The Essential Work of a Landscape Architect

Most people seem to miss the intention behind all public outdoor spaces - designed by landscape architects - to preserve the environment and serve the public. Creating safe places for people to connect while working with nature makes our profession meaningful and critical to our future, but it seems that much of the daily work of landscape architects goes by unnoticed, unaware, and unrecognized.

In an article titled, “An enormous responsibility: The misunderstood and essential work of landscape architects," Torey Carter-Conneen aims “to improve public understanding of landscape architecture." We hope this serves as a source of clarification, insights, and inspiration. More importantly, we hope that it helps you see the intention behind any outdoor space.

Capuchino High School Athletic Complex Nears Completion

Carducci Associates approaches the final stages of construction completion for the Capuchino High School Athletic Complex Project.  Over the years, Carducci’s team has dedicated itself to improving the complex athletics-based program for this project, including new baseball, soccer, softball and multi-purpose fields, new tennis courts, sports and pedestrian lighting and Accessibility updates.  Lead landscape architect Bill Fee and Lead landscape designer Jin Kim facilitated the design and construction of the modernized athletic facility for Capuchino High School, along with Timothy Skinner, Joel Franceschi & George Chacon, with Greystone West Company Construction Management, Goodland Landscape Construction, ZFA Structural Engineers, Bohley Consulting (Civil), and Zeiger Engineers (Electrical). 

Hard Hats Off to the complete team for making this one of the most significant and successful athletic fields developed for the San Mateo Union High School District! For more info about the project see:  https://www.carducciassociates.com/projects/project/capuchino-high-school-athletic-complex-project

Brownell Middle School / Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Carducci Associates is thrilled to have been part of the Brownell Middle School campus replacement project for Gilroy Unified School District, which culminated 3 years of hard work when the school was officially opened to the public on August 12. Although Carducci Associates has been working alongside Aedis Architects and Flint Builders since 2018 on this site, Brownell has been a part of the Gilroy community since 1949, when it opened its doors to seventh and eighth graders. Few alterations were made to the original campus since its initial construction, and Carducci Associates is proud to be part of the newest chapter at Brownell. Measure E, passed by Gilroy voters, made the campus replacement possible; clever management by the design team, the GUSD facilities team, and contractor meant Brownell was reconstructed with all the elements that the District deemed vital to a 21st century learning environment.

In designing the site, Carducci balanced outdoor spaces for play, gathering, and teaching. Prior to the pandemic, the design team emphasized carving out ample space for outdoor learning in a variety of settings, including semi-circular concrete seat walls surrounding central areas for instruction, to less formal decomposed granite pathways with boulder seats in a grove of newly planted oaks. Carducci also designed courtyards inside classroom pods with ample boulder seating surrounding Shade loving greenery and wide concrete patios outside maker space garage doors. The patios will enable students to spill out from maker spaces to tinker and collaborate. Carducci is pleased that these spaces are in place and will play a crucial role of keeping students and staff safer, while enriching student learning opportunities.

In addition to the instruction-centric outdoor spaces, Carducci designed what has now been dubbed the “pollination station” packed with nectar-rich pollinator-friendly shrubs and grasses adjacent to a flexible, outdoor space for a student garden. New fruit trees provide a backdrop for a space that may be adapted for growing food or conducting science experiments that can be aided by an outdoor power pedestal intended to make this garden area as adaptable as possible for the school’s specific future needs. In addition to these upgrades, Carducci also designed a river-themed coated asphalt pattern in the central campus that reinforces biophilic themes while reflecting solar radiation to keep students and staff cool in hot Gilroy weather. Brownell also benefits from entirely new natural turf playing fields with more efficient, modern irrigation. The fields have been sited adjacent to the updated gymnasium and newly striped sports courts, away from classrooms to minimize disruption. Finally, in a nod to the community that made the modernization possible, long-lived native Valley Oaks flank the edges of the campus to provide shade along Carmel and 3rd Streets, in order to extend improvements beyond the campus.

Video credits: B43Productions

2020 ASLA Student Awards / Karishma Joshi & Xiaoyu (Nikki) Zheng

We are very excited to share that our very own Associate Karishma Joshi has been awarded the ASLA Student Honor Award in Analysis & Planning and our intern Xiaoyu (Nikki) Zheng has also been awarded the ASLA Student Award of Excellence in Urban Design. Below are some highlights of their projects and associated links to learn more about each of them.

2020 ASLA Student Award: Award of Excellence: Urban Design

Project Name: Rethinking a Fundamental Human Act: Landscape as a Solution for Open Defecation

Project Summary: In “Rethinking a Fundamental Human Act: Landscape as a Solution for Open Defecation” Kate and Nikki proposed design solutions based on a theoretical framework highlighting causes, conditions, and effects of open defecation. In the context of Raipur, India, there are few spaces of conscious design intervention that provide both practical and aesthetic value. The team came up with alternative built-environment solutions that respect local cultural behavior and human dignity to tackle this pressing world issue.

Contributors: Kate Noel, Xiaoyu (Nikki) Zheng

For more information about this award winning project, click here: https://www.asla.org/2020studentawards/1283.html

2020 ASLA Student Award: Honor Award: Analysis and Planning

Project Name: Tenacity—Integrating Sea Level Rise and Urban Growth Prediction Modelling in Design Scenarios in Tampa, Florida

Project Summary: Tampa, Florida is expected to grow considerably over the next decades, yet is one of the most vulnerable U.S. cities for flooding. Simply continuing on the present course,or even in line with current planned growth, will do little to mitigate flood risk, but informed development that incorporates resilient tactics will ensure long-term resilience in uncertain climate scenarios. This study analyzes three possible development strategies, and recommends one that could mitigate the impact of sea-level rise.

Contributors: Karishma Joshi & Jiali Liu For more information about this award winning project, click here: https://www.asla.org/2020studentawards/1185.html