Matthew Kessler Landscape Architecture Portfolio

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urbitat

Spring 2012

proposal Q

Fall 2011

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Evening Allee Lighting

followwater Textured Concrete Sediment Detention

Tiered Center Treatment Gully

22’ Wide Spring 2012

Pedestrian Boardwalk 15’ Wide Stone Wall Channel

Extensive Green Roof Vegetation Extensive Growing Medium Root Permeable Filter Layer Drainage & Capillary Layer Protection & Storage Layer Waterproofing Liner

Overflow Funnel

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Metal Bridge Cladding

Fall 2012

co Pr es Isl an dT o Fr om

St. Croix River

duwamish

Active Aqua Channel 20’ Clearance

Turning Basin #3 Master Res Hamm Creek Tidal Estuary Kayak Berth Market & Estuary Parking Power Transfer Station Mooring Market

Turning Basin #3 Restoration Projec (Expanded Mud Flats) Longhouse Development & Parking Fruit Tree Orchard

r e f e r e n c e s Professor of Studio Spring/ Fall 2012

Professor of Planting Design / Details / Studio

Professor of Studio 2011 / Landform / Details

Assistant Professor University of Minnesota College of Design Department of Landscape Architecture

Professor of Landscape Architecture University of Minnesota College of Design Department of Landscape Architecture

Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture University of Minnesota College of Design Department of Landscape Architecture

Matthew Tucker

mjtucker@umn.edu

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John Koepke

koepk002@umn.edu

Joseph Favour

favou001@umn.edu

o b j e c t i v e

To provide creative design in tandem with sustainable innovation to further evolve the art and functionality of landscape architecture

e d u c a t i o n

U ni ve rsi t y of Mi nneso ta College of Design

Expected Graduation: May 2014

Bachelor of Environmental Design (BED) Minor: Urban Studies Major GPA:3.7 Awards Accepted to Accelerated BED-MLA Program, Fall 2012 Lake Minnetonka Garden Club Scholarship Winner

M c N al l y Smi t h C ol l eg e o f Mu sic Song Writing / Music Production

e x p e r i e n c e

He i di ’ s L i f e st yl e G ard en s May - August 2011

M i nne sot a St ude nt Ch ap ter o f th e Am erican So ciety o f Lan d scap e A rc hit e c t s Participating Member September 2009 - Present

D e si gn St ude nt & Alu m n i Bo ard Landscape Architecture Student Representative May 2010 - Present

v o l u n t e e r

Wags & W hi ske rs An im al Rescu e September 2012-Present AEO N May - August 2011 Tre e Trust , L L C October 2010 U ni ve rsi t y of M i nneso ta June, October 2010

a b i l i t i e s

D i gi t al Adobe S uite ( Ph o t o s h o p & I l l u s t r a t o r E x t en s i ve) , G o o g l e S ket c h Up , A u t o C A D , A rc GIS M anual Plant Knowled g e, Ph o t o g r a p h y, H a n d Dr a f t i n g , M u s i c , C r i t i q u e

m a t t h e w

k e s s l e r

5043 44th Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55417

organizations

712.330.7599

Intern Residential garden installation and maintenance Provide professional and meticulous garden services to high profile clientele Selected to travel to annual Ball Seed horticulture event in Chicago July 2011 C onst abl e - St e e l e Gard en Desig n May 2010 - October 2010 Intern Planted, developed, and maintained residential horticulture gardens U ni ve rsi t y of M i nneso ta Dep ar tm en t o f Lan d care September 2009 - 2010

Maintain University grounds by providing exterior maintenance and waste management Ame ri C orps 2006 - 2007

Instruct and engage with youth (ages 6-16) through challenge course and team building activities while instilling the YMCA values

matthew.a.kessler@gmail.com

Master of Landscape Architecture Candidate (MLA)

U ni ve rsi t y of M i nneso ta College of Design

u r b i t a t

The decomissioned ISLAND STATION coal power plant in st. paul, minnesota sits along the post industrial banks of the MISSISSIPPI river. anticipated as the possible new regional headquarters of the national park service, the site called for a program based on the needs of both an office and educational facility while maintaining sensitivity to the fragile ECOLOGICAL regimes which have evolved over the course of the stations existence. site analysis considered the regional biome, national park system, and river corridor contexts as well as FLORA and FAUNA who’ve made the decrepit and degrading site home.

With a program of education and urban habitat augmentation, URBITAT became an exercise in innovative design. from the bottom up, polluted soils were cut, burned, and engineered into a vital LANDBRIDGE connecting the former peninsula with a regional bike trail and forming a storm water BIOCISTERN designed to collect and treat run off from the large industrial complexes adjacent to the site. a network of POLLENATOR attracting rain gardens surround the building promoting the necessities for successful avian habitat. pairing ACTIVE and passive educational opportunites such as a climbing tower, zip line, canoe club and rocket based planting restorations URBITAT re-imagines outdoor learning to respond to the modern child. the defunct power plant is repurposed to house a restaurant, museum, and office space while feeding grey water into an integrated LIVING MACHINE adjacent the building.

Emergent Wetland Emergent Wetland Augmented Shrubland

Climbing Tower / Avian Inquiry

Tiered Bioswale

Zip Line / Urban Runoff Exercise Living Machine / Soil Remediation Pollenator Contemplation Watersport / River Studies Wetland Reflection

Retained Floodplain Forest Living Machine Pollenator Gardens Forested Filtration Protected Wetland Protected Wetland

Launch Pad / Vegetation Research

Augmented Cottonwood Stand Retained Floodplain Forest

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section diagram :: existing vegetation + flood levels

Bike Trail Connection

To Downtown St. Paul And Beyond

Island Station urbitat

Augmented Shrubland

Experiential Bridges

Vital Migratory Bird Habitat

Explore Wetlands Enjoy the Mississippi River

Land Bridge

Tiered Bioswale

Connect the Peninsula Increase Access

Off-Site Industrial Storm Water Emergent Wetland

Re-Purposed Power Plant Pervious Asphalt Parking Lot Perv

Bus Loop Bioswale 100+ Auto Capacity Frontage Road Extended into Bus Loop

Cafe Museum NPS Office Maintenance Concession

U V

Climbing Tower

Personal Challenge Avian Inquiry

300’ Zip Line

Explore Movement of Water

Pollenator Gardens Wildlife Magnet Human Magnet

W X

Augmented Cottonwood Stand

Existing Large-Growth Forest Pollenator Attracting Biota Added

Canoe Club

Non-motorized craft safe harbor Swimming Beach Overpass Bridge

Protected Wetland

Vital Habitat Provision Educational Opportunity

Bluffland Experience

Bike Trail Cut Into Bluff Exposed Geomorphology

Launch Pad

Rocket-based Temporal Seeding Solution

Retained Floodplain Forest Bike Trail Connection

Along Missii s s i p p i R i v e r

Vital Habitat Important Role in Flood Regime

Retained Rail Line

Pivoting Bridge Armature Danger to On-Foot Pedestrians Necessary for Barge Traffic

Y Z

master plan

landbridge concession ed Bioswale Site area Industrial Storm Water ergent Wetland

Land Bridg

Connect th Increase Ac

Climbing Tower

Personal Challenge Avian Inquiry

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U

V

alt Parking Lot

NPS Office Maintenance Concession

pollenator pacity plaza Extended into Bus Loop gardens

Pollenato

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Wildlife M Human M

X

Water

pedestrian train underpass

Protected Wetland

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Y

Vital Habitat Provision Educational Opportunity

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sculpture sketches

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programming section

concept :: sketches

proposal Q

Used as creative ARTISTS studios at present and formerly a functioning soap FACTORY, this large vacant industrial site propped atop the bluffs of downtown minneapolis required large volume access, cross site movement, and LANDFORM solutions to navigate large grade changes across its width.

PROPOSAL Q was developed with these criteria in mind and sought to ENERGIZE this gritty landscape with green. featuring a large plaza gathering space near the rear studio entrance for outdoor gallery display, the plantings and landform radiate outwards from a central point in an ever expanding spiral. a ‘WARP WALL’ follows the curling path morphing from vertical to horizontal from street to plaza.

concept development

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concept :: site plan

site plan :: mixed media

landform section :: mixed media

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physical experimentation

visual exploration

exploded axon :: group project

followwater

This three phase design began in teams, creating a guiding VISION for a 30 mile section of the mississippi river between St. Paul, Minnesota and Prescott, Wisconsin at the confluence with the St. Croix River. This CONFLUENCE became the focus of my personal phase 2 and 3 designs, challenging the idea that an existing park space was the best celebration of such an important hydrologic merge. By repurposing the existing rail and highway INFRASTRUCTURE into pedestrian experiences, the new PEDECO bridge becomes a natural extension of an inward focused downtown and an innovative RAINWATER treatment train.

Existing Conditions

Tran

Ur

Gre

Agricultur

Lake

Miss

Landform

Co

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guiding vision :: group project

ons

Proposed Conditions Transportation

Industry

Urban Form

Green Space

Agriculture & Undeveloped

Lakes & Streams

Mississippi River

Landform & Watersheds

Composite

pedestrian ecological bridge

Even

Evening A

Stone Wall Stone Wall Channel Channel Vegetation

perspective :: existing

Medium Extensive Green Roof Vegetation Extensive Growing Medium Root Permeable Filter Layer Drainage & Capillary Layer Protection & Storage Layer Waterproofing Liner

Filter Layer

Capillary Layer

Protection Layer Waterproof Liner

Croix River River St. St. Croix

perspective :: proposed

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Textured Concrete Sediment Detention

Tiered Center Treatment Gully

Tiered Center Gully 22’ Treatment Wide 22’ Wide

Textured Concrete Sediment Detention

Pedestrian Board Pedestrian 15’ Wide Boardwalk

15’ Wide

Bridge Clad MetalMetal Cladding

Aqua Chan ActiveActive Channel 20’ Clearance

20’ Clearance

nd To

Pr es

co

tt

Overflow Funnel Overflow Funnel

Isl a

Allee Lighting

Fr om

ning Allee Lighting

Pedeco Bridge

Prescott, WI

Migratory Birds

Evening Allee Lighting Mature Floodplain Forest Vegetation Wet Meadow Vegetation 30th Anniversary Rip Rap Erosion Control

Gabion Walkway

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St. Croix River

Economic Development Focus of St. Paul Bedroom Communities

Highway 61

Highway 61

Mississippi River

follow water 1926-Present

Vision

Standard Corridor

Redundant Corridor

follow water

Eddy Wetland Pedestrian Boardwalk Mississippi River Sediment Deposition

rock weir park

Economic Development Focus of St. Paul Bedroom Communities

Highway 61

Highway 61

Mississippi River

follow water 1926-Present

Vision

Standard Corridor

Redundant Corridor

rock weir park

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follow water

d uwam ish

Over the past 100 years, the DUWAMISH River Valley of Seattle has been violently altered from a meandering river/estuary into an industrial monoculture. POLLUTION levels throughout the waterway have reached TOXIC levels making the fish, crabs, and shellfish inedible, the banks unnatural, and vital habitat non-existent. The vision of the behold: project seeks to re-invest communities in the LIFE of the river, creating homes, opportunities for work and trade, and a vital healthy ecosystem for all.

Additionally, this project assumes a paradigm shift to a post-capitalist model, wherein stores begin to move to customers. Providing cities with MOBILE markets designed for shop-boats (think house-boat, but for goods) begins a new paradigm of RESILIENT and sustainable business which can move according to the EBBS & FLOWS of tides and commerce. The New Urbanist paradigm of localized “live/ work” in mixed use residential/commercial hubs suffers from a fatal flaw wherein the residents of the buildings rarely are the employees of the service sector businesses over which they are perched. As such, in the post-capitalist city the very concept of “LIVE/ WORK” will have to be re-evaluated, and the definition of “work” re-defined. The concept of ‘longhouse local’ builds on the communal dwelling history of the tribes of the Pacific Northwest, providing small group residence buildings, INFRASTRUCTURE to house trade and a new CULTURAL structure known as the Orchard House, which can be used as a hub for communities to come together to work. aerial :: duwamish river valley

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aerial :: network connections Amended Network 0’

3/8 mi.

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3/4 mi.

program :: existing turning basin

topography :: existing turning basin Existing Topography

Turning Basin #3 Master Restoration N 0’

250’

500’

Hamm Creek Restoration Project Basin Property Power Transfer Station Turning Basin #3 Restoration Project Boeing Parking Duwamish Waterway

Transport Storage program :: proposed turning basin

Turning Basin #3 Master Restoration Hamm Creek Tidal Estuary Kayak Berth Market & Estuary Parking Power Transfer Station Mooring Market Turning Basin #3 Restoration Project (Expanded Mud Flats) Longhouse Development & Parking Fruit Tree Orchard

0’

250’

N

500’

1/4 Acre Urban Agriculture Plots

topography :: proposed turning basin

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Wingdam Extension Property Edge Duwamish River Outlook Point Kayak Berth Wingdam Extension Estuary Pool 8’ Tidal Land Bridge Hamm Creek Inflow Parking Area Circulation to Market Power Substation Boat Parking Integrating established dock-style architecture and the same vegetated wingdam structures found across the river along the shore of the Boeing plant and newly in the JOHN BEAL TIDAL ESTUARY, this is a space and place truly unique and tailored to life in Seattle.

john beal tidal estuary

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Duwamish River River Bluff Orchard Space Existing Honey Locust Allee Swale to River Circulation Access Orchard House Stormwater Stumpery Trade House Longhouse Development Parking Area Longhouse Development 1/4 Acre Agriculture Plots

The LONGHOUSE LOCAL incorporates 3 acres of orchard space to provide seasonal fruits or nuts to residents, & over 4 acres of urban agriculture lands. This production forms the backbone of a self-sustaining community on space currenly used to park cars.

longhouse local orchard house

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High Tension Power Lines Boat Parking Gangplank Access Vegetated Pilings Open Market Space

Circulation Access Power Substation

Utilizing the hardest edge in the Turning Basin site as a structural anchor and its utilitarian backdrop as a visual beacon, the MOBILE MOORING MARKET can become a place for people, ideas, goods, and cultures to mix on a flexible and ever-changing stage.

mobile mooring market

matthew.a.kessler@gmail.com

712.330.7599

5043 44th Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN 55417

mk

k e s s l e r m a t t h e w