Landscape Architecture Commons^™

Using Stormwater Modeling In Iterative Site Design: An Integration Of Techniques From Engineering And Landscape Architecture, Brooke Erin Morris

LSU Master's Theses

Landscape Architects currently do not have an efficient method for including stormwater quantities in early stages of their design process. With stormwater control infrastructure and theory rapidly shifting in favor of stormwater management with Green Infrastructure or Low Impact Development technologies (LIDs), landscape architects and planners are increasingly making layout and sizing decisions for stormwater design. Due to the development of modeling tools, it is now possible to rapidly produce quantifiable stormwater values for complex site designs at a range of scales. This paper proposes a methodology for the utilization of the EPA – Stormwater Management Model (SWMM), in conjunction …

The Art Of Perception: Robert Irwin's Central Garden At The J. Paul Getty Center, Jennifer Kay Zell

LSU Master's Theses

In this study of The Central Garden at the J. Paul Getty Center was found evidence that the Central Garden designed by Robert Irwin is a postmodern garden. Beginning with an evaluation and description of the individual elements and conditions of the garden, the study then explores the larger body of artistic work produced by Irwin. This investigation also extrapolates how the ideas of modernism and postmodernism have been applied to past works of landscape architecture. The precedents provide a basis for interpretation and analysis of the Central Garden. Direct observation of visitors at the Central Garden provided evidence of …

Using Site-Specific Art As An Alternative For Interpreting Port Hudson State Historic Park, Louisiana, Yi-Chia Chen

LSU Master's Theses

This study investigates the use of site-specific art as a means of enhancing and interpreting an historic battlefield. The finding of this study are demonstrated in a series of designs for interpretive installations for the Port Hudson State Historic Site, a Civil War battlefield located in Louisiana. The interpretive methods commonly used in historic battlefields today, as identified in chapter two of this thesis, tend to produce remote relationship between visitors of the current generation and the site. To help visitors understand the meaning of historic battlefields batter, site-specific art is introduced in this thesis as an instrument to retrieve …

An "Ecolodge" In Thailand: A Site Design Based Upon The Local Vernacular Village, Pudtan Chantarangkul

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis began from my interest in using indigenous architectural and dwelling patterns of fishing villages in coastal Thailand as a model for a new sustainable community. The provincial government has a policy promoting longstay tourism for affluent retirees from other countries, enabling them to experience the natural, historical, and cultural heritage of the area at an economical cost. To fulfill the local government's policy and my intention to design such a facility, this thesis proposes to design an international "ecolodge" for a site near Yisan Village. The area is very peaceful yet it is not so far from downtown …

Palimpsest Encounters: A Baseline Study Of Federal, Antebellum, And Postbellum New Orleans Gardens Using The Notarial Archives Drawings, Cecilia L. Mcnab

LSU Master's Theses

The focus of this thesis is to establish a basis for a typology of New Orleans gardens from 19th Century Notarial drawings. Previous inquires of the New Orleans Notarial Archives drawings emphasized elite gardens of the Vieux Carré and Garden District. This baseline study investigates both vernacular and elite gardens of 159 drawings in the three oldest of the city Municipal Districts during the period 1810-1880, and identifies 19 garden templates. It sets the drawings in their social, political, and historical context to inform a critical understanding of the garden types. The inquiry examines 47 spatial and design variables, using …

Local Narratives: An Approach To Participatory Planning In Community Revitalization Projects, Herpreet Kaur Singh

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis explores what can happen when planners and designers allow local narratives to inspire and inform all stages of community planning and design processes. Specifically, this paper suggests how local narratives can contribute to the ongoing revitalization efforts underway in Old South Baton Rouge, a historically significant, low-income, African-American community in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A personal narrative introduces the subject matter at hand. Thereafter, each chapter is preceded with a narrative interlude to add texture to the ideas presented herein. Chapter two underscores the theoretical and practical relationship between place, memory and development, particularly as this relationship applies to …

Quiet Revolutions: Neighborhood Urban Forestry Programs, Ann Mccoy Allen

LSU Master's Theses

This study seeks to identify the key components that would enable neighborhoods to become responsible for the trees under which they dwell-their urban forest. Guidelines will be established for neighborhoods to use to compose a plan that allows them to create and sustain the tree population specific to their needs and desires. To develop these guidelines, this study is divided into two parts. The first section examines urban forestry. This review revealed several issues pertinent to urban forestry: (1) The urban forest is crucial to the health and beauty of the city and is directly linked to the well-being of …

Press Street: A Concept For Preserving, Reintroducing And Fostering Local History, Brian J. Mcbride

LSU Master's Theses

To encourage increased stability in declining neighborhoods, government planning agencies and other land developers, continuously search for solutions to improve the quality of life for people living in communities in need of revitalization and a boost to their local economy. Studies have shown that well developed greenways and other public open spaces are improving the economic stability for many neighborhoods. Consequently, it is the creation of successful parks and public open spaces that have been found to be the first steps to improving such communities (The Trust for Public Land). If creating parks is the key to saving neighborhoods, can …

Master Planning Communities With Wildlife In Mind, Helen A. Peebles

LSU Master's Theses

Master-planned communities can be designed for the protection of wildlife while providing an aesthetically pleasing, eco-friendly, and affordable community for people. This study was conceived from a background of academic studies in plant biology, forestry, and landscape architecture, and a desire to rescue wildlife habitat from the encroachment of urban sprawl. A variety of books and periodicals were consulted, along with a few web sites. The primary threats to wildlife habitat are habitat fragmentation, pollution, and exotic invasive species of plants, animals, insects, and diseases. Many aspects of planning are addressed, including wildlife corridors, site selection, connecting habitat patches, and …

Four Dimensional Presentations As A New Representation Method: A Proposal For The Use Of Interactive Multimedia Presentation In Landscape Architecture, Kinoto Miyakoda

LSU Master's Theses

Few studies on presentation methods in the profession of landscape architecture have been done in the past, because evaluating presentations raises primarily subjective issues. Today, interactive multimedia presentations offer an excellent opportunity to investigate the presentation methods employed by landscape architects, gCan new communication technologies help to enhance the communication between the presenter and his audience?h This is the fundamental question addressed in this thesis. It explores interactive multimedia presentations to see their potentials, and considers ways to integrate various multimedia as presentation methods for future landscape architectural presentations. The main terms, interactivity and multimedia, are explained to understand the …

Crime Prevention And The Perception Of Safety In Campus Design, Mary Frances Fernandez

LSU Master's Theses

The objectives of this research are to demonstrate the process of applying perception of safety in a campus environment to actual crimes and to use the results to better implement safety improvements within the campus landscape. The focus of the research is the outdoor environment on a college campus. The Louisiana State University campus was selected as a case study. The survey was developed and tested to better understand how people perceive their surroundings and to incorporate the findings of perception of safety to improve design and planning decisions for the LSU campus. The criteria for a safe design was …

Reading The Humor In Korean Traditional Space - Dreaming The Restoration Of Old Sentiment -, Sungmi Han

LSU Master's Theses

This study is about humor and its application in Korean traditional space, which merges culture, design, and preservation. The purpose of the research is to seek humor as a significant design concept in Korean traditional space, and establish it through the examples. The examples focused on are found in temples and palaces since those are relatively well preserved Korean traditional spaces. Each humor in the examples is interpreted based on culture and the mentality of the age, such as religion, ideology, and customs. Also, forms and functions of humor are examined. Through the design analyses of case studies, unique characteristics …

Arrive, Explore, Reflect: The Development And Evaluation Of A Web-Based Program To Introduce High School Students To Landscape Architecture, Courtney Bailey

LSU Master's Theses

The profession of landscape architecture has struggled with public perception since the mid-nineteenth century. Community programs, coloring books, and educational toolkits are just some of the methods employed in the profession's attempt to improve public perception. Very little research has been conducted to test the efficiency of these educational attempts. The goal of this thesis is to create a Web-based program to effectively educate young members of the public. The program uses five "mini lessons" to present information about landscape architecture to the student. Links to the World Wide Web are scattered throughout the program to supplement lesson material. A …

The Atchafalaya Basin Proposal For Nomination To The World Heritage Site List, Mitchell W. Coffman

LSU Master's Theses

The Atchafalaya Basin in the Southern United States is a cultural, environmental, historical and natural land region of such universal importance, designation as a World Heritage Site is appropriate. This thesis provides a justification for this designation through compliance with cultural and natural criteria detailed in the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of 1972. The treaty, also known as the World Heritage Convention (WHC) promotes natural and cultural landscape preservation on an international level. This thesis lists the cultural and natural arguments for nominating the Atchafalaya Basin to the World Heritage Site list.

National, …

A Louisiana Plantswoman: Margie Yates Jenkins, Gayna B. Veltman

LSU Master's Theses

This biographical study of the development of Marge Yates Jenkins into Louisiana's pre-eminent plantswoman examines the issues of culture and regional history, particularly the history of the horticultural industry in Louisiana. It traces how a self-taught botanist overcame the obstacles of gender and post-war depression to become an innovator in the nursery business, experimenting with native plants of the Southeast, as well as exotics imported from as far away as New Zealand. Her experiments and the plants that she introduced to the trade would eventually change the selection of plants used in the landscape industry in the Gulf Coast region. …

A Site Design In A Hurricane Prone Coastal Environment: Grand Isle, Louisiana Case Study, Naniek Kohdrata

LSU Master's Theses

The property owns by Grand Idle Port of Commission with its unique combination of coastal and wetland landscape, the richness of environment and the susceptibility to hurricanes give opportunities as well as limitations in developing the site. A respond to this fragile but rich environment is a sustainable planning and design that balances the site programs and environment sensitivity. An ecologically, socially, economically, and aesthetically sound will provides an opportunity to achieve the optimal uses of the natural resources while maintaining the environment sustainability. The master plan of Port of Grand Isle addresses the client’s programs expectation and enhances the …

A Pedestrian Friendly Environment For Downtown Baton Rouge, Aya Miyakoda

LSU Master's Theses

As the human population has increased, the consumption of natural resources has become a serious problem for our society. With the possibilities of severe oil shortages, there is a growing need to promote a society which better suits the requirements of pedestrians. At the same time, there is a big push for urban redevelopments to rebuild a strong city center in the United States. It is important that these new redevelopments take into account the changing needs of our society by providing a good pedestrian environment. The main objective of this thesis is to illustrate the fundamental elements that must …

Development Of Outdoor Educational Landscapes In Forested Wetlands Of Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin, Margaret Ann Mcclain

LSU Master's Theses

Natural landscapes, formed by eons of plant succession, are changing or disappearing as a result of rapid urban development and industrial growth. In addition, the human population explosion pressures are being applied to alter the urban/wildland interface in the United States and throughout the world. Many of Louisiana wetlands are subjected to these pressures and have caused change and loss in forested wetland areas. Most of the Mississippi River Delta consists of wetlands in a state of transition to either open water or degraded hardwood forest due to the effects of several key factors. Being a native of south Louisiana, …

Nature Is To Nurture: A Post Occupancy Evaluation Of The St. Michael Health Care Center, Texarkana, Tx, Leigh Lafargue

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis explores therapeutic garden design and its role in landscape architecture. It also conducts a post occupancy evaluation (POE) for an existing therapeutic landscape. The St. Michael Health Care Center campus, Texarkana, Texas, is a Sisters of Charity institution and was designed and built in 1994 as a healing environment for patients, staff, and visitors. In this thesis, A POE was conducted to determine (1) user-perceptions and utilization of the campus, (2) whether the campus reduces stress and fosters restoration, and (3) any barriers or constraints to use of the campus. Results from visual analysis, behavioral observations, and survey …

Design Exploration: Totem As Alternative For Efficient And Socially Responsive Burial, Mark Evan Bazzell

LSU Master's Theses

American cities are facing unprecedented development pressures. Urban populations in particular are increasing and diversifying, land as a resource is becoming more valuable, and designers/developers are challenged to creatively maximize space for all land uses. As urban populations grow, space for burial of the dead may become limited thereby prompting communities to consider alternatives to traditional burial. The increase in numbers of cremation already points to this trend. In addition to the spatial limitation issues there also exist issues of social and cultural limitation. Ethnic diversity is rapidly increasing and within each group one finds different traditions and needs regarding …

Accelerating The Transition To A Sustainable Society, Christopher Brian Bennett

LSU Master's Theses

As human populations increase, available land and resources decrease, and we begin to better understand the impacts of human activity on the environment, a strategy for human development that meets both the needs of society and the environment is being increasingly called upon. This movement has come to be known as sustainability. While this term is prevalent in the design and planning communities, it is important that this concept be brought to the attention of the general public, whom will ultimately decide the success or failure of this scheme. The question then is how to begin implementation of sustainable practices, …

Middlegate Japanese Gardens: Preservation, Private Property And Public Memory, Margaret Anne Legett

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of thesis is to provide a preliminary history of Middlegate Japanese Gardens and to make public their significance as an example of the landscape architecture that was typical during the Country Place Era, and their significance within the community of Pass Christian and the City of New Orleans. As it now stands the story of Middlegate Japanese Gardens is not known in its own neighborhood. Between 1923 and 1929 New Orleans residents Rudolf Hecht and Lynne Watkins Hecht developed Middlegate Japanese Gardens at their summer home in Pass Christian, Mississippi. The Hecht’s built Middlegate Japanese gardens to perpetuate …

Studio Design Critique: Student And Faculty Expectations And Reality, Elizabeth Marie Graham

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis explores the use of criticism in the landscape architectural design studio. Criticism is a very useful tool in the communication of ideas and the evaluation of designs, yet its application in design studios has not reached its full potential in the discipline of landscape architecture. To develop an understanding of criticism as a pedagogical tool in the design studio, along with faculty and students expectations of criticism, this thesis uses a two-step approach. The first step explores the intentions of critique used by design instructors during desk crits and juries. The second step explores the students’ perceptions of …

A Proposal For A Spark Park Site Selection Process In East Baton Rouge Parish, James M. Mccord

LSU Master's Theses

A Proposal for a SPARK Park Site Selection Process in East Baton Rouge Parish is the topic of this study to assist Parish schools and local governmental agencies in creating community parks. The SPARK Park program uses underutilized municipal properties to create community-use parks in lower-income urban areas. SPARK Parks originated in Houston, Texas. The Houston SPARK Park process was adapted for developing a site selection process for East Baton Rouge Parish. East Baton Rouge Parish dedicated their first SPARK Park in 2000. The park was built in an attempt to reduce the Parish’s open space deficit. Many more parks …

Sustainable Development Principles For East Baton Rouge Parish, Xia Li

LSU Master's Theses

This study examines and analyzes the sustainable development indicator data and determines what improvements and recommendations are needed for East Baton Rouge Parish’s development. This thesis has identified methods and indicators for studying sustainable developments, studied patterns of sustainable developments in the East Baton Rouge Parish to identify trends and developed recommendations that would encourage sustainable development in the East Baton Rouge Parish. It forms fourteen sustainable principles that would encourage sustainable development in East Baton Rouge Parish and a framework for a sound development.

Restructuring The Spaces Under Elevated Expressways: A Case Study Of The Spaces Below The Interstate-10 Overpass At Perkins Road In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Ramon Irizarry

LSU Master's Theses

General information about the development the United States Interstate System, different theories of urban design, and samples of projects developed under elevated highways structures were used to illustrate the issues associated to the development of elevated highway within urban areas. After building the framework for the study of the spaces below elevated highways a comprehensive study of the contextual, spatial, and functional characteristics of the spaces below the Interstate-10 at Perkins Road was conducted over a period of 9 months. As a result of this study a master plan was developed to addresses the issues affecting the spaces below the …

Sustainable Agriculture And The Red Stick Farmers' Market: An Exploration Of The Use Of Concept In Design, Lawrence Christopher Campany

LSU Master's Theses

This is a treatise on an attempt to translate a concept -- the driving principle of a design in the parlance of the design studios at the Louisiana State University School of Landscape Architecture -- into practice, form and function. If form follows function, as states the oft quoted proverb of design credited to Louis Sullivan, then perhaps as much attention should be given to the design of the function as the form. What this treatise will demonstrate is that function designed around a concept can result in physical manifestations, or forms, of that concept. In this case a concept …

Using Smart Growth Principles For Development In St. Landry Parish, Rebecca L. Scheffler

LSU Master's Theses

Since the end of World War II, many American cities have seen an outward migration from their core into open spaces along the city’s edge. The urban/suburban sprawl phenomenon not only affects urban cores but the rural lands and open spaces surrounding them. As landscape architects, we study humans and their interactions with the environment and have an important position in making informed decisions about issues of sprawl and unmitigated growth in communities. This study was conducted to provide city and parish officials and planning boards with options for beneficial growth in St. Landry Parish, a rural parish in south …

Gateways Into The Atchafalaya: Developing A Framework For Water-Based Recreation In The Atchafalaya Basin Parishes, Steven Joseph Lumpkin

LSU Master's Theses

The term “gateways” has been used in many contexts as a means of providing entry or connection. Gateways are where people congregate to leave a realm of familiarity to one of uncertainty and adventure. They can also mark the entrance into an area of interest. Gateways may have a significant impact on an individual’s impression of a particular destination. This thesis provides arguments for using boating gateways into the Atchafalaya Basin (AB) region as the basis for a recreational framework that encompasses eight parishes. A common theme that exists in all eight AB parishes is their boat launches. They represent …

C.C. Pat Fleming: Houston, Texas, Landscape Architect, Paige Allred Phillips

LSU Master's Theses

C. C. Pat Fleming practiced landscape architecture in Houston and the surrounding South from the 1920s through the 1990s. He came to be considered one of Houston’s preeminent landscape architects, and his role in the profession cannot be overlooked. This thesis traces the evolution of Fleming’s design style over the course of his career, analyzing a selected cross section of his works against three design movements that occurred during his lifetime: the Beaux-Arts tradition, the Colonial Revival movement, and the Modernist movement. For investigating the work of Pat Fleming, the method of historical research is used. A historical context study …