Reclaiming the charm of a Sonoran pueblo 2 Community pride through sculptural monumentation 3 Bringing barren drainages back to life through public activation 4 Story-telling and planning at a historic cultural crossroads 5 Illustrating a river’s energy in open space lands 6 Researching, analyzing, and illustrating urban planning policy 7 Low Impact Development in urban plazas 8 Conceptual design and adaptive reuse at a Texas civic center 9 Framing perspective at a public lands visitor center 10 Landscape drafting and rendering of corridors 11 Front Range landscape design and construction 12
landscape portfolio
PLACITAS
My design goal for the dilapidated pueblo of Fronteras, MX, was to break up the wall-like boundaries of the town’s axial main street, and create oases of commerce. Removal of select run-down buildings opens pedestrianscale, commercial plazas, perpendicular to the street. Within these, an intimate sense of place is formed by drawing in irrigation canal waters to the urban setting, and views are opened towards the town’s lush fields and rugged mountains. From these plazas, residents and visitors can follow a network of pathways paralleling the historic canals; these, in turn, connect to an equestrian center and eco-lodge along the Rio Fronteras. Utilizing GIS, CAD, Sketchup, PS, and IL, I modeled the terrain of the valley, laid out the town’s existing and proposed form in plan and in 3D, and rendered presentation graphics. This design was awarded the ASLA-AZ Student Group Award of Excellence (2009), and today serves as the pueblo’s master plan.
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My primary contributions to a master plan for a hospital expansion were the design of a children’s garden and site monumentation (above and left; University of Arizona Design Excellence Group Award, 2010). By day, children are delighted by vibrant animal sculptures, and by night, lamps inspired by the graceful sideoats grama grass illuminate and transform this place of healing. I mocked up this concept on trace paper and with wire and beads, modeled it in Sketchup, and rendered scenes using Illustrator and Photoshop. Working pro-bono on another project, I designed a sculptural abstraction of the flamenco dress train (Sketchup) set within a traffic circle rain garden (AutoCAD), ushered its approval through the City’s DOT, and oversaw its construction in a Tucson neighborhood.
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Building upon my professional expertise in open space riverside planning, I focused my master’s thesis on the reclamation of urban stormwater systems as public open spaces. One product of this research was the creation of municipal design guidelines (Pima County, AZ) for multi-use Green Infrastructure detention and conveyance BMPs. Using AutoCAD, Google Earth, Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, I created a methodical manual illustrating multidisciplinary concepts and a recommended design process. I also applied these principles to the conceptual design of a 17-acre open space park, which was constructed in 2011. This research and design 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); in 2011, I presented this research to chapters of CO-ASLA, along with Axel Bishop, FASLA.
Planting, 2011
Grading, 2011
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As-Built, 2012
Mission growth and circulation patterns, 1771-1828
Vegetative change, 1853-2010
Garden design conceptual development, 1936-1938
Tumacacori National Historical Park’s 2005 acquisition of an adjacent ranch property necessitated a cultural landscape inventory. As lead researcher and author, I analyzed historic photos, land records, and site drawings; delineated changes to the building clusters and floodplain through different eras; interviewed stakeholders; and compared evidence to known technological and environmental changes. Organized both chronologically and thematically through prose, tables, maps, and illustrations, this 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 historic restoration at the park.
TumacacoriTubac spatial organization, Franciscan mission era
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My submittal for a design competition for the Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center was a conceptual land art master-plan celebrating the survival of the Rio Grande hydro-ecological system. 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 artist 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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I have conducted urban and regional planning research as both a government employee (BLM and Valley Metro Rail), and for three firms (Transcon Environmental; Environmental Planning Group; and Winter and Company). This work has included illustrating a flow chart of the design review approval process for Roswell, GA (right, Illustrator); illustrating the electric grid in Kingman, AZ (below, Illustrator), proposing amendments to the zoning code of Chandler, AZ, to promote adaptive reuse (next below, Excel); and analysis of visual resource impacts caused by a powerline proposal on Scottsdale, AZ (furthest below, GIS).
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As a student (left) and professional (Design Collaborations, Winter and Company; below), I have developed advanced Sketchup modeling skills for the conceptualization and graphic presentation of urban plazas, streetscapes, site plans, and design guidelines. Recently, with Winter and Company, I modeled typologies of positive open spaces and building massing strategies within suburban commercial centers for Goodyear, AZ (directly below), and prototyped Low-Impact Development infrastructure designs for office parks in Roswell, GA (furthest below).
Pedestrian entry plaza
Building articulation
Positive open space basin
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Street
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Stormwater Planter
Bioswale
Rain Garden
In 2014, I worked for Winter and Company to conceptually design, model, and render a civic plaza for Georgetown, TX. This design realizes stakeholder preferences through the use of vernacular forms, contemporary architectural materials, traditional plantings, and a circulatory framework that enhances buildings and outdoor places. The final design, rendered with Sketchup and Podium, includes an amphitheatre, axial promenade, tensile structures, plaza, reading gardens, sculpture garden, pick-up/dropoff, splash pad, and a destination bar and grill via adaptive reuse of a historic power plant.
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Outdoor cafe seating
K
St.
Shade corridor
Reading gardens
Expanded sculpture garden
9th S treet
Children’s play area
Fo
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st
St
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Amphitheater
Large plaza behind library 9
In collaboration with architecture student Youngsoo Kim, I designed a visitor center for Madera Canyon in the Coronado National Forest. Formal plantings along a shaded entry ramp lead to powerfully-framed views from an observation tower, and pensive and private places within a contour-hugging arboretum of locally and regionally native plants.
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Urban landscape cross-section detail (NTS)
STEEL-REINFORCED CONCRETE SEATWALL WITH 1 " CHAMFERED EDGES 2 6" AGGREGATE SUBBASE 2'-0"
5" AGGREGATE SUBBASE PREPARED SUBGRADE 5" CONCRETE BASE REINF. AS REQUIRED 1/2" MORTAR SETTING BED
1/8" CONTROL JOINT
712"
1" SAND BED
412"
SLOPE 4" THICK CONCRETE CAST IN PLACE (TYP.)
PLANT BED PLANTING SOIL MIX AS SPECIFIED
3"
CAST IRON GRATE & FRAME (SEE DETAIL 1)
2'-918"
3'-93 8"
2'-65 8"
2'-65 8"
4'-412"
3 " 4
1/2" MORTAR JOINTS
CONCRETE FOOTING, REINF. AS REQUIRED, DEPTH VARIES WITH FROSTLINE, 12" MIN.
COMPACTED SUBGRADE
Irrigation wiring detail (NTS)
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
Irrigation Zoning/Sidewalk Layout (NTS)
I am skilled at using AutoCAD (and Revit) for the production of CDs. Shown here are anurban landscape cross-section (top; student), public park irrigation and hardscape plan (above left; EPG, LLC), and irrigation wiring detail (above right; EPG, LLC). I am particularly proficient using AutoCAD 3D and Civil 3D, in conjunction with 3ds Max and Photoshop, to create photorealistic simulations of transmission tower, power-line, building pad, road, and ROW clearance proposals (below, EPG, LLC; FRCC). Civil 3D: draping project features
Simulated Conditions
3ds Max: Matching the scene & rendering
Photoshop: stitching & blending
Roadway Corridor: Plan, Section, Profile
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Recently, I have designed and supervised construction of residential landscapes in Boulder and Denver (Refuge Land Design, LLC; Ecoscape Environmental Design). In these projects, I have designed and/or built: drainage and water retention systems; walks, patios, and walls of flagstone, Pavestone, and concrete; retaining walls, firepits, and rock gardens; irrigation systems (drip and spray); path and accent lighting and wiring; and planting beds. In this work, I have produced construction estimates, selected and arranged delivery of materials, overseen work crews, practiced many crafts, and translated plans to construction process. In combination with my work as a gardener at Denver Botanic Gardens (top), these experiences have also helped me form an excellent foundation of horticultural knowledge and landscape design practices suitable for the Front Range.
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