The End

I'm a little behind on postings. Sorry for all of you out there who are DYING to know everything  that's going on...

So the past couple of weeks have been pretty laid back. After finishing all of the support drawings, we had to come up with a promotional poster, ASLA award submittal, and complete booklet for the entire project. Pretty simple stuff...

I spent most of my time on the promo poster. I have always been into graphic design and this was my chance to explore it a little bit more. I didn't get to push it as far as I wanted to, but I think my final poster came out well.
Full Resolution Poster

The other main task for the last week was to present the final project design. Much like midterm presentations, this was to be 15 minutes followed by 5 minutes of questions. I am extremely happy with the way my presentation went and the comments that followed after.

So with the conclusion of the presentation, my student career as an undergrad in landscape architecture also concluded (assuming I passed my capstone project). It is bitter sweet to think that I won't have to spend any more countless hours in the studio that became my home away from home. Yes, I am sick of the building, but when I think back about how much I have learned about design, architecture, landscape architecture, ecology, sustainability, and even myself, it is hard to not be a little disappointed while packing up my desk. On to the next one, I guess. Hopefully, my new desk will be in some stellar, urban design driven landscape architecture firm...

Wrapping Up...

This past Friday was our last due date for drawings and actual design work for the project. These drawings included section elevations, bird's eye perspectives, and eye-level perspectives. I have posted the images for a few directly on this page. The entire package can be viewed by CLICKING HERE.

The next two weeks will be spent putting together an awards submittal, creating the final project booklet, and designing a promotional poster for the project. Presentations will be April 23 and 25. For those that are in town and want to come, I will let you know what day and at what time I will be presenting as soon as I know. 

Master Plans Submittal

Overall Site Master Plan

So after analyzing each conceptual plan and utilizing the best of each design, I was able to create a master plan that creates more use on the surrounding streets and spaces within the block interiors. We were also required to take one portion of the master plan and zoom in, designing the space in further detail.

Inspiration...

I chose to design the interior green space and water management facilities between Madison  Ave and Monroe Ave. In keeping with the concept of being centered around the arts, inspiration for the overall form of the site was taken from theater spotlights. Elements and spaces are created within the design by pulling radial lines that overlap, defining edges and corners. The multi-use plaza is a large, perviously paved area that can serve as parking on a regular basis but can double as an event space for markets, festivals, etc. This space is covered by green roof panels as well as steel overhead structures.

Interior Plaza and Green Space

The smaller plaza is for daily use and is a public space for dining, markets, nightlife, and small concerts or other performances. Water managements strategies are also visible in the smaller plaza, providing an aesthetic and functional feature. These infiltration planters help soften the edge of the larger paved areas, creating a pleasing balance between hardscape and landscape elements.

Next week will begin the final design portion of the project. I will be looking at the details of vertical elements, including building facades, walls, and overhead structures. These will be illustrated in section elevations and perspective drawings used to support the master plans. Should be a fun couple of weeks of drawing...

Sneak Peek...

Just a quick preview of what will be completed by Friday... Can you see the inspiration?

Halfway There...

This week was devoted to midterm capstone presentations. Each student was given 15 minutes to present the process documents, concept statement, conceptual plans, and support drawings for their respective projects. The presentations were split into two days.

I presented on Monday morning. I feel that I did pretty well with the presentation besides a couple of minor technical difficulties. For some reason, the resolution of the projector was pretty poor. Fortunately, what needed to be seen by the audience was still legible enough.

The feedback that I received after my presentation was quite valuable. Instructors and peers alike gave me good constructive criticism that will definitely be helpful when I begin to create a master plan.

I'm not sure what next week holds. Hopefully, they will take it easy on us since it is the week before Spring break. We'll see...

First Take

Sorry for the lack of information last week... many distractions, including (wait for it)...

I GOT ENGAGED!!!

Anywho, back to landscape architecture. I finished my conceptual plans last week and worked on the support drawings this week. Monday I will give my midterm presentation for the semester. This will include the process documents and three conceptual plans with drawings.

>Concept Plans & Drawings<

Again, if you have any questions or comments, please leave them. I strongly encourage it...

Now for the fun part...

First, check out this link for more info about landscape architecture...

>What is Landscape Architecture?<

Now that process documents have been submitted and returned, it is time to move to design.   This process (different for everyone, but the same at the core) begins with functional plans and conceptual designs.

Functional plans are very loose, fast sketches or diagrams that are used to quickly determine the best layout for elements on a site. Usually, I set out with a general idea of what I want on the site and how big it should be. Then, I overlay trash paper (tracing paper) on base survey for the site and draw multiple, distinctly different plans as fast as I can. From these I can pick and choose aspects that I like from each and compile them into one. For this project, I am required to create three conceptual plans, so I will have three functional plans to base them off of.

Conceptual plans are more refined and start to introduce form to the the design. Will the design be rectilinear or curvilinear? This is where questions like this begin to be raised. I will also start to layout designs for building shapes, courtyards, open space, etc.. Conceptual plans should still be fairly quick to prevent getting locked into one design.

This week was focused on creating functional plans. It has been pretty hard to stay focused on work due to the excitement about New Orleans this weekend. Next week will be devoted to creating the three conceptual plans which are due on Friday. Always working down to the wire...

Functional plan, sketches, & a messy desk...

6' of Functional Plans

Keep an eye out for another post on Monday night... Happy Mardi Gras followers!

Process Document Submittal

After a few weeks of work, sleepless nights, & extreme frustration with a concept, I am finished with the process documents for my capstone project. This includes precedent research, inventory, analysis, program for development, and concept statement. Take a look and leave any feedback or questions you have in the comments section.

>Overton Square: Process Documents<

The link posted above is to the file in my DropBox account. All you need to do is click the link to open the PDF file. For faster navigation through the document, save the PDF to your computer. By the way, DropBox is an awesome way to share larger documents that can't be emailed.

Pardon the Interruption

Inconveniently, the landscape architecture department decided to have a week long design charette after only one week of being back in session for the semester. This threw a huge wrench into every senior's capstone routine which was just beginning to be established. We are all quite frustrated at this point. I will refrain from expounding any more on the charette, called "Design Week", so that you all may be spared from my overwhelming positivity (yeah right).

The site for Design Week is on St. Croix in the Caribbean. We are creating conceptual plans for an Eco-Resort... (Don't be deceived by the beauty. The island's extreme topography makes for quite the headache.)

Anyway, back to capstone...

After a brief trip back to Memphis to gather more base information, I should have everything I need to complete my inventory and analysis. Although this is not the most exciting part of the project, it is one of the most critical. Inventory is basically the process of gathering information about what is currently on the site. This includes vegetation, slope percentages, hydrology, architecture, surrounding land uses, and utilities among other things. This information is illustrated through a series of plans that show the various conditions. After I have a good grasp of what is existing, I need to determine what that means for my design. This is the analysis stage. For example, if the inventory shows that there are several large trees on my site, the analysis will probably state that these need to be protected. Or if inventory shows that I have extreme slopes on a portion of the site, the analysis might say that development should be limited in this area. As I finish with some of these graphics, I will post them so you can begin to understand what I am talking about.

Right now I am working on getting all my base information organized and beginning to decide how I want to illustrate what is already on site. This began with an AutoCAD survey provided by Looney Ricks Kiss (LRK), an architecture and planning firm with an office in Memphis. This provided most of the information needed on my immediate site.

Screenshot of AutoCAD survey

For information about the surrounding context, I am using the Shelby County GIS (geographic information system) Viewer. This helped me determine surrounding land uses, parcels, zoning, etc.. So far, most of my time has been spent merging all of this information into one CAD file that will be used as the base plan for my site. It now looks like this:

New CAD file with context information, aerial image, roads, streams, and site survey

With a file like this, I can turn different layers on and off in order to isolate the information that I want to illustrate. For instance, I can hide everything but the building outlines and turn these into a figure/ground map that illustrates density and development patterns.

Figure/Ground map (Overton Square site is shown in purple)

The 2 weeks will be spent creating maps like these, researching precedents of good urban infill and mixed-use projects, and deciding what I want to place on my site. I will keep everyone as up-to-date as possible and post images of what I am working on as I go. I hope that I am being clear in my descriptions of the process and not using too much LA jargon. 

Time to get back to work...

Map beginning to show circulation routes and patterns (in progress) 

Locator maps help clarify where the site is for those who are unfamiliar with the area.

A Quick Overview

Original Concept for Overton Square

During it's prime, Overton Square was a destination for shopping, dining, night life, festivals, concerts, and everything social. Places like Bombay Bicycle Club jazz bar, Paulette's French Restaurant, Gonzales & Gertrude's, and Solomon Alfred's music club were at the heart of this midtown node of activity.

First talk of the square came in November of 1969 with the passing of a Memphis referendum approving liquor to be sold by the drink (rather than by the bottle). The following day, the square's four founders went public with their plans to develop the small plot of land south of Overton Park, what was, then, one of Memphis' premier public green spaces. "Our project is not designed for young people," Robinson, one of the original founders, told the Commercial Appeal. "It's designed for people who think young -- whether they are 18 or 80. It will be contemporary, up to date. We're not interested in Glenn Miller or Tommy Dorsey, but we're not interested in hippies either." To be honest, I'm not sure who either one of those people are, but a lot can be taken from Robinson's statement.

Robinson was saying that they were setting out to design a space to the masses. They wanted diversity within the new development. It wasn't a matter of attracting one crowd or class. Overton Square was to be a place for anyone and everyone to gather and interact. This is what landscape architects, at least the good ones (in my opinion), strive to design. It wasn't about creating a space for the wealthy, well-to-do Memphians. Neither was it about a political or social movement. It was simply about providing a well designed space to foster interaction among citizens of a community.

After 5 years, Overton Square Expands

So what got it all started? Believe it or not, the cornerstone of the square was the first franchise location for TGI Friday's, the restaurant that we know today to have locations across the nation. Within 18 months of Friday's grand opening, 20 Overton Square businesses had opened their doors to the public. 

With business thriving and inspired by Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, the developers began to create what would become the premier Memphis destination east of downtown.

Lawrence Halprin's design for Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco inspired the developers with it's angled buildings, variations in elevation, strong definition of space, and diversity of visitors. After visiting Ghirardelli Square in May of 2011, I can definitely see elements in Overton Square that clue back to this precedent for semi-private space. However, Overton falls short to capture the same feeling. It lacks the unified architecture, customized character, and dynamic pedestrian experience found in Halprin's design.

And so it begins...

Another year, another semester. After 7 semesters in the landscape architecture department at Mississippi State, it all comes down to this... One project for the entire semester. Midterm submittal: 47.5% of final grade. Final Submittal 47.5% of final grade. Pass and I can graduate. Fail and, well, lets not talk about that... Scary huh?

With capstone, individuals get to pick their own project site for the first time. This alone is a huge decision. We will spend more time, lose more sleep, and pull out more hair over this one project than any other project in our college career. There are multiple factors that play into the choosing of a project. Will I enjoy working on this for the next 4 months? Is there enough to sink my teeth into? Is this what I want in my portfolio?

The last question is probably one of the biggest. Since we spend more time on this project than any other, it should be some our best work. And since we put our best work into our portfolio (which is a representation of who we are, what we are about, and how we design), capstone makes up a large part of it. This could, potentially, play a big role in the kind of firm that hires us or the kind of projects we work on in our professional careers.

For example, someone who wants to focus on community design after they graduate will probably choose a project that is centered around designing a larger site into a mixed-use development. Someone interested in working in the residential realm will choose a home to design around. Get where I'm going with this?

I have decided that I want to steer myself in the direction of a career in urban design (probably thanks to my recent trip the NYC). Thus, after much internal debate, I have chosen my site and what I want to do with my life (kind of).

The site for my capstone project will be [drum roll, please] Overton Square in Midtown Memphis, TN...