2004 2012

Petrochemical America published

SCAPE is founded

SCAPE partnerPhil Anzalone

Oyster-Tecture Exibition SCAPE won to designFORD Calumet Environmental CenterKate Or� born

Deconstructed Salt Marsh (Brooklyn, NY) wins ASLA award

20142010 BP Oill SpillGowanus Canal Pollution

Enforcement

Business loading harder with no ramp by entry

Entrance is not handicap friendly by handicap parking.

Small entrance makes the area easily overlooked or uninteresting.

Pomona, CA

Oyster-Tecture from Rising Currents from MoMa Exhibition. 2010.

Oyster-Tecture from Rising Currents from MoMa Exhibition. 2010.

Safari 7 Project. New York. 2010

20092002Began teaching at Columbia University

Deconstructed Salt Marsh. Brooklyn NY. 2014. SCAPE.

Ford Calumet Environmetal Center. Calumet, IL. 2004. SCAPE

Discussion of Line, Composition and ColorThe following is a drawing of the new and improve

“oyster-tecture” Gowanus Bay. The drawing shows the area under a section elevation composition. The section elevation view helps us see the di�erent layers of sea rock as well as the grassy mounds and rocky seashore above sea level. Above sea level we are able to see the series of grassy mounds stretch out to the distance giving us a sense of its large scale. The use of line di�erent line works, ranging from very thin to thick helps distinguish plants. The same can be said about the rocky mounds and their pebble like markings both above and below sea level. The stipple markings also help present marine life such as �sh and oysters. The line marking also help distinguish the bottom layers of rock ranging from a smooth to more rough texture.

Along with the composition and line work, the use of color also helps communicate the drawing’s location and intent. With the textures and di�erent hues of blue we can clearly identify the environment of the site and how it’s located in a bay near an urban area. The grays and whites gives us a sense of the cool and foggy climate of the area. The di�erent hues of green, yellows, and browns also help visualize the plant life during di�erent seasons.

Diagonal Datched Hatch

Scribble

Large Open Stipple

Curvy Verticle Hatch

Clustered Hatch

Stipple

Section Elevation

2 Point Perspective

Movement

The drawing is also brought to life by adding features of its di�erent uses and its transformation into a thriving and inhabitable bay. In the drawing you see sidewalks �lled with joggers and people inhabiting the grassy mounds by the bay. You can also see families shelling on the rocky mounds while others simply enjoy the view of the New York City skyline hiding beneath the fog. You can see people parasailing, kayaking, and even scuba diving under the waters of the bay. The site looks much more alive with its colors and active landscape further communicating the full picture of the bene�ts in which this project will bring.

Lesson ONE To EmoteIn many of Or�’s diagrams, she used powerful photography and included diagrams to visually present a big issue or idea. With the use of photography you can capture the audience’s attention. Incorporating diagrams and notations in the photography further communicates the issue in way that is e�ective and more comprehensible. Or�’s use of photography creates an emotional and powerful presentation to the audience. The added graphics communicates the purpose, issue, causes, or any information that makes the invisible visible to the audience and be presented the full picture in which the illustration in trying to convey.

Lesson TWO To ExemplifyIn some of Or�’s diagrams, most notably her Oyster-Tecture illustration, she exempli�es the uses of the site. The illustration shows visitors performing di�erent activates and other actions as way to communicate and give examples of the many bene�ts in which the site will provide. The use of people bring the illustration to life and shows how it can be inhabited. It’s essential to provide such illustration in order to communicate the full picture and make the idea more appealing and comprehensible to the audience who will inhabit it.

Lesson Three To IllustrateIn many Or�’s illustrations, the color and composition gives the audience a sense of the sites environment. The use of color, line work, and texture helps us identify the types of plant life and hardscapes of an illustration. Color can help us communicate the type of climate and environment of the site. Adding elevations and distant land forms can gives us a sense of the scale and land formation of an area. Providing a background such as mountains or skyline can further communicate whether the area is a secluded or urban area. Communicating these in an image can really help the audience understand the site’s environment and help visually communicate the idea.

Composition diagram1.5” x 3”

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Partner of SCAPE since 2005, Brascia is in charge of advancing projects in the design process, their concepts ,and their �nal built form.

Misrach’s e�ective images of the Lousiana Bayou inP e t r o c h e m i c a l A m e r i c a helped communicate the e�ects of oil consumption and the distruction of the natural environment .

Director of the Avery Digital Fabrication lab, under hisleadership he was abile toprovide support for the Safari 7 Reading Room for the Safari 7 project.

1971

Being an educator at Colombia University, Landscape Architect, �rm director, and a mother, it’s easy to say that Kate Or� wears a lot hats in her life. Or� is famously known for stressing biodiversity, sustainable development, and community in her projects all of which have gained her recognition and awards from the ASLA, “Design Leader” from H&G, and #1 on Elle magazine for “�xers” of mankind. Before her career and creations started, Or� started o� at the University of Virginia where she received her degree in political and social thought focusing on ecofeminism. Or� went as far as Chile to work with a feminist magazine, but it was her experience with plant science and the �ne arts where she discovered a di�erent passion; landscape architecture. Or� then move on to study landscape architecture at the School of Design in Harvard University where she received the opportunity to work with Koolhaus at Hargreaves Association which later led to own studio, SCAPE, in 2004. Or�’s experiences and knowledge acquired from

Koolhaus had expanded her views and understanding of landscape architecture. Or� explains “It’s like the whole world blew up. It changed the purview of what I was doing from being a landscape architect to being someone who thinking about urbanism and landscape” (Rehak 85). Its Or�’s expanded view on landscape and the environment that in�uenced her later designs and the primary aims of her SCAPE studio. During the time of their opening, SCAPE won a competition to design the environmental center of a

poorly treated marsh in Calumet, Illinois. The marsh was an abandoned dumping ground for FORD which became inhabited by rare birds. With this in mind, Or� and her team did not only have to design a center, but also insure the building are bird safe. This project in�uenced her to volunteer with Auduborn Society in New York where she learned more bird collisions and importance of safety. This eventually led to the proposal of the Bird-Safe Guidelines in 2007.

It’s challenging and in�uential projects like these that inspire Or� and her team. Or� and her team at SCAPE go beyond what is known of landscape architecture and create ideas and solutions to greater environmental issues. SCAPE’s main focus in design are those that involve ecology and environment sustainability. Perhaps one of the most well-known and important focuses on SCAPES’s designs are those that are community based. Making spaces that improve the environment as well as accessible to the public in order to inspire that change are two very important goals for SCAPE. Designs such Safari 7, a public bus line self-guided tour, is one of the many designs SCAPE had created to communicate and educate the public of their landscape more e�ectively. Or� and SCAPE’s way of communicating through the use of photography and diagrams have also successfully impacted the public of ideas and issues that need addressing. The photography mixed with data such as those of Petrochemical America had e�ectively addressed harms of fossil fuel consumption on the Louisiana Bayou. Or�’s drawings help communicate the intent of the project by providing diagrams of phases and cycles to show how the project will evolve and maintain sustainability. Doing this has helped SCAPE paint the full picture into designing spaces that will be attractive, in�uential, and most importantly essential for the environment.

To EmoteThe illustration shows an example of a functional ecosystem of the Louisiana bayou. It displays a lush bayou with a thriving food web of the many native species that thrive in the ecosystem. The farther the right, Or� than shows the massive impact human activity has caused on the Louisiana bayou. You can see the water’s texture develop a gasoline texture to then becoming a lifeless opaque white. Or� even labels the names of the chemicals to further show what substances and activities that involve them harm the ecosystem. Along with the water quality, Or� also illustrates the current and potentially permanent state of the future bayou by getting rid of the lush trees and food web

To DiagramThis illustration shows the life cycle of the oyster. In the diagram, Or� illustrates the potential life cycle of the oyster from a small cell, larvae, and to an adult oyster in the new and restored Gowanus canal. The �rst stage of development displays their growth in “spat tanks” where they would later be released into the Gowanus canal and �nd refuge in nets and recycled oyster shells. This diagram is meant to illustrate the improvement and regrowth of the Gowanus oyster and also further illustrates the sustainability of the oyster once the project “oyster-tecture” is in place

To MeasureThe following is an illustration of the origin of oil, particularly in Louisiana and how its development and consumption has shaped up its environment to its current state. Or� set up the drawing as a time frame, she does this with the use of illustrations and labeling of big events. The drawing also displays a graph of CO2 emission on the atmosphere as the extraction oil from the ocean �oor. Or�’s graph shows the rapid increase of CO2 emission on the atmosphere from excessive drilling of fossil fuels in order to convey the massive change from the consumption of a resource that took many years to develop.

To NotateThe illustration is the Safari 7, a Manhattan self-guided tour in the 7 subway. It educates locals of the wildlife and environment of the area. The following shows the length of the line 7 subway stretching from Manhattan to Long Island. It is displayed like any other subway map, with the line colored in purple with its stops. Throughout the line, Or� notates the di�erent kinds of known wildlife that reside in the environment of the line’s path. The purple color of both the wild life and subway line creates a sense of unity. Or� also labels the numerous amounts of historic wet lands as well as land�lls. These notations are meant to communicate the surrounding environment and encourage the audience relationship and further understanding of their environment.

drawing exampleimage produced by creative individual; provide citation for source of image

drawing exampleimage produced by creative individual; provide citation for source of image

drawing exampleimage produced by creative individual; provide citation for source of image

To Notate

To Emote

To Exemplify

To Illustrate

Lesson Learnedimage produced by student to illustrate, digram, exeplify, notate...

SCAPE Studio

Petrochemical America Project Room (exhibit)

New York ,NYOyster-Tecture MOMA Rising Currents (exhibit)

Deconstructed Salt Marsh (2014 ASLA Award)Brooklyn, NY

Ford Calumet Environmental CenterCamulet, Illnois

Richard MisrachElena Brascia

1993Graduated from the University of Virginia

1995Worked in Feminsit magazinein Chile.

Photographer DirectorAvery Digital Fabrication lab

Safari 7 completed2010

Petrochemical America. Photographed by Richard Misrach, Ecological Atlas by Kate Or� (Aperture 2012). SCAPE.

Petrochemical America. Photographed by Richard Misrach, Ecological Atlas by Kate Or� (Aperture 2012). SCAPE.

To Measure

To Emote

To Diagram