RACHEL ISON
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE + URBANISM University of Southern California
MLA Portfolio 2018
The following selection of work is a compilation of the various projects I pursued during the Masters of Landscape Architecture + Urbanism program at the University of Southern California. As a third year student in the masters of landscape architecture program, I hope to illustrate my progress and growth in achieving technical, creative, and innovative design solutions. 606 N. Figueroa St. #608 Los Angeles, CA 90012 714 337 6117 rachelis@usc.edu
CONTENTS 1
Resume
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From Lead Creation to Lead Remediation
7
Remembering the LA Riots
9
Creekside Confluence
11
Construction Details
13
3D Modeling
14
Diagramming
15
Grasshopper
16
Graphic Design
17
Arwork + Sketches
RESUME EXPERIENCE June 2017 Aug 2017
May 2017 July 2017
Landscape Architecture Intern Burton Landscape Architecture Studio | Solana Beach, CA
Sept 2014 Aug 2015
Coordinated inter-company and customer communications and project reporting.
Responsibilities included CAD drawings, hand drawn renderings, and model building.
Assisted in marketing efforts, including creating original marketing material.
Research Assistant - Alison Hirsch University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA
Sept 2013 May 2014
Developed a design concept for publication
Class Assistant - Dr. Travis Longcore University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA
1
USC/Baldwin Hills Conservancy | Los Angeles, CA
Tufts Recycles | Medford, MA
Designed and implemented campus-wide campaigns for recylcing and composting initiatives.
May 2013 Aug 2013
Assisted professor with grading graduate level landscape architecture assignments.
Grant Assistant
Recycling Intern
Oversaw and coordinated recycling program at Tufts University.
Tidewater Educator
Laguna Ocean Foundation | Laguna Beach, CA Provided on-site education to public about marine life in tide pools
Required knowlege of ecology as related to landscape architecture.
May 2016 Aug 2016
Avant Technologies, Inc. | Santa Ana, CA
Assisted with design process for a variety of projects, including commercial and resort landscapes.
Created renderings to illustrate schematic ideas for professor’s paper
Sept 2016 Dec 2016
Administrative Manager
Collected data on tide pool human use and marine life.
May 2012 Aug 2012
Social Media Intern
Bask Magazine | Newport Beach, CA
Created research-based graphics, maps, and written content for new educational Baldwin Hills website.
Managed social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, and company blog
Coordinated with team members to communicate an understanding of the Baldwin Hills biota to the general public.
Assisted with research and editing for magazine print articles
EDUCATION Aug 2015 Present
Aug 2010 May 2014
University of Southern California
Masters of Landscape Architecture + Urbanism Expected Graduation: May 2018, Cumulative GPA: 3.98
Tufts University
Bachelor of Arts Environmental Studies + Anthropology Magna Cum Laude Study Abroad: Aix-en-Provence, France
SKILLS Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe Indesign AutoCAD Microsoft Office ArcGIS
AWARDS + ACTIVITIES Fall 2015 Spring 2018
Academic Scholarships
Fall 2016 Spring 2017
ASLA Board Member
Oct 2017
Volunteer ASLA Annual Meeting
Spring 2018
The Damon Hein Scholarship for Landscape Architecture Lowell S. Pidgeon Memorial Scholarships
ASLA Secretary for USC Student Chapter Student volunteer at the ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo in Los Angeles.
Olmsted Scholar Nominee Nominated by faculty for the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s Olmsted Scholars Program
Rhinoceros 3D Grasshopper
CONTACT Rachel Ison Address 606 N. Figueroa St. #608, Los Angeles, CA 90012 Phone 714-337-6117 Email rachelis@usc .edu
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FROM LEAD CREATION TO LEAD REMEDIATION 2017-18 Thesis Instructor: Rebecca Hill // RAFT Landscape
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REMEDIATION MATERIAL TO CONTAMINATED RESIDENCES
Composting LEAD REMEDIATION MATERIAL ARRIVES AT THE SITE
CONCEPT
Fish Bone and Mussel Processing
For my thesis, I investigated the issue of lead contaminated soil in Los Angeles, particularly as a result of the recently closed Exide Battery Recycling Plant.
Phytoremediator Nursery
TRAVELS VIA FREIGHT TRAIN
Visitor Education Center FISH BONES ARRIVE AT PORT
Slag Mounds
Melaleuca quinquenervia Phytocap Forest
DESIGN SECTIONS
20'
8' Slag Mound
Slag Mound
Melaleuca quinquenervia Phytocap Forest
Pathway with Phytoremediation Grid
Parkinsonia florida Grid Orchard
Parkinsonia florida Grid Orchard
15'
8'
Infiltration Basin
The need to amend and remediate our soils is a priority as these legacy sources continue to compromise our children’s health and future. The Exide lead recycling facility in Vernon, California has had a 90 year history of spewing lead into the surrounding neighborhoods, resulting in the largest toxic cleanup in California history. By utilizing the freight rail network and waste from the seafood industry, innovative forms of soil remediation can begin to address this public health crisis while simultaneously finding new ways of reducing our waste. Exide’s now vacant facility can be reimagined as a relic of the dangers of our toxic industrial needs that transforms to address the problems that it created. Further, it can serve not only as a warning against the dangers of unregulated industry but also as a model for the future of industry and how our industrial landscapes can function more ecologically.
Infiltration Basin
Groundwater
4
DEMOGRAPHICS OF AFFECTED AREA
DIAGRAMMING THESIS RESEARCH
% OF CHILDREN TESTED FOR BLOOD LEAD LEVELS
4.5 - 6% of children tested 3 - 4.5% 1.5 - 3% 0 - 1.5%
TRADITIONAL SOIL LEAD REMEDIATION
TRUCK TO LANDFILL
>90% hispanic or latino
EXCAVATE SOIL
<$40,000 median household income 0
<80
ppm Pb 400 ppm
or <
USED FOR LANDFILL DAILY COVER
REPLACE WITH “CLEAN FILL” <40 ppm Pb
5
SOURCED FROM CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
5
10mi
6
REMEMBERING THE LA RIOTS Summer 2017 Research Assistant Instructor: Alison Hirsch // Foreground Design Agency
7
In South Los Angeles, the destruction and loss experienced during the 1992 LA Riots is still visible in the many vacant lots that dot the landscape. To assist a professor publishing a paper on landscapes of resistance and memory, I created a conceptual design that strove to illuminate the past while providing new spaces for reflection and economic opportunity. By using the remnants of building foundations that have survived the riots and years of neglect, new spaces were framed allowing for the local insurgent economies to continue to thrive. Though striving to evoke hope for new growth, the design also emphasizes the voids left behind after the LA riots.
8
CREEKSIDE CONFLUENCE Spring 2016 Studio Instructor: Mia Lehrer + Astrid Sykes // Studio-MLA
Within the group vision for the Baldwin Hills and Ballona Creek intersection, I proposed the transformation of an existing parking lot as a cohesive space, melding the natural into the urban. The intent of my design was to provide economic and educational opportunity for food vending, providing formalized spaces for the typical Los Angeles fruit carts and other local, small scale vendors. Groves of native trees that reference the sites history as a Tongva settlement provide shade for the various seating and event areas. In this way, the site can connect the residents with the burgeoning creative studios in Hayden Tract, and the diverse mix of people who come to take advantage of the natural recreational opportunity of the Baldwin Hills. The site becomes a point of convergence, where these diverse communities can interact with the creek, the hillside, and each other.
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STORMWATER STRATEGIES The design included both largescale strategies for more ecologically performative streets and small-scale site design planting strategies. The history of the site, which included Tongva settlements and agriculture, informed the choice of productive tree species.
Green Alley
Boulevard
PROCESS SKETCHES
Minor Road
60’ 50’
TREE STRATEGY
40’
20’ 15’
15’ 12’
10’
HISTORICAL AGRICULTURE
NATIVE AMERICAN: THE TONGVA MEDICINAL + BUILDING
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MEDICINAL + ART
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MEDICINAL + EDIBLE + ART +TOOLS
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MEDICINAL + BUILDING
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CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
Examples of construction details drawn in AutoCAD
1
Tree Planting Detail
2 11
CIP Concrete Stairs CIP Concrete Stairs Cross-Section with Railing
LAYOUT + MATERIALS PLAN
1
L103
5
L104
6
3
L104
2
L103
L103
4
L103
Scale: 1/8” = 1’
8’
32’ 16’
12
3D MODELING Conceptual model exercises to experiment with different techniques and materials
‘PARCHED’ CONCEPT MODEL
WETLAND TEXTURE MODEL
CLAY CONTOUR MODEL
13
DIAGRAMMING
1
1920s Madrona Marsh Oil Drilling
1
Natural Sand Dune A
2
B
1980s Madrona Marsh (Pre-Restoration)
Natural Dune 30 m
2
Dike Construction 3
C
G F E
Sandpipers Snipe
D
Killdeer
Beach Ex tens 120 m ion 3
Spring Water Conditions + Bird Migration/Activity
Dike in Dune H
4
J
Bushtit Orange Crowned Warbler Bullockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Orioles I
Constru
cted Sa nd Dune 120 m
4
L
Summer Water Conditions + Bird Migration/Activity
Sand Dune Erosion
K
5
White-Crowned Sparrow Savannah Sparrow
A. Sediment movement from wind and swash process to form natural dune B. Top layer sand dune vegetation C. 3 million cubic meters of dredged sand added to extend beach D. Columnar basalton E. Grit layer F. Geotextile fabric G. Mounded sand H. Sediment movement follows same process as a natural sand dune I. Underground parking garage J. Top 10 cm of original sand dune vegetation layer put back on new dike in dune system K. During storm, wave erosion will expose the dike L. Sand is deposited lower on the beach during dune erosion forming another protective berm
Annaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hummingbird
Fall Water Conditions + Bird Migration/Activity
6
Northern Flickers Merlins Sharp-shinned Hawks
Winter Water Conditions + Bird Migration/Activity
14
GRASSHOPPER
SECTION STUDIES 15
SHADOW STUDIES
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
GRAPHIC DESIGN A sample of graphics created for the Baldwin Hills Conservancy to be used as educational material for understanding the biota of the Baldwin Hills and Ballona Creek.
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ARTWORK + SKETCHES 17
I appreciate your time and consideration of my selected works.
Thank you.
RACHEL ISON 714 337 6117 rachelis@usc.edu
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