Professional Portfolio

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Aaron Brice Johnson

Landscape Architecture Portfolio

WDDCThe RivDowntown Development

Urban Planning

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012

Adobe CS4

SketchUp 7

WDDCCommerce PlazaSite Planning

Historic Redevlopment

Urban Planning


Adobe CS4

SketchUp 7

WDDCMacy’s GarageEconomic Development

Urban Planning


Adobe CS4

SketchUp 7

Kerkythea

RTSPCDerm Development

Site Planning

Parking Design


ArcInfo 10.2

Adobe CS6

SketchUp 2013

RTSPCMonster HQ

Interior Design


SketchUp 2013

CryEngine 3

RTSPCPamona

Residental Development

ArcInfo 10.2


SketchUp 2013

Adobe CS6

CryEngine 3

MACY’S GARAGELocation: Wichita, KS Client: City of WichitaMy introduction to economic development was the standalone parking garage attached to the Downtown Wichita Macy’s parking garage. It was condemned due to structural issues in May 2012. This cost the businesses nearby 550 spaces and put a choke on development. The Chicago based owner of the garage was not interested in fixing the garage and owed back lease and taxes. This was problematic because several key developments relied on this structure.

My task was to design several concepts to re-imagine the façade should the city acquire the garage. Once presented to the city stakeholders further attempts to acquire the garage were made.

The owner was foreclosed and, though no devaluing assets are seen to be collected, the City of Wichita reclaimed ownership in September of 2013.

THE RIVLocation: Wichita, KS Client: Steve Clark, Sam CataneseThe Riv was a residential development intended to spark growth westward toward Delano from the core of Downtown Wichita. The original presentation from the developer was riddled with design elements taken from other projects the client had completed. The original plan needed to be rethought if it were to achieve its goals with the comprehensive downtown.

My involvement was to provide a new design concept. I produced two different landscape design concepts. I re-situated the building location and completely redesigned the parking design. A prior boathouse for Wichita State University design was incorporated into the plan and combined with an existing memorial that would be displaced from development.

The client ended up siding with the design revisions I had proposed; such as the parking concept, space requirement, and building placement.

The design changes made based on my redesign helped The Riv make it to the final two proposals for the City Council. Ultimately, the City of Wichita went with the other developers proposal as it was more suited to the Project Downtown Master Plan and financially viable.

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1. Parking consolidationBy exploring different options for parking layout, the opportunity to free up space along McLean Blvd. for pedestrian amenity and road side visuals is created. Narrowing the lanes along McLean will make the proposed streetside parking more feasiable.

2. Green Space allocationPPushing the parking closer to the building relocates the green space, cre-ating a more substantial green buffer that provides visual relief for both the public and private.

3. Linear Park PathThese two paths are currently used as alternatives to the riverfront trail. Putting a greater emphasis on these two areas will allow for future integra-tion with the development planned by the Library and others. These areas will also provide a strong amenity for anyone passing by the site, thus en-gaging the site from a pedestrian scale.

4. Corner stone plazaBy redistributing the parking layout and eliminating the northern drive, you gain ample space to create a meaningful node or gateway into the property. A plaza on the corner of the site can act as a social and visual node for pedestrians and residents alike. This space can also act as a stop-light view frame of the residential development.

5. Connection to future developmentThe location of this site is in a developing area and design should conform to the master plan while simultaneously providing a precedent for future development along both the river and the street.

6. Public connection to riverfrontBecause this development will limit public points of access to the river-front consideration must be made for the accessibility along 1st St. giving this connection more prominence is preferred.

7. Building location tweakMinor adjustment of the building footprint location opens up more space for landscape design elements in both the public and private areas of this design. This move also enforces the natural drainage ow on the northern edge of the site.

8. Integration to Chisholm trailheadTThe southern corner of the site already has a strong node established. This should act as a sister cornerstone to the north of the site and utilize the linear park path. These three elements together establish a cohesive edge along McLean Blvd. This will also allow the opportunity to incorporate ex-isting monument/ memorial into the new design.

9. Relocation an integration of McLean FountainA memorial to the 14th and 27th City Mayor Benjamin Franklin McLean is one of two and holds signiicant historic weight. However, due to its loca-tion and design it currently provides limitations to the site. Rather than eliminating the memorial altogether it is recommended that it be rede-signed and act as a centerpiece along the riverfront or nothern node and potentially be integrated into the proposed boathouse or the southern node.

10. Sycamore St. considerationWith the possibility of a road intersecting perpendicular to the site, possi-ble in uences in the future should be considered. The crossing should be signaled to correalte to the slower speeds and nature of the road.

11. Catalyst site proximityWorking to make this site a strong precident for good design will, in the long run, be beneicial for both future development and this project.

** These plans have ben visualised using the orginal building plan. The recent building footprint update only gives these design tweaks a stronger foundation.

COMMERCE PLAZALocation: Wichita, KS Client: Courtney and Leslie RuthvenThe Commerce Plaza was built in 1932 for Montgomery Ward and was occupied until the late 60’s. The Ruthvens took ownership of the building and leased it with a 60% occupancy rate. They came to the WDDC wanting help selling the building. I was assigned to redesign the parking lot and site features to help pitch a sale.

I met with the Ruthvens who showed me around the building and took me to the floor they had reserved for their personal art collection. They brought me into a back room and showed me the original building design documents. The plans were ancient, but well preserved, depicting a beautiful brick building with stone accents; nothing like the existing stucco clad building that existed now.

Leslie informed me that the original building was still there, it been hung with plaster cladding sometime around the 70’. He also told me what he had in mind for a simple design to help aid sale of the building.

I completed several site designs ahead of schedule and requested a copy of the original plans I had been shown. I spent my extra down time modeling the original building and placing it on site to show what it once was.

When presented to the Ruthvens; they were most impressed by the views of their original building. Several weeks later I was informed that the Ruthvens had decided to keep their building and begin a historic renovation.

DERM DEVELOPMENTLocation: Dallas, TX Client: Clay Cockerell, M.D.Doctor Clay Cockerell heads one of the leading dermatopahology labs and a pioneer in the field. Their facility is being upgraded and given a new comprehensive design by RTSPC Pinnacle. I was hired on to see the vision that is being developed on the inside reciprocated in the exterior space and develop a new parking design.

The exterior had been reviewed by a feng shui expert to help bring more good energy into the building. Using this report I developed several modification options to the flow of the pedestrian experience. Three of the design concepts were moved into AutoCAD and were presented in February 2014. Alongside these concepts I ran several rudimentary stormwater analysis calculations to ensure each concept would exceed future regulation.

One of the major issues in the design process was the parking space requirement for permitting. The original plans the building had used for permitting had a square footage off by roughly 20,000 square feet. This meant that additional spots needed to be found. In addition to this, there were no accurate digitized surveys in existence. Using Photoshop and Illustrator

I stitched several physical surveys together to put into AutoCAD. Some re-striping and curb cuts allowed the maximum possible space configuration, exceeding the minimum requirement.

I was also contracted to work on several interior renderings for a lab microscope lecture room and an employee lounge on the 6th floor.

MONSTER HQLocation: Weston, MA Client: Monster.comThe Monster.com headquarters is a rather astonishing new development. It has many spaces with unique programming so that it can accomplish a wide array of uses. The space I was contracted to render is the seminar room for a division called mPorium.

I assisted in two design concepts and visualized the 2D CAD drawings in a more realistic SketchUp visualization. At the time I had been developing a

work-flow to take a SketchUp model and place it in a powerful real time rendering software called CryEngine 3. This produced a product with the detail seen on this sheet that can be walked around in real time.

PAMONALocation: South East, NY Client: Cafo BogaThis development design was purchased by the client in 2010. It was developed by a surveying company and sold with the land. The plans introduce five new luxury units and were placed with seemingly no regard for land modification. This issue is further exacerbated by its close proximity to the Middle Branch Reservoir.

I was given a photograph of the plans and immediately began to digitize in Civil 3D. The steep fill slopes became clear immediately. The main issue for the

client is that he cannot make revisions to the plan without doing a stormwater analysis. I generated the site in ArcGIS to get a better view of the site and be sure the current plan would not pass if re-evaluated.

To better explain this to the client and my employer I took the GIS DEM and converted it into a height map. I imported this into a CryEngine 3 to better view the slopes at a human scale. This effort had brought concern. I hope a better solution is developed.

EDUCATIONKansas State University College of Architecture Planning & Design; Manhattan, KSMaster of Landscape Architecture; May 2013Centro Studi; Orvieto, ItalySpring study abroad 2012

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCEWichita Downtown Development Corporation 2012Landscape architecture intern in charge of revising proposed development projects. I worked closely with the developer clients to help interface with the City of Wichita and their goals set forth from their Project Downtown Master Plan. My projects were focused on economic development to help realize the potential outlined by the Project Downtown Master Plan.RTSPC Pinnacle architecture design 2013-2014Landscape architecture intern hired originally as a contractor to develop a exterior design proposal and review local codes for a Medical Lab in Dallas, Texas. My tertiary design and technical skills provided helpful on several other projects in the New York area including a development in the Town of Southeast, a parking plan for Eden II School for Autistic Children in Staten Island, and construction documentation of the Monster campus in Weston, MA.

FORMAL COMPUTER SKILLSArcGIS 9.3, 10, 10.1, 10.2 (ArcCatalog, ArcMap, ArcScene, and all extensions).AutoCAD, Civil3D, Land F/X Plug-in for AutoCAD.Adobe Creative Suite 4, 6 (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Bridge).SketchUp 7, 8, 2013 Pro (V-ray, Podium, Kerkythea and Land F/X Plug-in for SketchUp).Revit.Self Taught: CryEngine 3; Autodesk Inventor; Rhinoceros, Kerkythea, and 3DS Max.

ORGANIZATIONS ACE Mentor ProgramLandscape Architecture mentor.Student Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects.PGASLA and NationalSigma Chi Fraternity.Sigma Chi Philanthropies (volunteered 105 hours over 3 years).Project PurpleAided in the founding and assisted throughout 2010-2011 alongside the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCETeens 2 Teams with Peter Ferrito 2007.Conference in which marching band team leaders learn and practice goal setting, speech, and leadership skills Balfour Leadership Training Workshop 2010.Workshop in which the leadership from undergraduate chapters of Sigma Chi convene to learn and practice leadership skillsSigma Chi Executive Board 2010-2011.Participated in chapter meetings. Mentored freshmen, providing education, profession meetings, and personal advice to new students.

AARONJOHNSON

847.347 9817

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Professional Portfolio