graphics + landscape + urbanism + planning professional, academic, research projects + publications from 2005 - 2010

1. sarah kathleen peck
portfolio 2010

2. sarah kathleen peck
portfolio 2010
design + landscape + urbanism + planning

3. table of contents
01 academic projects
02 professional projects
03 competitions
04 mixed media
05 publications

4. 01 academic projects
Borderlands: Mesquite, New Mexico
Camden Waterfront: Camden, New Jersey
Post-Industrial Sites: Tacony, North Philadelphia

5. borderlands
Critics: Laurie Olin and Tony Atkin
University of Pennsylvania, Spring 2007
Site: Mesquite, New Mexico
Negotiating the terrain across the U.S.- Mexico border is a highly political issue
without a simple physical response. This project, a collaboration among three
students, was developed to push the boundaries between landscape and architecture.
The project was to create a new North American Institute facility, which was developed
as a set of five separate buildings embedded within an agricultural site adjacent to the
Rio Grande.
The building program - a cultural museum, immigrant housing, and fellows housing
in an agricultural site - set the stage for landscape to pull together diverse groups
of people within an environmentally stable framework that utilizes water and land
resources responsibly.
The following pages highlight the collaborative landscape/architectural project;
my role was in site planning, building location, landscape design, and illustrative
graphics. The architectural models and axonometric were done by my peers.

6. Located near the US-Mexico border, “Borderlands” looks at an agricultural site alongside
the Rio Grande in Mesquite, New Mexico. This project proposes five linear buildings set
into the agricultural landscape, using the form of the building to create distinct areas for
Agricultural production. Each building participates in the landscape in some way: through
agricultural production, in green roofs, through water distribution and reuse, or by framing
views towards the river and mountains beyond.
The distribution of the buildings across the site together create and respond to the
landscape. Together, landscape + architecture work to frame and create views towards
the river and the mountains, as well as create smaller social spaces in between the
buildings and to provide opportunities for meandering and social engagement. Between Grading
buildings, transecting the site, there is an experiential pathway. The experiential pathway
becomes a wandering trajectory by which the user travels through a series of subsequent
rooms that are fluid and changing, each presenting unique views and perspectives.
The layout of the museums sets up a contrast between different scales of landscape,
sociology, and human interaction.
Circulation
Irrigation
Site Context Structures

7. Immigrant
Housing
Directors
Housing
Fellows Housing
Museum Building 4
Agriculture
Museum Building 3
Geology & Mountains
Museum Building 2
River Rio Grande
Museum Building I
General History
Parking & Entrance
Wetlands
Site Plan

8. Site Sequential Sections
Site Section, Parking and Entrance
Site Section, Wetlands

9. Detail Plan: Amphitheater

10. Understanding the role of irrigation in landscape as well as the scale of agricultural production was
critical before designing a fluid, functioning landscape. The grading of the site creates terraced
areas for irrigation, so that the water runoff is captured and reused in the next irrigation platform.
Five types of irrigation were studied and deployed across the site: Border, Basin, Furrow, Drip, and
Sub irrigation. In each instance, the plant type, planting design, and layout informed the type of
irrigation best suited for use in each area.
Irrigation Details and Planting Building Details and Axonometric
Site Section, Museum Building 2

11. Cross Section and Section, Museum Building 2
Perspective

12. camden waterfront
Critic: Lucinda Sanders
University of Pennsylvania, Fall 2006
Site: Camden, New Jersey
Camden, New Jersey, sits just across the Delaware from Philadelphia: with some of the highest
crime and murder rates in the country and lowest employment rates, the challenge was to redesign
the waterfront, create a system of open spaces, and focus on economically-viable infrastructure
and industry to revitalize the core of the city.
This project focuses on the highway and street infrastructure, re-envisioning the highway through
Camden as a public open space, and proposing alternative uses for roadways and streets. As
the city’s network, streets should provide more than just high-speed automobile movement. By
slowing down channels along primary arterial streets, life and public spaces become reactivated.
This project also seeks to revitalize the core of the city through flood-sensitive waterfront design,
utilizing the space along Cooper River to create a blend of public space, open recreation fields,
wetlands and grassland areas.

13. Highway Reconfigured Railway Green Streets
Camden Cooper Park: Perspective

14. Network of Bike Paths Urban Development Open Space
Diagram of Components
Camden, New Jersey: Master Plan (below)

15. Camden Cooper Park, Plan (above), Grading Plan (below)

16. City Analysis, above. Cooper Waterfront Park, detail plan, above right. Perspective, Central City Plaza, below

17. Sections: Central Plaza, (above); Amphitheater and Park (center).
Central Plaza, Perspective (below).

19. post industrial sites
Critic: Christopher Marcinkoski
University of Pennsylvania, Spring 2006
Site: North Philadelphia Waterfront, Pennsylvania
This two-part project focused on derelict and abandoned post-industrial sites along
the Northern Delaware waterfront. The spaces leftover from industry were reimagined,
first on a small scale and then across the site. This project focused on a series of
gardens distributed throughout the site as “seeding” points for future activity, and
then studied linear programmatic bands as key mechanisms for reactivating the
entire site. Each design presents a different form of user-site interaction, allowing the
project to develop in relation to context, time, and people.

20. The formal strategy for deployment across the site was to develop Program Components
PHASING SEC
linear bands of programmable space. Through subsequent cuts,
fills, and strategic boulevard interventions, the entire site could be Initial Construction:
activated as a space flexible to accommodate the development of * remove existing buildings
* reconstruct pier
* reconnect site to water’s edge
program over time. This allowed for the site to be broken up into
smaller components while also physically connecting the site to the
Develop Boulevards:
existing grid to the North. * connect to existing neighborhood
grid framework
* invest in localized market and program
areas
Construct Fills:
* use material from initial
construction to create land
forms across site
* develop land forms to
direct storm water
* develop landforms to
activate program areas
Planting Strips:
* establish wetland and marsh zones
through strategic planting that
will expand over time
* plant strips of vegetation and
canopy across site to activate
future program areas
Activated programs:
* Activate spaces between boulevards,
planting strips, cuts, and fills.
Establish Wetlands
* expand initial plantings to develop
wetland areas for research
* further reconnect land to the water’s edge
* resoften the river’s edge
Extend Circulation Paths
* Connect boulevards and program
components together through
minor circulation paths
De
0 300 600 0
N

21. PROGRAM COMPONENTS
Phasing

22. BOULEVARD
ce
ng
REENG
rty
n
RE
Perspective, Pier, before/after
sion
Perspective, boulevard (below); Perspective, activated recreation space (below right).
River:
t
ACTI
0 60 120

23. EENGAGE THE WATERFRONT
REENGAGE THE WATERFRONT
RECONNECT THE CITY

24. 02 professional projects
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia Campus
San Jose Environmental Innovation Center
Shanghai Financial Center
The Landscape Urbanism Project

25. riyadh : academic campus
SWA Group, October 2008
Site: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Project Scope: Conceptual Design, Master Planning
King Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia commissioned the design and construction of a new University
of Health Sciences as a premier medical educational system in the region. The project
consists of three campuses located in separate cities across the Kingdom. Each campus is
comprised of multiple colleges, sports and recreation centers, student housing and faculty
accommodations. SWA worked on the master planning and schematic design services of this
530 acre site.
For this project, I was brought on for the initial phases to help with the 3D rendering and
illustrative perspectives of the new campus in Riyadh. The following pages are six select
perspectives from a total of twelve illustrative renderings.

28. environmental innovation center
SWA Group, December 2009 - June 2010
Site: San Jose, California
Project Scope: DD, CD, Bid Set packages.
Estimated Construction: Summer 2011
The San Jose Environmental Innovation Center (SJEIC) is located in an industrial-commercial
area of South East San Jose. SWA Group and Group 4 Architecture partnered to work on
the renovation of the existing building into a LEED Silver facility and site plan. The goal
for the project was to keep as much of the historic building and new site work intact while
accommodating a new building for retail, research and the city’s household hazardous waste
collection facility.
In all instances of reconstruction, SWA worked to reuse the material on-site, including concrete
rubble, crushed asphalt and concrete left over from the building demolition. A new living wall
was proposed to screen to the household hazardous waste collection area and serve as an
identity piece for the project. Sustainable elements include tree planting in pervious concrete
parking, pervious unit pavers, bioswales, native grasses, planting to minimize solar gain and
drought tolerant planting. In addition, test street tree wells and modular wetlands were retained
from phase one.
I collaborated in a 3-person design team at SWA in the DD, and CD phases of design, executing
construction details and advanced CAD-level coordination and bid set documentation.

29. Environmental Innovation Center San Jose, CA
NORTH KING ROAD
CREEK
LAS PLUMAS AVENUE
SINGLE
INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIAL COMMERICAL
SILVER
FAMILY
RESIDENTIAL
MAYBURY ROAD
LOWER
MC KEE ROAD
LENFEST ROAD
FIRE
NICORA AVENUE
STATION 34
INDUSTRIAL
MULTI ANNE DARLING
FAMILY ELEMENTARY
RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL
NIPPER AVENUE
UN
ION INDUSTRIAL
PA
CIF
IC
CO RA
YO ILR
TE OA
CR D
EEK HIGHWAY 101
Recycled Rubble Concept Site Location

        
         
          
            
            
 
        
          
  
 


30. TRASH ENCLOSURE
TRANSFORMER
DECKING AT BASEMENT ENTRY
PERMEABLE PAVING
PARKING WITH TREE PLANTING BIOSWALE / INFILTRATION
BASINS
DROUGHT TOLERANT NATIVE
GRASS DEMONSTRATION PLOTS
EXISTING BUILDING
EXISTING HEDGE
LOADING DOCK MAIN ENTRY
9’ GREEN WALL
HEDGE AND FENCE
AT SOUTH PROPERTY LINE
NEW HHW
BUILDING
NATIVE GRASSES AND
MODULAR WETLAND PLANTINGS 17’ GREEN WALL
(FROM PHASE 1)
PERVIOUS PATHWAYS
BIOSWALE / INFILTRATION
BASINS
SIDEWALK AND STREET
TREE PLANTING
Illustrative Plan
Green Wall
Opportunities and Constraints

31. shanghai financial center
SWA Group, July 2008 - January 2010
Site: Shanghai, China
Project Scope: SD, DD Construction
Estimated Construction: Current - Summer 2011
Shanghai Tower is located in Shanghai’s Lujizui Financial Center Zone, adjacent to the World
Financial Center and Jin-Mao tower. At 600m, Shanghai Tower will be the tallest building
in China and the second tallest in the world. Designed by Gensler Architects, the building’s
double-skin spiral rotates upwards into the air, creating a series of “inner atriums” on five levels
ascending through the building.
The landscape design concept was a “Tower in the Park” idea, complementing the building’s
iconic form and function, connecting the mixed-use project with the urban neighborhood, and
creating a variety of beautiful settings for public gatherings and celebrations. This project was a
collaboration between six people at SWA; my work included technical CAD documentation, DD
construction details, illustrative renderings of plans, sections and perspectives, and planting
research for the understory and tree canopy for the entire project. The following pages highlight
the technical detail of the DD Construction packages as well as the planting design process,
which included sketches, image boards, and extensive plant research.

33. DD Set Package - Planting Design South, (Above)
Planting Sketches, Material Studies, and Planting List (Below)

34. Image renderings from PHA Lighting and Gensler Architects

36. 03 competitions
NASA-Ames Research Park
City Port Park

37. NASA-Ames research park
SWA Group, August 2009
Site: NASA, California
Competition Runner-Up, 2010
SWA Group partnered with William McDonough and Partners on a business plan and
landscape master plan for a new research park at NASA-Ames in Mountain View, California.
Approximately 75 acres, the proposal creates a mixed-use, multi-phase community that is
designed to promote a community of collaboration - through research, educational facilities,
start-up projects, and residential functions.
The conceptual landscape strategy created three frameworks for design: open space, hydrology,
and connectivity. Embracing the concept of “sustainable urbanism,” the design creates a
healthy, safe, comfortable place to live, work, learn and play. One of the key tenets of design
was the “no vacancy” principle- where all portions of the site are productive during each phase
of the project.

38. LANDSCAPE INFRASTRUCTURE productive connective restorative functional sustainable
INTEGRATED LANDSCAPE SYSTEMS
CONNECTIVITY HYDROLOGY OPEN SPACE FRAMEWORK
+ COMMUNITY
bus + light rail green streets
transit plaza seasonal streams
HABITAT +
PRODUCTIVITY RECREATION REGENERATION
view corridors bioswales BIODIVERSITY
green streets agriculture pedestrian streets
semi-public open spaces
stormwater runnels native + local planting carbon sequestration
grassland phytoremediation
green intersections community gardens
pedestrian streets plazas energy reduction
LANDSCAPE DIAGRAMS
sustainability
rain gardens
nutrient recapture
wetland edible landscapes
playfields
tree lined streets orchard rows
pedestrian circulation
wetlands
biodiversity microclimate
biophilia ponds moderation
community gardens landscape community
regeneration food production recreation facilities conservation
community center urban forest heat island
ecosystem
green roofs infrastructure
sunlight + shade trails + bike paths
livable landscapes community parks
habitat connections
human-scale spaces pocket parks
species-spaces

39. LANDSCAPE INFRASTRUCTURE productive connective restorative functional sustainable
INTEGRATED LANDSCAPE SYSTEMS
THE LOWE TEAM University Development Area, NASA Research Park
CONNECTIVITY HYDROLOGY OPEN SPACE
+ COMMUNITY
SECTION A DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT AND STRATEGY
S E C T I O N A. 1 – N A R R A T I V E A N D G R A P H I C D E S C R I P T I O N O F C O N C E P T
View of Hangar
OPEN SPACE
HYDROLOGY
CONNECTIVITY
+COMMUNITY
SITE BASE
A.4 ILLUS
Landscape Framework T R AT I V E PLAN
Illustrative Plan
The Lowe team believes that a truly sustainable campus community is one that is loved and enjoyed—
I
community that thrives socially, culturally, economically, and ecologically. When each of these aspects i
•
integral to the life and vitality of a campus, that place will be generative and productive in ways that even it
•
designers and developers could not fully anticipate.
•
The Lowe team envisions a community that functions like a living organism—harvesting energy from the sun •
•
sequestering carbon, making oxygen, establishing diverse habitats, building soil, cleansing water and creatin
•
beneficial microclimates. •
•
The University Development Area of the NASA Research Park will embrace its location, climate, and culture •
•
to support a thriving community. Our team‟s holistic, responsive design approach will create safe, healthy, and
•
comfortable places to live, work, learn and play. This innovative design will showcase a new model o •
sustainable urbanism that adapts the successful approaches of high performance green building design to the •
larger scale of community planning. •
•
The teams Cradle to Cradle approach promotes highly effective utilization of energy, water, transportation •
•
and materials, and seeks to eliminate the concept of waste at all scales. These strategies will foster residen
•
well-being and promote local and regional ecological health, while providing a model response to th •
challenges of climate change, carbon emission reduction, and resource recovery. •
•
•
Creating community is a complex, multivalent endeavor and a critical aspect of our approach to campu
•
planning. For this project, there are several levels where community must be addressed and considered:
Section A DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT AND STRATEGY Page 1

40. Open Space Diagram Connectivity Diagram Hydrology Diagram
A.6.b
THE LOWE TEAM
S U S TA I N A B L E B U I L D I N G S T R AT E G I E S University Development Area
NASA Research Park
Sustainable Building Strategies
SECTION A
PA R C E L 1 8 PA R C E L 6
4
6
8
SECTION B
PA R C E L 1 6 PA R C E L 1 8
5
1 7
2 3 11
10 9
12
1 HIGH-PERFORMANCE BUILDING ENVELOPES 7 HYDRONIC HEATING AND COOLING
RESIDENTIAL 2 DAYLIGHT-RESPONSIVE LIGHTING 8 WATER STORAGE DOUBLES AS "THERM A L B AT T E RY "
ACADEMIC / OFFICE 3 INTELLIGENT PERSONAL CONTROL SYSTEMS 9 RAINWATER COLLECTION AND NON-PO TA B L E U S E
4 NATURAL VENTILATION AND 100% OUTSIDE AIR 10 CLIMATE-APPROPRIATE PLANTING AND E F F I C I E N T I R R I G ATI O N
R E TA I L
5 BUILDING-INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAICS 11 GREEN ROOFS CONTROL STORMWATER , C R E AT E H A B I TAT
PA R K I N G F
6 WOOD & LOW-CEMENT CONCRETE TO LIMIT EMBODIED CO2 12 NON-AUTO TRANSIT OPTIONS SUPPORT E D B Y U R B A N F O R M
AL
Section A DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT AND STRATEGY

41. P HASING
A.2
T H E L OW E T E A M
University Development Area
THE LOWE TEAM University Development Area, NASA Research Park “N O V AC ANCY ” C ONCEPT NASA Research Park
Option A (“opportunity from above”):
Use the sun’s energy to generate power
on a fallow site
+
Option B (“opportunity from below”): Soil
and biological remediation for the site
(which may be used later)
=
Option C Productive strategies
(environmental, economic, social) for the
site: Solar power, soil production,
agriculture, bioremediation, bio-
swales, wastewater treatment/liv-
ing machines all provide value to
UA and the community as it com-
pletes it buildout.
Plan Diagrams - Conceptual Sketches
Section A DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT AND STRATEGY
A.4
T H E L OW E T E A M
C OMMUNITY C ONCEPTS S ECTION University Development Area
NASA Research Park
Community Concepts Diagrammatic Sections Initial thoughts about site ...
SECTION A
PA R C E L 1 8 PA R C E L 6
Section Appendix S YS T E M D I AG R A M S
7 3
5
8
SECTION B
PA R C E L 1 6 PA R C E L 1 8
1 6 10
2
4
9
1 INTEGRATED, MIXED-USE BLOCKS 6 PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE-FRIENDLY PASE O S
RESIDENTIAL
2 "LONG LIFE, LOOSE FIT" OFFICE/RESEARCH BUILDINGS 7 LANDSCAPED PODIUMS WITH COMMUN I T Y G A R D E N S
ACADEMIC / OFFICE
3 MIX OF HOUSING TYPES PROMOTES DIVERSITY 8 DOUBLE-STACKED PARKING AT RESIDE N T I A L P O D I U M S
R E TA I L 4 CENTRAL LINEAR PARK CONNECTS TO HISTORIC GREEN 9 SHARED PARKING INCREASES UTILIZAT I O N
PA R K I N G 5 ACTIVE STREETS WITH RESIDENTIAL WRAPPING PODIUMS 10 MIXED-USE PROMOTES 24-7 EYES ON T H E S T R E E T
Section A DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT AND STRATEGY

42. city port park
SWA Group, May 2009
Site: Ningbo, China
Project Scope: Master Plan Competition Booklet
Located in the heart of the Yangtze River Delta on China’s coastline, Ningbo is one of China’s
oldest cities. In 2009, SWA was asked to participate in a competition for a master plan for
the Central Park area of downtown Ningbo, China. Our five-member team at SWA won the
competition and was awarded the project - slated to begin SD phases in early 2011.
The concept “City Port Park” draws from the history of Ningbo as a shipping and transportation
city, while also creating a module (the shipping container) that can be distributed across
the site as a design element. Beyond the physical form of the container, the analogy of the
container as a module for currency (“The common culture of commerce”), generated ample
opportunities for creative designs that play off of money, finance, and history together in a
centrally located, grand, and prominent park for NIngbo’s new downtown. The following pages
select 8 of the board layouts from the 90-page booklet submittal.

47. 04 mixed media
graphite sketches
digital paintings (photography)

50. 05 publications + research
The Landscape Urbanism Project
Design Guidelines for a Public Administration Town
Comparative City Planning + Philadelphia Neighborhoods
Landscape Urbanism in Practice
Last Child in the Woods
Money, Inflation, and Economics for Planners

51. the landscape urbanism project
SWA Group, June - November 2010
2010 Research Fellowship: Landscape Urbanism
Every year, SWA Group offers an annual fellowship to one or two employees of the six SWA
offices. The Patrick Curran Fellowship prize is a $10,000, 4-week stipend for a project or study
of the applicant’s choosing. In 2010, my proposal, “Landscape Urbanism - A Website” was
selected.
The landscape urbanism proposal was an investigation into the definitions, ideas, critiques
and methodologies of landscape architectural practice and it’s increasing influence on urban
design and city planning. The project consisted of four parts: visiting and observing 4 different
cities, researching and writing about landscape urbanism; creating a presentation and annotated
bibliography about landscape urbanism; and putting together a website of the findings. The
project website is slated for launch in the Spring of 2011. The following pages show some of
the imagery and research from the urban observations of Taipei and Seattle.

56. printed works
University of Pennsylvania, Department of City Planning
2007-2008
The documentation of papers and publications - graphic layout - is imperative for recording,
sharing, and visually displaying information. The following pages show sample layouts from
three separate student publications: “Design Guidelines for a Public Administration Town,” a
140 page book of studio research and design guidelines; “Comparative City Planning,” a 20-
page joint essay on the planning structures of two cities; and “Philadelphia Neighborhoods,” a
photo and graphic analysis of different urban neighborhoods in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.