Student ASLA Award Submission

DESIGNER’S STATEMENT:

what LAR means to me

GRAPHIC DESIGN

and other work

my FUTURE goal

growing body of WORK

RESEARCH

and other projects snapshot of JOURNEY

the magnificent academic adventures of Liz Crim

anatomy of a designer When people ask me what landscape architecture is, I always have a hard time defining it: it is a combination of urban planning, engineering, sculpture, horticulture, architecture, and other disciplines. But rather than seeing this as a shortcoming, I think this is one of the strengths of landscape architecture. Being linked with so many disciplines gives landscape architecture a potential power that none of those disciplines can wield alone – I came to the program wanting to make gardens and other “pretty” things, but I’ve come out with a passion for transforming communities.

As my purpose in landscape architecture has changed, it has made me question why I want to be a landscape architect, why my work should be about more than beautifying. As I’ve grown as a person and as a designer, I’ve realized that what really drives my work are the ideas of Christian stewardship and regeneration. By grounding my work in these two ideas, sustainability is not a feel-good trend but an obligation, a mandate.

what LAR has given me

As I am about to embark on an entirely different adventure (my magnificent professional adventures), I am reminded of what landscape architecture has given me: (1) Vision. My time at school has given me the ability to really understand, critique, and appreciate the world around me. Whether I am travelling or exploring locally, I can begin to see not only the landscape’s problems, but its potentials.

(2) Collaboration. As designers, we tend to have to assume we have the sole power to solve the world’s problems – a delusion that has created more problems than it has solved. Because landscape architecture is at the junction of so many disciplines, we are uniquely placed to work with other professionals and, more importantly, with communities to create the best solution.

(3) Theory. It’s so easy to get caught up in design details that we forget to consider what’s grounding our work. Rather than limiting our work, theory can become a framework that can amplify our creativity.

(4) Purpose. I came into landscape architecture with the narrow goal of creating gardens, but along the way have developed a passion for transforming communities. This idea of regeneration allows me to think beyond mere sustainability; not merely how to preserve, but to affect positive change.

“The landscape...is a living link between what we were and what we have become.” (Margaret Drabble)

see theory paper

focus: KEM Studio how to... draw people in? create a simple, yet memorable design?

n g i s t de

costu

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esign

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music

quixotic

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l a t i g di ion t a anim

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how can you create a versatile structure that accommodates all of Quixotic’s talents?

how can the structure be manipulated to stay new?

how can we spread the Quixotic brand?

focus: travelling the U.K. Why the U.K. is awesome:

1.) National Rail (train system)

2.) accents

3.) royalty

4.) London (and the Tube!)

5.) mild weather (always green!)

6.) castles and medieval towns

7.) Roman ruins

8.) local cheeses and butters

9.) Harry Potter Landscape architecture trends:

1.) eco-towns

2.) green roof habitats (part of habitat action plans)

3.) preserving district character (each county has

heritage and character studies)

4.) restoring historic landscapes

5.) greening dense cities

Inverness

Edinburgh

Durham

Yorkshire Dales

York

Peak District

Nottingham

Sheffield

Swansea

London Cardiff St. Ives Penzance

Bath

Salisbury

focus: sketch-ploration Recently I’ve tried to be more creative in the way I take notes and draw. How can you design your notes to be more legible, powerful?

I think it’s important to develop your own style of drawing; mine will never look like the examples in the books, but I’m working on communicating ideas as best as I can. How can you use simple techniques, like hatching and varying your type, to create art in your sketchbook?

snapshot of JOURNEY Mapping the major themes I have explored through my work.

Project or design work Insight or introduction to idea

abandoned railroad park design

History

wanted to work on historic landscapes (question: what is “historic�?)

sculpture park design sustainability manifesto

Hurt Park design project on placing a stool in the landscape

KEM studio

presentation on Andre le Notre

-m e ac l P

abandoned railroad park design

Rainbow Riders playground design

g n i ak

Pleasure House Point design

History, place-making, & sustainability (regeneration)

Hurt Park design

sustainable community development

Freedom Park design

tain Sus

greenroof habitat design

li t y abi

quick-fire challenge

first introduced to idea of sustainability

KEM studio greenroof habitat research & design new town research

sculpture park design

1st year

sustainable community development

Hurt Park design

2nd year

Pleasure House Point design

3rd year

4th year

5th year

exploring HISTORY What is history? How can it begin to affect design decisions and how you approach a project?

history as design precedent: sculpture park The landscapes that influenced this park design were not from the site, but from other, very different landscapes: the English countryside and Sissinghurst. I wanted the landscape to be both a frame for the sculpture I chose (all simple, geometric designs by Tony Smith, Henry Moore, and Isamu Noguchi) and to be a therapeutic place – a place of escape from the bustle of town and school. The design evoked the pastoral English landscape, with paths based on how people would move through the site (first image from left) – going straight through, meandering through, and pausing.

history as direct form: Hurt Park My concept for the gateway park for the neighborhood of Hurt Park was neighborhood house – turning architectural remnants into landscape. While going through some of the oral histories of the neighborhood, I was struck by the role of the house: two of the main gathering places in historic Hurt Park were the front porch (mainly for adults) and the house itself (mainly for children). Taking the footprint of the site’s original house as inspiration, I expanded and flattened it to open up the design. The design transitions from the porch, the more public area, to the interior of the house, which is divided into several different rooms that accomodated individual spaces and larger group events.

meadow

tall shrubs & grasses

forest

history as catalyst: abandoned railway park in Sheffield The site was an elevated railway near Sheffield’s city centre, the project was to make it like the High Line. How do you transfer a contemporary project to a completely different context? My concept was “Uniquely Sheffield: a rail tribute park.” By grounding it in Sheffield – highlighting both the existing character along the railway and significant views and landmarks of Sheffield, and connecting to Sheffield’s bicycling network – I hoped to create an appreciation for the patterns, plant communities, and wildlife habitats unique to the rail line.

exploring SUSTAINABILITY What is sustainability? Is it a minimum or a way of life? How can we communicate it to the public through design?

sustainable living: building a sustainable community This project was about introducing us about sustainability (see manifesto) – specifically about how we could create a sustainable community. This combined sustainable technologies (photovoltaics, straw bale construction, etc.), with sustainable landscaping (to reduce energy costs [1st and 2nd from left], and reduce erosion [2nd from right], and crop rotation), with education (nature center and outdoor classrooms), and new forms of housing. This project taught me about sustainable design and how communities can be laid out.

sustaining wildlife: building a greenroof habitat This project applied the lessons from habitat research (see hoverfly presentation) to a greenroof that can accommodate people as well. The roof is broken up into the main habitats a hoverfly needs to survive: woodland, wetland bog, and wildflower meadow. To recreate the woodland, I echoed the interior ventilation system (1st from left) as connected log structures that house the wildflower meadow, which needs more drainage (2nd and 3rd from left). This project taught me about the basics of habitat design, greenroof construction, and adaptive reuse.

sustainable recreation: balancing social and natural ecology in a park The site, Pleasure House Point, is the future site of the Save the Bay Foundation, and the assignment was to create a wildlife park that also provided opportunities for education and recreation. The design (which was a team effort) focused on highlighting the characteristics and potentials of the site through a series of boardwalks and trails. Rather than concentrating the educational areas around the building, we spread them around the site, highlighting different habitats: e.g. a bird observatory (2nd from left), a series of tree houses (2nd from right), and a floating boardwalk that protected an oyster colony (far right). This project taught me more about designing in sensitive ecosystems, and about a variety of educational opportunities.

exploring PLACE-MAKING What makes a space a place? What components go into a successful design?

1.) chateau is focal point of design

2.) axial movement

4.) interplay between architecture and plantings

5.) optical illusions

studying place: André le Nôtre research One of our assignments during 1st year studio was to choose a designer and dissect their work: figure out what made it unique and noteworthy. André le Nôtre (traditionally ‘le Nostre’) is famous for Vaux le Vicomte, Versailles, Villandry, etc, but why are his designs noteworthy? For the project, I researched the roots of French Renaissance gardens, and broke his designs down into 5 distinct elements. One of the things I still admire about le Nôtre is the way he created such diversity within a fairly limited palette.

insta-place: placing a stool in the landscape & quick-fire challenge “The design of spaces is...to enable places to function for people and nature.” –Catherine Dee Two of our projects were about what it takes to quickly make a place. First we had to place a stool in the landscape to enhance a place and mark specific landscape qualities. The project taught us how a simple piece could become a multi-dimensional element (functional, sculptural, spatial), filling different landscapes differently. For the second project, we had to pick a route between studio and Burruss Hall and do 13 quick variations on it. The project taught us how to expand our horizons when we get stuck, and the spatial power of simple elements.

landscape metaphor: Rainbow Riders daycare playground When we began designing, we were told to think about the role of landform in creating landscapes for play, what aspects of nature can be incorporated into the design, and to think about activities, not specific equipment. I was inspired by a serpentine bench (far left) to create an element that wound its way through the entire site like a ribbon, tying together the different areas. Going off the theme “follow the rainbow,” the ribbon would transform into different forms along the way, sometimes disappearing or breaking off; it acted as a spatial and a way-finding element. This project taught me about the power of the landscape metaphor: to embed an idea in the landscape, to inform function, to draw people in, to make a place memorable.