portfolio michael scott bey
This site is located outside of Martin Hall on the Cook Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick NJ. Martin Hall is an administrative building with a multitude of parking spaces surrounding it. This site presented a great opportunity to get rid of the unnecessary parking spaces in this bump out of Lipman Drive and to include an interesting space that Cook students can be proud of and use. This design attempts that by providing an extension to the existing, yet dull circulation path, as well as seating while being protected from the traffic activity of Lipman Drive. Through the use of augmented reality, I was able to test my design in the site itself.
The Scarlet Plaza design takes into consideration multiple aspects making it strong proposal for this site. These include preserving and defining a connection between the existing red gravel corridor, a very popular path used to get across campus. Another aspect includes 3 foot high planters with lush plantings, overhead structures, and small trees. This allows people to feel enclosed and safe traveling along Lipman Drive, which is a tight street that can be intimidating to travel due to the buses and fast
paced traffic. Lastly, this space provides seating and preserves views out toward Passion Puddle, located north east from the site which is an important natural element to Cook Campus.
This design is to be constructed entirely out of wood. Most of the design would consist of wood stained 2x4 pressure treated lumber with the exception of the base of the planters and the ADA accessible ramp on the western edge of the site which are proposed to be made of plywood. The plants include serviceberry trees to provide a break in ground plane and a different overhead texture other than the wood structure, red twig dogwood, and ornamental grasses such as northwind switchgrass. These plants were chosen for their heartiness, seasonal aesthetic, and texture.
Growing up, I was never close with the idea of death. I wasn’t exposed to it nor did I fully understand it. My only idea of cemeteries came from what was seen on television or the desolate cemetery found off of the Garden State Parkway by exit 145. After going back and forth with design ideas, I spoke to my mom for some insight. Her idea of a burial didn’t involve a casket. She has a hard time believing the person is still there below the ground. That is the reason why we hardly every visit my past relatives who are buried. That lack of exposure developed a disconnection between me and cemeteries. That disconnection influenced further
research into how a landscape can embody disconnection and serve an ecological purpose. That is where my burial practice of alkaline hydrolysis comes in. Alkaline hydrolysis is a form of fireless cremation using water and potassium hydroxide to liquify the body leaving only bones. The liquid remains are filtrated inside the maintenance building and then released through a terraced wetland further cleansing the water before it is released into Crosswicks Creek that leads right into the Delaware River. The remains are able to be placed in columbariums found on the terraces opposite the side of the wetland. The landscape is designed so the family members visiting the site have the ability to travel through the same process as their dearly departed, but not with them. The passing of their bodies through the site symbolized the disbelief of the bodies being there, but spaces are still provided for remembrance.
This section is a visual exploration marrying the site photos of the current conditions of the site, the site’s history, its religious connection, and text from Paradise Lost by 17th Century English-poet John Milton. This graphic was composed alongside student Nina Petracca. From left to right, the section tells a story
HINDI
This collage shows a few essential Hindu gods, the practices of the celebration of Diwali, the temple of
AFRICAN AMERICAN TRADITIONAL (YORUBA)
African traditional religions consist of many religions so the Yoruba religion was focused on in this representation beginning with Olodumare, the supreme being, breathing life into the people made by Obatala who is an Orisha, a minor god. Going into the burial practice, the body is washed with a mix made with the blood of a hen sacrificed by an Onatonise. Going from a shrouded body and placed in a
NAT IVE AME R I CAN (L E NA PE &L AKOTA )
Because there are so many Native American tribes within the United States, this collage focuses more on the Lenape Tribe and the Lakota Tribe, one tribe from the east and one from the midwest/west. It begins with the Lenape beliefs of the earth being all water until a tortoise raises his back out of the water
of the land being originally inhabited by the Lenni Lenape Native Americans, how colonization began to alter it, and how Bonaparte completely manipulated it to become a picturesque landscape. The next portion of the section shows the site’s current condition and highlights religious elements based off of the text of Paradise Lost.
Lakshmi in Dehli, and the burial process of tying the toes upon death, cleansing the body, and being burned in the pyre before then being released into the holy Ganges River.
casket, a procession takes place throughout the town with music to the site of burial. These traditions can be seen translated in modern African American practices, for example, in Louisiana with a similar grand procession. And at the site burial site, the deceased being buried with pieces of silver and clay pots, similar to those buried in the Congo.
to create land. It moves to their burial practice placing the body in on its side in a fetal position. It then moves to the beliefs of the Lakota Tribe including religious dances and quests. It finishes with the burial practices including sky burials where the body of the deceased is returned to nature by being raised on a wood platform to be eaten by scavenger birds.
This plan shows my design in relation to the surrounding areas. The entrance would be located on the north eastern most part of my site where one would park their car. Then they can begin to walk through a dense canopy until they have the choice to walk directly towards to the building where the body is prepared or to the places of remembrance. Either path ends up with an abrupt end in canopy and opens up into an engineered landscape with remembrance plazas where the departed would be buried or acknowledged via columbarium.
MOVEMENT This diagram represents the separation of movement. The orange representing movement of people and the blue, the movement of water. This further represents the separation between a physical movement and a spiritual movement while separate, they move together in a similar direction where the base of the site being the barrier of movement for the living.
VIEWSHEDS This diagram shows the view shed opportunities from the places of remembrance. These places of remembrance are placed to allow for views overlooking the marsh along the bluff following down into the bordering Crosswicks Creek. These are located on the northern edge of the site. The western edge is the final viewpoint with a direct view of the Delaware River.
For my last undergraduate studio, I had the ability to work for the firm of Emschergenossenschaft, along side my classmates Jessica Thorning and Tiffany Nguyen. We were asked to activate the new mouth for the River Emscher. The firm of Emschergenossenschaft has been working to clean the River Emscher due to its previous state of being an open
sewage canal as a result of subsidence. By 2020 the firm states the river will be completely sewage free. Along with its sewage eradication, Emschergenossenschaft plans on beginning to restore this 83 km long river. They are starting with the mouth where it lets out into the River Rhine. The River Emscher currently lets out through a weir and drops 10 meters into the Rhine. They are moving the river mouth North to compensate for the 10 meter drop. This allows for a slower current and gives the opportunity for fish to swim upstream the River Emscher. Within this new mouth, the firm is implementing a dynamic wetland. Their actions to naturalize what was once a sewage canal is so monumental. They asked my studio to turn this site into a habitable space where the residents and visitors can engage with and amongst this natural system.
Our site is located in the town of Dinslaken. Dinslaken is located in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany. This video shows the current conditions of the River Emscher, its relation to the River Rhine and how it will transition. This video also outlines our study site and design areas given to us by the firm of Emschergenossenschaft. This plan shows the combined designs of myself, Jessica, and Tiffany. Jessica’s design was rethinking the way people can access the site by creating an entry and transportation hub. Tiffany’s is located where the Emscher flowed prior to the new wetland where she created an art maze featuring painted walls telling the history of this site and the region in which it is located. My design is located on the northern part of the site.
My design, titled Der Emscherplatz, was the inspiration for the name of this entire project. Taking inspiration from American summer camps and merging it with European hostiles, my design caters to pedestrians through organized recreation. The site is intended to be used as an open recreational
park as well as a summer camp where spaces can be reserved through the recreation center located on site. With the implementation of cabins, it is encouraged that local schools, companies, and overseas travelers to not only enjoy the camp grounds, but the entire site.
My love for graphic design and rendering came from learning how to produce graphics for artistic representation within my major of landscape architecture. Soon I took the liberty of teaching myself more about graphics outside of my school’s curriculum to later apply my abilities to my projects. Throughout my school career, graphics became one of my strong suits and developed into a passion to create personal pieces. One of my biggest inspiration for my surrealist graphic work coincides with my vision within landscape architecture. This concept involves the juxtaposition of nature and the built environment and imagining it as one cohesive element.
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