Olivia Rothstein Keeffe's Portfolio

Olivia Rothstein Keeffe landscape architecture portfolio

University of Georgia Master of Landscape Architecture 2024 livkeeffe@gmail.com | livkeeffe.com

About Me education University of Georgia

2024

Master of Landscape Architecture

Athens, GA

College of Charleston Honors College

2020

B.A. Political Science

Charleston, SC

B.A. Historic Preservation and Community Planning

proficiencies

professional experience Moon Meeks and Associates, inc.

2024 - 2025

Landscape Designer

Columbus, GA

University of Georgia’s Office of Service-Learning

2021 - 2024

Graduate Assistant

Athens, GA

Cherokee Garden Library (Atlanta History Center)

Summer 2022

Graduate Research Fellow

Whigham, GA

Experience UGA (Office of Service-Learning)

2020 - 2021

drawing (digital art)

AmeriCorps Service Member

Athens, GA

community service

City Archives of Munich (Stadtarchiv)

Summer 2019

reading

Intern

Munich, Germany

auto-CAD / civil-3d adobe photoshop adobe inDesign landfx procreate

hobbies

table of contents public

3

preservation

11

residential

19

digital art

29

3

public The Rev. Pearly Brown Music Park | Westside Pinetum

illustrative master plan designed and drafted by design team; rendered by myself using Adobe PhotoShop

illustrativ

ve master plan

moon meeks & associates, inc | 2025

The Rev. Pearly Brown Music Park First ordained by the Friendship Baptist Church, Rev. Pearly Brown eventually decided the sidewalk would be his pulpit, using music to preach, inspire, and build community. The Rev. Pearly Brown Music Park is being constructed in his hometown of Americus, honoring his legacy by creating a functional space to celebrate music, joy, and day to day life in Sumter County, Georgia. Working under the mentorship of E. L. French, PLA and Anthony Slaughter, PE, I was a crucial member of the design team, working directly with the client, subcontractors, and donors to design a space that emulates the spirit of Rev. Pearly Brown.

The project will be constructed in phases and is funded by a HUD grant.

section through central axis of amphitheater Cutting through the central axis of the amphitheater, this section shows the thoughtful design at the core of the Rev. Pearly Brown Music Park. The seating areas have been intentionally spaced and sloped to allow a clear line of sight to the stage, allowing visitors ample opportunities and places to actively enjoy and engage with the performances.Furthermore, the amphitheater has been oriented so that the sun will not be in the audiences’, nor the performers’, eyes during peak performance times. The amphitheater has also been designed so that the area can be actively used during the day as a park rather than solely operating as an event venue.

5’

26’-6”

green room

9’-6”

36’

stage with bandshell

20’

20’

seating bowl

42’-0”

6’

10’

6’

terraced seating sound & (6 rows) lighting booth

64’

sloped lawn seating

10’

sidewalk

entry plaza perspective benches central guitar sculpture with plantings benches

flowering trees

donor bricks entry gates

flowering perennials ameristar fencing

Whether attending a specific event or just coming to spend a day at the park, most visitors will enter through the main plaza and courtyard. Walking through the decorative gates, visitors will encounter a sculpture honoring Reverend Brown’s legacy in a courtyard surrounded by colorful plantings, bricks honoring the music park’s donors, and benches inviting folks to sit and truly experience the space. From this plaza, people can easily access all of the park’s aspects and amenities.

Whether they are entering or leaving through the plaza, the space invites people to enjoy their time here encourages them to return time and time again.

Westside Pinetum nature & sustainability studio | fall 2022 Awarded First Place | Team Members: Madison Smrz, Garrison Taylor, and Alexander Wright

Trees Atlanta and Atlanta Beltline provided my class with six sites of future pocket parks to design as a competition. My team chose a site on the westside of Atlanta the clients hoped to turn into a pinetum. Using native plant species and local artists, we aimed to engage and educate visitors while showing the diversity of ecosystems within the Georgia Piedmont and improving ecological function of the area.

sunny

successional pinetum

pollinator corridor noise

pond steep slope & overgrown plantings noise morning sun

master plan

2

key:

1: underpass 2: bioswale 3: art wall 4: bridge

1

5 3

7 6

4 8

9

5: successional pinetum 6: pollinator meadow 7: beltline junction 8: wetland access 9: preserved grove

10

10: stormwater wetland

auto-CAD adobe photoshop arcGIS illustrative master plan designed and drafted by entire team; rendered by Alexander analysis and concept drawing completed entirely by Olivia

large conifers

woody shrubs

grasses

art wall

pollinator plants

water tolerant plants

wetland rocks

topographic section Completed entirely by Olivia

940 935 930 925

western boundary

late

mid

early

paved path

meadow

bridge

stormwater wetland

eastern boundary

successional pinetum The Westside Pinetum exposes the viewer to the various ecosystems present in the Georgia Piedmont; including pine forests, meadows, and wetlands. The successional pinetum in particular educates visitors about environmental succession through plant selections that represent the various stages of the process. As the pinetum ages, visitors can see succession occur firsthand.

11

preservation Oak Street Depot | Garden Citings

proposed construction

existing construction

community design studio | spring 2023

Oak Street Depot: a preservation community Assignment: redesign the oak street corridor to improve access and create a sense of place Oak Street Depot is a community designed with the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Ten Principles of ReUrbanism at the forefront of its mission. It brings together people from all

2

backgrounds while celebrating the unique history of East Athens. Utilizing preservation, Oak Street Depot increases density, addresses issues such as food insecurity, and provides citizens with a place to live, work, and play.

illustrative plan

key: 1: cottage court single family residences 2: historic mixed use area 3: historic commercial (adaptive reuse) 4: pocket park 5: new commercial with courtyard housing 6: single family residential using historic character 7: festival space 8:brewpub (adaptive reuse) 9: grocery store co-op (adaptive reuse)

1

10: southern railway food park and community center

a’

firefly t

rail

10 9 oak street 3 4

5

8 7

6

e

georgia driv

a

north

adobe photoshop, arcGIS, auto-CAD, google earth, sketchup

entering oak street (section a - a’)

historic residential

public festival space

plant and materials palette

black-eyed susan

brick paving

oak street

historic commerce

firefly trail

photographs taken by Olivia

coneflower

historic train cars/ trolleys

flowering groundcover

southern railway food park and community center

One of the central parts of the proposed Oak Street Depot development is the addition of the Southern Railway Food Park and community center.

Central to the design, this repurposes railway cars into cafes, coffee shops, and other food stops and positions them southeast of the Firefly Trail.

Accessible from both the trail and Oak Street, it offers a gathering place that also triggers economic growth and development. Furthermore, the community center fills a need as there are no nearby gyms, libraries, and event spaces.

Garden Citings Article cherokee garden fellowship | summer 2022

Working for the Atlanta History Center, I completed extensive survey work and research about the Harrell Family in Whigham, GA, ultimately publishing this article in the Spring 2023 Issue of Garden Citings.

https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/app/uploads/2023/05/CGL_Garden_Citings_Spring_2023_WEB.pdf

19

residential Herschend Residence | Leber Residence | Residential Courtyard

Herschend Residence garden design studio | fall 2023

Assignment: produce a conceptual master plan and supporting design documents that will show the site’s future aesthetic character and function based on the client’s design program - including a swimming pool, spa, and lawn space for outdoor

illustrative plan

2

5

BS: 847

3 TS:849.5

1

FFE: 849.75

BS: 848

6

4 garage

key: 1: front entry with a stone path and perennial border 2: lawn with perennial border and ornamental trees

6

3: walled pool deck with a raised fire pit and evergreen screening 4: kitchen garden with edible plantings and an arbored walk 5: rose garden with central art feature 6: existing tree canopy

auto-CAD, procreate, and adobe photoshop

the planting plan Utilizing a tudor revival bungalow that was documented by the Historic American Building Survey, this space provides the Herschend family with a cottage retreat amidst Atlanta’s bustling urban setting. Inspired by the work of A. J. Downing and Piet Oudolf, the project combines the historic character of english cottage gardens with modern amenities and a mix of native and non-native plantings. While the structure no longer remains, the project exhibits the possibilities available when adapting historic architecture for modern uses.

auto-CAD landfx

4’ brick wall

vegetables edible shrub

arbored walk raised beds (herbs) fragrant shrubs

stepping stones flowering vine

scale: 1/4” = 1’ 0”

kitchen garden plan view

procreate, adobe photoshop

tudor revival bungalow

small ornamental trees

perennial border

entry perspective: a cottage retreat

procreate, adobe photoshop

Leber Residence garden design studio | fall 2023

Assignment: produce a conceptual master plan and detailed grading plan that will show the site’s future aesthetic character and function based on the client’s design program - including a less steep driveway, maintaining the existing pool, a guest cottage, and a small lawn space.

l

lawn

poo

brick wall enclosing pool patio porch

patio with travertine pavers main residence

small ornamental tree i.e. eastern redbud

path to side deck and entrance entry sequence with ornamental trees, perennial plantings, and stone path existing tree canopy retaining wall with brick veneer

illustrative master plan auto-CAD, adobe photoshop

concrete drive

guest house

g

c f

Situated on a steep hill, the Leber Residence presents

d1

multiple grading challenges, including a steep entrance,

b

necessary retaining walls, and drainage issues on the Ww of the property. Thus, a detailed grading plan is necessary to a

show the various slopes, spot elevations, walls, steps, pipes, and drain locations. key information:

d2

a: main residence FFE: 100 b: porch FFE: 100.58

d3

c: guest house FFE: 102.25 d1: slope at 2.27% d2: slope at 14.29% d3: slope at 7.4% with a 1% cross-slope d4: slope at 14.9% d5: slope at 2.86%

d4

e: five-foot retaining wall sloping at 14.5%

e

f: pool spot elevation: 98.9 g: 20 triton s-29-b storm-water chambers

d5

grading plan auto-CAD

Residential Courtyard garden design studio | fall 2023 Assignment: using the base provided, design a residential courtyard in plan and section

groundcover i.e. southern shield fern large evergreen flowering shrub i.e. sasanqua camellia low evergreen hedge small ornamental tree i.e. japanese maple flowering perennials i.e. baptisia large deciduous tree a

plan view hand drafted and rendered via procreate

a’

water feature large evergreen flowering shrub i.e. sasanqua camellia small deciduous tree

large deciduous tree

small ornamental tree i.e. japanese maple large evergreen flowering shrub i.e. sasanqua camellia

water feature

flowering perennials i.e. baptisia

low evergreen hedge low seating wall

section a-a’ hand drafted and rendered via procreate

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digital art Collages | A Place of my Own | Life’s Small Joys

Collages community design studio | spring 2023

Assignment: Create a digital collage that showcases your overall design vision Both of these collages were created to depict how the rich history of Athens could be combined with its diverse contemporary characterisitics to create places where all people belong regardless of age or background. The collage to the left focuses on the East Athens neighborhood and my plans for Oak Street Depot: A Preservation Community. The collage above was for a different project focusing on the Athens Multimodal Transportation Center downtown and the plans for the Classic Center Arena, expected to open in 2024.

beach

garden design studio | fall 2023

A Place of my Own Assignment: Create a setting and structure that embody a place of your own It started with a sketch of a few of my favorite things: books, southern culture, william morris wallpaper, baseball, dogs, and flowers. And then, it got me thinking: If my life was a book, and the beginning had one of those fantasy maps in it, what would the landmarks be? What would be a “livi-able” community? From there, with talking to friends and family, it came rather quickly. Instead of the little old lady who lives in a shoe, it would be little ole Livi (with Mose and Tripp) living in a cowboy boot. There would be books everywhere, spaces to be proudly Jewish and ones to do my favorite activity: nap. There would be homages to all of life’s little joys: music, writing, winnie the pooh. baseball, places to wander outside, beaches to lay on and mountains watching over me.

It wouldn’t just be a place of my own, but a land of my own, where I could be unapologetically Livi.

lake

mountains pasttime pavillion childhood dreams

homestead

synagogue

library river woods

nap nook meadow

Life’s Small Joys Here is a small collection of drawings aimed at capturing my favorite parts of life.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

memorials

AIDS Memorial Quilt

SwissAir Flight III Memorial

As both a subject of design and research, memorials and their ability to commemorate loss have always fascinated me. Here are my interpretations of three of favorite memorials, all of which served as case studies for my thesis “Commemorating Covid-19: A Guide”.

pet portraits As a fundraiser for the people who suffered because of Hurricane Helene, I raised money through commissions by people to draw cartoonized portraits of their pets, from dogs to cats and even chickens. The Appalachian region is extremely important to me, and I was able to use my favorite hobby of drawing to raise over $700 for the organization Beloved Asheville, helping the community of Asheville recover from the damage they faced.

All portraits were drawn by hand on my iPad using procreate.

portrait drawn by garrison taylor

thank you livkeeffe@gmail.com livkeeffe.com

“i have an awful lot to live for” lou gehrig