MARCUS BENOFF
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Master of Landscape Architecture II, May 2024
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, Summa Cum Laude, May 2022
Weber State University, Ogden, Utah
Associate in General Studies with Honors, April 2019
Ogden-Weber Technical College, Ogden, Utah
Computer-aided Design Certificate—Structural Architecture, June 2018
CT
827 East Lawn Dr. Teaneck, NJ 07666
201-232-0403
mcbenoff@gmail.com www.linkedin.com/in/marcusbenoff24816
TECHNICAL SKILLS
AutoCAD
Lumion
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••
• ENV SP (Expires Dec. 2025)
• WEDG Associate (Expires Aug. 2028)
•ASLA Merit Award (2022)
2022 Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) Olmsted Scholar
Natalie Alpert Prize for Design
Sasaki Day winner (Landscape Architecture Dept., UIUC, 2022)
Gary Kesler Prize (Landscape Architecture Department, UIUC, excellence in site engineering, 2021)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Landscape Architecture Intern – Dewberry, Owings Mills, Baltimore, MD
May 2023 - August 2023
• Permitting and zoning for Maryland community solar
• Investigation of efficient methods to create 3D PDFs in Revu BlueBeam using AutoDesk Civil3D and SketchUp Sections and plan renderings for community solar clients and a streetscape project using AutoCAD and the Adobe Creative Suite
• Company intern project on future of Higher Education
• Intern project using ArcGIS and GIS StoryMaps on the benefits of community solar and locating ideal sites within Maryland counties
Excel Plant database compilation for over 300 species
Design Intern – Scott Byron & Co., Inc., Lake Bluff, IL
June 2021 - August 2021
• Collaborated with the team on residential projects using AutoCAD, hand drafting, and hand rendering
• Assisted the team with permitting work for various projects, some commercial and some residential
• Compiled a large perennial list/catalog of 334 species for the design team on Excel, as well as another one on BOSS Software for the entire firm which included the species’ prices, labor costs, and ID info.
EXTRACURRICULAR + VOLUNTEER
Landscape Team Lead - Illinois Solar Decathlon - Build and Design Teams
October 2020 - July 2022
• Managed the landscape sub-team and collaborated with UIUC students in multiple disciplines in designing and building a net-zero house for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Build competition
• Used various software, from Rhino and Revit, to the Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, and AutoCAD
• Functioned as the landscape architect on the Design Team where the focus was a Cultural Connections Quad next to a net-zero multicultural center proposed for the university, for which I composed the quad design
Community Gardening – Volunteer
May 2018 - August 2019
• Taught community members how to select, grow, and maintain a variety of annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, and herbs
Project Manager – Design Connect, Ithaca, NY
August 2023 - December 2023
• Co-managed a project with another project manager and 10 interdisciplinary student team members for Baltimore Woods Nature Center on redesigning for accessibility, playscapes, and trail expansions in their new 90-acres Promoted team building, leadership, and a responsibility
• Organized budgets, presentations, and team member roles
Intern with Campus Landscape Architect at UIUC, Champaign, IL
October 2020 - June 2021
• Worked with the Campus Landscape Architect to redesign and re-engineer select sites on campus, place hundreds of trees, improve stormwater management, preserve historic landscapes, and propose native plants
• Fieldwork in which I located over 300 new trees along the South Solar Farm via GPS surveying in TreeKeeper
Intern – Ogden Nature Center, Ogden, UT
May 2018 - August 2019
Used apps such as EDDMapsWest and IBiocontrol to complete plant surveying and manage biocontrol agents
• Hosted events including nature exploration and family holiday performances centered around children of various ages. Over 30 families and 200 children attended
President of the ASLA UIUC Student Chapter January 2021 - December 2021
Landscape Architecture Student Mentor
September 2020 - Present Motivate, guide, and give feedback to students from both UIUC and Cornell University on their projects, curriculums, improving time management and adaptability, and navigating the department
• Encourage design thinking, assist with site engineering
Campus Landscape Master Plan Participant
February 2022 - May 2022
Researched concepts and resilient, sustainable design strategies for incorporating native prairie plant systems, stormwater management, and seating
• Proposed new connectivity and ecological plans
lth Training (Expires Jan. 2026)
OSHA 10-Hour Construction Safety & Hea
• Taught them regionally sustainable planting design strategies and how to manage pests, soils, and weeds
Landscape Designer - EPA Campus RainWorks Challenge
September 2021 - December 2021
URBAN DESIGN + PLANNING
[In]tangible Connections: A Re-establishment of Identity and Place for Cerdanyola
Grayscape-Greenscape:
Remediating, Restoring, and Reimagining the Cuyahoga River Valley
Planting Avian Seeds: An Adaptive Resilience Plan for Dunkirk, NY, Through Avian Design
SITE DESIGN
Snaking Rain Gardens + Prairies: Temple Hoyne Buell Hall
Unnatural is Natural: Circuit Board Garden
Reprogrammed: UIUC College of Fine and Applied Arts Courtyard
SKETCHWORK
Ecological Networks brought back and network in the urban
[IN]TANGIBLE CO
Restoring Ecological Networks
Native ecologies brought back and integrated into the urban fabric
Restoring Ecological Networks
Native ecologies brought back and integrated as a network in the urban fabric
[IN]TANGIBLE CO ECTIONS
Restoring Ecological Networks
Native ecologies brought back and integrated as a network in the urban fabric
(Partial graphic courtesy of S. Agarwal) :
Cultivating Social Systems
Circulation and Social engagement revitalized through accessible design
A Re-establishement of Identity and Place for Cerdanyola
Cultivating Social Systems
Circulation and social engagement revitalized through accessible design
Cultivating Social Systems
Circulation and Social engagement revitalized through accessible design
Re-establishing Physcial Connectivity
The vertical and horizontal dimensions of the city reimagined for improved connectivity all around
Re-establishing Physical Connectivity
The vertical and horizontal dimensions of the city reimagined for improved connectivity all around
Spring 2022 / UIUC BLA / LA 438 / Faculty: Sara Bartumeus / Urbana-Champaign, IL
Work done by: M. Benoff, Y. Karagaiah, and S. Agarwal
Location: Cerdanyola and Ripollet, Spain
Client: Municipality of Cerdanyola del Vallès
Project Type: Mixed-Use, Urban Design
Project Size: Undefined
Cerdanyola
Ripollet
GRAYSCAPE–GREENSCAPE:
Remediating, Restoring, and Reimagining the Lower Cuyahoga River Valley
Fall 2022 / Cornell MLA / LA 6010 / Faculty: Mitch Glass / Ithaca, NY
Work done by: M. Benoff, X. Li
Location: Cleveland, OH
Client: City of Cleveland
Project Type: Mixed-Use, Ecological Restoration, Remediation, Recreation
Project Size: 370 acres
(Partial graphic courtesy of X. Li for all site analysis plans)
REMEDIATE
True remediation cannot take place if the site is simply capped and left for a later generation to deal with, but rather must meet sustainable goals by putting equal consideration to the long and short terms.
RESTORE
Fully restoring the pre-industrial systems and conditions on the site is unachievable. Bringing conditions closer to it, however, is doable, and experimenation is necessary to engage and bring effective solutions.
REIMAGINE
Reimagining the neighborhoods can ony be done if the site and its pollution situation are reimagined. What it takes is consideration of all social, ecological, and economic conditions and their goals.
(Graphic courtesy of X. Li for all graphics shown above)
PLANTING AVIAN SEEDS:
An Adaptive, Resilient Plan for Dunkirk, NY, Through Avian Design
Spring 2023 /Cornell MLA / LA 6020 / Faculty: Joshua Cerra / Ithaca, NY
Location: Dunkirk, NY
Client: City of Dunkirk
Project Type: Mixed-Use, Urban Design, Waterfront Design, Ecological Restoration, Climate Resilience
Project Size: Undefined
RADIATING RAIN GARDENS AND PRAIRIE:
A Repurposing of Turf Lawns Around Temple Hoyne Buell Hall at UIUC
Fall 2021 / UIUC BLA / LA 452 / Faculty: Bridgett Moen / Urbana-Champaign, IL
Location: Urbana, IL
Client: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Project Type: Campus Site Design, Ecological Restoration
Project Size: 3.87 acres
UNNATURAL IS NATURAL:
Circuit Board Garden (for Chaumont-sur-Loire Garden Design Competition)
Fall 2019 / UIUC BLA / LA 233 / Faculty: Stephen Sears / Urbana-Champaign, IL
Location: Loir-et-Cher department in Centre-Val de Loire, France
Client: Château de Chaumont
Project Type: Site Design, Garden Design
Project Size: ~ 1,500 square feet
Plan View
Section View
ABOVE LEFT: Hand-drawn garden plan with section view below
ABOVE: Top view of 3D model of the garden
Perspective bird’s-eye view of the garden model from near the front right corner (from the southeast looking northwest)
Located in the middle right of the garden lies a traceshaped pool, containing unnatural, yet natural species of fish, including various human-bred neon fish and perch. The pool is made of naturally existing atoms and contains natural organisms, though they would not be naturally occuring without human intervention, so long as humans are also considered natural.
Trace Pool
Rhizome Circuit Path
Transistor
Trace Stone Diode Stone Transistor
SKETCHWORK + TECHNICAL DRAWINGS
Sample Sketches, Grading Plans, Construction Details, and Planting Details
ABOVE: View of the Genomic Sciences building at UIUC, looking east from above the undergraduate library
UPPER LEFT: View of Mumford Hall from the West LEFT: The southeastern corner of Foellinger Auditorium at UIUC from approximately 40’ away, looking Northwest BELOW: Proposed views for the UIUC College of Fine and Applied Arts Courtyard for a more versatile space
A site engineering plan for a small condominium complex including slope calculation and analysis, ADA requirements, rain garden use and placement, cut and fill applications,
LA 241 Landform Design and Construction MARCH 2020
Instructors: Kesler & Zhao
LA 241 Landform Design and Construction
Instructors: Kesler & Zhao
Construction detail of concrete stairs with a handrail connecting a sidewalk along a street down to a plaza space outside of a building BELOW: Planting plan (along with the greywater system outlet pipes and irrigation imposed on it) for the UIUC team for 2021 Solar Decathlon design competition’s net zero home, which has been fully constructed in Champaign, Illinois.
