Portfolio

REBECCA POPOWSKYLANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

PROFESSIONAL AND ACADEMIC WORK

OLIN2010-PRESENT

DILWORTH PARKPHILADELPHIAPACONSTRUCTIONADMINISTRATION2014

I completed the construs on admin-istra on por on of Dilworth Park, a er the ini al OLIN Project Manager le the offi ce in March, 2014. I was the only team member staff ed solely on this project through the Park’s opening in November, 2014.

Responsibili es included daily project administra on, weekly owners meet-ings, shop drawing and RFI review, consultant coordina on, site observa- on and punchlists.

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Washington Canal Park is a DC Department of the Environment “demonstra on” project, which acts as a model for progressive stormwater management tech-niques in the District and elsewhere. The Park collects, treats and re-uses stormwater from the site and from adjacent roo ops.

My involvement in the Washington Canal Park project began when I was an intern at OLIN, during the sche-ma c design and design develop-ment phases, con nued through the two-year construc on phase and

through LEED and Sustainable Sites Ini a ve cer fi ca on and a one-year post-occupancy evalua on.

By the me construc on was com-plete in late 2012, I was the only full- me team member on the project,

ac ng as project manager.

Since project comple on, I have giv-en presenta ons about our experi-ence as a Sustainable Sites Ini a ve Pilot Project and about the green in-frastructure systems at Canal Park in conferences and academic se ngs.

WASHINGTON CANAL PARKWASHINGTOND.C.SCHEM. DESIGN, CONSTRUCTIONADMINISTRATION,SSI CERTIFICATION2009-2013

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SUSTAINABLE SITES INITIATIVE PILOT PROJECT: THREE-STAR RATING

• Rainwater harves ng meets 95% of annual non-potable water needs (at full buildout)• Potable water use for landscape irriga on reduced by 79% • 1.5 Million gallons stormwater re-moved from combined sewers annually• Site water storage capacity im-proved by 60%• 88% average annual runoff treated • 28 geothermal wells reduce overall energy use by 37%• Vegeta ve Biomass: Density Re-stored from 0.54 to 1.84• Urban Heat Island Eff ects: 73% Reduc on• Cer fi ed Wood: 100% FSC Cer fi ed• Jobs Crea on: 160 FTE• Outdoor Energy Consump on: 67% Reduc on

BIM Model produced for construc on coordina on by Davis Construc on

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A series of large residentail projects in France and Switzerland transform historic family estates. These proj-ects include large-scale sitework, including sculp ng landform, estab-lishing pedestrian and vehicular circu-la on networks, crea ng ponds and streams, extensive plan ng (gardens, meadows, woodlands, riparian edges, etc) and in one case, re-rou ng a por on of a river.

My role on these projects ranged from small-scale site element design, detailing and documenta on to large-scale grading and plan ng design. The examples shown here are “archi-tectural” elements that I developed under the direc on of Laurie Olin, from early concept sketches through construc on documenta on.

PRIVATE RESIDENCESFRANCE AND SWITZERLAND-SCHEM. DESIGN, DESIGN DOCU-MENTATION,2012-2013

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3 NORTH FOUNTAIN - CROSS SECTION DETAILL7.53 1:10

4 NORTH FOUNTAIN - LONGITUDINAL SECTION DETAIL - END CONDITIONL7.53 1:10

1 NORTH FOUNTAIN - LONGITUDINAL SECTION - UPPER TERRACEL7.53 1:50

2 NORTH FOUNTAIN - LONGITUDINAL SECTION - LOWER TERRACEL7.53 1:50

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5 NORTH FOUNTAIN - PERSPECTIVEL7.53 NTS

6 NORTH FOUNTAIN - WATER FLOW DIAGRAML7.53 1:10

6 SOUTH FOUNTAIN - SECTION DETAIL TYP.L7.54 1:10

8 SOUTH FOUNTAIN - SECTION DETAIL AT OVERFLOWL7.54 1:10

7 SOUTH FOUNTAIN - SECTION DETAIL AT UPPER TERRACEL7.54 1:10

3 SOUTH FOUNTAIN - SECTION TYPL7.54 1:20

4 SOUTH FOUNTAIN - SECTION AT OVERFLOWL7.54 1:20

2 SOUTH FOUNTAIN - ELEVATIONL7.54 1:20

1 SOUTH FOUNTAIN - PERSPECTIVEL7.54 NOT TO SCALE

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5 SOUTH FOUNTAIN - PROFILESL7.54 1:10

TEACHING: 2013-PRESENUNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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FIELD ECOLOGY, FALL 2014

Co-taught fi eld ecology and repre-senta on to fi rst semester Masters of Landscape Architecture students in a required core class. The course introduces students to the varied physiographic provinces and associat-ed plant communi es of the greater Philadelphia region, characterizing and analyzing the connec ons be-tween climate, geology, topography, hydrology, soils, vegeta on, wildlife, and disturbance, both natural and anthropogenic. Co-teacher: Sally Willig, ecologist.

LANDSCAPE OPERATIONS, SUMMER 2013 + 2014

Co-taught LARP Summer Ins tute, introducing incoming Masters of Landscape Architecture students to tools, techniques, and processes for designing with landform (scale, con-tour, etc). Co-teacher: Nicholas Pevzner.

LECTURERUNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIAFIELD ECOLOGY FALL 2014\LANDSCAPE OPERATIONSSUMMER 2013, 2014

2013 “Your Hands Are Mountains” project by fi rt-year MLA student, Francois Poupeau

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Field sketches by fi rt-year MLA student, Jingya Yuan. Field Ecology, Fall 2014

STUDENT WORK

Final Project by fi rt-year MLA student, Le Xu. Field Ecology, Fall 2014

Soil Profi le Study by fi rt-year MLA student, Jieping Wang. Field Ecology, Fall 2014

CattailTypha

Water HempAmaranthus rudis

River BulrushScirpus fluviatilis

SpatterdockNuphar advena

ButtonbushCephalanthus occidentalis

SpicebushLindera

Pin OakQuercus palustris

Lowbush BlueberryVaccinium angustifolium

Deer BerryVaccinium stamineum

GreenbrierSmilax

Red OakQuercus rubra

White OakQuercus alba

Virgina PinePinus virginiana

BARTRAM’S GARDEN: Freshwater Marsh

MOUNT HOLLY: Mixed Oak Forest

LEGEND

xw Wissahickan Formation

xgr Granitic Gneiss and Granite

Qt Terrace Deposits

ket Englishtown Formation

kmt marshalltown Formation

Tht Hornestown Formation

kns Navesink Formation

kml Mount Laurel Formation

kw Wenonch Formation

Water

AptAv Appoquinimink-Transquaking-Mispillion Complex

HorsC Hooksan Fine Sand

Hydrologic Soil Rate

Irrigation Rate

Water Table

Ground Water FlowGround Water Flow

Evaporation InfiltrationInfiltration Surface runoff

Infiltration Infiltration

Surface runoff

Evapotranspiration Evaporation

Streamflow

STUDENT WORK

MLA/MARCH: 2006-2010UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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ARCH 704WEISS/MANFREDI STUDIOBOTANIC GARDEN, NYCPROJECT PARTNER: RIGGS SKEPNEK

The fi nal semester of the Masters in Architecture program is a re-search-based studio. This studio, taught by Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, lead to the design of a bo-tanic garden in one of two sites: the East River in New York and Arusha, Tanzania. The fi rst half of the studio is dedicated to site, history and pro-gram research and the publica on of a studio research book. The second half of the studio is dedicated to con-ceptally redfi ning the botanic garden through a site-specifi c design.

STUDENTUNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIAMLA/MARCH2006-2010

CITY GARDEN CITY + GARDEN

HUNTERS POINT BUILDING ECOLOGIES

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WETLAND CANAL EDGENAVIGABLE CANALURBAN CANAL EDGE

RESEARCH CENTERVISITOR CENTERVERTICAL GARDEN

PERMEABLE PAVINGINDOOR | OUTDOOR

DESIGN-BUILD

Our entry, “Bambooze,” was select-ed as one of 6 winning projects, out of over 80 entries from the U.S. and abroad. The 6 winning projects were built as semi-permanent pavilions on the grounds of the Schuylkill Center. Our work was displayed, along with the other semi-fi nalist projects, at the AIA Center of Philadelphia.Project partner: Riggs Skepnek

“GIMME SHELTER”COMPETITION FOR THE SCHUYLKILL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATIONWINNER2009

In the fall of 2002, I organized a team of six amateur builders (including myself) to build a two-story mber-frame house in a 90-acre wooded lot in West Wardsboro, Vermont. The landowner chose a building site approximately one mile from the nearest road, and strongly opposed building any kind of permanent road to the house. We therefore used only low-impact transporta on – log-ging with work horses, and carrying material in and out on our backs.We designed and built the home. We cleared the site and milled the mber on-site using a portable saw

mill. We dug the founda on by

hand, and used only small power tools and hand tools to cut and erect the heavy mber frame. A group of friends and neighbors helped to raise the frame, using hand-made pole cranes and a winch and pulley sys-tem. We dug a well by hand uphill from the site so that we could run fresh water into the house.

Project Team:

Adam GilbertEmily KovichTom HelmerDave WarburtonJacob Goble

TIMBERFRAME HOUSEWARDSBORO, VT1999-2003

For a designer, it’s a potent and revelatory act to be able to show how ecosystems work so that people then appreciate and par cipate in the unfolding and working of a landscape in which they are par cipants, not merely consumers. The increased use of green infrastructure in our ci es is a good example in which people can see the func ons of a working ecosystem—whether in green walls that stabilize an embankment, or green roofs that provide food, or bioswales that fi lter and slow stormwater runoff . By making these processes visible, we have the poten al to make ecology directly relevant to our publics. But really smart green infrastructures that are instrumental to produc ve ecologies go a step

further: they facilitate hands-on learning or they require ci zen par cipa on in the ecological func on....

(An) important characteris c of adap ve design is that it ought to be safe-to-fail. We know that structural engineers must design bridges and buildings to be fail-safe (i.e. a collapse or structural failure would be unacceptable). But living systems diff er in several important ways from mechanical and structural systems. We use the no on of “safe-to-fail” to recognize that living systems are diff erent par cularly in that they regularly undergo change events that move the system from one apparently stable state to another. The underlying idea is that if change is inevitable, then we ought to

facilitate small-scale, manageable changes to happen without causing catastrophic failure.

NINA-MARIE LISTERON ECOLOGICAL URBANISM AND ADAPTIVE DESIGN(ASLA NEWS, h p://www.asla.org/ContentDetail.aspx?id=31738)