Gardens of the future

Anne Marie Powell is someone who I really look up to as a designer. She seems to have a way of creating a very well-rounded site that perfectly fits within the context of its surroundings. Above is an image of the wildlife garden she designed for RHS Wisley. I myself have visited this garden and worked within it collecting moths, while on my work experience placement at RHS Wisley. The garden is rich with wildlife and strong bursts of colour in the summer months. I especially love the central wooden sculpture within this garden. Designed by Tom Hare. This onion shape creates a strong focal feature that guides the eye and allows the rest of the landscape to unfold around. Sculpture is not something I have personally explored within my designing but the use of sculpture in this garden really inspires me. 

While doing this task of researching designers I haven’t yet looked at an urban streetscape. I think this one seems almost like it isn’t a street and instead a park. I think the tree choice Olin uses for this streetscape is perfect. The dappled lighting and bright green leaves really make the area feel light and airy while also creating an enclosed feeling which is really important when encouraging people to use an urban area such as this. While not in use in this photo, I also want to highlight the effectiveness of the lighting. Instead of the standard streetlighting which is gloomy and uninviting, the lighting Olin uses is warm and promotes a feeling of safety in the location. I do think this warm welcoming lighting could help decrease the crime rates in this area, as a different kind of people would be attracted to using the space. Also not pictured well here is the mosaic patterned floor. Many people on their daily commute look down at the floor while they walk, this therefore crea...

  I chose to look at the designer Kim Wilkie because I was fascinated by the strong use of mathematical symbols and geometry in this garden. This is not how I personally choose to approach design. However, I am drawn in by the meaning behind his design choices. For example, the inverted pyramid “Orpheus” that descends 7m below the surrounding grass was built to reflect the raised mound next to it “Mount Olympus”. People can walk down this pyramid and look into the shallow pool at the bottom that reflects the sky above. I have recently learnt about labyrinths and their use for promoting peace and reflection, although this isn’t a labyrinth, I’m sure it has a similar effect. Wilkie named this inverted pyramid after a famous musician in Greek mythology, who when his wife died, he went into the underworld to try to reclaim her. Hades found his music so beautiful that he returned Orpheus’ wife to the world of the living. (Boughton House, 2022). Deep meaning like this is something I...

 

 

 

 

Featuring Bruno's ball.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

  As part of a recent Design Project lecture we were given this activity.  My design rationale- The clients are young, sporty, holistic people, who are very. wellness conscious. This design allows sensory seeking and wellness to blossom. It focuses on many different key health areas.  

 As part of my sustainable technology module I need to create a planting plan for an area of my site. Above is a small section of my butterfly garden. I started by just using coloured circles for all the different plants but struggled remembering which colour was for which plant, and I also couldn't see how the textures and colours of the flowers interacted. This is why I decided to draw what each of the plants look like over the colours. This isn't something that I would do for every planting plan as it is very time consuming, but in this instance I found it very helpful for my visualisation. 

  Bay East is the sister project of garden by the bay (pictured in the lower left corner of the above image). Out of all their designs I chose to look at this one because I find the organic nature of the design very appealing. I especially enjoy the tropical leaf shaped gardens. So far on this course I have not had the chance to design for a mega project like this so looking at the way each element is pieced together really highlighted to me how important cohesive design across a site is. In the design proposal there is a strong affiliation between land and water. This site was reclaimed from the sea and chooses to use the water in both an aesthetic way, waterfalls, wave pools etc. and in a functional way, channelling wind to enhance overall cooling effect on the site. Given that the UK doesn’t seem to use the sea within design as much as places like Singapore, I haven’t seen a project so close to the water’s edge before. I found this project interesting to research as a result of ...

 This is a page form my sketchbook where I was exploring the idea of a fairytale themed playground at Barnwood Arboretum which we are currently designing as part of a Sustainable Technology module.  I love the first drawing. This is a quick sketch of an extremely tall fairytale door with a smaller door for the children to actually enter through. Either side of this door there are very large mounds. This means that the children wouldn't be able to see what was in the playground until they entered. I also think this is a better way of containing the space rather than having large steel fencing etc. Below is an under tree structure that I found an image of online. I thought this was great originally. However, on reflection I feel it would be quite a squeeze in there and there isn't much need for a structure like this at Barnwood. Lastly, i'm really interested in having a water feature in the playground. This one would be very shallow and on the floor. Just enough water for the...

  After a recent lecture, where we followed our lecturer around drawing him as the focal point of our sequential sketches I thought I would try it again in my own time. In the lecture we only had 2 minutes for each drawing. I really struggled with this as i'm quite a perfectionist. When I did it in my own house I took as long as I wanted for each drawing. This allowed me to really see the details that made up the space. Doing this made me realise I need to be drawing quickly and from life more often, as usually my sketchbook is just filled with quick sketched ideas and not observational drawing.