Sophia Geller | Landscape Architecture Portfolio 2019

Sophia Geller Portfolio Harvard University Graduate School of Design Master of Landscape Architecture 2017 sgbgeller@gmail.com

Sophia Geller

Work Experience

Master of Landscape Architecture, class of 2017 Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Design Consultant

Paicines Ranch

Paicines, CA June 2017 - present

Site analysis, fieldwork and design development for 8,000 acre organic farm and event center Reference: Kelly Mulville kmulville@gmail.com 707-431-8060 Merritt Chase Landscape Architects

Boston, MA Oct. - Nov. 2018

Design Consultant

Renderings, drawings, and design development Reference: Chris Merritt chris@merrittchase.com 317-319-2460 One Thousand Birds

Design Consultant

Rendering and 3d-modeling for interactive light and sound installation Reference: Andrew Tracy andrew@otbirds.com 646-964-5057

ad: 221 Winchester St. Brookline, MA 02446 USA tel: 617-721-8984 email: sgbgeller@gmail.com

Villa Gamberaia

Conducted month-long feasibility study to determine future development scenarios for 17th century Italian estate Reference: Patricia Osmond osmond@iastate.edu 617-492-0142 Project Development Consultant

Michel Desvigne Paysagiste

Education Harvard University Graduate School of Design Master of Landscape Architecture

2017 PWP Traveling Fellow Smith College BA, Studio Art and Landscape Studies University of Groningen CIEE summer course: “Society, Environment, Transportation and Space�

New York, NY March - Dec. 2018

Landscape Design Intern

Cambridge, MA Class of 2017 Northampton, MA Class of 2013 Groningen, Netherlands Summer 2012

Florence, Italy August 2018

Paris, France June-August 2016

Project design, project proposal coordination and submission, text translations Reference: Taro Ernst t.ernst@micheldesvigne.com + 33 (0)1 44 61 98 61

Stantec Consulting, Ltd. Boston, MA Marketing Intern Feb 2013 - Aug 2014 Statements of Qualification, project proposals, and promotional material production Reference: Michael Favaloro michael.favaloro@stantec.com +1 (860) 948-1628

Awards and Honors Peter Walker and Partners Traveling Fellow Courances, France Harvard GSD departmental prize for MLA graduates 2017 - 2018 Research topic: “Château de Courances : land use and narrative of a historic French domain” One year working and conducting field research at Courances in the areas of landscape maintenance, garden design, habitat preservation, and sustainable agriculture GSD Loeb Library Studio Exhibition Cambridge, MA Drawings included in “Designing Planes and Seams” February 2017 curated by Anita Berrizbeitia, Ken Smith, and Harold Koda LE:NOTRE Landscape Forum 2016 prize recipient 2nd prize, international student design competition and “Rural Change” workshop participant Smith College Landscape Studies Prize recipient Highest departmental honors, awarded for excellence in coursework and independent projects

Paphos, Cyprus March 2016 Northampton, MA May 2013

Guest Lecturer, Smith College

One of a series of weekly lecturers for the course LSS 101: Landscape, Design and the Environment.

Northampton, MA March 2017

Fabos Conference on Landscape & Greenway Planning Paper finalist and conference presenter in collaboration with the Mill River Greenway Initiative.

Amherst, MA April 2013

Volunteer, Reykjavik Art Museum

Reykjavik, Iceland Richard Serra Afangar exhibition volunteer

August 2015 Participated in research, site excursions, and youth programing.

Triangle P Cattle Ranch Summer working resident participating in cattle moving and care, land management, property maintenance.

Mescalero, NM May-June 2015

GSD Beer n’ Dogs co-coordinator Responsible for weekly school-wide parties, organizing food, drink, music, and co-sponsors.

Cambridge, MA 2015-2016

Smith College Equestrian Team Captain Team leadership, organization, and strategy.

Northampton, MA 2011-2012

Projects and Activities

Academic and Other References

Director/co-Creator,

GSD-Courances Design Residency Courances, France Founder and director of a summer residency program for 2018 - present Harvard MLA students to live, work, and conduct independent research at the Château de Courances, a 16th century French domain engaged in sustainable land use strategies and large-scale organic farming.

Co-creators: Anita Berrizbeitia, Harvard GSD

Patrick Deedes, Château de Courances

Anita Berrizbeitia Edward Eigen Patrick Deedes

Guest Speaker, Harvard Graduate School of Design One of two keynote speakers at a celebration of the Peter Walker and Partners Fellowship

Cambridge, MA December 2018

aberrizbeitia@gsd.harvard.edu 617-923-2422 eeigen@gsd.harvard.edu 617-496-9181 pdeedes@orange.fr +33 06 07 95 53 77

Skills Digital: AutoCAD, Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, AfterEffects, ArcMap/GIS Analog: Drawing, painting, photography, installations, and modeling.

Languages:

English (native) French (proficient)

Contents Coursework, Harvard Graduate School of Design .01 Ridgewood Reservoir .02 Arboretum Edge

.03 Full Belly

Ken Smith 3 Rosetta Elkin / William Friedman 11 Danielle Choi / Kimberly Mercurio 19

Independent and Post-Graduate Work .01 Designing for the Rancher’s Narrative Paicines Ranch 29 .02 Freelancing 01 Merritt Chase Landscape Architects 37 .03 Freelancing 02 One Thousand Birds 41 .04 Renaissance Revisited Villa Gamberaia 45 .05 Beyond the Château Château de Courances 53

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Coursework Harvard Graduate School of Design

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2016(Fall)

Course: Inherent Vice

Prof.: Ken Smith

Ridgewood Reservoir: Less a territory than a substance Queens, New York

Axial cuts, visual corridors, and moments of intersection project visual and physical access through the remnants of history and memory at this abandoned reservoir and adjacent illegal burial site, resting under four decades of a dense successional forest growth – a verdant blanket crowning the highest point of Long Island. The reservoir employed this height practically, using gravity to supply water to all of Brooklyn from the 1860s to the 1970s. But the height of this area was also valued symbolically, attracting the largest concentration of cemeteries on Long Island, dating back to the mid-nineteenth century, which still surround the reservoir today. The adjacent hill, an illegal landfill, was constructed by one such cemetery to create cheap plots with distant views, and thousands of bodies were unknowingly buried in trash and debris. The project seeks to honor the very physical realities of this history, reconceptualizing classic tropes of the French and English garden traditions to uncover the simple, physical conditions that inspired so much controversy and desire – bare ground, a view, a height, a distance.

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Projecting Through Matter: allĂŠe as functional and revelatory tool i. site plan Site plan for Ridgewood Reservoir and the adjacent landfill and former burial site to the northeast. Axial cuts project site lines through the spontaneous forest growth and central water basin. Each cut employs different planting strategies and ground manipulations to reveal conditions of site and channel water, movement, and light to varying degrees. The original circuit around the three reservoir basins is maintained, while new paths are introduced to traverse up and around the landfill site, within the cemetery gates.

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iii. ii. moments of intersection Moments of intersection are highlighted on the plan where axes cross walking paths, or cross one another. Strong juxtapositions are created where forest hits allĂŠe, canal cuts through dike or moves beneath walking path, and cemetery meets grove. Each intersection represents a moment on the circuit where views to further destinations are revealed, but can only be reached with each successive wandering along the circuit. iii. context map

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Context map depicting the reservoir and surrounding cemeteries as they are situated in Queens on Long Island, southeast of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and New Jersey.

iv. perspective view Perspective view northwest, looking across Brooklyn towards Manhattan, with Midtown rising in the haze from across the East River. This was the view so sought after by families looking to bury loved ones in a place of prominence, dignity, and prospect. The axial trajectories of the design speak to the desire for a territorial scale of comprehension from a grounded situation.

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A Single Line Says Much: allĂŠe in detail v. section perspective Section perspective and corresponding plan along one of the six axial cuts, showing the topographical, hydrological, and vegetal strategies and manipulations in detail. This particular axis cuts through all environments of the site, and employs strategies to reveal the inherent qualities of each environment, from the woodlands and wetlands, to the pond in the central basin, to the uneven slopes of the old landfill. Some of the features along this axis include groves of Aesculus parviflora and Paulownia tomentosa, cantilevered docks out over the water, clearings and glades within the woods, and a winding hillside path. The axis is cut by a canal, allĂŠes of Fraxinus pennsylvanica and Taxodium distichum, and views north towards Manhattan and south towards Jamaica Bay. Drawing featured in the GSD Frances Loeb Library exhibition Designing Planes and Seams, 2017. vi. view across central basin toward landfill This first view looks across the pond of the central basin from the edge of a cantilevered dock. The cut of the axis is clearly visible as it climbs the western face of the landfill. vii. view up path along sunken dike This second view looks up the path along a dike between the second and third basin that has been graded on a slope down to where it meets with the axis, allowing the visitor to descend into the woods alongside a grove of Paulownia, bringing them level with the Sophia Geller | 06

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water in the central basin. viii. view to midtown This third view is from the top of the hill, looking northwest towards Manhattan through an intersecting conical axis cut through the woodland growth.

The top of the hill is a sort of contrived etoile, offering views in all directions, cut through the surrounding trees.

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2016(Fall)

Course: Field Methods of a Living Collection

Prof.: Rosetta Elkin / William Friedman

Arboretum Edge: Relationships of exchange across the boundary of the Arnold Arboretum Boston, Massachusetts Teammates: Mary Miller and Dana Kash

A collaborative venture in fieldwork, drawing, and translation. Our team engaged in six weeks of on-site field research at Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum to begin to investigate how the movement and morphology of plants could begin to suggest the relationships that exist across the physical and political boundaries of the arboretum.

After recording observations in the field, we continued these processes of observation and translation through collaborative hand drawing, a process involving the constant moving and shifting of layers of trace as we turned field notes into image. The resulting exhibition print, and the process of physical and visual translations we took to arrive at it, reveal the inherent interconnectedness of all the subjects of our research, both inside and outside the arboretum boundary, on either side of the commuter rail tracks. We then invited the viewer to engage through a series of cards that call out various key players in the dynamic relationships of the site. Upon taking up a card, one must search through the layers of life and relationships to match card to drawing, continuing the process of observation and translation, drawing connections between viewer, user, plants, and site conditions, both on and off the paper.

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Developing Method: field research and the process of translation i. in the field Our work in the field began with a broad exploration of the Arboretum and its context. After settling on a working hypothesis, we set out in our chosen area to conduct detailed surveys of the species of plants found along two transects, one inside and one outside the arboretum, in the adjacent neighborhood.

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ii. stages of translation Field observations were recorded as notes and sketches, which were in turn reconfigured through mapping and hand drawing, merging layers of information through each consecutive step towards the final composite drawing. iii. arboretum/neighborhood transect drawing 39x48� drawing resulting from a layering of information recorded in the field.

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Continuing the Investigation:

presentation as discovery and narrative

iv. viewers engaged Viewers were invited to continue the processes of observation and translation we had initially begun in the field through their interaction with the drawings and research materials.

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v. a,b,c the cards A series of cards displayed alongside the drawings and field notes, calling out various observed plant species, biotic and abiotic site conditions, animals, events, and actions. Each card folds open, revealing a window to allow the viewer to match the image on the card up to its corresponding place in the larger drawing. On the inside cover of each card, key stories, facts, and relationships are highlighted and speculated on, allowing the viewer to construct a narrative of movements and relationships as they navigate the drawing, relating certain cards to each other, and certain moments in the drawing to certain cards.

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vi. in context

The drawings and cards as they were displayed, awaiting investigation by the veiwers.

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2016(Spring)

Course: Poetics of Planting Design

Prof.: Danielle Choi / Kimberly Mercurio

Full Belly: A phased replanting of the orchards of Petrin Hill Prague, Cszech Republic

The public orchards of Petrin Hill invite an almost sinful indulgence to anyone who wanders through its dense, centuries-old rows of fruiting apricots and cherries. This project begins at the scale of the body, using four of the seven deadly sins to inspire manipulations of topography, tree species, and planting arrangements. It then zooms out to the scale of the park, and to the timescale of the coming century, proposing a planting regimen to continue the productive use of the land for both fruit and wood, while still remaining a recreational garden of earthly delights for the city.

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Sin: Gluttony gula

Sin: Greed avaricia

Sin: Lust luxuria

Sin: Sloth accidia

Species: Apple - Malus domesticus“McIntosh”

Species: Apricot - Prunus armeniaca “Goldcot”

Species: Sweet Cherry - Prunus avium “Lapins”

Species: Black Walnut - Juglans nigra

Angles of Repose: orchard terracing at the scale of the body i. modeling the deadly sins Clay study models used to explore how four of the seven deadly sins - gluttony, greed, lust, and sloth - could inform grading and planting choices. Unique micro-topographies were developed to accommodate for each sin, involving consideration of aspect, angles of repose, and aid in movement. Tree species were also chosen according to their corresponding sins, with considerations of spacing, canopy coverage, branching height, fruit type, harvesting time, and relative abundance.

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Species and Spacing: understanding existing site conditions and future growth requirements ii. spacing diagrams (proposed) iv. orchards in context

Relative planting patterns and spacings for the four tree species chosen, to allow for maximum growth and productivity.

Analysis of existing orchard patterns in their context

v. current conditions Current conditions of the orchards of Petrin Hill, noting various sizes of tree canopies, used to infer age, growth rates, and conditions of site and microclimate. There are notable differences in the sizes of trees within the same groves depending on where they are located in terms of elevation, aspect, and slope.

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Planning in Phases: future projected growth and harvests of new planting strategy vi. a crop of walnuts in a young grove vii. two phases

Two phases of the planting plan called out, spanning a 25-year period. Instances of felling, resting, planting, thinning, harvesting, and growth are highlighted

viii. the phased plan All ten phases of the planting plan, spanning a 40-year period. Decisions of species location, planting, spacing, thinning and felling were made based on conditions of topography, elevation and microclimate, as well as adjacencies to city streets, forest, paths, roads, aesthetic enjoyment and public use. ix. fruiting calendar

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Relative abundance and harvesting times of each of the four tree species, providing a consistent period of productivity from June through to November.

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Independent and Post-Graduate Work

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2016-present

Working Residency and Design Consulting: Paicines Ranch, California

Designing for the Rancher’s Narrative: Agriculture and holistic land management strategies as design catalyst Paicines, California

Since the summer of 2016 I have been working periodically with Paicines Ranch in Paicines, California. Paicines employs principles of holistic management to their 8,500 acre ranch where they are experimenting with resilient and sustainable methods of sheep and cattle raising, perennial grassland restoration, and an innovative vineyard for organic wine production. Also committed to education, outreach, and knowledge-sharing, the ranch hosts conferences, events and gatherings in disciplines ranging from ecological habitat monitoring to economics. Paicines was seeking out a designer to help turn the 11 acres of headquarters into a clearly navigable, legible, and beautiful landscape capable of telling the story of the innovative and complex work taking place on the rest of the property, and I began working with them to help realize these design challenges. My work with Paicines has also extended out to the pastures and fields beyond headquarters in an effort to understand the role of design in agricultural landscapes.

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A Sustainable Vineyard: sheep grazing integrated into vineyard

design for a sustainable model in wine production i. ii., iii., trellis system

i. vineyard basemap I used survey maps and Google Earth imagery to create a basemap of the vineyard useful not only to my own purposes as designer, but to planning and strategy implementation for the farmers as well.

Kelly Mulville, ranch manager and viticulturist, explains the trellis system (ii.). A detail sketch of the components of the trellis system (iii.).

iv, v. sheep in the vineyard Sheep periodically graze the vineyard to improve soil health and structure and diversify the undergrowth. I created this illustration (v.) for Kelly’s use in presentations he has given around the world on soil health and integrating sheep herds into vineyard management.

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Farmland in Transition: restoring depleted soils with

regenerative management practices

vi. past use A sketch showing the recently suspended practices by a farm formerly leasing out Paicines land, leaving ground heavily tilled, bare for much of the year, and depleted of all organic matter, beneficial invertebrates, and soil structure.

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vii. restoration strategy A diverse selection of forage crops are planted in the fields and grazed rotationally by the flock. The combinations of plant species are selected for their abilities to promote healthy life and soil structure, encourage bird habitat, and of course be palatable to sheep and cattle. viii. cropland basemap A basemap of one of the newly re-acquired portions of cropland being managed and restored with forage crop plantings and rotational grazing. Paicines is starting to reintroduce central-pivot irrigation to portions of the cropland, and we will soon be integrating hedgerow and tree planting strategies into the layout of the fields to create diverse habitat and facilitate herding.

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Lessons from the Herd: sheep movement as design

cue to guide human movement

ix.. understanding herd movement Before any design work began, I spent several weeks herding the Paicines flock with the other farmers, gaining a rich understanding of how they guide and direct the herd, and when and why certain moves are made. a) sketches from a livestock handling workshop. b) sheep responding to well-applied movement cues. c) sheep responding to poorly-applied movement cues. x. “pasture� map In approaching a new masterplan for the ranch headquarters, I devised of a strategy that treats each area of headquarters as a pasture, using cues of movement and boundary to facilitate navigating the different areas of headquarters for the various human (and animal) groups that move through these spaces.

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xi. multiple design strategies I worked with many different groups on the ranch to devise plans for the improvement of headquarters, from those that live and work there on a daily basis to those who visit once for a wedding or other event. a) analysis of headquarters based on ease and clarity of movement. b) an organizational scheme for headquarters based on three main axes reinforced by road alignment, tree plantings, and extensions of views. c) a remapping of headquarters based on differing ecological and functional environments. d) a test strategy for the residential area of the ranch to increase privacy and ease of movement, and decrease open, ambiguous space.

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xii. headquarters basemap I used old survey maps and Google Earth imagery to create a basemap of headquarters for the ranch, which not only serves my own purposes as designer, but has been put to use by ranch staff as well in daily work and meetings. xiii. the problem of ambiguous space Much of the ranch has open, ambiguous spaces of largely compacted dirt and sand, where water cannot infiltrate and little can grow. This is one of the primary issues I have been addressing in the headquarters masterplan.

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2018 (fall)

Design Consulting and Rendering Services: Merritt Chase Landscape Architects

Freelancing 01: Renderings for the Central State Vision Plan Indianapolis, Indiana

Since receiving my MLA and completing the Peter Walker and Partners Traveling Fellowship, I have been doing freelance design work for two studios. Since October 2018 I have been working for Merritt Chase Landscape Architects, a firm based in Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, creating multiple drawings and renderings for the Central State Vision Plan, a park and neighborhood connectivity masterplan for the property of a former mental health hospital in Indianapolis.

Drawings have thus far included perspective renderings, axons, and section elevations.

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The Grove: rethinking a

150-year-old center of respite and gathering

i. axon view An axonometric view of the Grove, the central gathering place of the Central State property. This diverse grouping of 150-year-old trees was once the grounds behind a large state mental hospital, where patience would spend time relaxing and recreating out of doors. Today it will be the central feature through which movement will be guided to connect the areas of the larger property.

I creating these renderings for Merritt Chase based on their established designs as the project was progressing. These renderings were recently used in a comprehensive document and presentation at a community meeting to discuss design ideas and directions for the Central State Vision Plan.

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ii. section elevations I created two section drawings for Merritt Chase, the first running east-west through the center of the Grove, and the second running northsouth. iii. planting strategy This pair of axons explores the planting strategy that will be implemented in the Grove. Many of the existing trees are healthy and mature, but need extensive limbing up and pruning, while others are dead or dying and need to be removed completely. New trees will be planted amongst the remaining old-growth trees to insure the health and longevity of this shady grove.

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2018 (March-December)

Design Consulting and Rendering Services: One Thousand Birds

Freelancing 02: Rendering and 3D-modeling for interactive sound design studio New York City, New York

Kansas City, Kansas

Since receiving my MLA and completing the Peter Walker and Partners Traveling Fellowship, I have been doing freelance design work for two studios. I have been working with One Thousand Birds (OTB), a sound design studio based in New York City, since March 2018 on the design of an interactive light installation for the Kansas University Medical Center (KUMC). The work has included multiple renderings depicting the installation in various locations and iterations, for use at committee meetings and in discussion with donors, as well as 3-D modeling and diagramming of the installation to aid in design, fabrication, and installation.

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Iteration to Installation: In-situ renderings, 3D

modeling, and diagramming to aid in project pitch, development, and construction

i. design iterations I created a series of renderings over the course of several development meetings with KUMC donors and committee members to pitch the idea behind this interactive light installation. The proposal changed many times in both its location and form. ii. installation approved A final iteration of the light installation was finally reached, and we could officially begin working on design details and development for fabrication and installation. iii. view from below An alternate view of the final design, including locations of speakers and sensors key to the functioning of the interactive installation, and a placard explaining the intent behind the design. i. iv. 3d design A 3D model used both for the renderings, as well as a tool to figure out spacing, location, and numbers of lights, as well as each light’s relative suspension height, as dictated by the dimensions of the site, the design goals, and the programming and wiring requirements of the interactive system. v. initial installation

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A view from OTB’s studio, where light and wiring installation began once the main structural frame was completed by an outside fabrication team.

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iii. vi. fabrication diagrams A pair of diagrams to aid the fabrication team in construction of the main frame of the installation (a), and to serve as a key for the precise locations of each light and its corresponding cable (b). vii. installation structure.

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2018 (summer)

Design and Research Consulting: Villa Gamberaia

Renaissance Revisited: Feasibility study for program development at the historic Villa Gamberaia Florence, Italy

For the month of July, 2018, I lived and worked at the Villa Gamberaia, a 17th century villa and gardens perched in the hills overlooking the city of Florence. The purpose of my stay was to conduct a feasibility study of the property that explored the potential for future program development at the villa. The study was divided into three parts, examining the full extent of the Gamberaia’s landholdings, the villa and gardens specifically, and the villa’s relationship to its larger regional context of Florence and Tuscany. I conducted field research and site surveys, and established and met with many relevant contacts in the Florence region to create a picture of the roles that the Gamberaia could play in the areas of education, sustainable land management, food systems, and tourism. The resulting study and list of contacts and consultants is being used to guide current discussions around the future direction of this significant historic site.

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From Villa to City: a functional relationship i. regional map An image found during research on Paicines Ranch, showing older farming and land management methods used in one of the Ranch’s previous lives. The extent of land put to mechanized farming techniques is quite remarkable compared to the present-day, with the use of center-pivot irrigation in stark relief. ii. section cut A single line can tell us much. A transect cut through the property of the Gamberaia and its greater surroundings elegantly sums up the special relationships that exist among the various aspects of the property, as well as the property’s relationship to the larger territory within which it is situated. It is no coincidence that this very transect was drawn time and again by different hands studying the villa and its gardens over the centuries. This transect, which runs through the secondary east-west axis of the villa and gardens, reveals the practical and holistic nature of traditional Tuscan planning and design, for along the very same line lie all the properties of function, sustenance, economy, beauty, and pleasure that life at the Gamberaia both afforded and necessitated.

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The Extent of the Property:

site analysis and field research of the Gamberaia’s landholdings iv. parcel map This map calls out the four parcels of the Gamberaia and highlights their basic components, including topography, vegetation, and built structures. v. northeastern parcel The large northeastern parcel consists of olive groves and an oak/ pine/cypress woodland. A fire severely damaged the olive trees and a large portion of the woodland, however this damage offers a unique opportunity for study and experimentation in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, ecology, habitat restoration and property development.

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vi. small parcels The other scattered parcels offer equally unique opportunities and are predominantly olive groves and orchards. v.

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The Extent of the Property (cont.) vi. villa compound details Detail images of the villa, gardens, and immediate surroundings, including the bowling green, which acts as the central defining axis of the garden’s layout (a), the lemon garden and the limonaia perched on a terrace (b), a view over the gabinetto rustico into the southern sylvatico (c), the water parterre (d), and the grove of umbrella pines high on a hilltop at the northernmost portion of the parcel. vii. villa compound map A map of the main parcel, the villa compound, which includes the main house and gardens in yellow, olive groves in tan, a second house, the Gamberino, and its surrounding gardens in blue, and the hilltop pine grove in green.

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Detail Analysis: Re-imagining future uses for the villa cantine

viii. cantine floorplan Floorplan of the cantine, or basement rooms, of the main house. They have been divided into three main groups based on original dates of construction in the 15th, 17th, and 19th centuries (red areas i., ii., and iii), as well as further divisions based on arrangement, fluidity of movement, and potential future uses. ix. cantine details Images of several cantine rooms. The cantine were constructed for the purpose of agricultural storage and production. The front rooms are at grade, with large doors and windows that open directly onto the lower terrace of olive groves. The middle and back rooms are underground, and most have cleverly engineered skylights to let in the light. x. future scenarios I proposed three potential future uses of the cantine in such areas as classroom and research space, culinary workshops, and a restaurant. The cantine’s history as spaces of production mean the rooms are large, functional, and carry with them the ability to tie a history of making with a future of education and production.

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2017-2018

Peter Walker and Partners Traveling Fellowship: Château de Courances

Beyond the Château: Land use and narrative of a historic French domain Courances, France

As the 2017 Peter Walker and Partners Traveling Fellow, I traveled to France to study the relationship between gardens and farms, and spent the majority of my year living and working at the Château de Courances, a 16th century property at the forefront of sustainable agriculture and land management practices. My research was fundamentally hands-on in nature, and I spent my days working directly with the farmers, landscapers, gamekeepers and maintenance crew to gain an intimate knowledge of the landscape and an understanding of the overlap between historic and contemporary land use strategies.

I also worked quite closely with the manager of program development at the château, and together we partnered with the GSD to create the GSD-Courances Design Residency program.

Now in its second year, the residency brings two MLA students to Courances each summer to work on the land and pursue independent research and design projects.

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Feeding Paris: rethinking sustainable farming

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practices at multiple scales

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i. market gardening Ten hectares are farmed at a small, human-powered scale, providing a diverse variety of organic produce for the Courances farm stand and multiple CSA-type programs to communities in and around Paris.

ii. sustainability at the industrial scale Courances also farms 500 hectares at a large, industrial scale, implementing experimental techniques in organic and sustainable mechanized agriculture for staple crops such as wheat, canola, and beetroot. The entire operation is currently organic and no-till. iii. sustainability at the industrial scale With such a large amount of highly productive land just 50 km from the center of Paris, there is a constant motivation at Courances to develop sustainable, reproducible farming methods and systems of food distribution.

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v.

vi.

Covers and Hedgerows: how the family tradition of hunting encourages diverse habitat networks iv. respite A densely-planted hedgerow between two agricultural plots, providing habitat for a diverse population of animals, plants, and insects, many of which are pollinator species. v. the hunters The forest and farmland of Courances has been managed for the purpose of hunting for at least five centuries. Two gamekeepers act as the stewards of the hunt, maintaining the landscape to simultaneously shelter and easily pursue game animals, including pheasant, duck, wild boar, and deer. Navigating the hunt is essentially navigating a series of edge conditions that reach out from the forest and across the farmland in a network of hedgerows, covers, and bosquets to create wildlife habitat hospitable to wild game. By default, this also creates a rich habitat network for many other animals and plants. vi. studying la plaine La Plaine is the 500 hectares of farmland that butterfly out between two forests across which the system of covers, hedgerows, and bosquets extends, creating the edge conditions hospitable to so many species. In the southwest and northeast, this network also includes a new agroforestry project to allow for more integration of this network into the industrial-scaled portions of the farmland. vi. hedgerow allĂŠe As one moves along a single hedgerow between two fields, there are many things to notice. Most significantly, many of the hedgerows are planted in double, as allĂŠes, which serves two purposes: it creates a sheltered lane within for animals to take refuge, as well as ease of movement for humans. Varieties of species also varies a great deal along single lines, creating differing habitats as one moves down the row.

vii.

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ix.

Maintenance as Design:

understanding the park from the landscaper’s point of view viii. by hand Much of the work I engaged in with the landscaping team was done by hand, from weeding, raking, and watering the parterre de broderie, to picking up countless branches after large storms. This work required patience and much physical effort, and gave me much insight to the relationship between labor and design. ix. by machine Many other tasks were completed with viii. the help of tractors, backhoes, chainsaws, and leaf blowers.

Sometimes machines were used because the design already conveniently allowed for them, such as moving a tractor down a wide paved path to haul excess sod edged by hand. Other times design was dictated by these very machines, such as huge old box hedges trimmed smooth to a certain height and then left from there to grow as they will - exactly the height one can reach from a tractor with the motor-powered trimmer.

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x.

Sharing My Experience: creating a summer residency program

xi.

for independent, hands-on learning

x. students in the park the two GSD students selected as our inaugural participants of the residency program worked with Manolo da Silva, landscaping manager, in the park. xi. students at the farm The students also worked on the farm planting, harvesting, and learning about the different agricultural systems in the Ile-de-France region.

xii.

xii. a new relationship Two MLA students will now be selected each year to spend six weeks living and working at the Château de Courances, and pursuing their own independent design and research projects. We hope that this is just the start of an involved and exciting home for landscape education and research at Courances.

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Sophia Geller Harvard University Graduate School of Design Master of Landscape Architecture 2017 sgbgeller@gmail.com