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
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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
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PLANTED BUMP-OUT
05
INFILTRATION DETAIL
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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
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RAIN GARDEN PLAN
RAIN GARDEN SECTION
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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PROPOSED SHOPPING CENTER SEATING AREA
PROPOSED CAMPUS COURTYARD ITERATIONS
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NEW DEVELOPMENT PLANTING PLAN AND SCHEDULE; MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH COWORKER
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PLAYGROUND SAFETY SURFACE DETAILS
ACE MENTOR STUDENT DESIGN ACTIVITY
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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.
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POPULATION DENSITY MAPPING
DESIGN 3 FOCUS AREA SITE PLAN
DESIGN 2 CASE STUDY SITE MODEL
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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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