Archinect - University of Tennessee CoAD = MLA Student | Cameron Rodman

DEBASING DESIGN

2015-03-27T22:36:51-04:00

Design can be stale.

Some designs seem to be driven by a market interest while others have a deeper cultural ethos and are driven by passion, expression of values, or ideation.

One of these is inspiring…the other…not so much. I’ll let you decide.

I don’t think one is more right than the other, but I do think one is more right for me than the other.

I am learning that I operate more from inspiration than logical conclusions and technical influence. The expression of cultural processes, beliefs and romantic gestures can be extracted into the everyday. These may not always be translated into a literal one for one iteration of materials and spaces. Most, however are watered down to a degree that they can be digested and understood by the majority…to a point where they can be experienced by the majority.

So having the ability to take that inspiration and position it in the realm of reality and communal experience is key to making it successful. Feng Zhu of FZD School of Design talked about th...

Exploring the Intersection of Design, Landscape, & Psychotherapy - An empirical based approach.

2014-07-07T14:25:00-04:00

This past semester (Spring 2014) I and my studio-mates had the wonderful opportunity to work with Harmony Adoptions an organization which focuses on connecting families with children through adoption. They have an extremely high success rate of placement and are doing some wonderful programs and counseling in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains just outside of Maryville, TN. This was a very serendipitous opportunity as my previous graduate degree was in professional counseling and marriage and family therapy.

Our studio wrapped up the works of a previous studio and was additionally tasked to create a master plan for the site. As usual each of the team members chose something to work on. I choose to work on very general design guidelines for trails and elected to focus in more detail on integrating what I saw to be the three key assets of the Camp Montvale property.

Camp Montvale serves as an extension of Harmony Adoptions. The camp, at one time a YMCA summer camp, has become a ...

Villa Adriana an ancient artifact in Tivoli, Italy.

2014-03-17T20:31:00-04:00

VILLA ADRIANA - HADRIAN'S VILLA

Historical Context

Classical designs such as Hadrian’s villa enjoy a wealth of influence from preceding eras, current ideologies, philosophies, & religions. They also greatly influence future designs.

Historically, classical design sought to emphasize symmetry and emphasize humanistic and philosophical values. During the Roman Emperor Hadrian’s reign as Roman Emperor from 117 AD to 138 AD the city held itself as the locus of man. Rationality and order dominated design both in architecture and garden design. This time experienced practical and pragmatic approaches and developed technological advances such as water engineering.

No longer did man see nature as a mystical & sacred place where divinity resided. Nature was now subservient to the control of man and design. Mythical Gods were soon transformed into allegorical ideals which were then applied to the ruling aristocracy of the time. As humanism took hold, site designs abandoned the previous methods of...

Vote for the next Student Representative to ASLA's Board of Trustees.

2014-02-21T18:16:04-05:00

Cast your vote for the ASLA student representative! It’s that time of the year again. Monday morning, ASLA will open the voting polls for the student representative to the Board of Trustees. This position is the direct line between the students of ASLA and the Board of Trustees. I encourage each student ASLA member to review the announcement here: http://asla.org/ContentDetail.aspx?id=42523 and read each of the candidate’s letter for consideration. As a candidate for this position, I would encourage you to review my request for consideration. If you would like to explore my qualifications, thoughts, involvement, and works please feel free to visit my website where you will find my portfolio, resume, writings, and other works. (CameronRodman.com) Thank you for taking the time to engage each of the candidates and investing in a stronger student ASLA voice! - Cameron

Peter Walker: An influenced Modern style. Interview Pt. 2

2014-01-20T14:07:00-05:00

-The following is the 2nd portion of my Interview with Peter Walker.-

Peter Walker’s Minimalist style

In the 1950s and 1960s “two major schools existed at the time - Minimalism, an offshoot of conceptualism, and then Pop” (i.e. Andy Warhol). Walker was interested in Carl Andre and Donald Judd. “Judd and Andre were doing things out of doors with several pieces out in the landscape.” These objects went “beyond objects seen in space and gestured to big space,” says Walker. Often, the focus was not simply about the object in and of itself. The object was calling attention to something else. In Carl Andre’s piece “Zinc-Lead Plane” sought to call attention not to the square pattern on the flat plane but to control the space which was above the plane.

Like Kiley and many others, Walker began to collect a vocabulary about himself which could inform and shape a new design language within the landscape. Walker “read everything about modernism and minimalism and what they (Judd) wro...

Peter Walker Interview: Modern Design Part 1 of 2

2014-01-17T16:19:00-05:00

Peter Walker has been reinventing himself as a designer for the past 40 years. A current partner at PWP Landscape Architecture, Walker has become known for his Minimalist design flair, relationship to the Modern style, and numerous additional achievements. One thing which has remained consistent throughout these years is Walker’s appreciation for art. His understanding of Minimalist and Modern design language through his academic studies, private collecting, and professional practice have positioned him and his team at PWPLA as an authority on the execution of these two styles.

I approached PWPLA before Mr. Walker’s visit to The University of Tennessee and asked if he and I could discuss his views on Modernism and Minimalism within landscape architecture today. For the interview I set out a list of questions which I thought would help designers better understand the Modern and Minimalist styles in landscape architecture. I also hoped to get a response from Mr. Walker about the a...

Monster Park - Bomarzo Italy

2014-01-04T22:23:00-05:00

The Sacred Woods (Sacro Bosco) in Bomarzo, Italy has held an air of enchantment about it since its rediscovery in 1942. In 1542 Count Pier Francesco Orsini (1513? – 1584), a military captain, inherited this land and began cultivating a garden of bizarre proportions, both in size and design.

Parc di Mostri (or Monster Park), a mannerist work of art, was unlike any of the traditional Renaissance gardens which were in Italy at the time. It rejected the symmetrical and axial layout as well as the formality of design on its grounds. It has been referred to as enigmatic by many modern day garden writers.

The grounds are filled with bizarre sculptures, monuments and statues depicting a variety of scences which are thought to allegorical representations from the life of Orsini. The pieces throughout the park are believed to be representations taken from popular literature. Monsters guarding the underworld entrance in the Aeneid, a monster tearing a man in half which alludes to t...

Gateway Communities: Norris, TN | UTK-MLA Studio Finals

2013-12-15T22:25:04-05:00

To say that this semester has been grueling would be an understatement. My classmates and I have been yearning for our winter break. Among the many courses that we took (Planting Design, Urban Social Geography, Advanced Grading and Drainage, Intro. to Sustainable Design Thinking, and more) studio was the heavy weight.

My (Fall Studio Page) displayed the research from my personal works and that of my classmates. We were working with the Town of Norris, TN and Townsend, TN. Our topic for the semester was 'Gateway Communities'. This project had been in collaboration with the Knoxville Metropolitan Planning Commission and PlanET (Plan East Tennessee).

Our studio was broken into two groups. I had the opportunity to work with Whitney Tidd (second year MLA), Leah Sullivan (final year MLA student), Angelike Angelopoulos (third year MLA student) and Amanda Gann (graduate architecture student). They were a great team to work with, bringing a diverse amount of talent and creativity to th...

Landscape architecture leads the way for multiuse development!

2013-10-24T10:46:00-04:00

For other articles on landscape architecture check out my website at www.cameronrodman.com

Many dreams for innovation and development have started off with the simple act of breaking ground and a plan. Hedstrom Design, a Knoxville based landscape architecture firm, has had the opportunity to participate in a field-of-dreams-like project over the past few years. The developers believed that if they built it, businesses would come.

Pellissippi Place is a mixed-use development driven by a collection of local, public and private parties. The municipalities of Blount and Knox County, as well as the cities of Alcoa and Maryville have all put their hand into this development. This development rides alongside other regional development initiatives in the five county Plan East Tennessee region.

This once farm land is now being developed as a 450 mixed use property with 230 acres devoted to research and technology upscale offices, as well as retail and residential phases. It is strateg...

Foothills Parkway for the 2016 centennial!

2013-10-19T15:04:36-04:00

Conceived in the early 1900’s the Foothills Parkway set out to be a window looking into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. At the time, America was experiencing an age of motorization which enabled people to travel greater distances and enjoy scenery that was previously unavailable to the everyday man. The idea of the Foothills Parkway was created from the decision to block the Blue Ridge Parkway entrance into Tennessee.

Frank Maloney, Vice-president of the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association, recognized this loss for the local economy and worked with officials to conceive of and advance the Foothills Parkway idea. Maloney’s hard work paid off when Congress passed an act in 1944 for the creation of the parkway. Right-of-way rights and land were purchased throughout Cocke, Sevier, and Blount Counties in the 1950’s. However, construction did not begin until the 1960’s.

Years of low federal funding delayed and stalled the parkways progress. By the 1970’s less tha...

UTK's Phi Mu Sorority House gets a fresh start from Landscape Designer Brandon Orrick.

2013-09-26T10:26:01-04:00

With recent campus projects and campaigns comes the newest additions of student housing. All of the sorority houses in the university are completing their finishing touches on their housing as the year begins. Graduate landscape architecture student and Landscape Designer Brandon Orrick, had the opportunity to work with three of the sororities to design their new grounds surrounding their houses. Here's what he had to say about his experience and his ideas behind one of the designs.

In 2012 I was given the opportunity to do a planting design for the Phi Mu sorority at the University of Tennessee new sorority village. This was one of my first jobs after graduating the Landscape Design program at UT, yet I had been practicing for years prior to this, I wanted to make a strong statement about the quality of education I had received at UT, and give back to the University that had given so much to me.

As most landscape designers know, or will soon find out there is always a small ...

The 9/11 memorial. Understanding Peter Walker's inspiration.

2013-09-23T12:21:00-04:00

Twelve years have passed since the tragic 9/11 attacks in New York City, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In just a few short years the 9/11 memorial in New York is planned to be completed. Many people have had the experience of walking the grounds and looking over the fountains in memory of a loved one lost or simply while visiting the site on a day off.

The firm PWPLA, driven by landscape architect Peter Walker, was selected as the designer for the memorial grounds alongside Michael Arad and his winning scheme. Recently Walker came to the University of Tennessee’s College of Architecture and Design and gave the kick-off lecture for the Church Memorial Lecture series.

While most people are aware of the design for the grounds and have either seen a picture or visited the site in person, they are not sure what inspired Walker. Walker shared his inspiration with us and we would like to share it with you.

It could be said that many designers, if not most, have de...

Gatlinburg Streetscaping and Underground Utilities Generate Economic Growth and Provide a Unifying Look.

2013-09-09T12:27:40-04:00

What started out as a thesis by an University of Georgia Landscape Architecture graduate student, was transformed into a 19 year long $24 million dollar community transformation. Curtis Stewart, a graduate from the University of Georgia and now Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee completed his thesis on the revitalization and transformation of the streetscape alongside the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River that flows through downtown Gatlinburg, TN. What he didn't realize when he graduated was that he would soon be working for a design firm and that the city of Gatlinburg would be using his plan.

Gatlinburg, a city with roughly 4,000 permanent residents expands and contracts seasonally with approximately 9-10 million tourist annually. Settled in 1806, Gatlinburg has grown to be one of the most popular tourist destinations in the southeast United States. This fact has largely been made possible by the close proximity of the nations most visited National Park, T...