US, fl!h a.l Wldlfe 5!rw:e Wldlfe fallMb 1.,,1, Pial xae: I" •• la'N C51: WI LO LI FE Amost unusual federal laboratory calls on students to help design an interpretive landscape. By Michael and Laura Murphy N OT lONG AFTER 9/11 and the cre- ation of the Department of Home- land Security, theU,S. Fish & Wildlife Service, along with almost all other federal agencies, was noti- fied of the requirement that designated facilities be protected. The word came to the Fish & Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in the small southern Oregon town of Ashland from the office in Portland. The vision of an unsightly barrier around the lab was unappealing to all who knew the town and the nature of the facility and its staff of scientists, investigators, adminis- tration, and its support staff. The lab is a pair oflow buildings that stands in an at- tractive neighborhood setting, near a school,alonga rural road, adjacent to a hands-on science museum. One factor in drawing world-class scientists in the field of animal forensics and crime investiga- tiontothis singular laboratory is its loca- tion,with views across the Rogue River Valley toward the hills and mountains that surround the town. Among the hundreds of police pathol- ogy labs in the United States and world- wide, this one is unique in thatit is de- signed specifically to crack crimes not againsthumans, but against wild crea- tures: birds and animals taken or used in violation of international endangered species laws. Increasinglythe labis work- ingwith a broad spectrum oflife from in- sects to dying coral reefs. With its spec- trometers, scanning microscopes, gas chromatographs, and newly constructed building that houses everything from a "bug room" to a DNA analysis facility and biological containment, this is the only lab of its kind in the world, resembling in many ways the laboratories made popular by the CSI television series. A remarkable assemblage of scientists and sleuths works there, and these "detectives" are dis- patched to all parts of the world, working with nations committed to the preserva- tion of wildlife species and the prosecution A design by Melissa Olson, Student ASLA, called Forensic Puzzle: Reconnecting Suspect, Victim, and Crime Scene casts humankind as the suspect, the animal kingdom as the victim, and the earth as the crime scene, each represented through the materials and forms of the garden.
Transcript
US, fl!h a.l Wldlfe 5!rw:e Wldlfe fallMb 1.,,1,
Pial xae: I" •• la' N
C51: WI LO LI FE A most unusual federal laboratory calls on studentsto help design an interpretive landscape. By Michael and Laura Murphy
NOT lONG AFTER 9/11 and the cre-ation of the Department of Home-land Security, the U,S. Fish &
Wildlife Service, along with almostall other federal agencies, was noti-
fied of the requirement that designatedfacilities be protected. The word came tothe Fish & Wildlife Forensics Laboratoryin the small southern Oregon town ofAshland from the office in Portland. Thevision of an unsightly barrier around thelab was unappealing to all who knew thetown and the nature of the facility and itsstaff of scientists, investigators, adminis-tration, and its support staff. The lab is apair oflow buildings that stands in an at-
tractive neighborhood setting, near aschool, along a rural road, adjacent to ahands-on science museum. One factor indrawing world-class scientists in the fieldof animal forensics and crime investiga-tion to this singular laboratory is its loca-tion, with views across the Rogue RiverValley toward the hills and mountainsthat surround the town.
Among the hundreds of police pathol-ogy labs in the United States and world-wide, this one is unique in that it is de-signed specifically to crack crimes notagainst humans, but against wild crea-tures: birds and animals taken or used inviolation of international endangered
species laws. Increasingly the lab is work-ing with a broad spectrum oflife from in-sects to dying coral reefs. With its spec-trometers, scanning microscopes, gaschromatographs, and newly constructedbuilding that houses everything from a"bug room" to a DNA analysis facility andbiological containment, this is the only labof its kind in the world, resembling inmany ways the laboratories made popularby the CSI television series. A remarkableassemblage of scientists and sleuths worksthere, and these "detectives" are dis-patched to all parts of the world, workingwith nations committed to the preserva-tion of wildlife species and the prosecution
A design by Melissa Olson, Student ASLA, called Forensic Puzzle: Reconnecting Suspect, Victim, and Crime Scene casts humankind as thesuspect, the animal kingdom as the victim, and the earth as the crime scene, each represented through the materials and forms of the garden.
Among the hundreds of police pathology labs worldwide,this one is unique in that it is designed to crack crimes
not against humans, but against wild creatures.of those who violate national and interna-tionallaws. Stories of its operations haveappeared in magazines ranging fromSmithsonian to Sierra and Popular Science toNational Geographic World.
WHEN GARY BLEFGEN,a project en-gineer at the Portland office of theFish & Wildlife Service, discussed
creating an "anti -attack" buffer around theAshland lab with his colleagues, interpre-tive specialist Matt How and landscape ar-chitect Kelly Donahue, Donahue had apossible solution. Could a landscape gar-den be designed that would meet theprotective demands for a Level II federalfacility-and be not only appealing buteducationaP
Donahue contacted her former professor,Kenneth Helphand, FASLA,at the Univer-sity of Oregon's Department of LandscapeArchitecture, to get his thoughts on thesubject. The idea for an interpretive sciencegarden that met the security concerns
quickly evolved between Helphand andDonahue, and they aired their idea at a dis-cussion meeting with Fish &Wildlife staffin Portland. It was met with enthusiasm,then carried 300 miles to the south by Don-ahue, Helphand, How, and Blefgen, whopresented it to the forensics lab profession-als and planning officialsof the city of Ash-land. The city liked the idea of a garden,and the concept was supported by all, espe-cially the idea of telling the story of the un-usual purposes and operations of the lab.
Donahue was aware that Helphand had ahistory of involving students in projectS be-yond the scope of routine instruction, so itwas not a surprise that they became im-mersed in this one from its earliest stages.Lab Director Ken Goddard, Mike Marxen,ASLA,and others with the Fish & Wildlifestaff traveled to the university to talk to thestudents about their views of the interpre-tive garden, explaining among other thingsthe nature and operations of the lab itself sothat its story could be told in the garden
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design. They wanted an educational interpretivegarden first, with intrinsic defenses. The stu-dents were advised that their designs must meetthe requirements of security as conveyed to theFish &Wildlife Service.The issue was that thiswas to be a "people-friendly" garden whileconcurrently keeping at bay anyone bent onattacking the lab. As in most cases across thecountty, it is vinually impossible to keep indi-
In a design called Snake in the Grass,above, by Carol Bellows, Associate ASLA, an
interpretive sculpture explores the forensictriangle while a spiral path addresses issues
of species extinction. A Global ForensicPuzzle Garden, below, by Sarah Schrock,
Student ASLA, uses various puzzle pieces aswayfinders throughout the garden, engaging
visitors in an interactive experience.
viduals away from most buildings (such aspost offices, federal courts, and airport termi-nals) but possible to stop the close approach ofvehicles, friendly or otherwise. One means ofsolving this can be through the careful designof the hardscape, the proper design ofhillocks, walking path elevations, contours,berms, reinforced interpretive bollards, andseat walls.
U.S.F.W. FORENSICS LABORATORY - ASHLAND, OR.A GLOBAL FORENSICS PUZZLE GARDEN
The enthusiasm of the 10 advanced stu-dents was immediately evident, enlivenedfurther by a 200-mile trip to Ashland for arare and comprehensive visit to the lab.There they talked with scientists and tech-nicians, saw the advanced analytical tools,and viewed collected evidence gatheredfrom around the world, including illegallykilled birds and animals preserved in vari-ous containers, some freeze-dried inwhole or part: black rhino (desired forits horn), elephant (killed for its tusks),helmeted hornbill of Borneo, NorthAmerican black bear (fancied for itspads and claws as ornaments and itsgall bladder as an aphrodisiac and cur-ative in Asia), leopard, and puma.
The Forensics Garden became the mainproject of Help hand's design studio at theuniversity. The parameters were present-ed by Fish & Wildlife staff, from whichHelphand prepated the program for hisstudents, including an overview of theproject, a tentative schedule, and a list ofreading references. The early brief present-
ed by Helphand to his students was to de-sign a garden that would "encourage visi-tors to the site, yet address the lab's secu-rity concerns." A list of case studies wasprepared, and the students were requiredto examine a science garden and commu-nicate their understandings as a case study.A list of well over a dozen case studies wasgiven to them, ranging from The Garden
The students viewed collectedevidencefrom around the world, includingillegally killed birds and animalspreserved in various containers.of Cosmic Speculation in Scotland (CharlesJencks and Maggie Keswick) to Wave-Field at the FXB Aerospace EngineeringBuilding at the University of Michigan(designed by Maya Lin).
The students began, according to Help-hand, with a sketch problem that conveyedeach student's concise statement of the cen-
rral idea, followed by diagrams to supportthe concepts and design approach. This wasaccompanied by a site plan, or axonomet-ric, of the design, plus any additional draw-ings the student chose to prepare.
The students spent the ensuing weeksworking their imaginations into theirdrawings, aware that at the end of thequarter their final best effortSwould adorn
the walls of the lab. Soon thereafterHelphand and the students, alongwith Fish & Wildlife staff from Port-land, returned to Ashland for a rareopen house at the lab. The event wasattended by the public, includingmany children, all of whom wereasked to join with the laboratory staff
and the local garden club to vote on theirpreferences among the designs. The de-signs that garnered the most votes werenoted and they, along with the others,were returned to Portland where Fish &Wildlife authorities dealt with the reali-ties of budget and timing, refined themany metaphorical ideas the students had
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presented, then turned the project over toPortland landscape architecture firm Ne-vue Ngan Associates to incorporate thebest of the design ideas into a near-finalrendering. It was a natural for principallandscape architects Bo Nevue and BenNgan, who had been students of KennethHelphand in years past.
The students' ideas were innovative; oneof the most popular among the public andlab staff was concrete "ribs" of a whaleskeleton protruding from an earth bermacross one of the garden paths-symbolicas well as an impediment to vehicular traf-fie. But funds were limited and Fish &Wildlife staff decided to focus on morecost-effective ways to relate to the theme ofendangered species.
One of the key symbols of forensicscience-three circles symmetrically inter-secting-became the basis for the gardendesign. One circle represents the suspect,one represents the victim, and the thirdrepresents the crime scene. The "triangle"created by the intersection of the three cir-cles represents the solution. This, then, be-came central to the garden layout and willultimately become the area that scientistsand the public will pass through and learnabout the lab and its purposes and method-ologies, as well as about environmentalconcerns overall.
The plan was reviewed and finalized byMarxen, Kim Round, Associate ASLA, andHow in the Portland Fish & Wildlife of-fice, then was successfully bid on by con-tractor Canyon Crest of Selma, Oregon.The comours, walls, and paths are stageone, followed by placement of irrigation,then planting in the fall, and, finally, theplacement of educational exhibits designedby Fish &Wildlife staff.
Michael and Laura Murphy are coauthors ofeight travel books and numerous articles in na-tional and international publications. They livein Portland, Oregon.
Resources• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service NationalForensics Laboratory, www.labfws.gov/contaas,html
