Final Studio Project

Well the semester is officially over--and I finished on time, despite my surgery! Now I'm enjoying the start of a much-needed month off from school. While it's still fresh in my mind, though, I'd like to share some images of my final project for studio.

Our project was an approximately 11 acre site on the Berkeley waterfront. The site is an extension of the original shoreline created with fill--mostly construction debris. The site is currently in use as a temporary storage facility for soil from construction projects and excavations:

From the top of that large mound in the distance are 360 degree views across the bay to SF and Marin County, to the Berkeley and Oakland hills, and south to Emeryville and the Oakland port. If you look closely on the top left in the photo above, you'll see the SF skyline. The site is now part of the East Shore State Park, which runs much of the length of the East Bay shoreline.

Each of us put together a proposed design for a new public park on the site. The primary requirement to work around was a high point of 40 ft in elevation--approximately 10 feet higher than the existing high point.

My concept for the site was directly inspired by the existing topography of the site. I explored other forms associated with construction--mountain tops stripped for materials, gravel stockpiles, etc.



I settled on a rectangular/pyramidal form with a flat top. These forms overlap to create an undulating topography reminiscent of piles at a gravel yard, as shown in these section-elevations. The above top section cuts east-west through the highest and lowest hills on the site. The above section cuts through the amphitheater on the south end of the site.

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Above is the concept plan of the site, a birds-eye view. The light yellow paths are paved, multi-use trails. The darker yellow paths are "paved" with decomposed granite. The light green areas that are not hills are planted with turf, for recreation purposes, and the mounds are planted in a native grass. The rest of the site will retain its current landscape of coastal scrub and grasses.

The highest hill on the site is wheelchair accessible. From there, visitors will have 360 degree views. Above is the view toward San Francisco.


The topography of the site allows for wide open recreation areas and also more enclosed areas for exploring. Above top is a view through the site from the entry lawn (on the left in the plan) to the south (right), along the main axis. Above is a view in a more enclosed area of the site, at the base of the tallest hill.

To help me complete the project on time, Mike flew out to construct the model. Here it is!