Laurie Olin

Olin initially did a degree in civil engineering, I find this to be quite evident in most of his works which focus on function and geometrics. Not in an artistic design form but almost as if it is a representation of his outward look on landscapes around him.

He is renowned, having designed Washington Monument grounds, Bryant Park New York and Simon and Helen Director Park, Portland. (See images below)

 Moreover, I specifically like the Simon and Helen Director Park, Portland for the simple fact that it looks very up to date with the surroundings and urbanized in a form that is still evidently landscape architecture.  In my opinion, this piece showcases the flexibility and forward-thinking behind landscape architecture, 

Additionally,  I really like his drawings of landscapes, the technique he uses to draw is an inky pen- much like mine. Despite the roughness of the sketches the communication of the space and atmosphere is explicit. 

Russel Page

 Russel's use of hard geometric shapes along side soft colours and textures together creates an almost wonderland in the garden below. This is why I chose this piece. I find it fascinating how he has created such an atmosphere, I see the shapes as one layer and the vegetation texture another layer with the colours in another layer, and together they converge so well to create a comfortable and familiar space that pulls you inside. The use of sharp borders to corner off the planting makes them feel almost like an exhbition or gallery, where the low hedging borders are picture frames for the planting inside. 

I could not help but choose the lattice designed hedge as another precedent, it has peeled a new layer of topiary in my opinion, it looks quite dramatic and is yet such a simple form. 

Roberto Burle Marx

Roberto's work fits very nicely with my current predicament as a designer regarding materiality in urban realm- as mentioned in recent posts. 

Exploring his work is just what I needed to embody being bold within my design and not strive for an mundane public plaza.

His designs are inspiring, the use of bold organic shapes at such a large scale are balanced out through the neutral and mute colours. It becomes less overwhelming and more appealing as a curious pattern. Personally, I really like the designs but I also can understand how it can be harsh on the eyes for some people, especially those with visual impairments the patterns can be confusing and not establish clear boundaries within the site. His work is dynamic in its composition whilst also connective with its metamorphic, organic shapes. I espeically like that it is actually incorporated in public realm. 

Exploring vegetation concepts

I had not seen many hexagonal naturalistic vegetation designs and after some exploration of shapes with the idea of trees and spherical hedges I came up with these naturalistic and informal geometrical designs below. 

I really like the forms, layout and arrangement. 

The arrow signifies the direction of walk way. The hexagonal shape is purposeful to create a 360 degree experience with the surrounding planting. 

 

ADDAGRIP Resin bound porous paving

I found this paving particularly interesting due to the many benefits in its use and in the simple installation. 

All it requires is a surface course, binder course, sub base, membrane and then the sub grade. I also really liked the different colours and think this resource could be useful for many future projects to come! 

 

New concept

I struggled to understand how to express a conceptual response to a site. I have now found my medium of expression as a landscape architect- colour and shapes. 

 

Understanding external walls

This is just a quick blog post to recognise my newly found understanding behind the construction of external walls with buildings. I initially though they just had concrete footings buried underneath, after extensive research I now understand that is only a small portion of the wider construction. Especially walls for dwellings or commercial use. 

 

Materiality for urban plaza

This week I looked at the concept of different paving patterns shaping a space in regards to boundaries and the atmosphere of a space. This was inspired from the previous post of looking at Cracow's Market Square which had quite simple paving patterns which was effective in adding a sense of movement into the space.  

 

Cross section

Initially I really struggled with starting out my cross section, to the point where one cross section took me a whole day. This is one of a rain garden all completed on autocad.  

 With practise and time I got faster and was able to fully develop my cross section which is still in progress. 

Vegetation design layout

Below is my current masterplan mock. Upon reflection it seems that I need to add more contents within the civic space and more greenery to brighten up the area and attract more foot traffic. 

Thus I began to look at precedents of urban plazas, 

Barcelona 

The avenue of trees helps create a strong flow but I don't want too much dappled shade within the plaza as I worry people will not sit here in order to get more sunlight. 

Cracow’s Market Square

I do not quite like this swuare as it seems very open and has no sense of social refuge. However I think it is effective in helping pedestrians commute to and fro across the square. And the materiality of the floor adds a certain sense of boundaries within the open space.

San Fransisco 

This is quite geometric and formal which is effective in regards to attracting footfall but it seems too formal for my liking. 

 

Playing with night time effects photoshop

I finally learned how to create a quick image for a night time version in photoshop 

 

TWIN MOTION

 I learned twin motion for one of the modules; here is my starting point from having learnt the software

 

Pascal Cribier

 His gardens in general are quite seamless and natural but have an underlying artistic expression behind them. For instance, the curvature of the mounds have something maternal about them. It seems like the landscape design is not built for function but rather aesthetic and with that, his own personal touch. The color palette used is contrasting which works very well as they add to the understanding to the shapes of the landscape and more artistic context. 

This specific feature caught my eye. The way it is designed resembles a human eye which I think could have strong literature symbolism for "gods eye" within a 'garden of eden'.

One aspect I do not entirely like is the fact that the gardens seem to be for a specific audience, in which not the whole of the public would understand the concept as it is quite ambiguous. 

Christopher Bradley Hole

 Marks Hall Arboretum- I chose this project because I really like the seasonality of the planting shown by the images in winter.

 Having been introduced to planting as a focal point for modules I now look at planting in regards to longevity in relation to the

 aesthetic. With Hole's planting designs they appear very natural but formal in a sense of the organization and arrangement. I

 especially like his use of topography with the undulating mounds, they appear so soft and welcoming yet create quite

 a unrformal pattern that is pleasing to the eye. The design of the space makes the garden appear longer and much more grand 

then the space actually is. Overall the textures, colours and varying heights compliment one another with the garden.