liz crim [portfolio]
table of contents + cup o’ skills horticultural internship
graphic creative thinking sketchbook p. 6, 17
AutoCAD, ArcGIS Hurt Park p. 9
for more, visit online portfolio
computer rendering (Photoshop, Illustrator) Freedom Park Jessup West Pleasure House Point City Forest
p. 4 p. 10–11 p. 13 p. 15–16
sketches + hand rendering Freedom Park p. 2–3 Vaughn Homes p. 7 Hurt Park p. 8 City Forest p. 14
Bachelors of Landscape Architecture (Virginia Tech 2012)
overview: designer’s statement 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. 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.
conceptual drawing of Time Landscape (NYC) by Alan Sonfist
page 1
project projection: design to delivery An overview of one entire project from design development sketches to final design renderings. The chosen project, Freedom Park, was a group design charette as part of a vertical studio assignment.
page 2
freedom park roslyn, va
(A) The theater space or courtyard
(C) The south entrance
(B) The north entrance
The concept for the design was an urban escape into art – art flowed from the art museum (the Artisphere) in the center into the landscape, gradually transitioning to the urban fabric. These drawings are from the
design development stage, figuring out how the art would radiate from the museum into the landscape. The next page shows the final design for each area (marked A-C).
page 3
A
B
C
C
(A) The formal seating area offers a place for people to sit, relax, and eat lunch in the shade of the pergola. Located off the main pedestrian path and surrounded by lush plantings, it offers a comfortable escape. (B) The West Entrance to the park is framed by an allee of arched sculptures, which echo The Arches near the North Entrance. The Progression Pool is visible just beyond, the stepping stones are made of plexi-glass and mimic the shape of the Twin Towers (adjacent residential property, owned by the same development company.) (C) The Arches linking the decorative planted mounds along the entry way from North Kent Street are the first things the viewer experiences after entering the park. At night, the Arches are illuminated by lights embedded in the sculptures, accentuating the path. page 4
final masterplan As the park rises high above the streets, the user is transported from the harsh urban environment into a different world, an escape into art, nature, and solitude. This park provides a refuge from the city life by bringing awareness to art in nature and creating personal and community spaces. The orange traces weave through and tie the landscape together, highlighting different features and experiences along the journey: an arch that flies gracefully over your head as you enter, a bench to sit on, a sculpture to climb on, and always a line to follow. (The masterplan rendering was done by another student, but we were all involved in the actual design.)
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West Entrance: corridor through trees and arching sculptures, viewing platform over North Lynn Street and Progression Pool
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Wire-frame pergola over seating area/outdoor event area
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Seating island separating the seating area from the walkway
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Garden walk from North Lynn Street entrance
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Circular seating platforms with moveable privacy/sculpture panels
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Central water feature
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Grassy mounds with climbable sculptures
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The Arches: overhead arching sculptures running through mounded flower beds
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North Entrance: circular entrance wall framing the entrance, welcoming the visitor into the site
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page 5
project pickings: range + renderings Selections from a range of different projects I have worked on.
Sketches from case studies about reuse of vacant lots and greening cities page 6
vaughn homes prices fork, va
This masterplan was for creating a sustainable community in Prices Fork, Virginia. The design concept included attached homes with shared courtyards, contour planting in the agricultural fields, and a
nature center in the historic barn on the site. The layout was thought of in layers: first the topography of the site, then the agriculture, and then the housing. page 7
hurt park gateway park
grassed living room
roanoke, va
raised terrace room A
Neighborhood house: architectural remnants into landscape My intent for this design was to create a neighborhood house as part of the gateway into the Hurt Park neighborhood. While going through some of the oral histories of the neighborhood, I was struck by the role of the house; the two main gathering places in historic Hurt Park were the front porch (mainly for adults) and the house itself (mainly for the children).
front door
B
The community of Hurt Park used to be described as a family, so why not give them a place to become one again? Because this is meant to be a park, I flattened the house and opened up the design to allow for better accessibility and safety. Within the confines of the porch, the house is divided into several rooms which can be used as private individual spaces or several rooms can be combined into a larger area for group events.
porch
grassed parlor
back door
section A
page 8
hallway
section B
porch
layout plan
planting plan
grading plan
These detail areas are from drawings that were part of a complete construction documents set for my Hurt Park design.
page 9
jessup west greenroof sheffield, yorkshire, uk
mimicking architecture to create habitat This project applied lessons of habitat research to adapt an existing greenroof so that it can serve as a viable habitat and accommodate people as well. The roof is broken up into the main habitats a hoverfly needs to survive: woodland, wetland bog, and wildflower meadow.
priority habitat range of species recommended from Sheffield Open Mosaic Habitat on Previously Developed Land
sample of species from Pictorial Meadow Green Roof Seed Mix. Also includes calcareous grassland species and local sedums. Proven successful in Sheffield greenroofs (Sheffield HAP).
page 10
To recreate the woodland (important in the egg and adult stages of the hoverfly), I echoed the interior ventilation system (top left) to create connected log structures (top center, bottom left)that would both provide wood for the hoverflies and support pockets of wildflower meadow (important for pollination), which need more drainage and greater rooting depth. The logs also function as a dividing line between substrate depths (top right). I altered the existing walkway layout (bottom center) to open up views to the entire greenroof, while preserving habitat size and quality.
page 11
pleasure house point virginia beach, va
sustainable recreation: balancing social & 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 - the masterplan was rendered by a colleague) 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, a series of tree houses, and a floating boardwalk that protected an oyster colony.
page 12
The bird observatory allows visitors to appreciate the site’s native wildlife.
A proposed artificial oyster reef which – in concert with the sea walls, sand dunes, and wetlands – could eventually clean the bay.
page 13
city forest st. louis, mo
This was the masterplan for City.Forest, my concept for repurposing the urban forest that has grown up on the Pruitt-Igoe site in St. Louis. Because of its location and the emptiness and dereliction of the surrounding neighborhood, the concept for the site is a transition from urban patterns to the forest. The site hosts community gardens, orchards, outdoor classrooms, a Pruitt-Igoe memorial, and a community center.
page 14
In the southern part of the community center plaza, the spaceframe structure offers an opportunity to experience the city and the forest in a different way: a cross-section from forest floor to canopy (above), through the tree canopy (top right), and a direct view to downtown (far right). page 15
The edge condition is one of the most crucial parts of the design because it draws people in and marks the transition between the neighborhood and the park, between city and forest. To begin to pull people out of the housing enclaves and onto the streets, the streets need to be more pedestrian friendly: narrowing the roads, repairing the sidewalks, planting trees and flowers (above, right). The edge of the site along Jefferson and Cass is made up of a series of garden rooms and planting beds (both agricultural and ornamental) that are part of the more familiar domestic pattern and scale. The community gardens (above, left) mark the start of a new corridor of green infrastructure leading from the site – a way for the city to use the vacant land in a more productive manner.
page 16
graphic thinking
page 17