s e l e c te d p r o j e c t s 2 01 8 – 2 0 2 2
2018
colorado 01
w heat r i d g e ho u se t wo day co nc e p t p l a n
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b ur l i n g am e a ffo r da b l e ho u si ng
2018 – 2020
@ bluegreen
DD l ev e l d e ta i l i ng
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t hun d er b ow l r e s i d e n t i al d e si g n a n d d e ta i l i n g
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s al i da r es i d e n c e r e s i d e n t i al c o n c e p t p l a n
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2 3 2 E M ai n st r ee t s cape
Maine – mdi project 06
s i t e pl an t r ai l s , g r ad i n g , r e so lu t i o n
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pat h st ud i e s
2020 – 2022
@ reed hilderbrand
d e s i g n i t er at i o n s
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wal l st ud i es
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b r i d g e st ud i e s
d e s i g n i t er at i o n s
d e s i g n i t er at i o n s
northeast and mideast 10
w hi t e m o un ta i n s r e si d e n c e s i t e d e s i g n a nd g r a d i n g
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sto r m k i n g s cul pt ur e ba se pav i ng st u d i e s
es
pire
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dscape de
ins er sign
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m i a
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d by wild pl ac
and crea
l
I completed my MLA at Ball State University in 2016, and I’ve worked with two studios since. My favorite projects since 2018 are contained in this book. My greatest joy is to bring wildness and ruggedness into projects through a good-humored, curious, and artful design process.
w h e at r i d g e h o u s e 01
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When my best friend bought a house in Denver, she asked me to develop some ideas for her landscape plan. Using Google Earth measurements and photos, I created a base plan and illustrated a concept very quickly.
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burlingame affordable housing 02
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At Bluegreen, I had the opportunity to work on two affordable housing projects in the Roaring Fork Valley. This project elaborated on an existing site plan and partially-completed development. With a tight budget and an existing set of ideas, we sailed through the early phases of our scope with a focus on refining grading and planting for cost savings. I developed these sections to introduce our kit-of-parts approach to retaining devices and adjacent conditions.
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thunderbowl 03
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This residential project for a young family at the base of Aspen Highlands sparked an exploration into natural play areas and features. We made the most of stormwater devices, a parking court, and a spacious backyard to ensure the clients’ young kids spent plenty of time outside in their new landscape.
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salida residence 04
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This project sited a small home for a single client on a massive property in Salida, Colorado. I completed this schematic level site plan for the project with a minimal approach to grading and planting to comprise a fitted and functional xeriscape around the residence.
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232 East main 05
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Situated on a former gas station site, this project creates commercial space on the edge of Aspen’s downtown. The landscape references architectural elements to order the design, while an experimental ‘street meadow’ planting and a native palette work to add softness and sense of place.
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mdi project — plan development 06
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At Reed Hilderbrand I primarily worked on one large project for a site on Mount Desert Island in Maine. The site possesses National Park-quality natural resources; the design evolved significantly and ultimately sited several cabins and complimentary amenities including a pool, fire terrace, gardens, and a network of trails and paths.
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S it e Pl an
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The site plan was ever-changing, and we produced countless iterations through early CD, responding to changes in site and building program, scope, and new survey information. The aerial oblique diagrams on the previous page and at right were authored by me and instrumental in communicating design ideas to our client, who is partially color-blind.
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fo re s t c ov er
c i rc ulat i on
t opog r aphy an d d ra in ag e
b irc h c h a s m
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The existing birch chasm area featured a 12’ tall retaining wall which buried much of this natural chasm in fill. Our team proposed removing the wall and restoring the natural function and grade of the chasm. The design scope called for a bridge and water feature; I referenced Maine’s wet forests and imagined the latter as a series of stepped vernal pools.
po ol The clients requested a swimming pool with natural character, incorporating the native stone. I studied a ground-penetrating radar survey to understand how we might expose ledge which was buried by a previous owner.
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grading and alignment studies
m d i p ro j e c t — pat h s t u d i e s 07
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The most prominent organizing landscape feature in the design was a winding +/- 6’ wide accessible path creating a spine through the site’s natural features, from its highest point to its lowest point. As the site design evolved, the path alignment and material thinking also evolved. The design intent for this path was to create a material language which could be intimately fitted to the site’s natural features, molding, twisting and morphing around and through crags, roots, and gardens.
e a r ly m at e r i a l s t u d i e s
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mockup studies
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m o c k u p st u dy
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b i rc h c h a s m p e r s p e c t i v e st u dy
The final design for the path would deploy a range of trapezoidal granite pavers. Trapezoidal-shaped fractures are common in the site’s ledge and boulders, and it was important for the design to reference local patterns. The trapezoidal shapes would allow the path to conform to the winding, curvaceous glacial topography of the site, as well as the naturalistic gardens and water features of the landscape plan.
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e l e v at i o n s k e t c h e s
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design intent
mdi project — wall studies 08
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As trapezoidal pattern emerged as a design element in the path, we studied ways of incorporating the theme into dry stacked stone walls. The proposed walls primarily served as boundary, thresholds, and screening. Spatially, the idea of pinching and opening became important; as thresholds, the walls were intended as an experiential departure from urban to wild.
e a r ly a lt e r n at i v e s t u d i e s
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final design intent
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s p at i a l s t u d i e s
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e a r ly a l i g n m e n t a lt e r n at i v e s
mdi project — bridge studies 09
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The proposed circulation network incorporated two major site entrances, and one of these required visitors to traverse a footbridge over the birch chasm after entering from the eastern property boundary. I led the development of the bridge, iterating through numerous alternatives of alignment and material expression. Ultimately, our team decided the bridge should be constructed with stone but express the tectonic lightness of a wooden bridge.
m o d e l i t e r at i o n s
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e l e v at i o n
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m o d e l i t e r at i o n s
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e l e v at i o n
m o d e l i t e r at i o n s
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aerial perspective
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w h i t e m o u n ta i n s r e s i d e n c e 10
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This project for a young family in the White Mountains of New Hampshire sought to create lightness and openness on a largely overgrown and foreboding site. Dense, young forest encroached on every side of the property and the site design aimed to create a comfortable outdoor living program which would optimize views and work cleverly with the site’s steep topography. As part of a team, my focus was primarily on layout and grading.
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storm king art center - martin puryear sculpture 11
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Reed Hilderbrand was hired by Storm King Art Center to assist with siting a new, permanent sculpture by Martin Puryear, and to work with the artist to develop a paving strategy for the base of the sculpture. The challenge was to design an ADA compliant, free-draining system with rustic character. I worked with another designer and project manager to develop these design studies; I used parametric modeling tools to give the patterns irregularity.
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This book contains professional work completed between 2018 and 2022. Thanks for viewing.