Shannon Simms Portfolio 2013

SHANNON SimmSportfolio

2 Charles river Basin Connectivity Study, MA

6 Norwalk river Valley trail routing Study, Ct

10 Healing Waters: Newark riverfront plan, NJ

14 Bike Share Studies, planning/permitting

16 pit Ecologies: recalibrating infrastructure in los Angeles, CA

20 Material Ecologies of Cast iron

22 Cuban Urban Agriculture

24 High Bridge rehabilitation: interpretive Media Design, NYC

26 Chelsea tidal park, MA

28 A Harbor island for the City, MA

30 Balloon photography

PORTFOLIO CONTENTS

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DesignerAlta planning + DesignBOSTON, ma

JuNE 2010 - PRESENT

program AssistantEmerald Necklace ConservancyBOSTON, ma

JuNE - SEPTEmBER 2009

lead Safe internCambridge lead Safe programCamBRIdgE, ma

aPRIL - dECEmBER 2008

GSD Community Service fellowWorcester rootsWORCESTER, ma

JuNE - auguST 2008

Bicycle internCambridge Bicycle programCamBRIdgE, ma

JuNE 2007 - aPRIL 2008

policy Assistantrails-to-trails ConservancyHaRRISBuRg, Pa & LOWELL, ma

JuNE 2006 - JuNE 2007

EduCaTION

SKILLSAdobe Creative SuiteAutoCADArcGiS SketchUprhinoWordpressHand drawingphotography Model building

SHANNON SimmS [email protected]

EXPERIENCEMaster in landscape ArchitectureHarvard Graduate School of DesignCamBRIdgE, ma

2007-2010

Bachelor of Artsinternational relationsBoston UniversityBOSTON, ma

2002-2006

2

CHaRLES RIvER BaSIN CONNECTIvITy STudy

prOject: Master plan for 8-mile path and parkland corridorrOle: lead Designer at Alta planning + DesignclieNt: Massachusetts Dot & DCr

this study recommends improvements for

walking and bicycling along the Charles

river Basin, a major recreation and transpor-

tation corridor in the region. the recommen-

dations include road diets, intersection

improvements, new bicycle facilities, and

path widening. My role involved working

with multiple municipalities, state agencies,

and advocacy groups, presenting at public

meetings, and producing the majority of the

writing and graphics in the final report.

AbOve: Summary diagram of overall Connectivity Study recommendations for the Charles River Basin.

left: Context map of study area

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the plan includes conceptual designs for

critical connections to the Basin, such as at

Charlesgate and Charles Circle.

rigHt: Proposed Charlesgate connection between the Emerald Necklace and the Charles River Esplanade

CHaRLES RIvER BaSIN CONNECTIvITy STudy

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belOw: Proposed transition from bike lanes to shared lanes through Charles Circle

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DanburyConnecticut

RidgefieldRedding

Wilton

Norwalk

prOject: Master plan for 27-mile trail corridorrOle: lead Designer at Alta planning + DesignclieNt: NrVt Steering Committee

this study recommends a 27-mile greenway

trail alignment between Danbury and Norwalk

in southwest Connecticut. it provides an

alignment and design guidelines for a trail

that transitions through urban and woodland

settings and is open to pedestrians, bicyclists

and equestrians. As lead designer in this

study, i had a key role in the field work,

committee meetings, and public workshops.

i provided GiS mapping and was responsible

for the majority of the graphics and text in the

report. the final report is a comprehensive

document that will be used to implement the

trail in the future.

NORWaLK RIvER vaLLEy TRaIL ROuTINg STudy

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Woodland trail

Urban trail

Allen’s Meadows trail junction

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Danbury

RidgefieldRedding

Wilton

Norwalk

opportunities

the routing study included several stages of

analysis and mapping: identifying opportu-

nities and challenges, gap analysis, and

evaluation of multiple potential routing

options. A draft of the recommended route

was presented to the public in a series of

workshops before the route was finalized.

NORWaLK RIvER vaLLEy TRaIL ROuTINg STudy

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Evaluation of route options final recommended route

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prOject: Academic Studio fall 2009 iNStructOr: toni Griffin, City of NewarkgrOup memberS: Adam Wodka, Zeltia Vega Santiago, pedro Santa rivera

this studio focused on revitalizing the

4-mile, de-industrialized Newark, New

Jersey, waterfront to improve the city’s

image and economic status. As a group,

we developed a plan from the perspective

of a community development corporation,

the Newark Community riverfront Alliance

(NCrA). My contribution to the group

plan was development of the public Edge

Strategy, which reserves the riverfront edge

for “ownership by all” Newarkers. the park

system consists of six distinct parks, totaling

85 acres, that are connected along the river’s

edge. the plan was developed with a sensitivity

to the programming needs of Newarkers, who

lack open space, recreational opportunities,

and educational and community facilities.

HEaLINg WaTERS: NEWaRK RIvER WaTERFRONT PLaN

rigHt: Plan showing the six components of the Public Edge Strategy

bOttOm rigHt: Outdoor performance space in the Downtown Rivefront Park

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Grafton Park + Community Center

Downtown Riverfront Park

Marina Park + Environmental Education Center

Ironbound Linear Park

Passaic Street Park

Brick City Urban Farm

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tHiS pAge: The multi-phased remediation of the site, using shipping containers as mobile planting beds

OppOSite pAge: Programming of the park system

Phase 1: Relocation Final Brick City Urban Farm

Phase 2: Brownfield Remediation

Phase 3: Brownfield Remediation

the southern bookend of the proposed system

is a 20-acre urban farm. the site is currently

the location of vacant lots, shipping container

storage, public housing built in 1946, and

two brownfields. this plan proposes a multi-

phased redevelopment of the site, which

includes relocating the public housing and

remediating the brownfields. Shipping

containers can be adapted into large planting

beds, which can be deployed immediately

on available parts of the site, and moved or

increased over time as more space becomes

available.

the parks have different appeals as

destinations. Some are neighborhood-

oriented, where others are landscape

anomalies that will have greater draw across

the city. Ephemeral events will attract people

to certain parts of the park system at certain

times of year. others will be more visible and

constantly accessible to Newark’s visitors

downtown.

HEaLINg WaTERS: NEWaRK RIvER WaTERFRONT PLaN

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ice Skating

Cherry Blossom 5k race

Weekly Market

portuguese Day fest

theater in the park

Harvest fest

Neighborhood-oriented Landscape anomalies

EphemeraVisiting population

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prOjectS:

• New York Citibike (600 stations)• Boston Hubway (90 stations)• providence Bike Share feasibility Study• Albany Bike Share feasibility StudyrOle: project Designer/Coordinator at Alta planning + Design

Alta Bicycle Share and Alta planning +

Design are sister companies that collaborated

to launch Boston’s bike share system in 2011

and plan to launch New York City’s system in

Spring 2013. i have been involved in station

location planning and permitting for both

systems, specifically to assist with mapping,

field work, meeting with property owners and

neighborhood groups, managing field crews,

creating and reviewing station drawings

and securing permits from the participating

municipalities and state agencies.

i have also worked on bike share feasibility

studies for providence, ri and Albany, NY. My

work involved research on the best techno-

logical and financial models for a small city

bike share system, as well as qualitative

analysis of the city’s suitability for

bike share. the studies also included

recommendations for the extent of the

system, station number and density.

AbOve: SketchUp model of Hubway station for permit application in Cambridge

belOw: Installed Hubway stations in Boston

BIKE SHaRE STudIES, PLaNNINg & PERmITTINg

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left: Heat map showing relative bike share demand in Albany, NY

belOw: Recommended initial bike share service area and station density

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prOject: Academic Studio Spring 2010iNStructOr: Chris reed, Stoss lU

this studio focused on the infrastructural

systems that allow los Angeles to function,

and on interventions to these “single-minded”

systems that can allow them to interact and

function for multiple purposes. this design

project imagines that the system of debris and

flood control can be linked with the system

of aggregate mining to create a closed loop.

irwindale is a municipality where the entire

land area is pits: the Santa fe flood Control

Basin and 15 gravel mine pits. By networking

the pits together, there can be a choreography

of the pits’ current functions (flood control,

aggregate mining) and new functions (debris

disposal, aggregate recycling, habitat conser-

vation, outdoor event space).

PIT ECOLOgIES: RECaLIBRaTINg INFRaSTRuCTuRE IN La

AbOve: Storm debris and flood control network in LA Count

belOw: Typical aggregate mine

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tOp left: Existing aerial photo of Irwindale

tOp ceNter: Pit networks concept diagram

AbOve: Methods of flood control in the pits with sluice gates and dike openings

left: Multiple configurations for flood control

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(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e) (f)

the function of each pit becomes dynamic: a

single pit may (a) be actively filled with waste

asphalt/concrete or storm debris, (b) later to

be mined out by the aggregate companies.

once empty, that pit can be connected with

other pits to serve as part of a flood control

basin, where (c) an alluvial scrub habitat will

develop. if that pit continues as flood control

beyond a 5 year cycle, then (d) a riparian

forest community may develop. An empty

pit may be (e) programmed with concerts,

fairs, festivals, etc. lighting towers (f) used

for these events can be coated in photolumi-

nescent material so that they glow at night.

PIT ECOLOgIES: RECaLIBRaTINg INFRaSTRuCTuRE IN La

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AbOve: Possible futures for each individual pit

belOw: View of path atop a berm, with an active mine pit on the left and alluvial scrub habitat on the right

20

geography of cast iron

pig iron

distribution yards

inpu

t orig

ins

outp

ut d

estin

atio

ns

�nished products

100

200

500

1000

2000

los angeles

phoenix

oklahoma city

indianapolis

shakopee

carol stream

waukesha

cincinnati

columbus

clevelandpittsburgh

albanyneenah

birmingham

tonawonda

100

200

500

1000

neenah

coke

The Neenah Foundry, located in the eastern Wisconsin town of Neenah, is 135 years old. Its supply of silica sand and limestone come from within 30 miles of the foundry. A major scrap dealer 40 miles south supplies the foundry with scrap metal. The coke that is used to power the cupola furnaces is purchased from New York and Alabama, up to 850 miles away. Pig iron is the input of the foundry that comes from furthest away. Because steel mills in the United States have started to internalize all of the pig iron that they produce, grey iron foundries are left to import pig iron from abroad. Neenah Foundry purchases pig iron from Canada, Russia, and Brazil. Once the product is �nished, it is hauled to one of 14 distribution yards across the coun-try in Neenah Foundry trucks. From there, sales can be made and picked up at the yard. Neenah Foundry is one of 3 major municipal castings foundries in the United States. They have some small compe-tition for their products in southern California, as some cast iron prod-ucts are being imported from Asia through the port of Los Angeles.

fairwater10

0

neenah

WISCONSINsilica sand

limestone

fond du lac

100

neenah

scrap metal

neenah

canada

russia

brazil

500

mile

s

5,500 miles

4,500 miles


pig iron

distribution yards

inpu

t orig

ins

outp

ut d

estin

atio

ns

�nished products

100

200

500

1000

2000

los angeles

phoenix

oklahoma city

indianapolis

shakopee

carol stream

waukesha

cincinnati

columbus

clevelandpittsburgh

albanyneenah

birmingham

tonawonda

100

200

500

1000

neenah

coke


fairwater

100

neenah


limestone

fond du lac

100

neenah

scrap metal

neenah

canada

russia

brazil

500

mile

s

5,500 miles

4,500 miles


pig iron

distribution yards

inpu

t orig

ins

outp

ut d

estin

atio

ns

�nished products

100

200

500

1000

2000

los angeles

phoenix

oklahoma city

indianapolis

shakopee

carol stream

waukesha

cincinnati

columbus

clevelandpittsburgh

albanyneenah

birmingham

tonawonda

100

200

500

1000

neenah

coke


fairwater

100

neenah


limestone

fond du lac

100

neenah

scrap metal

neenah

canada

russia

brazil

500

mile

s

5,500 miles

4,500 miles


pig iron

distribution yards

inpu

t orig

ins

outp

ut d

estin

atio

ns

�nished products

100

200

500

1000

2000

los angeles

phoenix

oklahoma city

indianapolis

shakopee

carol stream

waukesha

cincinnati

columbus

clevelandpittsburgh

albanyneenah

birmingham

tonawonda

100

200

500

1000

neenah

coke


fairwater

100

neenah


limestone

fond du lac

100

neenah

scrap metal

neenah

canada

russia

brazil

500

mile

s

5,500 miles

4,500 miles

prOject: research Seminar Spring 2010 iNStructOr: Jane Hutton

this course examined the histories of common

materials from the urban environment. i

researched the processes of making cast iron

tree grates and utility covers. i visited an

iron ore mine in Minnesota and a foundry in

Wisconsin before creating a series of diagrams

of the extraction and production processes,

as well as maps of the spatial impact of the

material.

maTERIaL ECOLOgIES OF CaST IRON

rigHt & belOw: The geography of cast iron inputs

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iron ore mining process

taconite: 33 - 37% iron

natural iron ore: 70 - 80% iron,depleted 1960s

stockpiles

#12processing plant

processing plant

#13transport

The process of producing cast iron begins at the site of the iron deposit. Most of the naturally occurring iron ore, which is 70-80% iron without processing, has been depleted in the United States. Most mines are now mining taconite, which is a rock that occurs in the same location as natural iron ore, but it contains less iron (only 33 – 37%). Taconite mining involves drilling, blasting, and removing fragments of rock. Taconite is hauled to the pro-cessing pit, which is often located in the mine pit. There it is crushed, ground, and mixed with water. Because the iron occurring in taconite is magnetic, it can be separated from other particles by running the ground rock slurry through a magnet. The remaining tailings and water are disposed of in a tailings pond. The iron is combined with bentonite clay, rolled into balls, and baked in a kiln. The result is a rock hard iron ore pellet, 66% iron, that is loaded onto a train in the mine and shipped to a steel mill.

#81” ball mill

#9agglomerator, dewaters ore,add benonite clay, form green pellet ball

iron ore pellets

#10kiln (wood chip or fuel oil) 30 min on 1500 F

#11cooling towerto < 180 F

#7magnetic separator

#66” ball mill

#5secondary crusher 1”

#4primary crusher 6”

water

tailings: granite, silicon,

abestos, gold,

copper, etc.

bentonite clay

coarse tailings: hauled to landfill

fine tailings

wastewater

tailings pond

#2blast!

#3transport rock

out of mine

1/3 tailings, for force

2/3 ammonium nitrate

#1drill holes

10” round

50’ deep

40’ apart

AbOve: Taconite mining and processing

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typical raised bed: dimensions organoponico construction

min 2’-wide path

prOject: penny White prize research project cOllAbOrAtOr: Vanessa Cheung, MlA ’10

this research project focused on how urban

farms are physically and socially situated

within the cities of Havana and Cienfuegos in

Cuba. the 1989 collapse of the Soviet Union

resulted in a nation-wide food crisis in Cuba.

the government responded by authorizing the

use of urban vacant lots for farming. today,

the food crisis has ended, but Havana is still

producing 50% of its fresh produce within

the city limits. this practice has not faded

from Cuban cities, but rather has become a

integrated part of the local economy and the

urban fabric. We visited a number of these

urban farms to catalog different typologies,

and we interviewed farmers, neighbors, and

market vendors to understand how the local

economy functions.

CuBaN uRBaN agRICuLTuRESy

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Av. 5

Calle 44

Av. 64

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prOject: final Design for interpretive Media and Wayfinding SignagerOle: project Designer at Alta planning + DesignclieNt: New York City parks Department

HIgH BRIdgE REHaBILITaTION

Alta developed interpretive media elements for the High

Bridge, which is an old Croton Aqueduct bridge over the

Harlem river between Manhattan and the Bronx being

converted into a New York City Greenway. i assisted with

the conceptual design of the interpretive media and

developed the final construction drawings, cost estimates

and specifications for the interpretive and wayfinding

signage.

(1) Interpretive Overlook, (2) Interactive Station, (3)

Feature Identifier, (4) Gate with bridge cross-section design, (5) Viewing Platform, (6) Interpretive panel integrated into fence

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tOp left: Gatehouse elevation with panel placement

tOp rigHt: Wall-mounted interpretive panel design

AbOve: Typical manhole cover detail

rigHt: Cast bronze manhole cover designs

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CHELSEa TIdaL PaRK

prOject: Academic Studio Spring 2009iNStructOrS: paula Meijerink, Matthew Gordy, Alison Hirsch, Cherilyn ruane, paul Cote

this studio focused on an 18-acre contam-

inated post-industrial site on the waterfront

in Chelsea, MA. My design caps the

contamination on-site in a series of mounded

landforms, while allowing the tidal water

to permeate the interior of the park. the

programming considered users of all age

groups, including children. there are some

playful walkways through the tidal marsh

areas that fluctuate with the water, taking on

a form and high and low tide.

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prOject: Academic Studio fall 2008 iNStructOrS: Scheri fultineer, laura Gornowski, Kaki Martin, robyn reed, paul CotegrOup memberS: pao Chun Chen, Zenobia Meckley, Carrie Nielson, Justin Scherma, Jing Zhang

As a group, we developed a master plan to

locate a social services program, homeless

shelter, youth summer camp, and public

parkland all on a small Boston Harbor island.

We were required to address the boundaries

of public and private space by determining

the level of separation or integration between

different uses. i designed a 54-acre youth

summer camp that was well-integrated with

the parkland on the island.

a HaRBOR ISLaNd FOR THE CITy

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prOject: independent project, presented at Somerville open Studios 2012

inspiration for this project came from Bill

fox’s book Aereality: On the World from

Above. Equipped with a weather balloon and

a camera, i did several balloon photography

flights over Cambridge and Somerville, MA.

the resulting collages explore two parts of

this process: the balloon ascent into the

sky, and the shifting of the camera rig as

the wind blows the balloon. My interest is

not in recreating an accurate aerial image,

but in fitting the photos together to create

landscapes that are somewhat fictionalized.

BaLLOON PHOTOgRaPHySI

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Shannon [email protected]

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Shannon Simms Portfolio 2013