PLANNING AND DESIGN REPORTS
LAS VEGAS VALLEY WATER DISTRICT REPORTS
Mojave Desert Preserve - Master Plan
2005
Client: Las Vegas Springs Preserve
Team: UNLV Mark Elison Hoversten, PI
Vision Statement
This document provides the framework for managing and preserving the biological and cultural resources in the North Well Field. Its purpose is to explore ideas and help imagine how these resources might contribute to the life of Las Vegan. It will be used to foster further discussion within the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD), in public forums and environmental organizations, and among local residents and technical experts.
Awards and Honors:
Bronze Quill in Document Design, American Association of Business Communicators- 1998
Merit Award in Planning, American Society of Landscape Architects Southern California Chapter- 1997
Outstanding Planning Accomplishment, American Planning Association Nevada Chaper- 1997
Pinnacle Award, Public Relations Society of America, Desert Sands Chapter- 1998
The Mojave Center
2005
Client: Las Vegas Water Valley District
Team: UNLV Mark Elison Hoversten, PI
Vision statement
The mission of this facility will expand from one which encourages the use of water-conserving planting, to the following:
To promote sustainable life in the Mojave Desert by integrating environmentally sensitive design and conservation of resources, through demonstration, education, and research.
Mojave Desert Preserve - Field Report
2005
Client: Las Vegas Springs Preserve
Team: UNLV Mark Elison Hoversten, PI, Luchessi Galati Architects, JW Zunino & Associates
Vision statement
This document interprets information recorded by the Schematic Design Team during the summer of 1998. The field trips recorded yielded valuable lessons to the team as it immersed itself in the community-based design models for the Mojave Desert Preserve and tested the conceptual Master Plan. The information was also valuable to the Las Vegas Valley Water District management staff, to Foundation members and staff, and to the Board of Trustees during the process of all teams working together to seek a common vision and scope for the Preserve. Finally it was used to foster and guide discussion in public forums.
Las Vegas Springs Preserve
2005
Client: Las Vegas Springs Preserve
Team: UNLV Mark Elison Hoversten, PI The Portico Group, Luchessi Galati Architects, JW Zunino & Associates
Vision statement
To preserve and manage the cultural, biological, and water resources of the Las Vegas Springs Archaeological Site and to promote sustainable life in the Mojave Desert by integrating environmentally sensitive design.
Awards and Honors:
Citation Award for the Unbuilt Category, American Institute of Architects Las Vegas Chapter - 1998
NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Landscape and Aesthetics Master Plan
2002
Client: Nevada Department of Transportation
Team: Mark Elison Hoversten, Principal Investigator, UNLV
Vision statement
This Landscape and Aesthetics Master Plan sets the course of action for considering landscape and aesthetics throughout the life of every NDOT-managed highway. Attention to landscape and aesthetics results in built highways that contribute to Nevada's tourist-based economy and its citizens' quality of life.
Awards and Honors:
DeBoer Excellence in Planning Award, American Planning Association Nevada Chapter - 2002
NDOT - Aesthetic Alternatives
2009
Client: Nevada department of Transportation
Team: Hoversten Associates, Design Workshop, CH2MHill
Vision statement
Nevada has a renewed commitment to landscape and aesthetics for the state’s highways. In 2002, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) adopted the Landscape and Aesthetics Master Plan, raising the bar for context-sensitive design.
NDOT - Corridor Studies
2005, 2008
Client: Nevada Department of Transportation
Team: UNLV Mark Elison HoversteN, PI, Design Workshop, MacKay & Somps, JW Zunino & Assoc., CH2MHill, Jones & Jones
Vision statement
Nevada has a renewed commitment to landscape and aesthetics for the state’s highways. In 2002, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) adopted the Landscape and Aesthetics Master Plan, raising the bar for context-sensitive design. Today, it is the policy of the State of Nevada to consider landscape and aesthetics in conjunction with other design factors in all transportation projects. Furthermore, NDOT recognizes that successful projects result when local communities, the public, other permitting agencies, and the private sector participate in the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of transportation projects. Partnerships are imperative to ensure Nevada’s highway system expresses the unique heritage, culture, and environment of the state and its communities.
Awards and Honors:
Project of the Year Award, American Society of Landscape Architects Nevada Chapter - 2008 (US 95 Landscape and Aesthetics Corridor Plan)
Project of the Year Award, American Society of Landscape Architects Nevada Chapter - 2005 (I-80 Landscape and Aesthetics Corridor Plan)
Maintenance Management Study
December 2006
Client: Nevada Department of Transportation
Project Team: Mark Hoversten, Principal Investigator, University of Nevada Landscape Architecture and Planning Research Office
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This study comprises one part of NDOT’s ongoing effort to understand and manager maintenance costs, tasks and commitments associated with landscape and aesthetic (L&A) improvements within the State highway system. Better understanding of maintainable L&A features and maintenance tasks will allow NDOT to improve the planning, design, construction, and operation of L&A projects.
Recommendations on Public Information for the NDOT Landscape & Aesthetics Program
April 2008
Client: The Nevada Department of Transportation
Project Team: University of Nevada Landscape Architecture and Planning Research Office
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to assist NDOT in developing public information products such as press releases, technical presentations, and professional and academic papers, and in responding to inquiries related to the Landscape and Aesthetics Program.
Safety Rest Area Study
May 2008
Client: Nevada Department of Transportation
Project Team: University of Nevada Landscape Architecture and Planning Research Office School of Architecture
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This study proposes a new classification scheme based on the existing NDOT nomenclature. It also recommends using a better-documented planned approach to safety-rest-area development to ensure compliance with relevant statutes and to implement aspects of corridor plans related to safety rest areas.
Landscape Architecture Manual
June 2008
Client: Nevada Department of Transportation
Project Team: University of Nevada Landscape Architecture and Planning Research Office School of Architecture
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Manual collects comprehensive information about the Landscape and Aesthetics Program and Landscape Architecture Section into a single document. Anyone - a new NDOT Director, NDOT managers and technical experts, or a state legislator - will be able to read the Manual and:
-Understand the origins and purpose of the Landscape and Aesthetics Program
-Know the Landscape Architecture Section’s responsibilities
-Understand how the Section interfaces with other parts of the organization
-Understand the procedures and processes related to key program elements
-Find references to related information in other NDOT documents.
TECHNICAL REPORTS
The Pattern and Palette of Place
July 2002
Client: Nevada Department of Transportation
Project Team: Mark Hoversten Team University of Nevada Landscape Architecture and Planning Research Office
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As a complement to The Pattern and Palette of Place A Landscape and Aesthetics Master Plan, this Technical Report focus on technical, managerial, and interface aspects of the landscape and aesthetics program. The documents also address different audiences. Citizens’ groups, public officials, local agencies, such as regional transportation commissions of planning departments, as well as NDOT staff, will use the Master Plan during corridor planning and project design. On the other hand, NDOT staff and its consultants will be the primary users of the Technical Report during detailed implementation of the program.
Landscape & Aesthetics Maintenance Cost Manual
March 2005
Client: Nevada Department of Transportation
Project Team: University of Nevada Landscape Architecture and Planning Research Office
Mark Elison Hoversten, FASLA, AICP, Principal Investigator, Landscape Architecture and Planning
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This document provides planning level information so that NDOT can begin to track Landscape and Aesthetics maintenance costs in a consistent manner. The information can also be used as a starting point to establish and standardize master maintenance contracts and specification.
PURPOSE:
-It characterizes landscape treatments so that maintenance activities and associated costs can be applied to each treatment.
-It standardizes landscape maintenance tasks for each treatment type so that they can be tracked and the intensity can be described.
-It provides a matrix to define every NDOT project.
-It develops a formula to calculate lifecycle costs of NDOT’s Landscape and Aesthetic projects including maintenance costs.
-It provides instruction for how to manage projects so that maintenance costs can be estimated in advance and tracked throughout project lifecycle.
Landscape Maintenance Cost Validation Project
December 2006
Client: Nevada Department of Transportation
Project Team: University of Nevada Landscape Architecture and Planning Research Office
Mark Elison Hoversten, FASLA, AICP, Principal Investigator, Landscape Architecture and Planning
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of the Landscape Maintenance Cost Validation Project is to verify costs based on accurate mapping and accurate maintenance costs. Since these costs represent an ongoing financial committment, it is essential to be able to predict their magnitude. Tracking maintenance costs provides valuable information for planning and design of new construction, capacity improvements, and retrofit projects. The ability to predict maintenance costs before construction, and manage them after, gives NDOT a method to balance the desire for aesthetic effect wit the need to find cost effective landscape and aesthetic designs for all highways projects.
Landscape Maintenance Cost Validation Project
May 2008
Client: Nevada Department of Transportation
Project Team: University of Nevada Landscape Architecture and Planning Research Office
Mark Elison Hoversten, FASLA, AICP, Co-Investigator, Landscape Architecture and Planning
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This study builds on previous reports to provide more detailed maintenance cost information and identify missing information that will be needed to fully incorporate landscape maintenance into NDOT processes. It rests recommendations made in UNLV’s 2006 Maintenance Management System Report, specifically with respect to creating an inventory for landscape and aesthetics assets, and associating specific maintenance tasks with them. In particular, this study found that while tracking maintenance costs accurately requires establishing an asset inventory, there is a balance between getting detailed enough information to understand where money is being spent, and establishing practical, in-the-field reporting methods.
Salary Survey Report
October 2006
Client: Nevada Department of Transportation
Project Team: University of Nevada Landscape Architecture and Planning Research Office
Mark Elison Hoversten, FASLA, AICP, Coordinator, Landscape Architecture and Planning
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The goal of this document is to aid NDOT in assessing current compensation levels and ultimately act as a useful tool in developing and establishing future compensation packages for existing and future positions within the Landscape Architecture Section of NDOT.
Maintenance of Roadside Facilities of the NDOT Maintenance Manual
May 2008
Client: Nevada Department of Transportation
Project Team: University of Nevada Landscape Architecture and Planning Research Office
Mark Elison Hoversten, FASLA, AICP, Coordinator, Landscape Architecture and Planning
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The goal of this document is to aid NDOT in assessing current compensation levels and ultimately act as a useful tool in developing and establishing future compensation packages for existing and future positions within the Landscape Architecture Section of NDOT.