Design Journal

Tonia Wang

UID: 110980926

Discussion Section 0102

LARC160

McKeldin Mall

McKeldin Mall is a central location at the University of Maryland—seen not only from the technical, map view, but also most academics, recreation, and other aspects of college life surround and take place near or within this landscape. McKeldin Library lies on the top of the mall, hovering over the largest academic mall in the United States. The mall is sloped; when I walk away from the McKeldin Library, I begin to feel the ease of walking downhill, which extends to the Administration Building at the bottom.

The statue of Testudo also marks the central axis that runs vertically down the mall. The sundial and the fountain further reinforce the straight line that splits the mall into two almost symmetrical portions. The statue is also used to provide an aesthetic element to the bland library in its background. I believe the fountains are terraced because the natural topography of the mall affects its extended design.

Throughout the mall, there are sporadic sidewalks that cut across the lawn—sidewalks were specifically placed there because they happened to be the common paths that students walked to and from classes. The method of using the land that was already paved through by so much walking was the best way to create trails because there would be no unnecessary unused paths that would be there for no reason. Students will not mistreat the mall and make more dirt paths.

Surrounding the sundial and the fountain are benches for students to rest and relax in this open space. The sundial is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also practical and does not use any energy except the sunlight to display time. On a sunny day, the fountain cools down the environment surrounding it and reflects light.

As I stand near the elevated entrance of the Administration building and look toward the McKeldin Mall, I see the balance and symmetry of the two sides of the axis. There is an allee on each side that are bordered by trees, brick posts, and shrubs. The buildings that are located around the edge of the mall also promote the balance and organization of symmetry.

Observation Sketches

of McKeldin Mall

Memorial Chapel Mall

The Memorial Chapel looks downhill at the city of College Park on Route One and the off campus buildings of Frat Row. The Memorial Chapel lawn lies before the campus and the Route One roads.

There are large trees that border the lawn in order to separate the university buildings with the large piece of land. Further down the elevated land, there is a short brick wall that splits up the road and the campus’s property. On the lawn, there is a diagonal path that splits the lawn into two parts. When I follow the pathway, I end up at one of the large, brick entrances of the University of Maryland.

The path is lined with street lights to provide light in the dark for safety purposes.. Across the road is Frat Row, an area where chapter houses are located and students live in these buildings.

Frat Row is designed that there is a vertical axis that shows symmetry on the left side and the right side. The trees, buildings, are balanced and equal in distance and size.

Further to the left, there are curved paths that lead to the visitor’s center and main buildings. Humans can bike or walk through or sit on the lawn. The view itself is not too beautiful—it is of a straight horizontal road and off campus buildings as well as city like shops. In the background, you can see the faint mountainous region covered in more trees.

The sloped lawn is helpful to allow the water to drain down and I assume there are drains at the bottom of the hill to prevent flooding on the lawn. Additionally there is a brick wall to act as a barrier from the road and can also be used for protection—no cars can just drive onto the lawn.

On the far right, there are stores, restaurants, shopping areas. On the other side, the left, there is a smaller entrance that is conveniently vertical that leads straight to frat row. This is helpful for students that live on Frat Row who have to walk to classes on campus because the path is straight and the fastest way to get to and from campus.

There are trees spread around the shops and further down past frat row that are probably used for many helpful aspects. There is a lot of land, but not many trees or other plants that cover the lawn. I think there should be more plants in order decrease runoff onto the bottom of the hill.

La Plata Beach La Plata Beach consists of a large turf and sand surface that lies between the Ellicott community and Cambridge community. This open space serves as a place for recreation and relaxation.

Many different intermural sports games are played on the turf field and there is also a small enclosure of sand for volleyball. People lay down, sunbathe, and do homework out in the sun on nice days with warm weather on “The Beach.” This area is a place where students can get together to become a community. This landscape provides students with a place to play in contrast to the academic buildings that bring students together to learn. Further above the field lie two basketball courts and a path cuts between these two areas. The basketball courts are further uphill and I think that there should be some sort of water drainage before the turf fields because the water goes downhill but becomes stationary as it gets to the flat surface of the turf and ends up flooding.

On very rainy days, some of the turf field closer to the sides becomes flooded. Otherwise, the path is located in a convenient spot because students do not need to cut through the field or go around this area to get to the Ellicott community and The Diner, located in the center of that community.

Past the turf fields are and closer to the Eppley Recreation Center are three semicircular areas with patio tables with umbrellas. These areas are walled on the side closest to the turf field, which protect the flat area from flooding because between the flat turf and the table and seating area, the land is sloped downward to the gym.

This area can be used for many purposes—doing work, sitting and relaxing, and even a place to eat outside when it’s nice outside. La Plata beach is not completely orthogonal and man-made; one side of the field is curved which suggests that the landscape architects of La Plata beach were influenced by Frederick Law Olmsted’s method of integrating orthogonal man-made designs with more natural schemes. The area is also bordered with trees which provide shade and seclusion for the roads and parking lots that also surround the beach.

My Backyard My backyard is directly next to a forest which suggests that my parents chose this house and the placement of the deck “reaching out” to the trees because they want a connection to nature. The sunroom in my house has a door that leads to the deck outside of the house.

As I sit on the deck, trees are close enough that they hover over and I see an elevated view of the trees that are sporadically and naturally lined further down the hill. If I walk down the stairs of the deck, I walk right to the patio which is a harsh square shape, which in my opinion—does not work well with the nature that surrounds our

backyard.

On the left side of the landscape, my parents have created a small vegetable garden that is fenced off to protect from the wildlife that could eat the vegetation. Our house was built on top of a hill, so as one gets closer to the forest the more downhill one is located. The forest is important in this landscape because it s vegetation serves as a buffer for storm water as it travels down the hill.

The trees and vegetation on the surface of the ground protect the topsoil and prevent erosion; there will be less storm water runoff because the surface is less impervious and there will be more infiltration. On a nice day, sitting on the deck is a perfect activity because the trees give shade and make the area cooler as my family and I relax.

Hornbake Plaza Hornbake Plaza is another central spot on campus where students walk, sit, and interact with each other. It is surrounded by the Biology-Psychology Building, Hornbake Library, the Microbiology Building and Stamp Student Union. Because this plaza is so close to the Stamp Student Union, another central spot on campus, many students have to walk through this area to get to Stamp.

In my opinion this open space could be altered to become an even better plaza; there are many problems that could be altered to become an optimal area for the students and faculty of the University of Maryland. This open space is boring—there is nothing to pull students into this area, other than a large path to other buildings on campus. It could be fixed with a fountain or sculpture in the center of the plaza, to attract individuals to this area. A fountain would not only be aesthetically pleasing, but could help with the sounds of the road that borders one side of the plaza.

This circular area could also be improved with better ways to deal with storm water. Due to the slope that runs down into the flat surface of the circular shaped plaza, the water has no place to run to and can lead to flooding. There are also small inclined areas where they have planted trees to provide shade and tie the plaza with the natural environment and landscape of College Park. There are two stairwells that connect the plaza with the outlying buildings and paths—one is straight and leads closer to the mall and directly to Campus drive while the other stairwell is curved and is closer to Stamp Student union.

Byrd Stadium Byrd Stadium is placed by other sport fields to centralize an area for practicing, training and watching sporting events. The stadium itself is shaped like a horseshoe with one side curved while the opposite side is lined by the Gossett Team House and serves as one entrance into the stadium.

There are various entrances around the side of the stadium to create an access system of students, fans, and other people entering the stadium. This plan is simple and straight forward because individuals can walk along the curved asphalt path to come into different locations in the stadium. There will not be overcrowding in one area because groups of people will split apart and go to different parts of seating in the stadium.

On one side of the stadium, there is an elaborate building called Tyson Tower that hovers over the general admission seating. The five story building has better views and lavish seating, and serves as a place for sport channels to sit and report from an above, clear view. It was chosen to be built in this manner because it towers over regular admission fans and can signify that the individuals in Tyson Tower have power, money, or are very into Maryland Football that they’re willing to spend as much as possible to get good and comfortable seating.

The seating is on an elevated downward slope in order to give all Maryland Terrapin fans visual access to the football game. Byrd Stadium chooses a basic color to define its landscape—red. The color red is not only one of our school colors, but the hue itself sticks out and grabs the landscape viewer’s attention. It is used to symbolize passion for the game and the home team.

The Brick Archway at the Route 1 campus provides an entrance way for students, faculty, and other individuals who work on campus or come to visit. The brick archway itself is symmetrical—each side has lettering that states “University of Maryland,” to signify the college, a domain to many individuals.

When entering the entrance, the road slopes upward and the archway extends somewhat further down the road to bring about a sense of forward direction. Further past the brick archway, there are trees that line the entrance way.

As a vertical view, I see the entrance way as a system that brings students in and out the domain, following the direction that the sides of the entrance create. The symmetrical entrance can focus on the University of Maryland’s aesthetic perspective on balance and order when entering the university. The shrubbery and vegetation that lines the very front of the entrance is used to make a bland brick entrance look more visually appealing. The trees that line the entrance path could be used for shade and cooling during the spring and summer and also could attract people visually. The archway also is built tall and garnished on the top with lighter stone that are shaped in spheres of signify that the university is strong and prestigious, because the entrance towers over the individuals who enter through it.

Miller Library

Courtyard Garden

The Courtyard Garden at the Miller Branch Library in Howard County, Maryland is a small scale garden that provides a site for sustainable, community-based teaching. The garden is located within the library, a small open space within the contained walls of the bland library.

The garden is rectangular shaped, which suggests that this space is formal, compared to a space that is more curvilinear. In the garden, there is vegetation that connects the people in the library with the nature of the outdoors. This open space contrasts with the library atmosphere because the garden uses natural light—sunlight—and incorporates many plants in its landscape. In the library, the fluorescent lights and use of bland colors in this space is not aesthetically pleasing, nor is it an attracting, unique space.

This courtyard garden provides students and staff in the library a chance to escape and take a break from the dull library landscape while they are working and sit outside on the bench to enjoy the outdoors while still contained inside the library. There is also a decorative metal arch with swirled designs that sits by shrubs in the garden. In the garden, the vegetation is sporadically planted and somewhat unorganized. This style of planting could suggest that the employees of the library feel that the garden should be closely similar to the natural environment that surrounds the library. Because this open space is a rectangular shaped, I assume that the space is still oriented in order to correlate with the shape and feel of the library. I personally think this garden could be more effective if the shape was different—curved—to promote a sense of informal, comfortable tie with nature.

The United States National Arboretum

The United States National Arboretum serves as an escape from the loud busy streets and urban area of Washington, D.C. This open space features many outdoor landscapes—from the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum to the National Herb Garden. The land of the National Arboretum uses the native vegetation and integrates its natural forms into the landscape and brings in exotic vegetation to grow and prosper within the National Arboretum. There are so many places within this land to explore and several hiking paths which provide entertainment and recreation for visitors. The first area that visitors enter is the Administration building that features various, small unique plants and surrounding this building is a large Japanese reflecting pool filled with koi and a diverse selection of aquatic plants. Influenced by Islamic gardens, the landscape architects of this area knew that wildlife would be a pleasant feature to the landscape.

Further out is the Introduction garden that features more of the natural landscape’s plants and after this collection is the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. This collection was my favorite and very unique because of the large selection of mini trees, or bonsai, that the National Arboretum had for display to the public. This Museum landscape connects visitors to the Japanese culture by the built structures that contain the bonsai.

The Japanese stroll garden within the museum included meandering paths with bends and turns to control visitors’ views and created a sense of illusion that the garden was larger than it actually was.

The entrance to the National Herb Garden is very engaging, visitors walk alongside planting beds of a variety of herbs and into the central area that has circular form and features a fountain. The interesting part about the Herb Garden was that herbs were organized into specific categories that described the many uses that affect our daily lives.

One other attraction that was eye catching was the National Capitol Columns. Visitors walk up a hill to get to this interesting landmark that seems to stand out because of the open space that surrounds it and the reflecting pool beside the columns elongate the landscape.

Centennial Park Centennial Park is located in Howard County, Maryland consists of many curved paths with respect to nature that border Centennial Lake. Centennial Park has won awards for both its natural design and its sensitivity to nature. The park itself is 337-acres, but Centennial Lake which serves as the central point of the park is 54-acres. Centennial Park consists of many wooded areas, a lake in the center, open spaces, and a path that connects different sites of the park with each other.

Centennial Lake is a man-made lake that provides not only an aesthetic purpose and a strong connection to nature, but also is a source of recreation and water management. Many people come to fish in Centennial Lake and ride paddle boats, go canoeing and kayaking, as well as walk and run along the lake on the path. All the land that surrounds the lake is sloped in order for storm water to drain downhill into the lake. On the steeper slopes, the land is covered by large rocks to prevent erosion.

The park is split up into four main areas—North, South, East, and West entrances that give park goers a choice to go where they desire and prevents overcrowding because the different entrances filters the park population. There are also nine pavilions and three picnic areas to provide individuals with a place to sit and eat, talk and enjoy the outdoors. This park also provides recreation for all ages—there are various playgrounds, tennis courts, basketball courts, and fields for many different types of sports. In my opinion, all these types of recreation that are accessible to people in Centennial Park have led me to believe that one of Centennial Park’s main goals is to connect individuals to nature by promoting healthy lifestyles. Currently, the Boat Ramp and the Fishing Pier are closed for renovation but fixing up these areas will serve as a more effective space. Throughout the path, there are many benches within the wooded area and overlooking the lake to provide an area for rest. The design of Centennial Park is very effective and innovative because not only is it an aesthetically pleasing area but it connects people to nature, promotes healthy lifestyles, has open spaces that suggest that this space is optimal for a public park.

Meadowbrook Park Meadowbrook Park is another park that is located in Howard County, Maryland. Meadowbrook Park has two main entrances and large parking areas for optimal organization and space. This smaller open space—77-acres features a great playground, several fields for different sports and recreation, basketball and tennis courts and two picnic pavilions. There is an indoor recreation facility that lies upon arrival through the second entrance.

There are several water stations and restroom facilities located in Meadowbrook Park. The paths and sidewalks connect the park’s amenities together and make up about 2.3 miles. Bordering the park is a stream serves as a form of storm-water management. Because the park is built on a hilly surface, rain water falls down the hill and into the bordering stream.

One problem with this landscape is that the park is so close to the highway and its sounds can be disrupting. One solution that the park has implemented that will be beneficial is adding concrete walls so that they block the view of the highway. Although this is not the most aesthetically pleasing method, it blocks out some of the noisy cars and the dull view of the highway. To improve this landscape, I believe that there should be more vegetation planted among this open space. Much of the trees and shrubs border the park but are not integrated into the landscape.

Vegetation would help the people who visit the park closely connect with nature and will create some resistance against too much storm water run-off. More trees within the paths will provide shade and comfort to people walking on the paths. There are several benches for resting in various locations in the park, but no trees to protect individuals from too much sun and serve as a cover for “people–watchers.”

Hirshhorn Museum and

Sculpture Garden The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is located in a central part of Washington, D.C. I seem to pass by these two areas every time I visit this city because the mall lies beside the sculpture garden. There are several entrances into the Sculpture Garden—this gives visitors options and their own choosing of which sculpture they want to observe when they first enter.

The unique thing about this landscape is that the garden seems to be enclosed by the elevated land surrounding it. The land of the sculpture garden is below—the elevation is less than that of the city. Therefore to access the sculpture garden, a visitor must walk down a set of steps: there are two to encourage the filtering of visitors to different areas of the attraction. This lower elevation also encloses visitors into a space--I believe this is a design flaw because people in a garden do not want to feel trapped into one space but rather aware of the open space around them. Within the garden, there are many different and unique sculptures that shape the feel and theme of this landscape. Some other aspects of the sculpture garden are the vegetation, the use of water and the sitting areas. There are many plants in the garden, mostly trees and shrubs that are planted sporadically and naturally in some areas while other area they are placed to create rhythm, through repetition, or groomed to a certain shape. Some of the vegetation is boxed off—these areas are optimal sitting areas for the ledges provide seats and the tree provide shade to visitors.

There are pools with fountains in the sculpture garden, and I believe they can be used for many different aspects. Fountains are aesthetically pleasing and flow with the style of the placement of sculptures. The water is cooling during hot days and can be used as a noise barrier for the loud city. Across the street is the Hirshhorn Museum, which features more sculptures that encircle the museum building itself. The building is very unique—it is basically a open cylinder with four supports that keep the building elevated. In the center of the building on ground level is a courtyard with another fountain in the center; its enclosure serves as sitting space to rest.

Chapel Garden of Reflection

and Remembrance

As I walked into the garden, I felt calm and tranquil due to the features of the garden. From the side, there is a path that first leads to a sitting space (as pictured on the top left) with benches that you can sit on either side and a large bench at the head of the space. In the center, lies a quiet, flowing, modern looking fountain that promotes peace and inner reflection within this certain space. I also noticed that this area was linear and in a rectangular form—which correlated to the fountain’s shape.

As you can see from above, another circular shaped fountain is placed in a curved space. This meditation garden serves a place for students and faculty to escape their fast paced life—it is a special area that allows individuals to stop and reflect on their life. There is also plenty of vegetation—trees, shrubs, grasses, and flowers because nature has a soothing effect on people.. This space is feels smaller and enclosed because of the vegetation that is planted on the borders of the garden. The labyrinth is also incorporated in the garden—it looks like a circular maze. Interestingly, there is really only one path that individuals walk through that relaxes the mind and creates a calming exercise. One other feature that I found interesting is that the larger benches have a compartment attached to the bottom of the seat. In the compartment is a journal that visitors can write and reflect as they enjoy and are calmed by the landscape.

Kim Engineering Building Plaza

The Kim Engineering Building Plaza follows various organizational principles that complement the environment of the University of Maryland College Park. Two apparent campus design principles that the Kim Engineering Building Plaza has followed are hierarchy and rhythm.

The plaza has a repetition of square shaped spaces filled with vegetation which not only suggests a unifying movement but also tries to integrate the natural features of our region—dispersed trees—into a campus design. One part of the plaza uses the small squares to form one larger square, but the circular formed shape also placed in the plaza is emphasized because relative to the other forms in the space, it sticks out as a different figure.

The regional landscape of the University of Maryland is also considered through the use of planting different vegetation that would be found in the natural landscape of this campus. The plaza has open spaces that are not walled off which could be used for the ease of movement of water from the University of Maryland campus to the Paint Branch—the slope that the landscape was built on allows the water to travel down through the plaza. The boxed spaces also provide sitting space—the concrete that borders the vegetation serves as a good place to sit and rest.

Unfortunately, there is not enough shade, therefore during hot days students and faculty will not be attracted to this space because it is not cool enough. I do believe that this space is very formal—the space is very symmetrical and linear—but more trees repetitively planted or even a source of water—such as a fountain, could be added to make this an optimal landscape.

Trees could also conceal some of the landscape from the major campus roads that border the plaza and water could be used for a cooling effect and a form of noise control. If these changes were to be made, individuals would find this space pleasing because of the modern feel that is atheistically pleasing but also the interaction with the landscape would be pleasing.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. is a national memorial that commemorates United States service members who died in the Vietnam War. The wall itself is made of two dark stone slabs that possess reflective qualities and names of U.S. service members from the Vietnam War are etched into this wall.

The two slabs are placed so there is an obtuse angle created and when seen from a bird’s eye view, the angle fits the space surrounding it. Although this wall is not curved, the angle merges with the movement of the land.

Next to the wall is a walkway that gives visitors full access to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. People are able to get close to the wall and find their loved ones and see their reflection. I believe that the reflection must have a symbolic quality—I think that the reflection suggests that the audience—the viewer of the wall—that they are a part of this history (a part of the wall) and an effect of what happened in the past. Viewers can reflect on all the work and struggle that the people of their country fought for to create the present time. This landscape covers about two acres and is known as a popular tourist attraction. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is in close proximity the Washington memorial and points toward it—visitors can move from one interesting landscape to another in the city of Washington, D.C. The other wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial points in the direction of the Lincoln Memorial. Maya Lin, the designer of the memorial kept her design simple and powerful— instead of distracting visitors with the design, she wanted individuals to see and understand that honoring services members was the true meaning of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Washington Monument The Washington Monument located near one end of the United States National Mall was built to honor our first president, George Washington. The monument is about 560 feet with a point top and four lengthy sides, and is made out of a light stone. This monument stands tall in Washington, D.C. as a very bold and daring design because the white color sticks out from the blue sky.

There are flags that border the monument itself, placed in a circular orientation to center the focus onto the monument. There are also spotlights built into the floor that surrounds the monument to be used as lighting the monument in the dark during the night time.

Benches are placed further in toward the memorial and visitors are able to sit on either side. Two side seating leads to a greater variety of seating and gives people more choice to what landscape they want to view in the distance.

Some of the aesthetically pleasing distant landscapes that can be viewed from the Washington Monument is the World War II Memorial and the Reflecting Pool that connects to the Lincoln Monument and on the opposite side lie the U.S. National Mall that connects to the U.S. Capitol.

The monument is built on a hill, so storm water flows downhill and the monument space will not flood. There is also security design that surrounds the Washington monument of stone ledges that keep cars and anything large away from the monument. This design also serves another helpful purpose of acting as a sitting area for people and the space itself is aesthetically beautiful.

I question why there are no trees or vegetation other than grass built near the Washington Monument. This leads me to wonder—Would trees take away the monument’s powerful strong theme? Did they purposely make this space bare to dramatize the design and symbol of the monument?

U.S. National Mall The United States National Mall located in Washington, D.C. is a great open green space that lies between the Washington Memorial and extends to the United States Capitol Building. Pierre L’Enfant, the landscape architect of the National Mall valued open spaces that were symmetrical and balanced with a central axis to reinforce the rules of linear perspective.

I believe that Pierre L’Enfant –who was French American—was inspired by French gardens and their design aspects that pushed a viewer’s visual limits to an infinite end. The infinite perspective of the National Mall reflects the wealth and power of the society of Washington, D.C.—from politicians to the president. Another feature of the National Mall that stands out to me are the unpaved paths that line the grassy lawn and occasionally split up the open space.

These paths consist of small pebbles—which suggest a few landscape design approaches to the National Mall. The pebbles could be used for storm water management—the surface is less impervious compared to the city streets of Washington, D.C—there will be rainwater infiltration and less storm water runoff to keep the lawn healthy. The paths that cross the lawn also serve as minor axes while the two paths that run aside the lawn reinforce the central axis.

The central lawn of the National Mall is bare—there is no vegetation that grows in this area to emphasize the infinite view by preventing any distraction. People are able to do many activities in this open space, such as sunbathing, or having a picnic, to running around and enjoying the nice spring weather.

There are many trees that line the grassy lawn after the path—which is also used to reinforce the central axis and also secludes the National Mall from the city of Washington, D.C. The trees are also a nice touch to the city because they provide shade on warmer days and visitors will connect with the nature of this city.

Columbia Lakefront Town Center Columbia Lakefront Town Center serves as a venue for suburban families that live close by. Some attractive features of this town center are the lake front restaurants, walking paths, the large fountain and pour onto the lower level man made pond, and the lake itself—Lake Kittamaqundi. This lake serves as beautiful scenery for guests in restaurants on the higher elevation, or walkers along the path located lower down. The town center is built with many entrances to allow filtering of visitors who want to go to different areas on the lake front. From one popular entrance, visitors will move from the highest point of the town center and walk downwards toward the restaurants and further down to the lake.

This town center was built on a slope, which suggests that the water will flow downhill to the lake. At this entrance, a visitor will see the top of a fountain and walk down the steps that line the circular fountain—this unique staircase is spiral shapes. Lining the staircase on the other side is terraced seating—it is part grass and part cement that curves on one side and has linear form on the other three sides. Many times this space is used for as audience seating for a free concert festival or outdoor movie screening.

Right across from this space is a downward sloping area that leads to the lake. It is decorated with an assortment of flowers and trees planted in planned spaces and a central statue.

Looking further at this landscape there is also dining seating directly looking over the lake and benches throughout the path and the walkway along the restaurants for visitors to sit. There is also another statue that is a metal tree that symbolizes the community. There are trees lining next to the restaurant walkway and plenty of lampposts to be used when it is night time. Along the lake—which is further downhill is a dock that allows visitors to get closer to the water and boats can be let out into the lake in this area. On the opposite side of the restaurants is the connecting path that goes around Lake Kittamaqundi and another obscurely shaped red statue that is elevated above the walking space. The statues that are used in this landscape are not only placed in their specific areas for aesthetic purposes, but they are also used in central points to emphasize the history or story behind the statue and the relation to the town center. There is also much wildlife that lives in or around the lake—therefore the community prevents any sort of pollution around the lake.

The World War II Memorial stands to honor the United States armed forces that served in World War II. This open outdoor memorial consists of an ellipse form, a large central fountain, a plaza, and fifty six pillars and a pair of arches. Friedrich St. Florian, the designer of this landscape must have celebrated water because a majority of the space is covered by a large pool with two large fountains on each side and small spouts of water circling the pool.

Water can be used for many purposes in the design—it is aesthetically pleasing, reflects light and cools the area, as well as working as a sound barrier from the nearby urban area of Washington, D.C. Visitors can sit along this fountain and relax—sitting along water is pleasing. The fifty six pillars form semicircles on each side of the oval shaped memorial with the two arches on the furthest point lengthwise of the memorial. One arch is inscribed with “Atlantic” while the other states “Pacific.” Each of the pillars contains a label—one for each state and for other territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam. The pillars even suggest rhythm within the landscape because of the repetition and the method of placing each pillar equidistant to each other. This landscape is symmetrical horizontally and vertically and contains a major and minor axis. The various forms of the memorial—pillars, arches, fountain, ground design, and border emphasize the symmetry. On the side of the memorial closest to the Reflection pool, there is a Freedom Wall with gold stars that represents all the Americans who died in World War II. I believe that the memorial was created to really connect the visitor to the people of WWII. When a visitor walks along one of the walls, there are scenes of the war experience engraved in the stone.

On the other side are similar scenes that include events that occurred in Europe. The memorial designs bring the viewer close to World War II by depicting a true experience that many service members went through during WWII. From the scenes depicted on the walls and the Freedom Wall that totals the American deaths of WWII and the territories and states involved in the war, visitors will get a good understanding of everything and everyone that was involved in the war and the honor they deserve.

Dessie M. and James R. Moxley Jr. Gardens

This garden located in front of the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center draws in visitors due to many of its attractive features. The garden features vegetation planted in a organized manner—such as groomed shrubs that form triangular shapes, flowering trees bordering the landscape and within the garden, and red, white, and gold flowers. There are many sitting areas along the garden and integrated in the vegetation to bring visitors close to nature. The floor of this landscape is paved with small pebbles—I assume pebble paving is easy to install and repair, and makes the walkways safer.

There is also a fountain in the central point of the landscape that is used as an aesthetic feature in the garden. The garden plays along with the fountain space and connects and mends together the forms of the garden. The fountain also cools the landscape’s environment.

Another feature of the fountain is that it produces soothing sounds from the

the flowing of water and gives visitors a place to relax and enjoy the outdoors. There is also borrowed scenery of the architecture of different buildings close to this landscape. There are several different entrances to the garden.

There are also streetlights that line the outside of the garden to provide guidance at night. The only negative feature about this landscape is that it is enclosed by a fence which makes it difficult to see this landscape as an open space. Outsiders cannot enjoy the landscape and people feel “trapped” in the gardens.

1. McKeldin Mall – Mckeldin Library lies at the top of the McKeldin Mall. – Allees—walkways bordered by trees and brick walls—are on each side of the mall and

since they are symmetrical, they reinforce the central axis. – There is a fountain that also lies on the major axis and in this photo, is used for

recreation. – Bird’s Eye view of McKeldin Mall

2. Memorial Chapel Mall – A large, old tree that lies on the side of the Chapel Mall. – Flowering trees border the Memorial Chapel Mall. – Frat Row has symmetrical qualities due to the placement of trees and houses and the

major axis is reinforced with the sign. – Paths that cross the Chapel Mall – The view from the Chapel Steps

3. La Plata Beach – Turf field with goals for recreation purposes. On the far left, you can tell that the hill

slopes down into the field. – Volleyball courts and the Eppley Recreational Center that lies behind the Beach.

4. My Backyard – Woods used as a borrowed scenery for a photo background. – Wildlife (deer) living in the woods – The deck connects with the forest and nature. – Large open area with long grasses that slopes downward.

5. Hornbake Plaza – The paths to the center of the plaza, the center of the plaza, siting areas for people

6. Byrd Stadium – Different entrances and Tyson Tower

7. The Brick Archway Entrance at Route One – Path to the archway, the brick entrance is garnished with large circular stones, shops

and restaurants right outside the archway

8. Miller Library Courtyard Garden – The entrance to the garden – Side view of the small garden

9. United States National Arboretum – Large open fields – Koi fish—wildlife element to the garden – A small model of the Japanese Garden – Bonsai trees located in the Japanese Garden – National Capitol Columns – Water feature by the National Capitol Gardens

10. Centennial Park – Meandering walking paths – Side view of pavilion – View of the lake with path beside it

11. Meadowbrook Park – Bridge connecting one section of the park with the other – Bird’s eye view of the landscape

12. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden – Statues that are outside of the Hirshhorn museum – The Sculpture Garden

13. Chapel Garden of Reflection and Remembrance – First sitting space with a fountain and different benches – Another circular fountain – A Labyrinth – Path to the fountain and labyrinth

14. Kim Engineering Building Plaza – Trees in each confined linear formed space – Circular space filled with vegetation

15. Vietnam Veterans Memorial – Angled bird’s eye view of wall – Memorial walkway

16. Washington Monument 17. U.S. National Mall 18. Columbia Lakefront Town Center

– Fountain – Optimal space to stage concerts, lawn is used as seating – Lake used as borrowed scenery, it also reflects light and the

trees of the forest

19. World War II Memorial – Fountain at night – Freedom Wall with stars

20. Dessie M. and James R. Moxley Jr. Gardens – Garden is fenced in – There are paths that are made out of small pebbles – Sitting areas integrated into the plant design – More benches line the landscape

Photo Citations

"Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden." David Coleman Photo. Web. 2 Apr 2011. <http://davidcolemanphoto.photoshelter.com/image/I0000TPtBj.oscfE>. "Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden." Flickr. Web. 2 Apr 2011. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikalzenhiro/5480629796>. "Vietnam Veterans Memorial." Achievement.Org. Web. 2 Apr 2011. <http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/photocredit/achievers/lin0-029>. "Vietnam Veterans Memorial." American Architecture. Web. 2 Apr 2011. <http://www.american-architecture.info/USA/USA-Washington/DC-006.htm>. "United States National Mall." Web. 2 Apr 2011. < http://www.flickr.com/photos/kauphyluvr/3527327991>. "Washington Monument." Destination 360. Web. 2 Apr 2011. <http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/washington-dc/washington-monument>. "World War II Memorial." Web. 2 Apr 2011. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/kubina/318170220/>. "World War II Memorial." Web. 2 Apr 2011. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/kubina/318170610/>.