Kuper, Rob. 2011. “Joining The Great Plains In Place, Space, and Time: Questioning Time Zone Boundaries.” Great Plains Quarterly 31(3).
Historically, the twenty-inch isohyet – the line connecting locations receiving average annual rainfall totaling twenty inches – has been used to delineate the eastern boundary of the Great Plains. Coincidentally, the time zone boundary between Mountain and Central Standard Time is located in the same general area of the United States as the isohyet, as is the eastern boundary of the Ogallala aquifer. The current location of the time zone boundary unites locations temporally, socially, and economically but fails to account for climatic conditions that can affect land and water use. In addition, the states that are bisected by it are realistically prevented from eliminating Daylight-saving Time (DST) at the risk of having an intrastate and interstate time change. Aligning the timeline with the isohyet has the potential to spatially align ecological and socio-economic aspects of the landscape, require everyone in the landscape to acknowledge the boundary by observing the correlated time change, and enhance the sense of place in the Great Plains by synchronizing communities that share similar environmental characteristics. This study examines the possibility of such an alignment using responses to a twenty-item questionnaire completed by sixty-nine county representatives whose constituents would be affected by modifying the location of the timeline.
Kuper, Rob. 2011. “Burn Back Invasives, Where You Can.” Land and Water Magazine. July/August.
The proliferation of invasive exotic plants challenges the idea that ecologically based design is self-sustaining. This article documents two projects in New York that highlight methods of controlling invasive exotic plants with and without fire. At the Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, eagerly awaited annual spring burns culminate years of growing farm crops to outcompete invasive exotic plants such as mugwort. On Long Island, at Avalon Park and Preserve, ecological and preferential reasons limit the use of herbicides and a municipal ban on open fires mean that controlling invasive exotics is done primarily by hand.
Kuper, Rob and Mike Olszewski. 2010. “Bringing Down the Roof.” Landscape Architect and Specifier News 26(7): 86-92.
Even if you walk around Temple University’s Ambler campus with the tallest available ladder in tow, you will not see the green roof. Skirted with hickories, oaks, and locusts, perched atop the hill at the far reaches of the student commuter parking lot stands the Athletics Building and the ‘invisible’ green roof. There are no signs to direct you there. Few, if any, clues can be found on site. Little can make the green roof more visible for learning except replicating a portion of it on the ground. This article details the research, design, and construction of a ground-based green roof exhibit by two junior Temple University landscape architecture students in an effort to make the campus green roof more accessible.
Kuper, Rob. 2010. “The Tipping Point: How roof design and location affect Temple University’s pitched green roof.” Landscape Architecture 100(2): 50-61.
In June 2008, assistant professor Mike Olszewski, Ph.D., and I clambered up a caged ladder, popped a hatch, and emerged onto the roof of the Athletics Building at Temple University’s Ambler campus. On this roof, I had to watch where I stepped more carefully than on others I have visited. It is composed of two sloped planes facing different directions - a design that makes it a bit of an anomaly among green roofs and has proven a challenge for plant establishment and overall maintenance. This article describes the research and observations between 2008 and 2009 that have informed subsequent experiments we expect will specifically improve plant health and coverage on the PECO green roof and generally aid other designers considering sloped green roofs.
Tai, Lolly and Rob Kuper. 2010. “Mastering Landscape Architecture” Landscape Architecture 100(3): 64-77.
The number of Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) programs has grown since the degree was established in the 1900s. The total number of MLA applications also rose between 2001 and 2004 as did the number of students accepted. A rise in the number of MLA programs and students is timely: the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics cites landscape architecture as a top growth profession between 2006 and 2016, and the U.S. News and World Report ranked landscape architecture as one of the 30 best careers in 2009. This optimism may bring more attention to the merits and structure of graduate programs. Twenty-seven member institutions of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) currently offering a MLA degree responded to a survey we conducted in 2008. This article summarizes the findings of the survey and discusses students’ criteria for selecting programs, students’ motivation for enrolling, and the future challenges of MLA programs.
Kuper, Rob. 2009. “What’s Up: Examining Green Roof Awareness in Suburbia.” Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 64(5): 145A-149A.
What do suburban students know about green roofs? What can serve as a guide for devising methods of communication? And what information is critical to convince others to adopt green roofs? Rogers’ “classical diffusion theory” states that five conditions must be satisfied before any new idea or strategy becomes widely accepted. Therefore, green roofs 1) must be simple to understand; 2) have relative economic and ecological advantages; 3) be observed elsewhere; 4) be compatible with existing materials and methods; and 5) be easy to try. One hundred passersby stopped to take a 16-item questionnaire en route to or from class on two days in early December 2008 at Temple University in suburban Ambler, Pennsylvania. The results of this survey indicate that the five conditions have not been satisfied among the respondents, many of whom may become future homeowners. The classical diffusion theory and questionnaire results are directing the green roof education of students and campus visitors at Ambler. To date, we have begun four small projects on or near the site of the green roof that address some of the five conditions in the classical diffusion theory. Each is briefly described.
Informal Creative Work
The Monthly Dresser
Every morning before leaving the house and every night before retiring, I load or unload my pockets or a red catch-all with personal belongings – wallet, handkerchief, keys, rarely used cell phone, and Chap Stick. In the past I looked up to and studied a painting atop my dresser that I completed years ago while living in Boston. Two years ago I became sick of it and wanted to look at something else. It was then that I purchased an empty eight-by-ten-inch picture frame and gave myself the assignment of doing one “drawing” a month. Now about every thirtieth morning and every thirtieth night I begin looking at and studying a different drawing. And in the days between I find great satisfaction in making time to draw, cut, paste, pull (prints), or paint.
