RACHEL MEIER
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO
2015-2018 Thomas Jefferson University
TABLE OF CONTENTS 01 MODEL
BMP
02 RIPPLE EFFECT
03 BEACONS
01
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
3-4
CAMPUS INTERVENTIONS
5-8
STREETSCAPE DESIGN
9 - 14
04 EMBRACE
URBAN PLANNING
15 - 20
05 DOCUMENTATION
CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS
21 - 22
06 EXPLORATIONS
GIS, MODELS, HAND RENDERS
23 - 26
02
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
04
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.
CONCEPT EXPLORATION
Implement stormwater management practices that strengthen the connection between the campus and community, as well as reduce the impact on surrounding watersheds.
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
Pervious 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 metric-based, 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 twoand three-dimensional diagrams, as seen on this page.
100% of impervious run-off is daylighted for infiltration or collected
Pervious Surfaces
Introduction of areas for detention, infiltration, and visibilty of stormwater
Development and Slope Control
Designated areas for slope control to reduce erosion from previous storms
PROPOSED SITE METRICS
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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, mural-covered bus shelters, dry and wet meadows with seasonal interest, and community nodes to create not only a pedestrian-centered 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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PROPOSED CIRCULATION PATHS
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“STREET AS A DESTINATION” SECTION
INFILTRATION DETAIL
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PLANTED BUMP-OUT
13
CONCEPTUAL MODEL
RAIN-ACTIVATED PAINT SAMPLE
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EMBRACE
LILONGWE, MALAWI
Malawians are community-oriented 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 INVENTORY OF STORMWATER
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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
NATIVE TREE GROVE
FULL CAMPUS 20-YEAR PHASING PLANS
FARMING
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
FARMING
RIPARIAN BUFFER
BIOFILTRATION WITH UNDERGROUND STORAGE
FARMING
17
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 DIAGRAMATIC 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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DOCUMENTATION As a design student, I have been encouraged and guided to learn not only how to design conceptually, but also technically. Completing both a Materials and Methods course and Construction Documents course has given me a better understanding of design and implementation. The samples shown here followed a conceptual design prompt from zoning and schematics to details and phasing. Learning how to hone in on design details from the “bigger picture� has allowed me to explore the techniques and concepts of the landscape architecture field at a variety of scales.
SCHEMATIC DESIGN AND GRADING
21
DETAIL SHEET
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EXPLORATIONS Throughout my three and a half years in college so far, I have elected to take four courses focused on GIS-related programs and the use of geospatial analyses in landscape design. I have developed a passion for the opportunities this technology presents me as a designer and thinker to explore places and information I would not otherwise have access to. I utilize these tools in each design project from start to finish: from data overlays for inventory and analysis to modeling and diagramming proposed designs. Map-making and data visualization has become an important method of communication for me as student and designer. POPULATION DENSITY MAPPING
23
The above model represents a process I developed to identify existing bike-share stations in Philadelphia and add 30 more stations per year for five years based on a set of criteria. This type of “future projections� workflow is valuable as a landscape designer to establish how proposals and parameters will affect a community and its environment.
One of my GIS courses tasked a small group to map the outbreak of zombies in Philadelphia based on a developed set of rules over four waves. This exercise in epidemiology has influenced the way I think about the distribution and control of major environmental factors during the design process.
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EXPLORATIONS I have been highly encouraged to develop strong graphic communication skills as an upper-level design student, however I have also developed an appreciation for being able to communicate quicker on occasion through hand-drawing and modelmaking. These selected samples showcase a variety of ways in which I have used those skills to communicate concepts and design intentions. Starting with my first hand-rendered site plan my freshman year (shown left) to understanding how to layer colored pencil and ink drawings onto digital plans (shown right), I have found a way to maintain hand graphics and study models into almost all of my work.
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DESIGN 2 CASE STUDY SITE PLAN AND MODEL
DESIGN 3 FOCUS AREA SITE PLAN
DESIGN 6 ABSTRACT “EXPERIENCE” MODEL
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Hello, my name is Rachel Meier and I am currently a fourth year student studying Landscape Architecture at 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. Moving forward as a student and emerging professional, I hope to explore a variety of avenues for my different interests to discover where my skills can be best honed and my goals can be best achieved. Thank you! rachel.meier@jefferson.edu | 203-906-7814
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