Inl llClh!

collvelliellce
CONTENTS
"""y 200.
,t . PlU M .IO R 5
LAND MATTERS 113
LETTERS 115
RIPRAP 118
Detroit welcomes a happy trail
an art installation bnngs winter cheer
in Arkansas, one landscape that
needs more bamboo, and news
on upcoming mmpdifionx
Edited by Linda Mcintyre
RESIDENTIAL DESIGN 124
Pacific Heights
A Cali/ornia couple surrounded their
house in Maltbu with a landscape that
shows off their spectacular vantage
point on the ocean.
By De re Ptln:r.i
URBAN PARKS lao
Shoehorn Pmks
Squeezing innovative green spaces into
crowded cities requires looking/or
land in unexpected places.
B)' Peter H k
WORK SPACES 142
Walkin a the Talk
'" \'f>'hat 'iOme landscape architects arc
doing to make theiro/fices more
sustainahf<'.
By Dal _I Jost, ... Ii .....
FIRM FOCUS 154
Designjng Disney
For the landscape architect., at
\\'I'aft Dimey lmaginecrillg,
the mdgic is ill the detdils.
By Dal I Jo.t, .... u.
ON !HE COVER
Non""'" Fid,n is. fi<l,k in W'm umtiun
1""1 lnrorpu"'U, ""rlb ju."". ,m" 0/ i4
tlwNilJltaaivm,p.!Ef94.
''''''''1 F. RM A"" ;",,,
2 I Landsupe Archlteeture Mn lOU
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PU8L1SHING 166
Publish and Be Seen
Landscape architecls are using books
as marketing tools.
By L ke Ooutla .........
TECHNOLOGY 174
A Ceospali,J Approach
To PDFs
New types ofPDFr are alu)wing GIS data and
mapx to be shared more easily
6y Jal L. Sipe A ......
SHARED WISDOM 1102
Drawn to Design
Ace Tom', FASIA, sketches as a catalyst
for ideas. By Jame. Ric rd ",11...,.
41 LandsupeAr(hlteeture IIll 20U
Mitigating
Past Inequities
In Los Angeles, a new park 011 a
former oil field brings nalure into
a park-starved neighborhood.
By Daniel Jost, ASLA
82
Northala Fields
Forever
Northala FieMs, the largesl park 10 be bUilt
in London/or a century, is an exemplar
0/ sustainable amstruction and deJlgn.
By Tim Coulthard
94
PRODUCT PROFILES 1118
DISPLAY AD INDEX 1120
8UYER' S GUIDE INDEX 1121
OPINION r;-34
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6 1 LlndlClpe IIIf U ot
THE MAGAZINE
Of THE AMERICAN SOCIETY
Of LANOSCAPE ARCHITECTS
J, Wi lliam ThompsolI , FASLA
EO ITO R I btlwIII /UOII @(/ I /II.o rg
Li sa Spe("khanlt
MANAGING EDITOR I h /Je c l."uNlt @(ld(l.org
Chri stophe l MeG" ,
ART DIRECTOR I clllcgee@1!5/u.org
Daniel Jost , ASL,\
WRITER / EDITOR I djoH@II ., /u.org
Li sa Sc hult z
ASSOCIATE EDITOR I Isrltull:'@lI s/lI.org
CONTRIBUTING EOITOIIS
.Jan" Bo)' B IOWH ; Lakt'" ASLA
Oiall"II,II"kson , ASLA; Pt:l\' t' Jat' nbs, FASLA
Ftank Edg"l'ton Mattin; Liml a Mdnt}"l"e
James L. Sipes, AS I..t\; Kim SUl' vig
J allles Urban , FASLA
I'LIi .... 1i 1i 1L COII.lIII I 10 "'I'I'IIOI'IIIIf[
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EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Fn'd"!' it'k B. Sicinel', FASt,\ , Chair
Thnmas B. Ta v,'IIa, FASLA, Vice PI'ell idelll . COl/ll/llllliclItioll
Br'iall Braa , ASI..A
T. Carter Cra wfonl , ASLA
David ASLA
Barbara Faga , FASI. ... \
Mit' hae! M . .J a nH' s. ASLA
Todd D. Johnsllll , F/\ 5LA
Jotdan Jones, Studt' llt ASw\
BimH"a E, Koeni g, ASI..A
Frank Lewis, ASLA
Naill'), S. M<Ltan, AS L,\
Seou O. Bet:st:, ./\ 51..1\
Stephanie A. Boll ey, FASLA
BOil aid B. Sawhill , ASLA
Tala N. Saw)'t" I, ASL/\
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lANflSC"'''E "'''CIfITEcrUIIE .... G.Zllil 15 AlSQ .VAllAILI IN DIGIT.L fflll .... T.
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10 I Lii/ldsupe Architedure IUY ZOot
ASLA
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
PRESIDENT
Aug.l u D. D)., .'AS I.A
'RIESIDIENTIELECT
D. S"Oll
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
P erry Il ow"r,l , VASLA
VICIE 'RESIDENTS
1'",,, .. 1,, M. BI"";; ., ,
G"r y A. Br"", ,, , V,\SI. ,\
T.".,., L. CI..,,,,,,I . ASL,\
B,iu,, ' j . 1)(,ull l".rt y,
J,,,, ,,I[,,,,, ,' !"dlu,
TI"'''' as R. T",,ll .. , FASt A
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Nu,,,,y C.
SECREIARY
1\Ia,')' L. Han. "n , I/''''''''a ,' y ,I SLA
TRIEASURER
G""ald 1'. B"a .. ..
IRUSIEES
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SIUDENI RE'RESENIA"VE
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'ARLIAMIENTARIAN
1)"" ,, 1,1 W. L ... FI St\
(krafts'man), n. 1. One who performs with skill and d e ~ e r ~
In the manual arts and crafts W,,"o
Changing the Shape of Landscape ArchITecture
One Fountain at a llme
cv
1 8CXJ 794 1001
Wv'N1i ,romanfountains,com
Los Angeles Albuoueroue Atlanta
"Handcrafted In Nrerica .. by Nriencan Craft smen." sv
"Y
OU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN," wrote novelist Thomas
\'Volfe. Those words have cercainly rung crue for me. My
homerown is Arlanta, and ' haven't voluntarily gone back
fora single day anytime in the past quarter century.
Why did I turn my back on my homewwn? JUSt this: I
hate the '\cr that it has earned the moniker "Sprawl City." I re-
member the Atlanta of the 1950s (yes, that far back) when urban
developmemdidn't extend much beyond rhecity limits. A fleer of
electric buses plied the AI! roads led downtown, and there
was just one downtown. l 11en,sometime in the last decades of the
century, Adanta went cancerous. Developers cut down the vase
ookIhickory forem around rhe city to build subdivisions, shopping
malls, even "edge cities," Adanta's defining fearurecame [Q be 10-
lane freeways packed with floods of single-occupancy vehicles.
Sprawl is endemic to U.S.ciries,of course, wirh rhewonderful ex-
ceprion ofPordand,Oregon. Bur rhoseorherciriesaren't my home-
town. Adanra is. So when I gOt an opportunity to visit Adama in
March, my first impulse was to demur. I' m glad I changed my
mind. Not that Atlanta isn't the sprawling monstrosity I thought
it was, but near Atlanta's old hean is a despised and forgOten land-
scape that is in the process ofbeing reborn. The BeltLine, a contin-
uous greenslXlCe and light-rail conidor to be built on an old railroad
bed circling downtown (see "Ring of Green," umdiCdpeA rrhiraJllre,
March), changed the way I envision Atlanta's future.
My first glimpse of the BeltLine corridor came via Fred Yalouris,
the Beld. ine's director of design, who took our small cadre ofland-
scape architects for a hike along the derelict right-of-way. Con-
vening the 22-mile defunct railroad bc-d into a vibrant trail and
transit greenway could take decades and is JUSt in the early Stages,
so it was no surprise that the segment we hiked still had the fet'!
of inner"City abandonment. For me, it was strange to walk down
that corridor in view of Atlanta's glittering skyline and aban-
doned buildings like the old Sears store, above, where my fami ly
shopped decades ago. Now, thanks to its adjacency to the Bel tLine,
it wi ll be rehabbed as condos. One day, this nearly deserted rail bed
will be a parklike landscape lined with apartment buildings and
animated with light-rail cars, joggers, bikers, and Rollerbladers.
The dearest places in our cities, I sometimes think, are those
most in need ofhealing-afrer all, rhey are the places that offer the
grearest possibilities for design, Students, rake note: EDAW is spon-
soring an "Urban 50S" competition for ideas about turning around
degraded urban environments (see UJ/(J/il.edaw.amPllnxlIIsru).
J wonder if landscape architects' most viral role in rhis centu!)'
will be to help our cities turn inward and build in a "Iivabledensi-
ty" that will reverse the flight to the suburbs. Reader, what oppor-
tunities for rebirth lie at rhe heart of your hometown?
V\
J. William "Bill" Thompson, FASLA
Editor / bthompJOrJ@aila.()f"g
IUT 2001 Landscape Architetture 113
Fountains
Showers
ADA
Drinking
Fountains
Misting
Stations
Should Christo's Propose<! Canopy Over the
Arkansas River Go Forward?
T
HANK YOU FOR DRAWING ATIEl\'T10N
(b.nd Maners, April) to these ridiculous
projects of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Do
you remember their pink skins around is-
lands in Biscayne Bay? They were hideous
decorations on nature. I say enough! Their
day has passed.
CAROL WARFIELD
jerome, Michigan
C
OMPLETE WASTE of resources to make
an art statement.
CHRIS MI LLER, ASLA "
A/cf/eI7l}'. IlIhwi!
D
ISMISSING THIS as JUSt another
stunt would be co Stop thousands
of pt:'ople from experiencing some
public arr. For me, Christo and
J eanne-Claude's work allows more
curting-edge landscape projects co
beaccepred by [he mainstream pub-
lic. For landscape architects, [his is
critical so [hat our work can concin-
ue co evolve and visionary work can be
more accepted.
I\.LA,RT!N BARRY, ASSOCIATE ASt A
Brooklyn, New York
L
ET TI IE ART LIVE. It's only in place for
two weeks. In geological and evolution-
ary time it's nothing.
For the landscape architecture commu-
nity to promote the position that tempo-
rary installations of public art are environ-
mentally insensitive damages the entire
creative community. Christo's works do
not get installed without review. They are
subject to much scrutiny, ooth by his cre-
ative team and the pertinent jurisdictions.
Sadly, in the United States, art is not
considered a vital component of our nation-
al culture. An is often re.garded as unnec-
essary, an extrava,gance, much like goOO de-
sign in past decades. I, by no means, intend
to imply thar irresponsible installations
should be lauded, but thoughtful , careful-
ly executed works need the support of rhe
creative community. To rally environ men-
LETTERS
tal extremists to derail this project is an ir-
responsible use of your editorial position.
Personally, I do believe that Christo's proj-
ect is long overdue and that resistance ro
the project is generally uninformed.
Lmdscape architects are in a unique IX>-
sition to inform publicopinions regarding
public art. To promote a negative position
seems counterintuitive and not in the best
interest of the profession.
ERIC CROrfY, ASLA
Englewood, Colorado
Christo and Jeanne-
Claude's work allows more
cutting-edge landscape
projects to be accepted by
the mainstream public. "
T
HIS PROJECT IS A POSITIVE.
I understand where Rags Over the
Arkansas River (ROAR) is coming from
with respea to the environment, but per-
haps they don't understand the real benefits
of highlighting that experience through
art. If you're from that part of the country
(I am), you haw this innate defense aoom
the landscape because you think nobody
else understands its beauty. Part of ROAR 's
apprehension is probably due to the ir
thinking that Christo sees the geography
as a wasteland- a place where he would
likely be allowed to "do" the art- as op-
posed to his having chosen that geography
because it's so beautiful.
ZAKERY D. STEELE, ASSOCIATE ASLA
Rrxht!lter, Nrw York
I
WAS IN AN EXPERIMENTAL film class
in the mid-1970s where I saw the film
Chr;SIO'S Valley CUrtam. That was cool and
'"fresh." Although I did not visit TheGateJ
in Central Park, it seemed to "work'" and
create a positive reaction. This river deal
does neither. Stop the madness.
GARY SCOTT, FASLA
Del Moinru". Iowa
M
YCONCERNS WITI-I the Christo propos-
al: The wrap material is basically made
from oil, so its production is nor benign.
Aren't there better uses for oil, like medical
technology?
There will beon-sireenvironmemal im-
pactS, such as creating holes in beautiful
rocks for rhe anchors.
\'{lho Ix:nefits other than a segment of
the public who likes this type of an?
The Arkansas River is already af-
feered way roo much by humans-
it's overused by rafting, bUildings in
the ripari an zone, agriculture, and so
on. A mu<:h Ix:ner projeer would Ix:
one that restores the riparian zone. If
Christo would do that, I'd be OUt
there helping him.
There is !"l()(hing, IKIIMlIg more beau-
tiful than a free-flowing river. Other
than by environmental restoration, it
cannot be made more beautiful.
jURGEN A. HESS
Hood Ril'et; Oregon
W
HILE I ENJOY the vastness of Christo's
work, through his use of artificial me-
dia he would seem to have less of an innate
connection with the land {han other artists
such as Andy Goldsworthy.
ADAM E. ANDERSON
Newport Beach. California
A
s AN ARTIST, a landscape designer, and
a lover of all things natural, the only val-
ue that I see in this project is the need for
more discussions on the marriage between
art and nature. My sense is that Christo
and Jeanne-Claude need ro find a way ro
focus on creative sustainability and not
these massive projects thar end up costing
them millions to implement. If they are
such great artists could they not reinvent
themselves as creators of something more
beautiful and meaningful?
DWIGIIT NYSEWANDER
/IIinneapolis
MAY :001 Llndscape Artllihthre 115
16 l landsup, Archltectllre IUV 200$
IMERIUN SOmTY OT IINOSCIP[ IRCHlUm
6Jfi EYE STRm NW, WISHINGTON,
202-090-2m fIX 202-090-2205
LETTERS
Rehab the National Mall? Pony Up the Bucks,
Congress
"SJ-IJITING GROUND" (Land Matters,
March) should perhaps be titled
"Shifting Priorities." The National Mall
belongs to the people of the nation, as do
the monuments and federal buildings that
line the mall. I can understand how the
mall n ~ - d s may not be funded through the
stimulus package, given the other current
national priorities, bur why doesn't Con-
gress appropriate sufficient annual funds
to maintain and rehabilitate the mall infra-
stmcture through the National Park Serv-
ICe? A frer all, it is rhe Congn:"SS's front yard
too, isn't it?
Perhaps the DistrictofColumbiashould
be authorized to charge user fees Of collen
taxes from [he local hotels and restaurants
that cater to the many om-of-towners who
use the mall. Surely we as a nation can fig-
ure Out some way of maintaining our col-
lective from yard. Otherwise, JUSt plow it
and grow victory gardens; at least in that
way the local folks could derive some ben-
efit from a farmer's market on the mall.
R. Gus DRUM, AFFIUATE ASI. A
Hllntingfon. \I"t'.ft Virginia
More Rhetoric from "Joe the Landscape
Architect"? No Thanks
I
Nl iER LE1TER (February),]enni 111Omp-
son talks about drilling for oil in [he Arc-
tic National Wildlife Refuge and says that
landscape architects are more concerned
about saving "another acre of pristine park-
land" than they are about people who work
in the energy, auto, and housing industries.
For far tOO long we've been given the
false choice between creating jobs and sav-
ing the environment. People are rejecting
the propaganda of the last failed adminis-
tration in Washington that denied global
warming, leased public lands to mining
companies, lessened air and warerqualiry,
and favored corporate profits over the envi-
ronment. Although it is still early, the
Obarna adm inistrarion seems to (,1.vor poli-
cies that will value the environment and
create jobs that encourage sustainability.
111ese policies can only be a positive devel-
opmem for landscape architects.
L1nd untouched by man is rapidly dwin-
dling. Even dlOUgh r may never physically
go to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,
r am gratified thar it is there. r would like
it to be there for future generations too. If
we lose this piece of "pristi ne parkland,"
how long will it be before we justifY the
denigration of Yosemite, Yellowstone, and
the Grand C'll1yon?
The rhetoric of a 'joe the Pl umber has
no place in our profession. \'{fe do not need
a "Joe the Landscape An:l1itect. " Let us cel-
ebrate the new environmental awareness
the country and lead the way
into a sustainable fmure.
THOMAS BIRO, ASLA
Hillsborough, NewJ ersey
Setting the Record Straight
I
N PRAIRIE CROSSING" (February) no
mention is made of the role of the unique
pavement surfacing in tying Forr Vancou-
ver to che Columbia River (up and over che
Land Bridge). The surfacing irselfis inac-
curately described as a "locally sourced,
can-colored decomposed granice chac is
permeable and narurallooking." While we
agree wich tan-colored and narural look-
ing, che surfacing thac is shown in five pic-
rures in chearcicle is NaruralPAVE XL Resin
Pavement. 'I11e surface is not decom(X>Sed
granice nor is it permeable. NaruralPAVE
XL Resin Pavement is an upgrade to hQ( -
mix asphalt in terms of pavement strength,
and ic offers a nontoxic and solar-reflective
sustainable alternative that is placed by as-
phalt paving machinery in cont inuous
joint-free paving applications for roads and
streets and parking lots as well as accessi-
ble pedestrian surfaces such as you on
the land Bridge.
The designers at Jones & Jones color
keyed the other elements on the Land
Bridge to be complementary with the Nat-
uralPAvEsurfacing. NaturalPAVE surfacing
not only covers the Land Bridge itself but
carries the theme from the Columbia Riv-
er up and over the Lll1d Bridge all the way
over to Fort Vancouver and throughout the
inside of the fort. Both the Vancouver Lll1d
Bridge and Fort Vancouver IXmions of the
overall project are covered on aUf web site
at wwu!.JsjKo.wm.
BOB RANOOLPll
Soil Siabilizafion ProdllCfJ COIIIPany fnc.
Merced. California
Cl F1CI...E 95 00 FlEAOER s.EIMCE CAOO OR GO m HTTPJfHFO.HOTIMS.COM'll493-95
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636 EYE SIRHl!W. WASHI!610!.
101-898-1444 FIX 101-898-1185
IUV 2001 L.ndstlpe Arehit,ttur, I 17
;I irreglllar look
CHOICE CUI
Blazing a New Trail
In the Motor City
Detroit P"ts its (iWI1 stamp 011
greenway design.
T
HIS MONTH BRINGS some good, green
news to a population- Detroiters-
that can really use some. It comes in
the form of the official opening of the De-
quindre Cut, a pedestrian and bike trail
connecting the riverfront with the historic
and lX)pular Eastern Market.
The trail nms along acity-owned aban-
doned railway line 25 feet below grade.
Unused for a quarter century, the space
ilY L I \' DA
had grown wild both figuratively- walls
along the trench were decorated with
Aamboyant graffit i-and literally, as foxes,
pheasants, and other urban wildlife sought
refuge in the weedy subterranean Aora.
Now the spiffed-up pathway boasts a
wide paved trail with separate lanes for walk-
ers and cyclists as well as benches, lighting,
and security cameras and phones. 11lt' graf-
fiti, however, remains. It 's bodl an iconicel-
ement of the space and a reminder of its re-
cent past, when spray-am impresarios were
some of the only people brave enough [Q
venture into what looked like a set for The
World \VttlXilif Vi meets Blade Rllllller.
The Dctjuindre Cur is short, only a lit-
tle over a mile long, but it brings a crucial
connection between two much-visited
ContHI llndil Mcintyre ilt /mtlnt,u @;n/a Of I.
ls l landsup, Archltectllre IUV not
I
WHERE IMAGINATION COMES TO LIFE
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structures"
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attractions. It's also part of an ambitious
plan fora new, less car-centric Detroit. The
Community Foundation for Southeastern
Michi gan (CFSm.I), a key player in the
project, is spearheading a broader green-
ways ini t iative and working to secure
funding and access for the second phase of
the cut. The Motor City government also
recently approved a nonmOforizro trans-
portation plan that envis.'\ges400 miles of
bike lanes.
Might all of this poli tically correct muJ-
timoclalism be seen asa fri ll when so many
here have fallen on hard times? No, says
POD CASI
Winter
Ephemerals
The Star Seeds installation brightened up
the University of Arkansas campus aU
winter, evolving as the elements took
their toll on the natural materials,
A landscape architectllre prof
finds illSpiratioll ill the
Ozark winter.
I
N WINTER, the Old Main Lawn
atche University of Arkansas can
be a little bleak l3urassismnt pro-
fessor oflandscape architecture Carl
Smith saw a lost opportunity. His
soft, British-timed voice betrays
him as a veteran of wet , gloomy
seasons. "I was JUSt daydreaming,"
he says, "about what the campus
could look like in winter, particu-
larly at Christmas:'
Last December,Smith, working
with former student Stuart Ful -
bright and math department head

Chaim GcxxIman-Stmuss, instal led Star Sflir,
agroupof five woven wood p.xIs adjacent to
the principal walkway through the lawn.
The tempomry installation could be v::lr-
iously imerpreted as a set of gargantuan
seed p.xIs, stylized birds' nests, or wicker
hol iday ornaments. nl ree large pods meas-
ured six feet high and 16 feet in length;
-
The 21st CentUlY Park
& dle City
T
HE FORUM FOR URBAN DESIGN in New York City will host
two panels composed of leading figures from North
America to discuss different visions for the 21st centu
ry urban park. On May 13 in the Museum of Modern Art, a
panel on landscape architedure will feature George Har
greaves, fASLA, James Corner, ASLA, and Michael Van Valken
burgh, FASLA. On May 14 three eivic leaders-John Campbell
from Waterfront Toronto, David Karem from Louisville, Ken
tucky, and Ale. Garvin of Alex Garvin & Associates in New York City-will address questions
about development strategy, implementation, finaneing, and why parks are so fundamental to
their visions for the future city at the Century Association, 7 West 43rd Street, The events are
free but RSVP is required; see _w.forumforurbandesign.org.
20 1 landsup, Archltectllre IOUV not
CFSEi\!"s Tom Woiwode. "It"s a defining
opportunity for chese hard-hit communi-
ties, fostering a sense of pride and a way to
see the future," he told LAM. The tmil has
already generated so much attention and
support that people gathered to watch the
pavement being laid. \'\foiwode hopes oth-
er cities, looking for ways to invest and re-
vitalize, are taking note.
two smaller ones were constructed of long
scrips of oak and poplar salvaged from local
lumber yards. Inside each large pod were
five or six smaller orbs made from river
cane harvested by the three artists. The
pods were lit from wichin at night.
last wimer was a particularly wet one
in Fayetteville. Smith couldn't have been
happier. "We knew that because of the
surface area of the wood slats the pods
would be quite visually interest ing cov-
ered with frost , snow, and even ice, " he
says. And chey were. The ice scorm that
crippled the middle South in February
turned the pods into glistening crystals.
\"Xfidl all that seasonal abuse, the sculp-
tures actually changed shape. "They have
started to sag and bulge," Smith told us in
February. "\'\fe like that chey are evolving
and set tl ing into place .. '
In March, Stdr SeedJ was dismantled to
make way for spring .
- ADAM R EGN ARVIDSON, ASI..A
Philip di Giacomo on Demanding. "I'b,f. ;t !yea'. Or ;t at all. -n.at's
..mat z of' ,.",sdr z th- .sa,.,. of' "' who wor,fs w,'th
1"0/" 19M. So tAJhen CoIora:la saf:i, Geat ;$ not yea(
<hOUjh," th- r Ojdh-r w. .,.. to k kit" than
eVei'". So ;I'yau ,.OeJ: yourse!l'. -rhen us,"

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BEAR NECESSITY
Bamboozled Zoo
Seeks New Suppliers
When invasiveness just isn't mONgh.
B
AMBCX) AND SHORTAGE are (wo words
chac rarely go together. First inrro-
duced to the United Scates in 1882 as
a windbreak for Alabama woocco farmers,
[he Asian supergrass has been spreading
ever since. For many home owners, gar-
deners, and farmers, ie's a barely contained
nuisance, threatening to overtake open
space at a mee that thwarts mechanical and
chemical eradication.
- DIG INfRA
So when rhe Nat ional Zoo in Washing-
ron, D.C., discovered chat it was having
difficulty harvesting sufficienc fodder for
its adorable and popular gianr pandas, it
made sense to make an appeal to local
property owners. To fulfill rhe pandas'-
and other zoo animals'- need for 75,000
pounds of bamboo each year, zoo officials
pur OUt a press release requesting dona-
{ions from local property owners, A story
followed on Nacional Public Radio, and
che results, like ehe spread of ehecrop, were
overwhelming- more chan 250 respons-
es, according to the zoo's senior nutrition-
isc, Mike Maslanka.
111e zoo's requirements were quite specific
- Maslanka's charges have a refined palate,
"We wanllo know
if lhey're inleresled
in having a long-
term relalionship.
We want it to
basically be

f
"
meyer.
wi th a preference for the genus
Phyl/ostachys. The bamboo also
had (0 be free from contami-
nants, Maslanka's task was to
weed through the offe rs and
winnow a list of pros(X"Ctive sites, "It was
heartbreaking in a lot of cases to say we
couldn't take it," Maslankacontinues, "but
for the safety of the animals there really
wasn't much choice,"
He has made numerous site assess-
ments, and the zoo isclose (0 a permanent
arrangement with a handful of landown-
ers. Maslanka wants to be certain that the
effort is a t rue collaboration and that the
providers are prepared to feed ehe zoo's v(}-
racious appeeiee in perpecuity, "\'V'e wane
to know if they're interested in having a
long-term relaeionship," he concludes.
"\'V'e wane it co basically be forever," With
bamboo, forever is rarely a problem.
- JOSHUA GRAY
the announcement mentions only archileds, engineers, and artists,
the group told unduape Architectute that they enthusiastically wel-
come submissions from landscape architects as well.
Landsupe architects seeking a different
Competition Aims to Investigate
lnlraslruclw'e, Remake
Tianarnnen Square
PAMPH LET
ARC HIT EC T U RE

sort of challenge can check out a new kind
of competition sponsoteel by Gardenvisit.com.
The site is lH'omoting a web 2.0 landscape
Designers encouraged to think big.
I
F THE RECENT TSUNAMI OF BAO NEWS has you thinking that we in this
country need to do some things differently, here's an option for putting
your ideas and design skills to work. This year's Pamphlet Architecture
competition, Illrestigations i" I"frastructure, invites design students
and professionals to propose new directions for transportation, energy,
and agriculture on a continental scale.
The deadline for submissions is July 1. For more information, visit
www.papress.com/otherlpa ... phietarchitedure/competitiOll.tpl. While
22 l landsup, Archltectllre IUV n ot
design competition to explore new design solutions for China's historic
and infamous TIanalWllen Square in Beijing. The competition is open to
all. Submissions, in the form of two or three-dimensioNI models, mono
tages, or plans, hand or comlHlier drawn lor photographed in the case
of modelsl, can be uplo.1ded to the competition's Flickr page at
_, flic/cr.com/groups/tianalltne''-squafe_t.ndscape_arelrHeufe_
competitio,,_20JOI. See additional details at www.gardenrisitcom/
histfHY_theory/Chil/ese_t.nduape_ architectufe_co",petitiOll.
Winners will be announced in June 2010.
Whether it's a trellis, seating, planters
or arbors, we've got aU the elements of
style for your "natural habitats
All custom-crafted In premium woods
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Sitecraft has your design.
Be S(1re to ask for O(1r Garden Line catalog
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Planters, planter benches and more. In wood, metal
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with our benches and tables. line them up as a
natural foliage wall. Use them as natural special
accents in a plaza or esplanade.
When you raise your sites wit h Sitecraft,
the possibilities are endless.
A California couple sW'J'Ounded their house in Mali bu with a landscape that
shows off ul eir spectaCLciar vantage point on ule OCe311. By Debra Prinzing
Photography by Jack Coyier
E
VEN WITH AN INCOMPARA BLE
I SO-dc.gree view of rhe Pacific, (here
arc times when Frank and Helene
Pierson prefer ro look up. These mo-
ments usuallyoccurar (\vilighr when
the Spiral Garden, which sirs in a secl ud-
ed comer of their lI.falibu hillside, beck-
ons. Seated on a bench plneed (here just for
the purpose, rhe couple gazes at rhe niSlu 's
celestial display and observes a moonlit
labyrinth formed by bl uesrone p a \ ' e ~ em-
bedded in rhe lawn. They inhale the sweet
fra,graocc of double-white angel's trumpets
(Brugmumia x cal/dida) and perhaps even
hear wi ld quails cooi ng in rhe hills.
24 I l.ndlup.Arehlhctur. lin n ot
CREATE A REFRESHINGLY UN
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Some will just sit around to contemplate the beauty
Some will walk through it to refresh the mind and body
Children for sure will make it look and feel so li vely
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") like to sit here with a gCKXl., st rong
drink," Frank confides. "Especially on a
moonlit night- it's just magic."
The Piersons' relationship with their
mooest, triangular slice of paradise wasn'r
always this charmed. The mupJe pur-
chased rhe midcemury ranch house, with
26 l landsup, Archltectllre IUV 200$
its floor- to-ceiling windows and uninter-
rupted sea vistas, in 2004. At t hat point,
according to Frank, a film di recwr and
Oscar-winning screenwriter (Dog Day AI-
temoo!l ), it was hard to enjoy the view from
the neg lected grounds with an unstable
brick patio and a crumbling hillside.
PLANT LIST
Pittosporum unduldlum cheesewood
buckthorn
RIIsmarinus'Tuscan
PERENNIALS
milweed
sage
GROUND COVERS
'A",tos,taph1fos 'Emerald Carpet' I Manlanita
. ArctosuphJ/os 'Pacific Mist' I Manzanita
. Batcharis piluldris ' Pigeon Point' 1 Coyote brush
. Ceanotbus 'Centennial' 1 Ceanothus
Rosmarinus 'Huntington Carpet' I Rosemary
ear
rocks
'Afterglow' Echemia
FERNS
. PofIStidJ,." tmlniblm 1 Wtsterw swotdftrl
. W"d"ardia finbri.Jta 1 Ciut ,bi"!n
' Dtnolts nalirt I, California
l
I
I
'--
,
, ,
MOon IJMdIn -" Kerud

, """"!!!

---
To help them rework the space, rhecou-
pie hired Pamela Palmer, ASLA, a land-
scape archirect wi th ARTECl IO, a firm
based in Venice, California. In place of rhe
brick pat io, Pal mer installed a grand,
semicircular Pennsylvania blucstone ter-
race oriented toward the sea. nle design
encompasses {he full length of the house
and is level wi th its interior floors, nearly
doubling dining and entertaining areas.
Paved in a runni ng bond pattern, rhe gray-
blue hues and wavy surmces of each 12-by-
20-inch rile emulate the ocean's color and
rhythm. At the terrace's edge, a custom
dmin catches water that once eroded the
surrounding slopes. A marure coml tree
(Er),lhril1d sp.) original (0 the sire was care-
ful ly pruned to provide a leafy canopy
above the seat ing areas and fire bowl.
Below the terrace edge, a vibmnt rib-
bon of colorful succulents was planted.
Helene selened many of rhe silvery-blue,
Slope. Ire pllnted with nltiYei, l eft, which
pro,ide habitat for wildlife. liYl ble I rell Ire
adjaeent to the house as seen in the plan, belo" .
" ' ,

lew 101 dring ,
..... -', .............
, ..
I I I
,
, ,
............
'.
\ \" ,
\ , , ,

, \ , ,
, \,
, "
\'
!"", . """"""" ..... ""'"""",----_---10-
-
,
,
,
MU 2011 Lulls"'pe Artliitechre 127
wine, apricot-pink, and
lime specimens dlat fill the
crescent-shaped border, in-
cluding agaves, aloes, kal-
ancl-.oes, ech(-verias, crnssu-
las, sedU01S, and aeoniums.
"1 call thi s my jewel-box
garden," she says.
Coastal conditions
Pacific wax myrtle (/\IJr;ca
cdlijomica) and California
buckthorn (RlwnlllllJ cali-
Iomica) to form a privacy
At the weSt end of the
of marine air, wind,
and sun called for
durable plants.
screen.
The hill side has been re-
stored with a carpet of wild
lilac (CamO/hlls 'Centenni-
al" and C. thyrsif/orlls var.
ocean terrace, a bluestone
gravel pathway wraps around an infinity
lawn. Fmnk may have an office indoors, but
some of his most inspiring narratives are
cooceived whi le he sirs here. A curved, Cor-
Ten steel wall, which developed a ruSted
finish when exposed to the elements, en-
closes the lawn. A raised edge serves as an
imprompru bench---{l. favored ocean van-
tage point-from which t he eye is "led to
the curve of rhe horizon," Frank observes.
Coastal conditions of marine ai r, wind,
and sun called for durable plants, includ-
ing native California and Mediterranean
varieties that tolerate drought. Diseased
trees have been removed, replac(-d by native
2s 1 Lud.up. Arehll.ctur. MAY 1001
griJeIlJ 'Y..1nkee Poine') and
coymebrush (BacchdriJ pillllari1 'Pigeon
Point,), native ground coveTS thac help con-
trol erosion. Exist ing lemonade berry
shrubs (RhIlJ illtegrifolia) have been joined
by several hybrid varieties of ruby-hued
conebush (ulfwdmdrofl 'Safari Sunset' and
L 'Red Gem') and silvery C1lifornia sage-
brush (A rfCIllUiawlijomiw 'Montara), beau-
t iful folillb't' planlS requiring little water.
Helene tucked favorite edible planrs, in-
cluding tomatoes, e5JXd iertd mngtri nes, and
culinary herbs, into proteered pockets near
rhe house. Fig, avocado, grapefruit, and wal-
nut ttees thrive near the moon garden,
where theyareshdtered from marine winds.
"The design was inspired by this amazing site,
especially the horizon and the light."
This landscape also feeds songbirds,
bees, butterflies, and hummi ngbi rds,
thanks to rhe addi tion of plants that pro-
vide berries, seeds, and nectar such as
bright orange-red flowering milkweed
(Asdepias Iflberosa) and woolly grevillea
(G revil/ea lanigera 'Coas tal Gem'). "We
worked rocreate as much wildlife habitat
as Ix>ssible," Palmer says.
\X'hen the couple sits on the terrace,
their garden and its vistas gi ve them a
sense of calm.
"Frank and Helene wanted an unbroken
view of the ocean," Palmer explains. "The
design was inspired by this amazing site,
eSJX-cially the horiwn and the light."
Debra PmlZillg is a SOllthem Calijrmua-Msed
gardell and design writer (/JlddlltlxirojSrylish
The sculpture Or! the terrace, opposite top, is by
family frierMI Krista Zinner. The Lower Triangle
Garden, with a Charles Swanson fountain,
oppI)site bottqm, leads to the Spiral Garden
beyond. Landscape architect Pamela Palmer,
ASLA, joins frank and Helene Pierson at the Cor-
Ten steel seat waH, feft. Scented brugmansia
hangs ower the Slice Bench and Earth WaH,
be/ow. An edible border with artichokes is
Sheds and Elegant H ideaways (ClarkJon
Potterl PlIblishm, 2008). She publisher a de-
sign blog at www.shedsryle.com.
Reprinted wi t h permission from Metropol-
itan Home, March 2009.
PROJECT CREDITS Clients: Frank and He-
lene Pierson. Landscape architects: ARTECHO
Archi tecture and L-mdscape Architecture,
Venice, California (Pamel a Palmer, ASLA,
Tavi Pemula, Associate ASLA, and Marisol
Metcalfe, Affiliate ASLA). landscape cootrac
tors: CRW Landscape, Malibu, California
(Chris Wilson). Hardscape: Sunset Construc-
tion, Thousand Oaks, Ca!ifornia(Jim Pur-
cell). Custom CGncrete wall: Ron Odell Cus-
tom Concrete, Woociland Hills, California.
Ugtrting: Gannon Electric l ight, San Pedro,
California (john Gannon). Steel fabncation:
Art Metal, Gardena, C'llifornia(Jim Grze-
sek). Woodwork: Frank Varnuska, North-
ridge, California. Landscape maintenance:
Golden Scate Landscapes, Somis, Califor-
nia (Robert Olsen).
MAY :001 Llndscape Artllihthre 129
A
E YOU REGULARLY TOLD thar your
city is "all built our" and has no room
for new parks, even though there
seem to be plency of new high-rises,
parking lots, and shopping malls?
Is it perhaps time w smrf looki ng for new
urban parkland in untraditional places?
That is exactly what's beginning ro hap-
pen in densely packed cities. Here are a few
of the innoYouions.
Cemete,I
Before parks came into bei ng. cemeteries
were the principal manicured greenspaces
for cities-most fumously lI.-foum Auburn
CemNcry in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
and Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn,
New York As parks arose, rhe open areas of
cemercries d iminishcd in importance. Bur
nx:lay, some ci ties have hundreds of acres of
Squeezing innovative
green spaces into
crowded cities req ujres
looking for land in
unexpected places.
By Peter Harnik
public cemetery lands, both with and with-
out graves[Ones, rh.1t could t heoreticall y
help with the JXlfkland shomge. T1le most
enthusiastic conservationistS tend to regard
cemfteries as parkland, but rhar is nO{ nec-
essarily the view of the general public. Is a
cemetery a park? A cemetery certai nly
qualifies as pervi ous ground and "breathing
space," bur whether it does any more than
(hat depends on the rules and regulations
goveming (he fuciliry. l 11emoreonecan do
rhere--walk a dog? cycle? picnic? throw a
ball ? sit under a tree?- t he more it's like a
park. The more restrictive, the less justifi-
able it seems to pretend it's a park.
The ''Vashingron, D.C. , area has ex-
rremes on ei ther end of this spectrum. At
Arlington National Cemetery, which is a
vast spice al most as large as the emire park
system of Arlington, vi rtual ly not hi ng is
permi tted OI:her than walking from grave
to grave-togging and eating are prohibit-
ed, and there are almost no benches. Across
town, at venerable (bur li ttle-known) Con-
gressional Cemftery, not onl y are picnick-
ing and child play allowed but rhe mciliry
is also a formal off-leash dog park. (Dog
membership is limi ted to a sustainable
The final resting plaCl! for 70,000 Atlantans, Historic Oakland Cemetery is also a n official park-the city's oldest, dating back to 1850. ~
30 I l.ndlupaArchlhctura lin n ot
"Incorporating the di5p/ay paffern5 pre5ented an effective and
efficient way of improving water quality while at the mme time
introducing a new, ottractive landmark feature to Abbey Pork. N
Councillor John Mugglestone
lei<esler, U.K.
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the cemete,), grounds; use by hu-
mans is free and unrestricted.)
Another famous cemere')', Oak-
wood, in Hartford, ConnecricU[,
nor only allows residents to run, walk dogs,
and ride bicycles, but also programs the
space wi rh jazz concerts and orher evems
and even allows residents ro bring food and
wine. Atlanta's hisroric Oakland Cemere,)"
owned by rhe city's parks departmenr and
run by a foundarion, is designed as a pleas-
ure ground. It has benches, gardens, and a
central building for events and pmgmms,
and ir al lows visitors to jog and stroll wirh
rheir dogs. In Portland, Maine, 240-acre
Evergreen Cemerery is much larger than rhe
city's largesr "regular" park. Owned and
maintained by rhe ci ry's parks division, and
comaining gardens, ponds , woods, and
open lawns, Evergrr-en is used for hiking,
walking, running, biking, birding, picnick-
ing, cross-colUmy skii ng, and snowshoeing.
Schoolyards
Schoolyards are large, flat, cemrally locat-
ed open spaces with a mandate to serve the
32 l landsup, Architecture IUV 200$
-
-
-
Chicago's Campus Pari!. program puts school play areas __
to double use, allowing the community in after school
honrs. eraeme Stewart Elementary School, below,
was completed, here, in the summer of 2008.
-
-
-
-
In Chicago, Mayor Daley
announced an ambitious goal
of converting 100 asphalt
schoolyards into small parks.
recreational needs of schoolchildren. Great
schoolyards- t he rare ones t ha t have
healthy gmss, big trees, a playground, and
sports equipmem- srem a lot like parks.
But they arent. For one thing they have
fences and locks. For another, they are
closed to the general public, not only from
8 :00 AM to 3:00 PM but even at times
when school is out of session--early morn-
ing, late afternoon, evening , and week-
ends. Schoolyards are part -t ime open
spaces with a limited constituency. But
they have terrific potential to be more than
thar. Even less-than-great school-
yards, t hose that are vi rtual
wastelands of asphalt with few
amenities, often represent sizable
places in key locations {sre 'Too
Cool a USt) for School," Ldl/dsCdpt
Architectllre, August 2(08).
Creating an urban schoolyard
park is not impossible-it's been
done in New York, Chicago, and a fewoth-
er places- but it's not as easy as it sounds.
It requires real attention to derail , clarity of
authority, and ongoing acceptance of re-
sponsibility. Most of all it requires commi t-
ment to success, which is why it tends to
come to fruit ion when b:>th rhe school sys-
tem and the park system are under the con-
trol of the mayor.
In Chicago, Mayor Richard M. Daley,
Honorary ASLA, following a successful pi-
lor program in 1996, announced an ambi-
tious goal of converting 100 asphalt school-
yards into small parks. C'lHed the Campus
Park Program, it involved playgrounds,
baseba!l fields, basketba!l courts, tennis
courts, and running tracks on a total of 150
acres. Phase r was completed in fOllr years
at a cost of$43 million- $20 million each
from the school system and the city, plus $3
million from the park district. (By 2008
the goal had been surpassed, and more
schools have been added.) Design was han-
dled by the park district and const ruction
by t he Public Buildings Commission, and
the process was guided by way of meetings
among park and school officials, principals,
local school councils, and community or-
ganizations. Ongoing maintenance is han-
dled largely by t he school district wi t h as-
needed assistance from the park district for
larger properties and more park-deficient
neighborhoods.
In New York City, the Trust for Public
Lmd (TPL), a nonprofit, has forged a four-
way partnership wi th corporate donors, the
Board of Education, and the Dqmnmentof
Parks and Recreation not only to open up
schoolyards bur also to work with the chil-
dren to thoroughly redesign their play ar-
eas, adding natural elements and artwork.
Ata minimum price tag of$4OO,OOOeach,
the schoolyard parks are nor cheap, bur TPL
projectS thar rhe program will increase the
city's usable park space by nearly 300 acres.
Rooftops
Are rooftop parks feasible? If so, for what
activities? How much weight can they sup-
port? How much do they cost? These are
complex questions that require a good deal
of research, I:xxh into the issue of "rooftops"
and of "'parks. ,. Some of t he investigation is
generic, but much of it needs to be highly
specific, on a city-by-city basis. In, say,
Oklalloma Ciry, how many flat rooftops are
there? \Vhat is the total combined acreage?
How many are on public buildings, and
what is that combined acreage? How many
of them are large (i.e., an acre or more)?
How many of those large ones are relative-
ly uncl uttered with air-<:onditioning units
and other paraphernalia? How many are
accessible by the public? How much
rooftop area is available in park-poor areas?
And that doesn't even get to the issues of
What park facilities
are appropriate on rooftops?
Flower gardens, lawns,
benches, and pathways?
st ructural strength, drainage, noise, light-
ing, and more. (Nme that lightweight
"green roofs" are rarely usable as parks be-
cause most can't be walked on.)
\Vhat park facilities are appropriate on
rooftops? Flower gardens, lawns, benches,
and pathways? Courts for basketball, ten-
nis, and volleyball, surrounded by cages?
Community h'lmlens? Playgrounds? Minia-
ture golP None of this is impossible-there
is a roofTop park at Riverbank State Park in
New York City so large that it contains a
IXXll, a skating rink, a theater, four tennis
courts, four basket ball courtS, a wading
pool, a softball fi eld, a football field, four
handball courts, a running track, two play-
grounds, a weight room, a boat dock, and a
restaurant. Riverbank is a 28-acre roof on a
new sewage treatment plant alongside the
Hudson River.
At present the most successful rooftop
parks are ones at ground level built over
subsurface parking garages- places like
Millennium Park in Chicago, Hudlin Park
in St. Louis, and Verba Buena Garden in
San Francisco. New rooftop parks increas-
ingly incorporate more ecological features.
The Gary Comer Youth Center in Chicago's
South Shore neighborhood, by Hoell"
$chaudt Landscape Architects, has a work-
ing flower and vegetable garden on the
roof. a huge un-
tapped a, II park use.
MAY :001 Llndscape Artllihthre 133
UIlAN PAUS
For instance, Nashville, Ten-
nessee's Public Square collects all
its rain (or later use as pumped ir-
rigation water.
Using rooftops higher than
street level is, thus far, much rarer.
For one thing, keeping the plants
alive is harder because of the ex-
tremecoooitions of wind, sunlight,
soil thinness, and lack of trees. For
another, there acc concerns aOOm
stnlCtural strength and pocenrial
water leakage. Finally, there are is-
sues ofhuman access and semriry.
Neverthek-ss, for extremely dense
communities dmt are very short of
parkland- places like Brooklyn,
Chicago's near west side, and South
Los Angeles- roofcop parks could
make a big difference.
Community Gardens
Community gardens are another vascly
underappreciaced and underprovided re-
source for cities. Americans traveling in
Europe are often scruck by the fact
that small patches alongside rail-
road tracks and roads, and even
odd ploes between buildings-
spaces that are almost invariably
wasced in the Uniced Srates-are
intensiwly cultivated for flowers,
vegetables, and spices. In theory,
community gardens could be a
"growth sector" for the urban park
movement in this country. They
come in many different forms and
types, but the two major classes
are stand-alone gardens (often lo-
cated in spaces where rowhouses
have oc"en tom down)and gardens
that are located in a corner of a
larger city park.
But it must also be admitted
that community gardens, as semi-
privatized space, are not a perfect
fit as public parks. The vegetables,
fruits, and Rowers requi re some
protection from theft and from in-
advertent damage, and this entails
fences and locks, which are often
unsi g htly and unneighborly.
34 l landsup, Archltectllre IUV 200$
Moreover, by their vcry nature, communi-
ty gardens aTe fairly lightly used, with only
a handful of people---or fewer- in sight
at any g iven moment. (A parcel that per-
haps could use more eyes often has fewer
than many others.)

On the ocher hand, with their planting,
watering, weed pulling, and harvesting,
gardeners are the ewryday visitors who can
help make a space more inviting. Pl us,
community gardens are excremely efficient
users of space. An area chat could barely fit
a single tennis murt might hold
90 garden plots; a soccer field
might be replaced with 375 or
more gardens.
Reservoir Lands
Many cities have drinking water
reservoirs that are used for parks.
At Griggs Reservoir Park in
Columbus, Ohio, or White Rock
Lake Park in Dallas visitors can go
right to the waters edge and dip
their toes in, if they wish, or even
go Intting. (The water is clean but
not yet finished for human con-
sumption.) On the other hand,
some reservoi rs that are surrounded
by extremely attractive landscapes
are nevertheless entirely off-limi ts
to the public. To look at \Xfashing-
ton, D.C.s McMillan Reservoir,
now devoid of people and encircled
by an unsightly chain-l ink fence,
one would never guess that it had
been designed by the Olmsted
firm as a pleasure ground, com-
plete with handsome carriageways.
GREEN
UIlAN PAUS
Obviously the protection of drinking
rer for hundreds of dlOUsands of residents
raises sensitive issues. In fact, for reservoirs
that contain finished water, dw
mental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2006
established new rules calling for the instal-
lat ion of a physical COveT to prevent contam-
ination by airborne Of ground-borne sub-
stances and particles. Some people like the
view of the opeo wuteraoo are dismayed by
rhe requirement, but the very fact ofa cov-
eropens up the possibiliryfor gaining more
parkland. Seanle, in particular, is moving
aggressively co cover its reservoirs-it got
Started more than adccade ahead of EPA. As
Mayor Greg Nickels, Honorary ASLA, has
pur it, "This is a rare opportunity to rum
public works into public parks. Under-
ground reservoirs will nor only Improve (he
quality and security of our water supply,
they will add co the quality of life in our
neighborhoods." All in all, the city is set w
add 76 acresof new parkland using reservoir
decks-four acres in densely populated
36 l landsup, Archltectllre IUV 200$
C'Ipiwl Hi ll, 20 acres in Jefferson Park (in-
cluding a running track, SfXlrts fields, pic-
nic grounds, and a large, unprogrammed
lawn), and a completely new park on wI' of
Myrtle Reservoir. Covering it all will cost
$161 million. Of course, dl(' EPA rule is an
' unfunded mandate' since there is no fed-
eral money w pay for compliance; in Seat-
tle, the cost of decking IS funded via a rise in
the water-use fees that all residents pay.
Under EPAs rule, cities have the option
of covering their reservoir water with a va-
riety of materials, from air-supported fabric
w floa ting fXllypropylene, from a flat sur-
(,1.Ce of wood, steel, or concrete to a dome of
aluminum. ObViously rhe soft materials are
much cheape r- a to-acre rubberlike
polypropylene mat costS about $500,000,
while a concrete slab in Seattle COStS more
"We turned what could've
been a huge liability
into an incredible asset
for the community."
than $13 million. But the Seattle mayors
office has done a smdy showing that the
cost of acquiring a similar amount of odl('r
parkland would cost about 85 percent of
the concrete deck, and, as the city's deputy
director of planning says, 'There's no way
wed be able to buy properties like this, sit-
uated as they are on scenic in
densely buil t-out locations throughout the
city." The concrete decks are coveR--ci with
eight inches to two feet of dirt and planted
with grass. They are principally used as
open lawn areas, active sports fields, and
game courts, interwoven wi th pathways.
Trees are not planted because of the risk of
penetrat ion of the deck by roots.
In another approach, Sf. Louis long ago
figured out how to protea its water yet re-
rain rhe beauty of a shimmering park fXlnd:
For more than 1. 00 years Compton HI I I
Reservoir has been covered, but the top of
the cover is shaped likea shallow bowl and
IS filled with water- nondrinking water-
to make fora beautiful park experience.
Stormwater Channels
Forenvironmenral, financial, and legal rea-
sons, urban swnnwater management is get-
ting much more attention. Gone are the
days when flood-control engineers would
prescribe the construction of stmight, deep
concrete channels, and stream after stream
would be converted into sterile spillways.
Cities dlat still have extensive natural wet-
land areas are carefully protecting them to
contain and filter stormwater; many are
now also creating new artificial swales and
other storage areas to slow down and cap-
ture the sheets of water running off streets
and asphalt surt.1.Ces.
New Yotk City boasts a "blue-belt"
system under the jurisdiction of the city's
DqmrtmentofEnvironmental Protection
(DEP). The blue belt, located largely but
not entirely in less built-upStaten Island,
consists of mapped wetlands that DEP ac-
quires for stormwater management. The
blue bel ts are wned as open space and are
protected from development, although
the protection is not as stringent as for
mapped parkland. Although the blue-
belr lands are partially fenced (to help fo-
cus the points of ingress and egress for
both people and wildlife), they are fully
open to the public.
When the Seattle Housing Authority
planned the transformation of the dis-
tressed High Point public housing site
into a new mixed-income community, it
was required to include a system to con-
tain stormwater running off the property.
The water was to be released gradually
mther than being funneled destructively
into a nearby salmon-bearing stream. But
the authority balked at the aesthetics of
the standard, unadorned, chain-link-
surrounded pit. Instead, it created an ex-
tensive 130-acre drainage system culmi-
nating in Pond Park with benches, a
boulder-filled stream, a pond, a trail, stairs,
a playground, and gardens. "\'{Ie turned
what could've been a huge liability into
an incredible asset for the community-
in a place with a direct view of downtown
Seattle," says Tom Phillips, project man-
ager. Constructed by the Housing Au-
thority, the park has been curned over to
the Parks and Recreation
Department for manage-
ment and maintenance.
Closing Streets
And Roads
In every city there are hun-
dredsof acres of roadway po-
tentially available as park
and recreational facilities.
\'{Ihile parks make up about
20 percent of New York
City's total area, streets make
up about 30 percent. In Chi-
cago, 26 percent of the land
is devoted to streets com-
pared toonly 8 percent given
to parks. Converting some
street capacity for recreation-
al activity is an underreali7.ed
opporrunity.
\'{Iresting space away from
automobiles is never easy, but if any op-
portunities constitUte "lower-hanging
fruit" they are the hundreds of miles of
roads within city parks. Naturally, all large
parks need some roadways, both for access
to facilities and to allow motOrists to get
from one side of the park to the other, but
most city parks have a surfei t of auto cor-
ridors. '1l1e National Mal l in Washington,
D.C., formerly had four parallel drives
running for about a mile between the U.S.
Clpitol and the Washington Monument.
Not only was the green mall thoroughly
intersected every few yards by asphalt, but
the drives themselves were permanently
clogged with tourists (and government
workers) l(X)king for parking spaces. In
1976, JUSt in time for the national bicen-
tennial celebrat ion, Assistant Interior
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UIlAN PAUS
Secretary Nathaniel Reed decided to aool-
ish the two central roods and replace them
wi th pebble-covered walkways reminiscent
of those in Paris parks. The aggregate
amount of space-about four acres-was
relatively small, but the impact on park us-
abi lity, ambience, s.-uery, and air quality was
monumental. Similarly, in Atlanta, follow-
ing a raft of crime and nuisance issues that
were negatively affect ing Piedmont Park,
the parks commissioner announced test
weekend rood closures. Despite protests, rhe
results led to dramatic increases in other
uses of the park such as running, walking,
and cycling, and in 1983 the closures were
made total and permanem. (Piedmom Park
is today the most car-free major city park in
the United States.)
Other examples abound. San Francisco's
Sunday closure of two miles of
John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate
Park was extended in 2007 to SatUrdays as
wel l. This program, which, according to
the San Francisco BikeCoalition, results in
one of dle only hard, flat , safe areas for chil-
dren in the entire city, effectively adds
about 12 acres of parkland without any
quisition or construuion COSts. Park usage
during hours is about double that
of when cars are around.
It's not JUSt large parks-many small
parks have been decimated by roads, and
3s l landsup, Archltectllre IUV 200$
they can be regreened, too. In \'qashington,
D.C. , Thomas Circle was sliced down al-
most to the diameter of the statue of Gen-
eral George Henry TIlOmas and his horse,
with t raffic consuming the entire area. In
2007, rhe National Park Service and rhe
District of Columbia reinstitUted dle
inal circle, including rx-"C!estrian walkways.
Earlier, a similar project reunified
Logan Circle and helped igni te
a renewal of its entire neighborhood.
More difficult is closing and
ing sneets tha[ are not in parks. Many
cities, including 8 0s[On; Santa Monica,
California;and New Orleans, have mmed
one of their key downtown sneets into a
zone, although in nearly al l cases
the motivation is less for casual recreation
Thomas Circle in Washington, D.C. , one of the
original circles laid out by Pierre L'Enfant in
1800, was gradually whittled away by traffic
engineers. In 2007 it was restored to beauty
(and pedestrian usel by the D.C. Department of
Transportation and the National Park Se"ice.
and environmental purity than forexpen-
sive shopping and dining. However,
land, Oregon, is the site of a famous and
extraordinarily successful "'road-to-park"
conversion. It involved the 1974 elimina-
tion of six-lane Harbor Drive, an express-
way along the \'{fillamerre River that had
been rendered redundant by a new inter-
sta te highway. Most ci t ies would have
happi ly kept highways along both sides
of their ri ver, but under t he leadership of
Mayor (later Governor) Tom McCall , the
old roadway was dug up and replaced by
\'{faterfrom Park (l ater named after
Call). McCall Park has become the focal
poim offestivals and many other activities
in the city.
Cities can also convert streets into what
the Dutch call "woonerfs:' where pedes-
nians, bicyclists, and children are given
priority over cars. \Xfhi le the concept has
yet [0 full y establish itself in the United
Sta tes, variants have surfaced. On \Xi"all
St reet in downtown Asheville, North Car-
olina, the ci ty installed brick pavers, bol-
lards, benches, and lights so intertwined
that they become an obstacl e course that
greatly reduces automobile speeds. Seattle
is doing similar traffic calming in certain
neighborhoods and is also
adding numerous pervious
eas and water-capturing
tures to add ecological benefits
to these ';street parks."
Removing Parking
If it weren't for parked cars,
there would be plenty of space
for urban parkland. It's not pe0-
ple who take up all rhat much
space-New York's small Bry-
am Park regularly hosts 1,000
persons at luncht ime on a nice
day. It's rile cars thar either take
up significant chunks of park-
land (50 acres of parking lots in
Chicago's Lincoln Park) or over-
whelm the streets and curbs of
tile surrounding neighborhood.
In virrually every midwestern and southern
downtown, there are few if any downtown
parks, yet there are hundreds of acres of sur-
face parking lots.
Ir turns out that there is a relationship
between gOCKi mass tmnsi t and good parks,
and it appears that park advocates need to
pay attention to transportation issues. For
instance, eight of the 10 most heavily used
parks in American ci t ies have subway or
light-mil access within a quarter mile, and
all of them have bus service that comes
even closer.
The best way to add parkland in the city
is to reduce t he size of, or close, parking ar-
eas within parks. After all, the land is free
and is already ideally located. Naturally,
tllere wi!! be a public outcry, so this action
must be undertaken with great care and
subsmmial analytical backup. Is rhe park-
ing lot (or roadside parking) heavily used, or
does it rt'aCh full capacity only a couple of
days a year? Is t he problem more day of
week or time of day? \'V'ould auto usership
be brought down simply by inst ituting paid
meters in certain locations or at certain
times? \'V'ould a shuttle bus system com-
pensate for less parking? Could arrange-
mems be made with existi ng parking lots
around the edge of the park- whether office
buildings, shopping ccmers, or churches?
Many of these quest ions were debated
In 2003 In Pittsburgh when rhe Pitts-
burgh Parks Conservancy launched an ef-
forr to bring back Schenley Park Plaza as
the grand entrance to the city's flagship
park- the role it had played from 1915
until it was paved over as a 278-car park-
ing lor in 1949. A study by rhe planning
department identified a large number of
available nearby parking spaces, and the
city was also able to install 110 new meters
in the vicinity. Ultimately only 80 spaces
were lost and the city gained a beautiful
new five-acre gathering place complete
with wireless Jncernet, a one-acre lawn,
food kiosks, a carousel, a flower garden,
and regular programming.
Another way to reduce parking is to ex-
pand mass transit to and through the park.
\'V'hen Houston decided to construct a new
trolley system, park advocates lobbied hard
for a station in Hermann Park. (lr ended
up getting two stations, one on either side;
the Hermann Park Conservancy is now re-
designing the park's internal miniature
railroad so that it will serve not only as a
fun ride for children but also as meaning-
ful transportation through the park.) The
next step is to redesign and shrink dle size
of the massive parking lots within the
park. 111e situation in Porrlands Washing-
ton Park is the reverse-the park is 11(11
overwhelmed with parking areas, and the
city wants to keep it that way. From May
to September, rhe Portland Parks and
Recreation Department collaborates with
Porrlands Tri-Met transit agency to run a
shuttle from a nearby light-rail line to var-
ious stops within \'V'ashington Park. 'nle
park, which contains thecitys famed Rose
Garden, has only 85 parking spaces, and
Portlanders reached consensus that no
more spaces would be added.
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IUV 2001 L.ndstlpe Arehit,ttur, I 39
UIlAN PAUS
A third strategy is to dig an u n d e r ~
ground parking garage within the park
and eliminate an equivalent number of
surfuce spaces, as was done in San Francis-
co's Golden Gate Park in 2007. In addi-
tion to yielding more parkland, this ex-
pensive solution
40 I landsup, Architecture IUV 200$
has a second advantage. \'\fith the high
cost of construcrion, a parking charge be-
comes inevitable, encouraging people to
drive less by carpooling, walking, biking,
or taking transit. Minneapolis took a dif-
ferent page om of the same book; there,
without building anything underground,
the park and recreation board installed
meters at rhe most heavily used lots (some
of which happened to be located near oth-
er automobile attractors, such as the Uni-
versity of Minnesota). Ideally, parking rc'V-
{'nue should be used to subsidize the costs
of improved park transi t service.
other Opportunities
T hese examples aren't the only ways of
finding new lancl. Two other
approaches I've written about
in Landscape Architecfllre in-
clude decking over freeways
(see "Nature Over Traffic,"
Landscape Architecture, Febru-
ary 2(08) and building parks
ScIte_Ie, Plaza, left, the
historical entryway to
Pittsburgh's Schenley Park,
was a parking lot, right, for
60 years until it was restored
as a horticuhural ;ewel, here.
on old landfills (see "From Dumps to Des-
t inations," Landscdpe Architectllre, Decem-
ber 2006). Even with these, [here are sure-
ly other possibili t ies. What land is going
begging in your community?
Peter Hamik is dirat()/" of the Cel/ter for City
Park Excel/meta! the Trfljt for Pllblic Land ill
New York. He is the dflfhor of The Excellent
City Park System: What Makes It Great
and How to Get There.
111is article is adapted from a forthcoming
book, The Complete City Park System: How
/Jlg It Sholdd /J e dlld How to Gel There,
scheduled for publication by Island Press
in Spring 2010.
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L
AST FAll, JOANNE ADAIR, agradu-
ate student at the University of
Guelph in Ontario, Canada, called 50
firms employing landscape architects
in [he Greater Toronto area to see
whol[ they were doing [Q "gret'll" their own
operations. "Only seven people would mlk
to me," remembers Adair. "The rest of them
said: '\Y./e're not green. l l lere's no use inter-
vlewmg us.
However, many firms throughout
North America are striving to make their
workplaces more sustainable, and some are
even using their office's "greenness" to mar-
ket themselves. Recently, Ld lldsCdjX Archi-
To draw aHention to the amount of paper con
sumed by a landscape architecture office, Ah'be
landcape Architeds deweloped an al1 installa
tion, above, using three months' worth of waste
paper. A film chronicling this installation won an
ASLA award. Calvin R. Abe, FAstA, right, founder
of Ah'be Landscape Architects, feeds shredded
paper to the worms in the office's worm bin.
42 l landsup, Archltectllre IUV 200$
"
What some landscape architects are doing
to make their offices more sustainable.
By Daniel Jost, AS LA
teetllre talked [Q nearly 20 firms- from big
multidisciplinary firms with many offices
[Q small landscape architecture firms with
only a few people. Collectively, they have
enaned a variety of strategies to decrease
the amount of resources they consume, re-
duce the amount of trash they generate,
and move toward cleaner and more efficient
energy consumption. \Y/e asked if any of
the changes they've made have saved them
money and what they would suggest as a
simple first step for other firms looking to
become more sustainable.
Reducing the Pile. of Paper
Paper waste provides the most visible re-
minderofan offices environmental impact.
IOU SPACES
In their ASLA award-winning doc-
umentary, So \Vhat? rhe staff of
Ah' be Landscape Architects of
Culver City, C"llifomia, created a
series of art installa t ions using
waste paper their office generated.
At the end of six weeks, they had
enough shredded paper (0 (reace a
lOO-root-[ong line, 12 feet wide
and 18 inches deep; after three
months, they were able rocreace a
fO!'estlike massing of shredded pa-
per columns.
"You see so much paper going
out (he dour, it makes you sit back
and gulp," says Diana Rae1 ofNar-
ris Design, a landscape architecture
and planning firm based in Den-
ver. Over che years, many land-
scape architects have pondered the
irony chat a profession rooted in
plaming destroys so many crees.
Addressing chis issue is often the
first seep chac firms rake in rheir quest ro be
more sustainable.
\'Vhi !e none of [he finns contacced for
chis srory have gocten anywhere close ro che
much-prophesied paperless office, many are
implementing scracegies to reduce cheir pa-
per use, One of the easiesc places ro scan: is
digitally archiving e-mails racher chan
printing them out, unless there is some
strong reason to do so. Most people under
a certain age will consider chis preccy obvi-
ous advice, but there are still people out
there who print all their e-mail out of
habit. To combat this sort of ingrained
thinking, some firms have adopted e-mai l
signatures that read: "Please consider the
environment before priming this e-mail."
The number of drawing sets printed for
30,60, and 90 percent reviews could also be
cut back, according to Connie Roy- Fisher,
ASLA, rounder of Roy-Fisher Associates in
Tequesta, Florida. Architects often send her
an entire drawing set on large format paper,
including plumbing fi xtures and truss de-
tails that her firm doesn't need to review.
"\'{Ie need to target those architects who do
all that printing, So'\ve them money, and let
them know that we would be happy to look
at a set electronically," she says. "' f l have
44 l landsup, Archltectllre IUV 200$
. ~

"It doesn't smell and
they don't make any
noise. [The worms 1
. ~ ,
are pretty qmet.
the drawings digi tally from subs or primes,
I only print what I need to mark up."'
Printing on smaller sheets of paper is an-
(){her option. At Norris Design, employees
are encouraged ro print review sets at half
size, a paper-saving st rategy that also saves
money. "You can still read and review [the
drawings} and do the quali ty assurance
needed," So'\ys Rael. "And it 's a much hand-
ier size. It can be folded and put in an ex-
pandable folder rather than a box."
There are also digi tal redlining options.
Amodesk Design Review is a program chat
allows you to mark up drawings created in
AutoCAD and ot her Aurodesk programs.
11le program is free on the company's web
site, so it can be used by cliems and local
governments that don't have their own CAD
software. 11le makers ofMicruStation have
a similar program called Bemley Redline,
J
Inside Ah'be's worm bin, the wonns
convert paper, food scraps, and other
biodegradable waste into a potent
" tea" Utat can be used to fertili2e gar
dens, left. A spout on Ute side of the
bin, belolr, is used to erlract Ute tea.
which subscribers can discribuce ro (he en-
tire design team at no excra cost. \'{fhile
Vecror\'{forks does not currently offer Stand-
alone redlining sofcware, ic has a redline tool
wichin che program icself chac allows you
{Dcreace and crack markups for intemal re-
views. For working with dients, they en-
courage exporting che drawing as a PDF,
which can be marked up in Adobe Acro-
bat, a fuirly ubiquitous program. "nla{ PDF
can {hen be imported back into Vector-
works so you can make the necessary
changes. Taking advancage of these exist-
ing programs and features could potential-
ly So'\ve a loe of paper and cut priming costs.
But redlining digitally has been slow to
takeoff. 'It's one thing to see it on a screen,"'
says Linda Daley, ASLA, a managing princi-
pal at Ah'be. "You catch more when you see
it printed in from of you." She So'\ys that her
office will often make comments on consul-
tants' drawin,gs digitally, but they prefer pa-
per drawings for internal reviews. \'hen
landscapearchitecrs r{'(Hine, they often need
to refer back and forth berween sheets to
make sure the entire drawing set works to-
gether. 11l is is often faster to do on paper
than it is on the compmer when you are
working with large files and limited screen
-
Tips for Reducing Paper Use
- Only print e-mails when you really need to,
space. Also,sketching out ideas is an
important part of the redlining
process, and many people are more
comfortable sketching with a pen,
penci l, or marker than a computer
mouse or tablet.
- Encourage consuHants and fellow collaooraton not to
cling paper and cardboard is actu-
ally easier than throwing it away.
''The big trash dumpster is a 200-
foot walk from the office, whereas
the rffyclers come on site to collect
it. "' Rieck says the service is fairly
cheap, approximately $11.50 per
month, and her firm now diverts
about 90 percent of its garbage to
recycling.
Recycling and Composting
Programs
send paper copies for ewery review,
- Redline drawing sets at half size,
- T..,. out the latest in digital redlining technology,
Tips for Reducing Waste and
Resource Consumption
- Use recycling programs where awailable.
- If your community or office part does not offer
recycling serYices, see if there are other cheap or
relatively ine.pensive options available to you.
- Consider replacing trash cans at people's desks with
paper recycling receptacles and centralizing trash
collection in a few areas.
- Recycle empty print cartridges.
- Take advantage of programs that will refurbish or
recycle old computers,
It is likely that paper will continue
[0 be a part of the design process in
one form or another; however, recy-
cling programs can lower the num-
ber of trees needed to procluce new
paper. To make these programs
work, people need ro both rC<.),c1e
and buy products made from rtX.)'-
cled materials. In some regions,
curbside rel),cling IS standard prac-
tice, but many local governments
and office parks do not provide the
service, leaving some landscape ar-
chitects to their own devices.
- Consider composting coffee grounds and food scraps.
111e Philadelphia office of Wal-
lace Roberts & Todd (WRT) actual-
ly quantified its office waste more
precisely. 111e office used a series of
trash and l"Cl)'clable weigh-ins rode-
termine its impact and encourage
rti)'d ing, says Ruth Stafford, Asso-
ciate ASLA. These efforts led roa 78
percent decrease in the amount of
waste sent to landfills.
- Buy recycled products whenever possible,
"Billings [Montana} does not have a re-
cycling program, so our office pays ro have
a private recycling company come every
twO weeks," says Jolene Rieck, ASLA, the
principal landscape architect for Peaks ro
Plains Design. At their small firm, recy-
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Sire 3(1". 3"1.- hIgI1. 45 galior1s
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Modifleoj Sife:30' >36"
Per!<nll!oj stainless 5l8eI or
alumlnOOl. Ca$lakJmrnom lOll
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SitJouetto Triangular Trat.h
IlGaor
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.24' trlangcla' aides. 0pII(Jn
IIecycItr oM!!1 a:ldillon3l 4"
ooening. CilSlorn sf!es iI'I";labIe.
Paper is nor rhe only material
that design firms are rti)'Cling; they
also recycle glass, plastic, and alu-
minum contall1ers. High-tech waste is
also being recycled. Many companies that
manufacture prim cart ridges include
SilhooeI1e Rec)'de Trash
Ske 30"". 3/l"high
Per1ora!ed stalnless:i1etl or
"n'Iin(Jm. C;Jst aiurnk100l
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1011 SPACES
pouches that allow you to send your old
caruidge back [Q them for recycling, and a
few companies buy them back (though the
returns are uSlJ..'Illy only cems on the dollar).
Charities such as Goodwill and the Salvk
cion Army will accept old computers as
long as they are in working condition, bur
you may wane to wipe the hard drive clean
before donating them. Dell and a number
of other companies have programs to refur-
bish old computers and resell chern, and if
they arc too old to be of use (0 anybody,
some partS can be recycled. Whenever you
purchase a new computer through Dell,
you can dick a box [0 indicate you want [0
participate in its free recycling prugrnm.
Some firms have actually made money
through their recycling effortS. Last fall,
LPA, a multidisciplinary firm in Southern
California, partnered with its reprograph-
ics company, Pro Repro, to recycle its pa-
per waste. Over a chree-monch period che
companies raised $ 1 ,800 by recycling pa-
per, which chey donaced to che Laguna
Beach Boys and Girls Club.
Bue most of the businesses we heard
from were nO( earning anything through
cheir programs. TI3G Parrners, a landscape
- ASLA's Office
Demonstrating green
technologies at your
own office can also
help to educate clients
about these options
and convince them
these technologies can
be used successfully.
architecture and planning firm with four
offices in Texas, had hoped its recycling
program might make enough money to
expand its library; however, the firm did
not produce enough recyc1ables to gener-
ace any revenue.
Firms that expect their recycling pro-
grams to make money (or even pay for
themselves) need to look closely at a num-
ber of variables. Will you be able to save
money on crash pickup? How much wasce
do you generace? How much will local re-
cycling companies reimburse you for dif-
ferenc cypes of recyclables? And how much
will ic COSt to cranSIXlrr chose recyclables
H
ERE AT THE American Society 01 landscape Architects ]UtA), our office has also attempted
to be more sustainable. Most notabq, our green roof has dropped our energy use." 10 per
cent in the winter and a liHIe in the summer, too. While we are not currently composting, and we
use our fa ir share 01 paper, we have implemented many of the changes and programs mentiOfled
in the article. Sitlple things like turning off our computers at night have been very effective.
"It's surprising how simple behavioral changes have a pretty good bang lor the buck," says Nan-
C}' Somenille, executiwe me president of ASIA. Through our efforts, we have become Energy
Star certified, meaning we consume 30 percent less energy than a typical office.
Additionally, we are doing something that none of the other companies mentioned. To fur-
ther decrease our commuting footprint and as a benefit to emplOYHs, the organization has
]H'ovided com]H'essed workweek and telecommuting options for some employees. Phones are
set to dial employees' home phone or cell ]thone when someone tries to call them at the office
when the, are telecommuting. Due to software licensing issues, telecommuting may be diffi-
cult to imp.iement in many landscape architecture offices. However, some offices may find
creative ways to !mike it possible.
Like some of the firms in the article, we've found that practicing what we preach has
helped us to be more ",ective in encouraging others to consider sustainable technologies.
"The green roof not only helped us reduce our loot]H'int, but it' s been highly effective at en-
couraging others to reduce their energy use," says Somerville. "If we did not have it there, we
could not be the effective advocate we are."
46 1 l,ndseap, Arehlt,ctllre I I I ~ V 200t
to a collecrion faciliry? Some of rhese
things are hard to quantify due to wild
Auctuarions in the cost of gas and the val-
ue of raw marerials.
In addition to recycling, a surprising
number of firms have implemented some
level of composring in rheir offices. Norris
Design, TBG Partners, and LPA composr
their offices' coffee grounds. Ar Norris De-
sign's Denver office, rhe coffee grounds are
stored in an ice bucket, and every few days
a firm member removes rhem to use in his
.garden. There is no problem with undesir-
able odors, says Rael, and fruirs and veg-
etables fertilized with the coffee grounds
often make their way back to the office.
The Portland, Oregon, office of David
Evans and Associates and the Philadelphia
office of WRT reporred more extensive
composring programs for food scraps. Ini-
tially, some employees at WRT objeaed to
composting due to concerns abom odors
and aesthetics. These problems were over-
come by using biodegradable liners.
Ah'be practices vermlcomposring-
feeding food scraps and other biodegrad-
able wasce to earthworms. The worms live
in a black box locaced in cheir conference
room. "rc's a nice conversation piece when
you have c1iencs coming in," says Daley.
"You show chern your work, cell them
about your worm bin ...... Some cliencs are
grossed our inicially, but most are more cu-
rious chan anyrhing else, and visitors will
ofcen ask to see inside che box. "rc doesn'c
smell and they don't make any noise," nores
Daley. "{llle worms} are pretry quiet."
Conserving Energy in the Office
\X1ith rhe wild variations in fuel prices and
worriesabour global wanning, many firms
are raking steps to lower rheir energy con-
sumption and reduce theirClrbon footprim.
A few companies have pursued rhe U.S.
Green Building Council's Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (liED)
certification for rheir own offices. Sranrec,
a mulridisciplinary firm with locarions
across North America, has three offices
that are LEED certified and rhree rhar are
LEED registered. Another firm, LPA, con-
Structed a new LEED-cerrified headquar-
ters in 2004. To cm down on the amounr
of eleerric lighring necessary, there is ex-
tensivedaylighting throughom the office.
TIl(' building has low-energy LED light-
ing, furnishings made with recycled mate-
rials, and low-flow faucets and fixtures.
In addition to LEED, the federal govern-
ment offers a program for recognizing
energy-efficient buildings with an Energy
Star. CTA Architectsand Engineers, a large
multidisciplinary firm, earned an Energy
Star for its new offices, located in a former
warehouse in Billings, Montana, accord-
ing to Eirik Heikes, ASLA, a landscape ar-
chitect there. The Energy Star label con-
siders more than JUSt the design intent;
building owners must submit 12 months'
worth of utility data to be eligible.
LEED and other certifications for your
building can be very expensive and may be
out of reach for small firms. However, even
if you cant afford the certification, you can
use the guidelines established by these pro-
grams [0 create greener, more energy-
efficient buildings. Thats what Joy Kue-
bler, ASLA, a landscape architect in \'{/("Stem
New York, did for her new office, a work-
ing environment for about four people ad-
jacent to her home. She designed a green
roof for the scruccure and is also experi-
menting with permeable pavers chere. Her
green roof was one of the first in che region
and provided an opportunity to ceach peo-
ple about the technology. Approximatel y
$4,000 worth of materials and labor for che
roof were donated by Lichtenfels Nursery,
a Pennsylvania company that was looking
to encourage che technology and market
itself in \'V'estem New York. In ret urn,
Kuebler arranged an open house through
the local chapcers of ASLA and the Ameri-
can Institute of Archi tects, which provid-
ed continuing education credits toapprox-
imately 65 architects and landscape
architects interested in learning moreabouc
green roof technology.
Demonstrating green technologies at
your own office can also help to educate
clients about these options and convince
chem these technologies can be used suc-
cessfully. 4Sice J ncorporated, a mul t idisci -
plinary firm in Huntsville, Alabama, uses
interpretive panels and tours of its 'green ,.
office to encourage clients to implement
"green" technologies in their projects.
For firms that arent planning to move
Into a swanky new office anytime soon,
chere is sci ll a variety of ways you can de-
crease Yollc energy use within yourexiscing
building. When your office is looking into
new compucer equipmenc, plotters, and
copy machines, purchasing products chac
have che Energy Scar label can help co re-
duce your energy consumpcion. The Ener-
gy Scar web sice estimaces chat if every
computer sold in the Uniced Scares met ics
requirements, that would prevent green-
house gas emissions equal to theemissions
from cwo million cars.
Reevaluating the lighting in your office
may be a more immediate way of providing
savings. Many offices provide much more
light ing than is actually necess.1.ry. An ener-
gy audi t at i\lSCW's Orlando, Florida, office
determined chat they could save $1 ,200 per
year by simply removing one fluorescent
bulb from each of their three-bulb light fix-
tures (a savings of about $7 per bulb re-
moved). ll1ere are also opportunities to save
energy by using sensors in shared work ar-
eas so chat the lights will shutoff when the
room is unoccupied and by replacing incan-
descent light bulbs with compact fluores-
cent lights (CFLs). Energy Star estimates
chac if every American household replaced
one standard light bulb with a CFl., char
would collectively save $600 million in en-
ergy COStS and prevent the eqUivalent of
more than 800,000 cars' greenhouse gas
emissions. 111ac's because CFLs lise 75 per-
am less energy than standard light bulbs,
- Tips for Energy
Conservation
In the Office
_ look to the LEED and Energy Star
programs when building or renouting
your office.
- Work with a local utility company or
chamber of commerce to perfonn an
energy audit.
- Buy computers, copiers, and plotters
that have the Energy Star label.
- Experiment with the lighting in your office
to detennine if it's all really necessary-
remove bulbs and see if you notice.
- Replace incandescent bulbs with efLs,
especially in utility areas.
- Set your computer to go to sleep when
you are not using it.
- When you go home at night, tum off
your computer's surge protector.
- Unplug battery and cell phone chargers
when they are not in use.
- Install a programmable thennostat.
- look into software to manage your
network's power consumlJlion alK! detennine
whether it makes sense for your company.
- Consider options for buying energy
from green sources.
MAY :001 Llndscape Artllihthre 147
IOU SPACES
saving approximately $30 in energy costs
owr each bulb's lifetime (which may be sev-
eral yean;).
Even befoTe you take up t he issue of en-
ergy conservation with the rest of your of-
fi ce, there are things you can do to reduce
the energy your own computer consumes.
Set your computer co go into sleep mode
when it is not in use and turn it off at the
surge protector when you leave for the day.
\Vhy make rhe effort? Because even when
your computer is shut down, it cont inues
to draw phantom power-energy use that
doesn'r actually provide any benefits. Bat-
tery and cell phone chargers also waste en-
ergy this way.
There are programs that can manage
power consumption throughout your
computer network. LPA uses Verdiem's
Surveyor software, which automatically
shuts down its compmers at night(unless
rhey are in use) and cenrralizes power set-
tings so that all computers are put {O sleep
when they are inactive. The software was
expensive---it COSt $6,750 {O pUt iton 210
computers-but LPA expects {Osave near-
ly $12,000 per year in reduced energy bills
by using the proclucr. What the company
will actually save depends to some extenr
- Tips for Reducing the
Environmental Impact
Caused by Transportation
Encourao'in
a
cyclin
o
.
tJ tJ tJ
also encourages
employee health
through physical
activity.
on what individuals would have done
without the program. Such a program
may not save much addi t ional energy (or
moncy) if employees are already perform-
ing the same functions manually.
Cuning down on the lise of heating and
air-mnditioning is another option. Many
utilities suggest that to save energy you
keep your thermostat ser to 68 degrees
Fahrmheirduring the wimerand 78 degrees
during the summer when air-conditioning
is on, though there is often disagreemenr
among staff members as to whether these
temperarures are actually comfonable. [n-
stalling a programmable thermostat is a
step everyone can agree on. A programma-
ble thermostat can be set to automatically
turn down your heat and air-conditioning
at night when the building is nor in use.
Reducing energy will only gec you so fur;
ultimately we will need to find clean, C05t-
effective sources of energy to power our
homes and businesses. Norris Design
looked into installing solar panels
on its office but has put this off for
the rime being. ''You get paid back
over time, but the initial ouday-
- Consider what commuting options make sense
in your region-is biking or taking mass transit
feasible?
- Consider providing amenities for employees
who bike to work such as bike racks and showers.
- Does your finn pay for employee parking in a
nearby garage? Offer incentives to employus
that encourage other forms of transportation to
cut down on these expenses.
- Consider using car-sharing programs for work
trips if they are available in your area.
- Offer the best parking spaces to people who
carpool.
- Coordinate with others in your office to lower
the number of courier se"ice trips.
- Experiment with teleconferencing to cut down
on the number of necessary trips.
4s l landsup, Archltectllre IUV 200$
$20,000 or something- wasn' t going to
work, mainly because cash is scarce right
now," says Rae!. "It would be a great idea if
things picked back up and the market was
humming along."'
There are other ways to buy renewable
energy, though they tend to increase your
electric bill. In some places, it is possible
to request that your Ix>wer company pro-
vide a certain percentage of your electrici-
ty using renewable sources such as wind
and solar. If your local power company does
not provide this option, ir is also possible to
purchase carbon offsets. Since 2005, David
Evans and Associates has committed to
green energy use through the purchase of
carbon offsets sold by the Bonneville EnVI-
ronmental Foundation, and this year they
will offset! 00 percent of their energy use.
They pay the difference in COSt berween
their current supplier and renewable ener-
gy sources, and that money IS used to sub-
sidize the construction of renewable power
plants. Since the foundation is a nonprofit
environmental organization, the COSt of rhe
carbon offsers is taX deductible.
Encouraging Alternatives to the
Automobile
Many firms are looking for ways they can
encourage cleaner methocls of transporta-
{ion. To make bicycling to work more con-
venient, a number of offices have installed
showers and changing rooms. Some have
provided secure bike parking, and at Stan-
tec's Edmonton, Alberta, headquarters,
there is even a small bike repair center. Bi-
cycling is not only beneficial to the envi-
ronment, it's beneficial in other ways, notes
Laura Franceschini, the internal sustain-
ability coordinator for all of Stamec's of-
fices, "Encouraging cycling also encour-
ages employee health through physical
activity, which increases worker productiv-
ity and reduces absenteeism," she says, It
could potentially n'duce the need for park-
ing, too, although it usually doesn't unless
there is easy access to mass transit, because
most employees will want the option to
drive when weather is bad,
Some offices pay part or all of the cost of
riding a bus or subway. Others make di-
reet payments to employees who don't
drive alone to work. While the program
has now been Clit back a little due to the re-
cession, David Evans and Associates was
offering the employees at its Portland office
S 1.50 per trip for carpool and transit trips
and S3,OO for trips made by bicycle or by
walking, Employees could be paid for a
maximum of tWO trips per day, six days per
week. The firm reports that 34 percem of
its employees in Portland use alternative
transportation three or more days per
week. For firms in dense urban areas that
do not own their own parking, providing
these bonuses can be cheaper than paying
for parking in a nearby parking garage, a
benefit many firms provide,
Some landscape architects say hiking
and riding mass transit would not work for
them, since they are often working in the
field and visiting clients, "I would really
like ro ride my bike to work every day,"
says Roy-Fisher, "bur r have to go to so
many job sites that it isn't practicaL"
PMA Landscape Architects in Toronto
solved this problem by enrolling irs employ-
ees in a car-sharing program, Car-sharing
programs share the cost of owning a car be-
tween multiple motorists , allowing indi-
viduals or companies to rent a car for shon
periods, often by the hour, Members of car-
sharing programs such as AutoShare in
Toronto and Zip::ar, which has programs in
many large cities, can reserve a variety of
vehicles on their web sites, \'{then their
reservation is over, they return the car to its
designated parking space. "The car-share
program is a success," says Jim Melvin,
ASLA, a principal at PMA, "It is perceived as
a financial benefit by some, as it releases
them from the expense of car ownership
but offers them the flexibilityofacarwhen
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required by work or home errands."
tee's Toronto office and David Evans and
Associates also use auto sharing, and some
firms such as i\lSCW provide company cars
for work-related trips.
The sorts of approaches a firm can take
vary by region, as many places don't have
the infrastructure in place for mass tran-
sit, biking, arauta sharing. "In Los Ange-
les, we tried to encourage our staff to try
nor co drive to work once a month on a Fri-
day," says Daley of Ah'be. "It worked a lit-
de whde but it SOrt of stopped. I tried co
take the bus and it wok me an hour and a
half father than an hour to get to work. It's
nor like New York or Boston." 5tantec
varies its policies frum region to region. In
some places it makes sense to subsidize
employees who walk or rake mass nansit,
but in sprawling Phoenix, Arizona, they
encourage carpooling by offering prime
shaded parking spotS ro carpoolers.
Be transparent and
develop support within
the company rather
than forcing something
down people's throats.
Even if you continue to use a car for the
majority of your travel, thef(' are simple
ways co lower your fossi I fuel consumption
such as your tires properly inflat-
ed. TOG Partners' Houston office held a
happy hour where employees could check
thei r tire pressure.
MSCW has CUt back on the number of
times each day its courier senllce needs co
travel to the office. "Previously we would
comact (he couriers as needed, which
could be five, six, seven times a day," says
Andrew Braley, ASLA, a project landscape
architect there. Today, the office has decid-
ed on set times to the number
of trips down as much as possible.
And a few firms were teleconferencing
more to cut down on the numberofcarand
plane trips they needed to take. "At our
busiest, [teleconferencing] saves us 36
{flights} per year," says Rich Bienvenu,
ASLA, a landscape architect at LPA. 11ley use
a video teleconferencing service that allows
both offices to connect to one computer at
the same time while interacting via voice
or video. However, there are disadvantages
due to problems with connections and some
of the technologies. "Occasionally, we have
to abandon teleconferencoo meetings and
merely sit around a speakerphone or use
the speakerphone as the audio for a less
than satisfactory audio connection," says
Bienvenu.
Bienvenu says teleconferencing won't
replace every trip. "'Face to face at the ini-
tial stages makes fmure teleconferencing
more meaningful and fruitful," he says.
Travel is sometimes important to get an
understanding of a site and to do construc-
tion moniroring. It is possible to buy car-
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bon offsets to balance the emissions you
produce via travel. However, while some
firms were considering buying carbon off-
sets for their travel before the economy
tanked, most of these initiatives have been
tabled for the time being, since they cost
money without providing any phys ical
benefi ts to employees at a time when many
employees are alr<."ady sacrificing.
Implementing Sustainability
Initiatives
To implement sustainable initiatives with-
in their offices, firms have taken a variety
of approaches. A few large firms have de-
veloped formal written plans. A team at
WRT developed a green operations plan
last fal I that setS goals for making the com-
pany more sustainable. David Evans and
Associates completed a companywide
analys is of its carbon footprint in 2008,
and it has a plan to reduce its carbon diox-
ide emissions 10 percent in the coming
year. The firm has had a director of sllstain-
ability since 2003- a position that now
reports directly to the CEO. Originally the
-
Tips for Implementing
Sustainability Initiatives
- Lead by example.
- Don't force ideas down people's throats.
- Set up groups to talk aoout what your firm
can do.
- Look at what changes make the most sense
for your region and your individual situation.
- Quantify the benefits of a change and show
them in a way that is easily understandable.
"green" technologies. '"\X'e use sus-
tainability to market ourselves as a
firm who walks our own talk," says
Franceschini. '"Since we help our
clients to develop sustainable design
solutions, it's only namral that we
demonstrate sustainabili ty ourselves,
both to maintain consistency of our
message and to highlight our capa-
bilities. Clients who care about sus-
- Share information within a large firm through
tainability also want to work with a
service provider who is sustainable,
so internal sustainability efforts are a sustainability coordinator.
position was part time, but now it isa fuU-
t ime position that looks at how the firm
can both operate and design more sustain-
ably, researching innovative practices to
keep the firm up to date.
Stantec's sllstainability initiative Started
organICally in its Vancouver office more
than to years ago and has been slowly
spreading throughout the company. Re-
cently, the firm put out a marketing book
that showcases the firm's internal sustain-
ability initiatives alongside designs that use
essential for us:'
Most small and midsized firmscominue
to have a more grassroots approach. A few
people meet either voluntarily or on com-
pany time to come up with ideas and then
present them to management for approval.
"Instead of having {an] in-house sustain-
abi lity director or expert , we encourage
everyone to become that expert ," says
Rochelle Veturis, the public relations di-
rector for LPA. "With more than 65 per-
cent of our employees as LEED-Accredited
Professionals (WED AP), everyone from our
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office manager (who is LEED AP) to our CFO
(who is also LEED AP) supports the effort."
Many of the composting programs resui-
ed from an employee offering to take home
the coffee grounds and use them in the gar-
den, and there were usually already a few
employees biking to work before the com-
panies decided to provide shower facilities.
One imrxmam thing to do when im-
plementing any changes is to be transpar-
em and develop support within rhe com-
pany rather than forcing something down
people's throats. "When the Portland of-
fice {of David Evans and Associates] began
its composring program, members of rhe
sllsrainabiliry comminee gathered one
evening (0 collen rhe employees' garbage
cans (0 encourage people (0 rhink before
throwing anything away, The following
day, rhe comminee sem employees an e-
mail explaining why rhey had removed rhe
cans and where w pick up the cans if em-
ployees felr rhey really needed one. This ef-
forr was met with mixed results, says Tami
Boardman. "Many people didn't mind giv-
ing up their garbage cans but would have
preferred to know in advance,"
Being able to quantify the benefits of a
change and show them in a way that is eas-
ily understandable is also helpful, particular-
ly in these economic times, \'qhen MSCW's
sustainability committee decided to advo-
cate for replacing plastic cups in their cafe-
teria, they calculated the savings w be $140
per month. They also created a fun graphic
showing the height of all the cups stacked
on top of each other that their company was
using in a single year, which compared it to
the Empire State Building, the Sears Tow-
er, and other skyscrapers.
There are many places to look for more
advice on how to make your office sustain-
able. The Energy Star web site, slxmsored
by the U.S. Environment al Protection
Agency and the Department of Energy,
provides a variety of information about re-
ducing your office's energy use, though it
is a bit dense. Small businesses can sign up
for e-mails from the web site on sustain-
ability issues. Adair recommends looking
over the USGIlc's guidelines for existing
buildings operations and maintenance and
a free downloadabl e book on the subject
by Canadian environmentali st David
Suzuki called Doillg Bwillm ill a New Cli-
mate. TIle World Wildlife Fund also offers
information about how to be ",greener"
through a program called Climate Savers
(set' Resources).
What's the easiest place to start? Many
firms say converting some trash cans to re-
cyclin,g, buyin,g recycled paper, or replacin,g
incandescent light bulbs with CFt.'>. "When
you don't know where to Start, Start any-
where;' says Stamec's Klaas Rodenburg.
"Implement one simple act that will reduce
yourenvironmemal fOOtprint. ThIs will lead
to another and another. All these little acts
will add upover time,and beforeyo\.l know
it, it Ix-comes business as usual.
Resource.
Continue the discussion with Joanne
Adair in a forum on LandSLounge tided
"Our Office Footprint-Continuing Dis-
cussion from Landscape An:hiterlflre Maga-
zi ne," Jlllvw.lalidSIOIlIlge.comlj(fffl//I
The U.S. Green Building Council web
site: wwul.IIsgbc.org
The Energy Star web site: www.energy
star. g()/l
The Climate Savers Program at the
World Wildlife Fund: IWlW.wor/dwild/ije.
orgldi1!klteiard i//latesatlers. hlml
Doillg BlIJillcss III a New C/i"klfe: A Gllide
to AfeaSllrillg, Redllcing, alld Offsetting Greell-
home Gas EmlssiollJ, by David Suzuki; The
David Suzuki Foundation. Book available
for free online: www.ddliidslIzlIki. orgl
Publicatio11JIDoing_BlIJillcss_in_(l_New_
Clinldte.aspx
"Do-It-Yourself at Sasaki Associates," by
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News, \'01. IS, no. I ,January 2009
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DESIGNING DISNEY
For the landscape
architects at \Valt Disney
,
IrnagilJ eering, the magic
is UI the details.
By Daniel Jost, ASLA
E
VEH WONDERED WHAT it would be
like (0 design a theme park? A few
landscape archircns don 'r have [0 won-
der. Today, Walt Disney Imagineering
employs 12 landscape archirects-24
if you incl ude consul rams from Ofher firms
whoareembeddedwithin thearnpmy. Walt
Disney Imagi neering was founded more
than 50 years ago to design Disneyland.
Since then, it has gone on (0 design theme
parks and resortS around [he world. Land-
scape architects have played an imporram
role in these projecrs since (he beginning.
\Vhat makes working as an Imagineer
different than your typical landscape ar-
chitecture job? "\\7e do planting, irriga-
tion, detailing ... all rhe things most firms
do," explainsJeff Morosky, ASLA, director
of landscape architecture at Imagineering.
"It JUSt gets integrated with many more
layers and disciplines."
Imagineering employs professionals
from approximately 140 different fields.
11le landscape architects here work side by
side with writers, sculpmrs, show plan-
ners, and even special effects experts. But
that's only one of the many things that
make working for Imagineering unique.
Telllna: Storie. in the Landaeape
"As an entertainment company, our pri-
mary goal is to entertain," explains Mo-
ros!...')'. One way they enhance theexperience
is by layering stories into (he landscape.
The stories they tell are not fine litera-
ture, but they add a richness nOf found in
most landscapes. For example, as you walk
along one path at Disney's Animal King-
dom in Florida, you might notice two sets
of animal tracks imprinted into the mud-
themed concrete paving. One belongs to a
small rabbit and the other belongs to a big
cat. Eventually, the tracks dis.'\ppear at the
base of a tree, and, if you look closely, you
can see that the carnivore has
Many of the stories are made-up histo-
ries revealed in the landscape to provide
another level of interest for visitors. The
design of an African vi ll age at Animal
Kingdom integrates fake 'remnants'
captured the rabbit and is
storing her meal in an-
other nearby tree.
Children often no-
tice the stories first and
point them out to their
parents. 111ey may not al-
ways catch the attention offirst-
time visitors, but thar's parr of the
appeal. 'W/e want people tocome
over and over to OUf parks and to
see something new each time
they come," says John T. Shields,
ASLA, who was [he lead landscape
architect fOf Animal Kingdom.
The mountain at ,e center Everest. opposite,
an aHradion at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Watt Disney
World, is one of the "weenies" that guides people through
that theme park. Visitors enter the aHraction through
an area designed in the plan, llbove, to look like the
base camp at Mount Ererest. A courtyard within has
weeds growing up through the pavement and a large
tree selected for its unusual character, below,
... . J" ""---
,.-.- -
MAY :001 Llndscape Artllihthre I SS
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of ancient cicy walls inro some of its pave-
ments. At Tokyo DisneySea, (he seawalls
used in one area appear as though rhey ha\'e
been built at different times, with materi-
als changing as technologies changed over
[he years. "Ir has a variety of [reaements so
it never becomes boring," says John Soren-
son, ASLA, rhe lead landscape archiceu for
[hac cherne park.
Sometimes, t he "histories" found in Dis-
ney's landscapes are nor the SOrt of ching we
would delight in or preserve in a typical
project. Walking through Disney's Califor-
nia Adventure, J couldn't help
bm chuckle to see a modern,
American environment with a
"brick" road that has been inter-
rupced with a line of concrete
where a sewer was installed and
"asphalt patches" that have been
placed somewhat artistically near
many of the drains. The entire
pavement is actually made out of
concrete.
Another unusual history can
be found at Expedi tion Everest,
where t he man-made environ-
ment looks as ifit is reverting to
nature as weeds grow up through
t he paving. "\'\Ie plamed it to
look like a bad hair transplant,"
remembers landscape architect
S6 l landsup. Architecture IUV 200$
-
Walt Disneylmagineering's staff, above, in
cludes 12landS(:ape architects. From left to
right: John Sorenson, AStA iseatedl; Jeff Mo-
rosky, AStA iseatedl; Russeillamn, ASlA; Steve
Wagner, ASLA; Cal Walsten, ASlA iseatedl; Phil
Schenkel, ASLA; Jeff Compass, Affiliate AStA;
Robert Kuroda, AStA; David Dahlke, ASLA; Jen
nifer Mok, ASLA lseatedl; and John Shields, AStA
lseatedl. Not pictured: Becky Bishop. The foun-
tain in front of Serooge McDuck's Department
Store in the American Waterfront area of Tokyo
DiSIlllJ$ea, betow, was designed to look like the
piles of mOIlll)" Scrooge is known for hoarding.
Becky Bishop fondly. Not the SOrt of line
that most landscape architects could use
with a diem to describe their work, but
here it is the ultimate placemaking strate-
gy, used ro create a strong e/Tect that cap-
rures people's attention in a positive way.
Each of the small vignerres visitors see is
grounded in a much larger Story. Before
t he Imagineers begin designing a new
theme park ora major addition roan exist-
ing park, they set certain parameters. "De-
termining the time and place is really im-
portant," says Morosky. "Is it the future or
is it the past?" Is it a real place or
an imaginary place? Everything
must tie back to this Story, from
the plants to the garbage cans.
They must also determine
whet her any Disney characters
will be integrated into the story
and how that will work. "\'\fe"re
a very character-driven compa-
ny," explains Morosky. '" How do
you create a setting where char-
acters can reside and people can
engage t hem?"
Design Proc:ess
Much of the oockstory is estab-
lished during t he "Blue Sky"
phase. Blue Sky is the creative
think mnk where many of Dis-
ney's ideas start. Only a few landscape archi-
tects get to panicipate at the earliest stages
ofa project. Asa memberof the creative di-
vision for the past 10 years, Bishop is one of
them. "111at blank sheet of paper is so fab-
ulous!" Bishop says. But even at the Blue
Sky level, the reali ties of a project quickl y
begin to sur'Ice. Bishop must determine
how much land it will take to tell a story,
and somet imes she even begins to think
about amenities such as stroller parking, an
important consideration for the young fam-
ilies who visi t thei r theme parks.
The other landscape architects usually
enter a project during the conceptual or
schematic phase. While thesrory is already
formed by this point, it's not necessarilyset
in stone. "W/e don't have a hard program
thar goes into a contract ," says Jennifer
Mok, ASLA, a landscape architect principal.
"W/e have constant conversations."
During the conceptual phase, landscape
architects brainstorm how a swry might
be told in the landscape. "We're nor afraid
to iterate here," says Russell Larsen, ASLA,
another principal. "There's a pressure in
traditional firms wget from A w B quick-
ly. Here there is a sense you need w get
from A w B correctly."
\'{fhen they are laying OUt a landscape, a
lotof attention is paid to viewsheds, hiding
undesimbleviewsand creating "weenies," a
tenn \'{falt Disneycoined to describe the ma-
jor landmarks wi thin Disneyland that dmw
you through the landscape. Mountains, vol-
canoes, palaces, and rocket jets are all de-
signed to dmw you deeper into the park.
Oncea landscape architect begins work-
ing on a project, he or she will often con-
tinueon the same project for years. On av-
emge, it takes five to seven years to design
and build a theme park and three to five
years to design and bui ld a single attrac-
tion. "I think that focus is really energiz-
ing," says Sorenson.
The spaces within Imagineering's head-
quarters in Glendale, C'Ilifornia, are de-
signed to be very flexible, and the land-
scape archi tects usually sit in a work space
wi th team members working on the same
project rather than with thei r fellow land-
scapearchitects. Having al l the disciplines
mixed together makes real collaboration
possible. "Most of our work is done wi th
colleagues who are a hallway away," says
Larsen. "You can easily run an idea by
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ut.ri trek ltonl I dirt road in;Soutll Africa, hHe, -
inspired the dHiin for II road ..
Kingdom, abore right. Real tires
tire track. iJ!.the cOIICrete, ri6ht ..
someone and see if ie's worth chasing or
setting aside."
The large number of d1sciplines in-
volved in a project can besrimulacing, bur
it can also make a project challenging co
manage. 'The amount of time we actual-
ly design is relatively minimal compared
co the time we end up coordinating with
all these extensive disciplines," explains
Steve \'Qagner, ASLA, a principaL It also
means chac no single person can really be
called our as the designer of a theme park
or attraction. "(OUT work] is really nor
anybody's to own," says principal Jeff
Compass, Affiliate ASLA.
During 11 trip to Serengeti National Pari!. in Tan
zania, the Imagineers stopped to photograph II
bridge, above, and to sketch, right. The trip in
spired this bridge at Animal Kingdom, far right.
58 1 LandsCipe Architecture IUY lOot
Bur rhe level of communication
facilitates discussions between
landscape arch itects and engineers
that migln nor always be possible
in a regular firm, providing the landscape
architects agrear deal of sarisfuction in their
work. ''You don't wane cobewalking down
a main streer and see rhis electric panel JUSt
because ir had co be rhere;' says Cal Wal-
sten, ASLA, a senior principal. "Part of our
job is to make sure rhe guest never sees rhe
magic, " explains Morosky.
Both com purer and physical models are
used to study what people will experience
as they progress around an attraction and to
see how affractions will fit to-
gether. Precise styrofoam mod-
els can be developed with the
assistance of model-making
professionals on the staff, allow-
ing the landscape architects to
experiment with lipstick cam-
eras that give a feeling of what it
would be like to inhabit a site,
Compass recently used this merhod to de-
rermine how high a line of trees will need
to be limbed to preserve a desired view-
shecl. Modeling also allows for hands-on
adjusting of landforms. One of the ma-
chines in rhe model-making mom can rake
a digiral com purer file and laser CUt foam
blocks into different shapes. A designer can
then go in and tweak the blocks; any
changes made can be three-dimensionally
scanned to update the drawings.
Once everything has been de-
si gned and the green light has been g iv-
en for cons{1uccion, landscape architects
working for Imagineering follow their
projects into che field. This may JUSt
mean a longer commute to nearby Ana-
heim, California, or it could require trav-
eling to resorts in Florida, France,Japan,
and China for months on end. "Most
landscape architects dont get that much
field time, which is unfortunate because
thats where the project real-
ly happens," says Morosky.
'\'(Ie have the luxury of being
there to orchestrate. By
monitoring their projects,
they can make sure that what
From their experiences in South
Africa, left, the Imagineers were
inspired to create a river cross
ing in Animal Kingdom where you
have to drive through the water,
below left. DriYing through, you
experience the same splash
of water, but there is no risk
of being stuck in the mud.
is constructed is true to their
vision. \'\forking with con-
tractors also helps them to
understand what information
is helpful and necessary in their
construction documents the next
time around.
Being a part of the company
that owns their work allows for
a level of feedback that land-
scape an:hitects can'r get with a
normal project. ''You have the
ability to find our what the
lessons are-what happens
to the park once it's builr and
used, what worked and what didnt , and
how guestS perceive things," says Mom;ky.
Once a project is built , it is continuously
evaluated by Show Quality Scandards, a
division of Imagineering. '[Representa-
tives from} a number of di sciplines go our
into the parks and make suggestions as to
how che place needs to be alt ered, im-
prove.::l, or maintained as is," says MorO'iky.
They can also get feedback on how ma-
terials are performing. For example, the
interface between powder-coated steel
barrier rails and concrete was getting a lot
An earthen Innk in South Africa , a b o ~ e .
inspired the concrete " earthen banks" at
Animal Kingdom, left, that are used to
contain the animals.
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60 I LlndSClipe Architecture IUY lOot
of rust , so they decided to invest in s [ a i n ~
less steel on some new project s.
\'\forking for the owner can cut both
ways. You live with your mistakes along
wi th your successes. "You can't forget
about them, " says Larsen. "They don't go
away." A number of different landscape
archi tects ci ted the problems with the en-
try a t Disney's California Adven ture. The
corridor was designed so it could be used
as a parade rome withom the pedest rian
traffic problems found next door at Main
Street, U.s.A. in Disneyland. "We were so
concerned about guest flow, the feel of t hat
walkway is not as imimate as we'd like,"
saysShiekls. Another problem, accorJing
[Q some of the Imagineers, was that the
S[Qrts on ei t her side were generic- they
didn't have a st rong connection to Dis-
ney's characters or another time and place.
Plans are currently under way [Q renovate
this area to make it resemble the ci ty of
Los Angeles in the roaring 1920s when
Wal t Disney fi rst saw it.
" Oisne), Is in the Details"
Because the landscape architects are try-
ing to create an experience t hat is "mag-
ical," distinct from the landscapes of dai -
ly life, the majority of t he demiling in
Disney's theme parks is custom. '"Disney
is in the details,"' says Bishop, pamphrasing
Mi es van der Rohe.
"We cannot just take {products] out of a
catalog,"' explains Sorenson. "\'\Ie are con-
stantly inventing for each project." The
Imagineers experiment with lighting, pave-
ment, and barrier mils. Even 60 percent of
the drinking fountains are custom designs.
For designs that are trying to evoke an-
other place, Imag ineers often go on fact-
finding trips co come up with inspimtion.
Only a small number of people actually
travel for each project; usually it's just the
core team: an architect, a landscape archi-
tect, a writer, and (\l,'oaftists along with the
project manager for the project. Their
charge is to ptovide documentation that can
be used by the rest of the ttam during the
design process. Why nor JUSt look at pic-
tures in books? Because you can only get so
much understanding from a typical book,
says Shields. Most photographers focus on
the iconic views-allees of trees, large rock
formations, and landmark buildings.
\When Sorenson was working on the de-
sign of the Mediterranean Harbor for
Tokyo DisneySea, his team traveled to a
number ofTtalian JXlftS including Venice,
Tuscany, and Portofino. He took photos of
doorknobs, railings, and paving patterns.
"\We took many pictures of water edges
and how t hey were built,"' he remembers.
"\'\11' also noticed how people had attachecl
metalwork to the walls to tie up boats."
Many of these details were integrated into
the theme park.
Shields's team went on a three-week trip
to Africa when they were designing Ani-
mal Kingdom. In many ways, the safari ex-
perience at that theme park is a summary
of their SOO-mi!e trip. They took note of
distinctive benches they found in Kenya,
drew the bridges they passed over, and
photogmphed the banks of the river and
the unpaved roads they drove along.
'"\'\Ie're not always trying to copy,"' explains
Shields. "We're trying to use them as inspi-
mtion for something new."
Often they will try to achieve a similar
effect using different materials such as con-
crete. The Imagineers say concrete is gener-
ally preferable to many other materials be-
cause it has a much longer life span and
maintains its character under intensive
cleaning regimes. "A lot of people will ~
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FilII FOCUS
these things and say it's oc-en Dis-
neyfied," laments Shields. 'T hey're
nO{ seeing the anistic quality it took
to make something out of com-
pletely different materials."
Consider the design for many of
the paths at Animal Kingdom- a
concrete path made [0 look like the
muddy, gravelly paths the team
traveled in Africa. Using actual
din was ruled om because of the
number of people that would be
walking or driving over it. Bur
plain g ray concrete would have
been boring and out of place. So
they srained the surface, added ag-
gregate, and created tire tracks and
undulat10ns in the concrete ro
make it look and feel more like a
rutty din road.
No one had ever requested con-
crece chac looked like din before,
so they had to work with the man-
ufacturer to develop ehe product.
They did a great deal of sampling
to make sure it would achieve rhe desired
effect, and they used rhe actual t ires from
rhe buses found in t he theme park co cre-
ate rhe rire rracks.
Shields may be [he only landscape ar-
chitect co ever design a pothole. A number
62 l landsup, Archltectllre IUV 200$
of alternate designs were actually tesred in
rhe Tmagineering parking lor. He varied
rhe slope leading inco rhe IXlrhol e and the
length of the flat area, trying co maximize
rhe effeer while keeping ir safe for veh ides.
"\'Ve had rhe head of rhe company driving
over them," remembers Shields.
"When he spilled his cup of coffee,
we knew we had created an effect
people would notice."
On the same project, Shields
needed a curb to guide water, but a
traditional concrete curb would
have looked out of place in this nat-
uralistic setting. So he came up
with t he idea of mud tire t racks
made out of concrete.
Similarly discreet barrier rails
keep people out of certain areas.
"They may be created using bits of
a wall, a fallen tree, an old aban-
donedJeep--ali of these things can
create the barriers that need to be
there," says b.rsen. "Some of our
hardest work goes unnoticed."
Emphasis on Planting
"We're really focusing on planting
more than any practice I've been
with," says Walsten. 111isemphasis
on creating unique horticultural
experiences can be traced back (0
Bill Evans, the pioneering land-
scape architect who worked on rhe
original designs for Disneyland.
Evans often experimented with unusual
species and new varieties of plants. Toclay,
Tmagineering continues (0 push the enve-
lope horti culturall y. On a rypical projeer,
10 percent of the plants are oUtside [he
range of whar {hey know will work.
Beck,. Bishop watches as a tree
gets craned into place at Expedi-
tion Ewerest in Disney's Animal
Kingdom, top. John Shields acted
as the art director for the concrete
baobab trees in Animal Kingdom,
left. The,. made seale foam models
of the trees, above.
"You have ro be bold when creating a
planting environment wi th a story behind
it," says Sorenson. "You can do that using
geometry and careful selection of your
plant palene."
Disney's theme parks are divided into
lands (e.g., Frontierland, Tomorrowland)
with a distinctive plam palenI' for each.
At Tokyo DisneySea, the palene for one
land has five or six species of trees, anoth-
er has only two trees, and another is ex-
tremely diverse wich a huge number of
species Jam med together.
Transposing the experience of one envi-
ronment inro another using plants is often
one of the biggest challenges facing the
landscape archicects ac Imagineering.
The majority of the detailing, abore, at Tokyo
DisneySea is custom. At the Italian-style
garden in the pool area of Tokyo DisneySea's
Hotel MiraCosta, below, Kaizuka juniper is
pruned to look like Italian cypress.
"How do you create a Jungle in Paris?" asks
Walsten. Or an Italian village in Japan? "If
you think of five or six plants that are typ-
Ical to Italy, we could maybe grow three of
those," explains Sorenson. So they had to
find other plants chac would have che same
chamcter. \'Qhen no orheroptions are avail-
able, they may even manipulate the shapes
of other species co get dle desired look. In
one cast where there was no simple [(-place-
ment, chey accually constructed African
baobab trees using concrete and rebar.
Shields acted as the art director for those
trees. 'Td say move that branch over there,"
he remembers. "An elephant needs to be
able to get its trunk in there."
Bishop faced a different challenge when
she designed the Storybook Land attrac-
tion for Disneyland Paris. The ride takes
visitors on a boat ride through a series of
mmiature scenes r ipped from Disney
movies. Bishop experimented with moss-
es and thyme for ground covers, and H ibis-
efIJ pfio/aris was used for a flowering trtt at
Snow \'7hite's cottage.
On average, lOco 20 percent of chI'
plants fur an attraction or theme park afe
actively scouced DUe. Sometimes chey will
Water Odyssey'M
Fountain People, Inc .. manufacturer of Water
Odyssey' " aquatic playground equipment, is
tile world's leading designer and manufacturer
of specialty equipment and systems for
architectural and interactive water features.
Fountain People design personnel work wit.h
Arctlitects, Landscape Architects, Aquatic
(ollsultants, and end users around the
world to develop new innovative wet play
environments and equipm1!nt.
CIFlCLE 23. ON READER SERVK:E CAFlD OR GO TO HTTPllINfO.HOTIM8.C0Mf.23400Z).
64 l landsup, Arehltedure IUV Jon
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contract with nurseries to grow unusual va-
rieties or to t rain them in a way that is not
common. Large t rees that can give an in-
smm effect are also sought out. To bring the
character of Torrey pines along the South-
ern California coastline to an area of Dis-
neyland Paris, Bishop found an abandoned
grove of nearly 50-foor-call amucarias, pur-
chased t hem from the landowner, and had
them transplantl"Cl into the t heme park.
The large trees transplanted into Dis-
ney's theme parks are not always the most
graceful. '"I' m always looking for the ugly,
the unique, the uncharacteristic," explains
Bishop. "We found these mulberries that
looked as though they were ill . One trtt had
an angle iron in it." She says it took some ex-
plaining to convince the t["("t movers that
the angle iron was pare of the tree's charm.
111e trtt was integrated in to the Expedition
Everest attraction in Animal Kingdom.
Career Path to Disney
So how does a landscape architect end up
working at Disney? It 's usually a fairly
crooked path. Sorenson never set out to de-
sign amusement parks. He studied under
Peter \'(lalker, FASLA, at Harvard. His first
job was with Dan Kiley's firm, and later he
worked for POD/Sasaki. "My education,
the people I idolize, are all very formal,"
says Sorenson. But aboUt 20 years ago,
POD/Sasaki was hired to do the master
planning for Euro Disney (now known as
Disneyland Paris) in partnership with
planning firm PBR. They also designed the
areas around hotels, roadways, and other
public spaces. "' I got to know people as de-
sign progressed," says Sorenson. "At the
end of two years 1 was offered a full- time
posItion.
Starting OUt as a temporary consultant
and then being asked to come on board is a
pretty typical story among the landscape
archi tects working for Imagineering. Many,
like Robert Kuroda, ASLA, were actually
working full time inside the Imagineering
headquarters before Disney hired them.
"With al l t he disciplines we have, it's hIgh-
ly collaborative and thinh'S change fas t: ' ex-
plains Morosky. Temporary COntt"al:t workers
from other companies are often embedded
within the building SO they are close to the
()( her sraff working on a project.
Of the landscape architecrs IAllliJCtlpt
ArrhittrtlfT'tspokewith,only Mok has spent
her entire career working for Disney, and
even she started out as an embedded con-
sulrant. Bishop imerned with Imagineer-
ing in 1980 bue went on (0 work for a
model-home company before coming back.
Each year, Imagineering offers imern-
ships for a few landscape architecture stu-
dents interested in learning about theme
park design. Interns' responsibilities range
from graphic presentation to research and
from technical drawin.gs to 3-D visualiza-
ti on, depending on the students' skill sers.
Each year,
offers internships for a
few landscape architecture
students interested
in learning about
theme park design.
Studems here get more dian JUSt the typi -
cal office experience; they get to understand
abit about rheent ireorganization through
company-sponsored events throughout the
summer. Srudems are even taken on day
trips ro Disneyland (0 see wllat goes on be-
hind rhe scenes.
So what does Disney look for in furure
Imaginttrs? "We look for people who are
great thinkers and problem solvers, possess
great enthusiasm for the landscape archi-
tecture profession, and desire co work In a
highly collaborat ive envi ronmem," says
Morosky. Sorenson adds that the ability to
develop rhe big idea through an under-
standing of materials, interrelationships
between components, and design derail-
ing isnlso important. And due ro the high-
ly collaborat ive nature of their work, the
ability to communicate ideas is a must.
An understanding of the role that Dis-
ney's theme parks play in .guests' lives
probably doesn't hurr eit her. \'Vhen you
design one of these theme parks, "you are
painting someone's phmogrnph that is go-
ing [Q be in their family album for years
and years," remarks Bishop.
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lin JU' Land'tlp' Arehlhetur. 1 65
PUBLISHING
S
ELF-DIRECTED PUBUCATIONS are gaining in-
creasing relevance among design professionals-
even studems- as part of strategies to increase
visibility, enhance credibility, and generate ei -
ther work or that aH-important firs t job. Snappy
graphics and PowerPoinrs may make gcxxl. initial im-
pressions on p()(emiai cI it-ms, but well -produced books
make lasting impressions as tangible reminders of
professional capacities, long after digital presenta-
tions have f.1.ded.
There are twO general routes (0 gerring your
work in print: The first, and more traditional, in-
volves writing a proposal and convincing a pub-
lisher to produce it; the second is to self-publish,
either by hiring someone to manage the derails or
by doing everything yourself. Each scenario has
multiple variations and contingencies, and neither
is wel! understood by landscape professionals.
The traditional route involves an author sub-
mining a book proposal toa publisher forconsid-
eration (see Pride of Authorship," l..dlids((l/Je A rrhi-
reculre, June 2002). Generally a proposal will
PUBLISH AND BE SEEN
Landscape architects are using
books as marketing tools.
By Lake Douglas, ASlA
include a [able of contents, a sample chapter, and
probably an authors questionnaire aoout length of
manuscript; number and type of images, ifany; writ-
ing experience; similar works on the subject; and a
timetable for delivery. From this proposal, the pub-
lisher makes a decision, based more on economics-
probable expenses against likely revenue-than anything else,
that could lead to a negotiated contract. The days when publish-
ers took on projects because they "desenred publication are gone;
instead, most decisions today about what gets published are driv-
en by economic realities of the market place: \'<1ho is the market?
Can we make a profit? Ifyourea landscape starchitect with name
t"{""Cognition and high-profile projectS, this scenario is a possibili-
ty; for the rest of us, this route is less probable.
It is fortuitous that as traditional publishing venues for design
work have decreased in recem years due ro economic changes in the
publishing world, corresponding technological advances have cre-
66 l landsup, Archltectllre IUV 200$
ated new opportunities for self-publishing. It 's now possible, effi-
cient, and cost-effective for professionals (and students as well) to
publish their work in lxx>k form. 111ere is a broad range offormats,
and each has its purpose. Small portfolios of student work are re-
quired of most graduate programs and are obviously useful in get-
ting that first job. Online self-publishing services (see WWW.IIIIII. W!Il.
for instance) have a wide range of services and are remarkably afford-
able: A collcagues 52-page color 7-by-9-inch portfolio, front and
back, cost $26 per copy. Printing on demand from a PDF, there are
no qU.1.ntity requiremems, and turnaround time is minimal. Pro-
fessionals can use these and other resources ro produce publications
PUBLISHING
ranging from office brochures ex-
panded into OOok formac widl ba-
sic text to publi cations that look
more like independent assess-
ments, particularly when they in-
clude analytical observations, es-
says, and critiques by known
figures from amdemics or the pro-
fession. Office brochure publica-
tions are generally distributed to
prospective clients, although exam-
ples of in-depth treatments are
sometimes commercially avai lable in na-
tional bookstore chains or online from of-
fice web sites or other resources.
Self-publication has multiple advan-
cages; the obvious ones include being able
to define the message, control the content
in both graphics and text, and print on de-
mand. There are associated risks as well,
and professionals should pay careful atten-
cion here. Among chem are issues related
THE 0 1'
It . ........... 0' . . ". ..
to credibility and self-imjXJrtance (A fine
line here: Your significant other may not
be the best person to write about your
work.); content of text (informed, thought-
ful design criticism or gratuitous ad
copy?); and quality of images (Is there a
unified vision here or a collection of im-
ages of random quality?). In the past, self-
publishing was, for good reason, called
"'vanity press" because chose who em-
ployed this route co publication
paid to have their work published,
and since such products were not
based on objective, independent
assessments of a work's literary
merit or professional value, they
often reeked of fulsome praise or
were defeated by their design, con-
tent, and production values. But
while issues of critical objectivity
and professional relevance remain
in self-produced work, easy-to-use
desktop publishing programs fa-
cilitate both graphic design and
Image enhancement and make
self-publication easier, more pro-
fessional in appearance, and more accessi-
ble than ever before.
Those who want to have their work
published have several options. Whether
one pursues the traditional route or elects
to self-publish, several first steps will fa-
c;1 irate moving forward. First, office deci -
sion makers should define a general pur-
pose and dlTenion for the publication
(Who is the audience? Where is the mar-
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The traditional
route lllYolves an
author submitllllg
a book proposal
to a publisher
for consideration.
kerf What is the competi tion?).
Second should be an honcst and
realistic assessment of in-house capabih-
ties and resources, includ ing in-house staff
expertise Of available consultants, ,graphic
material (use existing material orcommis-
sion new images ?), time1ines and budgets
(it will rake longer and COSt mUf C than YOLI
may initially think). Third, rhere should
be commitmem [Q the project and a will-
ingness to allocate financial and human re-
sources appropriate to rhe situation, and
JUSt like any construction projeer, this
project should have a detailed budget, in-
clud ing a generous contingency allocation
and a realistic timeline.
And finally, there should be an under-
standing that you' re not likely to make
money selling your self-published book;
however, an office may well advance and
get new work and more important projects
as a result of getting its work published.
1110SC who have never worked on a book
or attempted a large publication project
would do well to consider hiring a
consultant to advise on the project
and shepherd it through produc-
tion. Putting together a credible
book project is more complicated
dlan it may first appear, and some-
one experienced in such projects
can s,,\ve both time and money in
the long run. A book projcn in-
volves text, gmphic design, images,
and producti on; in all four areas,
quality, attention to details, and CD-
ordination are equally important to
meet budgets and schedules. Such
a consultant is sometimes called a
'packager; and while this term is usually
applied to someone engaged by a publish-
er to assemble a book project, the process
can work from the other direction as well,
with the packager h'athering material from
an office and putting toget her an appropri-
ate team toassemble a book and shepherd it
through production.
ObViously each path to publication has
its own set of financial, staffing, and logis-
tical issues that can inform the business
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IUV 2001 L.ndstlpe Archit'tlu 1 69
PUBLISHING
decision about which direct ion to
pursue, and these should be con-
sidered carefully before proceed-
ing with a publication project.
Time is an imponant factor as
well; publicat ion projens will
take months- if not years- from
Start to finish, depending on vari -
ables within each step along the
way. For those thinking about em-
barking on a publication venture,
an examination of recent examples
might be instructive.
Two works representing the traditional
rome to publication, both frum Monacelli
Press (pan of Random HOLlse), are 0/111
Placemukmg (2008; $65) and The CO/(ffS of
Natllre: the Subtropical Gardem 0/ Rayr/UJ/ld
Jungles (2008; $50). Monacelli specializes
in beautifully produced architecture and
design books and, according to a recem
conversation with a representative, is very
1 0 I landsup, Archltectllre IUV 200$
interested In Increasing its offerings in
landscape design. Oli" Plaul/lokmg begins
with an imroduccion by John Srilgoe (hav-
ing a preface from a Harvard academIC
gives credibil iry to a publication proposal);
six general chapters follow, each with an in-
terview between a partner in [he linn and
someone else (some big names here (00).
These interviews offer insightful comments
on the firm'sclesign phi losophy("placemak-
Design \\'orkshop's
TOlcard Leo,([c)'
1:1
is a record of
the finn's design
philosophy and
sample projects.
ing") and approach to design.
Chapters include four to six high-
profile projcns, each with a brief
project description and color images (no
captions). The CO/(Jrs OjNdtllrt is a mono-
graph on rhe work of midcareef Florida
landscape archirect Raymond Jungles,
FASLA, a protege of Robeno Burle Marx.
Twenty-four residential projectS arc shown;
all but one are in souch Florida. Brief com-
mentaries by Jungles d("SCribe the projectS,
gi ving the reader insightful information
wichout obcuse philosophy, precense, orde-
Ff)g

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sign jargon. Images are spectacu-
lar (many from nmed landscape
photographers Richard Felber and
Roger Foley, Affiliate AM). Again,
images are everything here, and
this work demonstrates rhe power
of engaging someone who knows
how to shoot gardens, and nm all
phmographers do. TIlese books are
monographs in the sense that they
are about projects from one prac-
tice (Olin) orone person (j ungles).
TIley are much more, though, be-
cause with text and image they
document approaches to design
(Olin) and examples of small-scale
residential work (jungles) in compelling
and inspiring ways. Beautiful production
values make bmh books well wort h hav-
ing, and since these come from a main-
stream commercial press, they are likely to
be readily available.
D
esign Workshop's self-published TflWard
Legacy (2007; $45) is a record of this
large firm's design philosophy and sample
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projects. This book was completed in-
house under the d irection of Eliot Hoyt,
principal in the Denver office, then passed
on to a packager. According to the pref.1.Ce,
the book is more about Hwhat its like to
run a business based on ideas . . .' rather
chan a review of che firm's 35-plus-year his-
tory. An introduction explains the firm's
defining values (environment, communi-
ty, economics, and arc) and how chese ele-
Shade
ments translate into their design
approach, a theory they call "lega-
cy Design.' A brief firm history
follo\vs that includes a "fOrmative
project in which the firms philos-
ophy first came together. Chapters
are organized around fi ve central
themes: "nature; 'places; "com-
munity,'" connection; and 'lead-
ing change." Each chapter starts
with an imnx:l uctory essay by a
partner or principal, followed by
project discussions in ei ther case
study or 'project discussion for-
mat. Color images are abundant,
together with plans and analysis
diagrams, sketches, graphics, and project
credits. This work's generous fOrmat allows
images to be large and useful. The book's
organization is logical, and its text is well
written and informative, though it will
take moce than a few sittings to get
through the entire book. ThiS is a book of
vallie on many levels: As a market ing tool
it has been a success, according to Hoyt; as
a ceaching cool, it should find a place in any
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IUV 2001 L.ndstlpe Arehit,ttur, I 11
PUBLISHING
professional curriculum; and as a record of
contemporary landscape architecture in
America, it is an excellem documentary on
what is possible with design talent , a
strong design approach, good cliems, and
appropriate budgets. Design Workshop's
earlier book, New Gardells of the AmeriwlI
W' eu(2003; $35), documents the firm's res-
idential work. This book was also produced
in-house then "packaged" by Grayson Pub-
lishing o(Washington, D.C. Side by side,
New Gardem is modest in content next (0
ugacy and less visually appealing-even
dated now- in its design. Ugaq, how(""Ver,
has a timeless quality and demonstrates
that a project, wel l executed in concept, de-
sign, organization, coment, images, and
producrion, will pay dividends well into
[he furure.
Findillg the Place of Archilemlre ill the
umciscape (2008; $68) is a monograph on
rhe work of Perer Gisolfi, ASLA, an arch i-
ten and landscape architen practicing on
the East Coast. The publisher, Images
Publishing Group of Australia, was estab-
lished in 1983 and specializes in illuscrac-
ed books abomarchicectural, interior, and
landscape design. According to its web
sire, "'over 70 high-profile architeccs have
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aciYancc and get
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its ,,'ork published.
al ready appointed Images, with its world-
wide reputation for excellence, to publish
these i rnportant chronicles of their firms'
work. ,. \'V'ork here IS organized into gener-
al categories such as townscape, campus,
landscapes, and buildings; gardens and
houses; and transformation (maintaining
the original stnlcrnre bmadding new uses).
Each seccion has from six to nine projectS,
well illustrated with a lively mix of im-
ages, plans, drawings, and details. Appro-
priacesupplementary informacion is given
CIRCLE 11 & ON REAOCR SffiIIlCECAfD OR GO m
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as well, includin,g a firm profile,
chronology of projects, credits,
engineers and consultants ,
awards, and bi blio,graphy. The
'photo,grapher of record was
the eminent archicecmral pho-
to,grapher Norman McGra th,
wi th contributions from others
(notably Mick Hales for ,gar-
dens), and the wisdom ofhavin,g
consistently ,good ima,ges really
comes through here. This may
well be a self-funded monograph
judging from the quote from
Images, but the results will cer-
tainly be an effective marketing tool. De-
sign students could use projects shown
here as case studies and gain insi ght from
a cartful study of how projects are organ-
ized and presented.
Another approach to publishing one's
work comes in Met/'IINl from Reed Hilder-
brand of\'qacertown, Mas.sachuseus. Clear-
ly this book has ItS roots in an office
brochure format. With minimal , almost
nonexistent cexc , chis book's approach is
ima,ge driven, and though small in size and
mooest in concept, it is nevertheless beau-
tifully proouced. It will likely be an effec-
tive marketing tool for years to come and,
as such, may not becommerciallyavailable
through your local bookstore (check out
their web site, however, to get a sample of
the images). Both color and monochromat-
ic images are used, and many are the work
of noted landscape photographer Alan
\'qard (here again, che value of having good
photographi c work cannot be
underestimated).
Getting into publishing may
seem inconceivable or too com-
plicated for some professionals,
but the resul ts can be rewarding
both professionally and person-
ally. Some may think that the
printed page is a relic of the past,
bur many desi ,gn professionals
will continue to depend on the
printed pa,ge to display, analyze,
and talk about what we do. How
consumers ,get that printed
page-whether from a tradition-
al publisher or throu,gh self-publishin,g-
is of little consequence. \'\fhat's on the
printed page is offar greater value. And ul -
timately, like everything else, the market-
place, informed or nor, will determlfl e
what is of value.
Landscape architect Lake DOllg/as, ASLA,
teaches (./ dan Oil writillgfor deJigll p ofessioll-
als at LSUj Robert Reich School of LalldJ(ape
Archirectllre.
CtFlClE ,., ON flEADfI SERVICE CAAIl OIl GOTO
IUV 2001 L.ndstlpe Archit,tlu., I 13
TECHNOLOGY
F
OR LANDSCAPE ARCHlTEcrsand
er design and planning professionals,
sharing digital data is a necessity. Many
types of digital data have standard for-
mats that make the process a little eas-
ier. \VIe send word processing documents in
a IX)C formutand CAD files in a DWG or DXF
format. But accessing and sharing GIS maps
and data has always been an issue. Most of
A GEOSPATIAL
APPROACH TO PDFS
New types of PDFs
are allowing GIS data
and maps to be
shared more easily.
By James l. Sipes, ASLA
[he file formats used co save these documents
are proprietary, so you can often only open
them in the programs that created them.
GIS g ives us wonderful opportunities co
create digital maps showing analysis such as
slope, viewsheds, and buffers. Bur how do
you share thac information with ciiems,
stakeholders, or even other design and plan-
ning firms that don't own the same software?
For many years, the answer has been to save
the information in degrnded formats such as
GeoTIFF,)PEG, or Adobe PDF (Porrable Doc-
ument Format).
nit' problem with saving GIS maps in a Goo-
TIFF,)PEG, and a typical PDF format is that it
fl attens the file. TIle thematic data is lost when
the new file is created, and this can make it
difficult to distinguish one type of informa-
tion from another. For example, a map show-
ing property lines, roads, sewer lines,
and electric I ines can be difficul t to reacl.
There are other drawbacks as well. Goo-
TIW fi les maintain the geospatial coordinates
associated with the data, buc a high-resolucion
aerial photo can be as big as 30 gi gabytes in
14 l landsup, Architecture IUV 200$
These maps of Marigot Sa, on St. Martin in the Virgin Islands were generated using
Publisher for ArCGIS. The Map La,ers command is used to turn on and off different layers of
infonnation such as satellite imagery, top, land uses, center, and manmade strudures, bDttom.
Marigelt, Saini Martin
f __ _

"
ArcGIS 9-The Complete Geographic Information System
ASLA Sales to Fund Dangermond Fellowship
..
......... ,-


New geoprocessing
framewor k for
modeling work flows
..... -
Perform surface
analysis using contour,
slope. aspect, hillshade,
and viewshed.
Interoperat e bet ween CAD and ArcGIS.
ESRI , the world leader in geographic information system (GIS) solutions,
has offered software and extensions to the American Society of Landscape
Architects (ASl A) as a fund-raiser for the Dangermond Fellowship. This
offering makes it possible for ASLA members to purchase powerful GIS
software at signif icant ly discounted prices.
3D visualization with
ArcGIS 3D
Opt imum routing,
closest -facility, and
service area analysis
ArcGIS 9 Offers
Geoprocessing: Completely new
environment for geoprocessing, modeli ng,
and scri pt ing .
Global and 3D Visual ization:
Revolut ionary new technology for managing,
visualizing, and analyzing 3D geographic
dat a at a local or global perspecti ve.
Spatial Analyst provides a broad range
of power ful spat ial modeli ng and analysis
features including sophist icated raster data
analysis and raster-vector integrat ion.
Network Analyst enables you to solve
a variety of problems using geographIC
networks, such as f inding the most eff icient
t ravel route, generat ing travel direct ions,
f inding t he closest facility, or defining service
areas based on travel t ime
CAD/GIS Interoperabllity: Use
geoprocessing tools to interpret and
t ranslate CAD data into the ArcGIS
geodatabase, exchange data f iles bet ween
the latest versions of CAD and GIS, and
import 3D CAD objects into ArcGIS viewing
environments.
Contact AS LA today.
202-898-2444
www.asla.org
".,.".,.O"""' ........... T .. ' ... _boo,""',"''''''' .... ''''''''
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TECHNOLOGY
size or greater. That makes it difficult to
open in Photoshop, lll ustramf, and other
programs used to open TIFFs. Even worse,
a )PEG (ormat does no t maintain the
geospatial coordinates, and there is a loss of
image quality. )PEG uses what is called a
"lossy" compression roucine, which phys-
ically changes the visual appearance of a
map in order to reduce file size. The more
you reduce file size, t he mOft the original
image is altered.
Forrunately for landscapearchitens and
others who want ro access maps in a digi -
taJ formar, a new typeo(PDF is now avail -
able. Geospatial PDFs are changing how
maps and GISdacaareexchanged. PDF files
have long been the de 1.Cto industry Sfan-
clard for sharing digital documems. Ac-
cording [Q Adobe, mOTC chan 900 million
{X-opJe use its Reader program. It can be
downloaded free of charge from the Inter-
nec, and ic is very simple to use, Mosc peo-
ple are able to view POFs jusc by clicking
che file, Mosc landscape archicects proba-
bly use PDF files even if chey don'c know
anyching abouc che file formac.
Benefits of Using Qeospatlal PDFs
The biggest benefic of geospacial POFs is
that they provide easy access to intelligent,
inceraccive sets of maps, A geospacial PDF
also contains information chat is used to
georeference location data. \Vhen geospa-
tial data is imported into a PDF, Acrobat
retains the geospatial coordinates so you
can view and internct with the PDF to find
and mark location data. With geospatial
POI's, you can view maps with multiple
coordinate displays, measure length and
area, tum layers on and off, and search map
attributes. The measuring tools read the
geospatial information and can be used to
calculate d is tance, perimeter, and area.
Unlike JPEG or GeoTI FF, when a user
rooms in or out on a file, the scale for meas-
urement is adjusted automat ically.
For geospatial data to be useful and ac-
cessible digitally, the data files have to be
small enough to be distributed easily. One
of the big benefi ts of using a geospatial
PDF is that the resulting files are signifi-
cantly smaller than the originals. For ex-
16 l landsup. Architecture IUV 200$
Traditionally, landsat data has been limited to remote sensing scientists who hawe access to
upensiye and hard-to-use analysis software. With geospatial PPFs, all seven bands from
multispectral images can be exported and accessed dynamically. These maps of northwest
Washington, above and below, show the same data with different bands turned on.
ample, a satellite image in a GroT]FF for-
mat may be five gigabytes in size, but a
PDF wi th the So'\me image quality may be
400 megabytes in size, or smaller. The
PDFs are small enough so they can be
loaded on a city or county's web site.lnter-
ested constituents could access the differ-
ent alternatives, turning information on
and off in order to better understand how
and why decisions were made.
If you have a map that is not georefer-
enced but does include a couple of coordi-
nates, the tools that make geospat ial POI's,
such as Adobe Acrobat, TerraGo, and
ESRJ's An."G]S, can fill in the missing infor-
mati on. After you find a location on a
geospatial PDF, you can copy the coordi-
nates to the clipboard. From the clipboard,
you can paste the data intoa web mapping
service that reads latitude and longitude
coordinates.
Another benefit is that all of the geospa-
rial information needed to create a series
of maps can be Sowed wi t hin one file. Dig-
iral mapbooks, which are a compiled set
of individual map sheets, can have a high
level of detail, yet are easy to use and small
enough todistribuce. Mapbooksare much
more useful than individual map sheets
because they provide greater flexibility and
PROOF THAT QUALITY DESIGN PAYS OFF
l ' rI

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,
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!:
-
,
URBAN DESI GN AND THE BOTTOM LI NE
Optimizing the Return on Perception
Dennis Jerke
The Urban Land Institute
."
This practical book describes how 10 employ Ihe power at
design 10 creale and capture added value in the buill environ-
ment. It examines the many opportunities for using urban
design stralegically to generate a Return on Perception"-the
payoff in economic, environmental, social , and cul tural benefits.
Lavishly illustrated with color photographs and examples
of practice, the book explains how to holistically pl an and
design tour key image systems of the built environment-
archi tecture, green infrastructure, transportation, and water
sett ings-to create great places where people will want to
visi t, live, work, and play.
Order IU28 $79.95 Retail
ASLA MEMBERS SAVE 10%1
USE CODE ASLA IN THE ULI BOOKSTORE.
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ORDER ONLINE AT OR CAll 8003215011.
OUTSIDE THE U.S., CAll +1 410 626 7500.
TECHNOLOGY
"'aullo'dM*NI DRAFT
GIS, or illust ration program, then
use the measuring and locat ion
tools in the GeoPDr to locate key
design features such as lot oound-
aries , roads, public spaces, and
landmarks. \Virh this informa-
t ion loaded into a handheld GPS,
you can literally walk down the
proposed main Strttt of a design
or stand in t he middle of a new
provide a broader view of an a["(."a.
The ability to hyperlink maps
makes it easier to navigate from
ooe map to another instead of
having to sort through
ual maps.
Geospatial PDFs have a num-
ber of collaboration, review, and
markup tools thm can be very
useful to landscape archi tects who
want to review a map, make corn-
mems,and then shafe those with
others. Users can create notes,
redlines, and markups Of arrach
images or mher data from multi -
ple sources. This information can
even be exported as a shapefile,
.1
' .
, .
..
, <
which is rhe file standard used by
-
ESRr's A reGIS sofrare, and then
incorporated inw a GIS prog ram or ageo-
browser such as Google Earth.
Uses of Geospatial PDFs
Landscape archireccs can use geospariaI
PDFs ina number of ways, includ-
ing sire review and analysis. For
example, a landscape archi tecr
could access an aerial image, cum
land use and parcel data on and
off, pull up a FEMA Aoodplain
map and a wet land inventory
map, and mark key areas ofimer-
est that needed further analysis on
site. To find dle location of these
areas of interest , users simply
right-di ck the location on t he
map and copy the coordinates to
a cl ipboard. The clipboard can
then be downloaded to a hand-
held GPS uni t, which can be tak-
en omo the site.
A mobile GIS/GPS application
using Adobe Reader, geospatial
PDFs, and GPS is an affordable
and effecti ve tool for anyone
needing [Q access geospatial in-
format ion out in t he field. Lmd-
scape architects can use this tech-
nol ogy for field-verifying initial
desig n concepts. You scan in a
hand-generated sketch or import
a digital draWing from a CAD,
1s l landsup, Architecture IUV 200$
--
....... '
--
-
-"'- ""
---
.... ......... ,


..
The map above shows the density of sightings
of Dall's porpoise off the California coast.
Geospatial PDFS were used to share images
of fires in California, below, with firefighters
and emergency workers.
-
town square.
This past year, GeoPDFs were
used to create a mapbook of satel-
li te imagery for emergency work-
ers and relief agencies fi ghting
fires in California. T he Images
cover approximately 1,500 square
kilometers in the Malibu area and
about 4,000 square kilometers in
and arollnd San Diego. Using the
GeoPDF maps, relief workers are
able [Q access accurate maps,
measure disrance, pull up crirical
Informac ion, and insef[ comments and
markups [Q help determine how best [Q
fi ghr fires. Because it is so quick and easy to
generare new maps, rhe workers are able to
pull up t he rimeliest informacion char
shows current conditions.
Many municipalit ies are now
providing their geospacial dara to
cheirconscicuems in GeoPDFfor-
mars. Gwinnect COUnty, Geor-
gia, which is located just north
of Atlanra, is one of rhe fastest
growing and most affluent coun-
ties in the South. It has been
making extensive use of GIS since
1989, and today virtuall y every
department in the county uses
the technology. Geospatial data
has been integrated among all of
the countys systems, and GIS is
plugged into SAps CR M (cus-
tomer relat ionship management
software), public Uti lities, records
management, public safet y, and
permi tting . The county also uses
G[Sto manage more [han 265,<xXJ
parcels ofJand, and an addi t ional
IO,(X)) to 12,000 parcels areadded
every year. Parcel data is used for
many purposes, including plan-
ning projects typically involving
landscape architects. T he parcel
data can also be incorporated
CALL FOR ENTRIES
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 2009 AWARDS

landscape
.m:hltectUf
AWARDS
PRESENTED:
September 18-21, 2009
at the ASLA Annual
Meeting and EXPO in
Chicago
\
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TECHNOLOGY
into CAD or GIS programs and Us<--d for
design projects.
Last year the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) started making its quad sheets
available in GeoPDF format since these
files arc quicker and easier to download
and use than many other digi tal for-
mats. More than 60,000 USGS digi-
tal raster graphics, which are used by
landscape archi tects and other de-
sign and planning professionals,
have been converted to GeoPDP files,
and these can be accessed through
the USGS SfOre.
Different Flavors of
Oeospatial PDFS
There are acnmlly several differem
types of geospatial PDFs. Each is a
liule different, bur the good news is
dmt all providesimilarfunaionality,
and all are very simple to access and
use. TIle newest versions of Adobe
Acrobat and Adobe Reader support
geospatial PDFs that al low forencod-
ing of map coordinate systems and
georeferenced information. Adobe has
greac1yenhanced its original PDF format,
providing basic measuring capabilities,
georegistration tools, and a coordi-
nate display for showing offlacirude
and longitude in Acrobat Pro Ex-
tended. Adobe also provides support
for TerraGo's GeoPDF in its Acrobat
9 sofnvare.
ArcG1S 9.3 has the ability [Q create
GeoPDFs. Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard
or Pro provides features for reading
coordinates, taking measurements,
and marking up maps. The geospa-
tial PDFs produced by ESRI support
many of the international proiections
that global organizations require.
Landscape architects using ArcMap
9. 3 can use the Export PDF Llyers
command to create a geospatial PDF.
A geospatial PDF from TerraGo
Technologies has been around for
several years, and it is becoming ade
fueto standard for sharing maps. The
United States Marine Corps has in-
stalled TennGo's GeoPDF Toolbar on
more than 65,000 computers, so marines
can access maps and geospatial data. Ter-
raGo's Map2PDF is used to create interac-
tive GeoPDF files with embedded data
and mapping features. The GeoPDF
Toolbar [Urns the free Adobe Reader
into a powerful geospatial application
t hat gives users the ability to view, ma-
nipulate, and update mapping data. TIle
latest release of Map2PDF for Acrobat
.
. 'fI.
=
.- ..
.. -- --
--- --- .. -
--- -- .. -
--- --- --- -
-
-
-
Cobb County, Georgia, is using geospatial
PDFS to produce online maps, above and
below, that are a,ailable to constituents.
.... _-38
()
supports extension of most of the Acrobat-
compatible geospatial PDF files you can
create with ESRI's ArcGIS 9.3 extension
to GeoPDF.
Adobe and TerraGo have worked to-
gether to bring geospatial functionality
to the Acrobat and Reader communi ty.
The georegistration technique used by
Acrobat 9.0 is similar to [he technique
used by TerraGo for GeoPDF. TerraGo has
submitted the GeoPDF format to the
Open Geosparial Consortium (OGC), an
international organization that promotes
standards for geospatial applications. OGC
standards are free, so this means that oth-
er programs are able to add the ability to
read GeoPDF fi les at no charge.
LOGIQ is another third-parry company
thar produces geo-encoded PDF Ii les.
LOGIQ PDF embeds native ArcMapspatial
data elements direcrly into the PDF Ii Ie fOr-
mar. The resulting maps contain map fea-
rure attributes, geomeuy, table schema,
spatial references, and other relevant map-
ping information within a PDF file.
Geospatial PDFs simplify the process of
putting interactive maps (hat relate to the
real world into the hands of the masses. For
landscape architects and other design pro-
fessionals, the technology will enable us to
share maps and drawings, review and make
changes, and then import these changes
into a CAD or GIS application, or a geo-
browser such as Google Earth and Microsoft
Live, or use chem with a web mapping serv-
ice such as Yahoo Maps or Google Maps.
The best thing about geospatial PDFs,
though, is that they are totally innocuous.
You don't even have to know you are using
a new type of PDF-you just know it is eas-
ier than ever before to use geospacial infor-
mation to make gCKXl design and planning
decisions.
.lames L. Si/JeJ, ASLA, is a sellior aJs(}{"iate //lith
EDA W alld fillilldillg prillcipal ojSalld COIllI-
Iy Stlldiru.
Resources
TerraGo Technologies, w1IIw.terrago
lh.coIJI
Adobe GIS and Mapping PDF Gallery,
http://acroiJalllSeruom/ga/lery/grospalia/
ESRI, Ulw1II.eJri.com
LOGIQ, www.globa/mdpsystel/ls.com
Adobe, www.adobe.com
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AMERltAN SOCIETY Of IANOSCAPf ARCHIHUS
636 m SlRm NW. WASHINGTON. DC 2000T3736
20209024H fAX 2020902205 WWWASIAORG
IUV 2001 L.ndstlpe Arehit'ttur. I Sl
In Los Angeles, a new park on a former oil field brings nature into a park-starved neighborhood.
TIS t\ WARM WINTER EVENING at Vista Hermosa Natu-
ral Park, and dusk is fast approaching when, stKldenl y, I hear
children sing ing. About 30 children and a few adults sur-
round a small fire, and a park ranger leads t hem as they belt
our a familiar campfire song: "The other day, the other day,
I met a bear .... " i\-farshmallows are passed. around, and for a
second, I feel as if I'm ar a summer camp or a national park. Bur
Vista Hermosa is no wilderness, and it 's unlikely I will meet any
bears here. l"m in the cemer of rhe United. States's second-largest
metropol is, on rhe wesrern edge of downtown Los Angeles.
Vism Hermosa is (he first new park built in this area in more
than 100 years. Activists have long decried the city's lack of park
space. A 2004 study by rhe Trust fur Public b.nd showed. that
merely 33 percent of rhe children living in the city of Los Ange-
les can walk (0 a park within a quarter mile of thei r house. That
means more th.1n 650,000 children do nor have convenient access
ro green space where rhey can run and play. Compare rhat to
Bosron, where 97 percent of children live wi thin walking d istance
of a park, and New York City, where the figure is 91 percent .
11le dispo.riry between rich and poor, whi tes and minorities is
IXlfTicularly appalling. According toa 2003 study by reSearcilefS ar
the University ofSourilern CaJifomia, neighborhocxls where whites
make up more rhan rhree-quaners of the population averaged. 3 [.8
acres of parkland per [,000 people, while areas where Lat inos,
African Americans, and Asians were rhe largest racial group aver-
aged 1.6,0.8, and 1.2 acres per 1,000 people, respectively.
So when Vista Hermos.'\ Park opened in the poor latino
borhood of Temple Beaudry last summer, it was a major victOry
for those who view parkland as a civil righc "{This park) sends a
mess.1ge," proclaimed Assemblyman Kevin De Leon, "that
gardless of who you are, regardless of where your parents came
from, regardless of the color of your skin, regardless of your legal
status, you deserve access ro nature."
As with much of the new parkland in and around Los Angeles,
Vista Hermosa is a projen of the Santa Monica Mountains
servancy, a state agency, and the Mountains Recreation and Con-
servation Amhority (MRCA), a joint powers aut hori ty linked
strongly to the conservancy. Since
it was created in 1980, the
vancy has preserved more than
65,{){X) acres of parkland
out Southern California. As the
conservancy's executive di rector
since the beginning, Joseph T.
miSton, Honorary ASLA, has had a
hand in all of chose projects (see
"When Cities and Conservation
Collide," Lalldscape Architectllre,
July 2004). He is also che director
of the /l.IRCA. Edmiston says the
secret to the agenq"s success is an
energecic staff and their
minded focus on increasing access
to park land.
and a shopping mall on site. Some lauded these plans as a shining
model for future dC\'elopmem, but instead, Belmont l..eaming Cen-
ter became known as a toxic mess and the most expensive school in
America, eventually costing more than $400 million.
During the planning stah't'S, the school district had not been
coming alx>ut environmental problems on the site. Like much of the
neighOOrhood, the project sits atop the 800-acre Los Angeles City Oil
Field, which was once t he largest active oil field on the \'{fest Coast.
By the 1920s, the area had been developed with single-fiunily
es. However, many of the oil wells were never properly capped, and
highly toxic hydrogen sulfide and explosive methane existed in
dangerous concen trations dCfp be-
low the surface and could
tially percolate upward.
The school district had bought
the property knowing the risks,
but the district leaders figured any
problems they ran into could be
resolved along the way. People
had,afrerall, been building on the
oil field for years. Blit in the fall of
1998, they were forced to suspend
construction temporarily after a
state environmental agency
formed the school district that
pockets of methane under the site
were more extensive than previ-
ously thought.
'nleir aggressive pursuit of
ners has also helped. At Visra
mosa, chey partnered with the
school discrict, which owns che
land, the city of Los Angeles, and other
mem and nonprofit entities to fund the p1fk's
conSCl1Jccion and maintenance. But securing
the land for Vista Hermosa was not all hand-
shakes and making friends. It required taking
srands and wading into murl], political waters
where most burelUcmts would not tread.
Merely 33 percent of the
children living in the city 01
los Angeles can walk to a
park within a quarter mile
Then, a series of exposes in (he
local press created fears alxJUt rhe
sire's s.1fety and angered the pub-
lic, who eventually forced OUt (he
school superintendent and the school board
members who had supported dle project. In
January 2000, the new schooll.xJard \'Dted to
kill the projecr, despite the facr that the build-
ing was 60 percenr finished and approximate-
ly $150 mil lion had already been spent. TIle
board members feared litigation; they were
nor convinced rhe site could be made safe.
A Toxic History
The park's complet ion last summer and the
opening of the adjacent school this past fall
of their house.
For years, rhe project site sat unused, its half-
finished buildings wmpped in plastic. But rhe
mark the end of one of the most controversial development
ects in the ci ty's history- the inf.1mous Belmont Learning
ter project. It was in the midst of this comroversy rhat the idea co
use part of the site for the park took shape.
During the late 1980s and early 1 990s, the Los Angeles Unified
School District (LAUSD) used its powers of eminent domain to
atea parcel in Temple Beaudry, clearing many houses and
knocking down a local church without much communi ty outreach.
\'{fhile the methods were controversial, the classroom space was
much nteded. TIle Belmont Learning Center was going to be the
first new high school built by the overcrowded school dist rict in
nearly 20 years. The plans were unique-officials planned to help
finance the school through the construaion apartments
8 1
technology for remediating the site was avail-
able, and it wasn' t particularly esoteric. TIle concentrarions of
methane and hydrogen sulfide found at the surface were nor dan-
gerous, and the gas beneath rhe surface was nor under pressure.
TIlere would be no problem as long as the gas was nor allowed to
build up in an enclosed space, and act ive and passi ve venting
tems, used to prevent rhe buildup of dangerous gases, were already
in use throughout Los Angeles County. "It was just a matter of
willp:lwer," remembers Edmiston.
Advocating for a Park
TIle site in Temple Beaudry first caught the attention of
ton and others at the consetvanl)' in December 2002. TIle
vancy's first urban park, the Augustlls F. Hawkins Park in South
Vist. ........ lin l1li the H,.
of dOWfttoon lot b,.Ie. 1ft
neichborhOO4l"1t previousty
"ad ,ery IHUe public creen
l pace, ""polite. G..eeft roofs
Ire use4 on ,II three of its
I mall buildinp, inclwding the
upper restroom, here.
Mia Lehrer + Associates' design for Vista Hermosa Park
includes IAI a synthetic turf soccer field, IBI a children's
adventure area/playground, ICI an informal seating area
-
Chaparral
Grassland
.,k
woodland
Lawn
Detention
"""
Riparian zone
Green roof
Drought-tolerant
demonstration
gardeu
Synthetic
"rl
Permeable
concrete
IHI an outdoor classroom, III two
restrooms, UI a water feature,
IKI a loop path surrounded by
native plantings in most places,
aMI III a bowl-shaped lawn area
that encourages infiltration and
provides a place where locals
can play sports_
Central Los Angeles, had been a huge success,
and rhey were looking [Q replicare dlat success
throughout rhe city (see 'The Wilds ofSourh
Central," Landieape Arrhilatflre, April 20(2).
Edmiston was scouring other sites in [he
neighborhocx:l wi t h J ose Huiz.'1r, then a school
boord member, and Ed Reyes, a city council-
man, when he spofted the shrink-wrapped
buildings of the Belmont Learning Cemerand
the large area of open space next to t hem.
The conservancy did not
try to shove a plan down
community members'
throats; they asked what
the community wanted.
Huizar met with Edmiston to see if [hey would
be imerested in developing a park on the site.
There was only a small window of opportuni-
ty, so [he conservancy would have to mow quick-
1y. Stephanie Landregan, A')lA, its chief land-
scape archi tect at that t ime, called Mia Lehrer +
Associates (ML+A) to organize a charrette.
ML+A, a Los Angeles-based firm, had worked
on a few other projects for the conservancy and
had a master services agret'ment with them.
"\Vhat's that?" Edmiston asked, and they went over to look. Could
this be the space they were looking for?
A few months later, the school district announced new ProlX>Sals
for the Belmont Learning Cemersite. A popular new superintend-
ent backed a plan to sell off the existing buildings and build a small
high school on an empty section of the site. Bur Huiz.'U believed
they could get the classroom space they needed faster by finishing
the bUildings rhey'd starred. Inspired by the conservancy's work,
.6 1
That weekend, Mia Lehrer, FASLA, visited the si te for the first
time with conservancy Staff. Immediately, she was struck by the
amazing view of downtown. "Vista hermosa, " whispeR-d Lehrer,
who was born in El Salvador. Vista ber7/l0Jd, Spanish for beautiful
view, became the name of thei r proposal and a guiding force behind
their design. Lmdregan and designers at r.D.+A worked long hours,
producing a concepmal plan for the site and renderings thar would
sell the idea. Concep[s were faxed back and forrh between the de-
signers and Edmisron, who critiqued their
plans (rom his home.
The grotto, "bore, provides an infonnal bers chat che gases could be micigated and
chat the conservancy was working in their in-
cerest. "People were concerned che park wasn't
going to be for them," recalls land regan.
They presented ro the school board the fol-
lowing Monday. Huizar was exci ted about the
proposal, but the other members of the school
IxxLrd initially gave it a lukewarm response.
council ring for gatherings such as
campfires. A group plays bocce ball in
the relatl,ely flat decomposed granite
area in the center of the grotto, below. Tn addition ro the meetings, che scaff at the
Unwilling w give up, they took their plans w the community to
see if they could get enough grassroots support ro move the proj-
ect along. They only had a few weeks before the school board would
vote. Huizar's office, which was fumiliar with the main stakehold-
ers in the community, helped set up meetings in local schools.
Unlike the school district's previous attempts over t he years,
the conservancy did not try to shove a plan down community
members' throats; they asked what the community wanted. Lehrer
remembers one of those early meetings, held in a tent on land
overlooking the site. "We wid
them there's a very strong possi-
bility for a park," she recalls.
"\'{1hat are your hopes for what
can happen?" Many of the com-
munity members speak Spanish
as their first or only language.
Lehrer and Barbara Romero, a
planner wi t h the conservancy
who comanaged the project, are
both fluent, and this helped cre-
ate a level of comfort and trust.
The main challenges wefe
convinCing community mem-
conservancy also organized field trips ror stake-
holders and elecced officials. 11ley bused them ro rhe Augusrus E
Hawkins Park and their parks in the mountains roshow them what
the conservancy was capable of. They cook them to other develop-
ments around town that had successfully mitigated underground
gases. And they explained how having a park on part of the site was
ideal, as it would allow the gases beneath to disperse.
Edmiston, Huizar, and Reyes worked on selling the park to oth-
er local leaders, and soon the state senator, the state assemblyman,
and even the mayor had come oUt in fuvor of building a park But
che decision was the school dis-
trict's to make, and Superintend-
ent Roy Romer was not budging.
Romer was not a small-time bu-
reaucrat; before being named as
the superintendent, he had been
the govemorofColorndo and the
head of the Democratic National
Committee. He'd been brought
in to reform the school district,
and he'd been allowed to rule it
wi t h somewhat of an iron fist,
says Edmiston. He did not like
the conservancy stepping on his
turf. 'He calls me upand says, ' I dont care if you get the governor
and all these people; you're n()( going [0 haw your park,' Edmis-
[On remembers.
However, the conservancy"s effof(s were working. One byone,
the necessary vO[es were secured, and two days after Romer [Old
Edmiston he would lose, the school OOard voted for the park-
with the superintendent supp:ming it. It took another year [0 s0-
lidifY the plan, but the conservancy was eventually granted a 20-
year lease for 10.5 acres.
ation,' explains Romero. But it was dear from the beginning
that passive recreation alone would not suffice here. Through their
community meetings, the design team learned that an empty
field where the local children played soccer had recent ly been
fenced off.
"There was no negotiating a soccer field,' remembers Lehrer.
'They wanted that, period. There were even discussions whether
there should be three soccer fields, and we should just forget the
Not Just Nature
13m what kind of park would Vista Her-
mosa be? The conservancy specializes in
parks where city dwellers can experience
nature. "\'\11" generally don't do active recre-
The conservancy specializes
in parks where city dwellers
can experience nature.
park. But there were other unmet needs
wi t hin the local community aside from
places to play soccer. Walking trai ls were
also nc""t'ded, as were places to have outdoor
celebrations. The landscape archi tects bro-
kered a compromise, providing a single soc-
cer field on the site. The rest of the park
1
would be developed in a more naturalistic way to accommodate
many different users.
Vista Hermosa sits on a fairly steep site with a Go-foot change
in from top to bottom. \Xlhen the designers first visit-
ed, it had been graded into three distinct terraces with sharp drops
between ML+A regraded the site to landforms
softer. had a huge earth-moving our
agency had never done; says Landregan, because the conservan-
cy usually works with
To keep costs down, ML+A tried to avoid using retaining walls
as much as possible and worked to reduce the amount of soil ex-
ported off site. That was really challenging, according to ML+A
managing partner Esther Margulies, ASLA,due to the mitigation
methocl used throughout t he park. To prevent gases from being
trapped. and bUilding up JUSt below the the top 18 inch-
es of topsoil were stockpiled., an 18-inch layer of sand was spread
over the entire site, and the topsoil was laid down on top of that.
111e sand layer was introduced so that the gases will be able to per-
colate horizontally if areas of the topsoil become compacted. As
it reaches the top of the soil, the gas vents into the air where it ris-
es up into the atmosphere or is carried away by the wind. It is not
able to concent rate to dangerous levels. Under the park buildings
and the school next door, membranes prevent the gases from en-
tering the buildings, and venting systems prevent theiraccumu-
lation beneath the buildings.
Today, grading helps to separate different areas of the park so
that it can serve many types of users simultaneously. Sitting around
a campfire organized in the informal stone amphi theater, you are
not disturbed. by the teams playing soccer, the children playing on
the playground, or tile jogser winding around the other side of the
loopparh,and you cannot see the cars
parked. in rhe parking lot below.
This sense of separation that is de-
sirable during the day is less desirable
at night. Becausevisibility is not par-
ticlilarly goocl into rhe site from the
street, rhe park is fenced. off and dos-
es at dusk. The art ificial rurf soccer
Passive recreation opportunities abound
at Vista HennO$il including searching
for frogs at the water feature near
the grotto, opposite, walking through
naturali stic areas, below, and
picnicking, left. "Culturally, people
in the Latino community like parks
for quinceneras, weddings, and other
celebrations," notes Mia Lehrer, FASLA.
189
fi eld is fenced separately from the more naturalistic parts of the
park, so it can be limi ted to schoolchildren dueing the day and stay
open for night games held under the lights. Drawing on commu-
nity input, the designers located it at the south end of the site,
where its bright lights would be less ofa nuisance.
The designers balanced the formal soccer field with informal
lawn areas. Carlos Calderon, a 14-year-old who lives nearby, says
9. I
he comes twice a week to play fomball
or soccer, but he rarely gets a chance to
play on the fancy turf field. The soccer
field is only free for a half hour each day,
according to Judy Perez Soto, a park
ranger with the MRCA. Even during the
summer months when school is not in
session, the field is locked during the
day, and at night it's reserved for league
play managed by the city's department
of recreation and parks. $oto says the
soccer leaglles charge a fee, which many
children in the immediate neighbor-
hood can't afford. Other landscape ar-
chitects would be wise to consider how
they can design spaces that provide op-
portllnities for athletes not involved in
team sports.
While the older children gravitate
toward the fields, young children play
in an adventure play area deSigned to
get them in touch with natllre. "It was
Romero does not believe
that manufactured play
equipment is essential.
meant to be unconventional," says
Lehrer. "Kids make cheirown fun. They
play with sticks and stones, scramble up
and down a screambed, and climb on
[sculptures of) animals native to the
area." Prop artists from the local movie
industry were broughc in to work on a
giant snake and a turtle that has a small
slide attached to it. The snake is used as
an unusual balance beam and chi ldren
scamper along it.
\Vhen I vi sited on a Sacurday after-
noon, fi ve kids were hanging out here.
While a few children chased one anmh-
er around, caking advantage of obstacles
like logs and boulders, most were just
hanging out in the crevices of the turrle.
"\Ve do wish they would have more
swings and stuff," remarked Dorit Dowlerguero, who was there
with her eight-year-old daughter. But her daughter, Liberty,
liked the turtle, a grassy hill nearby, and having a place where she
could run.
Romero does nm believe that manufactured play equipment is
essential. "We have surveyed kids aboue what they like to do in
parks," shes.'IYs. 'They say they like to jump. TIley like to climb.
A girl runs across the giant snake
sculpture in the children's ad'errture area,
opposite. Organized soccer teams
dominate the large turf soccer field, right.
Roughsurfaced retaining walls with a
faux rirer rock 'eneer, abore, are designed
to hare a national park character a nd
do not seem to attract graffiti.
They like co run. They like co rol l. It's
not necessarily just swinging on a
swmg.
Sustainable Features
Since protecting natural resources is an
essential part of the conservancys mis-
sion, "we tried to put in as many sus-
tainable e[emems as we could," says
Romero. Every effort is made (0 keep
water from running off rhe site. 'The
majority of the park is permeable-99
percent of it! declares Lehrer. Green
rws cover the two restroom buildings
and the park ranger"s office. Decom-
posed granite is used for most of the
paths and gathering areas. Permeable
pavers are used near the entry, and per-
meable concrete is used for the parking lor. Only the concrete
ramps arent permeable.
To slow the water as it runs down the site, the [ower field is
graded [ike a bowl. \Xi"ater that gathers in this bowl-shaped area
is diverted by pipe to a 20,000-gallon cistern under the parking
[or, which is used to irrigate some of the plantings on the site
(the rest are irrigated using city water). Bm there is also a sttong
emphasis on infil tration; the pipe is undersized so that water has
a chance to soak into the ground and replenish the aquifer that is
an important source of water for the region. "[n Los Angeles, we
try to infiltrate whenever we can," says Margul if'S. '' It"s a radical
sea change from five years ago.
The bowl shape and the undersized pipe are vestigial design
features that relate better to the original plan for planting the
lower field as a native meadow than to its current use for active
recreation. During the construction process, seeding a meadow
was determined to be tOO complicated and time-consuming,giv-
en a neighborll(xxl. that was itching to use its park, so the area was
planted wi th lawn instead. Whi le the multipurpose field is much
loved, the way it drains toward t he center is not ideal.
The landscape archi tects' desire to create a small wetland on si te
was also never realized. TIle property is st ill owned by the school
Iy a big deal:' she says. "Kids who weren't friends before are now
friends. Seeing that really gives you a rewarding feel ing .. '
Resources
No Place to Play: a Comparative Alla/YJiJ o/Park Aam in Seven Ma-
jor CitifJ, The Trust for Public Land, 2004. Available online at
www.tPI. orglfierJ jd cjm?contenUftnl_id = 14565 &foldr _id: 266.
'"Toward a Sustainable Los Angeles: A "Nature's Services' Ap-
district, which has strict requirements for
water features. To pass muster, the water
needs to be crystal clear and the bottom of
the pool needs to have a nonslip surface in
case someone wal ks in. Earl y plans for re-
leasing stormwa ter from a nearby storm
sewer into the park were also abandoned
because the water qual ity was tOO poor and
there was not enough funding to clean it
before it was released, says Margulies. How-
ever, there is a small pond near the am-
phitheater, designed to LAUSD guidelines,
that kids like to play in.
"Initially, people worried
about walking in the dark
back home, but now people
proach," University of Southern G lifornia
Center for Sustainable Ci ties, March 2003.
Available online at http://co/!ege.IIJ[.edlllgeo
graphylESPElp"bliCdtioml rlalllrmerviCfJ.html.
'T he School That \Xfasn't;' by Susan An-
derson; TheNafioll, June 5, 201Xl. Available
online at wWl().thi!llation.romlciocI200006051
alldersoll.
h a ~ e made friends with
their neighbors in the park so
it's not really a big deal."
'T he Bolshevik Who Beat Belmont, " by
Ralph Fmmmolino; Los Allgeles Times Maga-
zine, J anuary 7, 200 I.
"Vista Hermosa Park Opens," by Teresa
Watanabe; Los AllgdfJ Til/les, July 20, 2008.
Available online at hup:llarlicles./atimes.coml Naturalistic nati ve plantings are found
chroughom the site. '"The intent was to re-creace portions of che
Santa Monica Mountains through d ifferent planting areas," says
Romero. "The minute we put the trees in, it was like creating a
new subdivision for birds. We had birds fighcing for crees,"' re-
members Landregan. even though che trees are not yet grown in,
many visitors had good things to say abouc the plantings ... , rec-
ognize a lot of the plants from when r go hiking oue in the Simi
Valley," remarked Scephanie Hachaway, who was visit ing the park
for the firsc time. '"There's a lot of natural sages. TIle smell s are JUSt
wonderful."
Buc plancings are not limited to natives; nonnacives including
bougainvillea are used to provide color. "Perception is impor-
cane," says Margulies. "{The conservancy] waneed to make sure
the park would look accractive and have planes Aowering on open-
ing day. Some of our natives are a li tt le more subtle."'
The naturaliscic plantings in the park are used as a learning
tool by the MRCA, and designers hope they can be incorporated
ineo lessons at the high school next door as well. (No longer
wrapped in plastic, the school bui ldings were retrofitted with
systems that vent and monitor underground gases and are now
complete and filled with students). The MRCA's junior ranger
program teaches younger kids who visi t the park about plants,
animals, and environmental issues . 't prepares t hem for trips out
into natural areas, so they know what is safe and what is unsafe.
A program called 'Transi t to Trails" offers inner-city children and
families, many of whom don't have access to cars, monthly field
t ri ps from Vista Hermosa to the beach and the Santa Monica
Mountains.
l1lrough the new park and the programs the MRCA provides, the
neighborhood is coming together more tightly as a community.
Ranger Sow says she hasn 'r encountered any issues with gangs, and
neighbors seem to be less fearful as time goes on. "Ini tially, people
worried about walking in the dark back home, bur now people
have made friends with their neighbors in the park so it's not real-
200SljIlI1201l0Cd1Ime-park20.
. Theenvironmenral impact reporrand other official documents
for Vista Hermosa are avadable online at www./aschools.orgl
t!i.Jtd-bermosaldoCllfl/ClltS.
PROJECT CREDITS Owner: Los Angeles Unified School District,
Los Angeles (R ichard Alonzo, Distriu F superintendent; Rick Hi-
jazi, senior project manager; Tom \Xfarson, health and safety; Ed-
mundo Rodriguez}. Clientl1ead agencies: Santa Monica Mountains
Conservancy/Moumains Recreation and Conservation Auchority,
State ofGli fornia (Joe Edmiston, Honorary ASLA, executive direc-
tor; Stephanie V. Landregan, ASLA, chieflandscape architect ; Bar-
bara Romero, project manager/community liaison, Amy Lech-
bridge, MRCA educati on). Additional oversight: Division of State
Architect, State ofGlifomia (Frank Chia). Landscape architecture!
prime consultant Mia Lehrer + Associates, los Angeles (Mia Lehrer,
FASLA, design partner; Esther Margulies, ASLA, managing partner;
Jeff Hutchins, ASLA, project manager). General contractor: Los An-
geles Engineering, Covina, Califomia (Ron Halquist, project prin-
cipal; l1lecKl.ore Posch, project manager). CiviVsbuctural engineering:
KPFF Inc., Los Angeles (Rick Davis, civil principal in charge; Ku-
mar Halbe, civil projeu engineer; Aaron Reynolds, structural en-
gineer; Devlin Thomas, struuural engineer). Electrical engineering:
Nicolas Abanto. Architect: ERW Design, Malibu, Glifomia (Elaine
Renee Weissman). Irrigation: Sweeny + Associates, San Diego
(Daniel Zumallen). Pood consultant: EPD Consul tants, San Pedro,
C'Ilifomia (Kevin Poffenbarger). Mitigation engineers: SCS Engineers,
Long Beach, C'Ilifomia(Mike Leonard, senior technical manager};
Meredit h & Associates Inc., Los Angeles (Thomas Dolan, senior
engineer). Construction specifications consultants: Jerry Orland. Cost es-
timating: C. P. O'Halloran Associates Inc., Westlake Village, C'li 1-
fornia (Ciaran OHall oran). Gate and fencing artist: Brett Goldstone,
Brett Goldstone Inc., Los Angeles. Public art /signage, etc,l: Art
Share, Los Angeles.
o rever
Northala Fields, the
largest park to be built in
London for a century, is
an exemplar of sustainable
construaion and design.
By Tim Coulthard
T
HE UNMISSABLE EARn I FORMS OF Northala Fields mark a new
gateway [0 ''''est London. They art' landmarks for IX' largest new
park in rhe eil}' for a century and symbols of a momemous struggle
[h'-It rook place before rhe scheme could become a reality.
As well as providing a funmsric Il('W amenity for re.idents in nearby
Northolr and E.lling. Nortlmla Fields represents proof of an ecologically
sound, financially robust model for rhe creation ofa major new gR"tTl spoce.
Lead designers foRM Associares(formerly Arr2Archi recrure) have seen
the project through an eight-yenr journey, working in a project ream that
also included EOAW ecologist Peter Neal and design and budd support
from LDA Design. During thar period, rhe pract ice has been cast various-
ly as desi,gner, mediator, agitator, and savior bur has emerged vindicated
for its passion and persistence.
Norrhala r ields lies at t he h(-arr of t he Northolt and Greenford Coun-
tryside Park, a network of open spaces covering 100 hectares, from
Northolrvillage in the north to Ruislip Rood in the somh and flanked by
the busy A40. 11lc: new park occupies an IRS-hectare plot that was first
acquired by Ealing Borough in 1997 from Kensington and Chelsea, which
The plan shows Ihe major
fealures on Ihe Northala
Fields sile: IAJ urban fishery,
181 model bGaling lake, lei reed
bed, IDJ borehole water source,
lEI swale, IFI playground,
ICllookoLlt, IHI meadows/wetlands,
III woodland, IJI amphitheater,
IKI primary path, and
III parking areas,
had previously used it for sportS fields for
schools. The site lay dormant until 2000,
when Ealing launched a compet ition for
ideas for uses for the land, which had started
to attract antisocial behavior and was prone
to flooding, a threat to nearby housing.
Fink was struck by
the " emotional
who was struck by the emotional connec-
tion between the female form and landscape."
FoRM's proposals for Northala Fields rep-
resented a dramatic move away from the
conventional British not ion of public parks,
both in design and implementation. The
dominant forms are four conical mounds 15,
20,25, and 30 meters high that screen the
border of t he site. They are both playful and
functional, acting as an extremely efficient
noise screen from the ad jacent A40. ror
Rob Cairns, who at the time was Ealing's
project manager, said the brief concentrated
on the practical requirements for incorpo-
rating the necessary earth fill, using water,
offeri ng flood defenses, and featuring an eco--
connection between
the female form and
landscape .. "
logical focus. The general feeling was that there should be an
artistic approach to the earth forming, but the direct ion was not
specified to competi tion entrants. Cairns says the entry led by
FoRM was the "obvious choice" Ix-cause 'they responded beSt to
the brief, incorporating all of the elements in a meaningful way."
Black-and-white photography dating back to the 190(}s provid-
ed the spark of inspiration for FoRM partner Peter r ink. One par-
ticular shot of a naked woman had particular resonance for rink,
9. 1
Fink, the forms have a very dear effect on visi tors. '" \VIe were try-
ing to find a resolution that doesnt overwhel m the urban rim. I
was fascinated about creat ing a landscape in a city on a scale that
doesn'texisr. I had this idea of propelling people into movement,
and that is what happens here-they arri ve and get up onto the
mounds and move around. It's big enough to have that effect. "
The smaller mounds are turf covered and planted with wild-
flowers to add seasonal vibrancy, while the largest mOllnd features
TIte COIIItntctJoII !If tile ....... ..... . .......,.u4 100,010 clllllc: ....................... L
A c .. I ... ,... .. pia)' area. ,..,.., _1Itdet. coierf1ll, _Ikea" nnioII of tile ..... ..
a spiral path and seating that lead to
the peak. From there, the view back
across the city makes Canary Wharf
visible, creating an unprecedented
link between east and west. In the
other direction, the (hilterns are
visible on a clear day. To the delight
of the designers, the mounds are al-
ready being absorbed into the so-
cial and cultural functions of the
surrounding community. Some
uses are unsurprising- they are a
wonderful slXlt for sledding during
snow. But others have been totally
unexpected--on certain holy days,
hundreds of Hindus come to the
eastern mound to pray at sunrise.
llwre are further instances that
reinforce the powerful effect of
landscape on emotion and behav-
ior, says Fink. "The local school has
autistic children, who are often
very sensitive to too much open
space. Bm for some reason, they re-
ally took to this mound, and when
they get disturbed or upset, the
school staff brings them here and
walks them round the padl. The
kids have recently designed their
uniform and have included the
mound and path on rhe badge.'
The buildup of the mounds
was critical to unlocking rhe fi-
nancial and ecological benefits of
the project. The si te is entirely
self-financing by using inert waste
from building projects around the
$omheast. The construct ion of the
mounds ultimately used 100,000
cubic meters of imported material,
much of it from some of the re-
gions best-known projects. As we
walk up the largest mound, Fink
reveals that beneath our feet are the
recycled rubble from Wembley
Stadiums legendary twin towers
and material displaced for the Ter-
minal5 building at Heathrow.
It would evencually take about
65,000 truckloads of waste to create
the park, and it is estimated that if the clean
constmction spoil was not used here, rhen
13,000 journeys of several hundred miles to
outlying landfills would have been necessary,
in addition to the embOOied energy used fur
(he passive processing of the materiaL
The earth forms have been delivered al-
most as they wert originally conceived, but
the (){her aspens of the park have been com-
promised. In de\'eloping the plans and ac-
companying funding model , FoRM devel-
oped (wo options of varying degrees of
Benealh our feel are
recycled mbble frolll
Wernbler Sladjuln all d
materjal displaced
for the Tennil181 5
building al Headll'OlV.
ambition. Northala Fields could develop as
either a fiscally neutral project-solely hllld-
ed by 6 million of spoil-generated income,
delivering a park with a functioning urban
fishery and a limited range oflocal Sport, art,
and play fJcilities; oran aspirational projea-
a sustainable exemplar 2lst-cemury park
with a wide range of facilities supported by a
long-term endowment fund for maimenance
and a provision of free inclusive educational,
art, and sport programming. To mttf those
objectives, r"ORM proposed a visitor cemer
housing educational facilities, a
cafe, a park ranger office, and
lets. This would be set in a fully
WiMAX-connected park, with an
environmental education program
based on accessibility
through mobile phones and
al databases designed [Q explore
the connect ions between people
and their local, regional, and glob-
al environment.
111ere would also be a program of
vocational training [Q deliver skins
required [Q maintain and manage
this type of park; innovative play
facilities exploring water; a central
core designed as a demonstration
landscape environment exploring
the value and meaning of water
through play, education, and
design; and a
new pedestrian and cycle bridge.
The regrettable loss of this more
ambitious option certainly cannot
be blamed on the designers, who
from the outset had embarked on
an extensive period of public
search and consultation ro create passionate support and establish
truSt among the pol iticians. As happens tOO often on major
scape schemes, the budget fell afoul of political upheaval as, in
2006, the incoming conservative administration in Ealing
propriated 750,000 of the previously funding and
downgraded the park.
'The cultural services people
who were put in charge of the parks
took a look at the accounts for [his
project, saw the money sitting there
waiting for the work to continue,
and said [hey would take the
ey for other uses and downgrade
this project--do the minimum
here," says Fink. "Bur the public
was so commi tted to this project
that they had a demonstration of
1,000 people in from of the town
hall, which almost never happens."
At this point, feeling there was
no option, FoRM spoke out
licly against the council and was
fi red from the project. A media
row ensued, in which the public
advocates of the scheme had their
say. "The public's understanding
of the issue'S was so clear that the
people could argue on behalf of
the project almost as if they were
landscape architects," says Fink.
Ultimately, the council
ed and the public had the park it
demanded , albeit the less
tious version first proposed. Fink is now philosophical about the
negative response of the council, which has subsequently brought
his firm back on board. "People {at the counci I) genuinely didn't
understand what was happening in this project, but they have
now changed their views," he s.'lyS.
There isstill hope that a second phase can deliver some of those
extra features, but, even now, what has been delivered is a huge
asset for the area. \Xfhile the earth mounds dominate visually, fur-
ther design features add to the range of activities possible in the
park. Fishing is a major new recreat ion provision not only for the
park but also for West london. The lakes, to be managed by a
fishing charity, will provide mixed-<:aurse fishing, with up to 60
fishing pegs, offering day-ticket facilities and featuring specific
provisions for disabled, youth, and family fishing. Model boating
is to be accommodated on the amenity pool, and there are also tra-
ditional and natural playground areas and equipment. An enter-
tainment amphitheater has been
built into the new landform, pro-
viding a venue for local commu-
nity and scluX)1 events.
Enhancing the ecological valLie
of the site has been limited toade-
grtt by the proximity of Royal Air
Force Norrholt airfield and the po-
tential risk to aviation safety of at-
tracting large nLimbers of bird
species that may increase the risk of
bird strikes. As a result, the ecolog-
ical gains have been carefully aimed
at habitats and species that will nor
attract bird species of concern.
Habitats include areas of exist-
ing woOO. land near the perimeter
of the site and additional woodland
plancing around the perimeter.
\Xfithin the site, where possible,
the existing ecological resource of
dead elm hedgerows is salvaged
and integrated incothe new wood-
land areas.
Meadow types are the dominant
vegetation in the development,
covering the prop::rsed mounds and
most of the area co the south. A
range of meadow types is being established through the careful
selection and placement of imported material and differing man-
agement regimes, providing an ecological showcase for different
meadow and grassland flora and fauna.
The new water system captures ground and surface water
drainage from the new landform and is augmented by a borehole
supplying groundwater from a deep aquifer. The borehole allows
a constant water flow co be maintained through the water system,
particularly during periods of low rainfall. From its source, the
water flow is spli t, one part flowing into the recreation water catch-
ment and the second into the ecological water catchment.
The recreation water catchment features a large, shallow
amenity pool designed to provide a calm water surface suitable for
use by model boaters. The fishing area is a relatively large water
I:xxl.y that is divided on the surface with causeways and board-
walks co form six smaller water bodies (co discourage bird take-
off and landing). CLirrent proposals are for rhe fishery to be
stocked and managed as a clear-water mixed-course fishery.
111e ecological catchment includes education habitats- co the
SOUth of the amenity pool are a pond and wetland matrix with
dipping and observation platforms to encourage direct interaction
for school and interest groups with the wetland and water com-
munities. The outfall watercourses-from both watercatchments
as well as the scormwater drainage for the whole site-are two
newly created watercourses flowing into an existing watercourse
lying to the south of the site.
Wherever possible, materials used in the landscape details are
sourced from reused or recycled materials. Crushed concrete,
mainly produced on site from im-
paned demolition material, is
used extensively for gab ion retain-
ing walls, structural fill, and sub-
base and wearing course material
for most paths. Timber for seats
and bins is from reclaimed railway
sleepers; path edging and fishing
platforms are constru([ed from re-
cycled plastic;and paving materi-
als are reclaimed granite cobbles,
curbs, or new materials construct-
ed with a high proportion of recy-
cled material.
Despite ItS troubled birth,
Northala Fields now stands as a fine
example of what can be achieved
when passionate designers, public
support, and political will coincide
to attempt projects on a g rand
scale. For Fink, it was a long but re-
warding process. \Xfhen we won
the competition, everyone said,
You can'e build this on people's
doorsteps: At that point we went
into a two-year consultation with
the public. Wle were not paid, bue
we slowly saw people buy into it
until they became the project's greatest supporters.'
Cairns, who still maintains a project management ro!edespite
leaving Ealing, believes Norrhala Fields offers valuable lessons
for other authorities. "As a template for creating public space, if
is something everyone should look at."
Tim COlli/hard i1 the editw a/Landscape magazine.
Reprinted with permission from the February 2(X)9 issue ofl..dnd-
JUJpt magazine.
PROJECT CRDITS Lead designers: FoRM Associates Ltd. (former-
ly Art2Architecfure Ltd.), london. Ecology: Peter Neal, EDAW,
London. Engineering: Techniker Ltd., London, and Peter Bren As-
sociates, London. Landscape design: EDAW ,london, and FoRM As-
sociates Ltd., London. Prolect management: EDAW, London.
Deslgnlbuildteam: c.J. Pryors(main contractor), Harlow, and C. R.
Swift (landscape contractor), Essex, with LDA Design, London.
1,.,
Ace Torre, FASLA, sketches as a catalyst for ideas.
By James Richards, ASLA
102 1 Landscape Architecture MAY lOot
Torre explores ideas through
eye level sketch studies and
his signature tilt-up aerial
drawing technique.
A
CONVERSATION with
Ace Torre, FASLA, can be exhaust-
ing. The 61-year-old designer leaps
with boyish enthusiasm from world-
wide conservation issues to French
philosophy to the intricate derails of a
building roof. BlIt at some point, words
aren't enough co communicate the (om-
plexities of his ideas. Then, he draws.
Drawing IS a common thread that knits
together Torre's way of seeing, thinking, and
practicing across several complex areas of en-
d(-avor. He IS a registered archi-
tect, an architea, an interior designer, and
a (iry planner who has distinguished himself
as one of the fOremost designers of moclern
mos in rhe United Scates, and he has a brood
portfolio of award-winning parks, warer-
froms, and urban revitalizations as well. He
is a gifted musician who once pursued aca-
reer in rock and roll, as well as an author
who paints, sculpts, and designs furniture
(and his own residence) for good measure.
How did theone-rime New Orleans key-
l:xmdist become Auem in such a range of
crearive disciplines? "f love rodraw," he 5.'lys.
Torre began his career as the founder of
the urban design department within the
New Orl eans Planning Commi ssion,
bringing design thinking and his gift of
drawing to the political agency's vision of
the city. After leaving government to study
in h aly as a Rome Pr ize recipient, he
worked as a designer in architectural pro-
duction firms and eventually became a part-
ner in a landscape architectural pructice that
after years of evolution and a buyout exists
toclayas Torre Design Consortium.
Along the way he invented his own
unique approach to design drawing,
which he termed "the tilt-up technique. "
In his 1986 book Site PenpatilJeJ, he de-
scribes it as "a free-form combination of
aerial, axonometric, isometric, and one-
point perspective" that lays back build-
ing walls and site elements to expose all
for design study. These epic drawings are
SHAIED IISDOII
quickly constructed to scale on trace over
the rough plan view, and they allow design
exploration ofhardscape, plantings, archi-
tectural facades, and spatial relationships si-
multaneously. It's a particularly potent tool
for the many complex facets of zoo design,
especially when the designer is thinking
concurrently in the capacities of architect,
landscape archi tect, and interior designer.
For any gi ven project, Torre's tilt-up
view is supplemented with a staggering
number of loose, freehand cross sections
and perspccrives that, through many over-
lays and refinements, fix the details and
characrer of the vision. Many of these loose
drawings find their way into the digital
construction documents, allOWing con-
tractors to clearly see his design intent.
After visiting Torre's office in a former
historic schoolhouse on Magazine Sereet in
New Orleans, , became anxious to share
Torre's unique approach to drawing and
practice with a new generation of design-
ers. Torre and J sac down for a rambling
series of conversat ions over tWO days in
February.
104 1 Landscape Architecture MAY lOot
J.R.: There are a ron of drawings in here!
TORRE: We've done 35 zooprojecrs. I have
probably 5,000 sketches. Some are loose;
some are refined. Some big, some small.
J.R.: Freehand drawing is a big pan of
your working style and your firm's identi-
ty. 111at'S increasingly rare even in design
offices. Why do you draw?
TORRE: Because [ love ro draw. [t's a vehi -
de thac allows exploration. If you can't
draw ic and see it, ic's impossible to think
Torre's quick study sketch captures the design
er's first thought for an entry plaza, left. The
eye level of the perspectl'e is
raised to allow a view of the
swamp beyond. Proportions and
perspective are refined through
trace overlays, below left.
The final sketch, below,
is still loose enough to encour
age client feedback.
if through. And if your intent is to work
on a project that requires other people to
undersmnd your Vision and you can'r draw
ic so chac chey undersmnd it, ie's impossi-
ble to go furrher into refinement. So ic's a
powerful tool, but it's only a tool if you
like co draw. A lac of people are intimidac-
ed by scarring. They expecc a mascerpiece
when chey smrCOUL A lotof [he drawings
I do are no good. Bue che exercise chac I
wenc chrough to creace chern, to think
aoout chem, and to discard chern is sci II a
posicive process in arriving ac che ulcimace
design solution. And chere's a continuum
in this office that if the idea is strong
enough, ic goes through another iceracion
and another iteration and eventually finds
its way into [he final elecrronic produc-
cion sec as a freehand drawing.
You know, ae [he rurn of (he cemury, che
educated man had to be able rodraw. l fyou
couldn't draw, you weren't eruly considered
an educated man. Nowadays, those of us
who like to draw, draw. A lot of people look
at it as tedium, and dley only use it when
rhey have to-you know, you do a plan and

you have co do [he obligatory cwo sketches.
Then the value isn't much because you've
already set everything in position. But in
our case it's an iterative process back and
forth , using drawing as a tool [Q explore
mther than to justifY or clarify what you al-
ready did. I think that's a big difference.
Torre creilted his first titt-up drawing, above,
ollt of iI need to explore the complex urban re-
lationships of New Orleilns's SL Charles Street
in three dimensions. The approilch won iI major
competition for the design commission. Torre
explains and re.c;reates the thought process of
multiple vanishing lines for the St. Charles
Street sketch, left. His initial sketch,
bottom left, tries to capture the ''feel'' of the
proiect. As the sketch evol'es, bottom right,
ideas for architecture, theme, branding, and
distant landforms are explored.
LR.: You're probably the most prol ifi c
sketcher I know in any discipline. Is sheer
volume of drawings pan: of how you work
through the creative process?
TORRE: I believe more is better. I haw to do
that volume to really see what it looks like
and then show people what I'm trying to
create so that they can react and modifY it.
So the volume is a result of the process.
I also believe that more is more accurate
and informative. You can see the nooks and
crannies and twists and turns of a design if
IUY toot Landscape Architecture 1 105
you draw your way through if. If you do a
plan and then you do the requisite three il-
luscrarives, you probably pick them based
on whar you think the key points are. Bur
you know, there may be L,OOO important
points (ha{ constitute {he overall experi-
ence. Then 50 sketches is going to be ber-
ter rhan rhree, righr?
J.R.: Well, when your cont ract caLis for
The process for creating the plan is outlined on
this page and opposite: IAI After reconciling sur
vel' information with a planimetric aerial base,
Torre sketches through plan ideas at 40 scale.
IBI Revised ideas are taped into place to avoid
redrawing. lei Building footprints are highlight
ed in red to keep critical lines ,isible through
successive overlays. IDI Torre adds color to the
preliminary plan 'iew.
rhreedrawings and you're doing 50, obVI-
ously speed is a factor. So how did you
learn {() work fast?
TORRE: 111e way I dorhings came ro me by
being a student at Louisiana State Univer-
sity (LSU) while playing music as a profes-
sional four or five nights a week in New
Orleans. I didn't have a lot oftime co pon-
der, you know? So you heard what you had
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to h(-ar in class, came down and played mu-
sic, went back to school early. And YOll at-
racked rhe drawing. \'Vhile people were
sti ll raping it down, plltting a border on it,
thinking about it, I was already halfway
through rhe project because I didn't have
time. And it turned out to be a great asset
to be able to push through and get stuff
down and to realize that hey, even if it's
scribbled, it's something; it's a srarr. And
from the scribble you can do layers and re-
finement, modify it,and so forrh.Just get-
ting started was so imjXlrmnt. If you end
up throwing the whole thing away, you've
still made progress. As long as that sheet's
blank, you've done nothing.
And I believe that great French adage that
"your first idea is probably your best." If you
can get it right the first time, or get it right
enough as in there are no finite, black-and-
white solutions to any design problem, and
if you fed goOO about it once it's executed,
did you really need six weeks to work on it,
or could you have done it in threedays? And
[ do like the intensity of JUSt jamming it
through. So for better or worse, it's the way
rhat I do it. It's what allows a relarively small
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more people to do. I find it's a really great
solurion.
I.R.: When doyol.! first rememberdmwing?
TORRE: When I was in grammar school. A
buddy of mine and J got ouc of a lac of
classwork by doing murals (laughs). I re-
member wedid a mural of Egyptian tem-
ples with Pharaoh's army riding horses.
They filled the whole wall- he'd be on
chis side and I'd be on che other, we'd dis-
cuss a liccle, and we'd work co che cencer.
In high school I gOt inca drawing auco-
mobiles so chat che racing slicks looked
like black rubber, and che chrome had che
righc refleccion. Bur when I goc ca L<;U, I
was lost for the first few projects because I
didn'c underscand che drawing vocabulary
for landscapes. So I tried to invenc myown
vocabulary and wasted a lot of time.
LR.: \Vas chere an "aha" moment when
you "got it," or was it more a matter of de-
108 1 Landscape Architecture MAY lOot
Haying detennined the most advantageous angle
from which to construct the tilt-up drawing, Torre
oyerlays the plan view with trace and draws the
central "yanishing line" perpendicular to the bot-
tom of the sheet. This line's placement is impor-
tant as the viewer's eye will be drawn to this part
of the finished sketch. (AI Radial "vanishing
lines" are drawn from rertical edges of mportant
plan features toward an imaginary vanishing point
off the bottom of the sheet. Lines are adjusted
slightly from true perspective as needed to allow
for the most infonnatie view of vertical features
veloping the skills and drawing vocabu-
lary over cime?
TORRE: Ic was when my professor Max
Conrad, FASLA, brought me Ted Kautzky's
Pencil Brwdsjdes book. J probably spent a
month duplicating every drawing just co
see what it would feel like. J eventually
learned chac there were these icons used as
a vocabulary that when assembled created
such as building facades. (8) Using vanishing
lines as a guide, the first yertical lines are pro-
jected up from building corners to begin to create
a 3-D effect. The yerticallines are drawn to the
same scale as the plan view. (el More buildings
are "popped up," their angle guided by the yan-
ishing lines to simulate an aerial perspeclie view.
Unlike a true aerial perspective, Yertical elements
are drawn to scale, allowing the designer to ell"-
plore concepts with true dimensions as the draw-
ing evolyes. lDI The red lines are an aid to make
the vanishing lines more yisible for the reader.
a greac skecch thac looked like a landscape
archicectural drawing. And once I gOt che
hang ofic, I really loved chac approach.
\Vhen I used co teach dmwing, I"d make
(he scudents crace for che first month. Pick
a style that you like and trace it so you can
physi cally feel the hand strokes and what it
takes to create it. TIlat exercise pushes it
backward into your brain, and as a result
-
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Hardscapes are the second most specified product
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- I

l a l 1 d t ~ ~ Q
archl e e
I
\
you have a base vocabulary to make things
happen. You know, when you play the pi-
ano there's a certain feel to the keys. It 's che
same process in drawing. If you can get a
vocabulary and physically understand what
it takes to make these marks and icons that
when assembled make a sketch, it putS you
much farther ahead than if you were try-
ing to invent your own vocabulary. You can
kill yourself that way. It would be like cry-
ing to invem your own language every
time you meet somelxxly. You'd wear your-
self OUt; nolxxly would understand you and
you'd never make any progress.
I.R.: How did you develop che cilt-up
cechnique?
TORRE: l ike everydling else, out of necessi-
cy. It came ouc of che Sr. Charles Streec de-
sign competition. I laid it out in plan view,
and it was all square building fOotprints and
rectangular streets and circles that were go-
ing to be trees. I looked at it and said, '"I
110 1 Landscape Architecture MAY lOot
lEI The ]0 tiltup litkes shape as more ele
ments are edended vertically, using the "wan
ishing lines" as guides. Rough perspective
studies are used as a design tool for the evolv-
ing drawing. IFI A revised tiltup concept for
the lodge building, based on a quick eyelewel
perspective sketch study, is taped into place.
With all revisions in place, a final overall trac-
ing can be created. (GI After the final overlay
is created, the completed tiltup is printed and
color is applied. Shadows for trees, buildings,
and other vertical elements are a key to creat-
ing a convincing ]0 eHect. Torre draws shad
ows horizontally, parallel to the boHom of the
sheet. IHI A closeup view of the entry com-
plex reveals details of both plan wiew features
and vertical elements, including architectural
facades. The subtle green grid indicates one
acre squares. Each acre represents an aver
age $4 to $9 million in investment, providing
designer and client with a wisual budgetall lool
for discussion.
don't even know what this is going to look
like." So I envisioned it in perspenive as a
whole street scene, but rather than every-
thing coming to a single point I took a
Pence I and taped it to a yardstick and cre-
ated multi ple points, laying the building
facades back. Since it was drawn to scale, I
saw fOf the first time chat these blocks are
all small historic buildings. And cheseoch-
ers are larger, more urban scale downtown
bui ldings, and soon four zones and a radi-
cal new element to tie them togecher stan:
to evolve jusc based on peeling chese fa-
cades back.
Ac che time J JUSt did it and then
thoughc about it lacer. Somecimes you use
your imuitive sense and just do it, and if
you're pleased with it , you go back and
think about it and figure out what worked.
Then it's a tool.
I.R.: It seems to work particularly well in
zoo design. You've got so many issues that
you're trying to think through, starting
with values and the conservation message,
deciding how to translate that into a visi-
tor experience, then translating that expe-
rience into form ..
TORRE: \'{1e always start with the fuet that
everything on the earth is interconnected.
So how do you tell stories that help people
undersmnd why critters have SpotS or stripes
or why they"re big or small, dimborswim?
Its usually based on the complexity of a
globe that has differential heating because
its a sphere that has wind patterns that cre-
ate 'le,gemtive habitats that create geograph-
ic issues. It's hard to tell a Story without get-
ting into the whole and why it's like it is.
Our concept fur the Northwest Passage at
the Memphis Zoo began with a scribble of
what the journey would be like. And from
there it went to diagrams that tilt up visu-
alizing how it works, and J did a wholes!ew
of sketches. The (oo! thing is that it's a Jour-
ney, not only geographically, but in time.
YOll know, the last land bridge of the Ice
Age was 10,000 years ago. That bridge led
critters to come to North America; people
followed and that then led (0 the creation
of different nations of people as groups. So
this is as much about the history of the
United Sratesas it is about the animals. An
ice age befalls us, patterns change, people
move, and a whole new nation is OOrn.111en
comes this genius, Chief Seatrie, who tells
Congress in 1854 that man didnt create the
web of life, he's merely a strand in it, and
what he does to the web he does to himself.
He moves on, and we won't pick up t hat
idea again for 120 years.
So as you go through the exhibit, you're
actually moving across t he land bridge and
across time through 3,000 or 4,000 years
of change that leads to at least four culwr-
al ent ities. Journeys like this link different
forms of vegetation, different cri tters do-
ing different things, different ecological in-
terrelationships. Our work rakes the visi-
tors and puts them there. Nor just to look
around, but to show them a sequence of
events that explains why things are the
way they are. And if it's a really great ('X-
hibi t, in the end you mo'le somelxxly.
J.R.: Teil me about the role of drawing in
your personal creative process.
TORRE: 1 work with a lot of groups. So I' m
sitting with 10 people, and theres a blank
sheer. They don't know what it's going to

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11 2 1 Landscape Architecture MAY lOot
AMERICAN SOClfIY Of lANDSCAPE IDrUl1m, '
636 EYE SlRffl NW, WASHIN610N,
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SHAIED WISDOII
be. I don't know what it's going to be. At
that point you have to draw. And what's re-
ally different about what we do rather than
what engineers, attorneys, and other people
do is we can create the magic of a visual im-
age. Even just running a cross section and
drawing your little scale person, showing
where the sight line is-that's juSt magical.
It also helps them see what dirt'(tion you're
moving in. So it's a great t(X)1. And the real-
ity is, I can't see it until I draw it.
J.R. : You don't see it finished in your mind
first?
TORRE: No; there might be some kind of
concept or thought process there, but to
see if it works or not you have to draw it,
and then you have to draw it to scale, Look
at those wonderful drawings by Leonardo
da Vinci- the way he rakes something and
cutS it apart and then analyzes it and ru-
rates it and explores how it hooks onto an-
other gizmo. It's JUSt great! But he had to
draw it to understand it and to demon-
st rate what he's thinking to somelxxly else.
The other thing that I really love about
drawing is when somet hing evolves t hat
you didn't think was going to happen. You
had no idea. It's like a resulting force. You
explore this, then that, and what eventual-
ly comes , you didn 't anticipate. That's
what everybody's l(X)king for- that's the
magic of discovery.
J.R.: So how do hand drawing and com-
puter work imerface in the office now?
TORRE: As an evolution. Doing that stuff
on the computer early on takes more time
to set it upand get it going. Of course once
you have it set up, you're on your way. But
at the schematic level, you're at your loos-
est, most amorphous experience; it's part of
the search, So we'll do all the initial explo-
ration in freehand. Even the plan is done in
freehand with the sfXIt grades. Once we 've
got the first iteration approved and we
think we have a goo:l thing going, then we
actually transition to electronic production.
I do miss that our office doesn't l(X)k like a
design office anymore; it l(X)ks like an in-
surance company with a bunch of people
sitting at computers. I loved it when there
were big drawing tables and drawings
hanging off the side.
I find it wry interesting that there are a
lot of programs to make eienronic drnwinf,'S
look like hand drawings. In the old days,
hand style, line weight, the way you articu-
lated the line you drew- if somel:xxly had
talent, the drawings were good. If they
didn 't, they were bad. With electronic pro-
duction, drnwings are good, period. So you
have to look funher to see what's inside the
drawing, beGluse they can be incorrect or
misleading. Even with an electronic mon-
tage you can have scale problems because
people don't understand the concept of the
horiwn line. It 's so easy bur I'll seeelectron-
ic mock-ups that are all wrong; it's a matter
of not understanding how perspective works.
J.R.: Do you do all rhe hand drawing?
TORRE: [ do all rhe illustrative design
drawing. As we refine rhe project, my Staff
will do imponam hand drawings ro d is-
CU!iS prior to producing rhem electronical-
ly. Speed is a factor as well. I can blaze
through a concept pretty quickly and do a
whole lot of drawings where someone else
might JUSt be getting starred; otherwise
we'd have to have more people. So we run
a pretty efficient machine based on this it-
erative process we've developed.
J.R.: Your drawings and your built work
have a robust feel to them. Does your
drawing style inAuence the design, or does
your vision of {he finished design dictate
the drawing style?
TORRE: Neither. Bur I guess if it's work-
ing like it should, the way the first draw-
ing feels is how the built project ends up
feeling. Maybe it won't look exactly like
rhis, bur ir should feel like this. I think
thar's what you're going for.
J.R.: I've written about the speed advan-
tages of working very small. You, on the
other hand, work very large.
TORRE: I think ir takes the same amount of
time to drnw a large drnwing You do have
more real estate to cover, but ifyou're mov-
ing quickly, and you're not afrnid to just
blaze through it, and you're working with
a pen like a club rather than in a refined
posi tion, it's a great way to work.
Lu-ge size is also good for drnwing with
rhedient. If you want to have somebody be
pan of the process, put the tracing up and
draw it with them there. Maybe they can't
drnw, bur they feel they're really inAuencing
the design because they're there while it'sac-
tually being shaped. It has a whole different
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SHUED WISDOII
impact dlan if you showed up with
a big slick presemation and you're
asking them to sign off on it as the
best thing since sliced bread.
tract document, He's got little notcs
on it, making calculations and then
scrntching out. That's che drnwing
t hat built the biggest dome that
mankind had ever seen, And that
was his drawing, in his own hand.
l.R.: You've said that a tremendous
amoum of design personality could
be developed through drawing
skills,
.... Pedel SIp penl. New pens are used to : , : . : . ~ : ' : : : h : t
I think anybody can be taught to
drnw with a level of proficiency. But
if you're at the proficiem level only
and you llatedoing it, you're nutgo-
ing to embrace it like you really en-
joyed itorreally believed in its pow-
er as a tool. And if you don't feel
comfortable with drawing it, how
TORRE: If you look at a lot of draw-
ings, you can see or maybe feel the
personality of the person who did it- the
way they textured it, the lack of texture, the
freedom of the strokes-so whether some-
body's tightly wound or a free spirit, they
portray their personality in their hand. Now
it's different in the elect ronic age because
that's an aggregate of different attributes
that you locate from different plac("S and as-
semble, So ic can hide whecher you are loose
as a goose or ti ght as a dock. Bur in hand
drawings, you can see jX:rsonality, [ enjoy
chat; it's something r like to see,
114 1 Landscape Architecture MAY lOot
he sands them to create thicker
J.R.: \'V'hat would you say is the value of
drawing to landscape architects-today
and in the future?
TORRE: Delineation of concept. There's a
very human quality there, When you look
back ac grC'".lt renderings from da Vinci on,
you're looking into that guy's brain, You
can see how he made those strokes, how he
crossed someching oue or correcced and
modified it. Back in the kitchen we have a
drawing that's a cross senion of Brunel -
leschi's Duomo in Florence, That's a con-
can you fi gure itom?
Romamically I want hand drawing to
stay. Pragmatically I don't know how it can
be replaced. J find it hard to imagine. Bur [
believe that in the future there will be mOf('
people who want to draw, because it's more
valuable than it's ever been before.
James RichardJ, ASIA, is cofollnder oj TOUJn-
scope IlIc" all "rball desigll COllsllltallCY bmed fII
Arlillgtoll, Texas, alld isa Bradford Williams
Medal wIllller.