building method; a method that is simple, elegant, and economical; was generated by a sequence of layers consisting of 1/2” thick panels assembled together and braced using 7-1/4” vertical uprights. The form of the pavilion was inspired by the local quartzite formations at Palisades State Park in South Dakota. The Palisades are a hub for climbers, and Palisades Pavilion offers the same opportunity. The construction method of the pavilion naturally lends itself to climbing as the stacking layers can easily be formed into a “staircase.” The Palisades Pavilion Parklet combines exploration, climbing, and sittable space with history, nature, and design advocacy; all packed into 96 square feet. ‘Palisades Pavilion’ is historical and local, it is sculptural and informative, and best of all, it is interactive. Palisades Pavilion - Sit, climb, explore.
42 Palisades Pavilion
Pocket park design • SFDW competition winner • In collaboration with Thomas Schneider • 4 weeks • SDSU - BLA
Palisades Pavilion
Preliminary Concept SketchesSketches Preliminary Concept
Concept Sketches
Finding FormIterations Through Subtraction Modeling Modeling Process
Pavilion Layers Pavilion Layers
Pavilion Layers
44 Palisades Pavilion
The competition required an active element
The competition required seating for two
Shapes were cut using a cnc router
Pavilion was partially prefabricated
46 Palisades Pavilion
Pavilion had to be assembled on site in under 2 hrs
The pavilion was designed to allow views between the street and sidewalk
As a part of the Great Lakes Design Lab (GLDL), this patterning work is part of a larger interpretive trail design located on the Esker Trail at the University of Minnesota’s Cloquet Forestry Center (CFC). The trail is home to a stand of planted red pine mixed with some birch, aspen, a couple of spruce, cedar, and the occasional white pine. At the moment, we have implemented two test sites, the ‘Pattern Plot’ and the ‘Canopy Viewer’. The Pattern Plot tests patterning methods of Balsam trunks on the forest floor, using in-situ material harvesting of the Balsam to create these patterns. The forestry center is working to thin balsam fir in the old growth Red pine stands to reduce the risk of fire, and the GLDL has partnered with the CFC to explore creative ways to use the felled balsam while honoring the ecosystem. The patterning takes advantage of a steep incline that brings the forest floor into view. The pattern is an array that is formed off of two decaying red pines that had previously fallen. This patterning leads the viewer up the hill and directs their views to the fallen red pine and those that are still standing, telling a larger story of forest succession and change over time. We can’t wait to see what grows up in between the laying balsam trunks!
48 Pattern Plot
In-situ design • Collaborative built work with GLDL team members • 1 day • UMN - MLA
P a t t e r n P l o t o n th e E s ke r Tr a i l
50 Pattern Plot
Axon Created by Kyle Franta from map generated by Brett Stolpestad.
Balsam Array on the Red Pine Hill
Kyle Franta MLA 2021 UMN
Contact frant275@umn.edu