Thursday 26 February 2009

Wordle

Wordle: Landscape-PING!

Landscape PING! in Wordle form.

Wednesday 25 February 2009

Greenwich Millennium Village



After looking through my photo's of interesting schemes, I came across some for Millennium Village, which I visited awhile back. It's an interesting place, full of lots of new ideas about architecture and public realm design, which you probably wouldn't get without pots of public cash.
Wikipedia has some good facts about it. As you can see from the aerial, it's only just around the corner from the Dome (yes, I know it's the O2 Arena now) and very much worth a visit. Sir Terry Farrell did the initial masterplan (I think this was after he was in Jane's Addiction), and you can still see his original 'wavy' shapes in the perimeter blocks of buildings. Here are my pics:

View accross the 'eco-park'


The main elevation to the 'eco-park'.

Shared Space streets

More shared space!

Note: cars are only allowed to park for a short time on the streets. Other parking is in the undercrofts.

Nicely detailed seating area.

Main road frontage

I love this. You may be able to see the 'Dome' in the background - note the yellow masts which hold it up. The trees planted on the footpath to it are Fraxinus 'Jaspidea', which have yellow branches that mirror the Domes masts.

Nicely detailed steps.

A small square close to the school.

Granite block seat in funky, 'rainbow' limestone.

Highway/pavement dilineation.

Shared space streets again.

Nice street scene - uncluttered and nicely detailed with trees, paving and shrub planting.

Wider view of space outside Ted Cullinan's Primary School.

Closer view of the wooden school!

Another nicely detailed street.

The journey home!

Pretentious, moi?!?

Monday 16 February 2009

Landscaping

In case you haven’t noticed, I really don’t like the term ‘landscaping’ when applied to landscape architecture. I think it’s slightly derogatory, and implies that the creation of exterior spaces is rooted in manual labour and effort, rather than design, consideration and professionalism.

Not that I’m precious….

Friday 13 February 2009

Public Spaces the Martha way

I would start by urging anyone with an interest in the design of public spaces to read the following article recently published in Building Design:

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=427&storycode=3133930&c=2&encCode=0000000001901978

The title of the article is ”Are the British any good at designing public space?”, and it has internationally renowned, landscape architect Martha Schwartz arguing ‘no’, whilst CABE Space Director, Sarah Gaventa makes the case for ‘Yes’. Actually both have some interesting views, which aren’t necessarily opposing.

Schwartz doesn’t argue that we can’t design public spaces, but she makes the point that the British as a nation have only a limited and romanticised view of what constitutes ‘landscape’. She argues that many people (the public, clients, politicians, architects?) don’t really appreciate the value of well designed spaces, unless they are green. The result is that many of our incidental spaces are unloved and poorly designed. Certainly there is little public acknowledgement of landscape architecture as credible or worthy, in the same way that the design of buildings is regularly celebrated.

On the other hand, Sarah Gaventa makes the point that things are improving and that the recent public realm works in Sheffield are a good illustration of this. The suggestion that we should look at “place making” rather than dealing with “left over” or “between buildings”, is a very good one and certainly laudable. However, I suspect that the vast majority of designers dealing with external space, will find that their starting point is invariably the left over bits between buildings. In all honesty, architects unilaterally accepting that landscape architects have a valuable role shaping the spaces around their buildings, would be a big step for the profession.

A rather poor image of Sheffield's 'Gold Route'


For those who weren’t aware, CABE is the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, a Government quango which gives advice and provides guidance on architecture, urban design and public space. CABE Space deals with the non-architecture bits. Personally, I think CABE have produced some excellent guidance in recent years and done a lot to promote and provide justification for the design of public space, and by association landscape architecture.

By contrast, Martha Schwartz is often as seen as something of a pariah within the profession, but is almost certainly the most famous landscape architect in the world. Being a famous landscape architect is something of an oxymoron, akin to being the world’s tallest pigmy or the world’s thinnest sumo wrestler. If you were to ask me to come up with other famous landscape architects, I’d probably be scratching around to come up with Katherine Gustaffson, designer of ‘Slab Square’ in Nottingham and the Diana Fountain (what a resounding pr success that was), and at a push Peter Walker (aka Mr Martha Schwartz), who is currently designing the remembrance garden at the site of the World Trade Centre and is a genuine design hero of mine.



Martha Schwartz's scheme as featured on 'Big Town Plan'


As it happens, you may have recently seen Martha on TV, cast in the role of pantomime villain on the Grand Designs spin-off, Big Town Plan. She was the highbrow, urbanite American designer (naughty Kevin McCloud never used the term landscape architect), who went against community wishes for a place to play bingo and walk their whippets, to force ahead with an art/paving/big-coloured-stuff fusion, which pretty much everyone else hated.


Certainly, Ms. Schwartz has her detractors and her most recent high-profile scheme, Grand Canal Square in Dublin, caused the usual flurry of publicity and criticism. Generally comments revolved around the fact that it is abstract, expensive and, I suspect, goes against the expectations of both the public and what many landscape architects, think landscape architects should be designing. From a personal perspective, I find it hard not to feel pangs of jealousy when I see the many bespoke elements, which frequent her designs, but perhaps more importantly the trust, scope and shear free-reign clients give her to create. How many other projects could have benefited from the budgets and creative freedom that Martha Schwartz enjoys? I also feel that perhaps her designs seem to work better in theory than in practice, although I’d caveat that by saying this feeling comes purely from looking at the initial visualisations of the project against press coverage, rather than having visited the scheme.

Grand Canal Square, Dublin - Finished image


Grand Canal Square - Initial Visualisation


But why is it that she is so unpopular with many landscape architects? In my opinion, to get the answer to this you need to have an understanding of one of the fundamental elements of design. For me, there is always a spectrum of how much your design inspiration comes from within a site or it’s context, and how much you bring in from outside. I don’t necessarily believe that either end of the spectrum is intrinsically right or wrong, but landscape architecture always begins within a site, in a way that the building doesn’t really have to. I suspect that many of the great works of architecture were actually dreamt up independently of their sites, and for want of a better word, ‘imposed’ upon them. Landscape architecture always begins with a site. For a variety of reasons, (such as legislation, poor standing with clients and a focus on landscape character assessment), many landscape architects see landscape design as valid only when it is realised in the character or context of the site. Thus, I believe that many see Martha Schwartz’s designs as being imposed. Ironically, I suspect that she herself sees the designs as having originated from within the site, only that they have been extracted and elaborated beyond where it is easily understandable.

Now at this point, I had meant to write about Martha’s conversations with the architect Will Alsop, however I think most people will have read enough by now. Needless to say, I’ve been impressed by Martha Schwartz’s recent comments to the press and think that she has articulated the difficulties faced by landscape architects in the UK better, and more intelligently than, anyone other else you could care to mention. I’ll finish with a comment someone left on a website regarding the Grand Canal Square scheme:

“awful BS. it does not look a like a sensual work to me, not what I would call landscaping, more like terrible art work.”



The mere fact that Martha Schwartz is there stretching peoples definition of landscape is the best justification of her work possible to me.

Go Martha!


Monday 9 February 2009

Landscape-PING!

So I think I need to start with the boring stuff. What’s this blog about? Other than allowing me somewhere to spout off my sometimes, irrational views about the modern world (like who the hell thought that flavoured water would be a good idea?). Anyway, as I’m a Chartered Landscape Architect and hence spend quite a lot of time thinking about this, it seemed not a bad starting point for me to write about landscape architecture.

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrm, but there’s a problem here, isn’t there? You don’t know what landscape architects do or what landscape architecture is about, do you? What do you think it is then?

No! Don’t say that word, godammit!!!

OK. *Takes deep breath*

Well for a start don’t worry, I suspect you’re in good company here, as not many people seem to know what a landscape architect does either. Sadly, I’d probably include many of the people I seem to encounter through work in that too. But where can you find out, you cry?!?

Well you would think a good place to start would be the Landscape Institute’s website, http://www.landscapeinstitute.org/, seeing as how they’re like, the people what look after landscape architects (including me of course). Hmmmmmm, not a lot of explanation of what we do there, but there is the lovely slogan, “The Landscape Institute – Inspiring great places.” Not really inspiring an understanding of landscape architect unfortunately. Handily, it also has a link to http://www.iwanttobealandscapearchitect.com/. This is the Landscape Institute’s propaganda site for grooming children into the profession; luring them to their gingerbread house on Great Portland Street with pictures of fountains, fopps and fauna. To be honest, you’ll actually have to look pretty hard amongst, “The Genius of Place” and “The Power to Change”, before you find some sort of definition, but here it is:

“Landscape architecture combines environment and design, art and science. It is about everything outside the front door, both urban and rural, at the interface between people and natural systems. The range of ways in which landscape architects work is staggering.”

It continues in that vein for some time and then if were beginning to get some sort of idea about the subject, it then has videos of a whole load of landscape architects, giving ‘their definition’ of landscape architecture. Anyone would think we are a little bit unsure ourselves. Personally, I think it’s ‘staggering’ that we can’t all agree on a common definition. So here’s mine.

Landscape architecture is the design of exterior space.

Easy and inclusive of trees, planting, paving, management, urban design, masterplanning, ecology, public realm and a whole heap of stuff that is not immediately springing to my befuddled, mind. Crucially for me, it has nothing to do with landscaping.

You see landscaping, pronounced, “land ·skeyp ·PING (see what I did there?) is often assumed to be one in the same with landscape architecture, and there our problems start.

We all like gardening and some people think landscape architects are gardeners. Gardeners are game amateurs - cheery, ruddy faced types, with muddy fingers, no bra’s and who turn up at your house unannounced and makeover your garden, accompanied by the Batley Colliery Brass Band. But would you want Alan Titchmarsh and Charlie Dimmock involved with your multi-million pound urban regeneration scheme?

Landscaping is the commercial end of gardening, but their reputation is less cosy. You see landscape-ping is closely associated with tarmacing. People who do tarmacing turn up at your house unannounced, tell you they they’re doing some landscaping round the corner and that they can do you a great deal on a new drive, before edging your house with flapjack, slapping you with the Royal Bank of Scotland’s debt and threatening to sell your Granny to the white slave trade if you don’t pay up.

So you see, people round the country are assuming that landscape architects are either bumbling amateurs or the type of people you see running away from Roger Cooke. I hope you see my problem and why I hate the term landscaping with such vehemence.

My solution is simple.


The first rule of landscape architecture is, you do not talk about landscaping.

The second rule of landscape architecture is, you DO NOT talk about landscaping.

Finally, if you really have to say that word, adopt an incredulous expression and pronounce it “landscape-PING!?!”, as if you’ve never heard it applied to your profession before.



Sunday 1 February 2009

OK, so I’ve decided to write a blog. I’m still kind of asking myself why. Am I lacking in methods of procrastination? Do I really need more?

Well I thought I’d give it a go, if only to try and explain to the world the trials and tribulations of a landscape architect. It’s got to be more productive than reading the Guardian after all. Some people change the world by climbing un-scaleable peaks, discovering new, revolutionary scientific advances or curing horrible, dilapidating diseases - my plan is to help mankind by spouting off my ideas about paving. Or not. Maybe my blog will go the way of that bread maker I got for Christmas a couple of years back and get used twice, before being left to rust under the stairs. We’ll have to wait and see…