Shekinah Meza - Landscape Architecture Portfolio 2023

L A N DS

SHEKI

ABOUT ME

SHEKINAH MEZA

CONTACT:

EMAIL: shekinahm@vt.edu

CELL: +1 540-478-2661

My passion for landscape architecture started from being able to experience first-hand a walkable community. Growing up in Mexico for a couple of years, I was exposed to a car-less experience where everything like groceries, medical care, school, family’s businesses, and park/plaza’s were easily accessible through foot or bike.

During my freshmen year of college, I discovered that there was a way to replicate that same access and experience in the USA through landscape architecture. With this profession, I believe we can change the built and natural environment in order to benefit both the planet and the people living in it.

EXPERIENCE:

BOHLER ENGINEERING - HERNDON, VA - JUNE TO AUGUST 2022

Landscape Designer Intern

• Produced comprehensive construction drawings for outdoor furnishing and structures, ensuring accurate detailing and adherence to project specifications, codes, and regulations

• Collaborated with architects in renovating public spaces and street design using AutoCAD and Adobe Suites

• Designed up to five pages per day for the company-wide design standards book using InDesign, SketchUp, and AutoCAD

• Participated in weekly cross-functional meetings among engineers, architects, and landscape architects to foster collaboration, align goals, and optimize individual workloads.

TEAM LEADER FOR 2022-2023 VT LAR CHARRETTES

• Created a collaborative masterplan and final perspective graphics

• Guided design analysis and site exploration for project team

• Divided and managed tasks amongst team members for two intensive community charrettes

BLACKWELL ENGINEERING - HARRISONBURG, VA - JUNE TO JULY

2018

Outdoor Maintenance

• Worked with company and clients to ensure quality of landscape

• Engaged in hands-on services, identifying and controlling invasive plant species

SKILLS:

AUTOCAD

PHOTOSHOP

ILLUSTRATOR

INDESIGN

BACHELOR’S OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

VIRGINIA TECH 2023 GRADUATE

FLUENT LANGUAGES:

SKETCH UP

WEBSOILSURVEY

ARCGIS

MICROSOFT OFFICE

ENGLISH SPANISH

BRIDGING THE GAP RECONNECTING IN HISTORY

LOCATION: Harrisonburg, VA

PAGES: 4 - 21

GRAND BLOOM COURTYARD

LOCATION: Henrico, VA

PAGES: 22 - 27

LOCATION: Hampton, VA

PAGES: 28 - 33

HEALTH DISTRICT CHARRETTES SKETCHES

LOCATION: Blacksburg, VA

PAGES: 34- 39

LOCATION: Multiple

PAGES: 40 - 43

LOCATION: Multiple

PAGES: 44 - 45

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BRIDGING THE GAP

ABOUT

The City of Harrisonburg has long been dominated by cars, as have many American cities. The country’s investment of vehicular circulation has caused major highways to split cities in half, lowering the mobility for the pedestrian. At Harrisonburg’s core in the downtown, it is a so called “walker’s paradise” where it originated. If we could design our landscape for the human scale and experience once, we must do so again for people’s quality of life.

Face to face interactions are more important than ever to avoid isolation, and if people are given a good reason to walk and be outside with others, they will. I believe it starts with design. This project is dedicated to reuniting people in places that have been disturbed by vehicles and giving the streets back to the people.

PLEASE CONTACT FOR FULL 79-PAGE THESIS BOOK

URBAN | SENIOR THESIS PROJECT

JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY | HARRISONBURG, VA

6.7 ACRES

JENN THOMAS

FALL 2022 - SPRING 2023

BRIDGING THE GAP

PROJECT GOAL AND OBJECTIVES Bridging the Gap

JMU CAMPUS SPLIT BY I-81

1. CONNECT JMU CAMPUS SPLIT BY I-81

a landbridge with active public space on top to “reclaim” highway land. Enhance the existing conditions with surrounding landscape and connec(duke dog alley).

• Build a landbridge with active public space on top to “reclaim” highway land.

• Enhance the existing conditions with surrounding landscape and connections (duke dog alley).

JMU STUDENTS HAVE OUTLET FOR STRESS AND IMPROVE MENTAL

2. HELP JMU STUDENTS HAVE OUTLET FOR STRESS AND IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH

Program the site to contain both intimate and extroverted spaces for social wellbeing and preventing isolation. Design will contain event spaces, recreational spaces, and flex spaces to promote walkability and mobility through the site.

• Program the site to contain both intimate and extroverted spaces for social wellbeing and preventing isolation.

• Design will contain event spaces, recreational spaces, and flex spaces to promote walkability and mobility through the site.

THE COMMUNITY

3. ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY

spaces will be significant and appropriate for annual celebrations, performances, and festivals to attract both the Harrisonburg and JMU community. flex spaces for local businesses such as food trucks to engage with JMU community

• Event spaces will be significant and appropriate for annual celebrations, performances, and festivals to attract both the Harrisonburg and JMU community.

• Active flex spaces for local businesses such as food trucks to engage with the JMU community

SPACE THAT AIDS IN HARMONIZING JMU AND I-81

4. PUBLIC SPACE THAT AIDS IN HARMONIZING JMU AND I-81

Reframe the highway view in order to make it a sort of “performance” inof an eye-sore

• Reframe the highway view in order to make it a sort of “performance” instead of an eye-sore

• Manage/buffer highway noise with vegetation

Manage/buffer highway noise with vegetation vertical elements such as sculptures and vegetation to immerse the into landscape and away from I-81.

• Use vertical elements such as sculptures and vegetation to immerse the user into landscape and away from I-81.

HEALTH CONNECTION

• Prioritizing mental and physical health through immersive experience and meaningful landscape to encourage physical movement/activities

• Prioritizing mental and physical health through immersive experience and meaningful landscape to encourage movement/activities

HEALTH CONNECTION

• Reconnecting the place of JMU physically through landscape

• Reconnecting the place of JMU physically through

• Through landscape experience and programmatic activities, aid in encouraging social interaction and face to face encounters

• Through landscape experience and programmatic activities, aid in encouraging social interaction and face to face ters

EXPERIENCE

EXPERIENCE

• Reconnecting the place of JMU physically through landscape

• Reconnecting the place of JMU physically through

• Through landscape experience and programmatic activities, aid in encouraging social interaction and face to face encounters

• Through landscape experience and programmatic activities, aid in encouraging social interaction and face to face ters

PEOPLE

VIEWS SOUND PHYSICAL MENTAL

TRAFFIC NUMBERS AND INVENTORY

Taking note of green spaces, traffic, and residential halls on campus help to better understand the relationship between student, landscape, and movement.

CAMPUS VEHICULAR CIRCULATION

Since university campuses have important event days such as game days and graduation, seeing how circulation changes based on those events further affirms the need for a more meaningful connection between the two sides of campus as graduation and games are held on opposite sides.

ROOM ANALYSIS

This analysis focuses on the outdoor “rooms” that surroung the site and how that affects the way people move around it. Visually, in dark blue, the vehicle dedicated space takes over the majority of space. The recreational spaces form a natural circulation pattern to encourage movement, common on campuses.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS

After analyzing the site, beginning to point out the opportunities and constraints to make design decisions is the next step. Features taken into account include rearranging parking, noise, circulation obstacles, and building entrances.

MUSIC

WHY MUSIC? HARVARD STUDY:

House music is typically between 120-130 BPM.

STRUCTURE OF HOUSE MUSIC

“FOUR TO THE FLOOR”

WHY MUSIC?

69% of people who go to musical performances reported to have rated their mental as excellent.

HARVARD STUDY:

“Music activates just about all of the brain. The parts of the brain only activated during emotional music, they are also synchronized. riety of memory regions and [...] the motor system.” (Andrew E.

For something to be therapeutic it does not mean it must be calm and silent at all times. Stimulating the brain can also improve mental health, and that can come from activating the brain with immersive and interactive experiences. It can serve as a “break” from other stressors. College student’s can have a break in between classes through the landscape around them. So how should that landscape feel and what provides those feelings?

69% of people who go to musical performances reported to have rated their mental as excellent.

HOUSE MUSIC

BUILD UP

INTRO VERSE

DROP BREAK VERSE

Music can capture feelings that can be experienced by many. What type of music produces pleasant and euphoric feelings?

“Music activates just about all of the brain. The parts of the only activated during emotional music, they are also synchronized. riety of memory regions and [...] the motor system.”

(Andrew E.

MUSIC HOUSE MUSIC

What is the feelings/experience the pedestrian should experience on a college campus?

IMMERSED CALM

WHAT IS MUSIC IN IT’S ABSTRACT FORM?

WHAT IS MUSIC IN IT’S ABSTRACT FORM? HOUSE MUSIC

What is the feelings/experience the pedestrian should experience on a college campus?

IMMERSED

Music between 90-150 Beats per Minute (BPM) creates feelings of joy. House music is typically between 120-130 BPM.

Delilah (pull me out of this) - Fred Again...

STRUCTURE OF HOUSE MUSIC

Music between 90-150 Beats per Minute (BPM) creates feelings of joy. House music is typically between 120-130 BPM.

STRUCTURE OF HOUSE MUSIC

The typical beat of every house song has the “boots and cats” pattern where every measure begins with the kick drum, followed by a hi-hat on the 3rd quarter note. The next measure includes the “snare” on top of the kick drum.

https://marina-kruasko.livejournal.com/351753.html?utm_source=3userpost

BUILD UP

DROP BREAK VERSE

CONNECTED INTRO VERSE

The typical beat of every house song has the “boots and cats” pattern where every measure begins with the kick drum, followed by a hi-hat on the 3rd quarter note. The next measure includes the “snare” on top of the kick drum.

The typical beat of every house song has the “boots and cats” pattern where every measure begins with the kick drum, followed by a hi-hat on the 3rd quarter note. The next measure includes the “snare” on top of the kick drum.

https://marina-kruasko.livejournal.com/351753.html?utm_source=3userpost

This beat is consistent throughout the house music genre and forms a sort of trance along with the repetitive melodies.

To deconstruct house music the key elements taken include:

• 4/4 pattern

• The build up and order of house music songs

• The kick drum and hi hat pattern

https://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/prd/facilities/complex/1707/index.html

https://jmmds.com/portfolio/the-toronto-music-garden/

The Toronto Music Garden

https://www.toronto.ca/data/parks/prd/facilities/complex/1707/index.html

https://jmmds.com/portfolio/the-toronto-music-garden/

Delilah (pull me out of this) - Fred Again...

PARTIS

In order to deconstruct music further, it was essential to analyze the basic structure of music in general and the terms its made up of such as: harmony, rhythm, melody- those being the backbone of music.

Along with those terms, crescendo and accelerando portray to those feelings of “dropping” and grandiouse feeling that house music creates.

MASTERPLAN KEY INTENTION

RESIDENT’S PLAZA

DUKE BRIDGE

The plaza space is to give a solid gathering and event space for the JMU community. It acts as a large flex space for temporary instillations and displays such as food trucks, art displays, or performances.

The Duke Bridge serves as a meaningful connector for pedestrians from one side of the campus to the other. It also works to reframe I-81 and give students a transitional space to view the highway as a sort of performance itself. There is one grand moment of revealance in the middle with the “Viewing Bowl” and two smaller ones as people travel up the ramp.

BRIDGE PLAZA

THE RHYTHM

This helps students transition from the rec center onto the bridge. There are resting spaces with tables and water features to relax the user next to a busy highway, masking a bit of the sound.

The musical concept truly takes shape in the movement of the user as they explore the mounds representing melody, the repetitive vegetation representing rhythm, and further exploration of sound with activities such as musical seasaws and trampolines to revive the space for adolescents.

THE OVERLOOK

MELODY MOUNDS

An amphitheater at the top a of significant slope is shaped by the 4/4 pattern of house music and provides a moment of revealance to reframe I-81. Several concrete block resemble the

Extruding land mounds help the user experience the flow of melody more upclose and be fully immersed in a trance into the landscape and away from the highway before it’s revealed.

Relocating parking to the corner of the site gave opportunitiy to work more with the surrounding landscape around the highway and help pedestrian traffic to flow better and safer.

SITE PLAN

ELEVATOR

VIEWING STEPS

VIEWING BOWL

Floor window

Musical Fence

Bamboo

Tall-grass Bed

Resting Platform

Water Drain

Trench Drain

LAWN

PICNIC SEATING

PICNIC SEATING

RESIDENT’S PLAZA PERSPECTIVE

02 GRAND BLOOM COURTYARD

ABOUT

The Grand Bloom Courtyard emerged from collaborating with the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden just outside of Richmond, Virginia. The runners of Lewis Ginter were focused on re-imagining their space around the conservatory. Three courtyards were in their plans: Event, Work, and Terrace. This project is in works with the event courtyard, where the botanical garden could hold receptions for special occassions for their donors, employers, and overall annual events.

Conceptually, the design was trying to provide a true courtyard feel while also preserving the grand feel that events should have. A contrasting introverted vs extroverted space was created, following the layout of the original building and providing three main directions for visitors to go. Straight through to the overlook, to the intimate garden, or to the grand open plaza space.

Scan QR Code for full Construction Documents booklet

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SITE DESIGN | CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS

LEWIS GINTER BOTANICAL GARDEN | HENRICO, VA

0.25 ACRES

TERRY CLEMENTS SPRING 2022

Perspective courtyard Patio/Bar space

towards courtyard from front of conservatory

Grand

sense of place

Perspective courtyard Patio/Bar space

Perspective courtyard Patio/Bar space Perspective going towards courtyard from front of conservatory Perspective going towards courtyard from front of conservatory

Physical model to show the sense of place for courtyard. Going from an intimate semi-enclosed space to a grandiouse flex space for events.

The courtyard being lined by the blooming trees provides visual attraction and landmark for the site at the top of the hill next to the conservatory.

Perspective going towards courtyard from front of conservatory

GRAND BLOOM COURTYARD | SPRING 2022

Perspective courtyard Patio/Bar space

PLANTING PLAN AND DETAILS

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RECONNECTING IN HISTORY

ABOUT

For the Aberdeen Garden neighborhood community, a significant part of their history was the victory gardens the neighborhood formerly used to trade and socialize with one another. They wanted to bring that feeling back into the community by reviving a park located behind Aberdeen Elementary School which children walked to.

Using the concept of victory gardens, the goal of the project was to turn the neighborhood into a biophilic experience for the residents. To do so, the general street design was reconcieved with shade of trees and native plantings. The children could walk and learn about those plantings with implemented pocket parks in the corners of the streets, along with small monuments to dedicate to each significant/historic african america that the designated streets were named after.

COMMUNITY-BASED DESIGN

HAMPTON, VA 28 ACRES

MINTAI KIM

FALL 2022

Diagram shows circulation patterns for pedestrians (red) and vehicles (purple). The pedestrians has two new proposed paths for the niehgborhood. One cuts through an existing block, between businesses and property lines. The other is suggested behind the school and beside the creek for better pedestrian access to both school and proposed community garden.

To the left is a site design for the Aberdeen Gardens Historic Museum. The design activates the current building to serve as a learning process about their historic Victory Gardens. The museum is also proposed to sell seeds of native plantings and foods to help furthre along bring that Victory Garden aspect into the neighborhood.

LEGEND

1. Brick Crosswalk

2. Redesign Biophilic Street

3. Pocket Park

4. Mural Raised Walkway

5. Farmers Market/ Pavilion

6. Plaza

7. Community Garden

8. Youth Fields

To the left is the community garden, located in the back of the school. It was beneficial to have a larger public gathering space for the neighborhood and local businesses to form a farmer’s market around.

The picture above shows the improved street design. The neighborhood will have a more inviting and educated walk. Monuments placed at corner “pocket parks” help honor the African-Americans the streets are named after . The pocket parks also contain signage that helps the pedestrian learn about native plants located along the sidewalk.

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HEALTH DISTRICT

ABOUT

The Health District was done online alongside three other classmates. The original plot of land was estimated to be around 80 acres. Various iterations of the new roads to create mixed use and residential zones were made in a group decision and with the guidance of professor Wendy Jacobson. Ultimately, the task was to split up the original 80 acres into 4 and design a conhesive masterplan.

My group took the opportunity of using the division to generate 4 different districts: Business, Art, Health, and Homestead. We believed these disctricts would form an optimal way of living for residents of the site. The district I selected was the health district due to my strong belief that the landscape someone has access to greatly affects their mental, social, and physical health. Through this design, those three categories of health are highlighted.

MASTERPLANNING | GROUP

BLACKSBURG, VA

26 ACRES

WENDY JACOBSON

SPRING 2021

Goals:

1. Create distinct public and semi-public spaces that encourage personal and communal well-being

2. Form healthy social connections to neighbors through hierarchy of borders that promote community interaction

3. Develop a central green space that introduces people to the site and overall theme of health.

4. Circulation will mainly focus on pedestrians to aid face to face interactions and ultimately form a sense of familiarity and safety.

5. Ensure accesibility of site from adjacent districts and form quality transitional entrances

6. Create visible watermanagement for residents to connect further to the health of the site itself (and aid biophilia)

7. Bioswales

8. Reforestation

Section shows from Route 460 buffer to Natural Playground. Must do a lot of grading.

1. Greenway

2. Healing Garden

3. Community Wellness Center

4. Nature Playground

5. Labyrinth

6. Fitness Trail

detail is in a the corner of a great opportunity for also near the main site

Health district is located on the North Western part of the district

Relevance to three other districts by class/group mates

1. Greenway

2. Healing Garden

3. Community Wellness Center

4. Nature Playground

5. Fitness Trail

6. Labyrinth

7. Bioswales

8. Reforestation

9. Pocket Parks

10. Community Garden

SITE DESIGN Community Garden

GARDENBEDS PERGOLA

COMMUNITY GARDEN

GREENHOUSE

ENCLOSED SEATING

SEATING

BONFIRE

ENCLOSED TABLE GAMES

Exploring the contrast between extroverted social spaces orientation of the design. health aspect of the site, different social needs.

CONCEPT:

Section shows cut through the extroverted space and introverted space in the community garden. A vegetative wall in between the garden and the townhomes to provide privacy from the semi-public space.

Exploring the contrast between introverted and extroverted social spaces by focusing on spatial orientation of the design. This plays into the social health aspect of the site, making sure to meet different social needs.

The objectives of the community garden were to focus on the spatial order of vegetation, encourage the connection between people and nature for healing properties, and establish a good open space for social interaction opportunities.

Spring 2021 | Blacksburg, VA Spring 2021 | Blacksburg,

Objectives:

1. Focus forward social

2. Use organize

Objectives: games like

3. Form people’s immersive healing within

4. Establish social

05 CHARRETTES

The charrettes are a collaborative project done with the entire LAR program at Virginia Tech: from 2nd years to 5th years. It’s completed withing week to help reimagine spaces for underserved communities in southwest Virginia. The group leader would divide up tasks, lead the design, and aid younger students in expanding their technical skills.

Day/Night Perspectives: Shekinah Meza

Plaza Design: Shekinah Meza

Team Leader: Madison Hutchings

Plan Render: Madison Hutchings

Goal was to recreate the small neighborhood restaurant front into a lively social and flexible space for events

Group Leader: Shekinah Meza

Masterplan: Shekinah Meza

Location: Danville, VA

Restore a neighborhood park to better serve both the youth and adult generation who grew up in the area.

Group Leader: Shekinah Meza

Perspective of nature park: Shekinah Meza

Location: Patrick County, VA

Reimagine the Mayo Trail for the Patrick County community. Providing opportunities for children to interact with the creek, food truck park, and a meadow walk.

Investigating the relationship between outside and inside

COVID-19 social space design

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