Land8 | Chris Whitis | Activity https://land8.com/members/chriswhitis/activity/ Activity feed for Chris Whitis. Mon, 06 Apr 2026 22:39:39 +0000 https://buddypress.org/?v=6.0.0 en-US 30 hourly 2 20d00a9d64673aba0aff1ea5dcac988a Chris Whitis replied to the topic Luxury Streetscape in the forum GENERAL DISCUSSION https://land8.com/forums/topic/luxury-streetscape/#post-159690 Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:39:19 +0000 Here are some pics of a high-end retail development in Austin called the Domain that might be what you’re looking for.  It has some nice boardwalk areas integrated around existing trees that give it a nice touch.
 
Sitephocus.com – The Domain

]]> 0 7fe13c31202e69c40a59518124bbca6b Chris Whitis replied to the topic LA projects in Minneapolis in the forum PLACES & SPACES https://land8.com/forums/topic/la-projects-in-minneapolis/#post-166751 Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:38:09 +0000 We’ve it quite a few of the sites mentioned in Minneapolis on sitephocus.com and have a pretty extensive collection of images of sites broken down by city. Here’s a link to Minneapolis

]]> 0 bab1adcfdde958e188d735c92ebc51fc Chris Whitis replied to the topic ASLA 2010 Annual Meeting in the forum GENERAL DISCUSSION https://land8.com/forums/topic/asla-2010-annual-meeting/#post-169561 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:35:29 +0000 I’ll be in town photographing sites all over the place, but am skipping the meeting. Would love to meet up or if anyone wants to tag along to see some sites, drop me a line. If not a Tweetup, then we’ll see ya at the Happy Hour.

]]> 0 f03a085dd92b2ce647eb3a2c811d6999 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Freakonomics and transportation planning myths and realities in the forum GENERAL DISCUSSION https://land8.com/forums/topic/freakonomics-and-transportation-planning-myths-and-realities/#post-168116 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:51:59 +0000 But the same can be said about highways. They don’t recoup their costs and ‘bleed money’ as well. Why the double standard? If people had to start paying the true cost of highways, they might be much less extensive as well (tolling, raise gas taxes). I have my doubts that the roads would be paved with gold. TxDOT recently did a study that showed…[Read more]

]]> 0 071d096f8431c7de49d13476d9d48c38 Chris Whitis replied to the topic TANKLESS UNDERGROUND WATER HARVESTING in the forum DETAILS & MATERIALS https://land8.com/forums/topic/tankless-underground-water-harvesting/page/2/#post-168163 Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:00:22 +0000 I’m not sure how the system has worked out, but our local concrete association has done something similar. The cross-section is porous concrete over washed 57 stone with a pond liner/ membrane acting as the reservoir. The 3/4″ aggregate has ±40% pore space for calculating volume/ capacity. I’ll DM you his contact information and you can check in…[Read more]

]]> 0 44818a55a6855bfa7030ef4ce29e017f Chris Whitis replied to the topic Green roof: Drainage, Irrigation, and Water Quality all in one in the forum SUSTAINABILITY & DESIGN https://land8.com/forums/topic/green-roof-drainage-irrigation-and-water-quality-all-in-one/#post-168355 Fri, 06 Aug 2010 21:35:29 +0000 Do you have his report? I can’t seem to find it. I’d love to see his numbers to back up his statement. Curious if he’s trying to discredit other systems in order to push his.

Here’s some additional info:

MSU – http://www.hrt.msu.edu/greenroof/
“Over the 14-month period the study was conducted, the vegetated roof treatments retained 60.6% of…[Read more]

]]> 0 bfd66a500c431d161750ce88c57979f0 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Green roof: Drainage, Irrigation, and Water Quality all in one in the forum SUSTAINABILITY & DESIGN https://land8.com/forums/topic/green-roof-drainage-irrigation-and-water-quality-all-in-one/#post-168356 Fri, 06 Aug 2010 21:34:11 +0000 Yeah, the basal system is the one I’m remembering. Haven’t heard any more about it or looked into it further, but am guessing the added weight costs would be of concern with owners. Plus, having a full-time bath tub overhead might scare a few people as well.

]]> 0 f6454c8c0b5a35f64e40c344fe50aa4a Chris Whitis replied to the topic Green roof: Drainage, Irrigation, and Water Quality all in one in the forum SUSTAINABILITY & DESIGN https://land8.com/forums/topic/green-roof-drainage-irrigation-and-water-quality-all-in-one/#post-168359 Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:59:39 +0000 His beef appears to be more of biodiversity of what’s going on in the soil, not related to stormwater. Or at least I’m not gleaning that green roofs have failed in that aspect.

]]> 0 0e58ebca79bf61935f3cdff9db4e2b9a Chris Whitis replied to the topic Green roof: Drainage, Irrigation, and Water Quality all in one in the forum SUSTAINABILITY & DESIGN https://land8.com/forums/topic/green-roof-drainage-irrigation-and-water-quality-all-in-one/#post-168361 Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:11:11 +0000 Sarah,
Are you providing an irrigation system, or are the perforated channels intended to provide the irrigation for the entire roof? If you’re going with a traditional extensive (4″) green roof media, I’m afraid you’re not going to provide any irrigation other than immediately adjacent the channel. Green Roof media typically conducts water pretty…[Read more]

]]> 0 c6a4c3cba68470ace4372c873571cb78 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Case Studies / Design Precedents: Parks in Urban Settings with BMPs/Swales/Retention Basins in the forum SUSTAINABILITY & DESIGN https://land8.com/forums/topic/case-studies-design-precedents-parks-in-urban-settings-with-bmpsswalesretention-basins/#post-168474 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:06:40 +0000 Here are a few that come quickly to mind:

Tanner Springs Park (Portland)

South Waterfront (Portland)

Epler Hall, Portland State (Portland)
Bioretention and educational component

Citygarden (St. Louis)
Bioswales/ bioretention along cross-streets, permeable pavers in certain locations in the park

Public Square (Nashville)
Park/ Plaza green roof…[Read more]

]]> 0 b0df1f797125a8a37f7a4e12bec53969 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Artificial or Real turf for public spaces? in the forum DETAILS & MATERIALS https://land8.com/forums/topic/artificial-or-real-turf-for-public-spaces/#post-168654 Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:22:23 +0000 We were in NYC in the spring and the plaza at 55 Water Street (Ken Smith) had a turf panel that was synthetic. The newer surfaces can fool you from a distance and can only tell its fake when you’re up close. I’m betting they chose it for maintenance and also growing conditions due to lack of solar exposure.

55 Water Street @…[Read more]

]]> 0 063444cdecac07ad98d128655a69e292 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Curb Cuts to Bioretention in the forum SUSTAINABILITY & DESIGN https://land8.com/forums/topic/curb-cuts-to-bioretention/#post-169565 Mon, 24 May 2010 00:31:03 +0000 Portland does a great job of creating individual cells that daisy chain together with each cell having an inlet and an outlet. Most of their examples are on pretty shallow grade, though and street in the St. John’s area outside Portland was a bit steeper and you can get a feel for the spacing of the inlets. The most typical inlet erosion…[Read more]

]]> 0 9d0b6d560cbdafa30758e56876f7b1e4 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Best Image Bank for Landscape Architects? in the forum TECHNOLOGY https://land8.com/forums/topic/best-image-bank-for-landscape-architects/#post-170301 Mon, 05 Apr 2010 02:33:47 +0000 Thanks for the compliments, Laith! We’re looking at revising our search set up to include a ‘Search Keywords Only’ search box. Currently on the beta site, when you search for a keyword the site pulls up images that have the keyword as well as that word within the site’s name (ie. park/ Baldwin Park TND).

A feature that’s on the site now to help…[Read more]

]]> 0 d2afe2e75c2b0d0140ea3661139a7dc9 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Best Image Bank for Landscape Architects? in the forum TECHNOLOGY https://land8.com/forums/topic/best-image-bank-for-landscape-architects/#post-170307 Fri, 02 Apr 2010 12:33:50 +0000 nrschmid,

What we hear from many of our subscribers, and the primary reason we created the site in the first place (besides enjoying traveling and photography), is the time savings of having hundreds of photos that they can quickly browse and are high quality. Time searching various sites in the hopes of finding good, hi res images is a direct…[Read more]

]]> 0 fc8d4fd9e019b82b510277725281af76 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Best Image Bank for Landscape Architects? in the forum TECHNOLOGY https://land8.com/forums/topic/best-image-bank-for-landscape-architects/#post-170310 Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:59:33 +0000 Laith,
A fellow LA and I have developed http://www.sitephocus.com as an image library for the built environment. We’re currently in beta mode on a new platform we recently launched and offer high res image downloads through pay-per-image and yearly subscription (unlimited downloads). Registration to the site is free and will keep you up to date on our…[Read more]

]]> 0 bf98e1e1328110d4f574dccf681e3f0d Chris Whitis replied to the topic Green Streets in the forum SUSTAINABILITY & DESIGN https://land8.com/forums/topic/green-streets/#post-170921 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:14:10 +0000 You’re correct, Philip. Everything we’ve heard is that pervious needs to be swept and/ or vacuumed once or twice a year. There shouldn’t be any issues with sedimentation filling the entire cross section as fines are typically caught in the gravel pores between pavers and don’t migrate downwards.

Morton Arboretum in Chicago dissected a section of…[Read more]

]]> 0 3a4a7ab2888c903506ea70d23b3eb0d9 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Green Streets in the forum SUSTAINABILITY & DESIGN https://land8.com/forums/topic/green-streets/#post-170926 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:30:38 +0000 Thanks for mentioning Johnston Medical Center. Here’s a link to some images of that project.

Johnston Medical Center

That was a unique project in that we had a client allow us to have the GC price green infrastructure vs conventional in the schematic stages. Green ended up being slightly cheaper, but also had benefits that don’t typically equate…[Read more]

]]> 0 fa0d8a9c209aae13ddc2b60cdf864447 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Looking for examples of Parks or Plazas under highways in the forum GENERAL DISCUSSION https://land8.com/forums/topic/looking-for-examples-of-parks-or-plazas-under-highways/#post-172491 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:58:12 +0000 Mission Creek Park in San Francisco is something you should check out. It was covered recently in LAM and here are some photos we have on sitephocus.com – Mission Creek Park

This month’s LAM has a feature on a new park/ greenway in Houston under a highway system.

]]> 0 c4336090943ed504e2c1c2d0f0ef4e68 Chris Whitis replied to the topic suggestions for Hotel Gardens in the forum PLACES & SPACES https://land8.com/forums/topic/suggestions-for-hotel-gardens/#post-173082 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:05:43 +0000 The Hotel Modera in Portland has a nice courtyard with Living Wall. Unfortunately, it was under construction when I was there last summer.

Hotel Modera

Flickr search

aerial view

]]> 0 257456a707248d9d9db79d0bdcf7ba23 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Greywater Treatment Systems in the forum SUSTAINABILITY & DESIGN https://land8.com/forums/topic/greywater-treatment-systems/#post-173768 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:15:12 +0000 Are you looking for something like living machines? Here’s an example of what they are and I’ll give a brief description of the little I know….http://www.livingmachines.com/

The system’s utilize plant material and fish to help break down and purify wastewater through a series of lagoons and constructed planting beds, usually in a green house…[Read more]

]]> 0 b629ee375411ce833156f290145f7c37 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Dual use - parking lot / plaza in the forum PLACES & SPACES https://land8.com/forums/topic/dual-use-parking-lot-plaza/#post-174808 Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:24:34 +0000 As Roland mentioned, the woonerf concept is definitely one to look into as they combine multiple transportation modes in a single corridor or space. Additionally, Europe doesn’t seem to have the segregation of pedestrian/ vehicular in their urban areas as there’s a greater respect for the pedestrian.

Here’s a few pages of photos of images at…[Read more]

]]> 0 40f6a9844d2e97e675d2252c7733e2c5 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Portland, OR in the forum PLACES & SPACES http://land8.com/forums/topic/portland-or/#post-175444 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:49:59 +0000 Definitely hit the Pearl District and Jamison Square with it’s people watching and the other spaces mentioned. A few others include Portland State and the Epler Hall featuring rain gardens and a ‘green’ street almost immediately adjacent. You can ride the streetcar in the free zone all through the Pearl District and up to the South Waterfront…[Read more]

]]> 0 a26964c66d307a5acce83f4d01fe6f53 Chris Whitis replied to the topic Landscape Architect Documentaries in the forum GENERAL DISCUSSION https://land8.com/forums/topic/landscape-architect-documentaries/#post-176450 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:01:09 +0000 A good read is A Clearing in the Distance by Witold Rybczynski on FLO.

]]> 0 fc2de479ee0cdf47bc48246eafb12388 Chris Whitis replied to the topic LA projects in Austin/San Antonio in the forum GENERAL DISCUSSION https://land8.com/forums/topic/la-projects-in-austinsan-antonio/#post-177403 Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:31:05 +0000 Definitely hit the River Walk in San Antonio. Not really LA/ garden related, but probably the best thing in town.

In Austin, check out the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center just outside of town.

]]> 0 60d5c346bf16fcdaaa7587fdbfc5d78b Chris Whitis replied to the topic free images on web in the forum GENERAL DISCUSSION https://land8.com/forums/topic/free-images-on-web/#post-177521 Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:03:10 +0000 Thanks, Andrew. Just getting ready to post when I saw your reply. Jennifer, we’re not a free site, but we have a lot of high res photos specific to arch/landscape arch/ planning. Our site is http://www.sitephocus.com – online image library of the built environment. Currently, we’re closing in on 20K photos from around the world in and should hit that in…[Read more]

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