Brianda Cerda Landscape Architecture Portfolio

Landscape Architecture Porfolio 2021 Coverpage art: Marker on Paper August, 2003

I am Brianda Cerda. I was born and raised in the Mission District, in San Francisco, a daughter of Mexican immigrants.

My experience with the landscape has always been a journey, from when I joined my dad as a toddler to visit fields that illuminated my imagination (he was a fruit delivery man) to creating my own landscapes on paper, such as the art on my cover. My portfolio, too, is not only a collection of my journey through Landscape Architecture at UC Berkeley, but also a journey of finding myself as a designer and what it means to me to be a designer. Welcome!

Brianda Cerda Table of Contents 1 Reconquista 2 A Convenient Fire 3 Gibbous - a Break 4 Fences 5 Stairs 6 Scott Traveling Fellowship 7 Additional Explorations

reconquista.

Truth or Consequences, New Mexico // Fall 2020 Based in Truth or Consequences, a popular hot springs town in New Mexico, this project is about remembering a once forgotten land and its indigenous roots, and about reclaiming a power once silenced by Western civilization and their practices. This project sought to discover how to heal a land that, albeit being scarred, still holds a beautiful history.

How do you remind a piece of land of it’s roots that have been demolished (practically and metaphorically speaking)? In a town known for having a hot spring on every corner, this design reminds visitors of the origin of the land that shaped and continues to shape New Mexico.

This design alludes to Mexican indigenous technologies, such as chinampas, or long floating fields used in Aztec agriculture, as well as the temazcal, a traditional Mexican sweatlodge, that is meant to purify the body from physical and spiritual toxins.

It also explores the idea of fences and borders as a false reality (why do we divide and claim land?), and proposes it as a liminal space - something we can move through, such as an bi- or multi-cultural identity, as a result of physical borders (corten borders).

exterior

interior

a convenient fire.

Sutro Baths, San Francisco, California // Spring 2020 This project is a nightscape monument to fires, natural and anthropogenic, especially the recent wildfires in California and Australia, as well as the fires throughout San Francisco as a means to displace rent control tenants. Therefore, this is also a monument to social fires, however they may manifest themselves - and it is especially a monument to those who continue to struggle against inequality.

Using information from the sound sensors, colors pulsate from blue to orange, synchronized with the direction and strength of the swell to represent burning (incoming waves) and quenching (receding waves), accordingly.

The posts are essentially a mirroring of the swell.

gibbous - a break.

Francisco Park, San Francisco, California // Spring 2020 This project is based in Francisco Park, neighbor to San Francisco’s busiest tourist attractions, this project explores the concavities and convexities of the land, to create areas of enclosure and places of reflection and introspection, to provide the area with an contrasting oasis to escape into. This is a project of thresholds and procession, inspiring visitors to get lost in the winding trails, as well as a project of release, inviting all to get lost in sacred play.

This design invites anyone to get lost within Francisco Park, and to explore the magic of sacred play. The winding paths and tiered planters are sure to make the visitor feels as though being hugged by nature.

What does it mean to play? It means getting lost in time, without a fear of being unproductive, however that looks for you. While sacred play is something that is defined by the individual, my design explores how abstract shapes in the play structure area can allow for universal play, which makes playing accessible to all abilities and ages.

fences.

Cazadero, California // Fall 2020 This project focuses on the theme of fences and barriers, specifically as it alludes to the colonization of the native Americans and indigenous people of the north American continent. It is a journey that represents the dispersion of a culture, which also meant the dissolution of TEK, which meant the weakening of the ecosystem. Although it alludes to a specific history of the land, it can be interpreted personally, and can be a procession of healing for anyone.

This design is in partnership with TereVana, a mindfullness and spiritual organization dedicated to healing people with nature. The design is a procession that uses topography as a helaing journey.

The inspiration comes from Native American diaspora as a result of fences and borders. 15’ tall corten borders are scattered through my site according to topography. At the lowest points of the land, there is the most amount of corten borders that have sound pipes installed through them, while the highest point of the land has the least.

Simultaneously, the parts with the most borders feature barren and fragmented plantings that increase as the borders diminish, an allusion to stateforced dissolution of TEK as a means for the fragmentation of ecosystems.

stairs.

Berkeley, California // Spring 2021 This project consisted of designing an original staircase for a Landscape Construction and Materials course. I wanted to challenge myself to create a graphic and three-dimensional staricase, that is light and permeable while adhering to the California building code.

Thus, I incorporated planters to the stairs to add to the breezy design, for an enhanced relaxing and experience while using the stairs.

The planters help create an enclosure to the stairs, so there is an emphasis on being surrounded by plants that helps create a threshold of calmness.

Scott Traveling Fellowship.

THE INVISIBLE CURRICULUM: SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY OF PRECOLONIAL LANDSCAPES AND THEIR PRACTICES

As a Landscape Architect, I believe we need to listen to the land and the people of the land and really think about how our designs can impact spaces.

I was recently awarded the Scott Traveling Fellowship, which is an independent traveling research opportunity. My research is based on the importance of traditional ecological knowledge. I have traveled to Hawai’i (Molokai, Kaua’i, and O’ahu) and Mexico (Mexico City, Ixtapaluca, and Rio Frio) in hopes of observing (socially and environmentally) healthier ways of land management and how culture plays a role in passing on traditional knowledge and why it is important to acknowledge these knowledges in design practices and academic curriculums. I am especially interested in how different cultures are creating intimate and healthy relationships with the natural environment in or near the urban setting. I hope to shed some light as of to how we can think of non-Western and pre-colonial practices of the land in post-colonial landscapes and urban spaces.

The final product of my research aspires to be a collection of informational posts on social media as well as a final documentary, summarizing the findings of my traveling research.

HAWAI’I (Molokai, Kaua’i, O’ahu) Conducted interviews with: Greg Solatorio, Tiani Cook, Kamealoha Hanehane-Smith, Peleke Flores, Sam Gon Ohu III, Grace Zheng, Marques Hanalei Marzan, Kaimi Wallace, Kahiau Wallace, Keahi Pi’iohi’a, and many others.

I had very insightful conversations with the aforementioned people about how they challenge the community to think about their relationship with the environment and listened to how they work hand in hand with the environment to achieve inspiring and collective goals.

A documentary that was sent to Youth for Climate and Communities for Climate Change and Challenges (by ILAUD 2021) in Milan, Italy.

MEXICO (Mexico City, Iztapaluca, Rio Frio de Juarez) Conducted interviews with: The municipality of Iztapaluca, the municipality of Rio Frio, field workers in the Ejidos de San Francisco, as well as artisans.

additional exploration.

Thank you!

Brianda Cerda Landscape Architecture Portfolio 2021