Thesis Abstract

For centuries people have had a direct connection with nature, they harvested food, they hunted animals, and they used resources from the land to build shelter.  This gave them a direct connection with the natural world.  This connection is essential because it restores the human spirit.  This environment is stimulating but not in the way a city is.  Here, a person can reflect.  Here they can reconnect with the innocence that is found among wild species.  Additionally the scale and natural phenomena people witness in the wilderness is humbling and leads us to examine the validity and authenticity of our daily lives.

As settlements became cities across the United States, natural resources were depleted and some creatures were hunted into extinction.  The pristine landscape was being destroyed.  The first restorative measure taken was the inception of the National Parks.  Visitors could once again connect to nature, if they had the time and money to spend.  Simultaneously, the industrial revolution was occurring, cities were growing and life’s pace was increasing.  Landscape urbanism was introduced at the turn of the 19^th century, which offered some of the qualities of the untouched landscape.  These urban translations of the natural landscape were able to conjure some of the reflections and playfulness of the natural world.  This thesis is an exploration of what specifically stimulates us in nature and how it is successfully translated over the course of the 20^th century in American cities.

Image Map

This shows how landscape urbanism has progressed and how people have left the city to experience nature in the U.S. in the last 150 years.

Idea Map: Round 2

Collages (and Sections): Round 3

Passage of Time

Linearity > Passage of Time

Collages (and sections): Round 2

Passage of Time

Linearity > Passage of Time

Collages: Round 1

Passage of Time

Passage of Time

Linearity

Linearity

Boundaries

Boundaries

Idea Map: Round 1

This is my first attempt at an Idea Map that will help me concisely write my thesis abstract in the coming weeks.

Part: 2

So after I thought of my favorite children's book I tried to think of my absolute favorite book, and I couldn't really make up my mind, but my favorite short story is without a doubt "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" by Salinger.

So naturally that let me to think about my favorite monograph, which is Patkau Architects.  This is my favorite image in the book.  It is one of the most beautifully constructed basswood models I have ever seen.

This is my favorite work-in-progress.  It's one 8"x8" block from a "Pineapple Quilt" I am making.  I love this pattern because you start sewing at the center and folding back each piece of fabric you sew on... each block will have 36 pleats.  The pleats give the quilt an added dimension and will make it very warm.

I love writing letters, but only on really cool stationary.  Like this.

The Wadsworth Atheneum is America's oldest public art museum.  My Dad and I like to visit it on Saturday afternoons during the semester breaks.  My favorite exhibit is the Eames furniture.

Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

I suppose this will be Part 1:

This is my favorite plant... when you touch it, it closes and looks dead. And about 20 minutes later it opens back up.

My favorite season is fall.  I like the colors, and the sounds.  It's the best time of the year to be outside because it's the perfect temperature for jogging outside and it's the perfect time to start wearing sweaters. (And my birthday is in the fall).

And naturally that leads to cashmere, which is my favorite to wear because it is only the softest.

My favorite National Park is Glacier National Park in Montana.  I loved hiking there and I loved seeing all the goats there.

One of the places I would love to go is to see the Redwoods in California.  So I suppose it isn't yet one of my favorite places... I can say that it is the best use of photomontage I've seen.

Peter Zumthor's Thermal Baths in Vals, Switzerland is a place that I have been and definitely one of my favorites.  I love the materials, the scenery and it's baths, everyone loves baths.

Another one of my favorite places to go is to the library.  This library is at Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art.  It was also one of my favorite surprises while I was studying abroad, I really wasn't a huge Mackintosh fan before I saw this.

This leads me to my favorite (children's) book.  I really like blueberries.

Collages

360 Degrees

20th Century Literature

Katahdin

These are a few collages from our initial Thesis assignments.  They are explorations of "passage of time" and "boundaries."  

Architect

Camp Paint Rock for Los Angeles inner city youth was designed by Charles Rose Architects and is located in Wyoming. This image shows one of the bunk houses.  Rose's work works within it's landscape allowing people to experience it, without overpowering it.  I love this image because it allows campers the experience of sleeping under the stars without having to sleep on a Thermarest.  Ideally I'd like to wake up to this view every morning.

charlesrosearchitects.com