Portfolio: Landscape Architecture and Planning

meg koglin

BY MEG KOGLIN

Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA I) 2020 - 2023

Harvard Graduate School of Design

meg.koglin@gmail.com

646.385.2183

portfolio

Worker Well-Being through Biophilia

ABOVE, BEYOND

The Future of Antwerp’s Mobility and Public Space

LANDSCAPES OF REMEMBRANCE

Ecological Cemetery in a Large Urban Park CITY HALL PLAZA Space for Protest

THE NEAR-FUTURE CITY

GSD MLA Core IV Studio, 2022

Prompt: Urban Assemblages for the 21st Century

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

NEW FUTURES IN NEWMARKET SQUARE: WORKER WELL-BEING THROUGH BIOPHILIA

My proposal integrates worker wellness into existing urban industrial systems.

Located along interstate and train freight lines that connect to one of the country’s three major Atlantic ports, Newmarket Square is a critical food distribution hub for Boston and beyond. Aside from a portion of big-box retail, the neighborhood is comprised of light industry such as warehouses, shipping facilities, food processing and construction headquarters. There are excess private parking lots, insufficient public parking spaces, haphazard intersections, and heavy truck traffic alongside vast impermeable surfaces and uninviting security fences. The lack of green space and trees is notably different than adjacent neighborhoods and greater Boston.

There is room to make Newmarket more joyful and healthy without compromising productivity, and instead increasing long-term efficiencies and economic gains. This project deploys a biophilic design strategy to improve the well-being of laborers. For individual workers, psychological benefits of biophilic design include decreased tension, anxiety, stress, anger, fatigue, and confusion. Biophilic design also cultivates positive physiological responses, including optimal operation of musculoskeletal, respiratory, aural, circadian, and hormonal systems. Exposure to nature or biophilic design yields higher cognitive function - logic, memory, creativity, focus and decision-making. These health benefits for the city’s essential distribution workers will lead to gains for business owners, society, and government.

The design creates access to biophilia during daily labor and break time. Such microrestoration benefits can occur in as little as 5-20 minutes in nature or a biophilic environment, and compound into accumulated health and economic benefits.

NEWMARKET SQUARE

01

Scaffolding supports climbing

08

Draping, swaying canopies

Glass walls for natural light and views of plants

Atriums for view

Staggered vertical planting and views Green trucking corridor 02 Green facades for trucking corridors 06 Planting replaces chainlink fences

Planted Courtyards

with negative space for planting

Atriums with interior planting view during work

rooftops for social space and solo restoration

URBAN ASSEMBLAGES

BELOW, ABOVE, BEYOND

Harvard GSD Option Studio with Assistant Professor Jungyoon Kim, 2023

Prompt: The Future of Antwerp’s Mobility and Public Space

Site: Proposed A102 underground tunnel circumnavigating Antwerp, Belgium

ELEMENTAL PUNCTUATION

This studio interrogated the ongoing development of the Oosterweel Link that will close the ring road around Antwerp, Belgium. This road, intended to run mainly underground, will enhance mobility around Antwerp and will build connection into the Flemish region and greater Europe.

The project was informed by site analysis, community advocacy groups, thermal engineering workshops, and a “learning share” with Urban Design masters students at the University of Antwerp.

I designed a green corridor along the tunnel route for public open space and pollution management. My tunnel concept connects subterrainian activity to the greater landscape with large portals that bring air, water, and light to the drivers underground. These openings are surrounded by native tree species that can tolerate and filter pollution. The portals will also cast light onto the evening landscape above ground, providing safety and landmarks in the public park. Excavated earth from the tunnel construction will be used to build berms that muffle roadway noise and to create a safety barrier between pedestrians, cyclists, and aboveground traffic.

This is the city’s proposed tunnel location to close the Antwerp Ring Road.

Rhythmic portals will punctuate the ground surface to connect underground and above-ground experiences.

new: underground (tunnel) road

new: above ground road

prevailing wind direction

existing: dormant agricultural fields

existing: lawn and unproductive meadow

existing: forested historic grounds

new: forested pollution uptake and park buffer from industry

new: windbreak landforms

SITE FRAMEWORK

green corridor along tunnel

meandering paths through windbreak berms

BICYCLE HIGHWAY

primary neighborhood bicycle routes

bicycle commuter “highway”

TRAM

public transportation connection to central Antwerp

ROADS ABOVE GROUND

NEIGHBORHOODS

historic “castle” estates with public grounds

residential

UNDERGROUND TUNNEL

industry and big-box retail

MOBILITY

primary road above ground

primary road below ground secondary road above ground tram

bicycle highway

walking path

LANDFORM

reservoirs contour, 1m existing contour, 1m new contour, 1m eliminated prevailing wind norway spruce

TREE SPECIES

Picea abies

scots pine

Pinus sylvestris

silver birch

Betula pendula

european beech

Fagus sylvatica

elder

Sambucas nigra

yew

Taxus baccata

oak

Quercus robur

LANDSCAPES OF REMEMBRANCE

MLA Core II Studio, 2021

Prompt: Design a cemetery in Franklin Park, part of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

“It is the site of life from which life has departed … the fact that life with its wealth and its changes once dwelled here constitutes an immediately perceived presence.”

Georg Simmel, ‘The Ruin’, 2003

WINDOWS OF TIME: LAYERED CYCLES

Glades – forest openings – bring attention to life cycles in this cemetery design. They showcase change at the geological, botanical, arborical and celestial scales, such as garden growth or eroding conglomerate rock. The connection to life cycles may bring solace to accompany the ever-changing phases of grief.

Shadowy woodland paths trace glacial topography, opening into glades that highlight time beyond the human scale. Meandering throughout the park, visitors stumble upon openings with quiet, minimalist spaces for contemplation. The seating and reflective water in these openings use stone and minimalist design strokes that quietly blend with the existing site character, such as the terraced seating beside Pleistocene rock outcroppings.

The openings and landforms also create isolated views of the sky, bringing the distant celestial and geological time into an awe-inspiring, connected, intimate reflection space. Other woodland glades open into circular plazas, where the shape conveys cyclical continuity. Cyclical organization is underscored by fractal spirals that direct circulation.

In the woodland burial, low-profile headstones sprinkle the ground like the site’s puddingstone boulders have for millennia before them. Bringing the eye vertical in the same space, grandiose trees reach up to the skies – or heavens – with a dignified posture that creates a protective canopy above the deceased resting beneath them.

Columbarium, renewable tenure burial, and their respective gardens are also organized by spiral fractals, representing infinitely cycling growth and death. Through experiencing these ranging stages of life, perhaps visitors will feel hope that they, too, may be able to better carry their layers of grief over time.

SKY VIEW INVERTED DOME

SECONDARY ARRIVAL

RENEWABLE TENURE

GARDEN BURIAL

GARDEN COLUMBARIUM

SITE

WOODLAND COLUMBARIUM

PRIMARY ARRIVAL

WOODLAND BURIAL

FRANKLIN PARK

INVERTED DOME CELESTIAL VIEWS LOW PROFILE COLUMBARIUM

WOODLAND BURIAL

VIEW FROM THE ROAD

My serial sections are inspired by The View from the Road by Donald Appleyard, John Randolph Myer, and Kevin A. Lynch. The pivotal planning book deals with the way highways are experienced by drivers and passengers, and it inspires how I consider and communicate the park experience for vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians who stay on the primary roadside path.

Glade

Rock

Outcropping

Vinca minor and Galium odoratum spread to cover ground disturbed by burial. Burial continues until the garden plot is full, which is an average of 8 graves per plot.

RENEWABLE TENURE CYCLE

Meadow Planting Botanical Maturation

Trees and shrubs draw water up from soil to lower the water table. This promotes the oxygen exchange needed for efficient aerobic decomposition.

Minimum of 15 years until site is recycled for next burial phase.

Decomposition Phytoremediation

Cellulosic composite casket is buried at depth of 3-4’ for natural decomposition and fertile soil.

Body decomposes in 4-6 weeks, releasing moisture into soil.

Casket fully biodegrades. Soil rebalances in preparation for next burial cycle.

CIRCULATION

Burial Arrival

Glade, Pedestrian I

Pedestrain II

Car

CITY HALL PLAZA

GSD MLA Core I Studio, 2020

Prompt: Space for Protest

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

This was the first project in our MLA I Studio curriculum, where all learning and model-making were remote due to the pandemic point in time. My skills grew extensively after that first month of the 3-year degree, but I share this to demonstrate my interest in designing large civic spaces to meet broad and evolving public needs.

I wanted it to be more than a place that people rush through during their commute, but instead somewhere to:

... sit down for lunch

... get out of the home office to engage with the world

... get out of the office-office for fresh air

... let the kids run around while resting for a moment

... attend a weekly farmers’ market or seasonal holiday market

... engage in safe and civil protest

... participate in what makes a space a place

... influence evolution over time

The ‘dune’ landforms guide circulation and also provide platforms for seating, play, standing events.

MBTA Public Transit Stop City Hall

GRADE, ENTRY, + EGRESS

Congress Street grading toward gathering zones and public transit

Cambridge Street access to ‘express’ pedestrian path across plaza daily provide terraced play, and

SKETCH STUDIES

I did the following loose sketches and tracings to study planting layers and detail. Drawing helps me to understand a space and etch it into memory.

1 The Garden as Breath, Spirit Level

2 Seattle Residence: Native Gardens, GGN

3 Westerly Terrace, Terremoto

4 Unknown source photo

5 Whitley Heights, Terremoto

9

6 Park Roof House, MDA Architecture

7 Unknown source photo

8 Evans Garden, David Kamp

Sensory Autism Garden, David Kamp

APPROXIMATE DIMENSIONS

Plants and Placemaking Elective, 2022 Instructor: Matthew Cunningham

Achille a mille folium 'Sa s s y Summe r Ta ffy '

Achille a 'Moons hine '

Aconit um na pe llus

Aruncus dioicus

Crocus bilflorus 'Mis s Va in'

E china ce a purpure a 'Ma gnus '

E ra nt his hy e ma lis

E upa t orium ma cula t um 'Ga t e wa y '

Iris s ibirica ‘ Ca e s a r ’ s Brot he r ’

PLANTING DESIGN

This assignment is my first attempt at a garden planting scheme, selecting from a list of plants provided by the instructor. On the next page, you will find a research matrix that I made to decide how to use each plant for a cohesive layout. The challenge of doing this assignment from my desk influenced my decision to take a Spring/Summer gardening job to learn more hands-on.

Ha k one chloa ma cra 'Aure ola '

Achillea 'Moonshine' yarrow cultivar

Achillea millefolium 'Sassy Summer Taffy'

yarrow culltivar

Aconitum napellus monkshood, wolfsbane, aconite

Aruncus dioicus

Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'

Iris sibirica ‘Caesar’s Brother’

Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus'

Eupatorium maculatum 'Gateway'

Stipa calamagrostis Spear grass

Crocus bilflorus 'Miss Vain' crocus cultivar

Verbena 'Superbena Large Lilac Blue' Trailing Verbena 'Superbena' series cultivar

Siberian Iris cultivar

Eranthis hyemalis winter aconite

evergreen foliage

easy care with drought, heat, humidity

use in garden beds and borders, including cottage garden, meadow and prarie style

evergreen foliage

easy care with drought, heat, humidity

use in garden beds and borders, including cottage garden, meadow and prarie style

Highly toxic! Poisonous roots, leaves, stems. Wear gloves. Avoid planting where kids and animals may come into contact.

Cut back after flowering to promote re-bloom later in season

use in garden beds and borders, cottage and traditional garden

feathery plumes of tiny star-like flowers stand above dark green foliage

male plants' flowers are considered more attracted than female plants' flowers

foliage is beautiful too; bushy with fronds of leaves

variegated leaves remind me of spider plant

great fall color (copper-orange)

use in beds, borders, edging, ground covers, patio and containers

nice contrast near streams or ponds

wear gloves and protective clothing when handling

big burnt orange textured cone center surrounded by purple-tinged petals that droop off from cone

use in beds, borders, containers, wild gardens, prairie, meadow

seed heads provide texture and interest in winter garden; gorgeous when covered in frost or snow

large, densely packed clusters of flowers, with clusters up to 8" wide; attractive foliage; this cultivar is more compact than other varieties; it is shorter and bushier with tighter and thicker flower heads

great background plant; blooms profusely from mid-summer to fall and its seedheads remain attractive in winter; gorgeous when covered in frost or snow

use in beds, borders, cottage gardens, meadows, wild gardens, rain gardens, and as accent plant

Europe, Western Asia, North America

attracts butterflies

tolerates deer and rabbits

toxic to dogs, cats, horses

attracts butterflies and bees tolerates deer and rabbits toxic to dogs, cats, horses

deer and rabbit resistant

toxic to people and animals

attracts bees and butterflies rabbit resistant

Europe and central Asia

North America - central and eastern

North America - moist woods and meadows from southern Canada to Florida and west to Texas

attracts hummingbirds toxic to dogs, cats, horses deer tolerant

drought tolerant

Europe - central and southern

attracts hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators

deer resistant

if flower heads are left to remain in the fall, birds will feed on cone seeds

fragrant blooms attract bees and butterflies for nectar

deer and rabbit resistant

ornamental seedheads are also food for birds in winter

use in beds, borders, city, courtyard, coastal garde, cottage, modern, prairie, meadow deer tolerant

blooms continuously from summer to frost, with profuse blooms covering foliage

use in beds, borders, ground covers, hanging baskets, patio, containers

early spring blooming; looks amazing in large drfits; plant 100 - 150 corms for effect; fragrant & showy

white flowers with prominent orange-ish yellow anthers; dark green leaves with silver center stripe

use in beds, borders, containers, rock garden, prairie, meadow, in front of shrubs, along walkways, etc

use in beds and borders deer tolerant

winter to very early spring blooming bulb; blooms before crocus

attracts butterflies

PLANTING DESIGN

Plants and Placemaking Elective, 2022

Instructor: Matthew Cunningham

Perennials and Grasses

Perennials & Grasses Spread Range per Plant Notation

Achille a mille folium 'Sa s s y Summe r Ta ffy '

Achille a 'Moons hine '

Crocus bilflorus 'Mis s Va in'

E china ce a purpure a 'Ma gnus '

E ra nthis hy e ma lis

E upa torium ma cula tum 'Ga te wa y '

Stipa ca la ma gros tis

Shrubs Spread Notation

Shrubs

Cle thra a lnifolia

Fothe rgilla ga rde nii

Hy dra nge a que rcifolia 'Ruby Slippe rs '

ndron ma x imum

Rhodode

Viburnum de nta tum

BOTANICAL JOURNAL

MLA Core I Ecology, Techniques, and Technology, 2020

This course was taught by two plant-adoring (and unanimously adored) landscape architects, Matthew Cunningham and Doug Reed. Their teaching philosophy is intentionally not location-specific, since students in the course are from all over the world. Instead, they teach how to study contextual plants anywhere.

One of the course assignments was to produce a plant journal. They guided us on important categories to consider, such as root space, scale and pollution tolerance.

I have included a small selection of those journal pages.

COMMUNITY + ECOSYSTEM-INFORMED PLANNING + DESIGN

Harvard GSD Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning Elective Studio

Location: Willamette Valley, Oregon

HEALING THROUGH NATURE

This design and planning studio partnered with Parrott Creek Child and Family Services, a non-profit that supports children and families in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Their ‘Ranch’ program is “a long term residential treatment program for adolescent boys with a focus on developing sustainable and prosocial behaviors and skills that help them reach their full potential. The Ranch staff help youth develop life skills, accountability and personal regulation so that they can become contributing members of society.” This program is an alternative to juvenile detention facilities.

The 80-acre forested site is located in an otherwise agricultural area outside of Portland, Oregon. The

youth live there for a few months to a couple of years, and they are supervised at all hours. We met with them remotely on six occasions, and we did video site tours with a local ecologist.

Most of the boys had not been around nature before they came to The Ranch. They reported various comfort levels and wishes to us, which underscored and added to the research I did on youth trauma.

I developed a framework of gradients into nature and safe risk-taking. The spatial principles offer gradual acclimatization to the site and meet a range of shifting emotional and physical needs.

200’

The site provides gradients of immersion in nature.

There are options for unique perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs), depending on the individual child, trauma triggers, and shifting sensitivities at a given moment.

ability to find relaxation to mitigate a trauma response

attention restoration therapy (ART)

practice of mindful awareness, observation, curiosity

decrease in chronic stress and anxiety decrease; stabilization of mood

improvement in coursework, problem-solving, and social interactions

healthy new neuropathways and behavioral patterns grow to override those that developed in response to

increase in self-esteem and sense of competency; decrease in self-loathing and defense behaviors

emotion of awe

inclusion of self in nature; connectedness and a feeling that life has meaning

THE GRADIENT FRAMEWORK SUPPORTS BEHAVIORAL EDUCATION, AND MINDFULNESS TRAINING FOR SYSTEM AND MOVE FORWARD AS HEALTHY

individual

opportunity for time alone while in a supervised incarceration environment

play in nature at a range of comfort levels

increase in physical activity

engage in safe risk and novel, unstructured experience

self-reflection, insights, and learning to understand oneself

less likely to succomb to substance abuse, depression, and other mental illness in the future

development of spatial skills and improvement of overall health

increase in autonomy and self-confidence

BEHAVIORAL THERAPY, INDIVIDUALLY TAILORED

FOR YOUTH TO SAFELY LEAVE THE INCARCERATION

HEALTHY AND RESILIENT MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.

practice in solving problems

social and cognitive maturation

YOUTH ENGAGEMENT: EXISTING SITE

In the first engagement session -- over video call -- we asked them to name parts of the property as they commonly refer to them. We discussed usage, likes, dislikes, and their ideas for improvement.

SITE WISHES

In the 4th engagement session, we reviewed models, drawings, and ideas they had worked on in an elective design class they were able to take for school credit. Their ideas heavily influenced my programming.

meadow wetland forest

I studied soil data, plant typology, and topography to map ecosystems across the whole site. Here, I show the ecosystem varieties as transects that I chose to design into my framework of gradient experience.

water flow

ponding

flooding

I made a water flow diagram to understand site dynamics because the youth mentioned areas with standing water, soggy ground, and seasonal streams that limited where they could spend time outdoors. To do this, I obtained Lidar imaging in ArcGIS, and brought that into Rhino to make a 3D terrain model. Next, I used a Grasshopper script to produce a water flow diagram. I manually checked the algorithmic flow result, and used contour understanding to draw the bold flow arrows so it was more clear for audiences who are not familiar with topography or watersheds.

BLIND TO LEFT EYE

BLIND TO RIGHT EYE

Visibility is as important for the youth’s experience as it is a necessity for staff. Since this is a juvenile justice rehabilitation center, it is legally required that youth are supervised at all hours. I made this diagram of human vision range from the office viewshed to inform the master plan and site program.

RAIN SUN HOURS

Risk of Seasonal Affective Disorder is higher than average in this climate region as well as for this group who has experienced childhood trauma. With this in mind, I analyzed sun, rain, and temperature data to consider year-round needs for light and outdoor access. I found that the rain volume and sunlight hours were inversely proproptional over the arc of a year, and temperature was pleasantly moderate. I made this diagram to illustrate this to stakeholders so they would understand and value how my framework and master plan address year-round outdoor experience.

WETLAND ACCESS

DRY LOOP PATH AND INTERNAL RAISED WALKWAYS TO EXPERIENCE ECOSYSTEM

winding path transitions through eco-zones with gradual transition from built to natural

sport and rec field on flat, well-draining land

MEADOW GRADIENTS

MEANDER PATHS AND OPEN AREAS HAVE REGIMEN OF MOW, LOW MOW, NO MOW (GROW)

recreation area, covered mixed-use pavillion, gathering spaces for group or individual, views of sunset

plantings border buildings and biophilic view; meals, school, work,

THRESHOLD ENTRIES

VIEWS CHANGE GRADUALLY FROM ENCLOSED TO OPEN, OPEN TO ENCLOSED

buildings for privacy central seating for work, relaxing open space transitions very gradually into forest for most severely traumatized youth

WIDE PRIMARY PATH

WITHIN BOUNDS OF WELL-DRAINING SOIL; OPEN PATH WITH LOW-GRADE SLOPES

the steep slopes and water crossings are designed for a range of comfort levels, from high accessibility to risk play

FOREST OPENINGS

THRESHOLD VIEW

CLEARING ECOSYSTEM TRANSITION

terraced seating, platforms and pathways integrated into hill for coursework, social gathering or alone time

higher incline, higher risk path loop includes obstacle course stations

USE

INDEPENDENCE

GRADIENTS: Bands represent 15’ intervals and a gradual

SMALL LAWN MIXED

DOUGLAS FIR FOREST

gradual safe distance from staff supervision, classrooms, and dormitories.