Blake Schouten
Landscape Architecture Portfolio
2.0 7.0 1.0 6.0 4.0 5.0 3.0 8.0 9.0
Braided Moments | LA River Redesign
Ash Breaks | Adaptive Fencing
Cascade Crest | Construction Documents
Landscape Wildlands | Wildfire Design
Fireline | Ecological Outreach Tool
Perspectives of Disruption | Site Design
Mine Seed | Design Research
Transversales Verdes | Superblock
Collaborative Partnerships
Blake Schouten
Experience
Overlook Studio Assistant University of Oregon | July 2024 - August 2024
- Prepared materials and participated community engagement and codesign sessions.
- Provided design critique and assistance throughout the schematic design of a riverfront masterplan.
- Taught lessons on technical workflows and design methodology.
Fuller Design Fellow Studio Assistant University of Oregon | January 2023 - July 2024
- Collaborated with David Buckley Borden and a multidisciplinary science and design team.
- Produced narrative driven designs that spark discourse about practice and place.
- Organized engagement-based events on and off campus.
ASLA BLA Outreach Coordinator University of Oregon | March 2023 - Present
- Planned and led academically focused workshops and engagement events.
- Served as a connection between undergraduate students and the department.
- Worked with the MLA Outreach Coordinator to organize ASLA oriented events.
Stage Manager Assistant University of Oregon | April 2021 - Sept. 2022
- Assisted with design, installation, performance, and review of musical concerts.
- Communicated with performers in a clear manner to ensure timely and productive events.
Education
Bachelors of Landscape Architecture University of Oregon | June 2024
Select Studios Date Instructor
Comprehensive Project | Fall + Winter 23/24 |Liska Chan
Overlook Field School | Summer 2023 |Ignacio Lopez Buson + Mary Polites
Construction Documents | Spring 2023 |Ignacio Lopez Buson
Lookout Landscapes | Fall + Winter 22/23 |David Buckley Borden
Barcelona Urban Design Program | Summer 2022 |Ignacio Lopez Buson + Phillip Speranza Mine / Seed | Spring 2022 |Leslie Ryan + Erin Moore
LA River Redesign | Winter 2022 |Jean Yang
Collective Exhibitions
Forest Field Reports, 2023, College of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Arboreal Anglers, 2023, Green River Island, Mackenzie River Trust, Eugene, OR
Holding Fire, 2023 , Well Well Projects, Portland, OR
Forest Fashion Lookout Edition, 2023, Lawrence Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Kitchen Sink Magazine Gallery Release, 2023, Hayden Gallery, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Awards
Undergraduate Merit Award, 2024, Oregon ASLA
Publications
“Forest Fashion.” Arnoldia, Fall 2023, Volume 80, Issue 3, 48-56.
1.0 Braided Moments | LA River Redesign
Winter 2022 Studio
Instructor: Jean Yang
Rhino + Grasshopper, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, ArcGIS Pro
Role: Schematic Design
Responsibilities: Design Concepts, Site Inventory, Analysis, Perspectives, Sections.
One of the main challenges was the certainty of flooding on site. Detention ponds and terraced access allowed this part
of the river to flood while still remaining accessible. Braids reintroduced on the G20 Parcel along the LA River serve several purposes. Daylighting these historic forms that the river once took create flood resilient spaces that are accessible and flexible for community events. The braids also enhance water quality on the site, slowing down runoff from adjacent businesses.
Clockwise from bottom:
Site Section
Circulation and water diagram
Vignette
2.0 Ash Breaks | Adaptive Fencing
Overlook Summer 2023 Studio - Collaboration with Tellez Santaella
Instructors: Ignacio Lopez Buson & Mary Polites
Rhino + Grasshopper, QGIS, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign
Ash Breaks was a project developed in collaboration over a month spent at the Overlook Farm in Pennsylvania. The ash forest on site had been decimated by Emerald Ash Borers and lacked a sufficient canopy. We were tasked with thinking about how to re-purpose on site material to promote ecological restoration and science communication.
We proposed a modular fence system that used ash and poplar to create a modular fence for ecological management. By weaving in new and old land management
practices, we aimed to honor the deep history of the site as a productive landscape while also looking towards the future of these forests.
In the project, we used a combination of GIS and Drone surveying to accurately map the forest conditions and propose interventions that reacted to these existing conditions. The network and form of the fence was iterated on through grasshopper and physical models. This helped bridge the gap between large scale and small scale work on site.
Clockwise from bottom left:
Project framework
Ash Break Typologies
Mapped Snag Density
Initial Fence Plan along low angled slopes
Clockwise from left: Model photos
3.0 Cascade Crest | Construction Documents
Spring 2023 Studio
Instructor: Ignacio Lopez Buson Rhino + Grasshopper, AutoCAD, Photoshop
Role: Design Development / Documentation
Responsibilities: SD to DD process, Documentation, Site analysis, Paving systems with an emphasis on parametric iteration.
While this project was focused on the SD to DD process, I used a novel workflow to directly involve environmental and grading information into the design. Through Grasshopper, we explored unique paving patterns that were then integrated into circulation, drainage, and planting strategies.
Details of specific elements were also included in the set of plans and referenced in the drawings. Drawings were primarily made in AutoCAD with a select few in Rhino to incorporate paving patterns and Grasshopper information. A model was also fabricated using a unique workflow moving from Grasshopper to lasers to achieve a detailed gradient effect that reflected the unique paving system.
4.0 Landscape Wildlands | Wildfire Design
Fall 2023 Comprehensive Studio Part 1
Instructor: Liska Chan
ArcGIS
Pro, Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign
Role: Design Research / Communication
Responsibilities: Site Analysis, Historical and Environmental research, Renderings.
Landscape Wildlands aims to communicate the challenges associated with land management in a time where fire is ever present. Where are areas that face the most pressure?
How do decisions made in the present impact future trajectories of the land? What can landscape architects do as designers in this field?
This project uses three larger chapters to unpack this system. Past narratives explain why certain landscapes pervade throughout the west. An examination of conditions during the present identifies towns that face increasing pressure from fires. Speculations into the future in the form of landscape trajectories helps to imagine how we might plan for a changing world.
Project Goals
Regional Analysis Maps Local Context
Clockwise from bottom left:
COMMUNITY BURNS
- Builds knowledge sharing.
- Changes perceptions on wildland fire.
- Mosaic creation.
INFRASTRUCTURE FUELBREAKS
- Fuel reduction in high risk areas.
- Integration with other strategies.
5.0 Fireline | Ecological Outreach Tool
Fall 2022 Studio
Instructor: David Buckley Borden
Rhino + Grasshopper, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign
Role: Design Research / Engagement
Responsibilities: Design Narrative, Research, ModelMaking, Public Engagement.
Part of a two-part studio, I studied and explored systems related to wildfires in Oregon with the goal of creating a
Left to right:
Booklet Pages - Setup, Legends, Topo Game Cards
Narrative Drivers
Proposal Outcomes
community engagement tool. The board game ‘Fireline’ details the tensions and benefits related to land management and wildfires. Players learn about past fire regimes and consequences, our current relationship to wildfires, and a future need for an ecological rational related to wildland management.
POLE STANDS
DOUGLAS
Clockwise from bottom left:
6.0 Perspectives of Disruption | Site Design
Winter 2023 Studio
Instructor: David Buckley Borden
Rhino + Grasshopper, Twinmotion, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign
Role: Conceptual Design
Responsibilities: Site Design, Site Analysis, Human-scaled design, Design Narrative, Graphic Representation.
During the second half of the concurrent studio, I designed a structure that seeks to engage people in the HJ Andrews Forest with Wildfire system knowledge. The tower aims to educate and reflect on the system of wildfires through the lens of disturbance. Imagery of downed wood, windthrow, burns, and logjams on the tower structure evoke discussions about disturbance events and our perspective on them.
Data embedded in colored flagging gradients display spatial and temporal information while serving as a wayfinding element. The repeating flags throughout the site allude to property boundaries and logging harvest plots.
Etched timelines and textures on the stairs detail significant historic fires as well as methods of clearcutting common to the Pacific Northwest. On top, the Osborne Fire Finder is repurposed into a viewfinder aligned to recent and historic disturbances. All of these elements serve to provoke a novel perspective on wildfires and our role in the system.
Clockwise from bottom left:
Site Section
Proposal Overview
Site Plan
Ubiquitous to the fire lookout, these stools offer guests a chance to relax and enjoy the view.
Ubiquitous to fire lookouts, this firefinder functions instead as a marker of past disturbances in the area. Pull-Release
Fabric
Rolled up marine grade fabric is fastened with a velcro latch, allowing for guests to get out of the elements easily
Contextual Plan - Terrain
Clockwise from left: Structure model. 1”=1’-0”
Experience
7.0 Mine Seed | Design Research
Spring 2022 Studio - Collaboration with Spencer Daigle
Instructors: Leslie Ryan & Erin Moore
ArcGIS Pro, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign
Role: Design Research / Engagement
Responsibilities: Analysis, Model-Making, Large Format Drawings.
This project traces the story of two subjects: Ponderosa Pines and the Lucky Lass Superfund site in Lakeview Oregon. Both are subject to resource extraction, land management conflicts, and occupy spatial extents. Ponderosa pine and uranium both embody deep space and time in intertwined and often juxtaposing ways; both preceded and will outlast human civilization. The project culminated in a gallery exhibition where we presented the plinths to the design community.
Clockwise from bottom left:
Lucky Lass Mine Section
Ponderosa Pine Seed Dispersal
Ponderosa Pine Successional Map
Lucky Lass Soil section
Right: Uranium Extraction Mapping + Timeline
Clockwise from bottom left: Plinth Model
Lucky Lass Mine Plan Cone Detail
Right: Plinth + Drawings
8.0 Transversales Verdes | Superblock
Summer 2022 Studio - Study Abroad Barcelona
Instructors: Ignacio Lopez Buson & Phillip Speranza
Rhino + Grasshopper, QGIS, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign
Role: Concept Design
Responsibilities: Site Plan, Analysis, Sections, Renderings, Community Canvassing.
I worked with a small team while studying abroad in Barcelona during the summer of 2022. Tasked with identifying and designing a superblock system, we developed a criteria for a quantitative GIS based approach.
The combination of analyses through GIS, Grasshopper, and canvassing was invaluable in informing a toolkit to deploy site specific interventions. In the case of this superblock design, while there was a longitudinal activation of the street, there were no lateral connections. Our design addressed that by creating space for businesses, sensor-based water features, and integrated and visible stormwater catchments.
Clockwise from bottom left:
9.0 Collaborative Partnerships
Through the Fuller Institute for Productive Landscapes, I’ve been able to collaborate on a handful of projects that mix a variety of mediums and narratives. This work is multidisciplinary and spans collaborations with Oregon State
University, The H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, and local land trusts. Generally,projects aim to communicate connections between local cultural stories and complex ecological systems.
Red oak flooring, india ink, acrylic ink, lasers.
Series 2 Folk Meteogram Forecaster Etched steel, rubber gaskets, enamel paint.
Goth Archive Bandana 2-color silkscreen print on 20” cotton bandana.
Mega Drought Dehydration Gauge Canteen Etched aluminum surplus canteen, enamel paint, para cord.
Clockwise from left:
PNW Tree ID Signs
Recycled wood, paint, lasers. Trustman Art Gallery, 2022.
Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Helen Popinchalk, Madison Sanders, Blake Schouten, Nancy Silvers.
Arboreal Angler Collection
Wood body, logging hardware, acrylic paint. Green River Island, 2023.
Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, Asa DeWitt, Ashley Ferguson, Jenny Ginn, Blake Schouten, Nancy Silvers, and Sabine Winkler.
Project Zines
DIY Zines, including process photos, creative process, speculative writing, and cultural know-how. University of Oregon, HJ Andrews Experimental Forest.