Rebecca Francisco Portfolio

Rebecca R. Francisco

Design Portfolio

B.S. in Landscape Architecture
Cornell University

if education is a journey,
let me spin you the yarn of mine
When I decided to pursue a career as a landscape architect, I had one inten-
tion. I had a love for design and the built environment, as well as a love for
nature and human habitation.Yet these were only the supports for my inten-
tion. I pursued the profession of Landscape Architecture in order to ingen-
der respect for the places and environments we inhabit. I wanted to create a
let me spin you the yarn of mine
harmony between people and their environments. I wanted to design Sus-
tainably. I knew my pursuit was not novel.Yet, I did not expect the language
of my intentions to age so quickly from buzzword to trite and cliché.

Despite how misused the language of a philosophy can become, the power of
conviction is not easily cast aside. I found through the course of my educa-
tion that the ideal of “sustainability” had lost much of its meaning because it
had become separated from its defining principles. These defining principles
were the real pursuit, the engine that drove my design process.
let me spin you the yarn of m
·Hone integrity by creating designs that will last; designs that are appropri-
ate for the location given its heritage, and environmental constraints.

·Address the Genius Loci by evoking an emotional sense of place and spiri-
tual sense of greater interconnectedness.

if education is a journ
·Reveal the presence and character of the natural environment.

let me spin you the ya
·Recognize the existing investment people have in the place, and address
their emotional and physical needs for well-being and identity.

In the course of my education I have aimed to uphold these principles. The
following images and text recount the journey I took.
if education i
let me spin y

Community Design The Design Program
Riverfront Revitalization Change-Relocate
The theme of this design is health of the commuinty, its people and the environment. The plan evolved within the
restrictions of the Change/Relocate criterion. This criterion holds the middle ground between site remediation
and site re-creation. To improve the health of the community elements on the site were moved or remodeled in a
The Community Design studio was thourough revitalization of the space.

an intense semester long outreach and The River Health
The Chenango River on the North Side of Binghamton is the
design project divided into three parts. major identifying feature of the community. Through the
The first involved rallying the commu- process of urbanization the river's character was changed. The
once soft riparian edges were leveed and channelized, and the
  

nity, connecting to stakeholder groups river virtually cut off from the community by 20+ foot walls.
and learning from them what they Therefore, the major focus of this revitalization plan is to
renature the river, and to connect the people once again to the
needed and wanted for their neighbor- natural environment. Ecorevelatory water elements were


hood. added including the terraces, channels, ponds and stream.
These elements serve the function of filtering, revealing,
The primary goals of this stage were storing, and naturalizing the storm water coming into and
to educate ourselves and the commu- running out of the site. Plantings in the terraces, stream and 

nity, and to build trust. We researched along the pond provide aesthetic appeal, habitat for wild life,
and phytoremediation of the toxins and heat in the urban
the historical, ecological, sociological runoff. All elements are structured to encourage exploration of
and economic forces existing in the these elements so their ecological functions reveal themselves
Areas of increased water and water dependent habitat

Areas of increased vegetation and open green space

to visitors, thus fostering a closer relationship between the
community. We then designed tools to community and it's environment.
communicate our research to our Health and Prosperity
The key to revitalizing the North Side community is instilling a
stakeholder groups. Examples of these sense of indentity, pride and belonging in the residents of this
tools include the board displaying water neighborhood. To increase this sentiment various richly
characterized activity nodes were designed that will foster a
issues: permeability and flood control  

sense of belonging. Public plaza and market spaces are
measures. Two pages from a power distributed throughout the site. They provide not only
necessities for residents and visitor appeal, but are places where
point presentation are show this project neighbors can meet and greet, and where commuinty
from the perspective of a greater ownership is nurtured.
whole. This presentation was designed More prominent than the markets and plazas are the public
recreational spaces that will fill the commuinty. With a great
to provide inspiration and hope by number of families, schools, and retired individuals, the North
explaining other federally funded Side is in dire need of places for both sporting competions and
leisurely activities.
projects that have already been devel- water issues research board The BMX/skateboarding tent, the indoor soccer/fitness center,
oped on other parts of the river. little league baseball field, basketball courts, pool, parks,
 

gardens, ampitheatre, and various trails will provide these
The next stage involved preliminary spaces for competition, congregation, and relaxation. These
designs developed over the course of Retail shops, either big name commercial of locally owned
  
ammentities will also be valuable in drawing visitors in from the
surrounding areas.
Areas of increased recreational programming

several community design
charrettes. The design goals Community Safety
were established through com- It is important for a vibrant commuinty to be not only
healthful, but safe. Increasing activites in the district will
munity feedback. increase the number and type of users of the space. This is good
For the final presentation for commuinty vitality, but raises safety issues. The increase in
activites means more users, which means less isolation, and,
we sent out mass mailings of potentially, greater personal safety. However, increased traffic   

postcards announcing the means additional safety ammenities must be provided for these
users.
date, time, and itinerary for The interaction of people and cars is a big issue for this space
the final community meeting. with all the crossing of paths and mixing of pedestrian and
vehicular zones. Just as the water was redirected, so will
We designed t-shirts and facili- pedestrain and car traffic be directed in a similar, lively fashion.   

tated a screen printing station, Crosswalks are included at all intersections of roads and paths.
gave away lawn and garden precedents on river
As shown to the right, they may be brightly colored, or made of
various pavements and materials that will slow vehicular traffic.
door prizes, and discussed our final For example, the water channels on the site also serve the
designs with the stakeholders once added functions of slowing car traffic, delineating car paths, and    

serving as crosswalks.
more. Motor vehicles add vibrancy to urban sites. With clear Areas of mixed pedestrian and vehicular use

The final design program is displayed postcard
Areas of vehicular use

delineation of bounds and conduct, this vibrancy is harnessed Areas of pedestrian use

and the interest of the space is increased.
to the right. Outreach and Education Charettes medium: Adobe Illustrator

Paris
Defining the Edge
The site in Paris straddles the Periph-
erique, the highway that took the place
of the old city wall, at the Port de Lilas.
It is, not only a site with urban design
needs, but also one with edge issues.
The diagram in the top left is a vector
walk analysis. Walking from one point
on the west side of the peripherique,
crossing the traffic circle, to terminate
at another point on the east side, it
maps the experience of the transition.
What is shows is the hodge podge of
typologies that exist, from rauscously
loud, alienating and dangerous traffic
circles, to quaint peaceful residential
communities. This discontinuity gave
the site a disjointed feel, and com-
pounded its feeling of un-inhabitability.
The west half of the site is four blocks
of army barracks surrounded by a 12’
wall topped with spikes. The east side is
a no-man’s-land of parks department
equipment yards and an enclosed circus.
The initial design makes connections
through from west side to east side, and
reclaims some of the land for vibrant
community life and much needed civic
space. In the preliminary design, the
Haussman precedent was used to cut
vistas through the site. However, all of
the existing historic buildings and walls
were retained, and incorporated into
the design. Old exists with new and
elements, such as the wall and traffic
circle, are desconstructed to serve as a
palimpsest of the past.The precedent of
deconstruction, as studied at Parc de La
Villette, was the tool by which the
space was opened up, while retaining
the elements that give the site character.

Paris
Urban Edge Design
The final design is a scaffolding. It
provides a structure on which the fabric
of the neighborhood can be recon-
nected, with a language of deconstruc-
tion for guidance. The final design was
carried out in model form. The existing
18th century buildings are represented
in the stained, rectilinear balsa wood
forms. The modern existing buildings
are represented in white foam core.
Finally the proposed buildings are
represented in corrugated plastic and
transparency sheets, with some use of
unstained balsa.
The design is structured around view
corridors: the scaffolding. The corridors
bypass the existing 18th century build-
ings, and emphasize views along them.
Along these view axis are constructed
three light use bridges that connect
west to east. View corridors also serve
to draw flows north to the re-
established traditional gateway: the Port
de Lilas. To reclaim pedestrian space
and to create a sense of intimacy and
safety, the traffic circle was taken out
and replaced by a traditional straight
intersection. Proposed buildings act as a
palimpsest of the old circle and re-form
the traditional gateway.
Proposed buildings and spaces take
their form from the view corridors.
Buildings and trees emphasize view
lines, while conforming to a language of
deconstruction. From west to east the
density of buildings decreases while the
transparency and lightness of the
buildings increases. From east to west
the density of open space decreases
returning the conversation.
The West side, the city side, houses a
mixed use of residential, service and
office space. The east side, in proximity
to lower density houses, provides medium: model of balsa wood, card board and corrugated plastic
garden and recreation space.

Charles River Park
CRJA, Associates
The Charles River Park project is
one of the parks commissioned by the
Big Dig. While working at CRJA I had
the privaledge to work on the Con-
struction and final presentation docu-
ments for this large, complex park.
The park is intended for a diverse
set of users and includes: river front
multi-use paths and foot bridges, ball
courts, and lawns and gardens. The
main feature of the park is a sculptural
underbridge environment. The linear-
forms of this space mirror the forms of
the bridge above, while new elements
are added in contrast to the lines
dictated by the bridge. Found materials
and new materials intermingle in
unique ways in the paving, walls, and
rebuilt seawall.
The grapics on this page were
prepared for a presentation to the parks
commision. The colored areas denote
the designed portions of the park. The
base for the illustration was prepared in
AutoCad and Adobe Photoshop was
used for the rendering.

Charles River Park
CRJA, Associates
My part in the Charles River Project
was to prepare the Construction Details
for the park. Of this 26 page portion of
the CDs, I have included a few details to
illustrate the unique challenges of the
site.
The first detail, number 13, shows a
pavement interface. Throughout the
underbridge environment there are
several ubrupt changes in pavement
type, often involving subsurface condi-
tion changes as well. For each pavement
type and interface, a detail was created
to ensure its integrity. This detail shows
a granite paver with a 8” concrete base
meeting a 4” bituminous concrete. The
sloped approach slab adds support to
the adjoiing pavement and prevents it
from subsiding.
The cast-in-place concrete retaining
walls flank the concrete walks as they
pass through the sloped fields of granite
pavers. Two concrete bridge abutments
can be seen in the accompanying part
plan. Around these are subsurface
concrete footers. Several sections of
these walls passed over these footers,
and required different details depending
on the height of the adjoining pave-
ment. Two of these conditions are
shown at right.
In several areas throughout the site,
found materials are reused. One such
area is surrounding an approach ramp
to a pedestrian bridge. Recycled granite
blocks from the old seawall act as a
retaining wall as they step down to
meet the adjoining grade.
The condition at the seawall was one
of the most complex elements to detail.
To maintain a straight walkway and not
encraoch on the high water elevation,
several methods were used. This detail
shows a cantilevered walkway over a
retaining wall, on existing rip rap.

Site Engineering Site Grading
The first project is a site grading
project. The design was for a Friend’s
meeting house. This group needed a
space with a large congregation area,
classrooms, and kitchen space. The site
is very steep, and had to accommodate
the meetinghouse as well as space for
forty or so cars. Also, on the right hand
side of the site is a conservation area
that could not be disturbed.
My project proposed a redesign of
the building. The building designed by
the architect was a two story structure
that would need to be half buried, and
much of the site stabilized by retaining
walls. The re-design allowed for all of
the main structure and meeting rooms
to remain above ground. The building
acts as a retaining wall with the base-
ment level of classrooms and kitchen
open to a woodland patio.

medium: pen on vellum

Road Allignment

medium: pencil on vellum

Site Construction
Rooftop Garden
This project is a two level, rooftop
garden. The design uses several tech-
nologies to keep the aesthetic afloat.

Syrstone foam boards enable the
pavers to “float” on top of the roof.
Electrical wires and irrigation pipes are
run through the foam. Grooves in the
bottom of the foam allow water to
drain into the 3 floor drains.
Four planters rest on snowshoes of
I-beams that distribute the weight of the
planters across the roof to existing
architectural walls.
The planters, stairs and seat walls are
constructed of wood with concrete
board facades clipped on.
All planting beds use Solite soil mix.
Sedums are the primary plant material,
while small shrubs and dwarf crab
apples add more substantial structure.
Louis Poulsen Weebee lights bring a
twinkling illumination to the space.
These are set into the planting boxes,
seat wall, and paving border.
Four benches, constructed of wood
blocks with concrete coping on top, are
set into the paving.
Finally, aluminum rails run along the
ledges. These rails are set on a concrete
coping which retains the planting beds.
The style of the rail is derived from the
art deco style of the building the garden
is set upon.
The following images are a selection
of the design details prepared. All
design was completed in AutoCAD
2004.

medium: AutoCAD



      
     
     
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
     
     
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Geographic Information Data Type Data Source Process

Systems Watersheds Map NYS GAP
Found out what watersheds were included in the greater
watershed from Cayuga Lake Watershed Network
website, selected, and exported the data.

For my final project in GIS I took on For the single watershed boundary: added a field titled
a bioregional study of the Cayuga Basin Basin Boundary NYS GAP location to the attribute table with a value of 0 for all
subwatersheds, and merged based on this field.
Bioregion; the bioregion Cornell lies
within. A bioregion is an area constitut- Counties Map NYS GAP
Selected those that intersect with the Cayuga Basin, and
exported the data
ing a natural ecological community
with characteristic flora, fauna, and Towns Map NYS GAP
Selected those that intersect with the Cayuga Basin, and
exported the data
environmental conditions and bounded
Clipped the data to the border of the Cayuga Basin using
by natural rather than artificial borders. Ecozones Map NYS GAP
Geoprocessing Wizard
I wanted to explore, in depth, the Clipped the data to the border of the Cayuga Basin using
bioregion I had been living in, and the Geology Map NYS GAP
Geoprocessing Wizard

implications of taking a bioregional Clipped the data to the border of the Cayuga Basin using
STATSGO for NYS
approach when dealing with planning Soils Map
from CUGIR
Geoprocessing Wizard, and sybolized using the prime
farmland layer (primfml).
issues. I explored many factors, utilizing
a variety of resources and methods for Hydrology Map
CUGIR Hydrographs for
6 counties
Merged the data for the 6 layers together and clipped to
the Basin Boundary using Geoprocessing Wizard
manipulating and symbolizing the data I
obtained. On this page are a selection of USGS DEM (from
Used spatial analyst to place an analysis mask on the
Cayuga Basin, and Raster Calculator to "clip" the data to
CUGIR) for quads: p25,
the maps I created. The one of primary Elevation Maps
q24-25, r24-27, s24-28,
the watershed. Then merged the data using Raster
Calculator. Calculated percent of slope , and contours
interest is the Buildable vs. Bioregion- t24-29, u25-28, v25-28
from the DEM.

ally Valuable Lands map. In this map, I
Used spatial analyst to place an analysis mask on the
weighed six factors: areas of high Landcover Map NYS GAP Cayuga Basin, and Raster Calculator to "clip" the data to
the watershed.
species richness, current landuse,
agriculturally valuable lands, lands Joined the Species Richness Table to the attribute table
Species Richness Otsego Report CRP
currently under conservation, percent Map 508 folder
for the clipped landcover layer, and used the species
richness field to symbolize the map.
of slope, and waterway buffers. The
resulting map displays the buildable Buildable vs.
Hydrology, Prime
Farmland, Stewardship,
Overlayed the six maps. Areas that should not be built
lands in white and the bioregionally Bioregionally Percent of Slope,
were blacked out. Areas that could be built with
reservation were grayed, and areas that are best for
Valuable Land Species Richness and
valuable lands in black. Landcover Map
building are in white.

medium: ArcGIS

Rebecca Francisco Portfolio

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