SARA YILDIRIM
SARA YILDIRIM
(862) 221-5418 sarayildirim@gmail.com
EDUCATION Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture
EXPERIENCE Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and The New Jersey Recovery Fund Landscape Designer
October 2013 – January 2014
• Designed a social and ecological park in a floodplain to benefit the community and improve natural aesthetic • Facilitated meetings with community members to identify concerns and developed solutions for park program, educational enhancement, and increased social functionality • Presented community members with a sustainable park driven by social values with consideration to natural systems to function as a flood mitigation system in tandem with a berm proposed by the US Army Corp of Engineers
Rutgers University Landscape Architecture Student Mentor September 2012 – January 2013
• Actively participated in the development of the first mentor program • Guided underclassman student through his growth in the program by meeting weekly to discuss work and provide feedback • Facilitated meetings and discussions to track the progress of student and aid in social and academic success
ACHIEVEMENTS ASLA Student Chapter New Jersey Treasurer 2013 – 2014
ASLA Student Chapter New Jersey Member 2011 – 2014
Association of New Jersey Environmental Commission Honor 2013
Cook College Educational Grant 2013
New Jersey Recovery Fund Participant 2013 – 2014
SKILLS • Adobe: Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator • AutoCAD + AutoCAD 3D • Rhinoceros 3D • SketchUp • ArcGIS • Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, Powerpoint • Hand drafting, drawing, and modeling
SELECTED PROJECTS LIBERTY STATE PARK
UNION BEACH
LAWRENCE BROOK WATERSHED
SAYREVILLE COMMUNITY PARK
ROOSEVELT
DUKE FARMS
OTHER
BEYOND LIBERTY
Experience Liberty State Park personally. Pass through the urban edge along the park’s borders and let nature’s core pull you in. Various vegetation communities function to soften the edges of social and ecological experiences and provide the people of Jersey City a park where discovery of surroundings will foster discovery of self, ecology, and art.
PLANTING STRATEGY
The plant assemblages at State Park are as diverse surrounding community. and topography work to and enhance views and ecological and aesthetic
EXISTING
PROPOSED
Liberty as the Plants create provide value.
Through high and low plantings, the individual can lose and rediscover themselves in a new landscapesometimes finding themselves feeling uneasy in an unfamilar place. But along the way are proposed abstract and natural art installatios that stand as markers of human presence. At these moments, the wandering visitor is reminded they are not alone.
EXPERIENTIAL TRAILS
SITE IMPRESSION: SCULPTURE This sculpture contains objects found at the urban brownfield site of Liberty State Park. The items include man made materials such as bottles and shoes, to natural items such as water chestnuts and driftwood. These found objects are indicators of forms and ideas that structure the culturual and historical culture of Liberty State Park.
LIVING WITH WATER Rising sea levels and reoccuring storm events require the application of resilient alternatives to existing conditions. This design incorporates amphibious homes that are built to withstand severe envrionmental changes such as flooding and rising sea levels. These homes will replace the existing traditional homes that often succumb to flood devestation and provide comfort and safety for the residents of Union Beach, New Jersey. The design replaces the existing Front Street with coastal marshlands that mitigate flooding and storm surge.
THE AMPHIBIOUS HOME Living with the water requires new types of architectural approaches that function to persist against both rising sea levels and reoccuring flooding. This design includes amphibious homes that allow people to live with the water, rather than retreat and avoid it. This section shows homes as they would react to rising levels. The home rises as water levels increase by means of permanent vertical posts secured into the ground that work with floating tubes to raise and lower the house accordingly. A key component of this design is the implementation of terraced gardens designed to function as a flood warning system. These gardens work to accomodate water from storms and manage runoff from the house after events like flooding.
terraced gardens
no sea level rise
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telescoping piers
ea level rise
inundated garden
3’ sea level rise
floating pvc vinyl tubes
4’ sea level rise
Living with water not only requires new architectural techniques but also a new mentality for living. The amphibious home places the individual in a new landscape but one that is safe and exciting. The home is designed so that when sea levels are at 4 feet, the residents of this area will be comfortable living with water and may even learn to enjoy its presence within their gardens and living spaces.
A NEW VIEW
FRONT STREET
MARSHLAND WALK
DOCK ON BEACH FRONT
LAWRENCE BROOK WATERSHED Through the implementation of a vegetated infiltration basin as a Best Management Practice, I have proposed to design a high density residential typology to treat storm water while providing an interactive gathering space for the community- one that filters pollutants, provides aesthetic, and promotes ecological habitat in an otherwise barren lawn-dominated landscape.
SUITABILITY ANALYSIS
The natural environment in land-use planning considers clean water and healthy soils which in turn provide ecological diversity and possible recreation within a site. The sites are high density multi-unit developments bordering bare storm water basins. A vegetated infiltration basin will provide effective storm water treatment, wildlife habitat, and a pleasing aesthetic value for the neighborhood. The use of vegetated infiltration basins will increase an interest in maintaining landscape quality despite high levels of existing and continuous use.
URBAN SOILS STREAMS
HIGH DENSITY HOUSING STORM BASINS
POTENTIAL SITES SUITABLE SOILS
DESIGN PROCESS
HIGH DENSITY RESIDENTIAL + STORM BASINS
CIRCULATION
VIEW + CONNECT
PLANT
WATER
DESIGN
INFILTRATION BASIN + VEGETATION
existing
proposed
change over time
vegetated infiltration basin
boat launch wetland ecology walk
restored wetlands
waterfront promenade
Veteran’s Memorial Reacreational Complex
forest
clayground community garden pollination meadow berm
great lawn
SAYREVILLE PARK
This design provides a new park for the citizens of Sayreville, New Jersey. Sayreville was effected by Hurricane Sandy, so the design accounts for property buyouts along the border of the park, where a 21’ high berm, designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would be built. This park replaces the old Veteran’s Memorial Park, proposed be become a new housing development, and creates a new park including ecological wetlands, sports fields, camping grounds, nature trails, and even a community garden area. The design was a joint effort between myself and landscape designer Rebecca Cook. The project was led by Professor Anton Nelessen of Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, and a collaboration with two graduate urban planning students who designed the housing development for the area.
SAYREVILLE COMMUNITY PARK
DEVELOPMENT PROPOSED BY MERISA GILMAN
VISUALIZATIONS OF PARK RECREATION
sara yildirim
sara yildirim
sara yildirim
rebecca cook
rebecca cook
rebecca cook
PARK USE
PEDESTRIAN PATHS
VEGETATION COMMUNITIES
PARK CONCEPT
ROOSEVELT, NEW JERSEY This project investigates landscape change over time. It begins with the examination and documentation of Roosevelt, New Jersey’s culturual and natural histories. The design is met through historical narratives and exploration of natural resources of the site. Time and change displays a timline of the town’s vegetation and wildlife, beginning with forested areas that were cleared for development and agriculture and through to present day Roosevelt. The project ends with a woodland trail that takes visitors through a series of mirror installations that reflect the surrounding landscape and expresses the individual within that landscape.
TIME AND CHANGE
A LANDSCAPE METAMORPHOSIS
WATER
MOVEMENT
REFLECTION
The ideas of water, movement, and reflection tie this design to express the indivudal within the landscape. An existing trail leads visitors from the cemetery through the wooded trail where mirrors have been placed in locations that draw new connections between familiar forms and reflect the environment and the individual. These reflective moments reveal hidden depths within the landscape. The trail leads from the cemetery- a place of quiet contemplation for both the community and the individual. Mirror installations serve as moments of reflections of the self, the landscape, and different perspectives.
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DUKE FARMS WILDLIFE HOUSE This project was part of a design competition for Duke Farms in Hillsborough, New Jersey. The design combines woodland, wetland, and meadow habitats into a home garden that is ecologically diverse and self-sustaining. Duke Farms Wildlife cottage blends human and wildlife habitat into one biodiverse landscape that is designed for mutual benefit. This cottage draws in the existing habitats at Duke Farms, including a diverse species of animals located through the property and brings it into one home garden. This garden is not only a thriving habitat for existing species at Duke Farms, but also a beneficial education experience for visitors.
BEFORE AND AFTER
MODEL WORKS
INK
SARA YILDIRIM sarayildirim@gmail.com (862) 221-5418 http://issuu.com/syildirim/docs/portfolio