Ecological Design Approaches to Brownfield Redevelopment
By Danielle J Kahn

In the Fall 2007 semester, the University of Michigan Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute sponsored an interdisciplinary brownfields course taught by landscape architecture professor Joan Nassauer. Many landscape architecture students participated in the course, along with students in law, policy, business, urban planning and engineering.

Year 1 - Fall 2007: NRE 587 Landscape as Environmental Media

This is a fast-paced introduction to the processes of "big D" design. Led by instructor Beth Diamond and Graduate Student Instructor M'Lis Bartlett, studio work began with environmental autobiographies. Our class was tasked with visually communicating the happy, horrible and transitional moments in our lives while experimenting with any materials of choice. Pin-up and critique not only encouraged discussion on how to use materials and ideas to fullest impact, but revealed much on the personal backgrounds and interests of our extremely diverse class.One project involved translating 2-dimensional color and form into 3-dimensional landscapes. Each student was assigned a modern painting by masters such as Picasso, Boccioni, and Delauney. Through processes of reproduction, relief-building, and model-making, the landscapes inspired from those paintings were showcased in a critique in the Ford Commons of the Dana Building. It was a unique opportunity to show the work to Landscape Architecture faculty as well as to the SNRE community at large (from which interest and feedback were very positive!).

Designing with Nature: The Art of Balance

In October, U-M students attended the ALSA's 2007 Annual Meeting and EXPO in San Francisco. The conference theme was "Designing with Nature: The Art of Balance."

By Liz Westbrook
The first year class of landscape architecture students is a diverse group from many locations and backgrounds. The students are from numerous places ranging from the west coast to the east coast and as far away as China. Their backgrounds range from artists, botanists, teachers and water system engineers to computer scientists, floral artists and organic farmers. It is a promising group for the future of landscape architecture.

Residential Greenroof Implementation Strategies in Washington, D.C.

Britt Zimmerman and Holly Zipp
Advised by professor Dr. MaryCarol Hunter, this project is exploring green roof implementation in the residential market as a storm water management tool. A common architectural typology in the District of Columbia is the flat roofed row house, which may be ideal for green roof retrofitting. The residential market for green roofs is smaller than that for commercial, but it is a burgeoning field, with many opportunities for design and construction professionals. The goal is to quantify the potential for residential row houses in the District to contribute to the reduction of storm water as well as to provide three illustrative design and construction templates tailored to an average DC row house. These templates will attempt to cover the array of options for green roofs, in terms of design, cost, and construction materials. These templates are intended as a way to increase public awareness about green roofs and the issues involving the DC sewer system, as well as to encourage green roof retrofitting by residents in the District.

Katherine Foo (MLA/MS), Heather Gott (JD/MS), Meredith Haamen (MS), and Suzanne Perry (MS/MPH) won a 2007 ASLA Student Honor Award in Communications for their master's project, a handbook titled, "Respond: A residential oil spill in St.

By Amy Beltemmacci
The Ecological Design Approaches to Brownfield Redevelopment seminar, taught by Professor Joan Nassauer, enabled me to work collaboratively with other students from Engineering, Urban Planning, Law, Sustainable Systems and Landscape Architecture, and Art on creative solutions for future brownfield redevelopment.