A portfolio of my professional work.

2. Matt McMillan ~ Portfolio
Contents:
Ecological Design
~Keys Beach Ecological Reserve
~Nokhu Reserve
Urban Design
~Diviarture: Denver Urban Renewal
Landscape Design
~ Aquatic Facility Site Design
~Gateway Gardens, Fort Collins
~WetLand Art

3. About Me
I am inspired by nature. Exploring its wonders is a passion which has formed my love for landscape. I grew up in the
Rocky Mountain West, have lived in the high desert, mountains, plains and on an island in the Caribbean. These places
have invigorated me through their vibrance, form and beauty. My goals are to conserve, restore, and celebrate the
ecological and cultural richness of these landscapes.
Design Philosophy
Design informed by the natural world develops from the creative process and inspires a vision of an alternative way to
live. A way forward that is a constant exploration in learning how to live in accordance with the world’s biological commu-
nity. We have the increasing need for creative solutions to our world’s mounting issues. Biodiversity is shrinking, water
resources and access to clean water are dissappearing, obesity is an epidemic, access to sustainably grown organic
foods does not meet our needs, urban environments haphazardly spread, and we continue to consume non-renewa-
ble energy without regard for the consequences. But, all these issues are at the center of the design of our landscapes
and can be turned into a postive pursuit of the ideal. Elevating the ideals of nature and culture are at the core of the
process and collaboration of ideas play a central role in making creative solutions possible. The design of landcapes
is the restoration of the natural human soul, and in design, we seek to challenge and explore the dynamic relationships
that develop in our world to learn more about ourselves. I believe we have an ethical responsibility to pursue and inspire
creative efforts toward the restoration and cultivation of our natural world, of which we share an unbreakable connection.
Design Process
Taking into account the context of a place, promotion of creativity is the direction of my design process. It is continually
inspired by sketching, photography, painting, building models and asking questions with my hands as they connect
my thought processes. Close attention to detail is absolutely necessary in all aspects of the process. Connections are
continually made, relationships are valued. Collaboration of ideas and the exploration of varying experiences is required
in order to maintain a high ideal during the process. Continually asking critical questions allows creative solutions to be
reached, wherever design is needed. It starts with research of the landscape, grasping the issues by taking inventory
of the site, taking the problems and needs and turning them into a creative program with careful analysis. Functional
diagrams and schematic design further develop understanding of the sense of place in forms, and cements the theme
and concept for the plan. With hand drawing, painting, and computer rendering, final designs are conceptualized on
paper. Developing detailed construction documents then bridges the gap between the conceptual and built environ-
ment.

4. Ecological Design
That land is a community is the basic concept of ecology, but that land
is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics
~ Aldo Leopold

5. Keys Beach Ecological Reserve
A proposal was submitted to the St. Kitts Department of Environment and
Planning for restorative development of 130 acres by Dr. Kimberly Stewart
and myself. The proposal is currently awaiting approval by the Office of the
Prime Minister. Seacology just awarded a 18,000 USD grant to begin con-
struction and native plant regeneration.
Keys beach is a one and a half mile stretch of beach on the eastern shore
of St. Kitts. It is the most visited beach by leatherback sea turtles in St. Kitts.
As the potential for tourism and education surrounding these critically endan-
gered species continually increases, it is important to organize the tourist and
educational experience so that these animals can provide an inspiration for
ecologically restorative living.
To restore vital habitat, improve sea turtle health and create jobs, a holistic
tourist experience was designed. It is focused on eco-tours that currently
take place on the beach at night during the nesting season. In order to
create the best eco-tour experience, an interpretive center is to be built to
serve as a seed for stewardship of the landscape. It will house educational
materials, provide space for orientations and demonstrations, house injured
and sick sea turtles, and promote a community atmosphere for ecologically
minded development in Keys and St. Kitts.
Creative solutions to light pollution, erosion, and overgrazing are at the fore-
front of the landscape restoration. By improving the landscape with native
plant restoration, the habitat is improved for sea turtle nesting. By improving
the habitat for sea turtles, tourism involving these animals will have the poten-
tial for growth and eco-tourism focused jobs along with it.
In secondary phases of development there will be a set of modest cottages
built in addition to the interpretive center.. They will serve as accommodations
for tourists visiting St. Kitts for wildlife tourism. A restaurant catering to tour-
ists as well as citizens and residents will serve a variety of local dishes and
seafood. The majority of fruits and vegetables will be grown organically in an
on site garden.

6. Research, Inventory & Analysis
One and a half miles of beach, approximately 130 acres of seashore landscape,
Keys beach embraces the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast and is connected to
the town of Keys to the southeast.
The Keys beach landscape is made up of a dune environment with dune grasses
and drought and salt tolerant plants, backdunes where livestock graze,and de-
graded mangrove wetland zones which connect to the higher altitude stream
corridors. With the town of Keys in close proximity it is a diverse and dynamic
landscape begging for further connections between the town and ecosystem.
The fragile and everchanging nature of the dune ecosystem provides limited ar-
eas for intensive development but a perfect canvas for native plant regeneration.
Design is focused on restoring the natural and cultural resources.

7. Functional & Schematic Design

8. Master Plans
Eco-tour building
Northern
Outpost
Anatomy
of
the
Sea
Turtle
Garden
Eco–tour
building
Soccer
field
Southern
Outpost
Dune
restora:on
1316 feet
Keys
Cottage
Eco-tour building
Cottages
Train station

9. Dune Fencing
Dune fencing was implemented in a section of beach
as a pilot project using recycled shipping pallets. The
purpose of the fencing is to promote sand deposition
for the further growth of dune grasses and other native
plants. This specific area was heavily used for illegal
sand mining and there are three more sites along the
beach that need this type of restoration. Some re-
planting has begun with varying success. There is
a large population of sheep and cows that keep the
growth of plants to a minimum. The next step is to
install fencing to mitigate the overgrazing of the fragile
dune ecosystem.

10. Nokhu Reserve
Northern Colorado: Never Summer Range: Niiciibiicei’i
Arapaho meaning: never summertime
Roughly 30 square miles, Larimer, Grand and Jackson Counties meet, State
Forest State Park and Rocky Mountain National Park also lay stakes within
the boundary.
The goals of this design process were to promote the culture and history of
the region while exemplifying low-impact and eco-revelatory design. Conser-
vation easments were a large focus of the design in order to set standards
of long term conservation.
These mountains were named for the harsh winters here. Deep snowdrifts
accumulate that melt only briefly during the summer. There is an Arapaho
myth that may also explain the name. When they were in camp White-Owl
(the winter bird) and Thunder-Bird (the summer bird) challenged each other
for an exhibition of their powers. So Thunder-Bird started up clouds, black as
coal, making a tremendous noise and great wind. White-Owl started its white
looking clouds, which moved fast and thick, the clouds flying very low and
blowing with a piercing wind. The black clouds and the white clouds met, but
the white clouds of the white bird scattered snow, which drifted, so that there
was a blizzard and nothing could be seen, and everything was frozen up. So
the white bird gained the day and was considered the most powerful. To this
day summer comes late to these mountains and leaves early, and snow is
here for most of the year.
To the left is a contour
model made from chip-
board that fiour class-
mates and I built to better
understand the landscape
Vertical exag-
of the northern Never
geration of 2.
Summer Range where
the iconic Nokhu Crags
make their home.

11. Inventory
According to Arapaho myths, the corner wing feathers-the shortest feath-
ers on the wing, closest to the bird’s body were used by the original creator
of the Earth. The Eagle donated these feathers and the creator pointed
with them to form the mountain ranges to the west, and the rivers running
down from the mountains, and the earth was then covered in green grass.

12. Analysis & Character Sketches

13. Concepts & Design Development
The conceptual symbols on the left were inspired by the Arapaho tribes that have historically
lived in the region. They have informed the design of the Nokhu Reserve which looks back
in history to the cultural and ecological wonders of the region. It combines the technology
of today to embrace and celebrate a restorative prescence in the Never Summer Range.
The designs look first at how wildlife habitat can be improved, then how we come to further
respect the wildness of this spectacular landscape in a genuine search for a marriage be-
tween culture and nature.
A small village consisting of a lodge, small amphitheater, and a handful of yurts serves as the
cultural center and launching point for exploration of the Never Summer Range. All access
to the site is powered by humans or animals and energy consumption is all renewable. The
remoteness of the site is maintained and further improvements to wildlife corridors will come
in the form of animal bridges over highway 14, which bisects the site. It is important that we
design in accordance with what the land provides while maintaining responsible avenues for
the exploration of our environment. All too often, recreational areas such as resorts con-
sume exorbitant amounts of resources simply for our pleasure. Nokhu Reserve seeks to
reverse that trend by making recreation a restoritive activity in this spectacular landscape by
following the idea that you conserve what you love, you love what you understand, and you
understand what you are taught.

14. Urban Design
Divine nature gave the fields, human art built the cities
~ Marcus Terentius Varro, De Re Rustica

15. Diviarture
~Divine Art through Nature and Culture
Design Intent: Capturing the beauty of nature, promoting cultural community, and sculpting the site through artistic enrich-
ment. This collaborative effort was an urban renewal project undertaken in my senior year for a neighborhood adjascent to
the Evans lightrail station in south Denver, Colorado. The goals were to create spaces that inspire natural and cultural con-
nections and easy access to alternative transportation.
We envisioned a community offering an alternative to consumptive living that is transit-focused, leaving the automobile be-
hind. My fellow collaboraters were Monica Schwartz and Steve Cronin.
The site is nine blocks long and ranges from approximately one to four blocks wide. South Santa Fe Drive and the light rail
span the length of the west side of the site. The southwest corner of the site borders the Elati Light Rail Maintainance Facility.

16. Schematic Design
These series of drawings show the process of design from programmatic
exploration to refined use plans. With each drawing we further developed
our ideas and solved problems. We were able to understand the needs
for space, nodes, anchors, and connectivity throughout the neighbor-
hood while instituting aspects of our program. The process allows for
further learning while challenging ourselves to create more inspiring solu-
tions.

17. Master Planning

18. Plan Development
The schematic above explores building placement and view
corridors for the purpose of maintaining visibility of the obelisk
across the central green and creating public space that allows
multiple uses. The sinuous pedestrian and bicycle path travel-
ing to and from the light rail, shown in orange, determines the
placement of surrounding buildings.
The image (above right) finalizes this idea and also shows the
reflection pools that echo the above overpass.
The image to the right portrays the perspective view of the
space.

19. Perspectives

20. Landscape Design
A tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only
a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and
deformity... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the
man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.
~William Blake

21. Aquatic Facility Site Design
As part of growth on the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) St. Kitts campus, I contributed
to the site design of the future aquatic facility to be built for the rehabilitation and education surrounding sea turtles
and other marine species. The building, was sited based on its proximity to the shoreline, where it is necessary
to pump sea water daily for rehabilitating sea turtles that will be housed in the tanks within the building. We also
had to take into account storm surge for hurricanes striking the Caribbean shoreline which can reach 19 feet. I
designed the layout of the building which is to house two 10’ diameter tanks, a surgery suite, treatment room,
storage, and potential for expansion in secondary phases for other aquatic research. The pump system was
designed by Aquatic Ecosystems to allow for daily replenishing of sea water and filtration when returning the water
to the sea.

22. Gateway Gardens, Fort Collins
What would Fort Collins be without the river? What would it be without the railroad? If we didn’t listen to the history, culture,
nature, and character of our town how would Fort Collins look today?
The conceptual design for this park combines, in a richness that embodies Fort Collins, the vibrant sounds of history, culture,
nature, and character of the area while providing a much needed connection to the Cache la Poudre River. With its proximity
to Old Town, the gardens are the gateway to Fort Collins. Incorporation of alternative energy systems as a central part of the
design represents the deep connection that Fort Collins has to the environment and using our resources responsibly.
With its striking landforms that express the uniqueness and sounds of our culture, the strong linearity of the railroad, the form of
the sinuous Poudre River, and the power of the natural elements, the garden symbolizes the character of Fort Collins.
My process for design consisted of model building by first exploring landform, then vegetation, then cultural form. Next was
overlaying each aspect of design together to blend the themes into logical spaces. Landform was inspired by sound and its
visual representation, vegetation was inspired by the sinousness of rivers, and in contrast the cultural form was inpired by the
linearity of the railroad, all of which embody the ecological and cultural values of Fort Collins.

23. WetLand Art
Process is a central part of design just as it is the
driving force of ecosystems. Because water is
such a precious resource, it is becoming more
important that we understand the processes that
make up our water world. In this installation I por-
trayed the creative process alongside the natural
process of freeze and thaw and the power that
wetland processes have in acting as filters. Hun-
dreds of found logs were placed across a frozen
wetland in a sinuous representation of water flow.
The process that the environment employed upon
the design was documented over the course of
a month. In the end, the logs disappeared from
view to again become an integral part of the wet-
land ecosystem.

24. Matt McMillan
www.matt-s-mcmillan.com
matt.s.mcmillan@gmail.com
720-454-3339