LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO Michael Talerico Masters in Landscape Architecture Bachelors of Environmental Design
Wetlands at the Salton Sea (07)
CONTENTS 01: UPPER HARBOR TERMINAL 02: ITTERATIVE MODEL MAKING 03: TEXTURE STUDY 04: BLACK DOG LAKE TREE GARDEN 05: NICOLLET MALL REWILDING 06: JUXTAPOSITION ARTS CAMPUS 07: SALTON SEA TO SALVATION SEA
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01: UPPER HARBOR TERMINAL FALL 2019
Upper Harbor Terminal is an old industrial site along the Mississippi River in North Minneapolis. It is made up of large storage domes, silos, and conveyor belts. There are plans to create a park, housing, and a concert venue on the 48 acre site. The presence of these structures as well as the opportunity for a community recreational area, led to the explorative theme of the space. The curvilinear geometry is a biomimicry of the adjacent river. As a large recreational space, the project calls for several programs. The assortment of programs includes; a skateboard path and ramp, explorative elevated paths curving around the dome structures, bike paths, fishing docks, a riverside restaraunt and patio, and greenspace for a variety of uses.
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02: ITTERATIVE MODEL MAKING FALL 2019
This project was a creative and idea generating, model making process. a simple, modular model progressed from there to a vegetative model, then a model depicting materials, then to a more refined penultimate model, and finally to the last and final model. Themes that guided the design of this project were exploration, adventure, collaborative space, hierarchy, and viewsheds.
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First Iteration: Foam core made with three, differently dimensioned modules
Second Iteration: Vegetative, all materials are organic
Third Iteration: Design is moving forward and materials are being determined
Fourth Iteration: Further design decisions are being made, space making is thought through
Final Iteration: Final design decisions are made including ADA accessibility and vegetaion choices
Pedestrians have a variety of ways to explore the “garden”. One could simply walk throught the site or branch off to several other paths either climbing concrete slabs, traversing stepping stones, or by making their way up the ramp to the sky-lit look out tower.
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03: TEXTURE STUDY SPRING 2020
This study began with going out into the city to find patterns that were created from natural forces. The pattern pictured to the right is of ice and snow drifts on a concrete wall of an underpass. The next step in the process was to draw the pattern/ texture several different ways, nine of which are shown. From there, six iteration of models were created (one of which is shown on the facing page and another shown on the following page), and one of these models was chosen to move forward with drawing an axon and sections. One of the purposes of this study was to imagine a human scaled space created from a small scaled pattern. This required looking at features differently and interpreting space abstractly. An example of the model being used as interpretation of a real space is shown on page 9.
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03: TEXTURE STUDY SPRING FALL 2019 2020
This model isis an abstract representation of the force of wind creating these wavy drifts of snow and ice. It is interactive in that the side handles can be turned to move the many individual pieces of mdf in a fluctuating wave like pattern.
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04: BLACK DOG LAKE TREE GARDEN SPRING 2020
Black Dog Lake is a reservoir south of Bloomington. There is an informal trail crossing northeast about one mile, parallel to a railroad. The site is prone to seasonal flooding which makes park design challenging but also opportune for interesting solutions. This design uses the transcient flooding to create a dynamic network of paths that changes seasonally. This is done by creating changes in elevation which determine what features are exposed. The geometery is inspired by Richard Long’s land artwork. The paths are made up of straight lines and circles, which allow the user to experience the space in different ways.
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05: NICOLLET MALL REWILDING FALL 2020
This project is a redesign of the Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. The goal was to bring nature into the city by planting native species that would be part of the present habitat if Minneapolis were not there. To illustrate climate change’s effects on vegetation and hardiness zones, vegetation that will start to appear in the geographic location in coming years was used. As one walks through this redesign of the mall from south to north, they will observe the transition from oak savannah to maple basswood forest. The basis of this project was grounded in the earth emotion terms, coined by Glenn Albrecht, of eutierra and global dread.
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Black Cherry
Black-eyed Susan
Basswood Green Ash
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06: JUXTAPOSITION ARTS CAMPUS
SPRING 2021
This project comes from a recent studio in the Spring Semester of 2021. The premise is a redesign of the Juxtaposition Arts Campus. Juxtaposion Arts, or Juxta, is a not-for-profit, youth oriented art center based in North Minneapolis. It creates opportunities for youth of the community to take design classes, have mentorships, and take part in community design projects. The current Campus buildings are in the design stages of a renovation process. The studio’s task was to design the landscape around these buildings, as well as the streetscape and adjacent bus stops. This design focused on stormwater movement, collaborative green spaces, and opportunity for community or Juxta led art installations.
Sustainable stormwater infrastructure
Access to greenspace
Community and JXTA led art installments
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Stormwater Flow
Proposed Design
Current site conditions
Circulation
14 ENTRANCES
BUS STOPS
CIRCULATION
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07: SALTON SEA TO SALVATION SEA FALL 2021
people.
2015
2018
2023
2028
2047
2080
Pacific Flyway
Eared Grebe
American White Pelican
Sandpiper
Overlay
Eared Grebe
Stay Times
American White Pelican
Sandpiper
60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000
2080 Goal
The Salton Sea provides vital habitat for hundreds of bird species on their flight south on the pacific flyway, and is used as a breeding ground. The wetlands around the sea are the only such habitat left in southern california. However, a constantly decreasing flow of water to the sea poses problems for wetlands and other site conditions. One of the most pertinent issues is that of toxic dust. The sediment at the bottom of the lake is full of toxic metals and other harmful chemicals, so when the lake dries up and that sediment is exposed it is picked up as dust and becomes a danger to the health of not only wildlife such as birds but also the local human population. This design approach addresses both the threat of toxic dust as well as maintaining critical wetland habitat and expanding that habitat. There are several relatively small projects happening around the lake that aim to suppress dust by using tactics such as surface roughening and wetland creation. However, these projects are only planned out for the next ten years, and many are behind schedule. They also only plan to work on already exposed playa and not the several thousand acres that will be exposed in coming years. My approach builds off of these current projects, but goes further by planning out a strategic implementation of habitat typologies and surface roughening tactics that maximize habitat restoration and minimize dust. Wetlands will be expanded off of current ones, where water inflows are most available. Where there is minimal inflow, either surface roughening tactics or dryland vegetation will be implemented. The goal is to expand habitat in conjunction with the rate of the receding shoreline. The result is a matrix of wetlands, shallow water habitat, deep water habitat, dryland vegetation, surface roughening, and some space that doubles as recreational use for
Surface Roughening Projects
Playa
Wetland Habitat Projects
Established Wetlands
Agriculture
Rivers
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07: SALTON SEA TO SALVATION SEA FALL 2021
2020
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2040
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2060
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Dryland Vegetation
2080
Surface Roughening
There is really no end to this project , since the lake is ever changing, just as nature is ever changing. However, the plan on the right depicts what the sea and the surrounding area may look like in 2080 based on this design basis. There will be wetlands and water pools located strategically, and the quantity of these is based on future projections of water inflows and evaporation. The plan shows the maximum amount of water based land uses possible based on several calculations that took into account as well as inflows, the amount of water wetlands need, which is approximately 4.6 acre feet per acre. The resulting matrix of habitats and projects will continue to be a haven for birds, and other wildlife, as well as an attraction for people that is more safe of toxic dust than it currently is. People will again want to live here, and there will be opportunity for several kinds of recreation including hiking, bird watching, and water sports.
Playa
Deep Water
Shallow and Mid-Depth Water
Wetlands
Agriculture
Amount of Wetlands Possible based on Projected Inflows (acres):
Water Sports
Observation Tower
Hunting
Bird Watching
Hiking
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