Jiamin chen landscape architecture portfolio

Jiamin Chen

Landscape Architecture Portfolio 09. 2012 - 12. 2016

Table of Contents

Unless stated otherwise, all graphics in this portfolio are rendered by me.

I. PROFESSIONAL WORK Xuancheng Nursery Ecological Park Nanyang Theme Park Qinghai University Xi’an Bazaar & Greens

II. ACADEMIC WORK The Garden in the Machine Landscape of Power Steps of Rome

III. PERSONAL WORK Flower for Your Thought Claude Debussy The Recede Meditations

IV. SKETCHBOOK

I. PROFESSIONAL WORK Xuancheng Nursery Ecological Park Nanyang Theme Park Qinghai University Xi’an Bazaar & Greens

Xuancheng Nursery Ecological Park This project was situated on a site with remarkably rich natural resources. Extensive resource mapping was conducted before the conceptual design phase. With on-site and contracted surveys, we have documented the topographic landforms, such as hills, plains and inundated rice paddy terraces; the intricate hydrological networks, such as creeks, wetlands and cascades; and the existing vegetation, such as woody stands in natural woodlands and economic saplings in a local tree nursery.

The team aimed to complement the existing landscape systems by designing an ecological park featuring the pastoral agricultural experience as a wellness and recreation destination for urban dwellers, as well as creating an engaging nursery experience for visitors of all ages. Nurseries in particular can offer unique educational opportunities in the form of edible, medicinal, bonsai and fruit gardens. In additions to recreation potentials, the financial benefits of maintaining the nursery can also make the park more sustainable in operation.

Project Area: 53.2 Ha Project Date: 2014- 2015 Participated: Concept - Schematic Personal Role: lead designer Team: 2 designers + consultants Site Resource Analysis: 23� x 33�, CAD, photoshop

Hydrography

Rice Paddy

Local Vegetation

Landforms

Site Resource Analysis

Woodland Sapling Nursery Dense Shrubs Bamboo Forest Economic Plants Rice Paddy Existing Houses Road Slope Waterbody

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Ornamental Nursery

Experiential Nursery

1 flower terrace beds 2 medicinal herb garden 3 wetlands, streams, ponds

4 fruit orchard 5 tea orchard and garden 6 sensory garden

Sports & Fitness

Health & Wellbeing

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mountain biking children’s playing field fitness activity ground

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health center & clubhouse retreat chalet aromatherapy center

Economic Nursery 7 economic nursery 8 nursery trading market 9 woodland shelterbelt

Leisure & Recreation 16 17 18 19

forest trails boardwalk camping & barbeque fishing platform

Concept Site Plan: 33” x 47”, CAD, photoshop

Site Program Diagram SHELTERBELT 0

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SENSORY GARDEN

CAMP GROUND

HERB GARDEN

FISHING PLATFORM

FRUIT ORCHARDS

ORNAMENTAL FLOWERBEDS

TEA ORCHARD

CLUBHOUSE

WETLAND LANDSCAPE

WOODLAND LANDSCAPE

RECREATION NURSERY MARKET

MAIN ENTRANCE

ENTRANCE

ENTRANCE RECREATION

83m

mountain ridge

48m

sprinklers

valley

surface irrigation sub-irrigation / groundwater

depression Program Diagram : 23” x 33”, CAD, photoshop, illustrator

mechanical irrigation

flatlands

Elevation Diagram: 17” x 23”, ArcGIS, CAD, Illustrator Hydrology Diagram: 17” x 23”, ArcGIS, CAD, illustrator

Site Elevation Analysis Minimal landscape earthwork was proposed to preserve the dynamic landforms and habitat for rich local vegetations.

Site Hydrology Analysis Minimal alterations to existing drainage patterns were proposed. Secondary irrigation systems were consulted to cater to program needs.

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Nanyang Theme Park

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The park aims to create an immersive environment and vibrant tourist destination featuring a rich diversity of world cultures and mythologies.

In additions to integrating site programs, functions, operational and environmental needs, the most essential goal of this landscape design is storytelling. The landscape has to develop a sense of place for theme park visitors; to be the natural outdoor extension of the story. Softscape, hardscape and narrative details work together to frame views and reinforce context for the themed attractions and rides. Therefore, a unique aesthetic vision is created for each themed region.

FILMMAKING DISTRICT

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savannah meadows the azar guevara caves jewel beach of the nile the haunted house the shrine maze garden pharaoh’s treasure hunt tutankhamen’s tomb totem park

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totem tales ferris wheel red indian bumper cars grand canyon drift secret garden rainbow sand dunes the great pendulum prairies slide

AFRICA ZONE

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Project Area: 48.5 Ha Project Date: 2013- 2015 Participated: Concept - Schematic

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Personal Role: schematic designer Team: 3 designers + consultants

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Aesthetic Section: Africa Zone

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main entrance plaza gatehouse storm of creations plaza stargazer water show sails of exploration theatre seismic hall the bumper boats grand carousel dragon hunter rollercoaster mountain splitter ridge twin-fish indoor aqua park shaman terrace tribal huts moon-chaser plaza ridge walker rock-climbing

AMERICAS ZONE

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ASIA ZONE exhibition hall banquet hall tea room hotel & spa conferencehall multimedia hall

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commercial block pagoda plaza dining avenue central palace film studio film prop warehouse post production center

Site Plan: collaboration with 2 designers 33” x 47”, CAD, vellum, pen, marker Sections: 11”x 33”, CAD, pencil, pen, marker

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OCEANIA ZONE maori fable turntable ancient worlds hot air balloons birds of paradise wind seeker lost lagoon rapids ride melanesian performance plaza shark reef whirlpool ardara aquarium jungle walker activity grounds tonga racecourse 10 twelve apostles paintball 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

EUROPE ZONE 7 6

Aesthetic Section: Oceania Zone

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Aesthetic Section: Europe Zone

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prometheus plaza the village ferry dock apollo’s square gold laurel amphitheatre maze of eden titan’s clearing cupid’s archery range theatre of olympus

Landscape Layout Studios Warehouse Retail Dining Accomodations

Landscape Layout Diagram: 23” x 22”, CAD, photoshop Landscape Planning Diagram: 11” x 23”, CAD, photoshop Landscape Structure Diagram 17” x 23”, CAD, photoshop, illustrator

Europe Africa

major attraction

Americas Asia

regular attraction Theme Park

primary axis

Oceania

Landscape Planning

softscape artificial mountain water body paved hardscape park architecture park facilities feature rides themed architecture light rail skytrain

The landscape planning phase delineates two districts. At north lies the Film-making District providing filming needs, visitor amenities and retail. At south lies the theme park, with planted berms on all sides to prevent visual intrusions from adjacent land-uses. The five designated recreational sub-regions are woven together by a ring of water, providing pleasing ambiance and water friendly activities for each region.

secondary axis

Landscape Structure The landscape structure consists of three major axes connecting various theme nodes. It is devised as a guide for future visitor trip planning, ticket and ride planning, way-finding strategies, rail and transportation planning, lighting, gateway and capacity management and event planning.

Qinghai University

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Campus landscape is an intriguing typology.

Its image portrays institutional excellence. Yet, it is also intimate, often a student`s first home away from family, and a personal experience strong enough to last a lifetime. Therefore, two formal promenades run along the two main axes of the campus, connecting to smaller outdoor rooms, where social learning and collaborative engagement can take place.

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Location is a central constraint of the site. The campus is situated on collapsible loess in the alpine plateau, with extreme winter and summer climatic conditions. My design region is the outer natural buffer ring, marked in red, where existing hills are currently overgrown with tall, beautiful and hardy perennial grasses. While fulfilling its main function as wind, visual and noise barrier, a variety of outdoor recreational spaces, large and small; public and intimate; active and quiet, are nestled around dorms and lecture halls to promote good physical, mental and social health within the student body.

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Site Plan

PROMENADES

DESTINATIONS

ENVIRONMENT

1 sculpted knoll 2 water cascade 3 emblem plaza 4 union plaza 5 commons square 6 gate of legacies 7 terraced promenade 8 inventor courtyards 9 feature fountain 10 legacy sculpture

1 formal courtyard 2 dormitory courtyard 3 reading courtyard 4 themed sculpture 5 racket sport court 6 observation deck 7 wetland boardwalk 8 central lake 9 rain garden 10 heritage park

ornamental grassland terraced grassland forested wind buffer formal gardens recreational trails activity platforms feature retaining wall tree nursery reserved lands 10 sport facilities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Project Area: 86 Ha Project Date: 2014- 2015 Participated: Concept - Schematic Personal Role: schematic design Team: 5 designers + consultants Site Plan: collaboration with 2 designers 33” x 47”, CAD, photoshop Sketch: Collaboration with 4 designers 33” x 47”, CAD, pen, marker, pencil crayon Model: laser-cutting files prepared by me 157” x 118”, basswood, plywood Assembly by professional model makers

Core 1 partial excavation replica

Inner Ring 3 1

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Outer Ring

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Heritage Park Plan

The northeast corner of the buffer ring sites a heritage park. The earthen crater of the heritage park contains remnants of an excavation site where ancient clay-wares of regional cultural importance were unearthed. A place of memory, the core place-making of this park is a place of contemplation and reflection for the students, as well as a cherished and integrated part of the region’s collective memory. The design of the park aims to preserve the existing perennial grass-scape. It also aims to complement its uniquely weathered characteristics by using corten steel as a main surface material. The park is structured as such that ‘eddies’ are created around the inner ring, where students can find space for reflection and contemplation in a public setting, while the outer ring provides valuable activity and recreational grounds for students, whose dormitories are in close vicinity.

Landscape Structure 1

CORE: cultural exhibition 2

INNER RING: tranquil contemplation

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OUTER RING*: activities & communication * permanent existing road

Cultural experience

Recreation activities

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1 corten planter seating 2 corten retaining walls 3 observation platform

Heritage Park Plan: 23” x 66”, CAD, photoshop Structure Diagram: 33” x 47”, CAD, photoshop, illustrator Animation Stills: 11” x 17”, CAD, 3DMax, Still frames exported by animation team Aerial Rendering: 17” x 23”, CAD, 3DMax, VRay, photoshop Post processing by rendering company

entrance plaza activity platform gathering grounds amphitheatre

1 stone retaining wall 2 existing switchgrass

Overpas

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The project features two components: the bazaar & dining area; and the community greens.

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Xi’an Public Bazaar & Greens

The two major entrances to the site are both welcoming sights enlivened with water features. The north entrance to the public greens is near the children center.

Its water feature is colorful and interactive to complement an adjacent playground addition. At the south, the entrance opens up to the bazaar and dining area. Its water feature is more ornamental, providing pleasant ambient sound and vibrant atmosphere.

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Bazaar

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COMMUNITY GREENS

BAZAAR and DINING

spray and mist water feature children’s playground sandbox seating multi-use lawn & seating planted mound flowerbed pergola allee promenade 10 shelterbelt trees

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entrance plaza water feature way-finding guide post themed sculpture sunken dining platform cafe sun deck stone bass relief central plaza allee promenade 10 flower trellis

Project Area: 1.5 Ha Project Date: 2014- 2015 Participated: Concept - schematic Personal Role: Schematic Design Team: 1 designers + consultants Site plan: 33” x 47”, CAD, photoshop Perspectives: 11” x 17”, CAD, sketchup

Renderings: 20” x 33”, CAD, sketchup, vray, photoshop Sections: 11” x 17”, CAD, photoshop

Community Greens: The community greens provide seasonal interest that reflect the geographic area and local climate. Flowering plants are selected with staggered bloom time to imbue color into spring and summer. Decidious trees add a splash of gold during fall, and stands of evergreens ensure that the landscape is not bleak during winters.

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Bazaar and Dining: The bazaar and dining features sunken platforms utilized as an outdoor store componemt by individual shopowners, mainly as dining terraces or outdoor display areas. It is clearly distinguished from spaces of traverse through steps.

1 Entrance Plaza

Bazaar Corridor: In contrast to the open landscape of the rest of the site, a more intimate environment is set up in the bazaar corridor by installing a flower trellis, where costumers can rest and

10 Flower Trellis

II. SCHOOL WORK The Garden in the Machine Landscape of Power Steps of Rome

1 Study Model

The Garden in the Machine Nineteenth century New York was notorious for its staggering density. It is also notorious for its street-division - the Grid, the ultimate logic of the urban Machine. In response to the deification of the Grid at that time, Central Park did not build upon the logic of the city machine. Instead, it strived to be a sanctuary of pastoral tranquility and boundlessness in contrast to the confinement, bustle and monotonous street-division of the city.

Far more potent than the gentle meadows that meets the eye, Central Park was much more an engineering than a conservation project. An estimated five million cubic yards of rock and soil were moved, equivalent to altering the level of the entire surface of the park by four feet.

With this determined methodology in mind, the project model selected five representative topographic sections of the Park in its urban context to explore its design implications.

Project Year: 2016 Transect Sections: 34” x 18”, CAD, photoshop Study Model: 34” x 18”, millboard, basswood, pencils

2 Central Park Topography New York, true to Olmstead’s predictions, grew taller than the trees. As buildings began to peer over tree canopies, the picturesque scenes became hybridized to integrate the fashions and activities of new and emerging times.

The sweeping character of north park provokes the spaciousness quality of the landscape. Its great landform variability also relieves the visual monotony of the urban context around it.

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The vast expense of the water body relaxes the mind of its visitors, and for a moment forgives the chaotic development of the city surround it.

300’ 600’ 900’

North Woods

Harlem

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Harlem Meer

North Meadow

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r voir The Reservoir

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The Lake

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Pilgrim Hill

Extensive blasting and filling created the open meadows.

The construction of Sheep Meadow costed more than any other landscape feature of the park.

Sheep Meadow

Landscape of Power Ever since affluent authorities began to alter land on a grand scale, one of its most pervasive uses throughout time was the expression of power. Far more potent than leisure gardens, they were material representations of wealth, capabilities and oftentime, destiny to reign.

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Project Year: 2016 Study Model: 24” x 12”, basswood, museum board, pencil, color pencil Sightline Study: 24” x 12”, sketchup, illustrator

1 Geometries of Power in the Distance

E from L GA Z ROYA

This study model examines the garden of Versailles, an examplary residence of an absolutist state power. Beyond tangible indications of power, such as the massive earthwork, water sourcing and manual labor involved, one central element to Versailles’s display of power is the position of the “Royal Gaze”. The axial procession from the balcony to the horizon: the Grand Terrasse, the Tapis Vert and the Grand Canal, is immense in scale. Yet, such immensity was brought to surveyable proportions in the perspective tableau by deploying optical and perspective strategies, such as increasing the widths of water basins as they recede along the Grand Canal. As a result, water features extending far into the horizon appears to line up to equal width, from which a meticulously framed and perceptively calculated illusion of perfect order is devised.

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Scaled Section

of the

Le Grand Canal Grand Canal

Tapis Vert The Lawn

lcony

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ROYAL GAZE from the balcony of the palace.

Grand Terrasse Grand Terraces

. palace

Château de Versailles Palace of Versailles

Bassin de Latone Latona Fountain

Le char d’Apollon Apollo Fountain

Le Grand Canal Grand Canal

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2 Balcony View

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Study Model

Steps of Rome The monumental and the mundane are both equally quintessential forces in city morphology, and both formed the central focus of my field seminar in Rome. Ancient Rome was founded upon Seven Hills, its designs still pervasive in present day features. From the pattern of the street grid to the open vistas of ancient monuments; from the siting of the markets in the lowlands to the villas of the previleged in the highlands, this ancient city decidedly had a vertical regiment. My project investigated the physical and symbolic steps of Rome, from observation, readings and visits to museums and cartographers. This is the essay portion of my project, which I choose to present in a journal format. The essay has three themes: ways in which the steps of Rome were established in terms of materiality, urban morphology and collective memory.

Project Year: 2012 Journal Essay: 5.8� x 8.5� x 120 pages pencil, pen, trace, sharpie, marker, pastel, watercolor, vellum, cardstock, acrylic paint, maps, photos (Overleaf) Field Study Sketchbook: pencil, pen

III. PERSONAL WORK Flowers for Your Thought Claude Debussy The Recede Meditations

Flowers for Your Thought Plant have always fascinated me with their forms, habbits and patterns. Flowers for Your Thought is a personal botanical project aimed to reveal the beauty of intricate logics found in nature, and to observe how nature designs with a critical eye.

Each drawing begins with focused, thorough observations and research about the plant’s habbits, ecological niche and its relationship with people.

With an average of one drawing per week, this series has accrued 40+ drawings over the past year and it’s still ongoing.

Project Year: 2016 Bee’s Balm Drawing: 8.5” x 11”, pencil, pen, photoshop (Overleaf) Selections from Series: 8.5” x 11”, pencil, pen

Rose 06. 2016

Night Blooming Cereus 08.2016

Lotus 05.2016

Chrysanthemum 01.2016

Aloe 04.2016

Pacific Iris 10.2016

Acanthus 03.2016

Stellera chamaejasme 02.2016

Desert Rose 09.2016

Angelica 07.2016

Claude Debussy Piano has always been my quintessential companion. Mysterious, delightful, and avant-garde with his innovative harmonies, Claude Debussy composed my favorite pieces.

This project explores my interpretation of the movements, textures and rhythmic qualities of Debussy’s music. From Clair de Lune to Deux Arabesques; Mazurka to En Bateau, the rises and falls of music pace a composition from one moment to the next. With a similar gesture, the rises and falls of undulating lines create flows in a visual composition. Meandering lines attract and guide the eye, while circles idle and rest the eye, working in similar ways as syntaxes in music.

Project Year: 2012 Final Image: 23” x 33”, pencil, pen Sketches: 8.5” x 11”, pencil, pen, sharpies Sketch Model: 17” x 23”, paper, black card

The Recede This collage explores the spatial qualities of planes and vanishing points by overlaying lines, shapes and masses to create flows and tensions throughout the image plane.

The receding expanse is created by centering a perspective grid amidst the other elements. Its degree of presence and associated effect as a cohesive force for the somewhat chaotic arrangement of disparate elements was something I experimented with over multiple projects. This collage was an opportunity to learn ways to assign structure and hierarchy to abstract thought, an essential practice for my future creative endeavors.

Project Year: 2012 Final collage: 23” x 33”, pencil, charcoal, pen, craft paper Sketches: 8.5” x 11”, pencil, pen

Meditations

This is a panoramic drawing of a visit to Lion Forest Garden, one of the great traditional Chinese gardens. The meandering walkways skimmed the lake surface, leading to a buoyant pavilion. Unlike the rest of the densely packed residence, this mid-lake pavilion meditated in open isolation, seeking enlightenment in the void.

Project Year: 2014 Panorama drawing: 6� x 32�, pencil, pen

IV. SKETCHBOOK 10.2015 - 05.2016

Thank you

for reviewing.