Laura Rennekamp Portfolio 2013 by Laura Rennekamp

Laura Rennekamp Laura Rennekamp Portfolio (a) 1233 Palethorp St. Philadelphia Pa, 19122 (c) 803.608.4511 (e) laurarennekamp@gmail.com

Sylvan Grove:

National Mall Design Competition Internal Team: Hallie Boyce, Skip Graffam, Greg Burrell, Ben Monette, Jennifer Birkeland, Vivian Martinez, Nick Mitchell Outside Collaborators: Weiss/Manfredi Photos: Courtesy of OLIN

Dilworth Plaza:

Philadelphia Construction Administration Internal Team: Susan Weiler, Richard Roark, Greg Burrell, David Whitty, Ben Monette, Kasey Toomey Outside Collaborators: Urban Engineers, CVM, Kiernan Timberlake Photos: Courtesy of OLIN

Steinberg/ Detrich Hall:

University of Pennsylvania Concept Design Internal Team: Richard Newton, Josh Leaskey, Outside Collaborators: KlingStubbins Photos: Courtesy of OLIN

Professional Portfolio

Sylvan Grove

National Mall: Washington DC This OLIN + Weiss/Manfredi collaboration focused on transforming the landscape into a national stage. It preserves visual connections taken from the White House, and the Jefferson Memorial; while reestablishing a physical connection to the Tidal Basin and the newly constructed Martin Luther King Memorial. Throughout the design process my colleague Nick Mitchell and I constructed multiple models. This enabled an extremely comprehensive understanding of the site, its scale, and topography. After reviewing the models and the site analysis data it became apparent that the top tier of the amphitheater could be extended across Independence Avenue. This design change created the Woodland Walk; reuniting the Mall with the basin.

Section through Washington Monument and Sylvan Grove Amphitheater

Dilworth Plaza Philadelphia

Dilworth Plaza is located at the base of Philadelphiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s City Hall. The redesigned plaza will reinvigorate the city center by creating a flexible space for seasonal performances, events, and everyday gatherings. Universal Accessibility to the plaza and the access routes to the transit network below were major reasons for the redesign. Features include an interactive fountain, ice rink, lawn, cafe, and seating areas.

PULSE - A kinetic art instillation designed by Janet Echelman. Pulse utilizes cutting-edge technology by combining atomized water with light-emitting diodes to trace the transit system below. When trolly cars and subways come and go from Suburban Station the colored mist will ignite and travel across the plaza illustrating the pulse of the city. The artistic display is the focus of the larger 185 x 60 foot fountain; a constant thin layer of water covering the area conveys the light of the Pulse.

Curved benches will be located throughout the plaza for friends to gather. Structures emerge from the paving and transform into the seating/retention walls. These retaining walls support the soil needed for the six tree groves that create the oasis around City Hall. Performing Construction Administration for the civic project that is Dilworth Plaza, in the heart of a major metropolitan area, required constant problem solving on an extremely detailed level. Revisiting site

elements and details to foresee conflicts and keep costs in check was a daily requirement. Visualizer Chris Landau and I parametrically redesigned the benches and produced a new set of construction documents. This successfully decreased the project budget by re-designing the custom benches/walls to use more cost effective materials and construction technique without altering the original intent. I coordinated and analyzed the shop drawings and was an integral part of the submittal and RFI process.

Steinberg Dietrich Hall University of Pennsylvania: Courtyard

The renovated entry courtyard significantly improved the visibility and accessibility to the existing Steinberg/ Detrich building. A sloped walk meanders through planting beds and seating terraces offering a quiet refuge to sit and study. Reclaimed Blue stone, already on site, extends from the plaza into the lobby; while ground cover fills the planting beds between the plaza and building to provide a buffer. Tall canopy trees create dappled light and shade without obstructing views of the entrance. Small flowering trees add seasonal color that frame the lobby and provide an intimate seating area at the lower level terrace. The grading directs storm water runoff to the central planting beds where it can naturally infiltrate.

Sylvan Grove:

Dilworth Plaza:

Steinberg/ Detrich Hall: Incubate Farmers:

University of Pennsylvania Concept Design Internal Team: Richard Newton, Josh Leaskey, DVGBC Student Competition Outside Collaborators: KlingStubbins Team: Anders Boodey, Grace Herman Photos: Courtesy of OLIN Year: 2009

Earth Play: Cook Wissahickon Elementary School

Year: 2008

Saul High School Campus Plan: Saul Agricultural High School

Year: 2008

Residential Woodland: Lower Marion Residence

Year: 2009

The Common Tie: Philadelphia Year: 2007

The Philadelphia Viaduct Masterplan: Thesis/ Capstone Project

Year: 2010

Academic Portfolio

Incubate Farmers DVGBC Student Competition

Incubate Brewerytown is a flexible farmers market concept that provides an accelerating social, economic and ecological revitalization to accommodate the constant changes of the local economy and community. This all weather market adapts to the environment. During warmer months the building peals back its outer skin creating a large open air market. Likewise in colder months the building can close up and house the smaller amount of participating farmers. Incubate will also provide space for storage, and offices encouraging local business by offering affordable spaces for entrepreneurship. The market is a concept to accelerate regeneration in Brewerytown.

Earth Play

Cook Wissahickon Elementary School

Planting Plan Earth Play is a master plan for Cook Wissahickon Elementary school. Derived with second graders through a series of design charrettes; the second graders reimagined the fences that surround their playground into a gateway that would showcase their work and connect the community. Earth Play Master Plan also explores natural play through creating wilderness areas where 26

children have the ability to invent their own form of play. Including an orchard with planting beds to reconnect kids with their food source, a lawn and rolling hills for sports, and shaded seating for gathering with a trellis that extends into the neighborhood. A set of construction documents was produced and given to the school with the purpose of gathering support and fund-raising.

Saul High School

Philadelphia School of Agriculture A campus master plan for Saul High school developed through an abstract process using of a series of line drawings transformed into 3-dimensional space. The 3-dimentional space created by the lines is then developed into the new building for the school. The final scheme uses a series of buildings that correlate the building program with the extended landscape. The landscape between the buildings are a series of connected water features or best management practices used to mitigate stormwater on site and create a pedestrian friendly atmosphere.

Residential Woodland

Existing Conditions

Residential Woodland was an exercise in stormwater management. With strict impervious cover requirements and steep slopes we were required to handle stormwater on site while creating an inviting entry way to this residential property.

Conceptual Plan

Existing Impervious Cover Area

Sq ft

Back Walkway.............................162.1289 Back door Patio.........................42.8612 Concrete Patio...........................52.6673 House.......................................... 1737.818 Deck............................................ 486.5539 Steps........................................... 40.9 Boulder Wall (east).....................47.3363 Boulder Wall (west)....................49.0521 Triangle wall................................ 13.3606 Shared Drive (off property)........1907 Shared Drive (on property)........745 Neighbors Drive.........................589 Residents Drive........................... 1175 Total...................................................................

nt Perce us

Proposed Impervious Cover Area

rvio Square Impe Slope Analysis 0.67% Feet

Sq ft

Additional Impervious.............. +70.00 Removal of Concrete Patio.......+52.67 Removal of Back door Patio..... +42.86 Removal of Back Walkway.........+162.13

% Impervious 0.45% 0.20% 0.17% 0.67%

Total..........................................=327.66 Stepping Stones....................... –21.00 Rock Gathering Space..............–150.00 Wood Gathering Space............–129.00 Main Walkway........................... –19.00 Total..........................................=20.66

0.17% 0.20% 0.07% 2.00%

Area

289 0.17%construction 162.1steep for Red areas too 0% 612

ay Walkw Back Pad Door Back ad P te Concre House Deck Steps ll East er Wa Bould ll West er Wa Bould Wall le g n (off a ri T eway d driv Share y) rt (On e p y a ro p ew d driv Share y) rt prope ors drive b Neigh rive ess D Burgu

0.2 42.8 73 7.20% 52.66 18 2% 1737.8 9 3 5 .5 0.16% 486 40.9 0.19% 63 0.20% 47.33 21 0.05% 49.05 6 0 6 7.90% 13.3 1907 3.10% 745 2.40% 589 4.90% 1175

% 29.14

Total

The Common Tie Reading Viaduct Philadelphia

The Common Tie revitalizes an abandoned Railroad corridor that dates back to the 1800â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. The large depressed corridor slices through the center of the neighborhood, segregating the site, creating a barrier. The Common Tie transforms the corridor into a commercial streetscape; reconnecting the community. This piece of corridor lead me to my thesis project, The Philadelphia Viaduct.

Section A: East/ West

Section B: East/ West

View looking down the crowded amphitheater at the movie projected on the drop down movie screen.

Philadelphia Viaduct Master Plan Thesis/Capstone Project: Philadelphia

Built in the 1890s, the Viaduct is a combination of earth-worked embankments, bridged steel structures, and arched masonry bridges that used to run commuter trains into the Reading Head-house (located at 12th and Market Street). This space is currently where the Pennsylvania Convention Center resides. Service on the Viaduct was discontinued in 1984, when the Center City commuter tunnel was opened. Today the Viaductâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s four commuter tracks have been reclaimed by nature.

My thesis looks at the adaptive reuse of the Reading Viaduct infrastructure to encourage sustainable transportation. The Philadelphia Viaduct Project is a linear park that focuses on connections, using a dual path system, that accommodates pedestrians and cyclists. The journey begins in the outskirts of the city, follows the old rail lines as they slip through several North Philadelphia neighborhoods, then arrives downtown in the heart of the city.

The character and essence of the existing Viaduct and landscape struck me as a uniquely beautiful. My intentions were not to modernize the site, but rather to capture the essence of the site, embody it, and make it functional. The Philadelphia Viaduct Project is to be an asset for the daily cyclists, dog walkers, and pedestrians. It is a place where local residents can come together, and a place to just be. 36

The Reading Viaduct embodies a vast range of emotions, due to its unique structural features, as it winds through the city. The Viaduct is explosively visible and celebratory to timidly meandering. The stretch of land and the feelings it evokes are expansive and powerful. Elevated Section (yellow) This section embodies a sense of exposure. The elevation focuses your attention outward on the existing surroundings and infrastructure providing a unique perspective of both the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s immediate and extended context. The strong visual connection celebrates the city and connectivity.

Submerged Section (red) The Viaduct ramps down to street level at Broad then dives down thirty feet submerging itself below the street. A sense of enclosure can be found here. This portion, unlike the first, provides a refuge from the city and a place to retreat. The focus here tends to be more reflective and inward. Although it is not fully enclosed, and still offers glimpses of the surroundings, it affords one a secluded place within the greater context of the city.

Enclosed Section (blue) At 21st street the Viaduct continues under Pennsylvania Avenue. This section takes on an underground quality. It becomes completely isolated from the street life above. Safety becomes incredibly important, but the allure and beauty of the space is all too enticing. Finally the Viaduct emerges into daylight in a wide field at the base of Kelly Drive, in Fairmount Park, just north of the Art Museum

Regional Connection Elevated Viaduct Submerged Viaduct Enclosed Viaduct Center City Open Space Schuylkill River

ÂŻ Together these sections provide a variety of ways to experience the city of Philadelphia and form a linear park that provides a sustainable transportation link from Fairmount Park and Kelly Drive to Center City.

Open Space for Neighborhoods Proposed Viaduct Park Existing Green Space

ÂŻ

Exposure/ Enclosure

The focus of my thesis is the exposed portion of the Viaduct. This Diagram conveys the experience of the building height adjacent to the elevated corridor as well as the structure beneath your feet. In some ways this section provides enclosure. Areas like this have potential for gathering and seating because the buildings provide a protective barrier from the elements. Other areas are extremely expansive and expose the city of Philadelphia as a palimpsest; a constantly changing landscape with remnants of the past still legible.

Viewsheds 1

As one walks along the Viaduct they are taken on a journey through a landscape dotted with buildings from Philadelphiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industrial past. Some of these buildings have recently been renovated into successful artist studios and galleries, others, still vacant, provide the area with the chance to grow and evolve.

View sheds

Program Analysis

Access on the Viaduct is limited, the areas circled are critical nodes of gathering and connection to the City below. This diagram overlays the existing social and circulatory systems at street level with the experiential qualities of the oasis above. A proposed dual path system for pedestrians and cyclists moves along the railroad tacks, highlighting positive views of the city, and the layers of its past. This master plan identifies three focus areas where the Viaduct can be connected into the surrounding context. A program is developed around these nodes to encourage and strengthen the community.

Masterplan

Focus Area 1: Center City Connection: Provides panoramic views of Philadelphia. Focus Area 2: Bicycle Transit Center Connection: Provides access to the Viaduct and the proposed bicycle transit center located in the abandoned bicycle factory. Focus Area 3: Fairmount Connection: Located at the north end of the site provides a winding bicycle ramp and new SEPTA subway station.

Focus Area 1:

Center City Connection Provides a unique perspective of the city and surrounding neighborhood. Amphitheater seating, angled to provide the best view, begins to break down the barrier along Vine street to welcome the city while still providing a sense of wonder.

Focus Area 2:

Bicycle Transit Center Centrally located along the elevated viaduct is an abandoned bicycle factory with its national reputation still visibly painted on the facade. A perfect location for a bicycle transit center equipped with a bicycle repair shop, rental shop, rest rooms, a cafe, and a ramp up to the viaduct just across the street.

Focus Area 3:

Fairmount /MFL Stop At Fairmount the Viaduct approaches the Market Frankford line just before it descends underground. A new subway station and meandering ramped walk anchors the north end of the Viaduct. Providing the neighborhood with two means of sustainable transportation.

Seismic Bench: 2011 DesignPhiladelphia Competition Team: Michael Cheaney, Chris Hanley, Chris Landau, Henry Moll Photos: Courtesy of OLIN

Volunteer:

Ivyridge Green, West Philadelphia Coalition for Neighborhood Schools Photos: Courtesy of Ivyridge Green, West Philadelphia Coalition for Neighborhood Schools

Yanako Green Wall:

Manayunk Team: Kyle Blackwell, Mike Cronomiz, Moon Krapugthong, Henry Moll, Todd Nicholas Photos: Courtesy of Henry Moll

Sylvan Grove:

Dilworth Plaza:

Steinberg/ Detrich Hall:

University of Pennsylvania Concept Design Internal Team: Richard Newton, Josh Leaskey, Outside Collaborators: KlingStubbins Photos: Courtesy of OLIN

Other Work

Seismic Bench

DesignPhiladelphia Competition The 2011 Designphiladelphia Challenge was to design and fabricate a bench in five days using only one piece of plywood, screws and glue. The design, focuses on a ripple effect, emanating from a point on the bench, exposing the layers of the plywood and creating passages for light. The ripple creates an interplay of conceptual opposites: dark and light, hard and soft, thick and thin, solid and void. The red plane at the base of the bench provides support as well as a surface for projected light. Winning Submission 8â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

dios in action

ble 4â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Volunteer

Get Involved, Make a Difference Volunteering has always been a large part of my life. As a high school art student I designed and mosaicked a large planter box on Main street in my home town of East Stroudsburg. As I got older and moved to Philadelphia I got involved organizations such as Tree Tenders, Ivyridge Green: Fountain Street Steps, West Philadelphia Coalition for Neighborhood Schools: Greening Lea, Community Design Collaborative: Morgan Village and many more. Getting to know your neighbors and helping to make your community a better place is largely what brought me to landscape architecture initially.

Yanako Green Wall Sushi Restaurant, Manayunk

The main focal point of the restaurant is the garden atrium and sushi bar. The faux tiled roof line, made of authentic 100 year old terra-cotta tiles, wraps around the first floor creating a play between indoor out door space; a technique used in many Japanese landscapes.

The green wall made of a metal screen overlaid with a wood lattice holds small plant boxes. These boxes overflow with multi-textural plants cascading down splashes of color.