STUDENT PORTFOLIO
selected works 2023-2025
ANYA NONA is a designer with a lifelong passion for the outdoors - whether that’s backpacking, farming, or just sitting out in the sun with a book. Imparting this passion and excitement for nature is the driving force behind her design, improving human accessibility to the natural world around them, making it healthy, vibrant and resilient in the process.
Mixed Use Development Plan
4-11
Conceptual Planting Design
Residential Community Plan 18-23
Site Feasibility Analysis 24-27
WILDSCAPE HAVEN is directly inspired by our national parks; mimicing their circulation patterns, residential organization, and access to amenities & recreation for those living in and around the development.
This multi-use development provides residents with an integrated live / work / play community, and prioritizes multi-modal transportation with a central circulation route for vehicles, bikes, and pedestrians. Any development on the site is connected to an extensive walking trail, which stretches from the entrance to the southern neighborhoods, crossing through native tall grass prairies, restored wetlands, old-growth forests and a revitalized marsh park.
Wildcape Haven is a refuge for wildlife and humans alike, creating habitat and community structure for residents and visitors.
Prairie Trailhead
Office Complex
x1 Parking Structure
x2 Office Buildings
x2 Commercial Buildings
The Greenway Townhomes & The Core
Mixed-Use Hub
x40 Townhome Units
x4 4-Plex Apartment Buildings
x4 Surface Parking Lots
x1 Parking Structure
x2 Office Buildings
x1 Commercial Building
Boulder Fields Park & Wildscape Farm
Public Realm Park
x1 Surface Parking Lot
x1 Commercial Building
The Bends
Residential Neighborhood
x6 4-Plex Apartment Buildings
x21 Tiny Homes
x3 Surface Parking Lots
Marsh Loop
Residential Neighborhood x22 Tiny Homes
Buck Creek Treehouses
Residential Neighborhood x19 Tiny Homes
Heron Lake Loop
Residential Neighborhood x19 Tiny Homes
Heron Lake Marsh Revitalization
Public Realm Park
x1 Surface Parking Lot
x1 Commercial Building
Zone 1: Heavy Disturbance
former golf course, grassland with invasives
Zone 2: Slight Disturbance
mix of open prairie and woodland, some invasives
Zone 3: Least Disturbance
heavily wooded, old-growth forest & watershed drainage
Zone 4: Heavy Disturbance
stormwater runoff basin & levee
Access Point
Trailways
On-Site Drainage
The site analysis directly influenced the development of Wildscape Haven, focusing on existing vegetation, previous use and levels of disturbance, and hydrology of the site. The ultimate goal was to lay out a master plan that preserved existing ecological function, and took advantage of the areas that were already altered by human use.
The following master plan preserves as much woodland as possible, protects and expands upon the emergent wetlands on site, and limits construction to previously disturbed areas.
The Greenway Townhomes Plan & Perspective
A place for everyone to come together
Boulder Fields Park & Wildscape Farm is the heart of Wildscape Haven. Its namesake comes from the array of age appropriate rock climbing activities, from children’s adventure structures to bouldering and strength training for more seasoned climbers. A 1-acre farm, complete with an orchard and two greenhouses, provides fresh produce and valuable skills to the residents of Wildscape Haven.
The plaza is dotted by large, geodesic wood shade canopies, which serve as functional and intriguing sculptural elements and complement the earthy, boulder and stone accent splash pad. Residents can access the park from any neigborhood through the Prairie Trail system or the central circulation roadway.
YEAR LOCATION
TYPE 1531 ft2
Ann Arbor, MI
AREA
TECHNIQUES Individual Work 2024
Hand Graphics
Illustrator
Photoshop
BONSAI FOREST is an experiment to bring a lush, temperate rainforest feel to the open and sun-soaked Matthaei Botanical Garden and Nichols Arboretum.
A variety of forms, structures and textures hint at the acclaimed Bonsai Garden just down the path, while a muted color palette lets the flowers of the Kimberly Maged Perennial Garden shine in peak season.
Bonsai Forest was purposely designed to complement the existing displays at MBGNA, not to detract from them. Texture, structure, and year-round interest was prioritized to provide fall and winter appeal, and in summer be more subdued and humble, letting the botanical garden show off its blooms.
Site Analysis for Matthaei Botanical Garden Site Examining the opportunities of this ‘pass by’ plot
Sketch Diagram
Planting a ‘carpeted forest floor’
This planting features a number of creeping shrubs and perky flowers to blanket the ground. Both weeping and upswept branching structures pop out to keep you interested. Towering Alaskan cedars (Xanthocyparis nootkatensis) frame the entrance and usher you towards the beauty that lies behind them.
The color palette was specifically designed to display consistently lush shades of green in the summer, when the MBGNA is in peak season, with pops of color to brighten up the garden in times of dormancy.
Xanthocyparis nootkatensis
Thuja occidentalis ʻfiliformisʼ
Cornus alternifolia
Achillea filipendulina
Cornus alba ʻelegantissimaʼ
Comptonia peregrina
Juniperus horizontalis
Festuca glauca ʻElijah Blueʼ
Hakonechloa macra
Geranium maculatum
Anemone canadensis
FLORA GROVES is a proposed housing community on the west side of Ann Arbor, situated between agricultural land to the west and heavily wooded neighborhoods to the east.
This design aims to create space for humans to build community with each other and create relationships with native plants, and to expand habitat for native pollinators. Hugelkultur (mounded organic material and deadwood) is used throughout the site as nutrient-rich growing substrate for native wildflowers, as well as visual privacy barriers between homes and the outside public realm.
The precedents and stated ecological functions lend the design towards a colorful palette and whimsical, organic features, all to encourage resident’s integration and engagement with the designed environment and their neighbors.
Site Feature Diagram
Hugelkultur mounded plantings
Isometric Sketch
Shared Community Garden & Lounge
Perspective Sketch
Traffic-calming circulation design
Section AA’
Public to Private Realm Transition
Section BB’
Shared Backyard
Ann Arbor, MI YEAR LOCATION
Team Work
TYPE 14,000 acres
[Anya Nona, Roberto Ostos, Leah Kauffman, John Slinkman]
AREA
TECHNIQUES
QGIS
Sherman Island, located at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, was once a rich peat marsh and home to a network of wetlands. Draining of these wetlands for agriculture and human residence has made the island sunkalmost 25 feet since the 1800s.
As a team, research and analysis was conducted to conceptualize an intervention on Sherman Island. While hypothetical, our intervention addressed specific issues regarding subsidence of the island and loss of habitat and biodiversity due to human activities. Ultimately, we decided an expansion of existing wetland restorations (the Whale's Mouth and Belly wetlands) would mitigate sinking and flooding issues faced on Sherman Island. To promote value and human investment in the restoration project, we designed a paddlesport livery for folks to connect with the wetland habitats at a slower, more intentional pace.
The suitable site found is a 10+ acre parcel that sits between existing wetland restoration projects, the Whale's Mouth and Belly. Paddle The Whale livery not only becomes an attractive recreation activity, but also functions as an ecological connector, extending the wetland habitats across the southern stretch of Sherman Island.
