The document summarizes Melissa Barley's portfolio, which includes projects focusing on landscape design, site analysis, site design, and construction documentation. The portfolio displays her skills in landscape inventory analysis, concept development, master planning, and stormwater management design from her undergraduate studies.

1. melissa barley
portfolio
landscape designer

2. The CEDAR method of inventory is a framework that was used to analyze all of the
aspects of Roanoke that would impact the design of a place on the city that uses GIS
data to make maps that display that are coherent and informative to the design.
Cultural
Ecological
Developmental
Agricultural
Recreational
CEDAR inventory project
Second Year
Roanoke, Virginia
Professor: Mintai Kim

4. Design Concept
The design concept of the space was meant to establish a unique identity in each of the different rooms in order to
accommodate different goals of the user.The various identities were captured using materials such as plants, stone,
glass, water, iron, and configuring these materials to influence the space. For example, the enclosed reed path (7)
has a vertical quality which makes the space private and dark, but the semi-public space at the bridge is unenclosed
and airy with plants and water.
Project Description
This project was started with the criteria of connecting 5 different shapes to form a series of “rooms” in the
landscape. Each shape’s identity was informed by the characteristics of each shape: their abilities and limita-
tions.This project was beneficial because it allowed me to think of the purpose behind each design element.
spatial studies park project
Second Year
Professor: Cermetrius Bohannon

5. 1. Gathering Area
2. 7’WaterWall and Entrance
3. I-beam Sculptural Art
4. Bridge and Semi-Public Place
5. Semi-Private Converstational Place
6. Intimate Nature Path
7. Enclosed Reed Path
Model

6. catchment area 1
catchment area 2
treatment pond 1
treatment pond 2
section line
Project Description
This project was a redesign of an existing
parking lot where drivers and pedestrians
were experiencing confusion in circulation,
and which was also wasting valuable op-
portunity to clean and infiltrate storm water
runoff.There is an accurately drawn grading
plan which, if it were constructed would allow
runoff to flow into either bioretention ponds
to be sanitized by rain garden plants to be
able to cleanly flow into the city storm drains,
or into infiltration runnels to be infiltrated into
the ground water supply.
parking lot and bioretention design
Third year
Blacksburg, Virginia
Professor: Dean Bork

7. 2094.95 2094.0 2092.8 2090.9 2089.5
Drainage Pipe
for Upper Lot
gravel trench
gravel trench
ROAD 3%
Rip Rap trench overflow
drain
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCEDBYANAUTODESKEDUCATIONALPRODUCT
PRODUCEDBYANAUTODESKEDUCATIONALPRODUCT
Catchment area 1 section
Plan closeup

8. Steep Slopes

Land Value
According to Montgomery County, this area of land
has high monetary value, between $350,000 and
$784,000.
prime agricultural soils
New Elementary School
Present Forest/ large hedge row
proposed site for developement
Price’s Fork Road
Preservation/ Historical district
South-facing slope
High Points
Neighborhood Plan
*Designed by Melissa Barley
The goal of the project was to reserve and enhance the historic
development patterns of the village and its rural agricultural setting.
Existing Agriculture
site visit sketch
Concept:
Clusters of dwelling units surrounded
by agricultural public spaces
sustainable community group project
Third Year
Prices Fork, Virginia
Professor: Wendy Jacobson
*completed by the group

9. Private Residentail
gardens
Community Gardens
Animal Pasture Land
Ownership of Agriculture
There are differnt types of agricutlure at the Master Plan Scale that have
two types of owners: Private, and Community.
* Private agriculture is in the possesion of an individual who lives
in the community or a commecial owner and, for the most part, is
maintained by that memeber.
* Community agriculture is in the possesion of an individual, or the
neighborhood as a whole and is maintained jointly by the neighbor-
hood.
individually owned, separately located
outside neighborhhod
Privately Owned Community Owned
0 10 20 30 40
N
Agriculture Ownership
Site Plan
Concept:
Neighborhood with central public
space surrounded by community
gardens.
Sun/Shade Diagram
Blue: June at 12 pm
Purple: September at 5pm
Plants
top left:Ameri-
can Hornbeam
top right:
cherry
bottom left:
river birch
bottom right:
pumpkin

10. Rome -Villa Lante - Pienza - Siena - Florence - Venice - Salzburg - Prague - Berlin
Copenhagen - Duisburg - Hamburg - Amsterdam
Contemplative, Reflective, and Experiential Landscapes
Melissa Marchand
Group
Individual
Piazza del Campo
Piazza Navona
Fontana di Trevi
entrance= surprise
Photo by Ahmad Russel
Piazza del Campo is a place that is deemed constantly public. The square is surrounded
by residences that are (at some points) 6 stories high which, when paired with the bowl-
shaped topography of the square creates the sense that the place is always on display.
There are cafes around the perimeter of the space which enhances the “on display” envi-
ronment of the square. The entrances into the square are sudden; you hear the square
before you see it which makes for an exciting surprise
Transition Within the Space: public center with edges for people watchers
View
When people go to a place because it is an iconic image of a city, they often go
there with someone they know. When that place is crowded with people, then
smaller rooms of people are created within the larger public space by people that
already know each other. In this sense, the transition from public space to private
zones lies in the place itself. The transition also lies in the density of views in the
space as it goes from high density crowds to the low density fountain.
Private Rooms Formed within the Public Realm
a place that has its own transition from public to private throughout the day. In
the afternoon and evening this is very much a public place with vendors, café’s,
gelato shops, and a huge fountain. It is full of life and diversity of people. A few
hours go by and in the morning the same square feels like a small town gather-
ing area. Café owners are conversing, residents are opening their windows, and
locals pass through on their daily journey.
The distinction between public and private is an important line to draw. People who
are entering a public square in a city are going to feel most comfortable if they know
that they are welcome. There are various signs that will show this. Does the gateway
hinder or invite entrance? Are there things for people to do when they arrive? Does the
place have many people already? There are three intervals of public space: public,
private, and transitional (publicity changes depending on time of day).
Morning in squar is more private: business
owners chatting, venders setting up, not crowded
Photo by Ahmad Russel
red = vendors, green = customers
Time of Day Transition
green = private gathering places
red = public square
Group Individual
Research
Sketches: the Roman Arch
study abroad: traveling europe
Fourth Year
Virginia Tech Landscape Architecture
Professors: Terry Clements, Christine Calorusso, Nathan Heavers
Contemplative, Reflective, and
Experiaential Landscapes
“Transitions: Group to Individual”
The trip spanned five weeks and six countries. Students and faculty spent each day exploring cities through studying, and sketching urban,
village, and estate landscapes, and they came together each evening to discuss their findings from these foreign places.

11. Watercolor painting of a house in

12. site design and contruction cocuments
Fourth Year
Garth Newel Music Center
Professor Terry Clements
Project Description
Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains ofVirginia, the music center a unique
landscape of beautiful views, sophisticated performances, and rich history.The
clients want to mitigate stormwater runoff on this topographically intense site,
and provide a master plan that connects the social and historical areas to the
surrounding landscape to keep true to the identity of the center.
Chamber Music Performance
sketch
Sense of Place sketch: the jazz festival with the backdrop of
the landscape
Site Plan:
Providing for Group and Individual
Master Plan.
- wildflower meadow
- wilderness trails
- educational checkpoints
- performance plaza

13. Construction Documents
The grading plan is meant to be
- clear
- concise
- correct
The purposes of the topography chang-
es are to create livable spaces where
residents of the cottage can relax, and
where spectators of a concert, or guests
at a wedding can enjoy the evening with
a view of the mountains in the back-
ground.
Cheek Wall and Stair Detail
These axonometric and section
drawings were completed to understand
the consturction components and
process of a dry laid stone cheek wall
with flagstone steps and a wood railing.

14. reasearch paper: springdale house
Evolution of the American Landscape
Professor: Terry Clements
Fourth Year
The goal of this reasearch was to examine the effect of ownership on a residence over time.
Yost Hite built first
building, which now
stands in ruins on the
property
1734 1753
Yost Hite’s son, John, built
the existing 3 story stone
house with a two story porch
facing what was the Great
Wagon Road
The front of the house was
moved to the opposite side and
finished in the Greek Revival
and Colonial styles when the
GreatWagon Road was re-
routed to the other side of the
house.Wings were also added
to either side of the main house
1835-1840, 1900 2000’s
The NorthWing,
located behind the house
to the left, was added by
the current owners shows
the addition of a garage
among other rooms
Research findings:The a residence will change over time according to the economy, political circumstances, and the interest of the owner to
maintain the house

15. writing for the “what’s out there” database
Fifth Year
The Cultural Landscape Foundation
Facutly Advisors: Terry Clements and Brian Katen
German immigrant Jost Hite purchased 483 acres of a 140,000 acre ShenandoahValley land grant shared by 16 other
Pennsylvania families. Enclosed by three mountain ranges, the rolling hills and tree-dotted fields passed to Jost’s
grandson Isaac in 1783. Isaac Hite commissioned a stone manor house, completed in 1979, to be built upon a hill at
the center of the plantation.The manor features stone construction, Georgian, Classic Revival, and Federal architec-
ture with Jeffersonian influences such as the narrow interior staircases, and the semi-circular window over the front
door.
Today the plantation encompasses 240 acres, the stone manor, ice house, smoke house, and ruins from Old Hall, the
house that existed before the 1979 manor was built, as well as a 19th Century barn.The formal entrance of the house
faces mountains and grassy fields edged by rows of trees. A fenced kitchen garden is behind the house.The rolling
pastures are and separated by lines of deciduous trees, split rail fences and a brick path from the house to the park-
ing area. A line of trees and mountains on the horizon separates vast sky from pasture land outside the white fence
with encloses the plantation.
Melissa Marchand, January 2015
As a student writer I was responsible for researching and writing 250 to 300 word descriptive entries about culturalVirginia landscapes west of
the Blue Ridge Mountains.This experience taught me how to be concise in writing, and to how follow an essay format.The job has also taught
me about fast-moving deadlines in the professional world.
The following entry is a preliminary draft describing Belle Grove Plantation in Middletown,Virginia

16. north point farm: garden/wedding venue deisgn
Fifth Year
Thesis Project
Advisor: Terry Clements
Experiential Analysis
shade
sun
North Point Farm Entrance Gate
forest
river
farm