Zack Grossl
Landscape Architecture Portfolio BSLA West Virginia University
hello. I am Zackery Grossl, a third year Landscape Architecture student at West Virginia University. Throughout my education I have developed a wide set of skills necessary to be successful in the field of Landscape Architecture. My education cultivated my love for nature, both designed or natural. Being able to create spaces people can draw inspiration from and experience is why I love being a landscape architect.
On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it.
-Jules Renard
Table of Contents Gateway to Recreation
Davis, West Virginia
Overlooking Disaster
Parsons, West Virginia
The town of Davis looks to the future with plans to improve it’s appearance for permanent residents and to spark new economic growth within the community.
Downtown Parsons stands on the banks of Shavers Fork. Like other communites on the Cheat, Parsons was devastated by a flood in 1985. This damaged over 90% of businesses in town. The city is now making an effort to reconnect, and take advantage of recreation opportunities along the river.
Gridlock Park
Coketon, West Virginia
This project is located in Coketon, WV small town. This site will act as a large trail head to the Allegheny Highlands Trail. The Buxton Land street building located on site is historically significant to the surrounding area.
Overlooking Disaster
Morgantown, West Virginia
Whitmore Park is one of the oldest parks in Morgantown, located directly on Richwood Avenue. Richwood is busy, being one of the main routes to a neighboring town. The existing road layout makes pedestrian travel non-appealing. The focus of this greenway design is to make this street walkable, safe and enjoyable.
Railroad Avenue
Elkins, West Virginia
Redevelopment of downtown edge which included a historical roundhouse site that was important in design creation.
Photography Resume
Gateway to Recreation
The town of Davis looks to the future with plans to improve it’s appearance for permanent residents and to spark new economic growth within the community. The project site is located on the South side of town adjacent to the river, and encompasses the existing riverside park. The site includes a brown-field which will need remediation. To encourage more permanent resident there must be 10,000 sq ft. of affordable housing on site.
Spruce Knob
A
Spruce Knob is the highest point in West Virginia (4,863’). It is defined by an alpine feel created by the Red Spruce that cover the area also accented by large boulders and small grasslands.
Canaan Valley
B
Canaan Valley is an upland wetland located in northern West Virginia. It has extensive wetlands that house many plant species that are seldom found in the eastern US.
Parsons Farmland
C
Parsons is apart of the lower lying lands of Tucker county. The fields are easily flooded, which helps create a more diverse ecosystem differing from surrounding farmland.
D
Dolly Sods
Dolly Sods is a high-altitude plateau that is defined by is diverse ecosystem ranging from heath barrens to bogs. This area also has unexploded ordinance from training exercises for WWII.
Design Concept
A
B
A
A’
Nearly all recreational traffic flows through Davis, creating an opportunity to showcase a taste of the natural beauty the area is known for. To keep a connection with the town, the axes of 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th street were extended across the site. This created four “zones” in the site which become representations of diverse natural systems. The four representations selected were Spruce Knob, Canaan Valley, Farmlands of Parsons and Dolly Sods.
B
D C
N B’
Section AA’
Section BB’
Davis MasterPlan
Overlooking Disaster
Downtown Parsons stands on the banks of Shavers Fork. Like other communites on the Cheat, Parsons was devastated by a flood in 1985. This damaged over 90% of businesses in town. The city is now making an effort to reconnect, and take advantage of recreation opportunities along the river. The design portrays Parsons’ story by utilizing many different plots along the axis of the design.
The design of this plan tells the story of Parsons and devastation that they have faced. Moving along the axis of the design it symbolizes the destruction the town has faced. While also reconnecting the town with the river. The design promotes water recreation that will help boost the towns economic status.
Parsons MasterPlan
Gridlock Park
This project is located in Coketon, WV small town. This site will act as a large trail head to the Allegheny Highlands Trail. The Buxton Land street building located on site is historically significant to the surrounding area.
The main idea behind this design is pulled from a mining process called room and pillar. The semi-gridded pattern of the paths displays that. The paths are also formed around the topography to create a series of different spaces. This ties into the coal mining history of the surrounding area.
Coketon MasterPlan
Be nz oi n
A Au cer tu Ru m br n um Bl az e
H Q ydr ue an rc g e ifo a lia
Li nd er a
A O cer ct R ob ub er ru G m lo ry
Whitmore Greenway
Whitmore Park is one of the oldest parks in Morgantown, located directly on Richwood Avenue. It has prime location but, is lost amist the rapid development. Richwood is busy, being one of the main routes to a neighboring town. The existing road layout makes pedestrian travel non-appealing. The focus of this greenway design is to make this street walkable, safe and enjoyable. In the design, a series of planted buffers were added to create distance between the pedestrians and the traffic.
A B
Planting Buffer
Deck Walkway
Standard Sidewalk
A
Parking w/ Planting Buffer
B
Streetside Parking D
C
Planting Buffer w/ Enlarged Sidewalk
C
Enlarged Sidewalk w/ Parking and Planting Buffer
D
Whitmore MasterPlan
Enlarged Masterplan
Railroad Avenue Elkins
k
Elkins
k
West Virginia
Randolph County
This group project located in Elkins, WV was a greenspace plan for the western edge of downtown. On site there were existing historical remains of an old CSX roundhouse. This is where we gathered our main inspiration for our design. The radial paths that are centrally located around the roundhouse are meant to mimic railyards. One site we used a greenway to connect the site from beginning to end that was a central driver of the ecological part of the design. This was a group project that included myself and three others. They along with my self produced the graphics and design for this project. Illustrations by Joe Snouffer, Lexi Chcalos
Project Site
Veterans Memorial Constructed Wetlands Entrance to Revitalized Street Beginning of Meandering Path Re-Designed Parking Lot
Bus Drop-off Railroad Natural Play Natural Play Parking Lot
Railroad Avenue Cut-off
Market Area
Train Depot Mounded Stage Seating Performance Stage
3rd Street Cut-off Railyard Inspired Pathways
Connection to CCC Bridge
Drawn by Joe Snouffer This was a group project and I was more involved with the design development and the final composition of the final products. This is some of the perspective that my teammates were able to render. This shows the depth of the project.
Drawn by Lexi Chacalos
Drawn by Lexi Chacalos
Drawn by Joe Snouffer
Perspectives
Photography
304-646-9407
Zack Grossl
zdgrossl@gmail.com
P.O. Box 463
Rupert, WV 25984
Education Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture Expected May 2018 GPA Overall 3.3
West Virginia University
Major 3.5
Professional Experience Project Assistant/Intern
March 2016 - August 2016
West Virginia University Davis College Assisted with organization of AutoCad files Built large and small scale 3d models of the Health Science Campus Updated newly constructed site features into AutoCad files
Teaching Assistant
January 2015 - May 2017
Landscape Installation/Turf Management
June 2014 - August 2015
West Virginia University Teaching assistant for three classes: Basic Drafting, Computer Graphics, and Planting Design Assisted with instruction and provided assistance to students Gave lectures on current class topics in studio Helped students work from concept development to final poster production Willis Weed Whackers Maintenance of installed landscaping, including trimming, weeding and mulching Assisted management in the coordination of team members and prioritizing Installation and design of small residential landscaping and hardscaping Operation of heavy equipment, including skid steer and compact excavator
Skills and Awards Hand Drafting in all basic views National Society of Leadership and Success Top five place winner in 3D Exterior Landscape Design at the National Collegiate Landscape Competition Vandalia Scholar WVNLA 2017 Scholarship Winner
Software Abilities Adobe Suite
VectorWorks
AutoCad
DynaScape
TR-55
Sketchup
Arc Map
Arc Scene
Kerkythea
Microsoft Office *References at Request*