As a design assistant at the Metropolitan Design Center in the summer of 2009, I was asked to analyze design alternatives for a small urban park in downtown Minneapolis. Triangle Park is a small wedge of land located between the on- and off-ramps for Highway 35W, and serves as both a visual gateway for vehicles entering downtown and also as a small greenspace for the neighborhood. Architect Ralph Rapson’s original 1975 design for the park has been altered and the park is in a state of deterioration.

Working with designers from CLOSE Landscape Architecture+, I analyzed the park to understand the complex layers of the site and the current experience of the park. We formed a design thinking process to analyze the existing opportunities and limitations of the park and put together a series of design options to transform the park’s conditions. Two final conceptual design options were offered. In one plan, the existing site design is enhanced through additional seating along the street and allee paths that led to an upper lawn. The second plan focuses on creating a connection to the street and providing a visible downtown gateway; a series of raised terraces draw visitors into the park, and lighted walls and an iconic sculpture create a dramatic entrance to the city.

In July of 2009, I presented our analysis, design options, and conceptual design plans to the Friends of Triangle Park, a non-profit neighborhood group invested in the revitalization of Triangle Park as a neighborhood amenity. The project has since been moving forward through presentations to various interested political parties.

In an urban design studio focused on community service learning, we worked closely with a local arts organization for children, Juxtaposition Arts, to discover the needs and desires of the vibrant but underprivileged Broadway neighborhood in north Minneapolis. The neighborhood is adjacent to the Mississippi River but has no destination to draw residents there. I designed a site along the river that would provide a unique family-friendly, arts-activated destination for the residents of the Broadway neighborhood.

The Gateway Arts Village and Broadway Beach are for families in the Broadway neighborhood. Located on an under-utilized 2 acre site along the river with views of downtown Minneapolis, it brings together multi-use development, arts education, urban food production, recreation, ecological restoration, and family fun. The site features a river-side sculpture garden, terraced community gardens, sunning decks along the shoreline, restored native grasslands, an art gallery and studios, local cafe with community kitchen, and live-work residential units for local artists.

Project Description

Vermillion Highlands is a 2800 acre future regional park. In our group I designed the trailhead and interpretive center, which were to be located on the top of a large hill. I explored how the spaces would interact with topography and circulation. By siting the interpretive center on the southern side of the hill and the trailhead on the top – featuring expansive views – it became the perfect place to become oriented to the landscape and learn about the historic and scientific significance of the park. I designed the road to curve around the topography, giving visitors varying views around the hill and injecting the drive to the interpretive center with mystery and a sense of destination. Pathways through the parking lots lead visitors through different landscapes on their way to the center. At the trailhead, skiers, equestrians, and hikers find amenities and an interpretive viewing platform.

Using the concepts championed by New Urbanism, I designed a 120-acre planned unit development with a focus on inter-generational living and alternative transportation. My goal was to create a successful retail area integrated with a light rail station, along with dense and attractive housing options for all incomes and generations. To do this I situated the larger retail stores near the highly-visible northeast corner. Above the retail are apartments and office space. The light rail station is close to the main road for park-and-ride options. Surrounding the retail are blocks of townhouses, arranged with attractive shared open space in the center. A central common space features a library, which is situated across from a senior housing area. Thirty percent of the land, featuring rolling topography, was preserved as open space. Linear parks surrounding the dense retail core provide additional green space.

Project Description

The Lake Sarita project is an on-going University venture involving exploring new drainage solutions impacting a small wetland area which collects water from the entire St. Paul campus. The University wishes to transform the polluted lake into a recreational area, educational laboratory, and full-functioning ecosystem.

We worked in groups, researching and mapping the existing area, then proposing a full master plan. Our group focused on creating a waterfowl scanctuary by expanding the wetland area, ensuring wildlife breeding areas, and controlling storm water levels.

Individually I designed an entrance terrace which daylights incoming stormwater, allowing visitors to follow the path of the water along a walkway as it moves toward the wetland. The water flows into raised “flumes” that slow the force, thus controlling the bounce after rain events. Phytoremediation plants along the channel uptake harmful pollutants in the water.

Project Description

At the trailhead of  Vermillion Highlands, a 2800 acre future regional park, I designed an interpretive viewing platform at the trailhead which informs visitors of the cultural history of the site, both literally and representationally. From the platform one can see across the landscape toward the park’s main geological feature: Lone Rock. A ramp allows accessibility to all visitors.

Around the platform are materials that function both as climbing and sitting areas, and as material representations of one of the historical residents of the site. The grass-covered terraces represent the farming traditions. The boulder cascade represents the Dakota tribe because of its reference to Lone Rock which was a sacred site to them. This also provides an alternate climbing area since there is no climbing on the real feature. The metal wall “cutout” on the end of the platform represents the history of industry, and functions as a physical form of displacement.

Project Description

In an exploration of ecosystems, we were asked to create a collage of words and images that evoked the essence of a particular Minnesota natural area. I chose to represent the beach ridges of the Red River Valley prairie system in section, featuring hand-drawings of plants and a list of words decribing the range of feelings accompanying the openness and beauty of the prairie. 

We then translated this exploration into a small urban setting of our choice. In my desire to allow city-dwellers to experience the expansiveness of the prairie, I used long mirrors set at angles amidst angular swaths of prairie plants. Visitors would be able to explore this urban school yard, surrounded by buildings, and marvel at the seemingly infinite views of prairie created by the reflections.

Project Description

On a 61 acre agricultural site near Rosemount, MN, I designed a traditional residential development. We were given a specific density requirement, along with park area and drainage specifications. The centeral feature of Vermillion Commons is a long park that creates two separate “neighborhoods” within the development, preserves the open feeling of the site, and functions as a recreational corridor. It is equally accessible throughout the entire site and serves as a community “commons” for the whole development. Houses along the park face into the park to provide views and safety. Blocks are kept small, with all lots having access to an alley. I attempted to follow the existing topography to keep both the natural drainage and the agricultural feel of the site. The density of the development requires gutters and storm sewers, all of which drain to any of three stormwater retention ponds.

Project Description

The Southeast courtyard outside of Rapson Hall on the University campus is designed to provide seasonal interest to those in the space, those looking into the space, and those walking by the space. Because the largest population of people use the campus in the fall, winter, and spring, plants were chosen not only for their form but also for their fall color, blooming time (spring or fall), long-lasting seedhead, and winter form and color. 

The sunny inner space within the courtyard was designed to accommodate about 25 people, with the intent of using the space for both educational and recreational (relaxation) purposes.

For a final project, we were asked to design an interactive space at the Walker Art Center site. My experiential landscape consisted of five curving corten steel walls sunk into the hill at various angles to create a variety of shady and sunny spaces. Together the walls form thresholds and rooms for visitors travelling up and down the slope to explore. Views of the city are hidden and exposed as visitors move through the space. My process began with the form of the shelters as small rooms or caves with areas of repose on the north and south sides. When I pulled the form along the slope, it created a wall-like form that formed interesting shadows, which added visual interest. In my analysis of the site (shown at right) I studied the direction of the sun and wind in different seasons to help me decide the placement of the walls. I enjoyed exploring the placement of different forms in this project, and learning how to keep pushing a design to find new solutions.