Urban Nature Reserves

Visited 2 urban nature reserves to get inspiration for our current projects. Went to Middlesex Filter Beds  and Camley Street Nature Reserve. They are both similar in size to the main part of the site at Tannery Basin that we work on along the Wey and Arun Canal. Both quite different - the filter beds have a strong industrial heritage and the management is not very obvious on site and Camley street feels very cosy and the management of the site is what makes the site successful.

In these comparing diagrams you get a good understanding of the land use of the 3 sites and especially the relationship between the water and the open space. The filter beds are especially relevant to look at in comparison to Tannery Basin - the both have a natural river and a canal adjacent. The filter beds are made up of semi natural habitats where the filter beds previously used to provide the surrounding areas with purified water. The beds were active for 100 years before they were shut in 1969. Since then nature and wildlife has colonised the space. It is part of a network of spaces in the Lee Valley. Walking down from Lee Bridge Road you can spot the north end of the site. Nature is contained in the former beds and along the edges of the space. You are very much a spectator in this space, taking in the nature, history and sounds from the reed beds. The space is managed to stay wild and management is not obvious, even a regular management and volunteer programme exists. 
Nature was very beautiful when I visited in early April. Even though it wasn't very green, the reeds created a very special feeling in the space. The image on the right show the difference to the space in the summer. The seasonal changes not only changes the site, but also the relationship with the surroundings. This is also the case at Tannery Basin. 
Camley Street is a community project which involves nature conservation (this is how reserve is described in the management report). The space has a range of habitats including secondary woodland, wetland, marsh and grassland.  It is run mainly by volunteers. There is also a strong events programme, which includes education sessions. The challenge at Camley Street is to encourage a greater diversity if volunteers and visitors. 

The space encourages learning and this is evident in the details across the site - with lots of habitat creations. All cut wood on site is re used on site. In edging, on paths or left to create habitats. It shows a range of easy measurements to habitat creation and doesn't undermine the beauty of the space. I really like the tree trunk edging and to see how different natural materials is used across the space.

In conclusion both these sites show the importance of management - but in different ways. There is a strong relationship with the adjacent water which is reflected in the habitats and use of space.  Seasonal changes alters the legibility and relationship with the surroundings.  One site encourages you take part and the other one to be a spectator - both very successful and well used spaces. 

Keep learning!

I think it is important to keep pushing yourself  in your year out. When you are studying it can be hard to find time to develop further knowledge in areas that interest you. Therefore I am planning to take a course in either horticulture or an ecology based course. This is something I am interested in and that I would like to increase my knowledge in.

I have looked at courses at Chapel Manor College (which has got course at Crystal Palace, which would be perfect for me as I live here). I would prefer to do an evening course, but might consider a day time course once a week, if my work are ok with it. I will also take advantage of the experience at my work and ask for their advice in helping me to choose a course. What I want out the course is a large knowledge of plants and to understand them in relation to the bigger picture. 

I also plan to make a video for the LI video competition which asks you to: outline how landscape architects, managers or scientists can fight climate change. My idea for this is to go simple and take photos of my vegetable garden every day and then put that together into a video using a technique where you use still images to create moving image. 

I think the result could be very cool and it would symbolise the importance of little things can help to fight climate change. It would illustrate directly the cycle of growing your own food and it would show the result of something that you can plan into your designs and how this affects people on a small scale. I like to think that to help fight climate change it is as important to think on a small scale as on a large. 

Both of these are things that will help you to become better and enjoy your profession more. I think it is just as important to consider this kind of promotion - as how you format your work and send it out to future employers. At the stage where we are at the moment at the beginning of our careers  a lot of employers will look for potential in people and I think it is important that you show this through commitment to the profession.

I also intend to keep this blog going to sum up lectures, exhibitions and other things related to landscape architecture that I experience. I think that the blog can be a great way to promote yourselves and for employers to learn some more about you and your interests. 

How to present my work

Presenting my work in the degree show and the on my website will follow a similar digital format. It will have built in navigation and flash animation built into the presentations. 

I will also produce additional elements both for my website and for the degree show. They will include business cards (in a less traditional format), animated logo on my website and I will also prepare books in A3 format with A2 foldouts to show extra details of my projects and that can be added to my portfolio. 

I will also prepare a creative CV which will have thumbnails and short descriptions of my work included.  (watch this space).

Logo mock up

Business card mock up - the ides coming from a magic tree. It being a tree and that is growing and that is 'fresh'.

Editing work for website

I have prepared a timeline to go on my website. I thought it would work well to give an overview over my work and studies experience over the last ten years. I will then give an option to download a full CV for people that might want to read more. 

The CV I have prepared it mostly text based, but with a few thumbnails of examples of my work. This to give a bit of a insight into my work without having to look through my portfolio. You can download my CV on my website.

On my website you can also wee edited and short version of work that I did in my first two years. I am not categorising my work by year, so it will all appear on the same page but further down on the bottom. This to highlight the progress.

Tate Modern

Popped into Tate modern the other day (I love the fact that you can just pop in when are around the southbank). Looked mostly at level three at the 'Poet and dreams' and 'Material Gestures' exhibitions. It has got a nice mixtures of sculptures and paintings. It is interesting to see the different teqniches and elements used in paintings. 

 www.artandabsinthe.com/tag/mark-bradford/

The map above is by Mark Bradford called Los Moscos. It is aerial map of an urban area - using materials found on the streets of Los Angeles. He uses soaking, bleaching, tearing and sanding the paper, to emphasise its physicality.  I like this piece of mapping - it creates layers which is important in mapping. It would be interesting to try maybe for a project. 

I am also a big fan of Cornelia Parker. I remember seeing her piece - Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View - a few years ago. She is interested in how everyday objects can be changed by (often violent) processes and change into something new.  The light from one light bulb in the middle of the piece is casting shadows across the room. I haven't really incorporated light very much in my projects and I think by placing light in unusual positions you can get playful and dramatic effects. It has inspired me to try to incorporate some lighting effects in my play project. 

http://blog.tate.org.uk/tate-tales/?p=36

30 pieces of silver is involves symbolically killing off one set of values (class pretension, personal possession) to reveal another. It gives out a surprisingly calm feel. The way the silver is just hoovering above the floor. 

 flickr.com/photos/95443147@N00/23727938

Another idea

This is the first layout visuals for my website. It has got an expandable side bar hiding text. Large images going horizontally across the screen. It is alos showing the sections I am planning to incorporate in my portfolio.

My website

I have chosen not go with the moonfruit site for creating my website. I have bought my own domain (www.hannamarie.co.uk) and plan to create the site from scratch. The benefits with this is that I keep the website for the future and update and do work to. It also gives me an opportunity to learn more about web design and gives me more freedom to create actually what I want.

I have chosen to call my site my first name and middle name, as I am getting married this summer and my sir name will change, this avoids confusion. I wanted to still use my name, cause I think that works best for an on line portfolio. It is not a business or a blog, so I think it needs to be linked to my name. 

Below is  a navigation mock up. It is designed to float over the background image. It also outlines ho I am going to sort my content on my site. I am not planning to sort my work by years, but by category.

In designing my site I mocking up layouts in indesign and illustrator and when I come to a desicion on a design I will start to put it together in dreamveaver. This is a different approach then using the tools and templates that you can find in moonfruit. There you are working from existing elements and makes changes. My approach works the other way - where I decide what it should look like and work and then putting it together. I believe this is a more creative and focused approach that suits me better. 

Portfolio thoughts...

It is getting closer to finishing my course. As well as getting my portfolio ready I need to set up my own website. This is an opportunity to create something that shows off your work and at the same time gives clues of what you are as a person and what are important for you as a designer. It is an opportunity to create something that looks really cool graphically. This will be interesting and I am looking forward to it as I am interested in graphics and like to discover further possibilities with what you can achieve with graphics. One of the most important things to consider when creating your own website is to make sure that it runs smoothly and is easy to to navigate. In our busy lives we don't have time to sit and wait for wed pages to load and if they are hard to navigate it is easy to give up. 

When creating my blog I used one of the templates on blogger - but changed headers, colours and added photo elements along the right hand side to give it more personality. I choose to go with light colours in the background and with a bright spot colour in header texts. I choose a strong header image and decided a name for my blog that said something about myself. 

On line portfolio considerations:

Target your market - Are you trying to get a job or showcasing your work, trying to get business?

Text - Short and precise I think is good. Get the attention fast and then keep it by keeping it short.

Simplicity - It is a portfolio site. Your work should stand out - draw attention to it.

http://www.simonhoegsberg.com/we_are_all_gonna_die/slider.html

The image above is from a website that shows projects from photographer Simon Hoegsberg. I really like the large horizontal image that you can navigate by scrolling along the smaller image below. It is simple and looks very cool. It is a cool peice of photography - but I think it can work for one of my projects as well. Where I have used a long layout that you scroll along. 

I also think that the images you upload have to be large enough for you to some of the details. Of course you can also add a download pdf button - where you can view the work at the right size, but there is no point in putting up work that doesn't view properly. 

http://www.grant-associates.uk.com/

Above is the website of landscape practice Grant Associates. They have a clean and simples website. At the moment the site is under construction. It used to have have sketchbook part - where you could flick through some of their sketches for projects. That is a feature gives you a little insight into the practice. Other Landscape and architecture practices some times have parts where you can see research that they are carring out about eveything to green roofs and to energy saving structures.  On some of the students that graduated last year you can see photography or video. I think it is very important to have a section like this. 

http://www.deep.co.uk/

These are looking at navigation. I like sites where you can scroll through a project - without the rest of the page scrolling as well. 

http://pentagramarchitects.com/portfolio/architecture/

Pentagram is multi design agency, who also has a architects part. I like the way they have utilised their work to make the website and as the same time use it as navigation. Where you click on the images and it will take you to that project. 

I choose to look at website examples from across the design field for inspiration. I think you can learn a lot from other professional fields. Below are some thoughts on a couple of the websites from last years graduates. 

The website I like the most is the one by Tom Ginnett.  It is simple, works really well and showcase his work really well. His personality comes across in his use of the illustartions for the different sections. The only thing I think he has overlooked is an opportunity to get a bit more his personality across. Maybe an about or interests page could have done this. 

Paul Bratton 's website is not as nice in terms of layout and design, but he uses two extra sections - photography and artwork to show a bit of his interests. It shows addititional talents and I think it os important to show that off if you got it. 

To sum up;

I like to make a simple, graphic site which uses cool navigation features and which really shows off my work. I will include a photography part and also a part about future apsirations. 

Extended essay - oppurtunity

The subject of my extended essay is an important decision as this is an opportunity to learn and get deeper knowledge about a certain area that is close to my interests as a landscape architect. 

My initial thought was to look into food production / growing in an urban environment, not calling it Urban agriculture - but more interested in smaller scale solutions that can make a big difference.

My other thought is to look into the planting element that is used in urban environments today. In a lot of urban schemes a lot of block / mono cultural planting is used and I wanted to investigate what benefits a more naturalistic solution could have. Also looking at other ecological solutions that can be applied in different spaces to change the way a process works. 

I think it is important that the subject of the essay is a something that will increase my knowledge in area that will benefit me when I start to work in a practice. I think both these subjects are close to heart and is valuable knowledge that I can use in projects. 

Interesting diverse projects

In this post I am looking at some of the most interesting projects done by Landscape Architects over th last years.

The reason why I like these ones are that the are very current and are addressing concerns that are very important today.  I also  looked at the range of different projects that a Landscape Architect may be undertaking - everything from master plans to landscape character assessments, large landscape design projects to food growing projects. I think it is interesting and important to understand that there are a number of different areas you can work in as a landscape architect. 

By looking at different projects and identifying skills needed for the different projects I hope to find out areas where it would benefit me to get better knowledge in.

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Landscape character maps for Wales 

Landuse Consultants

Landscape Institute Strategic Landscape Planning Award 2008

Landuse consultants has produced a new map of Wales - based on its changing landscape character. The map describes 48 different landscape areas, but what makes the map unique is that it doesn't just describe the geology, land form and biodiversity. It describes each areas distinctive sense of place. 

The work is on going and the next step is public consultation in spring. 

Not all landscape practices takes on this kind of work, but I think it add another dimension to the design work that a landscape architect does. It is important to understand the bigger picture when designing a space and I would like to have the opportunity to work on projects like these in the future. 

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http://www.offshoots.org.uk/gallery.html

Offshots, Burnley - Permaculture project

Managed by Groundwork Penine Lancashire

Is a permaculture project in Burnley. It is a great example of sustainable food growing - but is also exemplar when it come to community engagement. It is located on a former site of the walled kitchen gardens of Townley Hall. It is managed

 by Groundwork Penine Lancashire - they work principally as an organiser and facilitator. They help to get funding and has provided a master plan which has given a structure to work to and to allow a plan for development. 

The Production gardens are the heart of the project. The produce is part of Burnley food link. There is also other ecological elements on site such as a cob building, community compost scheme, tree nursery, beekeeping initiative, reed beds and a sensory garden. 

Offshoots involves people from the whole community, either through the composting project, as visitors to the site, as volunteers, or through colleges and schools running training courses - Offshoots is for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. 

Offshoots was one of the first of schemes like these that are now becoming more usual and popular. I think it is great. It provides a sense of community and is a response to threat of climate change. Some people might not think it is beautiful and does schemes like these need landscape architects involved? I think landscape architects can play an important role in making sure that the space works as best as it can in turns of layout and the the way different spaces work together.  A lot of the methods of processes in the projects - such as reed beds, composting, green roofs. etc is something that we as landscape architects should be experts in and we can also help to bring new ecological and sustainable processes to a project. 

A well designed space should be well used, bring a sense of place and community and I think we can learn a lot from projects like these. 

http://www.offshoots.org.uk/gallery.html

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Daniaoarken, Western Harbour in Malmo

Sweco

The park was created as part of a residential development in the harbour of Malmo Sweden. The park has no spatial boundaries part from the residential blocks at the back edge and is in a wind swept and open landscape. The elements of exposure and openness in the park make a strong contrast to the adjacent city district with its small, narrow alleys and squares. There are a few sheltered spots in the perennial terraces - but part from that you are really open to the elements here. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aodland/461105587/

The platforms out to the sea are playful and kids love jumping off them in the summer time. There are also tall climbing walls to get back up again. 

I like the simplicity and swedishness of this project. Being from Sweden I have always had a strong connection to the water - because of the many lakes and growing up spending my summers by the sea. I think the material use and openness is great. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elsamu/1117696475/

I choose to look at this project cause it uses clean modern  and playful design that work with the natural elements and responds and makes them stronger in the setting. I think that is another way of responding to nature and it brings attention to the sea and the possibilities of water. It brings out  and connects with water without intruding. 

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To sum up;

To find out more about what I need to do and what I need to learn to make myself emplyable when I finish univeristy I choose to look at some interesting and different projects in the landscape profession instead of looking at a particular practice. I think by looking at projects that I like and the principles of these projects I can identify what I like to learn more about and methods to try out in mys last projects this year. 

In the play project we are working on at the moment I am interested in trying to combine a sensory hearing garden with play and food production to bring together a community in a playful way.

In the canal restoration project we just finished working on I will add some more management princilpes and really describe the ecolgical processes I use in the scheme. I will also try to describe how this can be used to create a sense of place and character that fits in the existing landscape.