2019 Landscape Architecture Portfolio

Page 1

RACHEL MEIER

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

2015-2019 Thomas Jefferson University


TABLE OF CONTENTS 01 BEACONS

02 MODEL

BMP

03 RIPPLE EFFECT

04 EMBRACE

01

STREETSCAPE DESIGN

03 - 06

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

07 - 08

CAMPUS INTERVENTIONS

09 - 12

MASTER PLANNING

13 - 18


05 KAMUZU PSYCHIATRY

06 INTERNSHIPS

07 EXPLORATIONS

08 ABOUT ME

COMPASSION IN DESIGN

19 - 24

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

25 - 28

GIS, MODELS, HAND RENDERS

29 - 30

31 - 32

02


BEACONS

PHILADELPHIA, PA

The neighborhood of Strawberry Mansion in Philadelphia is adjacent to one of the city’s many parks, yet access to and ownership of the park has become very limited over time. One obstacle citizens face is the thruway that fractures the relationship between the residents and the park. I introduced bump-outs, muralcovered bus shelters, dry and wet meadows with seasonal interest, and community nodes to create not only a pedestriancentered street, but a system of destinations where there was once just space to pass through.

PROPOSED WET MEADOW BASINS

03


A r t A r at s a Ss t o rSmt wo ramt ewra t e r A r t A r at s a E s x pEr ex spsri eosns i o n A r t A r at s a Cs o m Cmoumn mi tuyn i t y A r t A r at s a H s i s tHo irsyt o r y A r t A r at s a Ts r i bTur ti eb u t e

PROJECT IMPACT DIAGRAM

OVERALL SITE PLAN

ENLARGED SITE PLAN

04


PLANTED BUMP-OUT

05


INFILTRATION DETAIL

06


MODEL BMP

PHILADELPHIA, PA

The Philadelphia Water Department has a sequenced method for designing and implementing green stormwater management facilities throughout the city and surrounding neighborhoods. My Urban Hydrology course was focused on analyzing local drainage areas to design sizable BMPs. This model rain garden was developed in both plan and section to ensure the collection of all rainfall from a typical storm. I reclaimed the corner of a parking lot for this green intervention to both limit the volume of contaminated runoff entering the sewer system and educate passersby on stormwater management practices.

PROPOSED RAIN GARDEN

07


RAIN GARDEN PLAN

RAIN GARDEN SECTION

08


RIPPLE EFFECT

PHILADELPHIA, PA

Completed as a submission for the 2017 EPA Campus Rainworks Challenge, Ripple Effect introduced a small scale stormwater management system for the Jefferson East Falls Campus. This collaborative project highlighted a variety of ways to make stormwater “visible� on a college campus. By implementing daylighting tactics, bioswales, and detention basins near residential and dining facilities, all campus visitors would learn about green infrastructure and its importance while becoming more connected to a less manicured natural environment.

SECTION PERSPECTIVE

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Introduce a visible green infrastructure system that educates both the student body and the public about the movement of water from a watershed divide and the importance of water quality. Create sustainable public spaces that act as models for future development, foster stewardship, and reduce maintenance costs for the university. Implement stormwater management practices that strengthen the connection between the campus and community, as well as reduce the impact on surrounding watersheds.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

CONCEPT EXPLORATION

HYDROLOGY DIAGRAMS

RENDERED SITE PLAN; MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH PROJECT PARTNER

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GRADING PLAN

11

CONCEPTUAL PLANTING PLAN


Low Maintenance Areas

Tree Cover

49.21% of site under tree canopy

Chosen materials increases areas of little to no maintenance cost

Stormwater Management Interventions

Stormwater System

Minimum basin capacity exceeded with 15,810 sq. ft. of infiltration surface area

100% of site run-off enters the Philadelphia Combined Sewer Area

Impervious Surfaces

Impervious Surfaces

Run-off occurs on 90,053 square feet of hardscape

Permeable Surfaces

Highly compacted lawn limits infiltration along the softscape

Buildings and Steep Slope

Majority of site characterized by 15% or greater slopes

EXISTING SITE METRICS

Since all interventions were metricbased, a system of collecting and analyzing data was necessary. I took on the responsibility of being the “digitizer and analyst� of the program with the use of GIS-related programs. The capabilities of GIS allowed me to visualize our calculations in two- and three-dimensional diagrams, as seen on this page.

100% of impervious run-off is daylighted for infiltration or collected

Permeable Surfaces

Introduction of areas for detention, infiltration, and visibility of stormwater

Development and Slope Control

Designated areas for slope control to reduce erosion from previous storms

PROPOSED SITE METRICS

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EMBRACE

LILONGWE, MALAWI

Malawians are communityoriented people whose love for nature often influences their daily routine. However, that influence has yet to reach the country’s healthcare sector. Embrace introduces the healing and welcoming aspects of the natural world to Kamuzu Central Hospital in a way that creates a more familiar and comforting atmosphere for patients and staff, in the form of a 20-year framework plan for the roughly 300 acre site. This collaborative project between Landscape Architecture, Architecture, and GeoDesign students ensured the generation of a delicate balance between the dynamic activity of a hospital and the calming power of green space.

PROPOSED MATERNITY WARD COURTYARD

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Potential Green Corridors Circulation Conflicts Slope Mitigation Areas

PROJECT LOCATION

Wind-Accepting Building Faces Limited Air Circulation No-Build Zones Building Expansion Zones Stormwater and Agriculture Zones Cool; Heavily-Shaded Comfortable; Lightly Shaded Direct Sun with Air Flow Direct Sun with No Air Flow

COMPOSITE ANALYSIS

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT STORMWATER INVENTORY

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FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

LINGADZI NAMILOMBA FOREST RESERVE

NATIVE MEADOW FOR SLOPE STABILIZATION CANCER CENTER CANCER CENTER

CANCER CENTER

FACILITIES

NATIVE TREE GROVES

LIL OR INST ONG TH IT W NE OPA UTE E UR EDIC OF OSU S RG AND ERY

CANCER CENTER

CANCER CENTER

PAR

KIN

TC

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

KIN

TE

G

R

NT

IN

PA TIE

PAR

EN

NT

NT

ATIE

PARKING

IN

HIV T MIL REA Y P TM LA ENT NN C IN EN G TE CE R NT & ER FA

MATERNITY

PEDIATRICS

PE

DIA

TR

ADMIN INPATIENT IENT ADMIN

ICS

EDUCATION

AT RI

CS

BAYLOR

KITCHEN

DI

OUTPATIENT

SURGERY

BIOFILTRATION WITH UNDERGROUND STORAGE

PARKING

PARKING

PE

OUTPATIENT

OUTPATIENT

IENT OUTP AT FACILIT TIES

PARKING

CHAPEL

LAB PPHARM HPHARMACY&&LAB MATERNITY

FACILIT ITIES

PARKING

MORGUE

INPATIENT

POST- OP INPATIENT

TRANSITIONAL

MATERNITY

NT

ATIENT

PARKING

PA

ATIE INP

EMERGENCY ICU/HDU XRAY RADIOLOGY

OUTP

TIE

LA LAUNDRY AUNDR NDRY

FACILITI TIES

MATERNITY

MO ORG R RGU UE UE

EN

INP

LAB

G

PEDIATRICS

MATERNITY GUARDIANS

PARKING

FARMING

FULL CAMPUS 20-YEAR PHASING PLANS

NATIVE TREE GROVE

FARMING

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

FARMING

RIPARIAN BUFFER

BIOFILTRATION WITH UNDERGROUND STORAGE

FARMING

15

FARMING CO-OP WITH INFORMAL SETTLEMENT


CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

RENDERED SITE PLAN WITH GRADING; MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH PROJECT PARTNER

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INPATIENT WARD SITE MODEL DIAGRAMMATIC SITE SECTION

17

CIVIC EDGE

ADMINISTRATION AND EDUCATION

OUTPATIENT

COVERED WALKWAY

SERVICE ACCESS

FACILITIES

GUARDIANS PEDESTRIAN SPINE


PEDIATRIC WARD SITE MODEL PEDIATRICS

MATERNITY SHADED COURTYARD

BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

OUTDOOR PLAY AREA

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KAMUZU PSYCHIATRY

LILONGWE, MALAWI

As my senior thesis project, I elected to continue developing the concepts explored in Embrace for Malawi’s healthcare system. Two architecture students and I selected an area on the hospital campus to design a psychiatric hospital. This type of program is not only in great need in the region, but it is also unprecedented. The purpose of my final undergraduate semester became to thoroughly study mental illness in Sub-Saharan Africa in order to implement a psychiatric facility that was sensitive to intense cultural stigmas while also prioritizing the compassionate experience of each patient staying on site.

PROPOSED OUTPATIENT COURTYARD

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1% - DIABETES, DISEASES OF THE GENITOURINARY SYSTEM, OTHER NCDs 2% - TUBERCULOSIS, MATERNAL CONDITIONS, NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES, CONGENITAL ABNORMALITIIES, MUSCULOSKELETAL DISEASES

13% - NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS About 450 million people suffer from mental or behavioral disorder worldwide, leading to the highest percentage of years lost due to ill-health.

3% - SENSE ORGAN DISORDERS, MALARIA, DIGESTIVE DISEASES, CHILDHOOD DISEASES

SCALES OF DESIGN IMPACT

SOCIETY COMMUNITY

12% - INJURIES

INDIVIDUAL

BURDEN OF DISEASES WORLDWIDE BY YEARS LOST DUE TO POOR HEALTH WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (2003); INVESTING IN MENTAL HEALTH

10% - CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES 4% - RESPIRATORY DISEASES, DIARRHOEAL DISEASES

7% - PERINATAL CONDITIONS

5% - MALIGNANT NEOPLASMS

6% - HIV/AIDS, RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS, OTHER CD CAUSES

DISEASE ANALYSIS DIAGRAM The following three diagrams were used to visually represent important facts, figures, and concepts to populations that do not have design backgrounds. Since mental health receives little funding globally, a challenge arose to convince our client why mental health is a viable issue to address and how design can catalyze interventions for compassionate care models.

MAKING TIME FOR COMPASSION

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1910: Zomba Central

1930s: Start of belief

Prison opens its that mental illness “Lunatic Asylum” for the required treatment “mentally abnormal”; due to European mentally ill patients are influence; asylums are not allowed in hospitals still in poor conditions

1920s: Psychosocial therapy begins in asylum, but sees no trained mental health workers and no improving facility conditions

1950s: Government

Medical Department initiates creation of Zomba Mental Hospital; psychiatrists and antipsychotic drugs are introduced

1943: Annex opens Zomba Central Prison to encourage occupational therapy for mentally ill patients rather than isolation in old wing

HISTORY OF MENTAL HEALTH IN MALAWI

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psychiatric nurses are sent to district hospitals to run mental health services around the country

1960s: Malawian

nurses are sent abroad to train as psychiatric nurses in order to build service capacity and educate other health workers

INDEPENDENCE

DESIGN SPACES THAT ARE LEGIBLE AND NAVIGABLE IN ORDER TO INCREASE PATIENT CONFIDENCE WHILE LIVING IN A HIGHLY-DEPENDENT MEDICAL SETTING.

CONSCIOUSNESS

ASSIST PATIENTS IN BECOMING AWARE AND CONSCIOUS OF THEIR SURROUNDINGS THROUGH SENSORY STIMULATION AND THE PASSAGE OF TIME.

CONNECTEDNESS

COUNTERACT FEELINGS OF ISOLATION IN SPACES THAT ENCOURAGE SOCIAL INTERACTION AND CONTACT WITH NATURE WHEN PATIENTS ARE READY TO DO SO.

PURPOSE

1980s: Locally trained

ENCOURAGE PATIENTS TO ESTABLISH A ROLE IN SOCIETY THROUGH WORK OPPORTUNITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES WITHIN THE HOSPITAL CAMPUS.

PHSYICAL ACTIVITY

PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MOVEMENT AND ACTIVITY AT A VARIETY OF INTENSITIES TO ACCOMODATE MULTI-USER EXPERIENCES AND CHALLENGES.

REST

ACCOMMODATE SAFE AND COMFORTABLE REST AREAS TO INCREASE PATIENT WELLBEING, TIME FOR REFLECTION, AND OVERALL PRIVACY.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES Van der Walt, R., & Breed, I. (2012). The mindful landscape: A healing outdoor experience for Weskoppies

Hospital sends representatives to the Zomba District Health Office to spread influence; nurses visit prisons to assess and treat mentally ill inmates

1990s: Movement begins for community mental health with introduction of Mental Health Action Group (organization for development of policy, services and education)

2013: Zomba Mental

2017: Bwaila Psychiatric Unit closes after discovery of poor patient conditions; referred patients are sent to Zomba Mental Hospital four hours away by car

PROPOSED ACUTE WARD PLAN


PROPOSED ACUTE WARD COURTYARD

22


LEVEL A CIRCULATION PRIMARY MOVEMENT

COVERED WALKWAY 10 FEET WIDE

HIGH TRAFFIC

AMPLE SEATING

FLEXIBLE BOUNDARIES

FRUIT TREE ALLEE OPEN SPACE BUFFER FOR SEATING

PROPOSED CIRCULATION OPTIONS IN CENTRAL COURTYARD LEVEL B CIRCULATION SECONDARY ACCESS

COVERED WALKWAY 6 FEET WIDE

CANOPY TREE

23

INACCESSIBLE TO PATIENTS

WARD-SPECIFIC TRAFFIC

BORDER PLANTERS

DENSE VEGETATION SCREEN

PROPOSED CENTRAL COURTYARD PLAN


LEVEL C CIRCULATION CHOICE CIRCULATION

UNCOVERED WALKWAY 3 FEET WIDE

SENSORY PLANTINGS

ACCESSIBLE REST AREAS

GENTLE MEANDERING

FLEXIBLE OPEN SPACE

CANOPY TREE

LEVEL D CIRCULATION HEALING PATHS

UNCOVERED WALKWAY 3 FEET WIDE

DENSE VEGETATION SCREEN

PRIVATE WALKWAYS INTIMATE SEATING AREAS

DENSE VEGETATION SCREEN

24


INTERNSHIPS

VARIOUS LOCATIONS

During the Spring semester of my fourth year of studies, I interned for Langan Engineering and Environmental Services in Philadelphia. As part of the Landscape Architecture and Planning team, I assisted my coworkers in the design and documentation of various playground and land development projects. Our team’s relationship with parks and recreation offices in addition to nationwide commercial contractors allowed me to learn more about planning and details at a variety of scales. While most of my time was spent developing details, models, and renderings, I was also asked to aid in the creation of various materials for our graphic design department and student outreach.

All work on the following two spreads were made for Langan and their client’s use.

25

PROPOSED SHOPPING CENTER SEATING AREA


PROPOSED CAMPUS COURTYARD ITERATIONS

26


NEW DEVELOPMENT PLANTING PLAN AND SCHEDULE; MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH COWORKER

27


PLAYGROUND SAFETY SURFACE DETAILS

ACE MENTOR STUDENT DESIGN ACTIVITY

28


EXPLORATIONS Throughout my four years of college, I attempted to develop as many means as I could to communicate design and ideas. Even with the increased use of computer programs for graphics, I maintained the importance of hand-rendered graphics and model-making for more efficient or three-dimensional visualization. In addition to those skills, I left my university with a strong passion for GIS and its related programs. They allow designers and thinkers like myself to explore places and information I would not otherwise have access to. I utilized ArcGIS programs in each studio project, as well as outside work, to help make information available and understandable to clients and communities about their own neighborhoods.

29

POPULATION DENSITY MAPPING


DESIGN 3 FOCUS AREA SITE PLAN

DESIGN 2 CASE STUDY SITE MODEL

30


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Hello, my name is Rachel Meier and I am recent graduate with a Bachelor’s of Landscape Architecture from Thomas Jefferson University. I am a Connecticut-native who traded small-town streets for life in the city, but growing up surrounded by sprawling forests and roaring streams inspired me to continue searching for natural beauty wherever I go. However, as I grew older, I quickly realized that not all corners of the earth look like my backyard pond. This led me to decide that where I could not find nature, I would find a way to create it. It was not until I was accepted to Jefferson, formerly known as Philadelphia University, that I discovered Landscape Architecture and the opportunity to make a true difference in the world around me. Over time, I have developed passions for promoting environmental sensitivity, community advocacy, stormwater management, and site technologies, to name a few. But when I am not in studio or on site visits, I can surely be found outside attempting to photograph or write about my life experiences outside. Moving forward as an emerging professional, I hope to explore any avenue where my skills can be best honed and my goals can be best achieved. I am excited to keep making a difference through design.

Thank you! rmeier.design@gmail.com | 203-906-7814

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