Jordan Boudreau
he/theySanta Cruz, CA
Portfolio
I have a passion for fostering healthier relationships between people and the natural world.
Below, I have curated examples of past projects that demonstrate how I have done this through my past work.
Preliminary Masterplan Diagrams for Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Palo Alto, CA — 2022-2023, Gehl
I served on the 4-person Gehl team creating the preliminary masterplan and design principles for Stanford’s new Doerr School of Sustainability. As part of this work, I was in charge of creating massing, land use, and circulation diagrams and maps used in our final planning documents.
Design Principles for Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Palo Alto, CA — 2022-2023, Gehl
I helped shape over 60 design principles to guide Studio Gang and the Campus Architect in the design of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.
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I primarily contributed principles that addressed the relationship between indoors and outdoors, prioritized a sense of connection with nature, and limited new GSF. These include:
- A “village-like” approach to buildings, with small, densely gathered buildings, in order to increase proximity to the outdoors.
- Treating building facades as “ecotones” that blur the lines between the indoors and outdoors.
- Creating a “basecamp” at the heart of the school from which all field science programming would dispatch, giving the School a sense of connection to field work and the world beyond Stanford.
Stanford Study of Belonging on Campus
Palo Alto, CA — 2022-2023, Gehl
Using a proprietary app developed by a colleague at Gehl, I conducted a study that invited Stanford students and staff to photograph spaces on campus that make them feel either a sense of belonging or exclusion.
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Participants took geotagged photos of spaces around campus, rated each space as inclusive or exclusive, and tagged themes that impacted this rating. This allowed us to track, across demographic groups, which factors instill a sense of belonging on campus, which then informed the design principles we recommended for the Stanford School of Sustainability.
Primary pedestrian paths at UCSC and Pogonip Trails Opportunity to join these networks
Informal Recommendation to UCSC for Trail Safety Imrovement
Santa Cruz, CA — 2024
In 2021-2022, I worked part-time as an outdoor teacher leading kids on hikes around Santa Cruz. After bringing students several times from the UCSC campus to the Pogonip trail system and encountering a dangerous, unprotected road crossing, I made this recommendation to UCSC to the safety and accessibility of getting between campus and Pogonip.
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Existing Conditions
Pedestrians currently have only two options to walk from campus to the Pogonip Spring Box Trailhead. Both approaches pose dangers. One requires pedestrians to walk along the shoulder of Coolidge Drive, around a blind curve and near speeding cars; the other, while pleasant to start, requires a descent down a steep hillside followed by a short walk on Coolidge. Both routes require an unprotected street crossing across Coolidge to reach the trailhead.
Proposed Solutions to Explore
The solution to this problem could be quite simple; I propose the following two interventions below.
- Install crosswalk: Install a 12’ wide crosswalk on Coolidge Drive at the Spring Box Trailhead. Ideally, pair this with pedestrian actuated Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) to alert cars to slow down.
- Improve and formalize the informal trail from Stevenson to Pogonip: Improve an existing informal hillside trail, including stairs and minor grade adjustments as needed.
Assuming these two interventions were made, the following strategies could help highlight the connection between UCSC and Pogonip:
- Create on-campus trailhead and signage: Install trailhead signage at Stevenson, formalizing this short trail from Stevenson to the Spring Box Trailhead.
- Include wayfinding signage at nearby Mobility Hub: Consider installing wayfinding signage from the Mobility Hub, through Stevenson, to the proposed trailhead.
Climate Solutions Exhibition for UCSC’s Seymour Center
Fort Bragg, CA — 2023-2024, UCSC
In collaboration with local nonprofits, agencies, and UCSC professors, I oversaw a team creating a bilingual exhibition on local climate solutions in Santa Cruz.
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In my work at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, UC Santa Cruz’s aquarium, I led a team of volunteers, staff, and interns designing and fabricating the first full overhaul of the Center’s exhibits in 20 years. All new content for the space is bilingual in English in Spanish, wheelchair accessible, and connected to stories of local climate solutions in Santa Cruz and the Central Coast, which I developed with partners in the City and University.
Working within a tight budget, I designed all graphics, exhibition labels, and wayfinding myself, and personally built all exhibition furniture. This included a new wheelchair-accessible reception desk and exhibition tables, more free public space, an indoor terrarium (including drainage and grow lights), and 6 upholstered benches made by hand and without any plastics.
Public Space Survey for a Mayo Clinic Plaza
Rochester, MN — 2023, Gehl
I collaborated with a colleague at Gehl to conduct this study of circulation and public space usage in Peace Plaza, a public plaza in Rochester, Minnesota owned and managed by the Mayo Clinic.
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The methodology used in this study—Public Space and Public Life surveys (PSPLs)—is a survey method developed by Danish planner Jan Gehl, which employ transect and stationary counts to evaluate the “health” of a public space and inform planning decisions. In this study, we found a high correlation between facade quality and the “stickiness” of various parts of the plaza (the ratio of people passing through a space who choose to stay there), leading us to recommend more active facades and ground floor permeability.
Architecture, Landscape Design, and Permitting for Cafe One
Fort Bragg, CA — 2021-Present, Freelance
I serve as project manager, client representative, and lead architectural designer on a $3 million new development restaurant and half-acre garden for an organic cafe and diner in Fort Bragg, CA.
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Relevant highlights from this project include:
- Integrating landscape design and indoor-outdoor spaces into all stages of the process, reflecting the owner’s slow food philosophy.
- Selecting and collaborating with consultants to address design challenges, ADA issues, and entitlements.
- Conducting historical site research to establish entitlements such as City design committee approval, building permits, setback and zoning variances, easement disputes, and municipal concerns around utility impacts.
Leading a Rural Affordable Housing Coalition
Poughkeepsie, NY — 2019-2020, Hudson River Housing
In 2019-2020, I helped establish and run an affordable housing coalition in three rural towns in Dutchess County, New York to identify community needs and potential sites for development.
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By leveraging commitments made in each of the three towns’ comprehensive plans, I worked with community members, town leadership, developers, and non-profits to identify possible sites for affordable housing in the region. At monthly open community forums and focus groups, we made our work public, gathered feedback, and coalesced support. This work has culminated in a 28 unit affordable housing project now being developed in Amenia, NY.
Trail Repair Planning for New Haven’s East Rock Giant Steps
New Haven, CT — 2019 - Urban Resources Initiative
I was tasked with documenting the existing condition, and documenting necessary repairs, of the Giant Steps, a stone-step trail that serves as the primary pedestrian access trail to East Rock, and a New Haven landmark.
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The site posed many challenges, with 300’ in elevation gain over an approximately 1000’ span. Primary interventions involved masonry work to add new steps and to re-set steps which had sloped and settled, and re-building the broken, unstable handrail.
This project demonstrates my comfort drafting existing conditions and changes on steep grades, as well as my ability focus on small but important details that make a big impact on pedestrians’ safety and enjoyment.