Houseboats and grass covered stairs: King's Cross Development visit with MA students



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It is already clear when exiting the tube station that King's Cross is an up-and-coming neighbourhood. The market vendors have set up quite early and it’s not even the weekend. The areas surrounding the station are still not busy at 10.30 in the morning, but come lunchtime the place really fills up.

Turning north and moving towards Granary Square we find the grass covered stairs leading down to the riverfront, where they function as an amphitheatre facing the houseboats on the other side. For me, as a Norwegian student, the idea of grass covered steps is as foreign as houseboats on the river. It’s like the British wall to wall carpet taken to the extreme, but I have to admit it is extremely inviting. As we see on our way back, a couple of hours later, it is lunch time and carpeted stairs are filled with families (term holiday) and workers already!

After a brief introduction to the site and a look at the model we head towards the centre of the new development. We are originally interested in seeing the pool, which we are told is having its last day as a temporary instalment. The chilly wind on top of the viewing platform quickly draws us down however, and into the ‘Ship Garden’ directly below. This is a nice contrast to some of the more polished development, and we spend a good half an hour investigating all its nooks and crannies. Especially we have to admire the greenhouse constructed from windows and the actual skips converted to parcels. I have seen similar allotment gardens previously, but not as part of a new development in the same way. When we leave I find myself hoping that this place will remain in some form after the surrounding area has been transformed from the building site it is now.

Our last stop is the Gasholder Park. This is the now famous transformation of the previous gas holder tanks. In one of these old gasholders a small park has been constructed between the old beams. The shiny steal contrast against the lush grass of the lawn, where a curved mound function as a backrest making this a perfect stop for our lunch break. This focus on ‘loud’ materials is a bit of a difference to the more toned down, minimalist, elements found in Scandinavian landscape design. Here the outdoor structures have been allowed to make a distinct statement from the surrounding building architecture.

Thyra Frederikke Grimstad, MA Landscape Architecture student at WUC

 

Houseboats and grass covered stairs: King's Cross Development visit with MA students



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It is already clear when exiting the tube station that King's Cross is an up-and-coming neighbourhood. The market vendors have set up quite early and it’s not even the weekend. The areas surrounding the station are still not busy at 10.30 in the morning, but come lunchtime the place really fills up.

Turning north and moving towards Granary Square we find the grass covered stairs leading down to the riverfront, where they function as an amphitheatre facing the houseboats on the other side. For me, as a Norwegian student, the idea of grass covered steps is as foreign as houseboats on the river. It’s like the British wall to wall carpet taken to the extreme, but I have to admit it is extremely inviting. As we see on our way back, a couple of hours later, it is lunch time and carpeted stairs are filled with families (term holiday) and workers already!

After a brief introduction to the site and a look at the model we head towards the centre of the new development. We are originally interested in seeing the pool, which we are told is having its last day as a temporary instalment. The chilly wind on top of the viewing platform quickly draws us down however, and into the ‘Ship Garden’ directly below. This is a nice contrast to some of the more polished development, and we spend a good half an hour investigating all its nooks and crannies. Especially we have to admire the greenhouse constructed from windows and the actual skips converted to parcels. I have seen similar allotment gardens previously, but not as part of a new development in the same way. When we leave I find myself hoping that this place will remain in some form after the surrounding area has been transformed from the building site it is now.

Our last stop is the Gasholder Park. This is the now famous transformation of the previous gas holder tanks. In one of these old gasholders a small park has been constructed between the old beams. The shiny steal contrast against the lush grass of the lawn, where a curved mound function as a backrest making this a perfect stop for our lunch break. This focus on ‘loud’ materials is a bit of a difference to the more toned down, minimalist, elements found in Scandinavian landscape design. Here the outdoor structures have been allowed to make a distinct statement from the surrounding building architecture.

Thyra Frederikke Grimstad, MA Landscape Architecture student at WUC

 

Opportunity Space | Flash Design Competition

Van Alen Institute recently launched Opportunity Space, an international design-build competition to support economic opportunity and social inclusion in Malmö, Sweden.

Opportunity Space invites international, multidisciplinary teams of designers, economic development experts, sociologists, community organizers, and others to submit their ideas. Focusing on two sites – a well-used public park and an underused industrial building – in a rapidly changing district of Malmö, teams will have roughly five weeks to propose their interventions.

Responding to Europe’s migration crisis, Opportunity Space will install a temporary mobile structure in Malmö’s Enskifteshagen Park for two months to support education, job assistance, and social inclusion programs offered by government, business, and nonprofit partners. The winning team, to be announced in early December, will receive a $10,000 award and $25,000 to build their proposal.
Opportunity Space is the first in a new Van Alen Institute series of Flash Competitions: challenges that bring together multidisciplinary teams of designers and other experts for short, intense projects in cities around the world to take on urgent societal issues through design. Teams can find the competition brief and pre-register by November 7, 2016 on the project website. The competition deadline is November 18, 2016.

Opportunity Space will make vital services more visible and accessible to people who need them, and will bring new and established residents together. The project will establish a replicable process for engaging diverse stakeholders across sectors and disciplines to design more economically and socially inclusive neighborhoods and cities.

See http://worldlandscapearchitect.com/24542-2/#.WBIuBk0zXcs for more information.

How to teach plants: Beth Chatto Garden Visit with design students

Undergraduate and Postgraduate Landscape and Garden Design students enjoyed an autumnal tour of Beth Chatto’s Garden, in Essex, investigating the planting strategies for the different garden environments and finding out how easy it was to lose a member of the lecturing staff in a clump of Gunnera manicata. Thanks to Daisy Hyland, undergraduate student, for capturing the moment!

Selecting and Designing with Plants at Writtle University College

A common complaint from employers in Landscape Architecture is that graduates don’t have strong sufficient planting knowledge. Coming from the conversion route into the profession, this is something that I’m well aware of as a problem. I simply hadn’t had much exposure to planting in my previous career as a teacher.

Stepping into a completely new area of knowledge with its own alien language seemed quite daunting. But fortunately the School of Design recognised the need to support MA students with additional planting workshops. Resident plant expert  Dr Jill Raggett has led a weekly session since the start of the semester of our MA Landscape Architecture Course. Sessions have included plant identification, biological structures and understanding how to design with plants. A particular highlight has been the time spent exploring the rich examples of planting dotted around the campus. Seeing and touching each plant has really helped me picture how I might use it in future designs. Jill’s positive approach and infectious enthusiasm has made the whole experience enjoyable.

I have also felt the benefit of these sessions in my part-time work at a Landscape Architecture practice. I now feel more confident in making planting choices. It is also relieving to know that I can have a conversation with senior colleagues without sounding like a complete amateur! I look forward to continuing my exploration of plant knowledge under Jill’s skilled guidance.

Robert Browne, Student at MA Landscape Architecture at WUC

Kitchen and Kitchen Gardens in Britain and Europe, 1500-1950 Conference

CFP: Kitchen and Kitchen Gardens in Britain and Europe, 1500-1950:

Centre for the Study of the Body and Material Culture

Royal Holloway, University of London

Submission deadline: 10 November 2016

Workshop date: 18 January 2017

Workshop venue: Senate House, University of London

In recent years the home has come to be the focus of multidisciplinary and cross-period enquiry, yet the kitchen, although seen as the 'heart' of the home in some places and periods, is still a relatively underexplored space. Studies of material culture, technology and domestic work all point to the kitchen's wider social and cultural importance.  Since the early modern period, kitchens have been a nexus of class interaction, and the place of domestic food production. Subsequently, studies of the kitchen have the potential to contribute to social and cultural histories of everyday life. This one-day workshop aims to bring together historians of the early modern and modern periods studying any aspect of kitchens and kitchen gardens, including kitchen technologies, material culture, work and personnel.
Topics for papers may include but are not restricted to: 

• The material culture of kitchens (utensils, food, recipe books etc.)
• Functional objects as the subject of material culture studies
• New technologies and innovation in the kitchen
• Visual representations of the kitchen
• The relationship between the kitchen and the wider home
• The history of food, cookery or eating
• The kitchen as a gendered space
• Women’s work in the home
• Domestic servants and kitchens
• Health, hygiene and cleanliness in the kitchen
• The sensory experience of the kitchen (taste, smell, heat etc.)
• Kitchens and food as propaganda
• Kitchens as heritage sites

Please send a short abstract (c. 200-300) to Katie Carpenter (katie.carpenter.2010@live.rhul.ac.uk) no later than 10 November 2016. 

Contact Info: 

Katie Carpenter
Co-ordinator, Centre for the Study of the Body and Material Culture

Contact Email: 

katie.carpenter.2010@live.rhul.ac.uk

https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/146669/cfp-kitchen-and-kitchen-gardens-britain-and-europe-1500-1950

Designing with Flood: A challenge and Opportunity for Well-being

MA Landscape Architecture and Garden Design students are exploring design solutions for the post-industrial site of Chelmsford Gasworks alongside the confluence of River Chelmer and Can. This year the focus topic in the module  “Urban Territory Studio” is  water in the landscape, more specifically, some of the problems and challenges faced with increasing river and coastal flooding as a result of climate change. But students are also considering design opportunities for building resilience and sustainability into future landscapes. . The project will consider a wide range of factors across several scales relating to river systems and will involve  in-depth analyses  of the physical attributes of the ecosystem as well as the socio-economic and cultural interests. By applying principles of landscape ecology, design theory and different modes of design process and techniques, students will develop innovative designs for the designated site.  They will also critically assess and analyse the conditions to develop contextual and conceptual solutions to address some of the socio-environmental problems relating to historical use of the area and on-going environmental changes.

Chelmsford City has been undergoing a radical change in recent years through the housing developments in and around the city. . According to The Chelmsford Town Centre Area Action Plan (AAP) in order to promote development and new investment in Chelmsford city centre a number of residential and commercial developments have been taking shape this year. Despite all these activities towards reinforcing the city image, the unique landscape qualities of Chelmsford, namely rivers have been ignored, and in some cases  rechannelled underground through drains and canals.  Along the water front in Chelmsford outdoor car parks and disused brownfield sites   have served as floodwater storage in times when the rivers have been in spate.  More recently, these sites have been earmarked for development and converted to  residential and retail centres. The consequences of these developments in terms of future flooding and resilience in times of climate change are likely to be negative and far-reaching.  The confluence between the river Cann and Chelmer, known to some as the ‘old gasworks site’,  is one of the last remaining landscapes that has retained some of its historical character in the form of the navigation canal, and remains connected to the countryside on the outskirts of the city.

The masters students will be involved in carrying out a landscape character assessment for the site, which will include considerations of  biophysical and socio-political conditions as part of the initial stage to producing design plans. The emphasis will be designing resilient and sustainable ‘future-scapes’ for Chelmsford’s waterfront.

SGD AWARDS 2016 - FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

The finalists in The SGD Awards 2016 have just been revealed. This year's independent judging panel placed 39 inspiring projects on the shortlist including the walled garden of an historic British palace and several community gardens that are engaging neighbourhoods up and down the country.

The shortlisted projects in the three Residential Garden categories and in the International, Public & Communal, Outdoor Space, Garden Jewel and Roof Garden categories will now be entered into the People’s Choice Award supported by Awards media partner, Homes & Gardens magazine. The same finalists will also be competing for the highly coveted Grand Award, which will be decided by the main judging panel.

Visit the SGD Awards website to see images of all the shortlisted projects in the main award categories.

www.sgdawards.com 

Ecosystem Services by Design Conference on Friday 18th November

LI East of England together with SouthEast of England Branch and Cranfield University have organised the LIEE-Cranfield Conference 2016: Ecosystem Services by Design, which will be held on the 18th of November in Milton Keynes.
This conference will explore the integration of ecosystem services into landscape design, planning, and management practice, stressing the role of science to facilitate this. The lectures and workshops will show the value of a services-led landscape practice to create more resilient, multifunctional and cost-effective liveable landscapes.
This event will provide an introduction to the topic of ecosystem services, a look into innovative methodologies, approaches and recent case studies from a landscape perspective. The event is designed to be useful for landscape professionals with or without previous knowledge in ecosystem services.

Please, see detailed information about this event (venue, speakers, schedule) in the following link:
Cranfield Conference -CompletePackage

For registration and more information, please go to the following link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/liee-cranfield-conference-2016-ecosystem-services-by-design-tickets-28086582725#tickets