landscape/planning portfolio Sketchup designs for town revitalization 2 Place-making through custom lighting/monumentation 3 Bringing barren drainages back to life 4 Story-telling and foundational planning for a historic site 5 Illustrating a river’s energy through hand graphics 6 Siting utilities and managing resources 7 Landscape and architectural drafting 9 Photorealistic simulations 10
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My roles in creating a town revitalization plan for the dilapidated pueblo of Fronteras, MX, were to interview residents (in Spanish) regarding public works and land use, plan a modified wastewater treatment system, and get community buy-in for pedestrian use of the town’s historic canals. I then built a Sketchup model of the town’s topography and buildings. On this base, I reoriented the town’s commercial center towards pastoral views, designed a riverside equestrian center, and translated these conceptual proposals into Sketchup for presentation graphics. This project was awarded the ASLA-AZ Student Award of Excellence (Group, 2010). Existing
Proposed
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“Noxious odors from the existing untreated wastewater system can be abated using tertiary treatment with chemical processes and a subsurface wetland, creating a lush habitat around which an RV park, campground, and tree-lined boulevard can be built to invite visitors to town.”
My primary contribution to a master plan for a new childrens’ hospital was the design of place-making monumentation. Inspired by the graceful form of an outstanding native grass, sideoats grama, these dynamic sculptures move with the wind by day, and change color when a young patient approaches them by night. These fabricated elements introduce a playful, soothing, and regionally-appropriate form to this award-winning master plan (University of Arizona Design Excellence Group Award, 2010). I mocked up this concept in wire and beads, modeled it in Sketchup, and rendered scenes using Illustrator and Photoshop.
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To create municipal guidelines (Pima County, AZ) for the design of semiarid Low Impact Development/Green Infrastructure BMPs that can also provide recreational use and enhance a community’s visual character, I synthesized concepts of environmental science and design. Using Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, I created an illustrative, methodical manual which was later incorporated into the County’s Drainage Criteria Manual. I applied these principles to the conceptual design of a 17-acre riparian mitigation area, which was constructed in 2011. This research gained the Desert Studies Award (Garden Club of America, 2009), as well as the University of Arizona’s Dept. of L.A.’s Outstanding Thesis Award (2010).
Seeding, 2011
Grading, 2011
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As-Built, 2012
As the lead researcher and author of a cultural landscape inventory of Tumacacori National Historical Park, I was responsible for all facets of historic landscape research and document production. Research included: digitization and analysis of historic photos, land records, and site drawings; description of cultural traditions practiced at the site; aerial photo time-series interpretation; interview of previous landowners, NPS employees and stakeholders; delineation of historic, modern-era, and contemporary landscape features; and comparison of historic site evidence to known technological and environmental history. Organized both chronologically and thematically through written explanations, maps, and illustrations, this historical document has been referred to as an “encyclopedia” of the park’s history by the park’s chief of resources. Since its completion, it has opened new opportunities for visitor interpretation, and provided evidence necessary for reclaiming the historic layout of the mission’s associated agricultural landscape.
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My submittal for a design competition for the Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center was a conceptual master-plan celebrating the survival of the Rio Grande. Re-directed river flows, and a procession of land-art installations interpret the “control” and “flow” of the riverine system. Utilizing on-site materials, including jetty-jacks, these sculptures and earthworks tell a story of both the harnessed and unrestrained power of this life-giving river. In order to keep the design of individual installations open to interpretation, I hand-sketched a master plan and installation vignettes, rendered these with marker, Photoshop, and InDesign to form a consistent visual language, and organized them in the form of a “walking tour” map.
inlet
air-space flight backwater basin narrows
apron
snag
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As an environmental planner for Transcon Environmental and EPG, LLC, I helped manage the permitting progress of a mining project, and analyzed land use and resource impacts caused by utility and road proposals. In these roles, I built GIS models, mapped impacts, strategically sited facilities, illustrated public communication materials, tracked permitting requirements with spreadsheets, and wrote technical reports.
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Refuged/Unrefuged Site Comparison With 95% Confidence Intervals 600 Refuged
500
Unrefuged
Average 400 Height 300 (cm) 200 100 0
Mt. Maple
Chokecherry
Aspen
Species
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Oak
As a biologist and planner for the NPS, BLM, and EPG, LLC, I produced habitat surveys, biological studies, and vegetation mgmt plans. In these roles, I produced statistical studies, wrote standard operating procedures, built GIS maps, and illustrated recommended methods.
I am proficient drafting with AutoCAD 2012, Civil 3D, Revit, and Solidworks. Some examples of my use of these programs include, I have prepared planting and hardscape plans (below, student), sized/laid out drip irrigation lines and sidewalk expansion joints (right, EPG, LLC), and created detailed architectural elevations (above left, student), among others. I have also produced 3D models by importing .dwgs into laser-cutters and Sketchup (above right, Design Collaborations, Ltd).
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Existing Conditions (base photograph)
Civil 3D: Draping Project Features
3ds Max: Matching the scene & rendering
Simulated Conditions
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At EPG, LLC, I created legally-defensible photorealistic simulations showing “before” and “after” conditions of powerline proposals. In each of these, I began by photographing the viewpoint and measuring features of the scene with a GPS. Using Civil 3D, I draped structure models onto a DEM, connected them with 3D conductors, and graded building pads. I then used 3ds Max to match the perspective of the .dwg to that of the photo, apply materials to the model, accurately light the scene, and render .pngs. Finally, using PS, I stitched these .pngs together, and added vegetation layers using copies, brushes, filters, and masks. Precise rendering of this sort demonstrates both individual and cross-platform software proficiency.
Photoshop: Stitching & Blending