Santa Barbara Zoo

While in Santa Barbara I visited the Santa Barbara Zoo. It was a small but very nice zoo. The zoo was on only 30 acres but had over 500 animals. Also the grounds were very well maintained and made each exhibit feel separate from the rest of the zoo.

 Below are a series of photos from my day at the zoo.

Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens

One of my stops while on vacation last week was the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens. The 65 acre botanical gardens are located in Mission Canyon and features over a 1000 species. The video below explains more about the gardens.



The gardens were organized by different native habitats of California. The map below shows the layout and sequence of the garden.

Trail Map (source)

The first garden upon entering was the meadow section. The meadow section was contained by a looping path. I was impressed by the diversity of native shrubs and grasses in the meadow section. In particular I liked the contrast of the grey shrubs against the greens and browns of the other meadow species.

Meadow Path

Native Shrubs and Grasses

The trail from the meadow section led us down a steep ravine into a shady canyon full of large redwoods. The large trees managed to block out most of sun but where the sun did break through it made beautiful shadows on the ferns and clover that covered the canyon floor. The clover had some sort of symbiotic relationship with the redwood trees. We flowed rocky stream along the right side of the garden path to the next garden feature. 

The Understory 

Redwood Trail

The next feature of the botanical gardens was the historic aqueduct. it served as the main water source for the Santa Barbara  Mission. The aqueduct provided great views down the canyon. 

Historic Aqueduct

My favorite section of the botanical gardens was oaks section. I was amazed by canopy created by the Californian Live Oaks. The distorted trunks were unlike any trees I have seen before on the east coast. 

Oak Canopy

There were several other great sections of the garden including a section on the plants of the channel islands and a desert section. 

Desert Section

California Trip

Here are some pictures of various places during my vacation in California.

The Langham in Pasadena

Zen Garden at the Langham

Santa Barbara Mission 

View From Courthouse Tower

Courthouse Stairs

Santa Ynez Mountains

Marina

Sail Boats

Elephant Seals

Last week, while on vacation in California, I visited an elephant seal rookery near San Simeon. At first glance the beach appeared empty and we started to wonder what we were doing on such a cold and windy beach. Fortunately we just had to walk down the beach a short distance to find a whole group of seals resting in the sand.

Elephant Seal Rookery

The interactions between the seals were fun to watch. Most of the seals didn't move very much but those that did could only move by wiggling in short bursts. Other seals seemed quite content shoveling sand on themselves with their back flippers.

Flinging Sand 

We quickly learned that August is fighting season for the males. The battles never lasted for more than a few seconds but they were incredible to watch. 

Two Bulls Fighting

Fighting Male Elephant Seals

The differences between the male and female seals was immediately apparent.  The males were significantly larger than the females. One of the info graphic signs on the beach said that the males can reach sixteen feet in length and weigh over 6000 pounds. The females can reach a length of 10 feet and can weigh near 2000 pounds. 

Female Seal

Male Seal

View Down the Beach

Erie Boulevard Figure Ground Studies

I made this video this morning out of curiosity. The images are from a group project in my spring 2011 studio class at SUNY-ESF. Each figure ground is actually a composite of six 2'x2' tiled images making the final compiled images twelve feet long. The five drawings were done to highlight the dross located on a three mile stretch of Erie Boulevard. 

Figure Ground Studies For Erie Boulevard from Zachary Barker on Vimeo.

Newseum

Newseum (source)

I visited the Newseum in Washington DC for the first time today. Before even entering the museum, we were presented today's front pages from fifty newspaper's representing each state. It was really interesting to see how the front story varied across each region, but sadly the Indiana state fair tragedy was the focus of most papers.

Alaskan Newspaper (source)

First stop inside the museum was the Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery. It was my favorite exhibit and definitely the one I will recommend friends to see. The gallery had every prize winning photograph dating back to the 1950s. Each photograph seemed to be a symbol for the era they were taken in. The majority of the images were unbelievable in the the way they were able to capture the perfect moment when the photographer only had a split second to react.

Pulitzer Gallery (source)

After the Pulitzer gallery we headed downstairs to visit the Berlin Wall Gallery. The centerpiece of the exhibit were eight pieces of the Berlin Wall.  The gallery told the story of how news and information helped bring an end the the wall. In a way it made me think of the similarities with social media's role in the Middle East political uprisings.

Berlin Wall (source)

There were several other interesting exhibits in the Newseum but the one that left the most lasting impression was the 9/11 exhibit. The centerpiece of the exhibit was a portion of mangled satellite antenna that was once the highest point in NYC. The mangled steel was a disturbing realization of how destructive that day was. The film "Running Towards Danger" was playing in the gallery's theatre. It focused on journalists on scene the day of the attacks and how they reacted to such a horrible day. 

Another great part of the museum was the Hank Greenspun Terrace overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue. The view was incredible thanks to the building regulations in DC restricting the height of the surrounding buildings. As a landscape architect student it was interesting to see how the security measures protecting government buildings were camaflogued into the streetscape. 

Terrace View (source)

We could have easily spent all day in the museum but after a few hours we were ready to eat. We went to the tasty mexican restaurant Oyamel on 7th street. The restaurant specialized in authentic small plate mexican dishes. Believe it or not they even had a cricket taco on the menu. I had to try it and it was surprisingly my favorite dish of the evening.  

Oyamel Restaurant (source)

We took the beautiful George Washington Memorial Parkway on the way home. It was amazing to see how thoughtfully the road was laid out each bend seemed to provide a more spectacular view of the Potomac and Georgetown University. As I stared out the window I found myself wishing I was one of the people relaxing on the boats below. It was a nice way to end an amazing day in our nation's capitol. 

George Washington Memorial Parkway (source)

Data Flow

Cover (source)

I recently purchased a couple new books before I head back to school including Data Flow: Visualising Information in Graphic Design, Composing Landscapes: Analysis, Typology, and Experiments for Design, Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop, and Writing for Design Professionals. Reviews for the other books will be coming soon.

"Data Flow presents an abundant range of possibilities in visualising data and information. Today, diagrams are being applied beyond their classical fields of use. In addition to archetypical diagrams such as pie charts and histograms, there are manifold types of diagrams developed for use in distinct cases and
categories. These range from chart-like diagrams such as bar, plot, line diagrams and spider charts, graph-based diagrams including line, matrix, process flow, and molecular diagrams to extremely complex three-dimensional diagrams. The more concrete the variables, the more aesthetically elaborate the graphics sometimes reaching the point of art the more abstract, the simpler the readability. The abundant examples in Data Flow showcase the various methodologies behind information design with solutions concerning complexity, simplification, readability and the (over)production of information. In addition to the examples shown, the book features explanatory text" (Amazon).

At first look through Data Flow is impressive. The complex graphics are inspiring and I hope to emulate some of them in my studio projects this year. Although only a few are even loosely related to landscape architecture the graphic layouts and complexity of organization are what I was looking for when I purchased Data Flow.

The book is organized into six chapters: Datasphere, Datanets, Datascape, Datalogy, Datanoid, and Datablocks.

six chapters (source)

Datapshere focuses on circular infographics. One of the more interesting projects in Datasphere is titled: The Shape of Globalization. The project illustrates the interdependency of different components in the global auto industry.

(source)

The second chapter, Datanets, uses graphics to show cause, context, or collaboration in a network. I was fascinated by the been there graphic by CATALOGTREE. The graphic shows how certain basketball coaches travel across the country in search of talent. The graphic originally appeared in ESPN The Magazine. I like the how the graphic is easy to read while still showing complex relationships. 

Been There (source)

The third chapter deals with the most common infographics used in landscape architecture, datascapes. "Switching between topography and topology, the spatial arrangement of data at once imposes flow, direction, context, and order" (data flow pg. 98). 

There were several projects that caught my interest from this chapter. Atlas of the North Sea project by LUST is a collection of graphics that reveal a variety of information about the region. The most interesting piece of the collection plotted commercial traffic for twenty-four hours. No geographic indicators are given but the landmass of Great Britian is evident as the country's outline is delineated by ports. 

I also found the Globalize me! graphics by Jung+Wenig really impressive. I like how the various graphs and charts are organized around the central map. The monochromatic color scheme and hatching pattern also work well for these graphics. 

Globalize me! (source)

The work of Salottobuono titled Instructions and Manuals also caught my eye. Another monochromatic presentation except they used the primary color as the background. I really like the organization of this project and how each drawing is complements the total composition. I definitely would like to emulate the graphic techniques Salottobuono used when I get back to school. The use of white really makes the objects jump of the page. 

Instructions and Manuals (source)

Datanoid is the forth chapter of Dataflow and deals with human form. Some of these projects appeared more to be more art installations than infographics. The projects in this chapter are quirky and fun.

Datalogy follows Datanoid and deals with data providing weight, space, texture and sensual experiences.  Many of the graphics in this chapter use photographs. I am more interested in minimal graphic techniques but I can still see the value in these projects. I enjoyed the project England vs. Poland, 12th October 2005. It tracks the movement of the soccer ball during the game revealing how the ball covered the entire field. 

England vs. Poland, 12th October 2005 (source)

The final chapter of Dataflow is datablocks and deals with the straight-forward comparability of data when using block graphics. The project Universal Growth & Decline by Abi Huynh shows growth and decline using the same number of blocks in each row of the graphic but to show the differences in growth and decline Abi Huynh spaced the blocks differently. 

Universal Growth & Decline (source)

I am really enjoying Dataflow and think it will help my graphic presentations improve this semester. Although it is not a how to book, the incredible precedents in Dataflow give me things to strive to emulate. I definitely recommend the book to anyone looking to improve their diagrams and infographics it really helps to get inspired. While researching the designers mentioned in this post I discovered other really great projects which I hope to find time to write about soon. 

Site Resources Inc Visit

 Company Logo (source)

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to have an informal interview with Site Resources Inc. located in Phoenix  Maryland. Site resources is a multi-discipline practice of landscape architects and civil engineers working in collaboration. The firm prides itself in its interdisciplinary approach to land development which ensures responsibly engineered solutions, sensitive to the design objectives identified and established during a project's planning stage. I was greeted by senior associate Fritz Behlen who had arranged to show me around for the afternoon.

After I arrived Fritz showed me examples of Site Resources past work, Fritz and I took a short visit to Manor View Farm. Located in Monkton, Maryland the farm is one of the premier nurseries in the mid-atlantic. I had been to Manor View before during my Ruppert Landscape internship to exchange some plant material, but had not had a chance to explore the nursery until yesterday. Fritz had a lot of great insights on plant selection and planting design considerations.

Manor View Farm (source)

When we got back to the office I had a chance to review my portfolio with Fritz. It was my first experience reviewing my portfolio with professional landscape architect and I felt it went well. My project [re]fueling erie boulevard got my review moving. Fritz was interested in my research on gas station product lines and how I was making a powerful argument with my design. 

© Zach Barker 2011

Before we could finish my review a colleague of Fritz came with a design problem that needed review. The site was Stoneleigh Elementary School in Towson, Maryland. The school is currently planning a new expansion on the oldest public school building in Baltimore County. I was fascinated to see how Fritz and his partner approached stormwater management regulations. Maryland has recently updated the requirements for stormwater management practices and the Stoneleigh site was a great example of how they affect landscape architects. We spent hours sketching out different ways to approach stormwater for the site. What was interesting to me was that sustainable practices such as permeable cement, rain gardens, and bio-swales were no longer considered innovative but requirements by the state. Watching them weigh the pros and cons of each management scenario was a really great learning experience. I have heard in the past that stormwater management is essential skill for me to learn, but I didn't realize how connected it is to the design of a site until I saw them working. 

Stoneleigh Elementary School (source) 

After coming up with a solid stormwater management approach, Fritz gave me a tour of the office. The office works on projects in teams and currently has three teams making up the core of the company. Each team occupied a different area of the office but it was interesting to see how they purposely tried to remove physical barriers between the groups. It made me think about my studio space at school and how it cold be improved. 

I want to thank Mr. Fritz Behlen and the Site Resources Inc. team for taking time out of their busy days to allow me to see their operation and learn about the company. I met a lot of great people today and hope to stay in touch with such a great firm. 

JFX Farmer's Market

This morning I made it to the Jones Fall Expressway Farmer's Market in downtown Baltimore. The market is located underneath the I-83 viaduct near Mercy Hospital. The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts reports that more than 8,000 people attend the Baltimore Farmers' Market & Bazaar on busy Sundays and today was definitely a busy one.

The market reminds a little of Borough Market in London as well as the High Line in New York City. All three of the sites are great examples of underutilized public space being reprogrammed in a sustainable and creative way to make a new highly used space. What I like most JFX Market is that it did not require any new construction or demolition of existing structures to work. There is nothing fancy about the market's location but that doesn't deter people from coming in droves every Sunday. In a way that makes the market a great fit for Charm City.

JFX Market, Baltimore

Borough Market, London (source)

The High Line, NYC (source)

The market was full of vendors representing several different counties. I was surprised to see that vendors came from as far away as Caroline County. Each vendor seemed to specialize in a different kind of produce. One of the more interesting stations was selling an assortment of wild mushrooms. Another station sold uncommon melons.

Map w/ Vender Guide (source)

My favorite vendor at the market, Wheely Good Smoothies, sells incredible smoothies that are made using a pedal powered blender. Unique flavor combinations are what I like about them. In the past I had their strawberry/mint smoothie as well as their iced tea with whole peaches. Today they were making peach/mint/strawberry smoothie that caught my attention. I can't wait go again next weekend and see what they are creating. 

Wheely Good Smoothies from Rob Perry on Vimeo.

For those who are interested in visiting The Jones Falls Expressway Farmer's Market it is located beneath the Jones Falls Expressway at Holliday & Saratoga streets, Baltimore, MD 21202 and operates every Sunday from 7:00 AM to noon.