Amelia Abraham Portfolio 2025 [Landscape Architecture] by Amelia Abraham

Table of Contents:

1.

Prof. Martin Hogue Spring 2023

Werly Island(s)

Werly Island exists as an engineered island in Cornell University’s Beebe Lake, with the intent of slowing water flow and collecting sediment deposition to preserve the function of the dam. The original construction of the dam converted what was once marsh to lake.

The island itself has been broken up into smaller structures made of of a single tree, functionally serving the same purpose of the main island, yet speeding up the return of the marsh. In that time of flux, visitors can enjoy canoeing through a forest, until the marsh is fully formed.

Evolution of site from lake to marsh through the proposed structures. Sediment builds up over time as the structures slow the flow of ater, leading to the collection of sediment.

Sections & diagrams depicting the temporal nature of the site, showing sediment build up over time.

Serial Sections

Diagram

2.

Prof. Jennifer Birkeland Fall 2023

Of Muppets & Man

A celebration of the works of Henson, the structure combines facades inspired by the highlights of his career cut out of a structure abstracted from the form of a film roll.

The cut-outs make the viewer both puppet and puppeteer. where each facade is a scene to be within, and also be experienced by others when looking through the cutout, representing the innovative ways Henson filmed his muppets to make them feel truly alive.

What makes a Muppet, a Muppet? Malleability, Color, & Emotion. Diagram representing the malleability of the muppets, which creates the iconic “scrunch”, which is reflected in the malleable structure. Film roll is abstracted to make the form of the memorial.

Series of facades derived from motifs in Henson’s

from left to

works,

right, Sam & Friends, The Muppet Show, The Muppet Movie, The Dark Crystal, The Jim Henson Story Hour, and Labyrinth.

Render of collective facades. As visitors walk through the memorial, the landscape and others are framed by the various cutouts, where visitors “become” the puppets.

Prof. Jennifer Birkeland Fall 2024

3. The Nuclear Cemetary

Starting off as an investigation into the future of the cemetery as we know it, this reimagining of burial practices includes the cremation and then carbonization of a loved one’s remains into diamonds, to be sent across a winding stream that flows into the Long Island Sound. The waterway was constructed in the shape of the existing paths, where what was once for the living, becomes allocated for the dead, and vise versa.

The second part of the project includes adding a randomly chosen type of infrastructure to the site 100 years in the future. In the progression, a nuclear plant is present, using the waterways on site as cooling systems.

Conceptual diagrams showing the procession and the system.

4.

Prof. Mitch Glass & Mia Arruda Spring 2024

Lake Champlain

Botanical Garden

On a 119 acre plot of land donated by a local winery, we imagine a botanical garden that celebrates the Adirondacks and reinvigorates the once lively town. It includes a wide variety of collections, including a lilac collection, North Country Garden, and children’s garden. This project was proposed as the town of Westport, NY takes the beginning steps to begin fundraising for the botanic garden that they will hope elevate their town.

Rendering of the proposed lilac garden. Welcome Center building borrowed from Portola Valley Library.

Watercolor paintings in sketchbook, based on site visits.

Series of sketches on trace, iterating layouts for the gardens. Above drawings produced during a two hour charrette.

Welcome Center

5.

Prof. Mitch Glass Spring 2024 Depot Theatre

In the town of Westport, NY in Adirondack Park, the Amtrak train station on the Adirondack line doubles as a theater in the summers. The town is looking towards a revitalization, starting at the station. The design focuses on highlighting the hill that the theatre stands on with eye-catching, fantastical colors, as well as using a variety of lilac plantings for a planned Lilac Festival.

Render of view from Amtrak window into sculpture installation.

Observational sketches

Concept sketches

Sculpture & Nature Walk

Sculpture View from Train

CATS

Sculpture Walk Section

Plantings were chosen based on color, where the landscape was drowned in purple during the theatre’s season, and red during the off season.

Bloom Diagram

Seasonality Diagram (Entrance)

Seasonality Diagram (Sculpture Garden)

Prof. Anne Weber Fall 2022

The Forest Transect

At Cornell University’s Arboretum, the swaying of meadowgrass inspired the creation of a large structure of windchimes which mimic such movement. The chimes provide a gentle ambient sound, such as that produced when wind rustles the leaves and grasses of the site. The form was workshopped through many mediums, such as sketch models and hand sketching.

Hand-drawn sketches of chimes static and in motion.

Compilation of concept sketches

Multiple iterations of the form were tested by holding them up to a small fan. If the model did not produce consistent motion or sound, the form was edited. Initial structures ranged from elongated pinwheels to bent sheet metal. The final model, when against a fan, undulates and creates a soft ringing.

Final model

Study model

Prof. Jennifer Birkeland Angel Selenis & Mia Arruda PneuTubes

Inspired by the existing pneumatic tube trash system on Roosevelt Island, this speculative project brings our waste systems to the surface, with the intent of making a more thouhtful waste future.

The brightly colored tubes give a new identity to Roosevelt Island. Representing our desire to hide uncomfortable forms of inflastructure, these tubes add a playful nature to the very serious problem of waste.

Graphic timeline illustrating the history of NYC sanitation, Roosevelt Island and pneumatic tubes converging. Pneumatic tube diagrams.

A series of axons were created to illustrate the colorful tube infrastructure on Roosevelt Island’s major sites, such as the old lighthouse at the southern tip of the island, and The Octagon, a historic “lunatic asylum.” These vignettes connect the island’s storied past with this playful, speculative intervention.