DENVER DESIGN DISTRICT..............................................ECOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK PLAN...................................MORGAN LIBRARY COURTYARD.....................................ARCHERY RANGE...............................................................BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES GREEN ROOF..........................PONDEROSA CANYON COMMUNITY...............................WRITTEN WORKS...............................................................QUEST LIVING WALL.........................................................PARK(ING) DAY.................................................................

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Katy MillerBachelor of Science Landscape Architecture ‘14

Colorado State University

DENVER DESIGN DISTRICT

01

“There is no logic that can be superimposed on the city; people make it, and it is to them, not buildings, that we must fit our plans.”

-Jane Jacobs

For this project, my team and I had the opportunity to create a plan for Denver’s upscale urban design district. The site is located within the city

proper on the intersection of Alameda and Broadway and is home to many fine jewelry, art, and decor storefronts. With an area of roughly one square

mile, our charge was to research the theories and components of what make a city successful and implement them into an ideal urban plan for the

site.

ANALYSISLegend

INDUSTRIAL

RESIDENTIAL

PARKS/OPEN SPACE

GOVERNMENT FACILITIES

RETAIL

RESTAURANTS

SCHOOLS

RELIGIOUS CENTERS

HousingParksGovernment

RetailRestaurantsReligion

Education

IndustrialSite Parameters

A thorough site analysis was the first step in the design process. Visiting the site allowed for an understanding of the site’s character through talking to locals, photo documentation, sketches, and site inventory.

PROCESS

The design process began by borrowing elements of other successful cities around the world and scaling

them in accordance with the site.

The next step began to refine these rudimentary ele-ments into a formal layout, informed through external

site conditions and needs.

The balance between soft and hardscapes is explored in the next phase as well as location of elements as

determined by walking radii.

Furthering the elements into zones allowed for a sense of organization within the site and helped break

it up into manageable design problems.

The main artery of the district was implemented as a greenway to connect external ecological corridors

and provide a recreational reprieve in the city.

The last step began to look at the site in more detail and furthered the development of circulation pat-

terns, planting plans, and building size.

HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

A mixed-use housing development has been placed within the site to accommodate a variety of demographics. Strategically placed near the entrance of the transit station, the location allows for easy access to public transportation, thus minimizing reliance on the automobile. Also included within the housing development are private pools, areas to congregate, and community gardens.

NORTH TRANSIT PLAZA

Annual Ridership from this Station (2013)

Light Rail Service Area

Light Rail Service Area

2.86 million people

2,340 square miles48 miles of track

40 6 2municipalities counties cities

exist along the length of the light rail

02

ECOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK PLAN

“The first law of ecology is that everything is related to everything else.”-Barry Commoner

For the Fort Collins’ city framework plan, various scales were analyzed in order to produce a cohesive strategy which maximizes the city’s ecological

well-being. This project began as a study in analyzing patterns within the nat-ural systems of Fort Collins and recognizing where these patterns could be

strengthened. The following pages display how gaps in wildlife corridors can be mitigated through revitalizing neglected lots in Fort Collins as well as making

better use of median parking.

SITE 1

before

Precedents

Project Description

Neglected lots can be found scattered throughout Fort Collins. These spaces have no real identity and are an eye sore to the community. Due to many of these lots’ central location, they have the potential to pro-vide a valuable resource to the city. This particular site, located near Prospect and Meridian Avenue, is near the entrance of Colorado State University and could potentially serve as a gateway to the university while patching gaps that exist in the overall ecological web.

after

SITE 2

Project Description

Precedents

The Old Town portion of College Avenue contains an abundance of median parking that causes congestion, is not aesthetically appealing, and does not promote ecological sensitivity. This area could be greatly improved by implementing a green corridor through the median. The proposed pedestrian greenway would open up College Avenue to cyclists and various animal species while diverting parking to surrounding parking garages.

before

after

MORGAN LIBRARY COURTYARD

03

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end be-

cause once you get there, you can move mountains.”-Steve Jobs

The Morgan Library is centrally located within Colorado State University’s campus. The courtyard is currently an unwelcoming, underutilized space that takes up two floors within the library. My design proposal begins to

display the courtyard’s full potential by incorporating pyramidal study cubi-cles and a diverse palette of vegetation into the space. Each cubicle is cus-tom designed with a different texture so as to easily identify when meeting

fellow classmates for study sessions.

FCAA ARCHERY RANGE

04

“The shot will only go smoothly when it takes the archer himself by surprise.” -Eugen Harrigel

The Fort Collins Archery Association range is located east of Fort Collins on Mulberry and I-25. This project required research about the technical aspects of what is needed in an archery range including regulation length target cours-

es, obstacles for field archery, training areas, and implementation of safety requirements. The following pages show the progression of my design to incor-

porate these elements as well as including space for additional recreational activities.

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES GREEN ROOF

05

“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.”

-Martin Luther

On the fourth floor of the Behavioral Sciences building at Colorado State University lies a vacant balcony overlooking the entire campus. This building was constructed two years ago yet no action has been taken to implement a design that would allow the space to be enjoyed. Considering harsh con-

ditions that green roofs must endure, the low available square footage, and the views of the campus, a design and technical drawings have been pro-

duced to maximize each square foot to its full potential.

Redosier dogwood Creeping thyme Great plains yucca Prairie Sage

Plant List

Key

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Bar Seating

Extensive Planting

Wood Decking

Intensive Planting

Lookout Area

Redosier dogwood Planters

Inten

sive G

reen

Roo

f Sec

tion

Exte

nsive

Gre

en R

oof S

ectio

n

PLAN & SYSTEMS

PERSPECTIVE

PONDEROSA CANYON COMMUNITY

06

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are begin-ning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wild-ness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as

fountains of life.”-John Muir

Ponderosa Canyon Mixed-Use Community is a redevelopment of a suburban golf course community in Flagstaff, AZ. The goal for this project was to cre-ate a welcoming home for residents which promotes a denser way of living without compromising the high quality of life to which they are accustomed to. Emphasis is placed on increasing the opportunity for friendly neighbor-hood interaction, while still maintaining a desirable balance between public and private domain. The community design also incorporates an ecological restoration plan including roadside rain gardens, which treat stormwater runoff, and protected wildlife corridors, which maintain the existing func-

tions of migratory patterns.

Growth Trends

Travel Times

Current

Walking Biking

Future

PROBLEM STATEMENT

196219832012

20322062

2K-12 SchoolUniversityGroceryShoppingDowntowntheatrelibrary park

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The city of Flagstaff, Arizona is a rare gem located two hours north of Phoenix on the southern edge of the Colorado plateau. Situated at an elevation of over 7,000 feet, the city is surrounded by the largest contiguous growth of Ponderosa trees in the United States. With a plethora of outdoor recreational opportunities and a lively downtown culture, Flagstaff is quickly becoming a sought after place to live. With this in-creased desirability has come an increase of population. Over the last decade, Flagstaff has seen a population growth of 24.5%, in comparison to only 9.7% of the total U.S. population. This, com-bined with Flagstaff’s low precip-itation and high elevation, equals a very sensitive environment for future development.

Seasonal Vegetation Color Palette

Ecological Functions

SITE ANALYSIS

Site

Flood Plane

Wildlife Corridor

Watershed

Sinclair Wash

Pine Canyon Golf Course

Bow & Arrow

Lower Rio de Flag Watershed

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For this project, site analysis was done remotely through the use of digital topography models, GIS, Google Earth, previous projects, and other documen-tation. This research allowed me to make informed design decisions based on the location of ecologically sensitive areas, gaps in wildlife corridors, character images of the site, current plant palettes, walking and biking distances from the site, and growth trends.

INSPIRATION & STATISTICS

(600 Housing Units/Sq. Mile)

(50% Increase)

(30% Increase)

(25% Decrease after Increased Housing)

Golf Greens

Walking Distance

Project Inspiration & Influence

Housing Density Native Vegetation

Before After

Wildlife Corridor

Housing Plots(1100 Housing Units/Sq. Mile)(Calculation from nearest grocery store)

Dark Sky InitiativePetroglyphsNative VegetationSanta Fe RailwayCraft BeerLoggingLocal Arts Mountain BikingRock ClimbingHikingCommunity GatheringEducation

Clubhouse

Main Access Road

Civic

School

RetailStar Park

Duplex

Rowhome

Single Family

Rain Garden

Pedestrian Lane

Golf Greens

PLAN

Porous Paving Units

Planting Soil

Stone Slab to Channel Runoff

Vegetation

Street with Porous Paving Street Curb & Gutter

Aggregate Aggregate

Gravel DrainWater Detention Line

TECHNICAL FEATURESRain Garden Section

Star Park Section

Constellation Walls Star-Gazing/Event SpacePedestrian Trail

RETAIL & COMMUNITY SPACE

Description

This perspective gives a peak into what life would be like for the citizens of Ponderosa Canyon Community in the retail and community portion of the site. Salons, coffee shops, and restaurants can all be found here within a 10 minute walk from any house located within the community. An expansive sidewalk and several outdoor patios create a welcoming experience for friends and families, while off-street parking allows for convenience and serves as a safety buffer between traffic and pedestrians.

DescriptionAbove:This perspective depicts the typical pocket neighborhood found within Ponderosa Canyon community. Each neighborhood is comprised of 4-6 single family homes, 8-12 duplexes, or 10-20 rowhomes. This concept eliminates streets running in front of the house and replaces them with plots of receational land which can be customized by individual neighborhoods to be used as a community garden, event space, or for passive and/or active recreation. Each individual plot is then connected along a curvilinear axis in order to create a longer system of pedestrian trails within the community.

Right:This rendering depicts the star-gazing park to be located near the center of the community. This space will attract people within the community and surrounding areas during the day for jogging, dog walking, picnicking, and holding outdoor events. At night, the wall which lines the spiral path will light up as people walk by to reveal various constellations. As they make their way to the top of the elevated park, they will be greeted by a large open space to set up chairs and telescopes and gaze at the night sky.

POCKET NEIGHBORHOODS

Nigh

tDa

ySTAR-GAZING PARK

WRITTEN WORKS

07

“It is better to travel well than to arrive.”-Buddha

Land.Mark Magazine is Colorado State University’s Landscape Architecture news-letter which is released annually to local professionals, alumni, and community members. This year, I took a large role in the production of the magazine which

allowed me to enhance my communication skills while contributing to CSU’s land-scape architecture program.

FEATURE ARTICLE

After studying abroad in Europe for the Summer 2013 semester, I had the opportunity to write about my experiences in the student landscape architecture mag-azine. This article allowed me to tell my story to the CSU community, and in particular, future Landscape Architec-ture students who were deciding whether a study abroad trip was right for them. The article is mainly focused on my time in Venice, Italy and balances between a personal narrative and an informative piece on the area. Patched in between personal trip experiences (such as meeting inter-esting people from around the world and walking through Italian fish markets), I briefly explain the history and culture of the area while describing pressing concerns related to Ven-ice’s rising tides.

QUEST LIVING WALL

08

“What day is it?”It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.My favorite day,” said Pooh.”

-A.A. Milne

The Living Wall Competition was a design competition among undergraduate and graduate landscape architecture students at Colorado State University.

The winning design is planned for construction in the Summer of 2014 as part of Fort Collins’ “Nature in the City” project to promote the utilization of green space within the city proper. My design was conceptualized through the desire to educate the public about living walls, create a safer sidewalk during the eve-nings, and to provide a beautiful icon in a otherwise neglected part of the city.

PERSPECTIVES

Plant Legend

Day Night

Lights Legend

Hardy Ice PlantDelosperma cooperi

CoralbellsHeuchera ‘Palace Purple’

Twinkling LED Lights

Caucasion StonecropSedum spurium ‘Red Carpet’

Boxleaf EuonymousEuonymus japonicus ‘Microphyllus’

Hancock CoralberrySymphoricarpos × chenaultii ‘Hancock’

Angelina StonecropSedum rupestre ‘Angelina’

English IvyHedera helix

Crimson Pygmy BarberryBerberis thunbergii ‘Atropurpurea Nana’

Scale: 1”=6’-0” 3’ 6’ 12’1.5’

DETAILS

Frame Attachment Detail

Attachment & Irrigation Detail

Irrigation System Detail

PARK(ING) DAY

09

“Everyone must make time to sit and watch the leaves turn.”-Elizabeth Lawrence

Park(ing) Day is a worldwide event where artists and citizens around the world are allowed the opportunity to transform an urban parking spot for

a day. This spot might be turned into anything from a contemporary exhibit to an interactive adventure. The goal is to challenge the conventional ways in which people view and allocate urban space and to develop concepts that identify with local community needs. These spaces have proven to be effec-tive at enriching the quality of life by promoting green space and community

interaction.

OLD TOWN OASIS

Mural

Callery Pear Tree

Topiary Tree

Potted Shrub

Potted Perennial

Chairs

Wood Bench

Signage

Sidewalk

Vehicular Road

For my design, I chose to convert a parking space in central downtown Fort Collins into a temporary Utopian-style park. Complete with a manicured lawn, potted trees, and an assortment of different shrubs and perennials, it served as a temporary oasis within the hustle and bustle of the city. Throughout the day, visitors could sit and chat with friends, help put together the puzzle pieces of a mural which formed the backdrop to the park, and learn more about how urban space can be transformed in unconventional ways.

Design Concept

Plan View