landscape architecture
2025 PORTFOLIO
kenny nguyen
About Me Table of Contents
Hello, I’m Kenny Nguyen, a 3rd year BSLA at CPP. I am a member of ASLA and a part of NAMLA’s board. I am proficient at cartography, CAD, Rhino, Adobe Cloud, and plant maintenance.
I joined Landscape Architecture because it was a medium that joined my interest in environmental studies and design.
My goals are to uplift underrepresented people, bringing their voices to the limelight, and brainstorm ideas to adapt to the changing landscape.
• Studio- Site Analysis
• Studio- Landscape Typologies
• Studio- Master Planning
• Studio- Site Design
• Construction- Grading Plan
• AAVS- Cartography
Site Analysis
As heat waves become more apparent, people who are prescribed antidepressants are more prone to heat exhaustion due to the medication. Green spaces can create cooling and healing environments for people. However, green spaces are limited in space compared to malls that surround LA and our site, San Pedro.
Landscape Typologies
Some ideas to integrate plants as a cooling mechanism with trellises and planters. The canopy is made from bamboo fibers.
There are outdoor lawn hills, a greenhouse office space, a moveable bench, an amphitheater that can create energy by pressure plates, and a trampoline seating area.
A zipline that can power energy, a swing turbine, and an umbrella carousel. Instrumental playset, with bongo steps in a retention basin, a maraca handcar, and musical tiles.
Edible gardens are self-explanatory, with trellises and interpretive signage. The bottom is a zen garden detention basin, a bamboo speed bump, and a bamboo bridge.
Before starting our designs for the site, my team explored different ways to address topics that we were investigated. These included Urban Heat Island, Transportation, and Housing.
Master Planning
Final Sketches
With the help of Leslie Manzo and Katalina Tanner, we envisioned how a community could transition from the San Pedro jet fuel deposit site. Phytoremediation zones helped us start in our design to minimize ecological and health damage. There are several steps after this process. These include making the area a park, then adding buildings for retail on parts of the park, then there was adding housing on top of the retail buildings.
Trace Sketches
Our trace paper process started off with brainstorming how we’d go about the design by ourselves. We then would compare each other’s ideas to create a general outline of what we should phase the design. One of the challenges we faced was working with the relationship of circulation and programming. When we started placing where we wanted our buildings though, circulation became less of an issue to manage.
Site Design
Planting Diagram
Here is where we start finalizing our design. There was not much time between projects to dramatically change our design, but some feedback we received was on how cars would go through the site and how we could make the site less of an eyesore, height-wise. In our Master Planning, the retail buildings were around 70’ to 80’ tall. We decided to fill and use a vapor barrier to avoid as much chemical leakage as possible. This allowed us to even out the landscape, leveling the landscape and allowing us to use native plants.
The perspective is set underneath the residential layer. The people were scaled with Twinmotion in a different layer.
The Planting Diagram was based on different sun needs and aesthetics we wanted to achieve. For example, the retail areas are shadier and lusher. Outdoors there’s more native plants that can handle the sea breeze and harsh California sun.
Grading
This was my final design for my construction class where we were supposed to regrade for a pad, stairs, ramps, landings, and a retention basin.
One of the biggest hurdles was the math before I started to grasp what slope needed to be calculated. After some guidance, the calculations started to make more sense. Making the sections and 3D model took some time, but there weren’t any major issues.
Section
Grading Plan
Sheet: L-02
