CARSON J. BUTLER WINTER 2024 PORTFOLIO
CARSON J. BUTLER CONTACT cbutle10@uoregon.edu carsonbutler2013@gmail.com (303) 521-9787 linkedin.com/in/carson-butler-77a1a8254/
EDUCATION University of Oregon Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, Minor in Sustainable Buisness
Jun. 2025 Eugene, OR
3.69 GPA Lead volunteer for the Student Sustainability Center: Habitat Restoration Team Member of the University of Oregon Transportation & Liveability Group (LiveMove UO) Columbine High School 4.2 GPA
May. 2021 Littleton, CO
WORK EXPERIENCE L.I.D. Landscapes Landscape Design Internship
Jun. 2023 - Aug. 2023 Boulder, CO
- Measured large sites & created base site maps in AutoCAD with the measured data - Took input from the lead designer to create hardscape, softscape & planting designs - Used Aspire to create affordable pricing & adjusted designs to accomodate the client’s budget Putter’s Pride Mini Golf Shift Leader & Landscaper
Jun. 2022 - Sep. 2022 Lakewood, CO
- Worked on essential landscape maintenance & practiced customer service Lawn Maintenance Self-Employed - Managed & ran seasonal yard services to dozens of clients for nearly a decade
SKILLS & INTERESTS Skills: Adobe Suite, AutoCAD, ArcGIS, Hand-Drawing, Rhinoceros 3D & Twinmotion Interests: Basketball, Cycling, Tennis & Creative Video-Games
Jan. 2013 - Aug. 2021 Littleton, CO
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION
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LETITIA CARSON LEGACY PROJECT
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PARQUE DEL ARROYO SECO
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THE GRACEFUL EDGE
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ASSEMBLY AT SCALE & PROFESSIONAL WORK
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UO LANDSCAPE LAB
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PERSONAL WORK
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DIGNITY PORTRAITS
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RESEARCHING LEGACY+ECOLOGY Letitia Carson Legacy Project LA489 - Ellee Stapleton Location: OSU Soap Creek Ranch. Corvallis, Oregon. Focus: Historic Legacy & Community Project. Skills: Research, Community Outreach & Site Anaylsis.
Through a mix of community engagement, archival research & site analysis, the studio explores the historic homestead site of one of Oregon’s first black female settlers: Letitia Carson. The studio is a collaboration with the Letitia Carson Legacy Project (a partnership between Oregon State University and four community organizations. Each student in the studio focused on a specific element of the site & I chose to focus on the historic ecology, ecotone & the impact of fences on the site. This is a two-term sequence studio, with the first term focusing on research & the second upcoming term (Winter 2024) focusing on site design.
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3 1. Willamette Valley Habitats 2. Ecotone on site 3. Contemporary fencing purposes 4. Soap Creek Valley ecology & habitats: 1850 vs 2023
1850
1850 Overstory: Native riparian trees include the Alder, Black Cottonwood, Douglas-Fir, Oregon Ash, Oregon Oak, Ponderosa Pine & Willow trees.
1850 Midstory: A thin overstory created habitat for smaller trees like hazelnut, Osoberry, Pacific Madrone & more. 1850 Understory: Gallery forests have an understory with beneficial herbaceous plants improving shelter & cover for wildlife. 1850 Ecotone: There is a smooth transition between habitats based on water availability, micro-climate, topography, a consistant fire regime & more.
1850 Oak Savanna: The Kalapuyan fire regime prevented upland forest encroachment, creating a rare ecosystem that benefited from human involvement. 1850 Prairie: Controlled burns by the Kalapuyan restore soil health with nutrients, allowing for a biodiverse prairie with Camas, fescues, oat grass, sedges, tufted hairgrass & more.
2023
2023 Overstory: Invasive trees like the Norway Maple outcompete native trees: creating a denser canopy that shades out native understory plants. 2023 Midstory: The once open & diverse forest floor has been replaced by an overgrown & unhealthy midstory. 2023 Understory: Invasive species like English Ivy, Himalayan blackberry & reed canary grass dominate. Canary grass & blackberry are found in 93% & 89% of studied riparian zones respectively. 2023 Ecotone: Property & agricultural boundaries create discontinuos natural zones. Creek & river meandering are predetermined by artifical boundaries. 2023 Oak Savanna: Former savannas are encorached on by agriculture, forests & urban sprawl. Very few examples of savanna remain in the Willamette Valley. 2023 Prairie: The nutrient rich soil of prairies are desired for agricultural purposes. Monotypic pastures & cropland dominate the Willamette Valley.
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MASTERPLANNING IN THE DESERT Parque Del Arroyo Seco LA439 - Ignacio López Busón Location: Arrecife. Lanzarote, Spain. Masterplan Proposal & Smaller Site Development. Skills: 3D Modeling,& Masterplanning.
Arrecife, the largest city on the arid island of Lanzarote, has made large swaths of land available to be developed as flood controlling parkland that caters to locals & tourists alike. A masterplsnned sea foam pattern pathway network & the channelization of stormwater into collection zones transform neglected land into an important resource. By replacing an at-grade road with a pedestrian viaduct, water & people flow through the park easier. A pilot site was designated for the first stages of development. Using environmental analysis, the optimal positions for program elements were determined. The prominent features in the park include the dry creek & a concrete sculpture inspired by the sea foam pattern & Lanzarote’s volcanic rock formations.
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1. Aerial context 2. Rendered plan 3. Walking in the Dry Creek 4. ‘Sea Foam’ sculpture 5. Original site conditions 6. Masterplanned site with
Construction remnants Temisas st.
Dry Creek
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Pilot Site
Kinetic Sand Model
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Multimodal Corridor
Canary Palms
Temisas St. Viaduct
Natural Water Retention
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ELEVATION LOW
ORIGINAL
HIGH
DESIGN
SUNNIEST
ORIGINAL
WATER SHADIEST
DESIGN
LESS
MORE
ORIGINAL
DESIGN
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h ‘Sea Foam’ pattern & pilot sie sand model 7. Isometric of the Temisas St. viaduct 8. Pilot site analysis 9. Pilot site section
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DEFUNCT TRANSIT RENEWAL AS PARK The Graceful Edge LA439 - Joan Honeyman Location: Fairmount. Eugene, Oregon. Group Project & Linear Park. Skills: Collaboration & Thematic Design.
The Graceful Edge is the compromise between the rapid development of the University of Oregon & the wealthy Fairmount neighborhood. The two entities look to create an aesthetic transtition between the campus & the residential area. Four disconnected plots were chosen as the site of a linear park that serves the needs of both communities. As a group, we created the Wiley Griffon Fairmount Line Park, a streetcar themed park based on Eugene’s transportation history. Wiley Griffon was a streetcar operator & one of Eugene’s first African American residents. My site serves as ‘The Railyard.” It’s anchored by a community garden, an entrance plaza, the splash pad, and the nature patches.
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1. Guidelines for the Graceful Edge 2. Vizualizing site disconnection 3. Black & white plan 4. Site overview 5. Ghosted perspective 6. Rende
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ered plan
Bioswale
Apiary
Raised Crossing
Entry Plaza
Community Garden Community Tools
Picnic Lawn
Nature Patch
The Grove
Axis to Campus
Splash Wheel
Main Path
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DRAWING THE CAMPUS Assembly at Scale LA439 - Mark Eischeid Location: University of Oregon. Eugene, Oregon. Campus Plazas & Promenades. Skills: Hand Drawing & CAD.
Assembly can be understood as the tangible relationship between a complete object & its constituent elements. This studio focuses on the design & communication of landscape elements & spaces through assembly. The existing plaza north of the intersection of 13th Ave. & University St. at the center of the University of Oregon campus is to be developed as a promenade that doubles as a gathering space for students. The core of the promenade took inspiration from the campus’s connections with the Willamette river, creating an abstract river-like paving pattern made from exposed aggregate concrete. Surrounding the promenade there is accessible car & bike parking, small plazas, intimate seating areas & planting. W
FRIENDLY HALL
ALLEN HALL
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LAWRENCE HALL
13TH AVENUE
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PACIFIC HALL COLUMBIA HALL
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1 Axis to student union
Gathering space
Exposed aggregate concrete ‘river’ S
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3 1. Final plan drawn in AutoCAD 2. East / West section 3. North / South section
Central campus axis
RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPING
L.I.D. Landscapes is a design-build landscape design build company serving Boulder County & the North Denver suburbs. As intern, I worked on measuring sites, creating base maps, budgeting & concept designs in CAD. For each client, I designed three different plans.
L.I.D. Landscapes Internship
For the work displayed below, the client wanted a flat area for a large wedding tent, alpine inspired native planting & easier access to the turf areas.
Location: Boulder County, Colorado. Residental Design. Skills: Site Measurement, & CAD.
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Staircase down to residence
20’ x 60’ wedding tent footprint
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4. Final planting & hardscape plan presented to clients for a Boulder County residence
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GOLF AS HABITAT RESTORATION UO Landscape Lab LA289 - David Buckley Borden Location: UO Riverfront. Eugene, Oregon.
The UO Landscape Lab serves as an experimental place to study landscape in terms of creative process, conceptual design, design-narrative & environmental communication through a “maker-based” approach. The installations goal is to present a solution to the trash problem through the lens of the negative environmental impact of golf courses Flipping the environmentally harmful concept of golf to encourage trash cleanip. My installation’s goal is to create a network of trash cans with a dual purpose as a less environmentally destructive disc golf course that will encourage more use of the riverfront.
Landscape Installation & Concept Development. Skills: Maker-Based, Design-Build & Iterative Design.
143 Acres
144 Acres
Pop. Density: 9,049 / sq mi
Pop. Density: 0 / sq mi
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1. Downtown Eugene vs Eugene Country Club: Land-use study 2. Trash collected on site 3. “Golf Course in a Bottle” 4. “18 Hole Course” 5. M
Users going to dispose trash
Installation
Frohnmayer Bridge
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- 500’ -
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Masters Tournament parody flag 6. Example hole section 7. ‘Trash Course’ map 8. 1:1 Scale model - “A tradition unlike any other”
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REMODELING TRIMET RAIL
The TriMet MAX light rail system currently consists of 5 lines that run in freeway medians, exclusive rail right-of-ways & in mixed-traffic. The headways are limited to 15 minutes by a bottleneck on the Steel Bridge. With no express trains & a lack of grade separation, service is infrequent & unreliable. The expansion consists of local (6 min. frequencies) & express (12 min.) automated light-metro lines, regional rail (30 min.) light rail (8 min.) & aerial tramways (5 min.).
Personal Work 2022-2023
With the current system, Downtown to the airport takes 40 minutes. On a new express train it takes 20 minutes, 5 minutes faster than driving. These time savings are made possible by a downtown subway, dedicated express tracks & full grade separation.
Location: Portland, Oregon. Semi-Realistic Transit Expansion Map. Skills: Mapping & Transit Design.
Hub & spoke light rail system
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Portland urban growth boundary
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3 1. Light rail concept (2022). 2. Geographically accurate light rail concept (2022). 3. Diagrammatic transit map (2023).
CITY SIMULATOR AS URBAN DESIGN Personal Work 2022 Location: Olmsted State University (tOSU) Fictional University Masterplan in Cities Skylines. Skills: Urban Design & Road Hierarchy Management.
Cities Skylines is an open-ended city-building video game. The software allows the player to engage in urban & traffic planning in a greenfield developmental environment with focuses on road layouts, building placement & landscape design. I use the game in a heavily modified experience to create semi-realistic city models. This project is a fictional American University: Olmsted State University (tOSU). The prestigious university is set in the Midwest & consists of a mix of modern & traditional architecture. The assets (buildings, roads, trees, etc) I chose were highly selective to convey the setting. My main inspirations were the University of Oregon, the University of Cincinnati & Rutgers University.
Baseball & Tennis Center
College of Design Complex
Basketball Arena
Medical Complex
Old Campus
Student Union
Fraternity Row
Student Recreation Center
Freshman Dormitories
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4. Olmsted State University plan (tOSU) 5. Memorial Quad 6. Aerial view over the Student Union
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SEEING YOURSELF: DIGNITY PORTRAITS American Landscapes LA375 - Jean Yang
Dignity portraits are a nontraditional approach to landscape architecture first developed by Nina Briggs at CalPoly Pomona. The concept’s goal is to allow one to discover their heritage and allow them to become a more consious designer. The course focused on the evolution, current conditons & prospects of the contemporary American landscape. The emphasis is on the everyday landscape with the opportunity to examine ourselves through the landscape.
Self Portrait Creation Understanding Cultural Legacy in the Modern Era Skills: Research & Photoshop
ORIGINAL PORTRAIT
WHITE GAZE
The original portrait I modified is Portrait of the Artist by American painter William Edgar Marshall. He was born in New York City & is most well known for recreating other artist’s paintings rather than creating his own work.
The white gaze is based on the percieved lack of worth of one’s existence in the dominant culture’s spaces. It thrives in spaces of power & benefits the dominant culture’s narrative.
The blank emotional canvas perfectly mirrors my assimilated, cultureless, American identity.
Because of my position of privilege, my portrait doesn’t reflect the typical stereotypes of the white gaze. I went to Columbine High School, and this portrait reflects the typical response I get from someone after they find out. They just look through me as a person & often ask me disrespectful questions about it. It doesn’t define my identity.
SOCIAL IDENTITY
INTEGRATED IDENTITY
Social identity is a person’s sense of who they are based on their background, an important sense of pride & self-esteem & a sense of belonging to the world.
Integrated identity is a reflection of your true authentic self. One may find it prudent to redefine one’s self-concept to regulate a sense of internal consistency about who one is & how one can act in the world.
My mom’s Jewish family & my dad’s Catholic family immigrated from Europe in the early 1900’s. Through time, this religous identity has diminished in my family. Cultural assimilation is central to the United States & is reflected in our monotonous landscapes. In my portrait I am looking away from the past & towards an unknown future where I need to pave my own identity.
My portrait blends my creative inspirations & experiences from my upbringing to create an abstract collage. Notable elements include the community building “We Are” chant from my high school & an old handdrawn map from elementary school.The collage of foliage photographs I took symbolizes my difficulties as a colorblind designer.
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