DU XINLI
Landscape Architecture Portfolio 2012-2014
CONTENTS Kelham Island Park Location: Sheffield Final Year Project | 2014
Grove Campus Location: Sheffield Integreted Design Project | 2013
Socially Restorative Project Location: Sheffield Urban Landscape Design Project | 2013
Library Courtyard Location: Sheffield Landscape Construction Project | 2012
DU XINLI
09.10.1989 xdu8@sheffield.ac.uk
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND 2012-2014 University of Sheffield – MA in Landscape Architecture Main subjects: Landscape Design, Planting Design, Ecological Design and Management, Urban Design, Landscape Construction, Social Aspects of Design, Integrated Design. 2008-2012
South China Agricultural University (SCAU) – BA in Landscape Architecture GPA: 3.45/5, 85.63/100
Awarded the University’s 2nd Prize Scholarship & Merit Student in the first year and 3rd Prize Scholarship in the third year.
RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE Jul. 2012- Sep. 2012 Jinghe Landscape Institute, China Intern designer Working as a part of the design team, my role as an assistant designer provided me an opportunity to put theoretical learning into practice. Projects included: a roof garden design for a government office building, masterplaning for a convalescent hospital. Oct. 2010- Jan. 2011 Guangzhou Hydropower Planning & Designing Institute Worked as part of the landscape design team. Projects mainly focused on integrating urban hydrology, landscape architecture and art within an urban context. Responsibilities included: planting design for Haizhu Lake Landscape Design Project, designed the layout for Nangang Channel Regeneration Project .
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE May. 2014 Chelsea Flower Show, London Designed the wildflower meadow with another classmate for the NUS Students Eats Group for their show garden. This includes choosing the plant sepcies and deciding the percentages for each mix. Nov. 2013 Piet Oudolf Workshop, Sheffield Took part in the planting design workshop delivered by Piet Oudolf during his visiting professorship in the university. Our group work was selected as one of the best two designs. This experience provided me with the chance to work with world renowned planting designer and to further learn planting design process and skills. Oct. 2013
Furnace Park Build, Sheffield - Volunteer
Helped the community to build a multi-sensorial children's garden in a brownfield site. I learnt ideas from this voluntary experience about how to make and plant a garden that is sustainable and inclusive. For example I painted on dead woods found on site, then grouped and placed them into a ‘rainbow forest’.
SKILLS Computer Skills: Competent in the use of AutoCAD, Adobe Creative packages, SketchUp and Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel. Language Skills: English: good standard of written and spoken English
Mandarin Chinese: fluent written and spoken Chinese
Kelham Island Park Sheffield | UK
Final Year Project | 2014 Individual work
Introduction
Kelham Island is one of the most important areas crossing Sheffield identifying the importance and development of the metal trades industry, which formed a huge part of the city’s growth throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. With the closure of several engineering plants in 2000s residential is rapidly becoming the dominant use in the area. The Kelham today is in a state of transition, from an INDUSTRIAL area to a vivid modern COMMUNITY. The aim of the special project is to propose a new park in this area function as a DESTINATION of the city site tour and a vivid public space for the community. At the same time also bring public more awareness to the unique character of this area.
Site Introduction
Location
Existing condition Weir
Sheffield City Centre
Upper Don Walk
Existing willow grove River Don
Residential
Kelham Island Museum
Kelham Island Museum
Empty building
River Don
Existing wetland plants
10 minutes’ walk to Five Weir’s Walk
Asphalt and extensive concrete surface
Goit Fat cat (pub)
Historical wall
Site boundary Public space River Don Residential area Business and light industry Car parks Empty and brownfields
Historial footprint Residential
10 minutes’ walk from city centre
User & Function LIVE
WORK
Students
Young professionals
Light industrial worker Leisure walkers Creativity work
Mid-class family Office
Restorative space
VISIT
Cyclists Museum visitors
Children's play area
Exhibition space Museum & music events space
Social space
Residential
D'
Design Studios Climbing Center
Kelham Island Weir
River Don
Private Apartment
Kayak Club +48.9
Kelham Island Industrial Museum
+50.0
The Chimney House
Goit
D
Birch woodland
+49.6
C'
+52.5
+49.5
+49.0
A'
High-trimed acer tree High-trimed honey locust tree
B' +50.8
+49.5
Wetland herbacious +48.5
Permanent water Rain garden Concret paving with galanised steel strip Steps Galanised steel boardwalk
Private Apartment
+49.5
+47.0
+49.5 The Fat Cat (pub)
C Private Apartment
A
B
Platform New bridge New walkway
Masterplan
All Day, All Year... Spring B-B'
Colours:
The new leaves come out in spring create light shadow. The white bark and soft green leaves can be appreciated even in rainy day.
People can explore the woodland through the boardwalk.
Summer A-A'
The historical footprint is transformed into a pond to accomadate rain water.
The walk along the historical wall pro vide chances to enjoy the view of the old goit.
People can enjoy the blossom of spring flowers.
Colours:
In the day time people can get close to the water.
The big area of green and the reflection in water create a peaceful atmosphere.
In the night, the pub within the site can have live music events in the open square.
Autumn C-C'
Colours:
The sky walk in the woodland provides an opportunity to explore in a different height.
Wet woodland is designed to store rain water. Seasonal water will occur. The landscape always changes.
Winter D-D'
The yellow and red autumn colours are shinning, brighting the historical site.
Water creates more habitats for wildlife.
Parts of the existing builings are removed to create access and bring more light in.
Seasonal pool have play potential in dry and wet seasons.
Colours: The space is kept open to hold museum event.
A new view point is design to enjoy the weir and grove.
The empty buildings are regenerated as art studios and cafes.
The space between buildings can afford outdoor exhibitions.
Visible Drainage
Rain Garden
Keep Part of Existing Building
Existing Windows
New boardwalk
Axometric Drawing of Detailed Area
Amelanchier Grove
Acer
Sections
Water system Overflow outlet incorporated into the goit Rainfall Visible drainage
Surface runoff
Remeberance and Absence
The removal of the top of the building enclosed a space and made a absent which could give people a chance to stop and think of the old industrial history of the area.
Abstraction and Interplay
The design interplayed between frame, walls, people and the context. The abstraction could leave people imagine.
Accentuation and Contrast
The floor was deliberately darkened with the shade of the building. The sudden change from light to dark created different experience.
See and to be seen
Fear
Sound
Engagement
Peace
Intervention
Veiled
Panorama
GROVE CAMPUS Sheffield | UK
Intergrated Design | 2013 Individual work
Introduction The University of Sheffield central ‘campus’ is part of the City of Sheffield but also is potentially constituted as the realm of a distinguished academic institution. However, after many years of neglect due to a lack of clear strategy and understanding of the (potential of) landscape and limited political and economic commitment,the campus urban public realm is in very poor health: culturally and ecologically, and is in urgent need of renewal. This project is to design a section of the city campus and public realm to meet both the needs and aspirations of the University and its community, and at the same time to contribute significantly to the city’s local populations including residents.
Workshop experiment
The workshop emphasised on the use of trees to form a new primary spatial, cultural and ecological identity. The exercise was to use grids, lines and randon trees to form space. Information Commons Information Commons
Univ
Jessop West Jessop West
Concept
The concept is to use grids of cherry trees and informally placed big specimen birch trees to make the whole campous space coherent and attractive. University Building
University Building University Building
Masterplan
versity Building Proposed New Building University Building
St. George Church
University Building
Information School
Interdisciplinary Center of Social Science The Innovation Center
Detailed Area
A-A' Section
The section shows different size, texture, colour, shape of trees create different experience for people to stay. The trees and buildings form a new skyline.
Detailed Area Axometric Drawing This is a winter garden particularly designed to create a colourful space for students to enjoy duing the long, cloudy winter. Also with the rain garden in the center to collect surface water.
SOCIALLY RESTORATIVE PROJECT Leeds | UK
Urban Landscape Design | 2013 Group work
Introduction This urban landscape design project aims to explore part of Leeds City undergoing intensive regeneration and develop design solutions that contribute to this ongoing process. The project approached this from a human perspective and asked how processes of regeneration and design can bring about urban places capable of sustaining fulfilled human lives. The project is based on the theroy of EXPERIENTIAL LANDSCAPE and SOCIALLY RESTORATIVE URBANISM of Kevin Thwaites.
Design Process Paint the routine life and times of 6 fictitious characters and their interactions with the site
Identifykey transitional edges within the site area
Experiential Landscape Mapping
Individual experiential mapping
Potential Areas
There are four potential areas in this site.
collect WISHES as a basis for developing a brief to guide improvements
Overlay experiential mapping
Sketch Plan
Basic arrangements
Regeneration stage 1
develop a diagrammatic sketch plan that enhance the life quality of 6 characters
Transitional Edges
The importance of transitional edges are marked by the height of the extrudes and the depth of the colours.
Regeneration stage 2
3 4 1
2
1 - A potential social hub - Introduce a green space - ‘Our’ Area - A unified landscape connecting the city centre
2 - A sense of arrival - A potential centre - A welcoming space to people from both directions
3 - Creative space for the youth - A pleasant route for people to go through 4 - Break down the walls - Interact with the opposite buildings
Working Model
develop a detailed area of the transitional edge
Mainly explore the transitional edge design. Create 'space' for people.
Regeneration stage 3
There are 3 layers in the design: -Tree canopy layer -Shrub layer -Natural stone layer
2
4
5
1 3
The 1:50 detailed model shows how the transitional edges are designed. building - ground, ground - water
1
The Youth Hostel was in the second regeneration stage to bring more people to this area. The entrance was designed to invite more landscape into the hostel and create a space for gathering and chatting as a transitional edge.
2 To improve the unwelcomed, dark and narrow alley, we pushed the first floor into 3 meters to bring more light in and create a safe impression as the second entrance to the new park.
3
The design breaked the existing hard edge into a more soft edge with stones, platforms and plants to meet different needs of the users, for example boat party, getting close to water.
4
The building facades were designed to have more interaction with the landscape so that life could happen between these spaces.
5
The pub was in the third regeneration stage when this area became a popular place. The first floor was also changed to have more changce for interaction.
Library Courtyard Sheffield | UK
Landscape Construction | 2012 Individual work
Introduction
This project aims to design a small terraced space for recreational use by university students and staff. The site is the raised terrace area adjacent to the library. Whilst the site is not wholly unpleasant it represents a place which is not fully exploited as a recreational and study space for students and staff of the university. One of the main limitations on use is the site's poor access. It is difficult and inconvenient to find the route from the Arts Tower forecourt to these steps. The deisgn opened up the entrance and created pleasent spaces for stay, gathering and passing by. The second stage was to design the construction drawing based on the design.
Masterplan
SECTION A-A' A: 300*150 Textured silver grey precaste concrete step units B: Mid grey antiskid brick C: Motar bed D: In-suit concrete E: 300*300 antiskid brick F: Precast concrete 'Safticurb' units G 600*600 Monopave-textured standard grey paving H: Compact sand I: Hardcore bed J: 600mm stainless steel handrail K: 200mm stainless steel pipe
SECTION B-B' A: 200*100 Dark grey brick B: Reinforced concrete C: Impounding reservoir D: Overflow area E: 500mm PVC water inlet F: Pump chamber G: Lighting H: Precast smoothed concrete seating I: 50mm PVC drainage outlet J: White gravel K: Glass
SECTION D-D' A: Thermo-Ash hardwood B: Sand well consoildated C: Hardcore consoildated D: Sub-grade compact E: 200*100 concrete units F: Precast smoothed concrete seating G: Precast concrete karb on motar bed H: In-suit concrete I: 900*300 Buff yorkshire stone
SECTION C-C' A: Precast concrete with smooth surface B: Backfill with 1/2clean exist soil, 1/4 top soil, 1/4 organic C: 100mm Concrete drainage pipe D: Precast concrete with smooth surface E: Reinfoece steel bar
Other Works
Wuxi, China
Florence, Italy
Du Xinli xdu8@sheffield.ac.uk +44 7784683317 98 Duckett Street, London, E1 4SY, UK