Phillip
A Portfolio of Creative Work by
W Gatchell
Colorado State University Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture
The Western Bristlecone Pine is one of the world’s longest living single organisms. It grows in isolated groves on the dry windswept mountaintops of the Great Basin in the Western United States. No other tree can survive the harsh environment and short growing season the Bristlecone Pine thrives in. Its dense wood, long-lived needles, and resistance to disease are some of the adaptations that allow the tree to live for unknown centuries. Even in death the tree will remain standing for hundreds of years. Such is the inspiration and goal of this portfolio: my beginning – successive, steady growth, sustainable design, resistance to time and place, grounded beyond the bounds of life.
Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture Colorado State University 2010
719-237-4300 / phillip.gatch@gmail.com / 18340 Lake Drive Monument, Colorado 80132
Contents The Great American Beer Garden
1 -14
Morgan Library Court Yard
15 - 16
Construction Details
17 - 18
Urban Design
19 - 22
The Chicken Coop
23 - 24
Love Apple Farm Apprenticeship
25 - 26
Sketching
27 - 28
Resume
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The Great American Beer Garden Fort Collins, Colorado For my senior year capstone project I developed a conceptual design for a beer and community garden in the city of Fort Collins. The goal of this project was to develop a community garden where Fort Collins residents, businesses, and government can come together to organize a better community for all. The site will consist of an urban farm and garden where fresh produce can be grown and xeric gardens can be demonstrated. A green house will also be an essential element for year round plant production as Colorado has a short outdoor growing season. Fort Collins is a mecca for beer drinkers and brewers alike so a German influenced beer garden will be the center peace of the site. The garden will also include ample open space where community and private events can be held. Much of the existing vegetation will be maintained while the adjacent Buckingham park will be maintained and enhanced for the surrounding neighborhoods.
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Community Gardens and Urban Farms are small plots of land in an urban setting that allow private farmers, the community as a whole, and the individual citizen to grow food crops. The Great American Beer garden will incorporate community gardens where an individual can rent a plot of land to grow food on and larger plots that the community can tend to. Classes on gardening will be given free to anyone who volunteers at the garden. Food produced on the community plots will be sold at farmers markets, served at the beer garden restaurant, or donated to local food banks. The community garden will drive positive social change, connect people to their food source and teach people to grow their own food in their back yard.
Beer Gardens prevail throughout Germany and other parts of Europe. They are usually outdoor spaces where people can gather in a safe environment to enjoy good company and good beer. The garden incorporates plants and trees to create an esthetically appealing environment. Large benches bunched close together encourage people to sit and interact with each other. Though beer gardens are rare in the U.S. the few that do exist have become very popular. Underage Drinking and binge drinking are big problems in the U.S. and an issue that must be addressed when designing a large public beer garden. The Beer Garden will pay for the community garden and defray its maintenance costs. It will also serve as a model for all beer gardens in the U.S. that precede it.
The Great American Beer Garden
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This is how the Cache La Poudre River Flowed during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The existing cottonwoods follow along the oxbow the river used to make. Most of the riparian growth along this path will be maintained.
Because of the scale of this project access to the site will be crucial for its development and overall success. The sites proximity to old town Fort Collins presents an opportunity to bring large crowds into the Beer Garden. The site will need to have the ability to circulate large crowds by foot, bike, and vehicle.
The site is connected to old town Fort Collins by the bridges on Linden St. and Lincoln Ave. Views down Linden St. from old town could be utilized to attract people down to the Beer Garden as well as the Poudre River. An art installation that hangs over Linden St. or some modification of the Linden St. bridge could provide visual reference of the Beer garden from old town.
The landmark structures and businesses around the site consist of the historic Old Town Fort Collins, Ranchway Feed Store, New Belgium Brewery, and Odell’s Brewery. The sites proximity to local breweries provides an opportunity to connect Old Town Fort Collins to the local beer culture and businesses. Ranchway Feed will eventually move but the building could be utilized as a historic landmark structure in the future. It is visible from almost everywhere on the site and views of the structure can be utilized to connect the site to historic Fort Collins.
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The site is a 34.2 acre piece of prime real estate within a stones throw of historic Old Town Fort Collins. The Poudre River flows from the northwest corner to the south-east corner of the site. New Belgium Brewery is directly across the street off Linden St. A small residential community resides to the east and light industry and restaurants to the west and south across the Poudre.
The Great American Beer Garden
Study Models To the right are clay landform study models utilized during the design process. The landform at the bottom of the page was the final landform study done before finalizing a master plan.
A topographic/vegetative model of the existing site was used as a reference and study guide.
Design Concepts The initial design concepts were done in conjunction with the landform model. Above, the hops form concept that led to the final design. They were done on trace paper using colored pencil. The Great American Beer Garden
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Perspectives began with a Google sketchup model and photoshop images. The base picture was then traced onto vellum using pencil. Color was added with colored pencil and then further enhanced in photoshop.
Photoshop rendered using Google Sketchup model.
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MASTER PLAN
The Great American Beer Garden
Beer Garden/ Amphitheater/ Green House The beer garden is the main attraction of this site. Long rows of benches provide patrons with ample seating and a chance to meet someone who shares their passion for beer while an outdoor bar provides a wide variety of Colorado’s finest beer. The beer garden is isolated within the amphitheater so drinkers can be monitored and underage drinking kept at bay. Beer will be served inside the green house as well, providing year round use of the beer garden. A restaurant will also be located in the green house where food from the community garden will be served. This space will be a great staging ground for community events like brewfest, new west fest, and Tour De Fat.
Community Garden
Terraced Gardens
One of the main goals of the project was to include a community garden as part of the Beer Garden. Plots of land will be rented out to the public. Renters will be educated on how to grow food on their plot and be provided with the proper tools to do so. Rabbits and Chickens will also be raised on site and classes on animal husbandry will also be available. A farm shed will house all the necessary farming equipment; children will learn in a learning playground.
The terraced gardens are part of the community gardens but instead of individual plots the entire garden will belong to the community. It will be maintained by volunteers and the beer garden maintenance crew. Food produced here will be used in the restaurant, sold at farmers markets, or given to local food banks. The large thick retaining walls that support the garden will be constructed out of rammed earth giving the terraced gardens a unique look.
(1) (2)
The Green Houses The green houses are another key ingredient. They are the landmark structures that distinguish the garden and reflect the rolling hills and steep snow packed peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Green house one (1) will house exotic plants and indoor portion of the beer garden and restaurant. Green house two(2) will be used for year round food production, mostly fruits and vegetables that cannot be grown in Colorado.
Floating River Walk The Poudre River runs through the site and is a major asset. Currently the river is under utilized and littered with industrial scrap like rebar and concrete. The plan will include river clean up and restoration. Additional riparian vegetation will be added. A floating river walk will snake its way alongside and over the river with minimal obstruction and maximum appeal.
Orchard 200 apple and crab apple trees will grow in the orchard. Apples can be used as food or made into apple wine and served in the beer garden.
The Great American Beer Garden
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Photoshop rendered
The Great American Beer Garden
Morgan Library Courtyard Colorado State University Campus Fort Collins, Colorado
For this project we were asked to re-design the inner courtyard at the Morgan library on the CSU campus. The site is surrounded by large glass windows creating a fish bowl effect instilling feelings of insecurity leaving the space unused. The goal of the design is to create a fun and inviting space that is visually appealing from the outside and cosy on the inside.
Design Precedents
The young couple find a place to share a kiss while fellow students quietly read and nap on the long outdoor couch.
Perspective hand rendered on vellum using pencil and colored pencil.
The master plan was hand rendered on mylar with pen and colored pencils.
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Autocad details for the Morgan Library Court Yard
Hand rendered details
Railing Steps Bench Tree Fountain
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URBAN DESIGN
This figure ground drawing is of a concept city in Seoul South Korea. It was done for a design competition by a graduate student. I chose to study it because of how the city is so well connected and its unique layout. Part of the urban design class was done in a group of three. We each did a study on separated cities then brought what we had learned into the design of the project site in Denver, Colorado.
Paths
Landmarks
Nodes
Districts
Edges
Above is a figure ground drawing of the project site in Denver. The figure ground at center is of the project site with part of the concept city grafted into the Denver area.
Concept Sketches The two images above are design concepts developed as a framework for the new transit-oriented development in the Denver, Colorado. To the right of that is the final figure ground, and the area highlighted in red was developed by myself using concepts from my study city.
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The plan for the transit stop and surrounding area is the section of the city I focussed on for this group project. I used concepts from the concept City to create a city center that is connected with a light rail transit center, bus stop, foot paths, and sky walks between buildings. Parking is restricted to garages outside of the city center and encourages commuters to walk, bike, or take public transportation to the transit stop. The transit center is surrounded by an open plaza where public events like farmers markets can be held. Small businesses, shops, and lofts occupy the surrounding buildings. The outside of the plan is highlighted with open fields, allee’s of trees, paths, bioswale, and urban gardens.
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Shops/Business/ Living
Bus Stop
Transit Center
Urban Farm
Urban Design
The Chicken Coop
above-initial concept sketch
This is a scale model, 1�=1’, of a chicken coop I designed for a contract drawing class. It is 15x5 inches and 6.5 inches tall. Eight timber posts support a green roof for plants of all types. The center portion of the coop is the main sheltered living area for the chickens. Two swinging doors on either side lift up for easy access to the chickens where eggs can be collected and the stalls cleaned out. The coop provides enough space for 8-10 chickens to live comfortably.
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Love Apple Farms Apprenticeship January 5th, 2011 I began a farm apprenticeship at Love Apple Farms in Santa Cruz, California. After graduating from CSU, learning how to grow food was a priority of mine. Urban farming teaches people how to grow food, compost their waste, and take care of the landscape in an environmentally friendly way. Many of the projects I did in school included urban farms because of the extraordinary benefits they provide to the community and the landscape. For eleven months I lived and worked at Love Apple Farms(LAF) learning organic and biodynamic practices of farming. The farm is the sole provider of vegetables to Manresa, a two star michelin restaurant in Los Gatos, Ca. LAF is not your typical farm because it is located on a mountain side, so the entire garden is terraced and all of the vegetables are grown in raised beds. A typical day at LAF would consist of a myriad of farm activities such as building wood beds, double digging beds, sowing seeds, planting out new beds, turning compost piles, milking goats, harvesting vegetables, preparing for classes, fertilizing with worm casting tea, installing irrigation and much more. The knowledge I gained at LAF has given me a jump start into the world of farming, and the experience and people I got to know there will be remembered for the rest of my life.
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As part of my stay at LAF I was asked to create some maps of the farm. To the right is a map of the property that shows visitors where to park and the location of all the structures on the farm. I also made two hand rendered maps of the farm, one depicting the garden as it exists today and the other, shown above, is a map of the garden as it might look in the future.
Sketching
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“Hunger is the best spice they say.” Spike Spiegel
“Using no way as a way, Using no limitations as a limitation.” Bruce Lee
Phillip Wayne Gatchell 719-237-4300 / phillip.gatch@gmail.com / 18340 Lake Drive Monument, Colorado 80132 Education 2006-2010 Colorado state university Fort Collins, Colorado 2010 Bachelor of Science and Landscape Architecture 2002-2006 Lewis Palmer High School Monument, Colorado
Employment 2005-2006 Summer / Monument Mowing / Monument, Colorado / Self employed mowing business mostly mowing large fields with bush hog 2007 Summer / Landscaping Laborer / Sharpest Cut Landscaping / Monument, Colorado / Built rock walls, concrete pouring, planting, irrigation, mowing, operated skid steer 2008 Summer / Laborer / Fort Collins Housing Authority / Fort Collins, Colorado / Landscape maintenance for low income housing, hedging, pruning trees 2011 January-December / Farm Apprentice / Love Apple Farms / Santa Cruz, California
Skills Computer skills in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Google Sketchup, AutoCAD, ArcGIS, Microsoft Office Hand rendering, Coloring, Model building, Technical Drafting
References Bradly Goetz, ASLA Professor Landscape Architecture Colorado State University 970-419-9690 Merlyn Paulson. FASLA Professor Landscape Architecture Colorado state University 970-491-7594 Cynthia Sandberg. Owner Love Apple Farms Santa Cruz, California 831-588-3801
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