mSsand

ra charlotte m

eulnersthe portfolio of

mas te r o f l andscape a rch i tec tu re

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I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put In order.

John burroughs

S i t e D e s i g n Master’s Capstone Walker Art Center Warner Nature Center Lowertown St. Paul Sacca San Mattia F r e e l a n c e Designed Sites Consulted Sites

S i t e A n a l y s i s Westergasfabriek Walker Art Center

A r t w o r k , d e t a i l i n g , m o d e l s t u d y

S a n d r a C h a r l o t t e M e u l n e r ss . m e u l n e r s @ g m a i l . c o mm e u l n 0 0 1 @ u m n . e d u7 6 3 . 2 1 8 . 6 9 9 9

3 2 7 4 t h S t N EM i n n e a p o l i s , M N 5 5 4 1 3

My master’s capstone project encapsulated over a year’s worth of thinking and studying about community based design on priority projects. How to avoid polarity between the

space and the community while meeting the goals of all stakeholders was the overriding concept, but I quickly learned that this project challenged me more to learn how to negotiate

a civic space between stakeholders rather than take a traditional designer approach. The outcome is a park that serves the communities adjacent to it directly, while still meeting the

goals of the city in a next generation manner.

S i t e D e s i g nMaster’s Capstone Project

North by Northeast - engendering a new era of riverfront development in Minneapolis

opposite left:master plan of Sheridan Memorial Park

illustrator, photoshop, AutoCAD

opposite upper right:perspective of the memorial light field in the late afternoon. rail

walk, prairie restoration, and memorial lights are highlightedphotoshop

opposite lower right:view looking south down the rail walk. procession of art cars

parade down to Scherer Parkphotoshop

pool barge

memorial light field

to BNSF bridge and northern connections

river walk entrance

pool barge

natural playground

outdoor artisanworkspace

rail walkloading dock

SIP coffeehouseextension

The Forest Garden:A Five Layer Guild

Large

Can

opy Tree

sVe

rtical C

limbers

Low D

warf Tree

s

Shrub Layer

Herbac

eous/Vegetab

le

Spring Summer Fall WinterAsparagus BeetsCarrotsCorn SquashesMelonsHerbs Potatoes

Blueberries Raspberries Currants

Cherry Beacon Apple Honeycrisp Apple Macoun AppleHazen Apple Red Baron Apple

La Crescent Grape Frontenac Grape

Butternut NutsBlack Walnuts

above:master plan of Scherer Park

illustrator, photoshop, AutoCAD

below:section through Scherer Park

illustrator, photoshop, AutoCAD

above:diagram illustrating structure and function

of food forestillustrator, photoshop, AutoCAD

celebrating

i d e n t i f y i n g

s m e l l i n g

t o u c h i n g

h e a r i n g

b l o wi n g

wh i s t l i n g

wa d i n g

b a t h i ng

collec

ting

volleying a volleyball

walking a baby

c o u p l e o n a w a l k

family on a w

alk

friends o

n a w

alk

farmer

’s market

art

pa

rk

scu

lpt

ure

pa

rk

rot

at

ion

al

art

loc

al

art

c o m m u n i t y a r t

publ

ic f

ood fores

t

p i c n i c k i n g

s u n b a t h i n g

p e e r i n g

s w i n g i n gr u n n i n gj o g g i n gs k i p p i n g

uni-cyclingtri-cycling

tandem-cycling

strolling

hackey sac

r o l l i n g

s p i n n i n g

j u m p i n g

h o p p i n g

c r a w l i n g

s k i p p i n g

b a l a n c i n g

b u i l d i n gc r o s s i n gm a n i p u l a t i n gp u s h i n gp u l l i n g

w a l k i n g a do g

b i c y c l i n g

playingjohn ball

actingthrowing a baseballthrowing a frisbee throwing a football

i ce

s cu l

p ti n

g

m a ki n

g s n

o w f

o r ts

m a ki n

g sn o w

me n

s le d

d i ng

i ce

f i sh i n

g

recyc

ling

tea

ch

ing

lea

rnin

g

applauding

listening

eating

w a l ki n

g

w a t c h i n g

singing

playing an instrument

eating at a cafe

watching children play

learning about history

visiting a museum

wa t

c hi n

g t

h e r

i ve r

wa d

i ng

i n t

h e r

i ve r

cla

p pi n

g

colo

ring

pain

ting

scul

ptin

g

co

mp e

ti n

g

burn

ing

etch

ing

sket

ch

ing

dra

win

g

co

mp o

s ti n

gp u

r ch

as i

ng

s or t

i ng

f is h

i ng

Saint Anthony West

SheridanHawthorne

Near North

% under 21 years of age

% below poverty % black populationnon-white

communitystakeholders

concerned citizensresidents

property ownerscommunity groups

private groupsbusiness owners

city-affiliatedstakeholders

landscape architect as designer

identify concernsidentify desiresidentify needs

attend and host meetingsbalance and negotiate

steer people in the right directionhelp people think in new ways

design a resiliant space and place

city groups and councilscity agencies

concern for fundingconcern for revenueconcern for image

above:diagram illustrating process of the project showing the designer as a

negotiatorillustrator, photoshop

above:diagram showing the demographic

disparity around the siteillustrator

above:program diagram for site

illustrator, photoshop

below series:illustrations indicating different ways to

experience the river hand drawing, photoshop

Design for the south lawn of the Walker Art Center. My charge was to create a back yard for the culturally forward iconic art center. A design began to emerge

that created an interplay between interior and exterior spaces with use of material, pattern, and spatial relation. Imperative to this project was to produce experiential

images. This was accomplished by adhering to the minimal yet modern aesthetic flowing throughout both the Walker and my vision of the project.

S i t e D e s i g n Walker Art Center

top row:process development of digitally enhancing hand

drawn perspectivesgraphite, micron, photoshop

bottom row:topographic model and site

plan for walker south lawnchipboard, clay, wire, micron,

prismacolor marker

Design for the Warner Nature Center in St. Croix, MN. With over 600 acres of undeveloped native land, my charge was to create a design to accommodate

a variety of outdoor programmed activities as well as multiple campuses for research and teaching. The largest challenge when designing for the Warner was

understanding physical elements of the site that l imited, inhibited, or promoted certain types of development across all areas of the land.

When trying to convey a design and feel for this project, it was imperative to display the richness and tone of one’s experience in this preserved space.

S i t e D e s i g nWarner Nature Center

right:full site plan of

the warner nature center

micron, prismacolor marker, prismacolor

pencil

far right:detail of lower left quarter of the full

site plan

experiencing the yurt shelter site at sunsetphotoshop

shoreline and campfire site at dusk

photoshop

In a third year collaborative studio with same-year architecture students, my team had the opportunity to propose a new design for a site adjacent to

Lowertown in St. Paul, MN. This site has significant historical and cultural significance, and our goal was to highlight these important features of the site without being obvious about it. The outcome was a sensitive design that took

a l ight effect all over the site, and relied heavily on a great understanding of ecological processes that facil itate natural change.

S i t e D e s i g nLowertown St. Paul

opposite:diagram outlining the process and phasing of different types of reforestation that can occur according to the

design - includes data about the impact the dense forest can have on habitat and carbon sequestering

illustrator, indesign

RE F O R E S TAT I O N PL A N

Region 115 acres

Oak savanna

Region 223 acres

Maple Basswood

forest

Region 334 acres

OakWoodland

Region 49 acres

Floodplainforest

3.77 tons of CO2

Year 5

Init ial Planting Successional Planting

Year 10 Year 20

10,000 lbs of carbon

22,000 lbs of carbon

74,000 lbs of carbon

non-cumulative measurements

cumulative measurements

4.04 tons of CO2

6.79 tons of CO2

M O S T I M P O R T A N T LY: V E G E T A T I O N S E Q U E S T E R S C A R B O N A N D H E L P S T O R E D U C E T H E C A R B O N F O O T P R I N T O F C I T I E S

C O 2 A B S O R P T I O N

CARBON SEQUESTERED

I N C R E A S E D C A N O P Y C O V E RINCREASED LANDSCAPE CONNECTIVITYINCREASED HABITAT FOR MIGRATORY FAUNAINCREASED HABITAT FOR RESIDENT FAUNAI N C R E A S E D S P E C I E S D I V E R S I T YI N C R E A S E D S T R U C T U R A L H A B I TATI N C R E A S E D O N - S I T E N U T R I E N T C Y C L I N GDECREASED CHANCE OF INVASIVE ESTABLISHMENT

T H E R E A R E M A N Y R E A S O N S W H Y W E W A N T T O I N T R O D U C E A R E F O R E S T A T I O N P L A N A C R O S S T H I S S I T E . . .

walking under the rail bridge next to m

aple grovephotoshop

rail walk perspective at night

photoshop

snag forest at maturity in the w

interphotoshop

new w

ay to experience wakan tipi (carver’s cave)

photoshop

During my study abroad trip to Venice, Italy, our studio was challenged to form a group consisting of two architecture graduate students and one landscape architecture graduate student. As the landscape architect, my charge was to lead

my team and develop a large park on a newly created island within the Venetian Lagoon. As another brownfield site with deeply embedded cultural history, this

project was one of the most challenging I have worked on thus far.

S i t e D e s i g nVenice, Italy - Sacca San Mattia

right:topography of site

designautocad, illustrator

opposite- right:fully rendered plan of site

designautocad, photoshop,

illustrator

opposite left:perspective of an experiential

walk through an outdoor garden room

photoshop

right:section/elevation cuts through

parts of the sitephotoshop, illustrator

After finding that a perpetual damp basement was due to poor drainage near the foundation of this house, a low budget solution was necessary. The homeowners had plans to pour a new concrete walkway, which allowed for precipitation fall ing on the rooftop to be directed through a pipe underneath the walkway and into a shallow infi ltration swale. Design elements include river rock, stones, flagstone pathways, flagstone bridging over the swale, uti l ity concealing, and moveable planting elements.

Maple Grove, Minnesota

F r e e l a n c eDesigned Sites

A challenging steep backyard garden faced erosion issues. As phase one toward resolving the problem, a vision for a redesigned hil l garden began to take form. A staircase rebuilt through the center of the garden and a retaining wall at the base of the hil l stabalize the garden until further stabalization at the top of the hil l can be installed.

Maple Grove, Minnesota

F r e e l a n c eDesigned Sites

One of the most rewarding projects I have had the pleasure of working on was in collaboration with a studiomate to assist a local garden club with designing and planting a challenging rooftop system. The garden rests atop a parking structure and is the centerpiece of a central courtyard for a tall loft building downtown. Issues addressed were aesthetics, drainage, and heat/sun patterns. A lovely design and successful f irst growing season render this area a gem in their community.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

F r e e l a n c eDesigned Sites

Sonoma County is mostly known for beautiful vineyards and costal

drives, but this small self-sustaining intentional community named La Tierra

in Sebastopol has been around for decades. Desiring a bit more structure in the paths between statues, temples,

and gardens, assistance in capturing borrowed scenery and private spaces

was provided.

Sebastopol, California, USA

Selva del Mar is situated atop a small mountain in a nature preserve along the Pacific Ocean in a sleepy surf town less than an hour northwest of Puerto Vallarta. Minimal and natural design was sought to finish the landscape around this beautiful eastern-philosophically designed palapa and its outdoor kitchen. Aside from being located in a tropical paradise, one of the best features is the amazing capture of the view over the Pacific Ocean.

photos of selva del mar courtesy of owners

Sayulita, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico

F r e e l a n c eConsulted Sites

Complete site analysis on the design and physical qualities that characterize the Westergasfabriek Culture Park in Amsterdam.

S i t e A n a l y s i s Westergasfabriek

remastered gustafson-porter imagescanned, photoshop, illustrator

6m5m

4m3m 2m

1m0m

N

N

top right:axon of exaggerated topographysketchup, illustrator

above:axon of built form on siteillustrator

right:axon of landscaping on sitephotoshop, illustrator

Material analysis of the Walker Art Center and surrounding built form. Partnered with one other student, our goal was to explore the hardscape materials involved with the experience

of walking around the Art Center without using words. The process of creating 360 degree panoramic diagrams was challenging and rewarding, resulting in a unique diagram.

S i t e A n a l y s i s Walker Art Center

opposite top:sculpture garden 3600

graphite, photoshop

opposite center:looking east over hennepin 3600

graphite, photoshop

opposite bottom:looking northwest from top of hill

graphite, photoshop

left-before/right-after

A r t w o r kfreelance artwork

and project artworkmixed medias

D e t a i l i n g

M o d e l S t u d ytransformation of original

model (directly below) using different metaphors

museum board

technical detailingof a proposed fence

and of nicollet mallautocad, illustrator

mS

sandra meulners graduated in may 2012 with a degree title of master of landscape architecture at the university of minnesota in the twin cities.

passions in the field of landscape architecture include reclamation and remediation of outdated urban infrastructure and land, community based design, as well as reintegration of cultural significance within the landscape of the city and region.