MELISSA EWART
CONTENTS
01 ABOUT ME 01 02 TERRAPIN BEER CO. 02 03 PERSPECTIVE PARK 03 04 MOSS SIDE DRIVE 04 05 PERSONAL WORKS 05
KEEP IN TOUCH!
ABOUT ME
214 790 9363 Melissa.Ewart@uga.edu
ABOUTDESIGN ME STATEMENT
I have always been something of a daredevil. This was especially evident in childhood, where every chance I got I would be precariously balanced in a tree or riding way too fast down a hill on my Razer scooter. Eventually, this need for speed landed me chin first on the sidewalk after flying over the handlebars -- an accidental stunt caused by a tree root growing over the sidewalk. This was my first experience with landscape architecture. Long after I outgrew my scooter, I still question the humble sidewalk. A love for art and science, and a lack of acceptance of “just the way things are,” led me to landscape architecture. The excitement of an infinite number of problems to solve made me stay. In this field I have the opportunity to change the world at every scale. I can plant someone’s favorite flower in their yard and make that person smile when they see it. I can create a system of overlapping parks that form an ecological corridor in an urban desert. I can work with cities to form initiatives to combat global climate change. The possibilities are as exciting as they are infinite. Landscape architecture and planning are the professions of daredevils. We are people who dare to change the world for the better. I have always admired the tree root that dared grow through solid asphalt, and I strive to design for that tree. We should be celebrating the plants in the sidewalk cracks, not hoping they don’t find their way in. Being a landscape architect means having the opportunity to change the standards. It means being humbled by nature at every turn. It means designing a fully overgrown skate park with constantly changing obstacles. For all those reasons, I can’t wait to see the impact I’ll make! 1
EDUCATION Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, University of Georgia Athens, Georgia - 2017-2021
• GPA: 3.94 • Certificates in Sustainability and Entrepreneurship • pursuing a master’s degree in Environmental Planning through an accelerated program
EXPERIENCE
Front of House, Chick-fil-A Downtown Athens
Athens, Georgia - 2018-present • customer service skills • going “the extra mile” in a fast-paced team environment • “service over self” philosophy
EXTRACURRICULAR
Camp Kesem at the University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia - 2017-present • summer camp planner and counselor for children affected by a parent’s cancer • Community Ambassadors committee member • leading fund-raiser (camp is free for kids)
HONORS Academic
• LEED Green Associate • Presidential Scholar 2018-present • College of Environment and Design Ambassador 2018-present
Fine Arts
• Georgia State Botanical Garden Art Contest Winner 2018
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For more intimate gatherings, picnic tables are dispersed throughout a muhly grass-lined grove.
TERRAPIN BEER CO. Backyard Redesign
Fall 2018 Collaborators: Mackenzie Tobin and Perry Taylor All renderings produced by me.
Rock Climbing Wall for the adventurous beer drinker.
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The Bent Archway creates an exciting space for an intimate wedding.
Terrapin Beer Co. is a brewery committed to their community. While only a five-minute drive from downtown Athens, Terrapin has an abundance of open space that they lovingly refer to as “Athens’ Biggest Backyard.� Our client, Brewmaster Spike, desired a design that accommodates multiple scales of events so that an intimate wedding would feel just as appropriate as an arts festival in the 1.7-acre site.
A storage trailer is repurposed into a movie screen.
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Terrapin models their business off of hiking culture and the music of The Grateful Dead, appealing to both the “granola” and “Deadhead” aesthetics. Our design focuses on this unique combination by allowing for plantings to appear as though they are conquering the designed landscape and using inspiration from Grateful Dead albums to design colorful site installations such as the locomotive-inspired Bar. We incorporated junkyard cars as seating and materials that already existed on the site to keep the project as low budget as possible, as well as creating a casual and fun space that provides a sense of enclosure at several different scales. This elevates the space from a basic backyard to an outdoor community space that contributes to Terrapin’s brand. The Backyard Bar is inspired by a locomotive tilted off-center.
Repurposed junkyard cars being “overcome” by naturalistic plantings.
FINAL ARCHWAY
The stage serves as a focal point for the Bent Archway.
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TERRAPIN BEER CAN 8
Climbing boulders, shallow water features, and seating areas allow for a variety of experiences. 9
PERSPECTIVE PARK
Urban Landmark and Oasis Fall 2018
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Extensive iterations of both the ground and sky planes led to my final design.
Self-produced model of an armillary sphere.
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Perspective Park is a hypothetical design of a 100 by 100-foot square urban park based off of the geometry and history of the circle. Throughout time, the circle has represented eternity, serenity, balance, and wholeness. If rotated on its axis, the circle becomes a sphere. I chose to base my design off of an armillary sphere, an object made of several circles which can be used as a way-finding device for stars and planets.
Rhino model of Armillary Arches.
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Spherical boulders serve as a natural play area for children and adults.
Reflecting Pool invites physical and philosophical reflection.
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Radial benches, pavers, and seat walls allow the users to de-stress from urban life in whichever way is most comfortable to them.
Large steel arches inspired by the armillary sphere make the park an icon while also creating a sense of enclosure that is necessary in an urban oasis. These arches are then reflected in a circular pool, completing the sphere. Stylized concentric rings radiate from the pool in the form of seat walls and narrow pools, contributing further to the park’s sense of serenity. Finally, wildflower meadows, turf, and naturalistic “forest� plantings allow for users to choose the experience that feels most comfortable to them -- all in the name of circular wholeness.
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The oversized traffic circle in my Elatior Estates design serves as grand community entrance, bioretention basin, and gathering space.
MOSS SIDE DRIVE One Site, Three Designs Spring 2019
Moss Side Drive, located in Athens, Georgia, is home to a small community surrounding a privately-owned lake. This lake, along with the forest and trails that encompass it, served as the site for three different hypothetical designs. Site analysis as well as the preferences of myself and a client were heavy influences on my design choices.
Sleeping Location
Slope Analysis
Water Source Diagram
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Daily Movement Paths
Soil Analysis
My first design of the site involved the creation of an idea, rather than a place. I designed for a nomad living on the site, which meant that all food, water, and temporary shelter had to be planned. Because this nomad had to constantly remain in the elements, analysis of sunshade patterns, wind patterns, and water and soil quality were incredibly important. The design consisted of creating sleeping, eating, recreation, and waste disposal plans for all four seasons.
Existing Conditions
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For the second design, Elatior Estates, my client wanted a small neighborhood with a Southern California modern feel and a strong sense of community. Along with this, I strived to preserve the natural ecology and cycles on the site as much as possible. This led to a low impact design for eight homes with three community gathering spaces. The entrance to the community is an oversized traffic circle that slows cars while forcing users to decompress while they enter their home. The median of the traffic circle includes a bioretention basin, flower farm, and community pool. These amenities serve as a venue for a more intimate gathering or quiet self reflection.
A strong sense of community is instilled in residents through a communal front yard where modern elements and a series of oversized pergolas create an iconic yet homey space where everyone can gather. All homes are focused in on this space and have small backyards to further encourage interaction amongst neighbors. This interaction begins when the residents leave their cars behind at the community entrance and walk to their homes together. Additionally, all homes are required to have solar panels and cisterns, which encourages friendly competition amongst neighbors for the “most green home.� 19
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The final design, Woodland Hills, is a mixed-use devel site and focused on walkability and preserving t is a circular parking garage that doubles as a to socialize and gather in the place they l the importance of human interaction to be made while walking ho land untouched and utili preserve the site’s exist reclaiming the land,� through to allo Additional in the m
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lopment inspired by several mosses found on the site’s ecology. A unique feature of the site community center. By encouraging residents leave their cars, the design reminds people of and provides an opportunity for connections ome. The design also leaves two-thirds of the izing green roofs and permeable pavement to ting water cycles. The design theme is “nature � which is seen where buildings have been cut ow for circulation and a more natural grading. lly, residents each have their own plot of land community garden as well as along the three main walkways on which to grow their desired crop. All buildings are three stories high to preserve sight lines and safe streets, and the first story of every building is zoned for retail. This allows for the privacy as well as the community that we as humans strive for.
Single family homes are entirely self-sustaining.
Parking deck serves as a community center.
Fan Clubmoss Inspiration.
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PERSONAL WORKS
2018-current Georgia State Botanical Gardens 2018 Art Contest Winner 24
I have always had a natural talent for art, and I do not remember a time when I wasn’t playing with some type of new medium. A passion for getting as messy as possible has led me to experimenting with just about anything that puts color to paper. My current love is watercolors, but I switch between mediums depending on how I feel the subject would be best portrayed. To the left is a free-hand depiction of a character from the video game ‘Halo’, painted in acrylic. Made for a loved one, the painting speaks volumes toward my determination and eye for proportions.
The painting featured above is a watercolor sketch from a Maymester I took during the summer of 2019, in which we traveled through Boston, New York, and Philadelphia while sketching iconic examples of landscape architecture and visiting prominent firms in the northeast. This particular sketch is of Mt. Auburn Cemetery, where I sat on the shore of a pond and sketched what I saw across the water. Producing art is one of my greatest joys in life, and I hope to one day use this talent to illustrate children’s books about landscape architecture.
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