Design Portfolio

| Academic | Professional| Development

Design, Modeling, Remote Sensing, Gis

Geoff Taylor | Exit Project | PortfolioClemson Planning & Landscape Architecture

ContentsProfessional Projects at HewittNassar Studio Sonoma Garden Show Luxor Master Plan Azbakeya Park Cairo Projects for Clemson University Clemson University Land Assets Online GIS Clemson University PDPLA Social Network Marketing Framework

Academic Projects Rosetta Egypt Master Plan Ten at the Top Regional Plan Norristown Riverfront Master Plan Undergraduate Exit Project

Sonoma CA Garden Show

This garden exhibit, located at a winery in So-noma, California was designed for an autumn festival titled “The Late Show Gardens.” The de-sign was based on three contemporary issues: climate change, renewable, resources, and sus-tainable practices. The garden offered opportu-nities to address global and local connections between Climate Change, Sonoma, California and important locations in Egypt, based on So-noma’s relationship to its sister city of Aswan, Egypt. The garden offered a unique opportu-nity to effect public perception of landscape architecture concerning climate change, espe-cially given ASLA’s growing interest in climate change. The design concepts were derived from global climate information, specifically showing changes in the earth’s climate zones, and data indicating increased carbon dioxide concentra-tions throughut the planet. The design gestures included local native plants and groundcovers.

Designed at HewittNassar Studio

AWARDS: 2011 SCASLA Award

Job: Imagery Creation, 3d Modeling, Site Design

The client suggested that exhibition garden themes address one of three contemporary issues: Climate Change, Renewable Resources, or Sustainable Practices.

The project landscape architects developed a garden design concept to express the global/local contexts of climate change based on three ideas:The garden offered opportunities to address global and local connections between Climate Change, Sonoma, California and important locations in Egypt, based on Sonoma’s relationship to its sister city of Aswan, Egypt; and to the landscape archi-tect’s past experience related to planning for cli-mate change in the Nile Delta

The garden offered opportunities to address cli-mate change in vulnerable landscapes throughout the world, given Sonoma’s location bordering one of the largest estuaries and population centers in the world (San Francisco Bay and Sonoma Marsh-es), and given its similarities with other large estu-aries and population centers vulnerable to climate change, including London, New York, Shanghai and Los Angeles.The garden offered a unique opportunity to ef-fect public perception of landscape architecture concerning climate change, especially given the ASLA’s growing interest in climate change.

Project Background

During the last decade, a winery in the Carneros Wine District in Sonoma ,California has created a garden exhibition venue mod-eled after international garden festivals like those at Chateau de Chaumont in the Loire Valley, France, and the Chelsea Garden Show in London, England. In 2009, the winery invited international designers, including the project landscape architects, to create individual exhibition gardens for an Autumn Festival titled “The Late Show Gardens.”

Project Description

The winery’s exhibition venue contains more than 20 garden plots clustered in display areas connected by walkways and interspersed among wine tasting tents, entertainment venues and stages, art galleries, festival greens, water features and courtyards. Past exhibitions include gardens by well known landscape architects, such as: Ken Smith, SWA, Walter Hood, Pam Burton, and James Van Sweden.

The Climate Change Garden was exhibited in Plot 6, an area surrounded on three sides by privet hedges, with access to the front of the garden through a pathway connecting the primary festival circulation path to a garden display courtyard. The plot is broadly open to the sky and the changing effects of sunlight throughout the day.

Project Site Description

While the wineries are now above the 100 hundred year floodplain, projected changes in sea level as a result of cli-mate change could bring the North Bay, its marsh lands and wetlands closer to the winery, prompting drastic changes to surrounding natural habi-tat and local economies.

The winery is located among many wineries in the Carne-ros District between the Coast Range Mountains, the Sonoma Marches, and the Sonoma Wetlands on the northern periphery of the San Francisco Bay.

Regional Site Description

Garden exhibition design concepts were also derived from garden mural traditions intended to illustrate the underlying meanings of our relationship to the world and nature. The images below illustrate historic examples of murals representing maps, gardens, hu-man symbolic values, and the relationship between animals and the cosmos. Modeling for the exhibition’s murals by the landscape architects addressed the creation of meaning in the murals, the development of spatial transparency, privacy within a small space, and the relationship of the murals to the garden design concepts.

The murals were constructed from recycled polyester mounted on recycled wood frames, and were chosen for their transparent and reflective qualities to take advantage of the natural light conditions of the site. Grids of recycled steel rods representing vertical data points used to measure water and ice depth were used to increase symbolic meaning and improve wall transparency.

Design Concepts: Garden Murals

The garden design concepts were derived from global climate change information, specifically data showing changes in the earth’s climate zones, and data indicating increased carbon dioxide concentrations throughout the planet. Because climate information is often represented in the form of maps, the garden ground plane was organized to represent the idea of well-recognized map projections. The images below illustrate the process of deriving design gestures from climate maps and cartographic projections. Global climate design gestures were implemented with native plant ground covers and local redwood barks. Global carbon dioxide design gestures were implemented with native and agricultural plants Map projection design gestures were implemented with locally mined gravels.

Project Description

The artwork for the murals was selected from a German artist and from the landscape architects. The German artist contributed two prints: one titled “Two Mantis in Nature,” and the other titled “Mantis and Global Economies.” The prints were selected to symbolically represent global and local ecological balance, and the relationship between ecology and economic life.

The landscape architect’s five prints illustrate Sonoma’s global connections to the Nile River and Delta, a collage of estuaries threatened by climate change, two images of green infrastructure that resolve climate related flooding in the Nile Delta, and a print of diagrams indicating incremental sea level rise at the mouth of the Nile River.

Design Concepts: Art and Meaning

Luxor Egypt Avenue of the SphinxesPrompted by the recent discovery and imminent excavation of a 2.72 km-long, ancient ceremonial, boulevard buried beneath the City of Luxor, Egypt and connecting two UNESCO World Heritage Tem-ples, a new specific master plan was developed by a team of landscape architects, international plan-ners and architects at the request of the Governor of Luxor. The specific plan proposes a framework for historic preservation, heritage development, sustainable tourism, and ecological restoration for the city’s future urban growth and for development along the Nile River and between the two UNESCO Temples. This specific master plan and process of-fers a model for the preservation of important ar-chaeological, cultural and natural treasures, the restoration of urban fabric, and the advocacy of participatory planning in the resettlement of rap-idly expanding urban populations living in informal settlements. It serves as an example of planning for the integration of cultural heritage with new de-velopment, ecological restorations a component of sustainable tourism, and the encouragement of meaningful connections between tourists and local citizens with greater understanding of local issues that reflect regional approaches to sustainability for one of the world’s most important historic sites.

Designed at HewittNassar Studio

AWARDS: 2011 Tri State ASLA Merit Award2011 SCASLA Award

Job: Graphics, Design, and Layout

Azbakeya Urban Park RestorationA conceptual restoration plan for Azbakeya park located in Cairo, Egypt. This design takes into consideration the history of this site, one of North Africa’s first urban parks changes over time for grounding. The final design includes locations for islamic prayer, water elements, vegitation, Is-lamic pattern hardscapes, and placement of spe-cial events structures, amongst other things...

The entire project was developed via BIM based applications in order to work in an interop-erable workflow with architects in Egypt as they updated the site’s structures. in real-time.

Designed at HewittNassar Studio

Job: Design, Modeling, Research, Concept

Google Earth 2009 Azbakeya

Google Earth 2011

Clemson University Land Assets GIS

Clemson university is one of the largest land grant institutions in the United States and until the devel-opment of a custom gis system lacked a database of all their records. In 2011 I began developing a cus-tom solution for the Clemson University Land Assets group using ESRI’s Flex Viewer and ArcGis Server.

The final product consisted of a simple search widget to search for property information in a simplified manner, file storage and retrieval, par-cel commenting system, advanced query wid-get that allows for comparitive analysis between multiple layers, euclidean distance tools, drag-and-drop google streetview capabilities for loca-tion analysis, and advanced print function. Many of these functions were hard-coded with custom requests to meet Clemson’s needs and requests.Other GIS information required for real-estate analysis such as census information, infrastructure, soils, and hydrological features were added to the application

The custom ESRI Flex Viewer application is fully operational and is currently being used by Clem-son University for all their real-estate needs.

Wordpress Blogging Platform (Time and Release News)

RSS FEED

Automated Posting

Facebook Page Wall

Twitter Feed

Linkedin Group

Google+ “API Not Yet Released”

Content Types Dissemination Mode

BLOG/NEWS

PODCASTS

VIDEOS

USER

POST

Social Networks

Hootsuite Timed Automation

Crowdsource Marketing

Facebook Page Wall

Twitter Feed

Google+ “API Not Yet Released”

SOCIAL NETWORK MARKETING WORKFLOWAug 2011: Developed by: Geo� Taylor geo�rt@g.clemson.edu

Clemson PDPLA Social Marketing

Clemson University’s department of Planning, Devel-opment, Preservation, and Landscape Architecture was not properly maximizing their marketing potential and communication with students via social networks.

I was approached to develop a blueprint for the de-partment to utilize that would place the departments on the social map. The workflow stream-lines the com-plex process of having to post the same information to several networks to a more automated approach.

The data collected from my CELA research paper was utilized as a foundation for how to successfully implement a successful social network campaign.

Rosetta Egypt Master Plan

Rosetta is one of the oldest cities in Egypt founded in AD 800. The city is known by the Rosetta stone discovery in 1799. Located about 65 Km east of the much larger city of Alexandria, Rosetta is at the junction of the Nile and the Mediterranean Sea. In the 16th century Rosetta was a booming port city and in the 19th century it became famous as a tourists destination. Today the city of Rosetta is renowned for its large number of historic Islamic houses, mansions and mosques, archaeological sites, thousands of acres of date palm groves and related craft industries, its boat building, brick and fishing industries, and its natural scenic beauty.

Rosetta and similar cities long situated on water, en-vironmental vulnerabilities are increasingly related to changes in water levels from climate change, and to their historic and contemporary positions along water resources that are especially linear. While their specific problems are geographically more complex, their particular linearity suggests change and development strategies that are in turn linear. Change and development strategies are e bodied within a corridor joining water and city. The corridor integrates processes and land use to mediate vul-nerability and change between river and city. Resis-tant, resilient, robust, and responsive are aspects within the corridor that prompt collateral develop-ment, change further inland and within the river. Intelligent sensor systems monitor the corridors vulnerability. The combined corridor processes and uses form Rosetta’s identity as an ecological icon.

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WaterOnly the Nile River. The Aswan Dam on Nile has caused erosion of the delta. Potential sea rise will destroy most of Rosetta. Dependency of city’s livelihood on water is tremendous.

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Ten At The Top Regional Analysis

A GIS analysis commissioned by non-profit group “Ten At The Top” in order to update the existing Strom Thurmond model for upstate SC.

Utilizing Carl Steinitz’s model for alternative futures as a basis the analysis developed suitability mod-els using Erdas and Arc-Gis Modelbuilder for high suburban, suburban housing , rural housing, mixed use, commercial, industrial, recreation, agriculture, surface water quality, groundwater, visual quality, and land cover change. Other models were then developed such as competition for growth, and Gap Analysis from the original models outputs.

The produced models were used as a means for discussion concerning the future of Upstate South Carolina.

Norristown Riverfront Master Plan

Norristown is situated along the Skuylkill River near Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Aligning the river-front edge are dilapidated structures, low income communities, and flood-prone undeveloped areas. Pennsylvania’s Septa terminates along the river-front making it a prime location for future commer-cial, and mixed-use development. This masterplan takes into consideration all of the issues plaguing the Norristown Riverfront and attempts to develop a concept to help engineer the riverfront for future development.

The proposal of parks, greenways, trail-systems, approaches to flood-tolerant structures, hard-scape, and soft-scape are used in this project to spur public discussions on sustainable design and the future.

The 128 mile Schyulkull River trail runs from Philadelphia through Norristown and up to Pottsville Pennsylvania on an abandoned railroad line. The trail is a great way to enjoy the outdoors, exercise or commute. Norristown has failed to capitalize on this opportunity for economic gains due to downtrodden streetscapes, lack of hotels, bike shops, and signage. The impacts of riverfront industry conflicts with beauty of the riverfront. The industrial wasteland and abandonment of landscape creates an eyesore for tourists. It spurs people to move quickly through the landscape without pause for exploration.

Norristown's relationship to rapid and mass-transit commuter lines is one of the most impor-tant of the borough features. South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) maintains all transportation in this region. The Norristown Transportation Center is located less than 200 feet away from the transportation center and runs into Pennsylvania’s City Center. Recently the R6, a high speed transit route was installed. Public bus service is main-tained through downtown and connecting to the Montgomery Mall Shopping District. Abun-dant and available transportation, limited housing and office space within Philadelphia, the Norristown riverfront becomes an excellent opportunity for future large scale development.

Norristown has many amenities with parks and public spaces scattered throughout the entire borough. Linkages and opportunities for open spaces via safe walkability and greenways will enhance the community. A large farm park exists northwest of the riverfront at the decommissioned Pennsylvania State Mental Institution. This is a historic landscape punctu-ated by the vast views and beauty. The farm park is not linked to the Schuylkill River Trail. However, Stony Creek follows the contour of the farm park through downtown and into the Schuylkill River . This creek provides the perfect scenario to develop a greenway between existing park systems, reduce the requirement for vehicular transportation, possibly provid-ing walkable connections, economic growth, and beautifying the downtown area in the pro-cess. A large scale beautification technique for Norristown will create a synergistic develop-ment rippling through the rest of the town. Revitalization projects inspire creativ! e capital through entrepreneurial projects, artists, do-it-yourselfers and first time homeowners opening up the doors for the overall revitalization of the entire borough. The unfathomable positive community health and psychological benefit of green designing.

Flowing through Pennsylvania, the Schuylkill River has been the regional influence over the growth of towns and boroughs. The river spreads along through Philadelphia's northwestern along the Ridge and Valley region. Norristown's historic rise is charted by the river and transportation, mill, and manufacturing industry. The city’s growth is informed by the natural feature with an echoing relative to the borough reaching out to the Montgomery County agricultural land.

External to Norristown is the suburban sprawl of Montgomery County. Towards the end of the last century people relocated to the outskirts of the Borough. The resulting collapse in economic growth and prosperity for Norristown may be traced to the adjacent communities embracing more contemporary retail-commercial business practices. The decline of the downtown district and residen-tial functional obsolescence promotes the opportunistic to profit from the working class citizen. Many people living within the down-town areas are renting housing in poor conditions while a thriving opportunistic community can still be found. Currently Norristowns diverse population consists of a healthy mix of caucasion, african-american, and hispanic citizens that utilize the neighborhood hous-ing within the blighted downtown area. Norristown has a need for more economic opportunity and in some way would greatly benefit from the results of redevelopment throughout the downtown area.

Potentially, the Norristown riverfront serves as the most attractive and developable real estate for Norristown and Montgomery Coun-ty. Realization of this opportunity to showcase the natural amenities and increasing the tax base of the the county seat. Norristown is poised to renew the planning and leadership for the rest of Montgomery County. The riverfront revitalization project well help this process to begin. The river is the "Gateway" leading into the downtown area.

Norristown Riverfront Pennsylvania

Conshohocken Pennsylvania is located 3.5 miles from Norristown downstream on the Schuylkill river in suburban Penn-sylvania. The borough is historically a large mill town and industrial manufacturing center. Since the decline of industry in recent years Conshohocken has developed into a center of riverfront commercial and residential development. The borough faced the exact same problem Norristown faces dealing with brownfields and dilapidated sites. The riverfront was completely capped with concrete to prevent runoff from toxins and developed into a series of high-tech office buildings with multi-level parking below. Some of the structures are a part of Philadelphia’s “Silicon Valley Forge” coined Forbes in 2000. Such redevelopment of the borough did however create issues with gentrification. The per capita income rose drastically post implementation for people living within the borough.

As for transportation the same R6 line entering into norristown has a station in Conshohocken directly behind the remediated riverfront district.

While the river informed Norristown's growth, as with all riverfronts flooding has been problematic. Agriculture, development and the current climatic conditions have ensured the need for planning for rapid change. Along the riverfront the 100 and 500 year flood marks could easily be reached with the right conditions. Flooding devastation has been frequent and becoming increasingly more frequent. Norristown has seen 100 year floods and anticipates the reality of 500 year flooding. The 100 year floodmark has been met on multiple occassions within the past 10 years. The cities anticipation, preparedness and forward thought will mitigate the situation prior to catastrophy. Smart growth, green infrastructure plans, land use, climate preparedness plan, and zoning are the tools the mu-nicipality will use to address and inform the public to advert unpredicted events.

Presently, the Norristown Riverfront consist of industrial brownfields, warehouses, and other decaying structures. Service relocation expense, expensive remediation techniques or extensive phytoremediation are necessary to bring this site up to code. City water treat-ment service is also located along the riverfront. Frequent flooding of the facility allows waste to enter the river every few years.The city wants to move the facility but the cost are millions in the dollars and beyond their municipal budget.

The unique conditions of the site and the cities interest in renewal suggest that the most effective strategy for remediation would be capping of the dangerous site. An expedient method and perhaps the best solution is to utilize a concrete cap on the most toxic site. Effective funding strategy for removal would be available through the replacement of brownfield and waste through civic and multi-use zoning, high end construction featuring multilevel towers and views to downtown Philadelphia. Investment for high end struc-tures will address the needs of new economic development and job generation for the future growth.

INFRASTRUCTURE

EXPANSION

SOCIAL

ECONOMIC

Data Source: PA

SDA

Data Source: PA

SDA

Data Source: PA

SDA

Major Roads Roads Railroads

PikesCrossroads

HighwaysRoads

Railroads

Population Growth

LossGrowth

Data Source: PA

SDA

Historic Areas Town CentersD

ata Source: PASD

A

Data Source: PA

SDA

Source: USG

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LOCATION

TOPOGRAPHICAL

ECOLOGICAL

Data Source: FEM

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Data Source: FEM

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Data Source: PA

SDA

Source: USG

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Pennsylvania Philadelphia Area

Source: Google Satellite Im

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Terrain

Rivers Flooding Green

Greenscape Wooded

ParksParks

Data Source: PASDA

Data Source: PA

SDA

INFRASTRUCTURE

EXPANSION

SOCIAL

ECONOMIC

Roads Public Transportation Railroads

PrimarySecondary

TertiaryAlleys

Bus Routes Train Routes

RailroadsRail Trail

Data Source: PA

SDA

Data Source: SEPTA

Data Source: PA

SDA

Growth 1750-1875 Growth 1925-1975Growth 1875-1925 Growth 1975-Current

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Income Demographics

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$1600-$2800 $2800-$3900$3900-$4600 $4600-$5700

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Norristown Aerial

Source: Google Satellite Im

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LOCATION

TOPOGRAPHICAL

ECOLOGICAL

Rivers Flooding

Green Space Park Space

StreetscapeGreen

Data Source: PA

SDA

Data Source: FEM

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Terrain

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Canopy Cover, Buildings, TopographyData Source: PASDA, Google Imagery, FEMA

Normal Flood Level, 100 Year Flood, 500 Year FloodData Source: PASDA, FEMA

Buildings

Green Roof

Green Roof

Green Roof

Tower

Tower

Convention/Civic Center

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field

PiazzaPiazza

PiazzaPiazza

Green StreetsGreen Streets

Green Streets

Green Streets

Parking

Parking

River Trail

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Skulylkill River

Skulylkill River

Brige

Barbadoes Island

Train Station

Parking Garage Downtown Norristown

Wooded Area

Wooded Area

Wooded Area

Wooded Area

Building, Green Roof, Road, Green Street, Wooded Area, Trails, PiazzaCanopy Cover, Buildings, Topography, Roads, Railroads,Rail-TrailData Source: PASDA, Google Imagery, FEMA

Vehicular, Pedestrian Ground Level, Pedestrian Elevated Level, Crosswalks

Civic CenterTowers

Tower

Tower

Riverfront Trail

Riverfront Trail

Grocery

Septa Station

Septa Station

Trail Parking

Bridge

TransitCenter

Railroad Park

Existing & Proposed Parks, Greenway, Existing Trail, Proposed Trail

Convention Center

TowerTower

Tower

Tower

Grocery

Septa Station

Septa Station

Greenroof Park

Field

Waterfall Wall

WavePiazza

GrassDunes

Bridge

Bridge

Bridge

Pedestrian Bridge

GreenRoof

Green Streets

PLAN

Convention Center

Towers

Rooftop Park

Convention CenterGreenroofGreenroof system minimizes runoff and recycles water

Conference RoomsWill help to bring large events and commerce to Norristown

Indoor Green WallBrings nature indoors, improving air quality, and provided a positive natural environment for visitors.

Interior GardenLocated in the main hall, this interior garden brings nature indoors and provides seating for visitors.

Rooftop ParkGreenroof park system for connectivity and enjoyment between buildings.

Parking2 story parking garage to elevate buildings above flood levels and provide parking.

TowerHigh-Rise Crops

AeroponicsPlants held in place so that roots hang in the air and are infused with water vapor and nutrients.

Used for potatoes, carrots, and other similar crops.

HydroponicsPlants held in place so that roots sit in open troughs; dissolved nutrients in matter are continu-ously rotated over the crops.

Used for tomatoes, spinach, and berries.Drip Irrigation

Plants grow in low-weight inert material.

Used for grass, wheat, and corn.

CondominiumsOffice and residential condominiums utilized by people looking for a short commute into Phila-delphia and surrounding area.Business OfficesBusiness space for companies and entrepreneurs easily accessible by current rail, vehicular, and public transportation.

Shopping AreaSmall Shops and restaurants help to create destination points and economic opportunity.

Rooftop ParkGreenroof park system for connectivity and enjoyment between buildings.

Parking2 story parking garage to elevate buildings above flood levels and provide parking.

Emilio Ambasz: The Grand Embrace

Source: 2009 Scientific American, inc.

Renzo Piano: Kansai International Airport Terminal.

Case Studies

David L. Lawrence Convention CenterPittsburgh Pennsylvania

Tower

Convention Center

Riverfront Trail

Schuylkill River

Schuylkill River

Riverfront Trail Underpass

Pedestrian Bridge

Schuylkill River

Transportation Center Flood Simulation

Normal Conditions

100 Year Flood

200 Year Flood

Railroad Park Flood Simulation

Normal Conditions

100 Year Flood

200 Year Flood