RUTH MUNIZ
2 1 CANOPY MEMORY
PORTOPOLIS BRIDGE
3 ECOFACTORY
6 EL PASEO PAVILION
5 HAND ME A LIGHT
4 VITA INTERITUS
CHAPEL OF REVELATION
1
CANOPY MEMORY
The Black Ash Tree, which is important for phytoremediation, wildlife, and indigenous basket making, is susceptible to the emerald ash borer, an invasive species, that kills the trees. Canopy Memory focuses on creating a high-moisture healthy habitat in Horner Park along the river for Ash Trees to increase their survival against the borers. The riverfront transforms into a landscape with carvings and mounds that retain water and moisture for Ash Trees and help the trees repopulate themselves. A platform that looks back onto the landscape encourages visitors to learn about the Ash Trees. Stones on which visitors can sit create intimate spaces where they can enrich their appreciation.
Site: Horner Park , Chicago, IL
Term: Fall 2023
Course: Landscape Architecture Studio II - Processes
Instructor: Prof. Nilay Mistry
Project by: Ruth Muniz
Conceptual sketch of saving Ash Trees from Emerald Ash Borers through wetness and moisture
Site location in Horner Park and highlighted portion
Terrain allows water to flow and connect
Self-repopulation and regrowth of Ash Trees
Ash Tree seeds spread through water
Carvings fill up with water after precipitation
Landscape form that hosts Ash Trees
Mounds retain water
Carvings hold water
Existing landscape conditions
Clay soil Moist Soil
Full sun exposure
Healthy Ash Tree habitat conditions
Viewing the landscape of Ash Trees from the river
Intimate moment of a person with an Ash Tree
People observing and learning about Ash Trees
PORTOPOLIS BRIDGE
The Living Bridge is an all-wood bridge spanning two miles. It can accommodate a population of 100,000 inhabitants to achieve a new typology for collective housing and port community within the urban setting of Miami, Florida. It will be a transportation hub that accommodates the flow of importation and exportation of goods. As a consequence of climate change and the rising sea level, Miami will be underwater by the year 2100, leaving the city in a vulnerable state and in desperate need of relief.
Click link for video: https://vimeo.com/user138253592
Site: Miami, FL
Term: Fall 2022
Course: Advanced Studio, The Living Bridge, Fifth Year
Instructors: Prof. Paul Endres & Prof. Susan Conger-Austin
Project by: Ruth Muniz, Waylin Derderian, & Zeiad Amin
Conceptual sketch of the relief of Miami
Aerial view
Site key features for bridge touchdown points
Distillation plant Fishing/ markets
Dodge Island
Historic Overtown
Seaweed farms
Master plan
Section model showing bridge structure and organization
String-tensioned structural model displayed in S.R Crown Hall
1. Distribution center
2. Miami Port touchdown point
3. Central spine / hydro-pod station
4. Residencies
Miami Port touchdown point
View of one of the bridge’s distribution centers
View of the bridge’s housing
Portopolis central spine / hydro-pod station
EL PASEO PAVILION
El Paseo Pavilion is situated within Pilsen Chicago’s El Paseo Community Garden. The name “Paseo” translates to a walk or a field day, fitting for a garden designed to encourage movement and engagement. The pavilion enhances this concept by sheltering a central walkway, inviting visitors to experience a variety of activities and connections as they pass through.
The structure rises from the ground, forming a topographic canopy that defines the space below. While providing a degree of separation for safety and privacy, its design maintains a visual openness, creating dynamic, ever-changing views between different areas. Flexible and responsive to its environment, the pavilion allows the landscape to breathe, with trees and prairie plants naturally emerging through its framework.
Site: Pilsen, Chicago, IL
Term: Spring 2023
Course: Landscape Architecture Studio I
Instructor: Prof. Nilay Mistry
Project by: Ruth Muniz
Conceptual sketch experiencing a walk under the lightweight pavilion
El Paseo Community Garden current activities
Lightweight structure enhances the transmission of light, views, and nature
Proposed program addition; children’s play area, performance stage, and dog park
into a sculpted
landscape. The prairie contains a diverse plant palette that invites many insects, birds, and small mammals
Prairie Palette
The pavilion merges
prairie
Section
Section
Section
Mulch
Backfill with
ECOFACTORY
This forum focuses on creating an environmentally conscious community and healthy river ecosystem in Horner Park, which was previously an industrial zone located in the Irving Park neighborhood of Chicago. The building helps connect the users with the surrounding nature of the park and adjacent river through its programming, location, form, and materiality. This community center sits at the edge of the Chicago River and is elevated to minimize the building’s footprint on the landscape and allow for existing infrastructure to pass through. Its materiality is both transparent to create nature-connected views and reflective in order to soften and enhance the landscape. The building can be easily accessed through its entrances which connect to the riverfront as well as an existing path in the park. Throughout the building, there is a greenhouse, aquaponics center, and educational classrooms which help educate and inspire the community to be part of the river revitalization.
Site: Irving Park, Chicago, IL
Term: Fall 2020
Course: Architecture Studio V - Hybrid, Third Year
Instructor: Prof. Jaqueline Twardowski
Project by: Ruth Muniz
Conceptual sketch of the experience of curiosity and learning
Horner Park Kayak Stop
Horner Park Riverwalk
Boathouse
The
Form diagram
Horner Park and Riverview Bridge integrated with riverbank
Form sits on riverbank for direct river access
Form is cut and lifted to minimize footprint
East-west section 2
East-west section 1
Ground floor section
Mezzanine with river view
West entrance view to atrium
CHAPEL OF REVELATION
A journey of discovery that takes you through a meditation path of nature, water, and light effects. The chapel is a moment of spiritual revelation among arrival as the visitors encounter a beautiful and the unexpected enclosure of diffused light and calming visuals of water. The chapel is derived and embedded in the site. At first glance, the chapel becomes hidden within the topography of the site, however, it takes a journey of discovery to reveal it. The structure is derived from the geometry of the site. Its form allows it to suspend over the space which appears as if it is floating over the space. As people walk under it , they go through a sense of compression and then release when they occupy the void of the structure.
Site: Streeterville, Chicago, IL
Term: Spring 2022
Course: Architecture Studio VII - Synthesis, Fourth Year
Instructor: Prof. Vladimir Radutny
Project by: Ruth Muniz & Zeiad Amin
Conceptual sketch of using nature, light, and water in harmony as meditation
Chapel location area
Revealing the chapel
Filtering light with structure
Model ceiling detail
Chapel section
Model aisle view
Model light experience
View of light experience
HAND ME A LIGHT
This 3-axis milled wooden sculpture becomes functional as a shelf and light fixture. To the human, the hand is a familiar and pure element. The sculpture resonates with that memory, producing a sense of comfort and warmth. With a plant’s organic composition and ability to add a touch of softness to a space, the hand shelf emphasizes that natural ambiance.
Course: Hybrid Objects, Fourth Year
Instructor:
Term: Summer 2022
Prof. Brick Cassidy
Project by: Ruth Muniz
Conceptual sketch of the relationship between humans and nature
Process after milling Milling finish detail Hand-finishing process
Solid block of wood
3-axis cnc mill palm of hand then flip over
3-axis cnc mill top of hand Fine tune with hand carving wood tools
Hand Me a Light displayed in S.R Crown Hall
VITA INTERITUS
When a tree dies, it feels like a loss, but in a forest, it marks the beginning of a new life cycle. A fallen tree provides habitat, decomposes, and enriches the soil, becoming a host for new life. Urban trees, however, often face a different fate, being removed and discarded. Vita Interitus re-imagines this process, creating urban spaces where trees can complete their natural life cycles. Centered on a mature cottonwood tree in a sunken lawn, the design reshapes the landscape into furrows and mounds, fostering biodiversity. Each year, the cottonwood disperses seeds that settle into the furrows, eventually growing into a grove of new trees. Ferns dot the site, preserving soil moisture and accelerating decay. This ongoing process has just begun. A decaying cottonwood has attracted woodpeckers, which excavate cavities that spread decay-driving microorganisms. As the tree transitions into a snag, its fallen leaves insulate the soil. Eventually, the hollow tree collapses, becoming a log that hosts fungi, moss, and other life forms, perpetuating the cycle. The life of landscapes do not end, they are merely interrupted
Site: IIT Campus , Chicago, IL
Term: Fall 2024
Course: Landscape Architecture Studio III - Trees Alive!
Instructor: Prof. Ron Henderson
Project by: Ruth Muniz
Sketch depicting the spread of decay throughout a tree
1. Mature Cottonwood Tree 2. Beginning of decay
3. Snag
4. Fallen tree
5. Decomposing log 6. Sapling grove
7. Mature grove 8. Decaying landscape Fallen Cottonwood Logs/Fallen Branches Tree Stumps Decaying Cottonwoods Plan
Ongoing cycle of decay and regeneration in the landscape
Golden Eagle
Worms Squirrel Raccoon
Spiders Beetles
Swallow Bats Moths & Butterflies
Chickadee Dove Robin Brown Creeper
Great Horned Owl
Red-tailed Hawk
Chipmunk
Nurse Stump
Decomposed Stump
Northern Flicker Hairy Woodpecker
Woodcock
Barred Owl
Many large birds of prey species use the higher portion of snags as hunting perches
Snag
Smaller common bird species use lower branches of snags as resting stands. These stands are also referred to as singing posts
New plant life
Malodorous Morel Truffles
Salamander
Mushrooms thrive in the rich moisture conditions of logs. In addition, the mushrooms help break down and decompose the wood
Loose bark on trees provides a dry shelter for flying creatures like bats, moths, and butterflies
Many species of birds use empty tree cavities to build their nests in and to scavage for food
Mammals use tree cavities, which are escavated by woodpeckers, for shelter
Decaying tree wood attracts many insects
Logs host moisture-loving plants, and animals like salamanders
Stumps create the perfect habitat for the growth of new trees
Leaf litter & branches provide shade for small mammals like chipmunks and food for ground-feeding birds
Decaying & Loose Bark
Tree Cavities
Tree Logs
Stumps & Leaf Litter
Charcoal drawing showcasing the biodiversity flourishing within a decaying tree
Cavities spread decay and attract decomposers such as mushrooms
Raccoons find shelter in hollow tree trunks formed by decay
Hairy Woodpeckers create cavities in trees for nesting purposes Small mammals like squirrels use abandoned cavities for shelter