This is a record of my journey as a designer. Through this blog I will discover weaknesses, strengths, failures and successes. This is all a part of my resilient journey into becoming a young landscape architect. :)
"Nature, Man, and Spirits as One is the philosophy underlying all of Turenscape's designs"
"Tu means dirt, earth, or the land while Ren means people, the man or human being. Once these two characters come together, Turen, it means earth man, a relationship between land and people."
The practise is very much in touch with its local culture and focuses its philosophy on traditional aspects of the culture. It is interesting to see how they balance these values alongside keeping current, as they have quite a few ongoing publications ranging from 1998-2023 which shows that knowledge and keeping up to date is an important aspect of their practise.
This is reflected in their 'sponge city' projects which intertwines the ideology of Turen with modern day technology, finding an almost compromise between the two.
Sponge City A sponge city is a new urban construction model for flood management, strengthening ecological infrastructure and drainage systems, proposed by Chinese researchers in early 2000 and accepted by the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council as urbanism policy in 2014
From sifting through their projects, they have a niche focus on integrating wetland and urban areas, their response is almost medical, offering a fresh taste but also healing and improving the existing ecological environment.
As part of a module submission we had to submit a garden design in teams of 3. Within that we were tasked to then document this across x4 A1 posters which had to be cohesive in layout and content. We decided as a group to go for a storyboard layout.
I gathered some tips and tricks from my team members in creating this layout, such as looking at colour balance, using wireframe boxes to design a layout before infilling the images.
A big consideration was font size, for this we viewed exemplar A1 pieces, printed a sample A4 size of our work and compared the font sizes- this was very educational as we gauged a better understanding of the appropriate font size.
Townshend focus on urban realm and have a style of contemporary/ modern landscape that compliments the surrounding architecture. Within this style there is a focus on public wellbeing.
Overall, their approach comes across as a clear response to the site's context, with a community feel but a contemporary urban outlook. I personally have visited one of their designs; Kingdom Street, Paddington Central. Within the space it felt comforting and warm, a stark contrast against the concrete towers in what is supposedly the central business district in Paddington. Additionally it was modern and I felt excited exploring the different levels and formations within the space. I would say they are the one landscape architecture practise who's designs in the urban environment integrate green spaces with a contemporary and futuristic feel.
In a video interview aimed to explain Catherine Gustafson's approach to landscape architecture, a phrase of hers struck me. Though simple and straight forward, to see this as an approach to landscape architecture as a whole is inspiring to me.
Paraphrased:
Our way forward is to bring the landscape into the city, this will prevent people from going out into the countryside in search of landscape thus reducing urban sprawl, the need for road infrastructure and an increase in pollution.
Similarly James Corner's approach is in agreement, in The New Landscape Declaration within his essay he states (paraphrased)
If you love the countryside you should live in the city.
This is also to prevent damage to what is now becoming a sacred landscape.
North Carolina's Biltmore Estate- Whether it is because it was the 19th century style or his personal preference there is no doubt, Fredrick showcased a formal style in his gardens specifically through the use of geometry.
Archetype- Charles Jenkins
Archetype, meaning the original model from which something is built. His garden of cosmic speculation includes a mimick of our biological systems of their natural form.
Gebran Tueni was a former journalist and politician who fought for independence in Beirut, Lebanon during the civil war, he was murdered in a car bomb. The memorial uses greenery to commemorate Tueni's life by utilising the landscape of the city to symbolise his life. Unusually it is not as static as normal memorials, instead inscribed at the bottom of his memoir is an oath he delivered shortly before his assassination uding granite bands, these are lit at night to symbolise the defiance of threats which leads to his ultimate death.
Symbolism- Ali Mardan Khan
The garden designer behind the Taj Mahal gardens.
One of the most fascinating facts about the Taj Mahal is that it is not only a symbol of eternal love, but it is also a representation of Islamic paradise as it is associated with the Last Judgement in Islam. The plans for the monument were made compared to the ‘Plain of Assembly’, which is the concept of the place of the Last Judgement. The Assembly Plain is a rectangular area surrounded on the right and left by two rows of angels, and below by three rows that can be seen as the boundaries of the gardens of the Taj Mahal. The throne of God, which is, according to Islam, carried by eight angels, is on the upper part. It is represented by an 8-pointed star that is closer to the octagon of the mausoleum. The central basin of the plain of the Assembly is near the place where the prophet is, who uses the scales to weigh the souls of the dead. The garden of the Taj Mahal consists of two long channels oriented along with the cardinal points. They form a cross. At the centre of the cross, the canals do not join, the centre being occupied by a square basin. The four channels symbolise the four rivers of Paradise as believed in Islam—namely the river of water, that of milk, that of wine, and that of honey. This description is found in sura 47, verse 15 of the Holy Koran. The central basin is a representation of the possibility for the deceased to refresh.
Metaphor- Lawrence Halprin
This new type of people’s park, where nature is abstracted
with a geometric naturalism, was based on Halprin’s studies of the High
Sierra’s spring cascades. Halprin saw these plaza spaces as theatre sets for
choreographing human movement – and unlike being fountains solely for viewing,
these were designed for interaction. The park in itself solves the site's complex grades through the powerful urban waterfall.
To some extent, the corten steel structures are a metaphor for a wider appreciation for natural, geological and hydrological features and are a bridge between urban areas and re integrating man kinds experience with this.
A majority of their project focus is on urban realm to which they seem to green most of it. Their schemes seem to respond to each context and they maintain a style which adapts to different sites.
On one of their projects: The Park at Essex Crossing on the cover is titled a "shaded oasis in the midst of Manhattan's concrete jungle" the bluntness of this statement presents them as down to earth and sincere. As you get what you see. And their description of the project very much reflects not just the brief but focuses on what the community wanted and how they, as a practise responded to it regarding the implemented strategies and features.
Overall the approach is very flexible, friendly, modernistic and contemporary. They seem like an approachable and collaborative practise which is the main attraction I see.
One aspect of my portfolio I could improve is the relationship between the pages. The layout is quite formal which I want to keep but I found it hard to show relevance/ connectivity between images which is to be expected as they are bits from different projects on the same page.
This page feels a little weak, possibly needing annotation?
I think this page layout is too simple and cropping would be more effective in some areas.
The sketches work as it shows a diversity of mediums within my skills set to communicate visually but in a formal layout.
I want to portray the empathy I have as a landscape architect, to bring attention to my desire to work in projects that are community and inclusivity focused. I aimed to showcase this through a free flow, water colour drawings that reflect a diverse community.
Inspired from the reader 'The Landscape Declaration'
I often get asked by family/friends "what is a Landscape architect" and rather than stating examples of what we do I have found a way to communicate who we are.
I opened the query up in LinkedIn if anyone had any suggestions to describe our empathetic relationships to clients/ humans in general. Two viable suggestions were 'Humans' and another 'Social engineers' which I may add in the future.
Tucked away in the top floor of a library building is a dynamic group of landscape architects working on impactful projects.
Through the founder (Rob's) connections the practise, despite being located in Tewkesbury, has a majority of its clientele in London.
What stood out to me from this practise was, after talking to Niki, the diversity of the projects. With an emphasis on social impact rather than private, domesticated gardens.
Niki's project in particular was a benchmark for me, as her project revolved around allowing the youths to design the area, right from stage 1 she has been doing a series of workshops with them to gather their ideas, offer them agency and control in the design. They do not disregard any quirky ideas but rather, offer the young people the roles of ecologists and civil engineers so they may come to an understanding independently on why some of their design may or may not be practical. This is an excellent approach to educating and offering stewardship to the next generation and future users of the site.
Overall, their approach as a practice is invigorating and at an exemplary standard for any graduate beginning their journey into the industry.
The Milkshake Tree - A project that I believe reflects the practice's empathic values precisely.
"Landscape architects in collaboration with pH+ architects and the London Centre for Children with Cerebral Palsy created ‘The Milkshake Tree’; an innovative installation and sensory garden which acts as a platform to share, engage and educate the community on inclusive environments that help to stimulate and support growth."
When looking at the 'expertise' on their website that is the first thing you read. For me, that speaks volumes as my personal interpretation of landscape architecture is stewardship. One of their core values is social diversity in all they they do and trying to be at the forefront to new ideas, keeping an open mind to different approaches.
They have a diverse portfolio from water parks in Dubai, to urban realm and resort communities on islands. Their impact is shown in Etereo Auberge; which retains the protection of 500 acres of mangrove forests surrounding the hotel but also adds an air of luxury with its resorts. There is also a nod to the Mexican arts through the designs.
This holistic approach is exemplary for a career in Landscape Architecture. One critique I would say about the practise is there is a lack of evidences for social diversity on their website. As it mainly contains portfolio pieces, it is difficult to understand the character of the practise.
Through researching for my dissertation I came across a healing garden, 'Crown Sky Garden' which I felt to be the future of healing gardens through its holistic approach.
Mikyoung Kim Design;
"This regenerative project offers a new paradigm for healthcare design that integrates healing gardens as part of the health care regiment within these institutional environments."
The healing garden is catered for children but is not age-specific as it is accessible to childrne with mobility requirements and parents to interact with it too. The use of lighting and sensory materials such as timber is crucial to the success of the design. As a sky scraper hospital it utilizes roof top space and creates a sanctuary for children to get away from their negative experiences in the hospital and replace it with feelings of restoration, revitalisation and form positive schemas with the hospital instead.
I had a few bits and pieces of doodles that were relevant to previous projects. Initially I was going to throw them away but decided to create a collage as a small homage to semester 1 in my final year. Each image is from a different module which did not get used in my final piece.
