Charles Crislip | University of Maryland | 2007-2008
Landscape Architecture Portfolio
Contents: Cross Road Trail: Conservation Sub-Division LARC 340 Site Planning and Design Camp Brighton Woods: Girl Scout Council of our Nation's Capital LARC 340 Site Planning and Design Discovering a SEAM LARC 240 Site Analysis Freed Men's Cemetery Design Competition LARC 240 Site Anlysis Community Detail Fountain Design LARC 340 Site Planning and Design
Cross Roads Trail: Conservation Sub-Division The program for this design was to implement New Urbanism or Conservation Sub-Division. The conservation sub-division program required 25 homes on .5-1 acre lots, 15 town homes, a community center and an equestrian facility to fit this community.
Process
My design process started with an intense site analysis. Researching regional development, climate, wildlife, wetlands, and topography were a few of the factors influencing this design. After compiling all of this data I created relationships within the assigned program and then overlaid them over the existing site. Next I took my four main designs and synthesized them into two improved ones, I repeated this until all were combined into one final concept. L.I.D. was implemented into several locations throughout the site. The road widths were decreased, roads were direct to reduce the amount of paving and bio retention was placed on the lower elevations from build surfaces to catch storm water runoff.
Final Design The final plan concentrated all 25 homes onto .5 - 1 acre lots. Pedestrian trails allowed for easy access to the community center from the homes as well as the town homes. Open space was created for active and passive recreation and separate horse trails were also designed to keep pedestrians and the horses safe. Trails totaled almost 4 miles in distance.
Staking Plan
Construction documents were also important for this project. A road staking plan was created to show how to create the proposed road from and existing street. Curve data, lot sizes, and finished floor elevations were also noted.
Brighton Woods: Girl Scout Council of our Nation’s Capital Our studio was divided into groups of four to help a Girl Scout camp that was in dire need of identification as well as other improvements to its site. We also wanted to expose the Girl Scouts to sustainable and Limited Impact Development.
Site Analysis
L.I.D.
Some of the L.I.D. that we implemented onto the site were several applications of vertical mulching around critical trees and ones that would have possible root damage. We also proposed a french drain system in the highly compacted amphitheater.
Process of the steps taken to update the single entrance roadway with a complete circuit for Girl Scout Drop-off. The final decision was the far right. It had the least impact as well as the safest flow for traffic
Recreation
In the final design our group gave an identity to the camp, implemented a ropes course, a recreational area near the Patuxant River, New glen shelters that could be manually adjusted to the seasons For this project I redesigned the main entrance for Girl Scout drop-off as well as the graphics, plan, and
Discovering a SEAM In this project we had to created a shared space between a sculptor and his guest as well as incorporate spaces for a blind lady and her dog. Each student was assigned a word to incorporated into and the word I work with was SEAM.
Research Research consisted of finding images that best represented the word seam. I found that seam can be represented as something that divides and separates. Something that can channel. The most intriguing was that a seam has a hierarchy, and this is what I based my design off of.
Step 1
Step 2
The first design I created implemented color, plant material, and texture in to varying levels of hierarchy. The design was very symmetrical and that was limiting to my creativity. The next design went to an asymmetrical form allowing for variations on the sculptors side of the shared space.
Step 3
My final design created additional spaces for the sculptor to place his art as well as textured surfaces for the blind lady to navigate the spaces. The water features on her side increase in the intensity of the sound the closer she gets to the bottom of the site.
Freed Men’s Cemetery Design Competition The Freed Men’s Cemetery competition was for African Americans that were freed after the Civil War. This cemetery was lost in the city of Alexandria, Virginia and over several years was destroyed by roads, a brick company, office buildings and finally a gas station. A space needed to be designed represent the history of the Freed Men’s Cemetery.
Concept
The first concept I wanted to represent the three parts of the site. History, the land, the names, and the graves. In this order as you walk the site, you experience these four rooms. The history was destroyed but it was not as bad to the site as the other four acts. Then the actual site was disrupted. The next horrible act done to the site was the removal of the grave stones and names and finally the actual destruction of the grave sites.
After the mid project review, my design needed to incorporate more open areas for the community as well as allow for a circulation of the site. I added into the site a plaza area where bikers can stop and rest and a place for people to relax after crossing the Wilson Bridge. I kept the original path of the site in order to preserve the context of the site. The open spaces allow for sitting as well as exploring for returning visitors that have already experienced the site.
A detail plan showing the transition from the sunken space that represents the history of the site to the shaded garden representing the earth before it was destroyed for the brick factory and the building construction.
Final Design
Community Detail Fountain Design
In this group project we had to incorporated a piatza and a water feature into an existing community center. The site was already designed with a symmetrical concept and we wanted to emphasize this while not getting to symmetrical.
Water We incorporated a water feature called a rill down the center of the site and incorporating an intimate room with an allee of trees covering it. The rear of the community center is all glass and faces out to this open space. The left side has a garden with small pocket rooms for discovering and giving people a place to relax. The right side is open to accommodate the large volume of people from the pool and can be used for passive recreation.
Construction Plant material and construction was also important in this project. We created a planting plan, planting list and installation documents for the plants. We also created construction details for the two fountains as well as hardscape construction. Through this whole project I was responsible for the plans, sections and perspectives. I helped design the function of the plaza and allee as well as created the concept layout for the garden rooms and open spaces.
Charles Crislip | University of Maryland | 2007-2008
Thank You.