Design Portfolio: Michael Ortiz

Design Portfolio

MICHAEL ORTIZ

ADDRESS: 974 WHEATON DR CORONA CA 92878

PHONE: (951)-833-6064

EMAIL: MIKE_O_17@YAHOO.COM

OBJECTIVE

Dedicated and responsible worker that will provide outstanding work ethic. I can learn new responsibilities fast and accurately. I will represent a professional and friendly demeanor at all times. I am self-motivated and always strive for excellence. Works well in teams as well as individually.

SKILLS

AutoCAD

Rhino 3D

Adobe Creative Suite

Microsoft Office Suite

EXPERIENCE

CASHIER • WABA GRILL • 2018 – 2020

My responsibilities included; cleaning, providing excellent customer service, cooking, and money management.

CUSTOMER SALES ASSOCIATE • LOWES • 2020 – PRESENT

My responsibilities included; providing excellent customer service, making paint, inventory management, and sales.

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE AID • SANTA MONICA MOUNTAIN FUNDS • JUNE, 2023 – AUGUST, 2023

My responsibilities included; trails and facilities work, habitat restoration work, and nursery work. Working in a team-oriented setting. Worked often with California native flora.

EDUCATION

DIPLOMA • 2017 • NORCO HIGH SCHOOL

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE (BSLA) •

2019-2023 • CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Minor in Regenerative Studies

AWARDS

CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY, POMONA

2019-2023 Deans Honor List

2023 Graduated with Cum Laude

1. Cultural Catalyst

2. Venice Bay Ecological Reserve

3. All For Entertainment

4. Silver Links

5. Learning From The Lake

6. Personal Works

About

Enthusiastic landscape architecture graduate committed to fostering vibrant communities through sustainable and ecologically responsible design. Passionate about enhancing the urban and natural environments by creating harmonious spaces that prioritize community engagement, promote resource conservation, and celebrate the intrinsic beauty of landscapes. Eager to apply my creative skills, technical expertise, and dedication to contribute meaningfully to projects that positively impact people and the planet.

Why a Cultural Catalyst is needed?

Creative Sector Economic Value

1 in 8 people are employed by creative sector in both counties

Over the last year LA County has made more money in the creative/cultural sector compared to Orange County

$115 billion TO $14 billion IN SALES

48% of LA visitors participate in a cultural event

20% of LA visitors are cultural toursits

This data is provided by the OTIS College showing the economic value of building creative and cultural sectors in the two counties.

Venice Bay Ecological Reserve

This takes place in the year 2100 where sea level rise has taken a toll on California shorelines, especially the Venice area. This project reimagines what the Venice area would look like with ten feet of sea level rise. In place of all the infrastructure that has been removed is an ecological reserve that creates an open space for humans as well as local wildlife.

10’ of Sea Level Rise

19 MILES OF NEW TRAILS

1,684 ACRES OF GREEN SPACE

NEW BAYS FOR WATER ACTIVITIES

California Salt Marsh

California Coastal Prairie

Coastal Sage Scrub

California Chaparral

Legend

California Chaparral

Coastal Sage Scrub

California Coastal Prairie

California Chaparral

Water

Nesting Area

Demonstration Garden

New Trails

Existing Roads

Piers

View 1

Section AA

Demonstration Garden

California Chaparral

Coastal Sage Scrub

California Coastal Prairie

California Chaparral

Water

All For Entertainment

Team Members:

Gerlie Rodriguez

DonnoVan Vo

Darius Kennedy

Brandon Mateo

Daniel Echeverria

Project Description:

This is a story of Sofi Stadium and its effects on the community of Inglewood shown through a short film written, shot, and directed by students. The narrative was crafted through research via news articles, interviews, and media sources. The film is a dichotomy focusing on two characters that highlight both the opportunities and problems that the stadium has contributed to. The film guides the viewers to make the decision if the stadium was worth building or if the space could have been used to make more of an impactful change for the residents of Inglewood.

Workflow

We put a lot of planning into each shot of the movie. First we would sketch out what the scene would look like and sketch how the scene would be shot. We then made a list of everything we needed for the shot. Using this workflow allowed us to work efficiently when recording to allow us to not waste any time.

Scene #1 Shot #3

Camera + Stabilization + Movement

Lighting + Lighting Movement

Location

Lens Type

Actors

DSLR + Tripod

Ambientt Bar Mailbox

50mm < x < 35mm Andy

Scene #3 Shot #5

Camera + Stabilization + Movement

Lighting + Lighting Movement

Location

Lens Type

Actors

DSLR + Tripod Ambientt Local Street

50mm < x < 35mm

Gessica & Mo

Still Shots

Silver Links

Scale

Michael Ortiz, Juan Vergara,

Narrative

+ Darius Kennedy

Our vision for the reservoir is to give the community as much access as possible. We did this by taking down all the fencing and allowing many entry points from the street to the different amenities. Also, we wanted to give the community the ability to interact with the water by giving them spaces of engagement with the water such as the rocky beach. The people that lived in the community wanted the reservoir to be an ecological paradise for the local wildlife. To create their vision we naturalized most of the concrete embankments. We are also establishing various native ecosystem habitats that will promote wildlife diversity to provide many species a home

Goals Ecology

At the reservoir we focused on ecology in two different ways. The first way was naturalizing different parts of the resevoir’s banks to allow for wetlands and riparian zones. The second way was to provide diverse habitats for wildlife through a bird sanctuary, floating islands, a native grove, and woodland chaparral.

Recreation

We wanted to create different areas for people to congregate and interact with the water. To interact with the water we made a rocky beach and a small lawn area that people can view and engage with water.

Education

Different plaques will be placed throughout the reservoir showing the restoration process of our design and the new native plants and wildlife that will start to live at the reservoir. Also, we made a viewing bridge that allows users to look over a portion of the wetland habitat to see how it functions.

Native Grove

Scale: 1”=4’

Native Grove

Bird Sanctuary

Recreational Center

Chaparral Woodland

Lounging Lawn

Open Water

Wetlands

Overlook Bridge

Wetlands

Overlook Bridge

Amphitheater

Playground

Dog Park

Scale: 1”=4’

Legend

Communal Space

Public Space Ecology

Scale: 1”=100’

Silver Links

Michael Ortiz, Juan Vergara, + Darius Kennedy City Scale

Narrative

Green corridors were created to connect six significant parks in a three mile radius around the Silver Lake Reservoir. The streets selected for redesign were high usage streets that connect to each other to provide a network to get to all of the parks efficiently. For the corridors we established active transportation by making walkways and bikeways safer by establishing vegetative barriers. Also, these barriers help combat some climate change issues in the area by establishing large street trees that provide shade and increase air quality. Furthermore, the vegetation will provide a habitat that can lead to ecosystem development along the streets for insects, birds, and small mammals. We would like to propose a potential ecological corridor that could connect current trails and empty greenspaces together to provide a safe route for local wildlife to travel.

Goals

Ecology

The green corridors planted will be native vegetation that provides both the benefits of shade and improvement of air quality. In addition, establishing an ecosystem for native wildlife to thrive and travel between the different parks.

Transportation

To encourage active transportation we remodel streets to provide safety from traffic through greenway buffers. Also, we filled greenways as much as possible with trees to provide shading while using the sidewalk.

Communal Space

For the larger streets such as Glendale and Sunset Blvd., we eliminated a driving lane to extend the sidewalk and greenways. In these extensions there will be areas provided for seating so users can take a break and enjoy the surrounding plants. Also, the street median that runs across Glendale Blvd. has been remodeled to provide another walking path.

Legend

Scale: 1”=300’

Silverlake Blvd.

Scale: 1”=16’

Scale: 1”=8’

Ecology Connection Points Ecology Corridor Green Corridor

Durane St.

Scale: 1”=16’

Scale: 1”=8’

Learning From the Lake

By: Michael Ortiz

There is and fauna the habitat The goal ecosystem within it fauna. On animal migration California.

Arctostaphylos glauca- Big Berry Mazanita

Arctostaphylos glauca- Big Berry Mazanita

Platanus racemosa- Western Sycamore Salvia spathacea- Hummingbird Sage

Baccharis pilularis- Coyote Brush Encelia californica- California Brittlebush Eriogonum fasciculatum- California Buckwheat Salix laevigata- Red Willow Salvia apiana- White Sage

Juncus balticus- Baltic Rush Lemna minor- Duck Weed Potamogeton nodosus- Pond Weed Sagittaria latifolia- Broadleaf Arrowhead Typha latifolia- Cattail

is currently an abundance of flora fauna at the Silver Lake Reservoir but habitat conditions are not optimal. goal is to create a riparian ecosystem along with all of the zones to provide habitat for the local On a large scale this can help migration throughout Southern California.

The current Silver Lake Reservoir is a harsh place gather in providing no shade and minimal seating. The goal was to fix both of those problems providing comfort-able gathering places that will encourage the user to travel closer to the water’s edge. The removal of the fence around the reservoir allows for more site permeability and access.

The goal was to create a space that allowed users to get away from the busy city and get immersed into the landscape. As the user meanders through the site, they get to see how the environment changes from an upland chaparral habitat to a wetland habitat in the water. Preserving and maintaining the ecological aspects of the site was a main focus in this design. Currently there is a lot of fauna that use the site in its current state, but it is not optimal and can be improved upon. Another main focus was education which can help teach the community about the local ecology at work. Signage throughout the area will help teach the community about the ecology while they see it happen in real time. The last focus was social gathering. Throughout the site there are gathering places that allow the user to take a break from walking through the experience.

Elevation: 460’

Proposed Water Level: 457’

Current Water Level: 455’

By educating the community you now have a community that is informed about the ecology of the area which will encour-age them to preserve it as well. This can also be a huge learning point for the youth of the area which will retain the knowledge they learn and apply it to their future as well.

Proposed Base Level: 454’

Learning From the Lake By:

Michael Ortiz

Choosing the materials used in the restoration was based on helping reduce storm water runo throughout the site as much as possible. Decomposed granite was already present on the site in the form of the sidewalks, so it made sense to have to flow into the site from the sidewalk all the way to the waters edge. When it comes to approaching the issues with the existing street widening the parkways and adding permeable paving to the area where the cars can park, can help with permeability of water through the site. Precast concrete pavers are used in a small portion of the site that serve as an alternative route. Concrete is kept to a minimum and is only used for the seat wall as well as the retaining wall for the new adjusted elevation. The entire site has a slight slope towards the reservoir so if there is any excess runo it would feet right into the reservoir. 2 SCALE:

Studio DiG-m

Collaborators: Gerlie Rodriguez, DonnoVan Vo, and Isabelle Nguyen

Thank You