I am a landscape designer and artist from California, attracted to the field of landscape architecture due to my longtime passion for visual communication and expression through art.
I enjoy creating expressive and provoking graphics to represent people and places, experimenting with new techniques and mediums to actively strengthen my graphic communication skills.
As a designer, I find it important to approach projects with a critical lense that examines the relationship between people, identity, and space, employing a multi-facted understanding of the urban, social, and natural contexts that have shaped and formed the communities that we as designers are tasked with creating spaces for. I believe that first understanding how different people navigate and experience the world in their own unique ways allows designers to better create spaces that recognize, work with, and embolden these human experiences.
e-mail andre@zendejas.com
phone (909)360-3216
web www.linkedin.com/in/andre-zendejas-99907b1b8
EDUCATION
Aug. 2020 - Dec. 2024
University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA
Bachelors of Arts in Landscape Architecture
EXPERIENCE
Crew Member at Snowberry Landscapes Design Build
Jul. 2024 - Oct. 2024 Richmond, CA
Assisted in all phases of residential landscape installation, construction, and maintenance. Learned proper operation of hand and power tools to carry out a variety of tasks including site grading, irrigation, paving, lighting, as well as planting and plant maintenance. Basic horticultural knowledge was employed to properly install, remove, and maintain landscape plants at residences.
Graphic Designer + Design Director at Perennial: The Undergraduate Environmental Journal of Berkeley
Aug. 2021- Aug. 2023 Berkeley, CA
Created graphic designs and page layouts in Adobe Suite for bi-annual issues of Perennial. After designing for two semesters, I took over as the Design Director for the following year, overseeing a team of 5-8 other designers as we conceptualized and produced a unique graphic theme and narrative for each new issue of the journal. As the lead designer, I was tasked with both working on my own designs, as well as providing constructive critiques and feedback to the other designers’ in progress designs. Myself and other designers would communicate with story writers and editors to translate news and op-ed environmental articles into visually appealing and cohesive graphics.
SKILLS
Softwares: AutoCAD, Rhinoceros 3D, ArcGIS, Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign)
PHYTOITERATION: PLANTING TO HYBRIDIZE REPARATION, ARTISTIC ENGAGEMENT, & THE REMEDIATION OF TOXIC LANDSCAPES
CHEVRON OIL REFINERY, POINT RICHMOND, RICHMOND CA LA 102 | Case Studies in Landscape Design | Spring 2023
Phytoiteration is a redevelopment proposal for a site within the Chevron Oil Refinery in Richmond, CA. Embracing the imperative shift away from petroleum, this site envisions a future in which sites of oil infrastructure are transformed into dynamic public spaces that intend to harmonize and inegrate the design objectives of social reparation, artistic engagement, and ecological remediation.
The name “Phyto-iteration” comes from the combination of phytoremediation and iterative design. Inspired by the reiterative processes of nature such as the shedding of snakes’ skin, the project’s goal is to create a site of reiterative planting design located inside a prexisting oil tank. The planting is intended to be experimental and participatory, encouraging community engagment in deciding what to plant and where, while also extracting toxins from the soil below each time plants are removed and replanted. The tank infrastucture also acts as the canvas for community mural artworks, intending to creating a garden which reflects the rich and dynamic communities of Richmond’s neighborhoods that were historically impacted by the presence of the oil refinery.
Urban analysis of Richmond’s communities, guided by the research and exploration of the role of BIPOC/Latine labor in the wider Bay Area. Collagic artworks convey the evaluation of impacts on the city of Richmond by socio-economic disparities, health concerns, and racial based discrimination and displacement.
COLLAGE- FROM CONDEMNATION TO PRAISE (bottom left)
COLLAGE- READING CYCLES OF RICHMOND’S LANDSCAPE (bottom right)
SITE LOCATION & CONTEXT WITHIN POINT RICHMOND (middle right)
SITE & CONTEXT SITE ANALYSIS
PLANTING SYSTEM
CHARACTER-
Solitary paths & seating enclosed within planting facilitates conversation and contemplation
Concrete found beneath oil storage tank repurposed for brick pathway throughout the garden.
PARTICIPATORY & REITERATIVE PLANTING DESIGN
Guided by the design exploration of reiteration and the shedding layers, the garden contained within the walls of the primary oil tank the site invites members of the immediate community to engage experimental and participitory nature of the space.
Working synonymously with the phytoremediation based system of soil extraction through regular cutting/harvesting, interval based planting timeline allows active engagement in decision making over what is planted and where, changing through each planting iteration.
The planting system is intended to create visual variety in color, texture, and form, while also creating room for experimental comparison of phytoremediation rates between monoculture and companion style planting.
PHYTO-ITERATION
RICHMOND LABORER
ZENDEJAS
REPARATIONS
2023
seating planting beds,
contemplation
Paths widen at perimeter of garden. Tank edges = sites of wall murals produced by community members/artists.
shedding of tank on in the cutting/harvesting, the the through color, experimental and
Monoculture plots can be planted in rows for ‘harvest’--creates informal pathways/shortcuts
Tagetes spp. ‘marigold’
A- MONOCULTURE PLOT
Central plaza for community gathering + ‘planting days’ to plan new planting iterations for the garden paths narrow to 3’ -encoruages solitary exploration through these areas
Helianthus annus ‘sunflower’
Poa labillardieri ‘tussock grass’
Plant Selection- Soil Extraction
PLANT SELECTION
Plant species were selected out of the intention of utilizing fast growing, perennial/annual plants to facilitate experimental studies of phytoremediation rates over shorter time scales.
PLANTING TO HYBRIDIZE REPARATION, ARTISTIC ENGAGEMENT, & THE REMEDIATION OF TOXIC LANDSCAPES
PERSPECTIVE FROM PRIMARY SITE
PRIMARY SITE OF DESIGN/ PLANTING GARDEN
---garden enclosed within walls of the pre-existing oil storage tank; experimental planting design and phytoremediation site
COMMUNITY ARTWORK& MURAL/ WATER STORAGE TANK
---mural tank painted over regularly; encourages diverse engagement and temporality of artwork/creative perspective ---water storage for garden irrigation
PRE-EXISTING
CONNECT
MURALS PAINTED INSIDE OF GARDEN TANK
--artistic representation of community historyand legacy
02
DIGITAL DRAWING & MODELING
BRYANT PARK, NEW YORK, NY
LA 134B | Drawing Workshop II: Landscape Graphics in a Digital World | Fall 2024
A three-stage project utilizing Bryant Park as the site of study, the selected site was intended to exercise foundational skills in digital modeling, graphic communication, and workflow managment across computer programs (AutoCAD, Rhino3D, Illustrator, Photoshop).
After drawing a plan and section of the park, two axonometric models were created to graphically illustrate a selected zone of the site, presenting this zone in two conditions---one being ‘everyday’ Bryant Park, and the second being the park during its annual Spring Makers Market. Preliminary site analysis, plan and section, and the two axonometric models were finally synthesized to then create a perspective collage.
AXON MODELS
AUTOCAD PLAN & DETAILS
Demonstration of proficieny in AutoCAD to generate plans, sections, and details while following given graphic standards. A previously completed studio project (01 ‘Phyto-iteration’) was selected to be used as the site of focus for a set of plan drawings and design details. Here the landscape plan, material plan, and set of detail drawings illustrate the materiality and design specific choices for the construction of the site.
THE TWO HEADS- MIYAZAKI CENTER FOR ECO-MAGIC
The Two Heads is a visionary site proposal for a museum and research center located in Richmond, CA, dedicated to showcasing the works and legacy of Hayao Miyazaki. Inspired by the symbolic imagery behind the two headed serpent, this project aims to provide an immersive and contemplative journey, where visitors can explore the concepts of duality and the choices they make along the way.
The site is intended to celebrate and honor the artistic legacy of Miyazaki’s storytelling, while also creating its own story through the guidance of the two-headed serpent as the principle for the site’s layout. Design is driven by narrative storytelling, guiding vistors through a journey where two major pathway sequences converge at a final meeting point, revealing a striking view of the San Francisco skyline and landscapes of the bay. This convergence is the culmination of the journey where design emulates the unity of diverse narratives. Functionally, the site is meant to accomodate both vehicular and pedestrian access, ensuring a seamless experience for visitors, whilst also encouraging exploration on foot through well-defined pathways and a balance between open and enclosed space.
SECTIONS
LUNAR GARDEN
05
LUNAR GARDEN - PHENOMENA SITE DESIGN
SOUTHEAST FARALLON ISLAND, SAN FRANCISCO, CA LA 101 | Fundamentals of Landscape Design | Fall 2022 |
Lunar Garden is an immersive landscape proposal for the Farallon Islands in San Francisco, designed to exemplify the relationship between ocean storms, the moon, and the cyclical rise and fall of the tides. This site is created as a center for self-exploration and reflection, where visitors can engage with natural phenomena of the island throughout the year.
Pathways and viewpoints are designed to encourage visitors’ engagement with the movement of water and the moon, providing diverse perspectives that construct a unique experience based on the time of day and season of the year. The goal of Lunar Garden is to synthesize a sensorial experience of the ocean through a designed moonlit sanctuary, where the rise and fall of the tides are used to create reflection pools which capture the light and intense imagery of the sky.
The garden intends to deepen visitors’ understanding of lunar and tidal phenomena, strengthening appreciation for interconnected processes of nature.
PRELIMINARY DIAGRAMS & SKETCHES
PERSPECTIVES
PLAN
WITH CONTOURS
VEGETABLE-EUCALYPTUS GROVE STUDY & ZINE
LA 101 | Fundamentals of Landscape Design | Fall 2022
The main objective of the “Vegetable” project was to demonstrate proficiency in the understanding of site analysis, scale, and artistic interpetation of a site, centered around the eucalyptus grove found on UC Berkeley’s campus.
Surveying techniques were utilized in groups to map quadrants of the site, where various stages of site analysis were then translated into a body of work. The relationship between the primary plan and section of a site is demonstrated, as well as the integral component of understanding scale, form, and proportion of various elements of the landscape. Gathered drawings, images, and artifacts from the field were used to create a graphic “zine,” ilustrating an artistic interpetation of the site through a two sided multi-media representation of the eucalyptus grove.
MINERAL
LA 101 | Fundamentals of Landscape Design | Fall 2022
Mineral is an exercise intended to demonstrate proficiecy in key skills essential to later projects and exercises in landscape design. The project centers around skills in topography, scale, and artistic interpretation of subject through the use of a rock as the primary vessel for the design exploration.
Understanding of scale and topography is developed through both hands on model making, as well as digital rendering through AutoCAD. The physical assessment of the chosen rock is translated through clay and wood lasercut models (bottom), demonstrating the comprehension of topographic form and proportion. Artistic expression is also employed through the creation of a multi-media collage (left) that incorporates the rock as a component at different scales. The deliverables of mineral are meant to convey the relationship between analog techniques, digital rendering, and artistic interpretation of a given subject or site.
