Alex Croft|Landscape Architecture

ALEX CROFT
SELECTED
WORKS IN
LANDSCAPE
ARCHITECTURE

HUNT HALL COURTYARD BIOSWALE | UC Davis, CA
Located in the courtyard of the Human Ecology
department at UC Davis, this project was the
culmination of a 10 week required introductory
course to construction materials, design, and build
work.
As a collaborative group of 8, our final design
showcases a small demonstration rain garden
installed within a 15'x12' plot. This functional
garden collects water runoff and moves it to a bed
of nutrient loving plants that perform as a filtration
system to clean the water and prevent erosion. The
plant bed itself acts as a sponge and slowly
releases the water, allowing it to percolate to the
soil below. In both drought and heavy storm
conditions, the versatile plant pallete will still
thrive.
Our plot design uses the excess stormwater from
the patio drain above and directs it through a pipe
along the back of the plot. This flows into a runnel
which then deposits the runoff to the plant bed. The
planting area, along with the pipes and runnel, are
carefully graded so that the water is distributed
throughout the plant bed by gravity without
creating pockets of standing water. Lastly, the low
point in the rain garden contains drain rock to assist
in the percolation process.
1

2
3
Existing patio spillway drain
5
1
4
California Fescue
Blue Rush
Flow of water
Purple Aster
1
2
3
4
5
Patio Drain +High Point
Pipe conveying runoff
Runnel
Plant Bed
Drain Rock +Low Point
Karl Forester
Creeping Oregano
Flagstone
Rip Rap
2

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
R 0.5
6.0
36.0
1.6
12.0
2.0
6.0
12.0
4.0
BRIDGE PLAN
BRIDGE SECTION A
6”
8’
2” tall stopper to prevent backflow on one
end and allow pipe to fit within runnel
1/4”
1/2” diameter support
stakes typ.
2” tall stopper at end
RUNNEL PLAN
6”
4” 2”
6”
1/2”
4”
1’ 6”
1/2”
6” stakes for support typ.
1’
RUNNEL CROSS-SECTION B
RUNNEL SECTION A
3

SHATTUCK AVE. BART STATION REDEVELOPMENT | Downtown Berkeley, CA
Downtown Bekrkeley's vibrant, but hectic BART
station circulates hundreds if not thousands of
commuters each day whether it is by car, bus, bike,
skateboard, subway, or on foot. Serving as a
notable transit hub for the city, the space is
outdated and in need of upgrades to accomodate
the heavy circulation patterns while maintaining a
safe and comfortable environment for current and
future users.
This design features a street reconfiguration, bus
terminal reconfiguration, bioswale features,
upgraded BART entrances, added seating, and a
redeveloped open plaza area. The configuration of
Shattuck was altered by making the West fork open
to two-way traffic with two lanes traveling North
and South. The East fork was left one way primarily
for bus traffic and stops between Addison and
Center Streets. Currently, the East fork dead ends
two blocks north on University Street and is forced
to reconnect the West fork, forming four lanes of
two-way traffic again.
ADDISON ST
CENTER ST
UNIVERSITY ST
BART
UC BERKELEY
SHATTUCK AVE
Along with road reconfiguration, five foot wide
bike lanes have been added in both directions of
Shattuck and Center Street to connect to the cities
existing bike lanes and provide a safe space for
cyclists. Several bioswales were designed along
Shattuck to provide needed strips of vegetation
which filter and clean stormwater runoff from the
surrounding roads. All BART entrances and bus
stops were redesigned with green roofs to reduce
the heat island effect in the summer and provide a
new aesthetic year round.
4

ADDISON ST
Information Board typ.
BART Entance w/
Green Roof typ.
Bioswale
BUS ZONE
Bike Rack typ.
Bus Stop w/ Green Roof typ.
Bench typ.
Bioswale w/ Seat Wall typ.
Welcome/Info Board
BUS ZONE
CENTER ST
Information Board typ.
Main BART Entrance w/
Green Roof
Raised Planter
A
B
Light Pole typ.
Trench connecting
Street to Bioswale typ.
Perspective
A
N
Bioswale w/
Seat Walls typ.
Bioswale Walkway
Bench typ.
Raised Planter
Existing Air Vent
Bike Rack typ.
Bus Stop w/
Green Roof typ.
BUS ZONE
SHATTUCK AVE
Perspective B
0’ 200’
Light Pole typ.
Information Board typ.
BART Entrance w/Green Roof typ.
5

PERSPECTIVE A
6

PERSPECTIVE B
7

TILTH: Cultivating Communities | River Garden Estate Apartments, Natomas, CA
From the momentum of Sacramento’s recent
urban agriculture movement, this project involves
facilitation between an existing, though
non-compliant group of guerilla gardeners, and the
City of Sacramento. As it exists, the garden sits on
city property under large electrical towers. Needing
access to these towers, the city wishes to relocate
the garden to an adjacent property, just a few
hundred feet North of the existing garden.
Meanwhile, the surrounding neighborhood of
38,000 is noticeably lacking in open green space.
˜
NINOS PARKWAY
Following an intensive process of research,
analysis, and community participation, the
suggested design relocates as few gardens as
necessary to accomodate the staunch gardeners.
This proposal simultaneously creates an enjoyable,
educational, and community driven urban farm on
the newly alloted 2.5 acre site at the South end of
the Ninos ˜ Parkway in Natomas.
GARDEN HIGHWAY
DISCOVERY PARK
SACRAMENTO RIVER
AMERICAN
RIVER
INTERSTATE 5
8

GOAL
GOAL
GOAL
A
B
Terraced Demonstration Garden
Egg Cooperative
Water Catchment Basin
Puppy Playground
Kid’s Playground
Goat Dairy Cooperative
Main Public Gathering Space
1
ENHANCE EXISTING
PRIVATE SPACE
Mound Buffer
Fruit and Nut Tree Grove
Relocated Garden Plots
Perspective
A
Perspective
B
2
DIFFERENTIATE
PUBLIC AND
PRIVATE SPACE
Existing Garden
N
3
0’ 100’
Electrical Towers
1.5 mile
SAN JUAN RD
1 mile
SUPPORT
MULTI SCALAR
COMMUNITIES
INCLUDING
SCOOLS AND
CHURCHES
NORTHGATE BLVD
TRUXEL RD
GARDEN HIGHWAY
GARDEN HWY
9
Maintenance Access Road
.5 mile

PERSPECTIVE A
10

PERSPECTIVE B
11

ALEX CROFT
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
808 K Street Davis, CA 95616
+1 310 367 1611
alexcroftm@gmail.com