a landscape arch i tecture por t fo l ioKylie R. Harper

Sunset Zoo Butterfly Garden

Hand Graphics

Manhattan Mennonite Congregation

Tagged Topography

Kylie R. HarperFifth Year Non-Baccalaureate Master of Landscape Architecture Graduate StudentDepartment of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community PlanningCol lege of Architecture, Planning & Design Kansas State Universitykrharper@ksu.edu620.200.4226

Sunset Zoo Butterfly Garden

Hand Graphics

Manhattan Mennonite Congregation

Tagged Topography

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Table of Contents

Tagged Topography

Main Plaza Montage, Denver Metropolitan Studio Project, Arapahoe Square, Denver, Colorado

Tagged TopographyArapahoe Plaza is a design proposal for the

intersection of 21st Street and Broadway in the Arapahoe Square district in Denver,

Colorado. The plaza design includes a pedestrian bridge that gives an identity to the

area and serves as a gateway into Denvers central business district. The design concept

of Arapahoe Plaza draws inspiration from nearby graffiti murals or tags that represent the existing culture. A series of earthmounds

symbolize this graffiti concept three dimensionally and provide various degrees of spatial enclosure. Orange lighting elements

represent the bold colors in graffiti art and create an exciting nightlife experience.

Arapahoe Plaza is a spatially diverse design that captures the existing culture while strengthening the future potential growth of the Arapahoe Square district.

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Main Plaza Montage, Denver Metropolitan Studio Project, Arapahoe Square, Denver, Colorado

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existing traffic condition

proposed spacing

strategy and pedestrian bridge

street design

land use diagrams

Civic and Social Servicescivic

transitional housing

low income housing

Massing Diagramnew buildings

renovated/repurposed buildings

Green Spacesgreen roofs

turf and street trees

Mixed Use Developmententertainment

retail, office and residential

retail and office

05

The proposed land uses for Arapahoe Square are primarily influenced by the existing site context. The placement of retail, office, and residential buildings is concentrated in the western portion of the district because of the proximity

to Denvers central business district and Coors Field. Proposed low income residential and social welfare buildings are located to the east near the existing neighborhoods. Parking is located adjacent to the existing light rail station,

civic buildings, and along the Festival Street. Additionally, green spaces create points of interest that guide visitors along the Festival Street which terminates at Coors Field.

illustrative plan

arap

ahoe

str

eet

curt

is s

tree

t

stou

t st

reet

califo

rnia

str

eet

arapahoe plaza

light rail

21st festival street

22nd street

broadway

cham

pa street

0 50 100 200 300

existing traffic condition

My Inspiration, Photograph of Graffiti, Arapahoe Square, Denver, Colorado

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linework overlays

derived forms and program

spatial hierarchy

final design

process

Exploration of Lighting Elements

The forms derived from the graffiti and brick linework overlays were originally envisioned as being raised planters of dense vegetation. However, after considering the pedestrian bridge landing on top of one of these two dimensional forms, the idea of earthmounds seemed more congruent with the plaza design concept, emulating graffiti three dimensionally.

The earthmounds symbolically represent the bold, organic strokes of graffiti and activate the vertical space of the plaza design. However, the strokes were lacking vivid colors, which are commonly used in graffiti art. This issue was resolved with the exploration of various lighting features.

With the inclusion of lighting features, a new concept of light and shadow manifested within the plaza. A light wall, inspired by Peter Walkers Kiel Plaza, separates the main plaza space from a forest of light sticks that represents fragments of color in graffiti. These lighting elements create a light walk on the southern half of the site that contrast the shadows on the northern half of the plaza.

A framework was established by drawing lines that illustrate existing relationships and connections to the site context. The relative size and location of the shapes created by the lines suggest spatial hierarchy and ultimately drove programmatic development. The rapid overlaying of graffiti and brick linework establishes another framework that guides forms.

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0 5 10 20 30

21st street

broadway

pedest

rian b

ridge

elevator

Office, Retail, and Residential Buildings

light

walk

stage

amphitheater seating

illustrative plan

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section illustrating spatial qualities

diagrams

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amphitheater seating intimate rest areastagelight walkpedestrian bridge

pedestrian bridge

tertiary light wall

amphitheater

secondary amphitheater

trees

intimate rest area

light walk

primary landforms

landforms

Circulation

Program Vegetation

Lighting Elements

pedest

rian b

ridge

Irrigation Plan, Manhattan Mennonite Congregation Project, Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, Kansas

Manhattan Mennonite Congregation

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The Manhattan Mennonite Congregation was a planting design project for the

proposed Mennonite Church facility to be located on the 800th block of Poyntz

Avenue, Manhattan, Kansas. Given only a building footprint, Angela Mayer and I were

required to detemine the most suitable locations for the church facility and other various program elements after a series

of site visits. After the site elements were conceptually laid out, plants were then used

to define and accentuate the spaces.

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0 30 60 120 180

church

plaza

poyntz avenue

houston street

law office

privateresidence

parking lotbioswale

playground

the great lawn

amphitheater 8th

stre

et

9th

stre

et

illustrative plan

woody plant palette

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seasonal diagrams

acer freemanii autumn blaze/autumn blaze maple

juniperus davurica parsonii/parsons juniper

betula nigra/river birch

ginkgo biloba/ maidenhair tree

ligustrum vicaryi/ golden privet

viburnum carlesii/korean spice viburnum

gleditsia triacanthos/honeylocust

thuja occidentalis/ eastern arborvitae

zelkova serrata/zelkova

berberis thunbergii crimson pygmy/ crimson pygmy barberry

acer griseum/paperbark maple

ostrya virginiana/american hophornbeam

winter spring summer autumn

planting plan

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church

plaza

poyntz avenue

houston street

law office

privateresidence

parking lotbioswale

playground

the great lawn

amphitheater9th

str

eet

construction documents

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The Manhattan Mennonite Congregation project was not only my first planting design project, but was also my first

construction project as well. The illustrative plan that I made for studio

was transcribed into a series of construction documents; the planting

and grading plans were drawn first and followed by earthwork estimation.

Earthwork estimation was calculated using the Averge Depth, End Area, and Contour Area methods. I also

completed dimensioning, construction details, irrigation, and lighting/electrical

drawings for the site design.

deck detailgrading plan average end area plan

Terrace Perspective, Sunset Zoo Bioretention Project, Sunset Zoological Park, Manhattan, Kansas

Sunset Zoo Butterfly GardenThe Sunset Zoo Butterfly Garden was a

design proposal submitted by Katy Molaskey and I for a rain garden project at Sunset

Zoological Park in Manhattan, Kansas. During the Spring 2011 semester, zoo

officials chose the Butterfly Garden project to be implemented within Sunset Zoo.

The design transforms a stretch of several existing parking stalls into a terraced

rain garden that captures and cleanses stormwater runoff from the adjacent service

street. The planting design consists of native, water tolerant plants that attract

butterflies. Additionally, informative signage about native butterfly species,

life cycles, and migration patterns is used as an educational tool for zoo visitors.

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illustrative plan

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The majority of the materials used in the design, excluding the streambed gravel, are recycled materials from prior sidewalks and other precedent projects in the Sunset Zoological Park. Inspired by the pattern of a butterfly wing, each terrace has a low point in the center which allows shallow pooling of stormwater. The terraces gradually step down half a foot from south to north which directs excess stormwater into the next, lower terrace, essentially creating an appealing effect during rain events.0 2.5 5 10 20

recycled concrete

service street

service area

limestone check dam

fire hydrant

power line

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longitudinal section layers

existing access sidewalk

4 inch soil layer

3 inch gravel layer

streambed

limestone check dam sub-soil

cross-sectional layers

service street existing drain

slope stabilizing gravel

streambed 3 inch gravel layer

4 inch soil layer

sub-soil

cross-sectional layers

longitudinal section layers

limestone check dam

fire hydrant

power line

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Prior Site Conditions

Design Implementation

site photos

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Water Tolerant Plants Placed in Low Point of Terrace

Student Volunteers Helping with Planting

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Ink and Marker Sketch, Eco-revelatory Project,

Wildcat Creek, Manhattan, Kansas

Hand Graphics

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Art is my passion. Growing up, my mother always encouraged me to draw and paint after school rather than watch television

or play video games. Being an artist herself, I am inspired by my mothers

creativity. Every time I visit home, I discover something new that she has made, whether

it is a clothes dresser covered in papier-mch book pages or a mirror frame

crafted from sticks that were collected from the front yard. Because of her, I am

constantly searching for new ways to artfully express myself and my studio work. 4

This ink drawing was my response to the disappearance of the eco-revelatory project that Rachel Barth, Aaron Johnson, and I were supposed to document for the entire Fall 2009 semester. I drew in a comic style because I thought that our misfortune (two weeks into the semester) was rather funny, especially since our professor stated that rebuilding is discouraged. Assuming that flood waters snapped the limb in two, my teammates and I continued to sketch the surrounding context. However, shortly after this drawing, we met an elderly man who, upon our inquiry, informed us that he deleted our project from the scenery.

LArbre Comic, Eco-revelatory Project, Wildcat Creek, Manhattan, Kansas24

ink drawing

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Anneberg Park, Manhattan, Kansas26

These charcoal sketches were drawn in October 2009 at one of my favorite places, Anneberg Park, which lies on the western fringe of Manhattan, Kansas. Located in the Flint Hills, the park is surrounded by a two mile trail loop that meanders among the rolling cuestas that define the geographical region. Whenever I get a chance to exercise, I enjoy jogging along this trail.

charcoal sketches

27Anneberg Park, Manhattan, Kansas

Entrance into The Big Well Museum28

graphite renderings

Greensburg Identity Project, Greensburg, KansasAlle Perspective

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These graphite renderings were produced for the Greensburg Identity Project in

my Site Design Studio during the Spring 2010 semester. The Greensburg Identity

Project involved the redevelopment of the two city blocks that surround the Big

Well Museum in Greensburg, Kansas. The final products were given to the City

of Greensburg for design inspiration.

thank you.

Jessica CanfieldAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community PlanningCollege of Architecture, Planning & Design Kansas State Universityjesscan@ksu.edu785.532.7083

Blake Belanger, rla, aslaAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community PlanningCollege of Architecture, Planning & Design Kansas State Universitybelanger@ksu.edu785.532.1096

Chip WinslowProfessorDepartment of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community PlanningCollege of Architecture, Planning & Design Kansas State Universitychipwin@ksu.edu785.341.0229