Landscape Architecture Portfolio
“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”
-Frank Lloyd Wright
St. Louis Development
Nectar Avenue Development
East St. Louis, Illinois
Because of the great work of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation, the first residential development in East St. Louis in over 50 years is being developed. We had the privilege of meeting with community partners to get an idea of what the goals of the project were and how we could put our own input into it as landscape architects to create a neighborhood landscape design that is both practical and inviting.
The original layout of the site features shipping container homes with their own driveway but I decided to combine them into shared driveways to further reduce the construction costs. The concept also features two common areas, one at the end for larger groups and one closer to the middle for smaller groups or individuals. There is a native prairie planting mix that will be used in a majority of the yards to also reduce long term maintenance and create a more appealing space.
Nectar Avenue Development Plan
Nectar Avenue Development Strategies
Perspective view of the shared driveway shipping container homes with the vibrance of the native prairie seed plantings.
Aerial view of the neighborhoods
featuring lush vegetation with social and active opportunities.
cul-de-sac
Community Redevelopment
Champaign, Illinois
On the outskirts of Champaign Illinois there is an area that suffers from many of the problems that we see in suburban sprawl and some unique challenges of its own. There are neighborhoods that are disconnected from both each other as well as abundant green space that is useful and attractive to the residents. There are stripmalls and corporate parks with vast and mostly empty parking lots that are a destroyer of space and make the area even less inviting. With these issues in mind we needed to come up with solutions that would revitalize the area.
After assessing the challenges that are present in this neighborhood our group decided to address the problems by focusing on connection and green space. To work on the issues with connections we decided to unify the parks that were already present, create a greenway connecting the smaller residential pockets, and improve pedestrian and biking infrastructure. To continue improving green space we have torn up a lot of pavement and moved most of the surface parking underground and made what once was acres of empty parking lots.
Master Plan
Site Catalyst Plan
Whimsical Residential Garden
Jayson Degeeter LLC
Evanston, Illinois
Nestled into a postage stamp sized property is this new construction house which leaves a less than desirable amount of space to work with but a blank canvas that is desirable nevertheless. With the client being a designer themselves in the fashion industry they have an appreciation for the obscure even if that means making a grand entrance into the neighborhood and upsetting the new neighbors with a provocative design in the suburban neighborhood. The design we put forth draws heavy inspiration from an english and parterre garden with distinct areas that each have their own unique feel.
Freestanding Wall Section Construction Drawing
2" 45° CHAMFER
FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE
1" WIDE DRIP CHANNELS
NOMINAL 8"x8"x16" CMU
2-5/8"x4"x8" CLAY FACE BRICKS
1" AIR GAP BETWEEN WYTHES
3/8" CONCAVE MORTAR JOINTS
CONTINUOUS WALL TIES @ 16" O.C.
ADJACENT LAWN
WEEP HOLES @ 24" O.C.
1/2" EXPANSION JOINT
GROUND PLANE
6" CONCRETE PEDESTRIAN WALK
6" GRAVEL BASE
#4 "J" BAR @ 24" O.C.
CONCRETE FOOTING
#4 TRANSVERSE REBAR @ 24" O.C.
#4 LONGITUDINAL REBAR, 3” CLEAR
6" DRAINABLE STONE BASE
FREESTANDING WALL 1
SCALE: 1" : 1'
Illinois Flag Design Submission
In 2024 the State of Illinois held a flag redesign competition and as a lifelong Illinois resident and design student I was eager to take part. The design features a thick blue strip at the bottom for the Mississippi River and large light blue for the sky above the vast prairie landscape. The five star arranged in an arch represents our five neighboring states with the blue one at the peak representing our state’s greatest asset Lake Michigan.