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WORK SAMPLES

urban design

Cal Poly, SLO, bscrp 2006

transit-oriented design SPUR member & volunteer CEQA bicycling revitalization PARK(ING) Day collaborator

community workshops & outreach APA Newsletter contributor

personable fair

technologically curious

collaborative understanding

softball player team-oriented disciplined positive arts & crafts AUTOCAD 2009 Sketch-up visual simulations

SUSANNA DIAZ - Work Samples { [email protected] } { 242 Linden } • { SF, Ca, 94102 } • { 805.704.5335 } I am highly interested in a creative environment for a blossoming career in urban design, planning, and exhibit design. I thrive with casual but strong, disciplined, focused design intentions from project team members. The words on the left are some descriptors of myself and what I find interesting in planning and beyond, and hopefully this rings true with the reader of these samples. Three years of working in a collaborative environment in RRM Design Group, a multidisciplinary firm with landscape architects, exhibit designers, engineers, and architects have exposed me to numerous projects and solutions. I am an advocate of alternative transportation and innovative park spaces, and I enjoy being involved with an urban design project from the beginning and throughout the completion. Some of my best planning experiences are when I am reaching out to the community at certain stages of a project. The following are samples of the various projects I have worked on in the past few years. I have handled graphics such as Opportunity & Constraints maps, Illustrative Site Plans, and workshop exhibits. I have experience in working on Design Guidelines, Master Plans, and also some EIR work. I have learned to adjust accordingly to the array of project managers in this field, and I welcome various iterations only when the budget allows. I find it important to stay on trends in the graphic and technical side of planning, such as Prop 1-C funding, in order to have a fulfilling career in planning. With that said, here are some samples, all compiled with the use of Adobe InDesign CS4...

ADOBE suite CS4

general plan updates livable streets initiative mixed-use & infill

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FORT BRAGG MILL SITE SPECIFIC PLAN

One of the major projects I worked on at RRM included collaborating with a large team of planners, architects, engineers, and sub-consultants for the Fort Bragg Mill Site Specific Plan. Duties during this project included being responsible for the many images, maps, data files, and work products from interoffice colleagues and subconsultants, including CD+A. I also assisted by creating graphics for, and attending the community workshop held in January 2009. For the second workshop in May 2009, I created a visual preference survey using the CPS program and also created the summary output for the voting exercise. Programs Used AutoCAD 2009 Adobe Illustrator CS2 Adobe InDesign CS2 Adobe Photoshop CS2 CPS Survey

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REDONDO BEACH PIER & INTERNATIONAL BOARDWALK

TRANSFORMATIVE IMPROVEMENTS-OPTION B

REDONDO FORT BRAGG BEACH MILL PIER SITE SPECIFIC PLAN AND INTERNATIONAL BOARDWALK

NEW SERVICE PARKING

NEW ENTRY PLAZA & GATEWAY ARCH NEW RESTAURANT WITH OUTDOOR DINING

EXISTING ELEVATOR

NEW RAMP DOWN TO Delzano’s BOARDWALK by the Sea

Another one of my projects at RRM included collaborating with a landscape architect for the Redondo Beach Pier and International Boardwalk. Duties during this project included creating and Opportunities & Constraints map, as well as two different design proposals, the Moderate, and the Transformatve Option, left.

RENOVATE EXISTING PARK WIDEN EXISTING BOARDWALK AND NEW SURFACE NEW MULTI-USE PATH & LANDSCAPING

NEW CAFE DINING ON BOARDWALK

This project proves I work well under pressure. With limited time and budget, I was able to deliver several graphic boards to the client and fix a flare-up problem with the printing company in Southern California.

RENOVATE EXISTING PARK WITH NEW WATER FEATURE RENOVATE EXISTING RESTROOMS & STAIRS

NEW INFORMATION GRAPHICS

Programs Used

NEW SITE FURNITURE & LIGHTING REDUCE EXISTING PARKING, (38) SPACES

AutoCAD 2009

NOTCH EXISTING PARKING STRUCTURE TO DAYLIGHT BIKE PATH NEW LEASEHOLDS

Quality Seafood Fish Market

Kincaid’s

Adobe InDesign CS2

NEW RESTAURANT 6,000 SF TWO-STORY, 60’ X 120’

Adobe Photoshop CS2

EXISTING BUILDING AND PARKING

Google Earth, Satellite imagery

NEW OVERLOOKS

NEW PAVILION

NEW PARKING, 51 SPACES NEW RESTAURANT, 6,000 SF TWO-STORY, 50’ x 120’

NEW SITE FURNITURE AND LIGHTING

NEW RESTAURANT, 8,050 SF TWO-STORY, 70’ X 115’

WIDEN EXISTING BOARDWALK

NEW ELEVATOR NEW POLICE SUBSTATION

NEW FACADE IMPROVEMENTS

NEW PIER RAILINGS

NEW SIGNAGE ELEMENT NEW LANDSCAPE WITH WATER FEATURES

Kilkenny’s

El Torito Redondo Coffee & Bait

NEW PIER LIGHTING

NEW BOULEVARD PLANTING

New Tony’s Fish Market

NEW PIER SURFACE

NEW GATEWAY ARCH

NEW WALKWAY NEW PLAZA & SHOWERS NEW MULTI-USE PATH

S. CATA LINA AVEN UE

NEW ENTRY PLAZA & GATEWAY ARCH

Old Tony’s

NEW STREET LIGHTING DRAFT NOVEMBER 5, 2007

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Scale: 1” =50’

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SKYWAY PARK PLAZA Workshop Summaries  RRM Design Group 10 Liberty Ship Way, Ste.10 Sausalito, CA 94965 P: (415) 331-8282 F: (415) 331-8298 www.rrmdesign.com

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Skyway Corridor Plan Public Workshop #1: Evaluating Segment Alternatives and Gateway Park/Plaza Alternatives September 30, 2008

Workshop Results Summary

Introduction On Thursday September 18, the first public workshop for the Skyway Corridor Plan was held in the Town Hall of the Town of Paradise. This streetscape improvement project is a collaboration of BCAG, the Town of Paradise, W-trans, and RRM Design Group. At the workshop, a total of approximately 30 participants signed in and the group was formed mostly of residents, business owners, and local property owners. Some participants were representing nearby town of Magalia and the Upper Ridge Coordinating Council. The purpose of this initial workshop was to obtain public input for the potential streetscape design of the 2.8 mile stretch of Skyway Corridor. The workshop consisted of two phases, the first being a power point presentation by W-Trans and RRM on the background of the project, the four road segments of Skyway with alternative road sections, and the three alternatives of the propose Gateway Park/Plaza. The second phase of the workshop encouraged participants to vote on their preferred alternative street section, Gateway park/plaza concept, and their most preferred circulation of Foster Road. The duration of the workshop also allowed participants to fill out the comprehensive report card handed out at the workshop entry.

At RRM, Dave Javid and I worked on Skyway Corridor Plan and potential Gateway Plaza. We were the subconsultant team for traffic consultant W-Trans. During this project, I worked directly with Dave and Steve Weinberger to create street sections, graphic park layouts (on the next page), and developed this workshop summary. The rest of the summary is located on the website of the City of Skyway. Other workshop summaries I have written are located on some of these city websites, click to follow the link:

-Burton Chace Park, Marina Del Rey, Ca



-Mendocino Ave Corridor, Santa Rosa, Ca - click here



-Missouri Flat Workshop, Missouri Flat, Ca

Programs Used During These Projects

This report summarizes the outcome of the voting exercise and the report card exercise noting areas of commonalities and differences in levels of support. The second section of the report describes the street segment alternatives, and the third describes the Foster Road circulation options, and the fourth section describes the Park/Plaza alternatives, and the fifth section discusses the findings. II.

Microsoft Word Adobe InDesign CS2 Adobe Photoshop CS2

Segment Alternative Street Sections

Adobe Illustrator CS2

The nearly three mile portion of Skyway is represented in four segments that stretch from Neal Road to the south to Wagstaff Road to the north. The southern three segments, Segments A, B, and C are prominently commercial uses, with Segment B encompassing the Paradise Central business District, which is known as the downtown portion of Paradise. Segment D, from Bille Road to Wagstaff Road, is more rural, but has some commercial abutting Skyway. Voting results in their entirety are attached to this document. The following is a summary of the support from both the report card and voting exercises.

AutoCAD 2009 Google Earth, Satellite imagery

Segment A- Neal Road to Pearson. A majority, 63%, supports Alternative A.1. This alternative places a 5’ bike lane and a 5’sidewalk on each side of the street. Also come with four 12’ travel lanes, two in each direction, and a 12’ center turning lane.

COMMUNITY | PUBLIC SAFETY | RECREATION | EDUCATION | URBAN

ARCHITECTS | ENGINEERS | LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS | PLANNERS | SURVEYORS | WWW.RRMDESIGN.COM A California Corporation | Victor Montgomery, Architect #C11090 | Jerry Michael, PE #36895, LS #6276 | Jeff Ferber, LA #2844

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Elliott Road

SKYWAY FORT BRAGG PARKMILL PLAZA SITE SPECIFIC PLAN Illustrative Alternative Plans 

ad

Foster Road

Sk yw ay

Pearson Road

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The Illustrative Park Layouts which the public voted. I found it important to place a key location for everyone to understand the location at hand. Programs Used During The Project

KEY MAP

Adobe InDesign CS2 Adobe Photoshop CS2 Adobe Illustrator CS2

ALTERNATIVE I : EXISTING CIRCULATION

AutoCAD 2009 Google Earth, Satellite imagery

ALTERNATIVE 2 : FOSTER ROAD ONE-WAY

Legend Turf Area Plaza Gazebo/Bandstand Trellis Structure

Special Paving at Pedestrian Crossing Benches/Seating Pedestrian Path

Water Feature ALTERNATIVE 3: FOSTER ROAD CLOSURE September 18, 2008

SKYWAY CORRIDOR PLAN | GATEWAY PLAZA/PARK ALTERNATIVES

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MARINA DEL REY Design Guidelines

STREETSC APES

B. Arterials

Via Marina and Fiji Way

Guidelines Driveways 1. To minimize curb cuts and turning movements on Boulevards, minimize construction of new driveways and encourage common access drives to serve more than one project.

Sidewalks

While at RRM, I worked with Donald Sibbett and Chika Kurotaki to help develop the Design Guidelines for Marina Del Rey. This document is probably one the most graphically pleasing and easy to use set of guidelines to hit the markets. This project became a lobor of love due to the task of having the document in Microsoft Word and interchange it with InDesign. Always use the most upgraded versions of both to maximize efficiency. Programs Used During The Project Microsoft Word

1. Where feasible provide a landscape strip between the sidewalk and travel lanes to buffer pedestrians from moving vehicles.

Adobe InDesign CS2 Adobe Photoshop CS2

2. Ensure above grade hydrants, utilities and sign posts are not placed in the pedestrian path on sidewalks.

Crosswalks

Via Marina will be a landscaped arterial dened by owering canopy trees in its medians. Pedestrian activity will be encouraged through sidewalks, planting strips that separate sidewalk from street, and landscape setbacks. Curb extensions will be installed at intersections where there is on street parking to minimize pedestrian crossing time. Bike use of via Marina will be as a Class III bikeway. Fiji Way will continue to be wide enough to navigate boat trailers and trucks. Pedestrian activity will be encouraged through sidewalk planting strips that separate sidewalks from street, and landscape setbacks. Where on street parking provided, curb extensions will be installed at the pedestrian crossing and bike intersections to minimize crossing time. Bike use will be encouraged by providing a multi-use path along the Ballona Wetlands border.

Final Document 05.09

1. Use accent paving at intersections to distinguish crosswalks. 2. Stamp street names in all crosswalk curbs for pedestrian orientation.

Bike Lanes 1. Provide striped bike lanes and bike route signs on both sides of Via Marina and the west side of Fiji Way.

Multi-Use Path 1. Provide a multi-use path on the east side of Fiji Way bordering the Ballona Wetlands.

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BOOK REVIEW

Contemporary Urbanism in Brazil: Beyond Brasilia

NEWSLETTER PUBLICATION

Edited by Vicente del Rio and William Siembieda Reviewed by Susanna Diaz Much has happened in the urban development of Brazil since 1960, when the building of Brasilia as the country’s new capital captured the imagination of architects and urban designers around the world. While no similarly grand design gesture has been made in Brazil since 1960, there have been equally important interventions in many of the country’s major cities since then. Beyond Brasilia effectively surveys contemporary Brazilian urbanism and how it shaped eight of the country’s capital cities in the last two decades of the twentieth century. Brazil is South America’s largest country, occupying nearly half the continent; and with a population of 187 million, is the fifth most populous country (and the fourth most populous democracy) in the world. Brazil’s architects and planners have contributed much to urban design with sculptured buildings, streetscapes, and transit designs that continue to inspire colleagues around the world. This compendium of 12 case studies (written by 18 authors and edited by Vicente del Rio, a native Brazilian, and William Siembieda—both professors at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo) describes the forces that created the urban living environments experienced in Brazil today. The cities examined—which range in population from 1.5 to 11 million—are Belém, Brasilia, Curitiba, Palmas, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Sao Paulo.

Brasilia, Ministries Esplanade and National Congress Building. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photo by Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz, with permission.

(continued on next page)

Northern News

7 September 2009

As a way to learn more about urban development and also get familiar with working with an newsletter editor, I wrote a review on Comtemporary Urbanism in Brazil: Beyond Brasilia. This copendium of case studies is a lobour of love from one of my previous professors, Vicente del Rio, from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. This is the first article I had published, and I hope to create more in the future. The review was also entirely published on Planetizen, and here is the link.

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FORT EUREKA BRAGG DESIGN MILL GUIDELINES SITE SPECIFIC PLAN

As a test, I used ArcGIS to create separate district maps for the City of Eureka. This poster of districts never went to the client, but I was able to use this powerful mapping program with the ArcCatalog quite coherently. Program Used ArcGIS 9

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END OF THE SAMPLES

Hope you enjoyed the samples, and to the left are a few more snippets. I hope to hear from you sometime soon. Cheers, Susanna Diaz

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