william stratton - selected work

selected projects 2015 - 2018

2015 - 2016

01

T H E S I S - S I N G U L A R E C O LO G I E S mingo wilderness launch

02

pinhook bog walk

03

prairie lens

04

tarryall-cline ranch historic master plan

05

healthy rivers water park

06

red mtn residence

07

aspen alps

08

P RO F E S S I O N A L - T RYO N FA R M memorial bosque

09

EXTRAS sktch

10

gltch

li s ten // b oa t l aun c h

floa t // b oa rd wal k s y s tem b ur n // i ns t al l at i on , ar t g l as s

2016-2018

2015

2016 - 2018

P RO F E S S I O N A L

-

B LU E G R E E N

concep t ua l s i te des i g n p a rk des i g n

r es i dent i a l des i g n / / p l an t i n g des i g n , det ai l i n g s i te des i g n // d et ai l i n g

m em or i a l des i g n / / s ton ework

h a nd drawi ng m odeli ng // g l i t c h i n g

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In all of my work, I strive for simplicity and purpose through an artful, inspired process. My objective is to challenge the prevailing land ethic and deconstruct placelessness. My favorite tools are keen observation, systems-thinking, spontaneity, and empathy.

My landscape vernacular is rooted in vibrant, dynamic ecologies: singular moments in climate, force, and geo-social temporality. Place is an experience-- not a sum of parts. My academic exploration and understanding of historical geography, regionality, cultural shifts, and ecologicaldeterminism are fundamental to my design process.

( point - a nd- shoot @ M ing o Na t iona l Wildlife Re f u g e )

s i n g u l a r

e c o l o g i e s

design intervention and experiential phenomenon in wild places

a b st r a c t Wilderness is an immensely complex concept; despite its implied absence of people, it has captivated artists, historians, writers, recreationalists, and environmentalists for centuries.

Especially for urbanites, there is something undeniably felt and powerful in wild places. The human conception of wilderness, however, as a landscape condition antonymous to the human landscape, is the cause of historic and contemporary social and environmental injustice. To critics, idolized wilderness is problematic because of its implied duality: if humans invariably debase nature at its best (wildest), how can we have a positive role in earth’s ecology? For environmental designers, ‘wildness’ is increasingly a valued landscape quality, offering resilience, diversity, functionality, and beauty. As early as the 1890s, Frederick Law Olmsted was implementing plans to build a forest at the Biltmore Estate and an urban “wilderness” at the Boston Fens and Riverway. Addressing or restoring wild conditions, especially in urban contexts, raises questions regarding how wildness is perceived, accessed, and even needed. Experiential aesthetics, a design approach which prioritizes sensory or phenomenological experience of place over its visual appeal, broadens the relevance of wildness to environmental design. Understood as a sensory experience, wildness becomes a necessary landscape character to aspire toward, preserve, and enhance. Wildness is a perceived, complex series of characteristics and moments; it cannot be appreciated completely in terms of ecology, function, or aesthetics. This project aims to better define wildness in terms of its perceptible characteristics and its implications for design.

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01 ducks’ eye view

MINGO WILDERNESS LAUNCH Mingo Wilderness encompasses a vast bottomland hardwood forest (a swamp) in the Missouri Ozarks. From the seat of a canoe, the swamp is legible as a dialogue of rhythms. Paddle strokes echo over still water while wind, birds and other wildlife answer during breaks and pauses. At Mingo, boat launches operate as thresholds: arriving from a developed area in a car, visitors are engulfed in the whimsical noisiness of the swamp as soon as they step from their vehicles. This design proposal replaces an existing boat launch, endeavoring to establish a gestural prelude to the rhythmic experience of paddling through Mingo Wilderness.

E c h o C h a m b er Por t a g e Wes t Wa l l : 111 f t .

Cyp r ess Sen d -O f f Nor th Wa ll: 4 3 f t.

M in go River : ~ 15 0 f t.

section A - A1

5

site plan A1

Key entry area with signage and map Echo Chamber Portage

N

A ac c e

ss r oa d

Cypress Send-Off

//

tur

n-a

rou

0 nd

15’

30’

contour interval = 1’

6

45’

60’

cypress send off

cr

u

nc

hc

r runch pat pat crunc h c

un

ch

from the canopy

There are three ways visitors experience sound. While walking, visitors hear the sound of their feet crunching and patting over gravel. As they enter their boats and shove off, the sound of gravel and cypress cut-offs rushing under their hull and of water swishing behind their paddles defines the first moments of their trip. Finally, voices of humans and of wildlife-- especially birds -- echo through the forest and over the water.

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The foot path along the portage and Cypress Send-Off is sunken, and its walls are formed at an angle to reflect the noise of walking feet upward toward the traveler along the path. The curvature of a canoe, carried overhead during a portage, deflects sound waves back toward the ears of boaters, completing the ‘echo chamber’.

echo chamber portage

cr

u

nc

hc

runch pat pat crunc h c

ru

nc

h

wood and stone

5

Materials Key

1

3

1

stained concrete

4

2

2

river rock

3 sinker cypress

4 decomposed granite

5 n

reclaimed cypress 0

5

10

15

site model: bird’s eye

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site model: plan

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02 SOLID MODULE

FL OA TIN G

MO DU LE

E DUL SUNKEN MO

EXISTING

FIBROUS SPAGHNUM PEAT

FLUID, FIBROUS SPAGHNUM PEAT

TRAPPED WATER

PINHOOK BOG WALK Pinhook Bog’s ecological singularity is a consequence of its natural history, which is only physically evident through stratigraphic studies of peat layers. Walking is a sensory experience—blindfolded, people can still ‘read’ surfaces by relative firmness. This project primarily aims to enhance the sensory experience of walking over Pinhook Bog by exaggerating relative deflection and stability underfoot as visitors pass over alternatively deep, flooded, thin, solid, or saturated areas of the peat mat. The proposal introduces three walkway modules: a floating module, a sunken module, and a solid module. The modules are each engineered to support a human moving over a spectrum of conditions underneath.

FLUID, FIBROUS DETRITUS SPAGHNUM PEAT

FIBROUS LIMNIC PEAT

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GLACIAL TILL (CLAY)

9,000 YEARS AGO

3,000 YEARS AGO

S E D G E S AND H E R BACE O US WE T LAN D S PE CIE S ( PO N D E D GE )

BOR EAL W ETLAND SPECIES

depth (ft.)

0

0

EARLY SPAGHNUM PEAT MAT 5

5

10

10

15

15

TRAPPED WATER depth (ft.)

OPEN WATER

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20 AQ UAT IC PLAN T S

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FIBROUS, LIMNIC PEAT 25

30

30

GLACIAL TILL (CLAY)

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GLACIAL TILL (CLAY)

35

source: Wilcox and Simonin, 1988

source: Wilcox and Simonin, 1988

PROPOSED

F LOATING MODU L E

S UN K E N MO DUL E

S O L I D MO D UL E

depth (ft.)

0

POND

FIBROUS SPHAGNUM PEAT

5

FLUID, FIBROUS SPHAGNUM PEAT 10

TRAPPED WATER

15

FLUID FIBROUS, DETRITUS SPHAGNUM PEAT 20

FIBROUS LIMNIC PEAT 25

GLACIAL TILL 30

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8” X 8” BLACK LOCUST TIMBERS

floating 2’ -8 ”

PERFORATED ALUMINUM DECK (STOP / START GRADIATION)

WELDED L-BRACKET / NUT AND BOLT ASSEMBLY

8-

15 ’ TO

TR AP PE D

PERFORATED ALUMINUM DECK (MEANDERING GRADIATION)

WA TE R

5’ -0 ” 10. 8 CU FT / / 6 67 L BS B UOY AN CY

POND

1-

CUSTOM ‘SLIDE-IN-PLACE’ BOLT AND SEAT ASSEMBLY / ALUMINUM FRAME

15 ’ TO

TR AP PE D

WA TE R

PERFORATED ALUMINUM DECK (MAXIMUM PERFORATION)

4-

15 ’ TO

FLO AT AN CHO RS

POLYETHELENE DOCK FLOAT (11 LBS / SQ FT BUOYANCY)

3’ -0 ”

VACUUM - FORMED HIGH TECH POLYMER PONTOON (68 LBS / SQ FT BUOYANCY)

TR AP PE D

WA TE R

POLYMER RAIL + WELDED L-BRACKET + NUT AND BOLT ASSEMBLY

terminus 13

solid

sunken

SOLID, FIBROUS PEAT

SATURATED, FLUID, UNSTABLE, OR INTERMITTENTLY FLOODED PEAT

SOLID MODULE + perforation pattern invites pause, discovery + accesses solid, thick areas of the peat mat + dense and un-responsive to loads SUNKEN MODULE + perforation pattern allows new plant growth + accesses areas where the mat is unstable + moderately-minimally responsive to loads FLOATING MODULE + accesses flooded areas + ultra-light and highly responsive to loads TERMINUS + sited over a thick mat in an open area + provides seating and extra space for groups

entry gate

ENTRY GATE + perforated Corten panels and black locust posts + provides better signage + minimizes plant theft

03 PRAIRIE LENS This design study culminated in a built installation constructed with wood, rope, monofilament, and hot-worked studio glass. By juxtaposing elements vastly different in form (prairie : glass) but dependent on the same humancontrolled elemental force (fire), this work presents fire as a paradox within the human/nature dichotomy.

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1.

Two or three “gathers” are taken from the furnace.

2.

The gather is formed spherically with a block.

3.

The spherical shape is flattened and indented several times with shears.

4.

Using diamond shears, the indented shape is elongated and twisted.

5.

The glass is reheated twice to “polish” or smooth the shape.

6.

A partner gathers a small amount of glass to extrude and wrap around the shape to form loops for hanging.

The final piece is left overnight in the annealing oven.

1

2

3

4

5

6

hot shop process 16

Visitors experienced the installation through different scales. From a distance, the tripod frames captured visual interest. From ‘inside’ the frames, visitors experienced the glass as lenses, holding and rotating the pieces to watch the prairie distort and transform.

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18

professional

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b l u e g r e e n

conceptual and detailed design in the high rockies

my f i r st st udi o ex pe r i e n c e : Bluegreen is a very small landscape architecture studio in Aspen, Colorado, which takes on a spectrum of work including large residential projects, commercial streetscapes and gardens, public parks, and anything else creatively intriguing. I love the way Bluegreen practices: it’s a very selfdirected, fast-paced work environment. Every day was different and challenging.

At Bluegreen, I learned how to work efficiently and flexibly, prepared for anything. The principals, Sam and Sheri pushed me to take on leadership roles, while tackling diverse production tasks. I especially pushed my graphic abilities at Bluegreen, where I was often the team lead on graphic style and content.

20

04 LOCATION South Park, Colorado CLIENT Park County SCALE historic ranch ROLE design lead, graphics

TA R R YA L L - C L I N E R A N C H HISTORIC MASTER PLAN Tarryall-Cline Ranch is a story stalled in time. Comprised of vacant structures grounded in windswept high alpine plain, the land reads like a timeline—echoing the excitement of mining booms, the slowed pace of ranch life, and the ever-present, rugged beauty of the Rockies. Livelihood and environment collide—the consequence is a fading recollection of moments, eras, or stories. Deserted and disintegrating, the ranch home, the barn, and the bunkhouse require repair and renewed functionality. Visions for the next era at Tarryall-Cline are as varied as the ranch’s history—as a landscape scarred, worked to its productive potential and finally left to ecological reclamation, the ranch filled numerous roles in its lifetime. Tarryall-Cline Ranch represents landscape valuation, hard work, and productive ground—a heritage disappearing from Colorado’s rural landscapes.

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The masterplan for Tarryall-Cline Ranch seeks to uncover the past and stage the future through gradations of stabilization and new growth. Subtle intervention reinterprets the land and restores its most meaningful functions. New swaths of protein rich grasses recall a history of high plains ranching. Willows emerge from scratched soil; coupled with minimal grade changes, these willow screens spatially-delineate new development and frame restored structures. The masterplan excavates history from the landscape, revealing connections and relationships between culture and ecology. Tarryall-Cline is a poem of place, requiring contemplation and the act of dwelling to interpret its meanings; its story is read through structural frames—a hierarchy of verticality. Conceptions of old and new serve as orientation along lines of landscape, verticality, and time.

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05

urbanization and meander shifts

H E A LT H Y R I V E R S WAT E R PA R K An area of land along the Roaring Fork River near Basalt, Colorado was identified by Pitkin County Attorneys as an opportunity for a public park amenity. After engaging Bluegreen, a rigorous analysis was conducted and concepts were drafted and iterated quickly, with frequent stakeholder meetings. These meetings culminated firstly in diagrams capturing programmatic opportunities and conflicts. We produced two early concepts and the final preferred plan. This project is moving quickly into design development and phased construction.

LOCATION Roaring Fork River, Colorado CLIENT Pitkin County SCALE public river park ROLE design, graphics, outreach 27

existing site

seasonal inundation

28

user groups analysis

With community feedback, Bluegreen developed user group studies for 12 types of users. These diagrams ultimately informed the site design, which evolved through several iterations stemming from two original concepts.

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30

preferred plan

31

The preferred plan provides a dynamic park experience with a keen focus on ecological interpretation and community impact. Boardwalks, a bridge, and decks provide viewing opportunities along the river, through a mature cottonwood gallery, and around existing freestyle play wave features. River left, quiet trails amble through ponderosa pine and access a small nature play area. At Fisherman’s Park, a beer garden offers a flexible space for community gatherings.

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site section

A primary objective of the park design was to incorporate better seating and viewing opportunities, as well as safer access along and across Two Rivers Road. The preferred solution is to drop grade river side of the busy road, using plantings to provide stormwater treatment and an audiovisual buffer for pedestrians. Decks maximize usable space, offering vantage and an open, park-like character.

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viewing decks 34

06 front perspective

RED MTN RESIDENCE This fast paced spec home project on Red Mountain sparked my intrigue for planting design in the Rockies.

I authored the images above and at right during an early permitting phase and prior to any planting design.

Throughout the project’s development, I referenced these images and ecological field guides for inspiration.

This project also culminated in detail drawings for a pool and spa, fire feature, and paving details, some of which are included here (assisted by Tyler Mark).

LOCATION Aspen, Colorado CLIENT private SCALE residence ROLE design lead, graphics, planting design, details 35

courtwell perspective

36

planting schedule 37

planting plan 38

planting enlargement - front 39

planting enlargement - back 40

fire terrace enlargement 41

fire terrace details 42

07

plan enlargement

ASPEN ALPS I designed and initialized detailing for this staircase between an existing and a proposed residential building.

Primary design objectives were to preserve two existing trees and consequently, an adjacent run of retaining wall. Sensitivity to owners’ concerns was paramount, necessitating the reuse of stone materials. Stormwater makes its way down this challenging grade through a series of planted areas, primarily at the surface and over wall scuppers.

LOCATION Aspen, Colorado SCALE staircase // condominium complex ROLE design, detailing

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massing studies 44

2" DIAM. PRESSURE TREATED WOOD HAND RAIL, FLATTENED AT BASE AND ATTACHED TO METAL RAILING

CL

1/4" X 1-1/2" METAL RAILING PAINTED TO MATCH ARCHITECTURE

1-1/2" SQUARE STEEL POST PAINTED TO MATCH ARCHITECTURE

2'-103 8" 4", TYP

3'-0"

1/4" DIAMETER WIRE ROPING

2 L801

GALVANIZED PLATE AND POST ASSEMBLY MOUNTED TO CONCRETE AND POWDER COATED TO MATCH ARCHITECTURE

S

S

4", TYP.

ION AT STAIRS

1 L801

1/2" = 1'-0"

railing study

45

S

S

PLANTING RE L400 RETAINING WALL BEYOND METAL SPILL ASSEMBLY ATTACHED TO CONCRETE RETAINING WALL

3'-0"

2'-6"

CONCRETE RETAINING WALL; RE STRUCTURAL

2 L801

SECTION AT STAIRS SCALE: 1/2" = 1'-0"

wall // scuppers study

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professional

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t r y o n

f a r m

design build on the north shore (indiana)

a lu ck y s u m me r i n te r n s h i p: Tryon Farm is an alternative residential community in Michigan City, Indiana. Conceived as a rural community with a restorative mission, the farm demonstrates a strong culture of modern design and ecological stewardship. Tall grass prairie, wet sedge meadows, black oak and mixed hardwood dune communities, and wastewater treatment wetlands comprise a vibrant ecological patchwork across the 120 acre property. At Tryon Farm, I was fortunate to have a an excellent mentor in Scott Kuchta, and opportunities to practice a wide array of design tasks.

Primarily, my focus was on creating ‘trail nodes’ along existing trail systems throughout the farm, and generally improving the function and aesthetic of the trails. Scott hopes that these trail nodes will encourage residents and visitors to pause and relish the beauty of this unique landscape.

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08 LOCATION Michigan City, Indiana

site + context 1 bailey pond island 2 bailey pond 3 memorial bosque site

DATE August 2015

4 existing path

CLIENT Tryon Farm

6 existing prairie

5 existing interpretive trail 7 existing pond settlement

SCALE small scale intervention

MEMORIAL BOSQUE I was asked to design and construct a trail node with an existing concrete bench, memorializing the passing of a much-loved resident. I implemented the project with minimal funding and limited supervision-- it was largely self-driven work. The project was important to me as an introduction to material selection, costing, and my first opportunity to work with stone.

on-site design visualization

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7

2

3

4

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5 0

25

50

100 feet

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PRAIRIE

BA I LEY POND

BE NCH

(2) Pinus strobus

STRIP PAVE RS

BO S QUE

(9) Betula papyrifera

PRAIRIE

N

(1) Pinus strobus

paperbark birch

eastern white pine

0

5’

aggregate base/fill 51

10’

20’

bluestone pavers

I chose to lay pavers within an irregular area, leaving void spaces where prairie plants could reemerge. The stone pieces were cutaways from a processing facility-- each was the same elongated shape with subtly-varying dimensions. I arranged the pavers parallel to one another, with consistent space between rows. I used the inconsistent dimensions of the pieces to achieve an irregular, cobble-like surface: my intent was to provide a tactile experience, slowing pace physically and emotionally.

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e X t r a s

sktch, gltch

53

wa n de r e r : I dance across the streams Oh I start to dream.

I listen for the owls They teach me how to sing.

Rain falls through the leaves And guides my wandering feet.

Facing towards the flames Body and my soul gleam.

But oh I know how Mind is running free Oh I know how To dream.

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09 studies for a passage, fall 2015

SKTCH

55

maroon bells in a snowstorm, watercolor pencil, winter 2018

near independence pass, felt tip pen and precipitation, spring 2018

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10 Computers as a design tool are ubiquitous, but in most practices they are used more frequently as a method of representation than as process. These .obj file code manipulations (glitches) utilized Rhino and notepad to discover latent geometry in a primitive (box) and an airplane (SR-71 Blackbird). The results challenge paradigm, exploring new aesthetic models and conditions.

G LT C H

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Tools: Rhino with V-Ray Plug-in, Notepad, Adobe CS

make 600 y vertices negative target z>30

make 1000 y vertices negative target z>30

change replace 2 numbers full file

delete f values

replace 23 w/ 3

merge f and v

delete f and v values

delete v values

copy v values merge f and v

delete f and v values

delete v values

r u i n a t i o n : s r - 71 b l a c k b i r d b idelete l ly10,000 s tmiddle r at ton z values

delete high and low 5,000 x

make z values = z*(y/2)

replace 2 numbers full file

r u i n a t i o n : s r - 71 b l a c k b i r d

delete f values

original

b i l ly st r at to n

y sorted smallest to largest make 600 y vertices negative target z>30

x sorted smallest to largest delete 10,000 middle z values

delete high and low 10,000 x make 1000 y vertices negative target z>30

delete high and low 5,000 x

y sorted smallest to largest

delete high and low 10,000 x

randomly delete vertices

randomly delete more vertices

change replace 2 numbers full file

delete f values

replace 23 w/ 3

merge vertices

change f values

delete f values

make z values = z*(y/2)

replace 2 numbers full file

delete f values

replace 2 numbers within z

replace 1 number within z

replace 2 numbers within y

merge vertices

change f values

delete f values

delete zâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s < -60 replace 1 number within z

replace 2 numbers within y

copy v values

delete more vertices

x sorted smallest to largest

delete 1,000 vertices between every 10,000

average top 1,000

randomly delete vertices

randomly delete more vertices

replace 9 w/ 2

replace 8 w/ 5

delete 1,000 vertices between vertice rearrange every 10,000

replace 9 w/ 2 y sorted large to small

vertice rearrange x vertices negative invert

average top 1,000 delete vertices

replace 8 w/ 5 replace 2 w/ 3 in z vertices

delete vertices

selectively delete and rearrange replace 2 numbers within z

replace . w/ .99999 delete more vertices

selectively delete and rearrange

replace . w/ .99999 add vertices from parent

delete f values

merge vertices

delete f values

replace several 2-digit values

merge vertices

delete vertices

delete vertices and f values

merge vertices

delete f values

replace several 2-digit values

delete vertices

delete f values

replace f values

merge vertices

delete vertices

delete vertices and f values

rearrange

add v and f values from parent

replace numbers

delete zâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s < -60

rearrange replace numbers

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merge f and v values

delete f values

add v and f values from parent

replace numbers

the end.

This book contains professional and academic projects.

Thanks for viewing.