2015: VOLUME 9, NUMBER 1
MICHIGAN CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIET Y
OF LANDSCAPE
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 2015: VOLUME 9, NUMBER 1
MICHIGAN CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIET Y OF LANDSCAPE
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ARCHITECTS
By Reid Fellenbaum, Student Affiliate ASLA M.Arch, University of Michigan, 2014
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
This is the time of year that the anticipation of warm breezes and the bright colors of spring become palpable. Although winter isn’t quite done with us yet, the thought of getting outside and experiencing our built and natural spaces will soon be a reality. Luckily in Michigan, we have a wealth of vibrant Landscape Architect designed spaces to visit. While we are waiting for winter to pass, the MiASLA Executive Committee has been busy planning a number of events for 2015 which includes: LARE information session and social in March, Advocacy Day in Washington D.C., Lobby Day at the Michigan state Capitol on April 28, the annual Golf Outing on July 29, LARE review session in August, Jens Jensen drawing exhibit and screening of the movie “The Living Green” at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens on September 30, and our Annual Meeting which will be held on October 1 at the Eagle Crest Golf Resort in Ypsilanti. In addition to planning State-wide events, we will also celebrate the Profession of Landscape Architecture throughout the month of April as it has been designated ‘World Landscape Architecture Month’ (WLAM). The idea being that in addition to celebrating Landscape Architecture locally, ASLA will also informally collaborate with the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA). During WLAM each State chapter will select a sister country within the IFLA organization and exchange information and activities to spread the profession across the globe. This year, Belgium has been selected as
Michigan ASLA’s sister country. The month of April is also an important month for advocating for our profession. On April 24, representatives from Michigan ASLA will travel to Washington D.C. to participate in National Advocacy Day. This will be an opportunity to meet with our congressional leaders and discuss a number of issues important to Landscape Architects. On April 28, Michigan landscape architects will assemble in Lansing at the Capitol for Lobby Day to meet with our State Legislators as we continue to advocate for the profession and share our specialized expertise with our elected officials. As we look to leave the cold months behind, I encourage you all to support the Chapter and renew your commitment to landscape architecture this spring by being active though lobbying and community outreach and participation in Chapter events that support and promote our profession. I hope you all enjoy this wonderful issue of SITES! John W. McCann, ASLA, LEED AP President, Michigan Chapter of ASLA For more information, please visit our website at www.michiganasla.org, or find us on Facebook or LinkedIn.
ON THE COVER: Cremation Gardens, St. John’s University, Minnesota – Many universities are creating cremation facilities to make it easy for alumnae to be buried where they spent some of their most memorable days. Image courtesy of Jack Goodnoe.
Plain Resiliency-Toward a Meridian of Fertility
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Effect of Climate Change on Plant Palette By Elizabeth Koreman, ASLA
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A Tribute to Jack Goodnoe: Michigan ASLA Landscape Architect Legacy Series By Jack Goodnoe, ASLA
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2015 Student Spotlight U of M - Sam Sikanas, Student ASLA MSU - Katie A. Ling, Student ASLA
EVENTS CALENDAR April is World Landscape Architecture Month! April 28, 2015 Lobby Day Find out more at www.michiganasla.org July 29, 2015 28th MiASLA/Contractors Golf Classic, Coyote Preserve Golf Club, Fenton, MI September 30-October 1, 2015 MiASLA Annual Meeting Eagle Crest Golf Resort Ypsilanti, MI
EDITOR’S NOTES If you would like to contribute to SITES or have a topic of interest, please email: SITESpublications@michiganasla.org
PLAIN RESILIENCY - TOWARD A MERIDIAN OF FERTILITY By Reid Fellenbaum, Student Affiliate ASLA M.Arch, University of Michigan, 2014 Reid received a 2014 Award of Excellence from ASLA for Student Awards in the Analysis and Planning Category for this study.
God speed the plow... By this wonderful provision, which is only man’s mastery over nature, the clouds are dispensing copious rains... [the plow] is the instrument which separates civilization from savagery; and converts a desert into a farm or garden... The chief agency in this transformation is agriculture. To be more concise, rain follows the plow1 . - Charles Dana Wilber - land speculator, Nebraska, 1881 A sudden climatic change in 1870 brought a great increase in agricultural productivity to the sparsely settled prairies. Within a single wet season the dry prairies were transformed into lush meadows. The transformation led prominent climatologist Cyrus Thomas and noted geographer Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden to conclude that the recent increase in agricultural settlements of the Great Plains were intrinsically linked to this abrupt change in climate2. Land promoters of the time advertised and exaggerated this ‘scientific’ notion to encourage increased western settlement. ‘Rain follows the Plow’ (a phrase coined by land speculator and author Charles Dana Wilber) quickly became the popular Great Plain myth of the period, optimistically claiming that man’s cultivation of the Great American Desert would modify the regional climate2. It would take one of the most severe environmental crises in North America -the Dust Bowl- to finally dispel this myth and teach the United States critical lessons about productive landscape resiliency. The crisis, which blew away an average of 480 tons of soil per acre across 75% of the region encouraged a new understanding of the region’s unique ecosystem3. Following the horror of 2
ABOVE: CLIMATE STATION (Rendering)- The hovering expanded-metal pathway is a level datum accentuating the subtle playa microtopography. The path is beginning to blur with the landscape as it becomes embedded in the grasses. Image courtesy of Reid Fellenbaum. OPPOSITE: CLIMATE STATION (Section)- Like the trees of Roosevelt’s Great Plains Shelterbelt, which provided the migrant farmer with a reassuring mark of sub-humid fertility in the semi-arid landscape, the climate stations provide the technologically credulous American with a reassurance in their perceived fertility of landscape. Image courtesy of Reid Fellenbaum.
the Dust Bowl, the productive landscapes of the Great Plains slowly recovered under an enlightenment of new strategies that adjusted agriculture practices to align closer with the natural systems of the region. Contour plowing tailored furrows to their immediate topography, shelterbelts protected fields from wind, and crop rotations allowed soils to gradually rebuild. Roosevelt and the New Deal were well positioned to nurture a new, resilient system of agriculture. Yet further resiliency progress was halted by a discovery in the late 1940s. A seemingly bottomless system of aquifers was discovered just beneath the dusty Great Plain’s prairies. Soon technological innovations of deep wells and pivot irrigation in the 1950s allowed unprecedented distribution of water to fields. This artificially induced climate transformed the Great Plains into one of the world’s most productive landscapes. The relentless mining of ground waters continues today and is forcing the High Plains Aquifer to rapidly approach exhaustion. With current models predicting significant aquifer depletion by 2060, and climate models warning that the precipitation lines will gradually migrate to the East, the Great Plains approaches a critical threshold that will test the resilience of its productive landscape4. At this moment, the post-aquifer agriculturalist will once again be at the mercy of the uncertain climate, forcing yields to decline dramatically and faith in the landscape’s fertility to falter. The Meridian of Fertility Positioning itself after the looming collapse of aquifer irrigation, The Meridian of Fertility is a speculative project that calls for a return to early post-Dust Bowl resiliency planning through a more refined, data-driven understanding of the Great Plains landscape - from its eco-regions down to its subtle microtopography. The project speculates that future agricultural organization might be determined by hyper-local climate predictions - that is climate predictions that are tailored to the landscape.
continued on page 4 3
Plain Resiliency - Toward a Meridian of Fertility
C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3
Reorganization of the Productive Landscape Current landscape organization is still strongly influenced by the Jeffersonian grid – a standardized grid that was imposed across the Midwestern and Great Plains landscape by Thomas Jefferson’s 1785 land ordinance. The grid was based on a 160 acre section that was regarded as the ideal yeoman farm – a scale appropriate for the humid continental climate of the East Coast 3. The desire for standardization ignored the varied ecosystems of the country by imprinting a settlement template that encouraged similar farming practices regardless of location. Geologist and explorer John Wesley Powell’s 1878 report famously insisted that 160 acres could not support agriculture in the Great Plains where farm size needed to conform to land and, most importantly, to the availability of water5. Powell’s advice was ignored and within a half century of intensive, East Coast farming practices on constricted plots of prairie soil, the stability of the Great Plains ecosystem was teetering on the edge of disaster. The Meridian of Fertility borrows Powell’s thinking by envisioning that the next stage of productive landscape organization will break from its rigid, sedentary practices to embrace hyper-local climate prediction and a return to the sustainable, nomadic agricultural practices of the Plains Native Americans. Current climate modeling predicts that the realm of land suitable for dry farming will steadily migrate to the Northeast. By deploying and utilizing a shifting infrastructure of playa, shelterbelts and climate chapels, the climate model inscribes a new line, the Meridian of Fertility, across the Great Plains, defining the edge where insurable productivity ends and short grass prairie begins. The Climate Chapel The main organizational node securing the Meridian is at once an instrument harvesting and feeding data to a climate model and an interpretation outpost disseminating model conclusions to the land owners and public. Through a constantly refining climate model, the Meridian of Fertility, and the nomadic agriculture that follows, is annually updated with the latest harvested data. 4
ABOVE: ANNUAL MERIDIAN MIGRATION (big data analysis)- As the projected 20” annual precipitation line - minimal quantity of rain required to dry farm - slowly migrates East so does the Meridian Line. Continuously refining itself with newly harvested data, the climate model analyzes projected changes in numerous variables to determine the productive land that cannot be insured for the upcoming year. Image Courtesy of Reid Fellenbaum.
Before each new year’s crop planting, the updated line is determined and the stations reluctantly coordinate in a ritual of Eastwardly retreat, a sign of the advancing climate model. The stations leave their embedded core behind, now just a coordinate in the landscape, to continue extracting localized data from the soil and to establish a visible record of regional changing climate. The design of the ‘climate chapels’ was inspired by the innovative atmospheric sensing instruments of the Department of Energy’s Climate Research Facility (Atmospheric Radiation Measurement -ARM) in the Southern Great Plains. Their form recalls the fantastical instruments and performances of the Great Plains rainmakers in the 1890s whose famous imaginations convinced many that man could indeed create weather. While the chapels wouldn’t ‘create’
ABOVE: CLIMATE STATION (Rendering)- Walking East through the recovering prairie. Image courtesy of Reid Fellenbaum.
Works Cited
weather, their fantastical, futuristic appearance strives to provide reassurance and faith in their forecasting accuracy. The chapel also functions as an interpretation center that analyzes its collected data to advise farmers what type of crop should be planted and where based on the climate predicted for the upcoming season. Resiliency planning shouldn’t need to wait for disaster. With climate extremes expected to intensify in the near future, we must ensure that our most vulnerable productive landscapes are resilient systems. Productive agrarian landscapes that are able to synchronize with their local, inherently resilient ecosystems with minimal reliance on artificial support will persist for generations.
1. Wilber, Charles Dana. “The Great Valleys and prairies of Nebraska and the Northwest.” Omaha, Nebraska: Daily Republican Printing Company, 1881 2. ‘The Geography of Hope’, The West. Episode Seven [1877-1887]. www.pbs.org 3. Wishart, David J. Ed. “Encyclopedia of the Great Plains.” University of Nebraska Press, 2004 4. Steward, David R., et al. “Tapping unsustainable groundwater stores for agricultural production in the High Plains Aquifer of Kansas, projections to 2110.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. Vol. 110, no. 37. E3477-E3486. 5. Stegner, Wallace. “Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston: 1954
Perhaps by further developing and tailoring predictive climate models to the land, the future plow of the Great Plains might indeed be able to anticipate the rain.
Reid Fellenbaum, Student Affiliate ASLA M.Arch, University of Michigan, 2014 Reid.Fellenbaum@gmail.com
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Effect of Climate Change on Plant Palette by Elizabeth Koreman, ASLA
We are the first generation of landscape architects to practice without the certainty that our tree plantings will grow long into the future. This existential shift is one of climate change’s most heinous impacts and one that requires significant consideration. There are ecological, aesthetic, and community consequences of tree loss. As landscape practitioners, mass long-term tree loss would be the forfeiture of our design legacy. Thirty years ago Carol Franklin of Andropogon used to joke with her students at the University of Pennsylvania about spending her retirement rescuing trees by moving them north. The notion was that she would dig a load of Beech saplings in Philadelphia and drive them to Maine to plant them in a healthier environment (for baby Beeches). We now know that it is a lot more complicated. The list of climate factors has expanded beyond warming to include precipitation regimes, increased storm frequency and intensity, and temperature extremes such as punishing droughts and extended cold.
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The existing body of information on trees and their design applications is extensive. We know that Oaks can live as long as two or three hundred years, while the American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) has a life span of up to 400 years. The great fires of the late nineteenth century cleared any remaining mature trees from the landscapes of Michigan, so they are not part of our remaining forests. While we do not see them now in their mature form, their promise continues. Moreover, any tree planted since the turn of the century has the potential to grace the landscape for its full lifespan, as long as it is adaptable to changing conditions. This is true of the flora that we install today. It follows that if we could determine which species will endure the coming climate changes we would once again plant with the secure knowledge that our parks, boulevards, and gardens carry the potential to grow into the sublime landscapes that we envision. Climate models are excellent tools. However, they are complicated, often contradictory, and insufficiently detailed. Science and data would be comforting, collaborative tools for developing splendid landscape designs,
Behind: Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) in bloom. Image courtesy of Elizabeth Koreman.
but they are not intended to provide landscape architects with the detailed information that we need to make complex design decisions. This is something that landscape architects are going to have to figure out. The good news is that we already have the tools. Think back to your first day in your first college plant identification class. Your professor probably told you something similar to the following: 1. Know your home landscape. Learn the major woody plants and watch them change throughout the season. Learn to notice plant material changes. 2. Document, document, document. Use a notebook, draw, and take photos and notes. Use the method that works for you. 3. Know what a mature specimen looks like for each genus in your area. (a mature Flowering Dogwood will look very different in southeastern Michigan than in Florida). Southern Michigan is a rare and special environment. Our
landscapes are the southern limit of many boreal species and the northern limit of temperate species. For example, Sweetgum’s (Liquidambar styraciflua) USDA northern limit falls in central Ohio. It has always been an extremely rare tree in Michigan. Established trees were unscathed by the harsh winter of 2013-2014, but most, if not all, of the young Sweetgums fell victim to that frigid winter. This is a deceptive genus. The mature trees are strong and gorgeous, however the young trees cannot survive the harsh winter conditions long enough to become established. However, River Birch (Betula nigra), another southern species continues to do well when planted in clumps. The trees that seem to be thriving are those that are planted in the middle of their range. Redbud (Cersis canadensis), stretching from zone 4 to zone 8 is an excellent example. Redbuds and their cultivars (Appalachian Red & Forest Pansy) are more vigorous that they had been previously. Other plants in this category are: Red, Silver and possibly Striped Maple, American Beech, most Oaks and Hawthorns, White Pine, Ornamental Crabs, Sassafras, some cultivars of Magnolia grandiflora, native Dogwoods (except C. florida), the continued on page 10 9
Effect of Climate Change on Plant Palette
C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 7
Sumac group (especially Staghorn), and Black Walnut. So, where can you go for help? All of the usual places. Talk to your colleagues. Talk to the plant geeks in your neighborhood. Make friends at the garden club. Patronize your local arboretum. Talk to the maintenance staff at public landscapes that you have worked on. They will be delighted to show you exactly what did not work. Ask the landscape contractor. They know exactly how many trees failed in every project. Nurserymen can be the best source of information and new ideas. They love to talk about trees. Growers understand the growing conditions necessary for every species on his nursery. Like a broker watching the DOW they know which trees are trending down, know which varieties are sustaining less winter damage, and which are struggling with drought. A professional will be able to give you the provenance of a particular tree. You want the choice of not only the genus and species but also the tree’s collection site. Was the plant material gathered in a ravine or farther up the slope? The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (www.wildflower.org/plants/) is a credible and reliable source of information on native plants. It provides excellent information on plant physiology, range, habitat wildlife benefit, as well as, photography that often illustrates different phases of growth. The US Forest Service’s Northern Research Station (www.fs/fed.us/nrs/atlas/tree) is working on models reflecting change in the eastern deciduous forest. Most of the data is not refined enough for us, but they have great information on the change susceptibility of individual species. The Michigan DNR has a wonderful app for cell phones, called The Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (MISIN) (www.misin.msu.edu). This powerful and easy to use regional tool allows you to both identify and report invasive flora and fauna. Most of these suggestions are just good practice and are things that we do automatically: keeping notes, talking to colleagues, and networking. Since ancient times when people began to plant trees, they were able to choose a tree that thrived nearby and take the seeds home, secure in the knowledge that the seed would grow and thrive. They were certain that the tree would out 10
live them. The tree was a legacy: a gift to the future. That certainty gave rise to entire schools of philosophy. The tree was (and is) the inspiration for poetry, art and music. If you have ever watched a client or a neighbor in a futile battle to save a tree from an invasive pest you know how tenacious people are about trees. The issue remains: how to best predict changing climate conditions to address how to plant trees to ensure their success into the future. Trees evoke a deep delight in people. They are one of landscape architecture’s most fundamental tools. They merit our best efforts. Climate change science operates at the landscape scale, it does not discriminate between Traverse City and Kalkaska, or Detroit and Grand Rapids. The answers have to come from within the landscape architectural community in two ways. First, I suggest that we take this question to the attention of academics, agency scientists, growers, state extension officers, park managers, and arborists. Starting a conversation on the topic will open doors to wider groups. Secondly, we need a way to compile our individual streams of inquiry to gather and collate information in an accessible way. No one individual landscape architect knows the status of every tree in the state, but between us we could gather the information that we need. The eastern deciduous forest has been subject to multiple stresses imposed externally for hundreds of years. Invasive pests and diseases have been among the worst. Now we have another challenge: the shifting climate and its impact on vegetation. If we can make some headway towards understanding what species are going to weather the storm in Michigan our projects will be not only beautiful now, but sustainable into the future. We already have the tools.
For more information contact: Elizabeth Koreman, ASLA emkoreman@gmail.com
312-561-9651
ABOVE: A microburst in Washington Park on Chicago’s south side destroyed 300 trees. Most of the large trees were planted at the turn of the last century when Olmsted designed the park. Increasing extremes in weather present challenges to plant material already stressed by non-native plants and pests. Image courtesy of Elizabeth Koreman.
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D E S I G N . C U LT U R E . C R A F T.
A Tribute to Jack Goodnoe: Michigan ASLA Landscape Architect Legacy Series Jack Goodnoe was raised on a dairy farm in Newtown, Pennsylvania; a community founded by William Penn in 1684 to provide food for the expanding City of Philadelphia. He attended Council Rock High School which was named for the location where, legend has it, William Penn negotiated one of his uniquely fair peace treaties with the Lenni Lenape Indians for the expanding Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Working on his father’s farm and being close to the history of the land influenced Jack’s fascination, respect, and sense of responsibility for the natural environment and man’s role on the land. While Jack was still in grade school, his father pursued his dream to start a restaurant and “dairy bar” on a portion of the family farm. This included making homemade Goodnoe Farm Ice Cream. Jack watched as his father and the architect designed the new restaurant. He was fascinated by the process of physical planning and design. This eventually led Jack to enroll in the architecture program at the University of Colorado. After an unfortunate brush with a required course in calculus, he switched his major to Fine Art and followed his passion for drawing and design. Jack married Margy, another transplanted easterner. They lived with their new son in the rented ranch-hand’s house on a cattle ranch outside of Boulder, Colorado. The ‘backyard’ was 200 acres of prairie, and home to the University of Colorado’s mascot buffalo. With a family to support, Jack decided to take an aptitude test to find out how best to follow his dreams with his degree in fine art and philosophy. The results showed the interests of Farmer and Architect. The recommended professions for these interests included an occupation called Landscape Architecture. The prospect of creating ideas on paper and then implementing them on the land resonated with Jack.
Jack Goodnoe, ASLA Land Planning and Design Associates Inc. Ann Arbor, Michigan 14
The family moved to Charlottesville, Virginia in order for Jack to pursue a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia. It was a fresh and vital startup program created by the University of Michigan graduate and Sasaki alumni Harry Porter. Jack knew this profession provided the synthesis of design and his love of the land that he was looking for. While studying he was taken by Ian McHarg’s “systems” approach to recording overlapping influences as a tool for sorting out complex and interactive forces for land use planning. Jack considers this dynamic perspective of land and land use planning foundational to his approach to design.
ABOVE: The Preserve at All Saints, Waterford, Michigan – Green or Natural Cemeteries constitute a significant and growing trend in cemeteries today. They are being designed to protect and create native and sustainable landscapes that reduce the use of fossil fuels, herbicides and pesticides for their operation and maintenance. Image courtesy of Jack Goodnoe.
ABOVE: Historic Allegheny Cemetery Master Plan, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - The 19th century “Garden Cemetery” presents special challenges in accommodating the trend for higher density burial (cremation and mausoleums) while preserving and emulating the rich wooded character of the historic cemetery landscapes. Image courtesy of Jack Goodnoe.
Their second son was born in Charlottesville. After graduation from the University of Virginia the family moved back to Pennsylvania in order for Jack to help his brother take over as the new owner of the family restaurant. A growing family, a nascent profession, and a new desire to head west landed them in Ann Arbor with a job for Jack at Johnson, Johnson and Roy (JJR). It was in Ann Arbor that their daughter was born. The family settled in the nearby village of Dixboro where Jack has served on the Township Planning Commission, Park Commission, and continues to be a member of the Design Review Board.
person of mine, Jim Christman, and from a wealth of talented peers I learned about the critical importance of thorough analysis, the power of graphics for discovering and conveying design solutions, and the strength of cooperative, interdisciplinary planning and design.”
Jack says that “working at Johnson, Johnson and Roy was both a job and a continuing education which dramatically shaped how I think about design. I learned from both Carl Johnson and from the legacy of Bill Johnson who had just left the firm. Clarence Roy was the consummate gentleman business man and an exemplary, soft spoken leader. From these men, along with a favorite
The other greatest impact on Jack’s development as a Landscape Architect has come from William Marsh; hydro-geologist, author, and professor of earth sciences. “Working with Bill adds great depth of understanding and appreciation of how the landscape that we design is a set of dynamic, interdependent systems (natural and man-influenced) that must be the foundation of all site planning and design. Bill inspired me to see design as an organic and iterative process by which solutions can reveal themselves through a combination of diligent observation, critical evaluation, and creative inspiration.” continued on page 16 15
A Tribute to Jack Goodnoe
C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 13
While at JJR, and in cooperation with their corporate partner Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, Jack enjoyed working on large scale, multidisciplinary projects. One memorable project was the site development associated with the new General Motors manufacturing facilities in Saltillo, Mexico. The task was to stabilize and enhance the desert environment after a very destructive and thoughtless grading scheme created serious flooding, erosion, sedimentation, and thousands of tons of unsightly earth piles throughout the site. Over 400 acres of desert had to be re-graded and landscaped to manage storm water and stabilize the site. Jack and Bill Marsh developed land restoration strategies that had to be implemented immediately and without contract documents. The solution was to implement the restoration concepts by field reckoning. To do this, Jack headed into the field with a pack of 3”x 5”cards. “I would sketch the concepts for the day’s grading and discuss these with the heavy equipment operators (in my broken Spanish and their broken English). Then I would walk the grading lines for cut or fill followed by the water trucks that were used to control dust. With their spray bar turned on, the trucks became the tip of my pencil - drawing a design stroke across the land. It was a fascinating change of scale and a very effective way to work.” Jack was lured from JJR to start a Site Planning department within the multidisciplinary firm of Harley Ellington Pierce Yee (now Harley Ellis Devereaux). The focus of the work was site planning for hospitals, automotive facilities, and research facilities. During this time Jack was the President of Michigan ASLA and he focused the Annual Meeting on building interdisciplinary cooperation by including Planners, Architects and Engineers in the program. Harley Ellington had a long history of designing cemetery architecture. Jack extended this into site planning for cemeteries. It was this highly specialized design niche that Jack decided to pursue when leaving to start his own firm in Ann Arbor. This specialization has allowed Jack to design cemeteries throughout the US as well as in Canada, Jamaica. located Jack says,“Cemeteries can be Washington StreetGuatemala Streetscapeand improvements in powerful, emotional landscapes that need to offer comfort and inspiration to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Image courtesy of Johnson Hill Land Ethics Studio the living. The design of cemeteries requires a sensitive integration of the 16
ABOVE: Jack Goodnoe field staking roads for a new cemetery in Montego Bay, Jamaica. RIGHT: Cremation Court, Montreal, Quebec - Columbarium walls and in-ground urn burial gardens conserve valuable cemetery land while creating private and protected spaces for refuge and mediation. FAR RIGHT: Xeriscape Cremation Gardens, Phoenix, Arizona - This desert burial garden development addresses the growing preference for cremation burial in many forms as well the municipality’s goal to reduce the amount of irrigated landscapes. Images courtesy of Jack Goodnoe.
site’s natural systems and spatial characteristics with the very personal and cultural attributes that have meaning to families in a time of grief. Cemetery design gives me the opportunity to do what first attracted me to the profession: to create environmentally-driven designs that both honor the land and benefit the user. It is also satisfying to know that these are places of permanent open space and cultural history”. There are many forces changing the American Cemetery today; and they present interesting design challenges for Landscape Architects. In particular, the rise in cremation and the baby-boomers’ desire for more sustainable cemetery landscapes are both dramatically altering the form and function of the American Cemetery. Jack’s practice has similarly changed in response to
these demands requiring more designs for cremation gardens and for ‘green’ or ‘natural’ cemeteries. Another special interest of Jack’s is how to preserve the landscape integrity of the 19th century, arboretum-style cemeteries while accommodating these dramatic cultural changes in burial choices. The historic “American Rural” or “Garden” Cemeteries were the first privately owned, but publicly accessible open spaces in the world; and they are the genesis of the public park systems in America. Jack was invited to speak on this topic at the ASLA National Conference in Boston where he is working with Forest Hills, one of the oldest of the American Rural Cemeteries. Jack also teaches land use planning to cemetery managers for professional accreditation at the universities of the private and the Catholic cemetery organizations. He speaks on cemetery planning and design at state and national conferences; and was invited to speak about American cemeteries at China’s First International Cemetery Convention in Beijing. “When I chose to pursue Landscape Architecture I had hoped, but couldn’t yet appreciate, just how rewarding it would be to work out of doors and spend my time drawing and helping to shape our relationship with the land”. For more information contact: Jack C. Goodnoe, ASLA Land Planning and Design Associates Inc.
734.769.1400 jack@jackgoodnoe.com
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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Sam Sikanas
Katie A. Ling
Student ASLA
Student ASLA
Fremont, MI University of Michigan 3rd Year MLA Email:sam.sikanas@gmail.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan Michigan State University 4th Year in Dual BLA/MED (Environmental Design) Program Email: lingkati@msu.edu
My interests in landscape architecture are located at the intersection of built and natural, artificial and authentic. I prefer to blur the boundaries between these worlds, as landscapes and cities continue to grow in complexity. Art, ecology, and social justice ground my design work. Urban infrastructure, park and plaza design, and temporary installations are my favorite types of design challenges.
I first became interested in landscape architecture the summer following high school, when I worked with a landscaping company and learned about designing outside spaces for the first time. After a few years of landscaping, I realized I needed more fulfillment than what I could achieve without a degree. A landscape architect friend shared her experience with me and when I began classes at MSU, I was hooked.
I am inspired by the everyday, commonly overlooked places that have an inherent, subtle beauty. I am also inspired by art and film because they feed my visual appetite and can add another layer to my projects. Current influences of mine are landscape architects Claude Cormier + Associés, photographer duo Pierre et Gilles, and artist David Hockney.
Since my second year in the landscape architecture program I have become passionate about working with stormwater design and its various applications. I fell in love the moment I saw a parking lot designed for its reclamation, catchment, redirection, and reuse. My interest is in stormwater design, specifically in conjunction with constructed naturalized systems.
I’m currently finishing up my thesis, which allows me to build on my interests through extensive research. By critically analyzing demolition in Detroit, I will propose a deconstruction process that is more sensitive to community needs. To this end, my work includes a system of temporary art installations that engage the neighborhood, as well as a proposal for a “demolition museum” which houses an archived history of Detroit’s built environment while preserving community memory.
My favorite part about landscape architecture is that we get to be the change we’d like to see in the world, and that we are able to work towards closing the lost connection between humans and their environment!
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This April, let’s think big. Help celebrate...
WORLD LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MONTH 2015 Introduce the profession to schools. Connect with foreign colleagues. Find out more at asla.org/wlam
President John McCann, ASLA
Member at Large Andy McDowell, ASLA
President Elect Clare Jagenow, ASLA
Associate at Large Lindsay Nelson, Associate ASLA
Immediate Past President SuLin Kotowicz, ASLA
Executive Director Matt Solak
Trustee Vanessa Warren, ASLA
MSU Student Representatives Kim Dietzel, Student ASLA
VP of Marketing, Craig Hondorp, ASLA
U of M Student Representatives Robert Primeau, Student ASLA Amy Motzny, Student ASLA
VP of Education Joane Slusky, ASLA VP of Government Affairs Bill Sanders, ASLA Treasurer Monica Schwanitz, ASLA Secretary Christy Summers, ASLA
SITES: Editor and Layout Wesley Landon, ASLA wlandon@geiconsultants.com Advertising Sales Joane Slusky, ASLA joane@junosolutions.us
Want to get involved? MiASLA is always looking for chapter members to participate at a greater level. Please feel free to reach out to the Executive Committee or staff members: manager@michiganasla.org VECTOR SEaTing Modular benches with optional LED accent lighting | extensive design and material options www.forms-surfaces.com 20
(517) 485-4116 visit us at: www.michiganasla.org find us on: linkedin.com, facebook.com and twitter.com 1000 W. St. Joseph Hwy., Suite 200 Lansing, MI 48915
L O N G S H A D OW Hand crafted in Southern Illinois by Classic Garden Ornaments, Ltd. 速
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Design: Greenhaven Landscapes Inc., Lake Bluff, Illinois; Photography: Hannah Goering
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID LANSING, MI PERMIT #515 2015: VOLUME 9, NUMBER 1
MICHIGAN CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIET Y OF LANDSCAPE
ARCHITECTS
1000 W. St. Joseph Hwy., Suite 200 Lansing, MI 48915 www.michiganasla.org