PORT TFOLO I Lindsay Reul, BSLA MCP
Path of Career Interest
(green infrastructure)
(green infrastructure)
Sustainability
(energy efďŹ ciency) (systems-based design) (green infrastructure)
Sustainability
Ecological Design (mapping resources) (ecological design)
Landscape + Urbanism
MIT (MCP)
DDOE
Ecological Design
Verzone Woods Architectes
Sustainability
EDAW
Ecology
landscape architect + urban designer
The Saratoga Associates
Cornell University (BSLA)
LINDSAY REUL
Landscape
Archaeology Urban Design
Urban
Urban Design Urban Design
Economic Development (urban economics) 2002 - 2006
2006
2006 - 2009
2009 - 2010
2010 - 2012
2012
Portfolio Resume LINDSAY REUL
2012 2009 2006 2005
landscape architect + urban designer
EDUCATION
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Master of City Planning Blekinge Institute of Technology, Strategic Leadership in Sustainability Cornell University, Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture University of New South Wales, Study Abroad in Landscape Arch & Urban Design
RELEVANT PROJECT HISTORY
2012 VERZONE WOODS ARCHITECTES, Lausanne CH Urban Analysis Mapping & Systems-Based Design
CONCENTRATIONS displayed in this portfolio Landscape Architecture Landscape + Urbanism Urban Design Sustainability Economic Development
PRODUCTS
displayed in this portfolio Project Graphics Design Research Research Skills
2010 - 2012 MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Cambridge, MA Masters Thesis - Designing Landscapes for Economy Place Based Food Branding in Appalachia Agricultural Micronetworks Research Wealth Creation through Sustainable Forestry Aftercity Studio - The Civic Corridor MIT Energy Efficiency Strategy Project Research Israel Augustine Economic Redevelopment 2011 RIJKSWATERSTAAT MINISTRY OF INFRASTRUCTURE & ENVIRONMENT, Arnhem NL Room for the River Project – Mapping Biomass in the Ijssel River 2009 - 2010 DISTRICT DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, Washington, D.C. RiverSmart Schools – Center City Public Charter School, Anne Beers PS 1200 First Street Greening 2009 THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION, Washington, D.C. Landscape Performance Series 2006 - 2009 EDAW, INC, Alexandria,VA Dede Gorgud Park, Baku Azerbaijan Marvin Gaye Park, Washington D.C. Halstead III Mixed Use Development, Fairfax County VA Jones Point Park, Alexandria VA 2006 THE SARATOGA ASSOCIATES, Saratoga Springs, NY Environmental Impact Studies for Multiple Wind Farm Installations Hamilton College, SUNY Oswego, and Slippery Rock University Campus Plans 2005 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH, Clifton Park, NY Retrofitting Suburban Sprawl 2002 - 2006 CORNELL UNIVERSITY, Ithaca, NY Restoration Ecology in 6-Mile Creek, Caroline, NY Tropical Ecology & International Ag Development, Gamboa PA
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS & AFFILIATIONS
2008 U.S. Green Building Council LEED Accredited Professional, N.C. 2.2 2007 American Society of Landscape Architects Member
PROGRAM SKILLS
ArchGIS, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign; Rhino, AutoCAD, Microstation, Vectorworks, Sketch-up 3D Modeling, Stata, and Microsoft Office Suite.
Project
Dede Gorgud Park
Location
Date
Baku, Azerbaijan
2007 - 2009
http://www.dedegorgudpark.az/
Client:: Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan
Dede Gorgud Park was initiated with the development of the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy. The revitalization of the Park was meant to symbolize Azerbaijan’s international statement that they were an emerging modern country. The Park highlighted Azeri culture through Islamic architecture, cultural reference dedications, native vegetation, and local agricultural production. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Municipality of Baku adopted the mission of the Park design and the adjacent Ganjlik Square design to use in their bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. Dede Gorgud Park is
to be the “Central Park” of Baku, showcasing Azeri culture. The Park is centrally located 2 kilometers north of Baku’s central business district. It includes several great feats of landscape architecture. An artificial two-tiered grotto with native stone, renewable wind energy, an intricate pedestrian or cycling network of circulation, a “green necklace” of urban park connections, a constructed dry riverbed, and an inventive planting palette were all proposed. The park is a series of gardens linked by pathways of discovery. The gar-
dens include Dede Gorgud Monument Garden on the west, Botanical Valley south and east of the ADA campus, and Atashgah Garden on the north. The plaza, pedestrian walk, ...USING DESIGN TO MAKE AN INTERNATIONAL and steps between Tabriz Street and the Republican Stadium STATEMENT ON A CULTURE IN THE MODERN need upgrades of paving, steps, railings, lighting, benches, and WORLD planting design. To the east of the plaza, opposite the Botanical Valley’s east gate, is the proposed Village of the Arts, which could develop as a private investment.
A major contribution of mine was the design and construction documentation of the grotto @EDAW/AECOM Design + Planning On a team of three landscape designers and one landscape architect project manager, I was the prime designer to generate base material, site grading, cost estimate, landscape design, drafting, graphics, & Design Development Set. I most significantly contributed to the design of the grotto, the three playground designs, and the concept (and plant palette) of the nine climatic zones of Azerbaijan displaying in the micro-climate contours of the Botanical Valley.
project>landscape architecture
Project
Dede Gorgud Park
Location
Date
Baku, Azerbaijan
2007 - 2009
http://www.dedegorgudpark.az/
Client:: Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan
A.
I designed and developed the construction documents (including planting plans) for the three playgrounds in the proposed park design.
B.
D. C.
A. Photo of the Train Station Plaza Before Construction B. To-Scale Model of Dede Gorgud Park C. Red Outline Showing Existing Dede Gorgud Park D. Section of the Proposed West Gates to Match Existing Architecture of Dede Gorgud Park
DEDE GORGUD PARK
EYP / EDAW
In addition to the planting plan for West Park, the Botanical Valley, and the Grotto, I designed the new structure and riparian planting plan of the stream restoration. @EDAW/AECOM Design + Planning
15 MAY 2008
I co-designed the circulation and destination components of the park - one of several drafts shown here in this pencil sketch used to work out the logistics.
project>landscape architecture
Project
Marvin Gaye Park
Location
Date
Washington, D.C.
2007 - 2009
Client:: Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development At 1.6 miles, Marvin Gaye Park is the longest municipal park in Washington DC. Before the Park fell into neglect, used as a dumping ground and a staging place for illicit drug use, it was home to some of the most progressive events in African American History. The stream, around which the park was formed, was scheduled for municipal upgrades to realign the eroding corridor and rebury the dangerously exposed utility pipes. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development of Washington DC commissioned the new park design both to restore the impaired Anacostia tributary and to reform the economically struggling neighborhood “east of the River�. EDAW was hired to provide design consultation and Construction Documents. The Park
implements several low impact development (LID) strategies and eco-friendly designs. An in depth site analysis was conducted to record the state of the existing tree canopy, erosion problems, and invasive species, as well as circulation, park usage, and target problem areas. The restoration Marvin Gaye Park is intended to remediate the environmental and economical standing of the Deanwood neighborhood in DC. In addition to a continuous bike path and road connections, the Park improves the urban canopy, reduces stormwater runoff, restores ecosystem services, and enhances the stream bank structure.
I developed multiple custom design details for this park - most notably the recycled use of the stones in the mid-20th century channelized river walls throughout the new park design.
Illustrative of Lady Bird Johnson Meadows - the entry node to the 1.6 mile long Marvin Gaye Park
Before - Watts Branch at Lady Bird Meadow
@EDAW/AECOM Design + Planning On a team of four landscape designers and two landscape architect project managers, my primary roles were to map the urban forest, develop the riparian zone plant palette, and draft the Construction Documentation Set. I provided significant contributions to the design of the park, grading plan, and site assessment.
project>landscape architecture
Project
Marvin Gaye Park
Location
Date
Washington, D.C.
2007 - 2009
Client:: Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development
Heritage Green
Capitol Gateway
Lederer Center
...USING DESIGN TO ADDRESS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & HERITAGE Lady Bird Johnson Meadows
The 1.6 mile long park restored ecosystem services to Watts Branch (a tributary of the Anacostia River) simultaneous to opening up the space as an accessible public amenity. Public activity was concentrated at four nodes along the linear greenway - Lady Bird Johnson Meadow (park entrance), Lederer Center (outreach & education), Heritage Green (historic center), and Capital Gateway (eastern gateway to DC).
Perspective drawing of Capital Gateway by Ying Zhang
@EDAW/AECOM Design + Planning
project>landscape architecture
Project
RiverSmart Outdoor Classroom
Location
Date
Washington, D.C.
2010
Client:: Center City Public Charter School
In the second year of its infancy, the DC RiverSmart Schools program aimed to bring environmental and watershed education into the DC public school system. Five schools were selected with each round of Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grant funding to establish a curriculum and build an outdoor education space. I was hired as a DC employee to specialize in watershed protection, but because of my training in landscape architecture, I was given the in-house responsibility of designing and developing the plans for the outdoor school classrooms. Center City Public Charter School had match funding through a National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation grant and was therefore able to construct a more robust outdoor classroom design. Their RFP specified that they wanted design bids for the installation of landscaping features including: connecting to the city’s water system and installing a water source for the eastern part of the campus for the sustained maintenance of the landscape installations; creating an outdoor classroom with classroom seating, a lecturing stage, interpretive signage, and circulating trails; developing on-site urban agriculture via creating raised bed vegetable gardens and installing fruit trees; creating several different identifiable habitat and wildlife gardens; and increasing tree canopy with native shade trees. In coordination with several community charrettes, I designed the outdoor classroom and single-handedly developed the construction documentation (CD) set – plans, details, soil remediation, materials, phasing, and planting palettes. I managed both the business and design aspects of this project from writing the scope of work to biding the CD set to general contractors.
construction of the seating-in-the-round outdoor classroom (built according to my construction documents) @DC District Department of the Environment (DDOE) I was a one-person team right up to the point of construction when a general contractor took over. I was entirely responsible for the site assessment, design concept, financial management, and construction documentation (solely responsible for the development of all of the plans and details).
planting plan - groundcover and shrubs the highlighted area was previously planted at a public groundbreaking ceremony with DDOE employees and Center City students
rendered schematic design this educational outdoor classroom was designed for 6- 10 year olds
project>landscape architecture
Project
RiverSmart Outdoor Classroom
Location
Date
Washington, D.C.
2010
Client:: Center City Public Charter School
A.
B.
C.
I custom-designed several landscape features, including a small bridge, a willow trellis, and this seating-in-the-round complex @DC District Department of the Environment (DDOE)
consistent with all riversmart projects, I conducted a full stormwater assessment on the entire school campus before designing the outdoor classroom to accommodate these findings
A. close up detail of central post construction (built from a black locust ‘robinia pseudoacacia’, a tree on the dc invasive species list that was being removed anyway) B. the completion of phase I C. a DDOE designated RiverSmart Schoolyard Conservation Site
project>landscape architecture
Project
Halstead III
Location
Date
Fairfax County, VA
2007 - 2009
Client:: The Long Company
This proposed development, located adjacent to a Washington DC ‘Metro West’ metro station, was slated to be a transit-oriented strip with ground floor commercial uses and residential units above. With the architecture and planning components in place, the project was suffering from a lack of cohesion, a binding character to fuse the spaces together and sell the concept to potential home and business owners. EDAW provided designs for streetscape enhancements, a plaza configuration, and on structure private courtyards with a marketable overriding theme. The clients were
particularly interested in the originality and spectacle-factor of the design, so our team generated an abundant series of creative design alternatives. I crafted the design theme for the courtyards that, when executed well, would be lucid and stylish without being garish. They were each given a color, a material, and a shape with which to identify. One space was identified by red, angles, and wood. The others were donned blue, zig-zag, and metal, and white, circular, and stone.
street plaza paving pattern and design
street plaza space programming
my design for the pool courtyard - in plan, axon, and 3D model
@EDAW/AECOM Design + Planning Only design staff on a 3 person team, I was responsible for 1/3 of the designs (all designs shown here are mine), graphic production, & devising overall design strategy. I designed all three elements, proposed ideas for on structure engineered feats, and ran equations for outdoor seating.
street plaza outdoor seating calculations
project>landscape architecture
Project
Halstead III
Location
Date
Fairfax County, VA
2007 - 2009
Client:: The Long Company
the five courtyards , street plaza, and streetscape in context - all three are on-structure spaces, with a parking garage below the street level and the courtyards on the 10th - 20th floors theme: RED + ANGULAR + WOOD
...USING THE LANDSCAPE DESIGN TO CREATE A NARRATIVE AND TIE IT ALL TOGETHER
a section to illustrate the pool courtyard design concept theme: WHITE + CIRCULAR + STONE @EDAW/AECOM Design + Planning
theme: BLUE + ZIG-ZAG + METAL
project>landscape architecture
Project
Jones Point Park
Location
Date
Alexandria, VA
2008 - 2009
Client:: Virginia Department of Transportation Jones Point Park is a historically significant space in Alexandria which hosts the first laid DC Marker and a Mid- 19th Century lighthouse. Additionally, the region-wide bike highway, the Mount Vernon Trail, traverses through the site for 他 of a mile. The expansion of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge cut through the center of the park, transforming the microclimates of the park and disrupting the pedestrian flow. Now divided by a secured area around the massive bridge piers, the Park needed a new design layout. With the upgrades to the Park and bridge, the State commissioned the much
needed environmental restoration to degraded shoreline, wetlands, and forest. New circulation was designed to mitigate impacts to the site and an intense invasive species mitigation plan was designed to restore the banks of the Potomac River to a stable state. With the three major pressure influencing the design of the new Jones Point Park (history preservation, modified circulation, and invasive species restoration), I took prime responsibility in the management plan for the invasive plant species identified in the Park.
Jones Point Park Archaeological Sensitivity Map
@EDAW/AECOM Design + Planning Landscape designer on a 5 person team, I was exclusively responsible for the Invasive Species Management plan and design, drafted landscape design, site assessment, playground & environmental education design, developed alternative designs for the under-bridge functions.
project>landscape architecture
Project
Mapping Biomass in the Ijssel River
Location
Date
Arnhem, Netherlands
2011
FREE MAINTENANCE
<TAKE
T
Z
s BUSINESS PARTNERS
A L
D conservation
GIVE
>
recreation
structuur· structure
s
aesthetics
...MAPPING ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES WITH POLITICAL VALUES
A peldoorn
D eventer character map of the ijssel river valley
F
O
icons created by author (not the noun project) - Rijkswaterstaat presented them in a national conference and incorporated them into their standard formatting for SSRS documentation
industrial refuse
d
kracht· strength
A
green waste
e
drive· motivation
F
<TAKE
eigenheid· character
W O O
social + political values
stakeholder comparison graphics, for fast & clear assessment
belangen· interest
wolle
RMING
<TAKE
s
d
D S
e
d
DEL
KNOWLEDGE & BIOMASS
N
e
>
R E S T E D
compost
GIVE
ACCESSIBLE LAND
landscape resources
biomass resources
dry biomass
>
R M FA
wet biomass
GIVE
I N G
Mapping resources and values in the river systems of eastern Nederland was the next step in the process of advancing the Self-Supporting River System (SSRS) per the concepts described in its implementation roadmap. SSRS is a major ongoing initiative taken by the Federal Dutch Government to alleviate their maintenance responsibilities in the face of the diminishing surplus economy. In keeping alignment with the principles of SSRS, my project built upon the six themes identified in the SSRS Roadmap – sediment management, biomass, recreation, energy production, metal recovery from sludge, and farming with water. The rivers in eastern Nederland are complex systems – both ecologically and politically. The philosophy of SSRS is to connect local businesses with the by-products of the river maintenance in a way that both yields a profit for the involved stakeholders while simultaneously maintaining the river in a sustainable cycle: the maintenance engenders a profit and the profit is made from the products of the maintenance. Of the six themes, my project focused on biomass – mapping the environmental and political (stakeholders) resources in the Ijssel River valley needed to composite a capital bio-based economy together. I found that (1) Parties are eager to join an alliance but are also not likely to start one, (2) lack of technical knowledge is inhibiting a regional economic market, and (3) design matters – logistics will make or break the feasibility of a biomass market.
A
Client:: Rijkswaterstaat, ‘Room for the River’
A rnhem photomerge of the ijssel river dike system by author @Rijkswaterstaat (MIT Department of Urban Studies + Planning Internship) I worked as an independent researcher on my project titled Resource and Value Mapping for River Systems, creating my own graphics, GIS maps, interview questions, and list of interviewed stakeholders (approx 30 parties).
design research>landscape + urbanism
Project
Location
Agricultural Micronetworks
San Francisco, CA ; et. al.
o, CA
Atlanta Price Distribution
Dollars
Dollars
70.00
90.00
Phoenix Price Distribution Dollars
80.00
60.00
60.00
70.00 50.00
40.00
50.00
Average Local Meal Price
40.00
30.00
San Francisco Organic Restaurants (All within 5 mile radius)
50.00
60.00
40.00
30.00 Average Local Meal Price
30.00
20.00
Average Local Meal Price
20.00
20.00 10.00
0
0
Restaurants
Restaurants
Restaurants
Avg Meal Price from Select Organic Restaurants* (Entree + App):
10.00
10.00
0
San Francisco, CA
Organic food prices as. average food prices Phoenix, AZ
San Francisco, CA
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA
Phoenix, AZ
42.48$ Avg Meal Price in San Francisco (Organic+Non-Organic)**:
36.73$
86 Mile Radius
100
200
300 mi
100
200
300 mi
100
200
public perception of foodshed scale
Scale 0
100Miles
San Francisco, CA Distribution Network
Farms Further Away (AZ)
(F)
86 Mile Radius
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
(F)
(F)
(F)
F
F
F
F
Scale 0
5
15 Miles
D
Farmer’s Market
Key
D
Restaurant Location Farm Location Direct Supply Relationship Reach of “Organic”
15 Miles
State Outline R
Location
ion
ly Relationship
rganic”
ne
2012
San Francisco Price Distribution
Client:: Associate Professor Alan Berger
The purpose of the Agriculture Micronetworks research was to surface the geographic and economic realities of the local food movement in America, and to show whether or not they support popular beliefs. We conducted a cross-comparison analysis of three metropolitan areas (San Francisco, CA; Atlanta, GA; and Phoenix, AZ) to discover the true scale of a local foodshed, the geographic distance defining “local”, the impact of seasonality of food, the supply chain distribution network, and the economic expense associated with locally grown food for each city. We found that San Francisco had the most extensive micronetwork of the three metropolitan regions, with their local food boundary extends 86 miles from the city center. They drew from 30-50 farms to supply all of their local produce demands while Phoenix only sourced 5 – 6 farms to supply nearly 100% of their needs. This study was a design research project completed for the MIT spring semester class ‘Advanced Seminar in Landscape + Urbanism’. It is one component of an ongoing design research project currently being conducted by Alan Berger.
Date
* data chart
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
R
map and network hierarchy diagram of the san francisco local food micronetwork
** http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=United+States&city=Phoenix%2C+AZ
@MIT Department of Urban Studies + Planning Two-person research team, I was responsible for designing the research methodology, graphics, background literature review, content of interview questions, final data analysis, drawn conclusions, and the ultimate writing of the report.
design research>landscape + urbanism
Key
/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=United+States&city=Phoenix%2C+AZ Major Network Component
R
300 mi
Project
Lausanne Urban Analysis Mapping
Location
Date
Lausanne, Switzerland
2012
I devised a process that followed the tenets of a systemsbased design approach. My process deployed mapping as the central tool to represent a large amount of disparate information in a consistent graphic form with geospatial accuracy. I broke the mapping analysis down into phases – first map-
ping the environmental, economic, and social requirements necessary to support urban agriculture; then representing the structural capacity of the city as it related to physical requirements for urban agriculture; finally analyzing the synergies and overlapping patterns from the aforementioned mappings to elucidate the locations of greatest influence as the sites most receptive to urban agriculture design interventions. My mapping project served as the urban analysis to the larger VWA New Urban Quality project. Research Languages: English, German, French
SCAPE
SOIL
WATER
LIGHT
PEOPLE
RESOURCES NUTRIENTS
KNOWLEDGE
favorable towards urban ag
unfavorable towards urban ag
FAVORABILITY + AG
social
tion of food production into the city (urban agriculture) as the vehicle for achieving new urban quality. Thus I applied a systems-based design analysis on the Swiss-French city of Lausanne in order to identify strong sites for urban agriculture design interventions.
requirements
I received a grant scholarship to pursue a design research project that focused on environmental sustainability. I joined efforts with VWA in their grant-funded design research project on ‘New Urban Quality’ in Swiss cities. My objective, an extension from my Master thesis, was to explore and apply a systems-based design methodology to a complex space in order to identify catalyst sites in the space which could influence the greatest amount of change if designed appropriately. The objective of VWA’s grant was to promote discussions on new urban quality and forge the first links to the practical realm. VWA was proposing systematic integra-
environmental
Client:: NRP 65 National Research Program - New Urban Quality
FAVORABILITY + OPEN SPACE
FAVORABILITY + AGE
MOTIVES large scale + for profit
small scale + benign
agro-economic
DEMAND FOR URBAN PRODUCE
icons of urban agriculture typologies for the city capacity analysis
BY CONSUMERS
BY URBAN FARMERS THEMSELVES
SUPPLY + DEMAND MARKETING
ACCESS
physical urban form
capacity
DISTRIBUTION / RETAIL
most challenging financially, politically, & logistically
most feasible financially, politically, & logistically
financially, politically, &
LARGE OPEN SPACES
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTED SPACES greenroofs, terraces, walls greenhouses
OPEN
objectives
ENCLOSED
ECONOMIC PROFITABILITY FROM OPTIMIZED PRODUCTION
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
NUANCE
OPEN
ENCLOSED
survival (short term)
quality of life
EDUCATION
visualization
manifestation
survival (long term)
@Verzone Woods Architectes I was the sole researcher on my project, but served as an added member to the design team of the New Urban Quality project. In this regard, I designed my own research project, collected all of my own base material and information, and generated all of my own maps and supporting graphics. However, I was also instrumental in designing graphics and organizing the research methodology for VWA’s New Urban Quality project.
gardens + plantages residual spaces
STRUCTURE OPEN
a series of maps created at multiple scales to reveal the system dynamics at play in Lausanne
SMALL GROUND SPACES
FOOD SECURITY
SOCIAL INCLUSION
SITES diagram of the research process (from system analysis to site selection)
design research>landscape + urbanism
Project
Designing Landscapes for Economy
Location
Date
New York, USA
2012
Client:: MIT Master Thesis
This thesis deployed landscape design as a regional economic development strategy. It investigated the relationship between economic activity and the built environment. Economies transition from one trend to the next at a faster pace than urban stock, meaning the landscape and infrastructure, is able to adjust. Thus, flows of ephemeral economic phases leave patterns of durable infrastructure elements that may not serve as relevant or useful purposes in the emerging economic movements. These landscapes and infrastructure elements can then become underutilized or obsolete.
Instead of allowing these facets of the built environment to fall subject to abandonment, entirely rely upon subsidies, or solely become a commodity tourist attraction, this thesis sought to redesign and repurpose old infrastructure to deliver productive services to the surrounding contemporary society. It then asked if adaptively repurposing regional infrastructure could contribute positively to regional economics. In order to test this argument, this thesis investigates a single case study – the Erie Canal in Upstate New York. I
conducted a full mapping assessment per the research principles of systems-based design. Further economic and site information was recalled through secondary source reports and interviews. From these research methods, three typologies of catalyst sites and spaces were identified along the linear canal system, and five potential economic opportunities were identified in the Erie Canal Region.
A. Environmental, reported land (green), water (blue), and air (red) pollution sites or spills B. Historic, route of the ‘old erie canal’ vs. route of the ‘improved erie canal’ C. Urban, canal-fronting communities D. Economics , 2010 gross domestic product (GDP) for the 5 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) in the erie canal region
A.
B.
C.
D.
@MIT Department of Urban Studies + Planning The Master thesis was a requirement of the MIT Master of City Planning degree. From start to finish, concept to execution, I worked independently to generate the theory, design the research methodology, write the text, and create the graphics.
ANALYSIS MAPS, a thorough series of maps gathered information on the economic, environmental, historic, and cultural state of the erie canal and its surroundings - information was then displayed in a consistent spatial format that could be cross-compared and analyzed for patterns and synergies
design research>landscape + urbanism
Project
Designing Landscapes for Economy
Location
Date
New York, USA
2012
Client:: MIT Master Thesis
FINDINGS, the canal can be repurposed to cater to both the pressing environmental concerns with ďŹ&#x201A;ood quantity and water quality, as well as a regional economic potential in microenterprise start-ups co-located with academic institutes. A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
...DESIGNING REGIONAL LANDSCAPE INFRASTRUCTURE TO ENABLE ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
BACKGROUND, mapping was used to capture both the historic footprint of the systems that lead to the current state of the erie canal as well as the full analysis of forces at play today
A. a spatial timeline of the industrial eras in the united states B. terminal wall on the erie canal c. 2011, waterford, new york during the steamboat meet C. canal corporation upland disposal area, for depositing dredge material from canal maintenance
@MIT Department of Urban Studies + Planning
D. map of the rustbelt mass population decline in the 20th century E. erie canal in rochester, new york c. 1910 F. aerial image of the erie canal as it ďŹ&#x201A;ows into the hudson river at waterford, new york
design research>landscape + urbanism
Project
Israel Augustine Redevelopment Client:: Broad Community Connections
In January 2011, I joined the winning Chase Competition team of MIT students to execute their economic development plans for the restoration of Israel Augustine Middle School in New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans’s Recovery School District received $1.84 billion from the August 2010 settlement with FEMA for the destruction of their educational facilities by Hurricane Katrina. Many schools began to lobby for particular sites and new buildings. The Israel M. Augustine school building had been vacant since Katrina. The building was originally constructed in 1927 by wellknown OPSB architect E. A. Christy as the Samuel J. Peters High School of Commerce. We proposed a redevelopment plan to turn this derelict building into an operational vocational charter school on the Broad Street commercial corridor – contributing to the regeneration of the Mid-City neighborhood. Our proposal was channeled through a local Main Street non-profit organization, Broad Community Connections, which is devoted to the redevelopment of Broad Street’s commercial corridor. I joined the project to market awareness of Augustine’s redevelopment proposal amongst local for-profit investors and to secure debt and equity sources of funding – primarily federal, state, and local historic tax credits.
Location
Date
New Orleans, LA
2011
4 proposed and alternative sources of funds
PROPOSED SOURCES OF FUNDS Public Funding
Equity
New Markets Tax Credits $2,946,299
Federal Historic Tax Credits $2,401,874
State Historic Tax Credits $2,335,155
OPSB 0% interest loan
CDBG Funds $1,000,000
$1,893,766
$2,916,650
2 Sources of Funds: Approximately 57% of the financing for this project is projected to come from equity via tax credits.
Private Foundations with a Focus on Funding Charter School Facilities
Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Prudential Foundation *
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Home Depot Foundation
The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation *
The Walton Family Foundation * * Specific focus on New Orleans
Other National, State, and Local Organizations
ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF FUNDS Miscellaneous Qualified School Construction Bond Program (Dept of Treasury):
Supports construction and rehabilitation of facilities through tax credit and direct payment bonds
Charter Schools Development Corporation:
photo credit, Stephen Kennedy
Capital Campaign
Debt
Develops financing mechanisms to create access to capital using real estate advisory programs
Charter School Financing Partnership (CSFP):
Part of Housing Partnership Network; provides affordable ways for smaller schools to access tax-exempt bond market
Public Funds Credit Enhancement for Charter Schools
Private Funds Provides loans for acquisition, renovation, construction, leasehold improvement; technical assistance to developers
Louisiana Charter School Start-Up Loan Fund:
Provides predevelopment, leasehold improvement, acquisition, construction, and mini-permanent loans; also technical assistance
Louisiana Public Facilities Authority Conduit Financing: Provides access to tax-exempt financing
3 Project Organizational Structure: A partnership with a forprofit LLC or a public benefit corporation (PBC) will be formed to the ensure eligibility of tax the credits.
NCB Capital Impact:
Facility Funding (Dept.of Ed): Provides grants to non-profits to develop credit enhancement models to assist charter schools in leveraging capital from private sector Provides zero-interest loans for expenses including acquisition, upgrade, and repairs
1 Project Development Costs: This $13.5 million total cost is based on the August 2008 renovation costs estimated in the School Facilities Master Plan for Orleans Parish Deferred Maintenance Plan with adjustments to account for inflation.
Raza Development Fund, Inc.:
Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC):
Provides mini-permanent financing with 7-yr. term and 20-yr. amortization; short-term construction loans with interest only period
4 Proposed and Alternative sources of funds: A list of additional funding sources, many which have a focus on New Orleans, has been provided.
Educational Facilities Financing Center:
Leverages pools of low interest loans and grant funds for investment in charter school facilities
Self-Help:
Provides loans to operators for acquisition, renovation, leasehold improvement, construction, mini-permanent loans
5 Cash Flow: A 10-year cash flow is projected with a 1.20 debt service coverage ratio in the first year.
photo by lindsay reul 425 South Broad Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70119 @MIT Department of Urban Studies + Planning I worked on a team of 5 people to establish on-the-ground investment amongst stakeholders in New Orleans. I created marketing materials for the redevelopment project, and prepared application materials for receive government historic tax credits.
project>economic development
Project
Place-Based Food Branding
Location
Date
Appalachia, USA
2012
Client:: Central Appalachian Network & The Ford Foundation
...USING DESIGN TO ADDRESS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The purpose of the Local Food Branding study was to reveal the geographic, logistic, and economic state of the local food movement in Central Appalachia. The Central Appalachian Network (CAN) focuses on advancing the economic transition of the region through the development of enterprises, organizations, and policies to build economic and environmental capacity and impact on a regional scale. I was commissioned to aid CAN in furthering the promotion and provision of Central Appalachia’s local food economy such that the region’s culinary heritage could reach wholesale and distant markets. I reported that place-based branding would
be the best marketing tool to favorably represent Appalachian culture and landscape character to a distant consumer pool. I then created a series of graphics that illuminated the geographic and spatial relationship of Central Appalachia’s concurrent local food economies. Mapping the current state was instrumental for CAN to understand their regional assets and strategize how to move forward without treading on any existing local initiatives. The Local Food Branding study is the first project of MIT’s ongoing ‘Keeping Wealth Local Clinic’ which uses designers to address economic development agendas.
a cross-comparison matrix to show the sphere of influence in geography and in hierarchy along the supply chain.
...MAPPING GEOGRAPHY AND PROCESS TO HIGHLIGHT POINTS OF ECONOMIC INTERVENTION @MIT Department of Urban Studies + Planning I was the single researcher and author of this report, designing the methodology, collecting primary and secondary source information, and performing a literature review of scholarly works. I received peer editing support from CAN, but designed and created all of the graphics.
project>economic development
Project
Forestry Wealth Creation
Location
Date
Appalachia, USA
2011
Client:: Rural Action
The purpose of this report was to examine and present wealth creation models which were adapted for the needs of Appalachiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s forestry industry as a sustainable approach to their current economy. These wealth creation models were designed to capture both environmental benefits for the entire region, and economic benefits for the players along the supply chain. By integrating the value chain with the supply chain, we presented opportunities and problems within the industry that can be addressed through these wealth creation mechanisms. At the time of writing, the industry was investing in branding and labeling as their primary means to generate wealth for the root of the supply chain located in rural Appalachia (e.g. landowners, loggers, and saw millers). Due to the marginal success of this approach, some community NGOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commissioned us to propose new methods. We introduced four new wealth creation models that can influence income and asset retention at different points along the supply/value chain. While many of our proposed models were proven successful in other case studies, the local culture in Appalachia challenged their applicability to the wood products industry, as the inherent culture lends itself to more caution with regards to institutional, governmental, or censoring interventions. If these mechanisms were to ever be implemented, their success would heavily rely on local facilitation. This paper was awarded first place in the American Planning Association 2012 Student Economic Development Competition. Rural, as opposed to urban, wealth creation is an uncommon focus of economic development agendas, and this academic paper contributed to its small body of literature.
seema adina
kira intrator
lindsay reul
WEALTH CREATION
a graphic tying together the relationship between the wood-products supply chain and the economic wealth creation models that we designed to address the industry hurdles.
THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
generating wealth creation models in the appalachian wood-products industry
photomerge by lindsay reul @MIT Department of Urban Studies + Planning Three-person research team, I was responsible for all of the graphics, synthesizing the analysis of our research, designing two of the wealth creation models, leading the client interviews, and writing two of the report chapters.
project>economic development
Project
Energy Efficiency
Location
Date
Massachusetts, USA
2011 - 2012
Clients:: Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources + Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (MAPC) Two years of research on how to reduce energy consumption at the community scale lead to the publication of two white papers and the discovery of several pioneering findings in enabling energy efficiency. My driving motivation was to understand how urban design interventions and physical planning could retrofit an existing community (not new construction) such that the community as a whole consumed less energy. With this global research aim, I delved into the nuances of enabling an energy efficient community and found that the movement for energy sustainability was largely hindered in the policy and regulation stages – not yet ripe for the design world to intervene. Instead, communities
1
were struggling with the obstruction of information exchanges to even know what their existing energy situations were. The frontier of research – in the direction of urban design – seemed to be in the discovery of preliminary energy mapping and accessible data collection. Therefore, my research focuses on mapping energy efficiency, and yielded findings that elucidated what information communities need, how to deliver this information, and what kind of environmental infrastructure is needed to promote community activation – all elements necessary to advance the sustainable energy movement in the direction of designing wide-scale efficiency measures.
ENABLERS What ENABLES communities to achieve energy efficiency? Web Based Tools
2
BARRIERS What aspects act as BARRIERS to achieving energy efficiency? Lack of easy information to: Restructure local political mobility Benchmark proposed projects Financing tools Know how to leverage other grants & programs
...MAPPING VISUALIZATION TOOLS TO ENABLE ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY @MIT Department of Urban Studies + Planning I was the sole researcher – designing, executing, and authoring all of my own research – under the guidance of an academic advisor. The research materials and results are co-owned by myself and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
ENERGY MAPS: a cross comparative analysis of energy mapping visualization tools in use at the time of study
research>sustainability
Project
The Civic Corridor
Location
Date
Baltimore, MD
2011
http://aftercity.mit.edu/
Client:: City of Baltimore
Baltimore fuels itself by importing all of its energy from outside sources even though it systematically produces urban waste products that can serve as the energy source to fuel the city. Our project asks, can energy from waste reshape the city? The civic corridor is a city-wide energy, water, and public amenity project that reorganizes infrastructure and investment along 10 corridors throughout the city of Baltimore. The Jones Falls/I-83 corridor is an example of this larger approach where energy and water distribution, transportation, and civic spaces are organized along a central corridor that connects with smaller adjacent neighborhoods – much like the spine of a leaf connects with independently functioning cells. Within each neighborhood ‘cell’, new technologies enable the production of energy from a localized wastewater treatment process. This energy feeds neighborhood needs, but connects to the central corridor, which functions as a ‘smart spine’ or ‘smart corridor’ balancing demand for electricity and water between neighborhoods. Beyond this basic structure, the functionality of the corridor provides public benefits and cultural significance as it develops open space, markets, and commercial spaces in
locations under and adjacent to the elevated highway. This collection of services and infrastructure alludes to the iconic roman aqueduct, but its location in underutilized space serves to transform not only the energy and water system, but changes the city’s relationship to Jones Falls - the site of the city’s first energy extraction infrastructure. In this sense the corridor is an aqueduct, an electric line, and the highline in one. The construction of the civic corridors reorganizes the way in which city services are delivered to its citizens. They become gravitational places, delivering custom amenities to suit needs of the neighborhood it traverses through, and running continuous lines of transportation from the periphery to the center of the city. Citizens know to go to the civic corridor to find rail transportation, bike and pedestrian paths, fresh farmers markets, recreational space, fresh public water, recycling centers, and the variety of other civic amenities that cities provide. Additionally, the input and distribution of energy and water becomes a self-sustaining, efficient system, internal to the city, and operational without wasteful urban outputs.
MAPPING HISTORIC GROWTH PATTERNS
18th & 19th century + rivers
>
early 20th century + railroads
>
mid 20th century + roads
>
present
...SHRINKING CITIES one of the baltimore “civic corridors” and its correlating section of the city
the phasing plan starts at the city center and builds out as capacity is reached
like a leaf, the city is organized into cells that contribute to and take from the spine
a model of the jones falls smart spine looking south towards the harbor
the smart spine (jones falls civic corridor) and the urban cell under study highlighted in an aerial photograph of baltimore
from infrastructure that supports exodus
>
to infrastructure that supports influx
...A ‘SMART SPINE’ APPROACH TO REVITALIZATION MAPPING PROJECTED GROWTH PATTERNS @MIT Department of Urban Studies + Planning Two-person design team, I was responsible for equal parts of the data collection, literature research, mapping, graphic production, model construction, design strategy, site plan, hand sketches, and urban design concept.
project>urban design
Project
The Civic Corridor
Location
Date
Baltimore, MD
2011
http://aftercity.mit.edu/
Client:: City of Baltimore
early sketch of the original smart spine concept: a concentration of public utilities, civic services, and sustainable metrics in the highway right-ofways (changing highway corridors from divisions to central spines)
...A CONDUIT OF TRANSIT, ELECTRICITY, WATER UTILITY, WASTE DISPOSAL, AND CIVIC PUBLIC SPACE
depictions of the smart spine as it traverses through the baltimore urban fabric
highway right-of-ways are corridors of division, monopolized by vehicles and vacancy and grossly over-sized for the scale and function of people.
BEFORE >
AFTER > @MIT Department of Urban Studies + Planning
project>urban design
Project
East Cambridge Open Space
Location
Date
Cambridge, MA
2012
Client:: East Cambridge Neighborhood Coalition East Cambridge residents have been a strong and active neighborhood coalition in the fast evolution of their community for over 20 years. Lead by MITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former Director of Planning, Bob Simha, the neighborhood organized an effort that would enable them to better identify their parks and open space needs, and help to educate residents about the variety of landscape and open space options available for consideration. In addition, the neighborhood wanted to
understand the development and management issues which needed to be considered as they are asked to make choices about open space investments in the neighborhoods. In what can be characterized by the exemplar town-to-gown situation, Simha continues to leads several neighborhood groups in the areas surrounding the MIT campus to give strength to the community voice and equal the playing field against aggressive commercial development pressure.
suggested ideal amount of park space existing amounts of park space passive space e
softscape
17 1 7
10 0
15 1 5
3
hardscape
active space
@MIT Department of Urban Studies + Planning I worked individually to design and generate a series of maps and graphics to inform the East Cambridge community of their options, and to help organize their stance for open space and the public realm.
graphics>urban design
Project
Bicycle Traffic Circle
Location
Date
Washington, D.C.
2012
Client:: Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) was preparing a proposal for a bicycle traffic circle in the District with the new fiscal year ARRA funding. WABA was proposing to construct a safe learning space for new cyclists to practice riding and familiarize with the road rules. WABAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s traffic circle concept is based off of a Dutch transportation prac-
tice, but was additionally proposed to serve as a community permaculture garden and low impact development display space. As this use of space did not yet exist, I created a perspective to materialize the proposal ideas. The perspective was submitted with application for funds in October 2012.
@Independent Project I corresponded with WABAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CEO, who gave me a description of the bicycle traffic circle concept, and I generated the perspective composition from there using Adobe Photoshop.
graphics>urban design
Project
Adirondack Chair
Location
Date
New York, USA
2003
While attending Cornell University, I took advantage of the complete workshop of power tools available to experiment with fabrication and building materials. Discovering that I was particularly interested in carpentry, I elected to construct my final project out of wood. I made an Adirondack chair â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an artifact of my Upstate heritage and an endearing item of nostalgia for Saranac Lake. The pattern design was ideal for my first carpentry project since it mostly had overlapping joints and straight cuts. It took 85 hours to construct from start to finish. I made the chair out of white cedar since it is a particularly soft wood that would be easier to cut, and because it weathers nicely when exposed to the outdoors. The chair is unstained, but finished with three coats of polyurethane.
all photographs were taken in 2013
@Cornell University An individual project, I selected a chair pattern and material that matched my skill level. I said a little prayer, and then made the chair by hand using a variety of power tools and finishes.
skills>carpentry
Project
365 Project: Photo of the Day On my own initiation, I took one picture, every day, for 365 days. The project was displayed publicly on Flickr. What
started as a project to practice using Photoshop, turned into an amazing anthology of my life and a community instigator
Location
Date
Everywhere
2012
as the people in it saw how they were woven together.
...day 20, my first self-portrait
...day 50, groundbreaking conversation (ideas are born)
...day 113, thesis writing (days and nights blur)
...day 123, passed my defense!
...day 213, left Cambridge ...day 225, moved to Switzerland @Independent Project This project was all me â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from the initial motivation to the final completion. I became quite proficient in Adobe Photoshop and Camera Raw throughout the process.
skills>photography