E M I LY H U L L LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO 2020
E M I LY H U L L
CONTENTS The following is a selection of work produced throughout the Masters programme. Landscape Architecture brings together my passions for social and environmental sustainability. I am excited to creatively utilise the theory I have learnt from studying Geography and from my global experiences.
ENCOUNTER IN THE COMMONS
CONSTRUCTION AND PLANTING D E TA I L
From studying in Hong Kong, to working as a support worker for adults and children with learning difficulties, I have learnt from experiencing diverse places and working with diverse people. I am passionate about inclusive practices throughout the design process, and believe that listening to and involving many different voices helps shape spaces which are socially and ecologically sustainable.
E D U C AT I O N
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MA Landscape Architecture, University of Sheffield 2018-2020 BA Geography, University of Sheffield 2014-2017 Study Abroad, Hong Kong University, 2015-2016
PROMISE AND RUIN
COMMONSIDE COMMONS
EXPERIENCE
exile displacement disorientation loss family immigration war love memory histories gathering celebration art imagination freedom real estate development
Darent Valley Landscape Partnership, Internship 2019 RHS Chatsworth Flower Show Exhibitor, 2019
progress distance separation sea swimming control contradictions beauty sublime clichĂŠ image reflection anger forgetting erasure power profit capitalism
Sheffield Wildlife Trust Volunteering, 2017-2018
SKILLS Adobe Creative Suite
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remembering love division collaboration futures past creativity justice protest public private childhood ruptures singing hope promise ruin promise ruin
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AutoCAD ArcGIS SketchUp Freehand drawing Model making
R H S C H AT S W O R T H F L O W E R S H O W
O T H E R W O R K
AWA R D S RHS Silver-Gilt medal winning Long Border at RHS Chatsworth Flower Show British Council Scholarship for Excellence for study in Hong Kong Social Innovation Lab at the University of Sheffield pg. 11
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ENCOUNTERING THE COMMONS
Grade: 74 Place is the... constantly shifting articulation of social relations through time (Massey, 1995) People co-create their city. Encountering the Commons works with the affordances of the city, whilst creating new ways for citizens to collectively appropriate their city. Diverse and dynamic spaces for encounter are a product of a collaborative design and management process.
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ENCOUNTERING THE COMMONS Final Year Independent Project
Redesign of a politically contentious site, to encourage community cohesion through encounter.
PROCESS
Beirut’s rhythm is defined by its uncertain future as much as its turbulent past. Both are embodied throughout the landscape, with bullet-holed buildings left vacant, to a backdrop of cranes which symbolise the continuous recreation of the city. However, in the everyday, is citizen’s actions, movements and exchanges which recreate the city.
The process of design matters for more than the end product. The ways in which this process can be used
The design shapes a space for the common good. It aims to return to common use the spaces that power had seized (Agamben, 2005). An architecture of messy assemblages, diversity and change results (Butler, 2006).
A N A LY S I S Meaningful site analysis has resulted from looking beyond traditional information sources, to literature, art and protest. A complex, layered narrative results.
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ENCOUNTERING THE COMMONS Final Year Independent Project
Redesign of a politically contentious site, to encourage community cohesion through encounter. The dynamic masterplan begins with a 3m grid of young trees, which create immediate impact. Changes of paving across the ground plane creates zoning. Site programming begins to give function to space. By year 50, replanting of certain short-lived trees will be necessary, e.g. Koelreuteria paniculata. Improving knowledge of changing circumstances, in particular a changing climate, will inform tree choices, in consultation with citizens. 4. SPECIMEN Focal point, joining two avenues. Making ‘Shibuya’ style crossing connection clear
3. AVENUE Linear movement
1. GLADE Main square and smaller activity spaces. Programmed and spontaneous events
2. FOREST Irregular movement, spontaneous encounter Movement to ‘glades’
CONNECTIONS THROUGH CONNECTIONS ACROSS CONNECTIONS TO THE SITE
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ENCOUNTERING THE COMMONS
2020
2m
Creative planting strategy
Using planting and tactical urbanism as a bold statement about a common future for the city.
2025-2035
3m
Users can define the space from the initial stages, as they decide on the placement of the trees. A sense of ownership results, and from this, environmental stewardship. Diverse spaces of encounter result from the evolving strategy, which works with the way people appropriate space, to facilitate vibrant conviviality and social resilience. ENGAGE
DESIGN Utilising existing mechanisms to engage and listen to public voice
MANAGE An evolving design enables meaningful involvement of citizens
Management is a creative and collaborative process which shapes the sociospatial nexus
As trees are thinned, opportunities also open for people to appropriate space. A series of ring benches around the trees can have temporary uses along with opportunities for new planting. Reappropriating hostile architecture through simple transformations also builds upon the existing affordances of the site. Citizens give the objects new meanings; different groups or individuals ‌ become co-producers of a world-inthe-making (Stavrides, 2016: 50).
2035-2045
2045 onwards New tree planting Bauhinia x blakeana Hong Kong
Albizia julibrissin
Southwestern and eastern Asia
Koelreuteria paniculate Eastern Asia
Cercis siliquastrum Western Asia
Jacaranda mimosifolia South-Central Asia
Olea europaea
Southern Europe and western Asia
Pinus pinea
Southern Europe and western Asia
Ficus microcarpa Asia to Australia
Pistacia terebinthus subsp. Palestina Central and western Asia
Quercus calliprinos
Southern Europe and western Asia
Using a diverse mix of tree species, alongside a strategy of gradual thinning and selective replacement, diverse spaces are created. Opportunities for encounter result.
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ENCOUNTERING THE COMMONS Final Year Independent Project
Redesign of a politically pertinent site, to encourage community cohesion through encounter.
People are drawn to the site by the strategy of triangulation. For example, the role of the site as a public transport hub and active transport corridor, alongside as a site of worship, and with shaded seating, gives people reason and the means to spend time in the space. Simple interventions Light, shade, movement and shadows define the experience of the site. The tree typologies and their corresponding paving create clear zones.
EXPERIENCE: GROUND AND SKY
GLADE
FOREST
SPECIMEN
AVENUE
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C O N S T R U C T I O N A N D P L A N T I N G D E TA I L Planting for a Mediterranean climate.
Helichrysim italicum Rudbeckia hirta ‘Indian Summer’
Helichrysim italicum
Stachys byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’
Rudbeckia hirta ‘Indian Summer’
Thymus vulgaris
Thymus vulgaris
2m
7m Pennisetum alopecuroides
Euphorbia myrsinites
Penstemon ‘Blackbeard’
6 1 2 3 4 5
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-510mm -340mm
Echinops bannaticus ‘Taplow Blue’ Euphorbia myrsinites Penstemon ‘Blackbeard’ Helichrysim italicum
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-170mm
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1 Stack bond granite setts, sandblased top face (100x100x50mm), on laying course: min 30mm 2 150mm C25/30 concrete base 150mm compacted thickness sub-base, DOT type 1, recycled from site 3 Anchored root ball with RootRain Urban irrigation system 4 RootSpace system, 2 upright deep 5 GBUMOT3A - 200mm depth drainage layer 6 Vertical temporary wooden tree guard 7 Granite setts with split top face 8 Concrete sett stabiliser 9 Sandstone coping with saw-cut finishand rough-sawn sides 10 Reinforced concrete slab 11 Repurposed concrete slabs, from 300mm2 to 1000mm2 12 Repurposed security blockade 13 50mm thick sandstone paving, shot-blasted finish. (200x100x50mm). Laid with colour-matched joints. 20mm modified mortar bedding layer 14 Planting 15 40mm minimum depth planting soil 16 Planting, shown in planting plan.
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COMMONSIDE COMMONS
Grade: 83
Brownfield maintenance plan
Maintenance plan for the directed dynamic succession of an open mosaic habitat. Using the ‘ordered frames, messy system’ (Nassauer 1995) framework to improve public perception, whilst maintaining the biodiversity benefits stemming from its lack of human intervention (UEL, 2017). Small parks act as stepping stones in the urban fabric, enabling people to experience quotidian nature (Cole, 1986: 56) through interaction with the synanthropic species of semi-natural systems (Gilbert 1991). In the longer term, this will increase pro-environmental behaviours (Dunn et al., 2009). The maintenance plan celebrates the novel socio-ecological character of the site, by building upon the spatial complexity and unpredictability of the dynamic site.
Sample from maintenance plan Maintenance considerations
‘Commonside Commons’: A Brownfield Maintenance Plan
Challenges Nationally, few brownfield sites are sensitively managed for socio-ecological benefit. Barriers are both real and perceived, with safety concerns (and health concerns over contamination), negative connotations of a site which is no longer economically productive and competition from other land-uses [Fig. 5](Garvin and Berens, 1997; De Sousa 20). However, with an experimental education programme, the site will be viewed more positively. Figure 5: brownfields are contentious sites, and their value - to humans
Introduction 2
The 600m brownfield site was previously the site of a small petrol station, though it has been left unused for several years.The site backs onto residential developments on the junction of Springvale Road and Howard Road, in Crookes, to the North West of Sheffield city centre. It is currently closed off to public access by construction fencing. The site presents a challenge; it is necessary to improve public perception of the site, however, many of its biodiversity benefits stem from its lack of human intervention (UEL, 2017). Using maintenance strategies to direct the dynamic progression of the site’s urban ecologies is increasingly necessary in order to maintain the earlystage successional processes. This will increase seasonal interest and make the site stand out - from an ecological and human perspective - from its surroundings (Pueffel et al., 2017).
Purpose in the landscape Value
Key characteristics
The brownfield site should be managed flexibly, using the principle of acceptable limits. The natural systems which are involved are complex, which gives the site its value. However, without proper management, this will be perceived as neglected and unwelcoming. Using the ‘messy systems, ordered frames’ principle, the site will become more attractive to people and wildlife alike (Nassauer 1995).
Contact with nature should be the experience of the many, not the few. A clear understanding of, and concern for, nature is best instilled through direct and frequent experience – quotidian nature (Cole, 1986: 56)
Figure 1: the site sits on the corner of terraced residences. and is currently inaccessable
The site’s value comes from its role as a stepping stone in the urban fabric. It lies at the central point between Bolehill, Crookes Valley Park and the Ponderosa: three parks with varying degrees of management, however all of which are dominated by mown grass. These parks, alongside domestic gardens, make up the city’s green mosaic. Currently overlooked and neglected, brownfield sites are also part of this mosaic. The mix of self-seeded garden species and ruderals differentiates the site from the formal parks and gardens in Sheffield. This site in particular represents an opportunity to upgrade an urban commons which celebrates the novel socio-ecological character of the locality. Spatial complexity and unpredictability of the dynamic site is part of that which gives it value.
Bolehills
and wildlife - needs to be maximised for them to be accepted in today’s housing crisis (Ministry of Housing, 2017; Guardian, 2019). Substrate and Nutrients To retain the openness of the matrix, the stressed environment with moderate PK and low N should be maintained. Slowing the rate of succession in this way will also maintain high floral diversity of the plagioclimax (Kendle, 1997). Natural nutrient input through leaf litter and old growth should be minimised. This early intervention should reduce the costs of the site in the long-term, by decreasing the productivtiy of the soil. The low organic matter is also maintained through this process, meaning it is well aerated. Minerals from the concrete and brick raises the pH of the substrate, making it more suitable for Buddleia alongside ‘garden ruderals’ such as Digitalis spp.. Trifolium spp. and other nitrogen fixers raise subrastrate nitrogen levels and therefore the fertility, over time increasing coarse ground cover and scrub. This can be avoided by ‘resetting the clock’ by causing disturbance. Currently, the substrate and accumulation of organic matter means there exists a continuum of levels of vegetation productivity on the site [Fig. 6]
Low productivity Figure 6: The continuum of nutrient availability provides diverse growing environments.
Improving perception When perceived as neglected, the site will continue to attract litter [Fig. 7]. Without suitable management, this will likely increase once the fences are taken down, with flytipping a potential drain on resources. Messy systems, organized frames and a long, exciting flowering period will increase the ‘wow factor’ (e.g. Hoyle et al., 2017). In the short term, this is to increase interest in the site and raise perception of its ecological value. Interpretation panels can be used to educate and show the care that has been taken over the site. Construction debris The presence of construction bricks, graffiti and other debris decrease the chances that people will feel comfortable in the site [Fig. 7]. It also makes management difficult when construction materials obstruct mowing machines etc.
Plant Assemblages The previously mentioned plant typologies function in a diverse assemblages across the mosaic. The different permeability and composition of the substrate across the site supports the colonisation of diverse species, which together (and alongside the trees and plants of the surrounding garden) form an ecotone [Fig. 4]. High floral diversity remains from previous stages of succession. Continued disturbance, such as the clearing of the land 4 years ago for proposed development, ensures that annuals have not been crowded out through competition pressures.
Structural diversity from mounds, bare areas, scrub and vegetation of various heights provide habitats for basking, shelter and nesting birds. The current non-intervention also means invertebrates can over-winter and complete their larval stage in stems and seedheads (e.g. Dipsacus fullonum and Reseda odorata). The ‘Palimpsest Effect’ means complexity of species and assemblages persist through the early stages of succession (Gilbert 1992). Ground layers (e.g. Trifolium and Rubus spp.) and taller structural species create high species richness which can last several years on low-nutrient spaces.
Typologies
Examples
Function
Nitrogen fixers and Dynamic Accumlators
Trifolium spp. Taraxacum officinale
Fixes nitrogen or deep tap roots reach other sources of it. Reduces competition for nitrogen, reduced dominance of stress tolerators (Temperton et al., 2007).
‘Weedy’ Ruderals
Plantago lanceolata Rumex obtusifolius Dipsacus fullonum Senecio squalidus Chamaenerion angustifolium
Ensure survival through high seed production, many of these species also spread rapidly though rhizomes. Provide food and habitats for invertebrates, including for their overwintering. Rapidly colonise disturbed land.
Structural Ruderals
Linaria purpurea Digitalis purpurea Reseda ororata Centranthus ruber
Centranthus ruber is dominant for much of the summer, because of its unsynchronized flowering. Stress-tolerant ruderals including annuals / biannuals from surrounding gardens provide sources of nectar for invertebrates and add colour and send (e.g. Reseda) to the site.
Grasses
Arrhenatherum elatius Elymus repens
Over time form tussocks, adding to structural diversity. Source of nectar and habitats for invertebrates and birds. Slows the colonisation by trees, though slowly creates the conditions for them to establish. Spread rapidly by seeds and rhizomes.
Scrub
Buddleia Acer pseudoplatanus
Habitat for birds, carbon sequestration The rapid growth of competitive plants such as Buddleia makes a more simple assemblage, with the thickets covering open ground and diminishing its value for invertebrates.
Hedera helix Rubus fruticosus
Winter food for birds. Their dense growth also provides nesting sites for birds
Climbers / ground cover
Figure 4: An ecotone is created by the various successional stages
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Flora diversity results from the different substrates and microclimates within different zones of the site. Diverse flora with an extended flowering period ensures a long supply of nectar for feeding invertebrates. By limiting the progression of succession on the site, structural complexity and floral diversity will be maintained. This is suited to the different life stages and ecological strategies of intertebrates as well as the bird and other animal life they support (Kendle, 1997).
High productivity
Minimising costs and staffing There is currently no budget for greenspace maintenance on the site. With budgets pressed even for the surrounding large, wellused parks, the reallocation of resources to the site needs to be minimized and well justified in terms of social and environmental benefits. Much of the work on the site requires low levels of knowledge which could be undertaken by volunteers. However, the use of heavy equipment could be undertaken by a charity such as the Wildlife Trust. Involvement Figure 7: Litter and construction of such a charity would also increase volunteer motivation, alongside performing an educational debris function of skill and knowledge sharing.
Crookes Valley Park and the Ponderosa
The open mosaic habitat, offers habitat niches from its diverse environment. Notably, many of the invertebrates specified as high priority in S41 of the NERC Act 2006 are suited to this environment, e.g. Erynnis tages and Brachinus sclopeta. As the Government’s 2020 strategy aims to prevent further human-induced extinctions of known threatened species, the maintenance of such sites provides opportunities for the study and habitat preservation of target species.
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1 Nitrogen-fixing plants such as Trifolium spp., along with those such as Taraxacum spp. which bring up nitrogen from deeper in the soil through their tap roots, improve the fertility of the soil 2 Exposed concrete and brick which is yet to be broken up. This warms quickly, providing ideal environments for many invertebrates. 3 Matrix of fine materials - crushed brick etc., ideal for ruderal colonisation 4 Ruderal plants such as Rumex spp. emerge through the disturbed ground 5 Grasses (predominantly Arrhenatherum elatius and Elymus repens) dominate in areas characteristic of the mid-late grassland stage of succession. 6 Mound with south-facing slope, a habitat suited to many invertebrates 7 Buddleia and Acer pseudoplatanus saplings 8 The site sits adjacent to a garden, separated by an 8ft brick wall 9 Acer pseudoplatanus and Aesculus hippocastanum are amongst the trees in the surrounding area which add to the seed pool for the site 10 Garden plants such as Centranthus Ruber add to the seed pool Year 2 projected succession, if left unmanaged to grassland with saplings (e.g. sycamore) in substrates less suitable for grass colonization. Decreasing diversity, though the Palimpsest effect means some earlier established species remain
Year 3 projected succession, if left unmanaged Sapling establishment is limited by grass colonisation, which crowds out saplings. Growth of Buddleia - without pruning it becomes ‘leggy’ and its flowers less impactful. Decreasing floral diversity.
Figure 2: the site is a part of Sheffield’s green network, which includes large public green spaces - the Ponderosa, Crookes Valley Park and Bolehills - alongside the garden network.
Annual Maintenance Plan When March
Where Zone E
Tools Handsaw and Chainsaw
Who Wildlife Trust, Buglife or similar conservation charity
What Prune Buddleia and other scrub
Annual Hours 5
2
Description and purpose: Cut buddleia hard back to ground level. To keep the shrubs tidy, increase flower cover, increase density of growth. Monitor other saplings. Allow to establish around 1/m , pulling out other saplings trees where possible, or cutting back. April - May
Zones A- D
Hand-held strimmer
Volunteers, led by Wildlife Trust, Buglife or similar conservation charity
Cutting and clearing of old growth
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Description and purpose: A late spring cutting maximises wildlife habitat used by overwintering invertebrates. Reducing the soil nutrients will decrease the productivity and increase the amount of stress-tolerators and maintain a plagioclimax. It will therefore increase the period before tall herbs come to dominance and prolong the period before further disturbance is needed to re-start the colonising process and rejuvenate the site when the plant communities become ‘messy’. April-May
Zones A-D
Hand rake
Volunteers, led by Wildlife Trust, Buglife or similar conservation charity
Ground disturbance
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Description and purpose: After vegetation clearance, rake substrate enough to create additional aeration and cover shoots of new growth. To increase species richness, disturbance in Zones A, B, C and D will ensure the range of successional stages necessary for an Open Mosaic Habitat. Zones A is to be disturbed every year, with B every other year [Table 1]. Zones C and D are to be monitored and disturbed when the area is deemed to be progressing from the late grassland stage to shrubby ground cover. This is indicated by heightened presence of tree saplings, and to be judged by a landscape manager. At this stage, a small excavator can be used to create disturbance to the level of 1-2ft. This will maintain the range of ages of successional stages crucial to the open mosaic habitat. June
Whole site
None
Trained ecologist
Ecological surveying
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Description and purpose: Extended Phase 1 habitat survey, including for breeding birds, in order to alter management and educate volunteers and the public about the site’s value. In following years, protected species surveys can be conducted. August
Whole site
Secateurs, gardening gloves
Volunteers, led by Wildlife Trust, Buglife or similar conservation charity
Cut back selected seed heads
4
Description and purpose: Cut back seed heads of weedy ruderals with aggressive rhizomal spread including Rumex spp., Taraxacum officinale and, where over 20 across site, Reseda spp. Improve the ‘cared for’ appearance of the site by preventing the dominance of these species. September - October
Zone F
Strimmer
Volunteers
Sew annual seeds
6
Description and purpose: Clear ground using strimmer and put on the log pile. Remove any topsoil that has built up. Manually disturb the ground using a rake. Sew with annual meadow flowers using a mix with poppies and species suited to disturbed ground, e.g. Pictorial Meadows ‘Candy’ Mix, sewn at 3g/m2. This is to provide an orderly frame for the site and overcome problems with perception of a ‘waste’ site. The partial upgrading is aesthetically motivated, though remaining fitting with the themes of spontaneous nature across the site (Müller et al., 2010). The self-seeding of colourful flowers across the site will also add interest to the site. To protect the seeded ground, a temporary barrier should be constructed using arched willow branches or other branches from a freely available source. September-October
Zone H
Rake
Volunteers, led by Wildlife Trust, Buglife or similar conservation charity
Create calcareous grassland
3
Description and purpose: Add 20l bag of chalk to the currently existing mound, in order to create a calcareous grassland, which is suited to the prey of some specialist invertebrates (Buglife, 2018). Hand-seeding to create diversify the initial colonisation after disturbance, e.g. Medicago lupulina and Vicia cracca, alongside Rhinanthus minor at 40:40:20 ratio. These nitrogen fixers will, over time, create conditions in which other species from existing seedpools such as Reseda luteola, Dipsacus fullonum and Linaria purpurea are likely to colonise. Rhinanthus minor will decrease the overall productivity of the vegetation. Description and purpose: Clear path of leaf litter and other debris. Collect and put in back log pile. To decrease risk of people slipping, create a more welcoming environment and decrease the mineral input into the site. After storm event
Zone E
Chainsaw
Qualified Arboriculturalist
Tree inspection and pruning
1-6
Description and purpose: Inspection for crown damage and instability which poses a hazard to pedestrians or vehicles. Pruning to be kept to the minimum requirements to removed dead and damaged branches, adhering to BS3998 - `Tree Works - Recommendations’. Cut branches to <1m lengths and move to back corner log pile, in order to build a habitat for invertebrates and keeping healthy functioning soils for worms, grass snakes etc. Monthly
Whole site
Litter picker, bags
Volunteer-led
Litter picking
Description and purpose: Litter picking as a community activity to promote environmental stewardship. With sufficient volunteer motivation, this could spread out into the wider area of Crookes and Walkley.
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Year 5 enhanced topographical diversity of the site. This will provide conditions ideal for many generalist species, as well as specialists such as the Chalk carpet moth Scotopteryx bipunctaria, a UK BAP priority species which prefer calcareous soils and sparsely vegetated ground created by disturbance with some flower-rich areas. The variety of habitats across the site provides ideal conditions for this nationally scarse species.
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Exhibition in Dina Gallery
Grade: 74
The story of rock is a narrative in which human lives interact with crinoids, capitalism with ruin and politics with memory. The rock is an actor in the shifting assemblages, formed by overlaid moments. Combining my interests in social science and art practice, in this module I explored the idiosyncrasies of the anthropocene. Using the Black Rocks in Derbyshire, alongside the Rock of Raouché, Beiut, as a starting point, rock is used as a ‘radical tool for decentering human hubris’ (Tsing, 2015).
Beirut’s post-war development frenzy has led to tower blocks shooting up on Beirut’s natural coastline, replacing rocky outcrops with concrete development. Artificial material, millionsyear-old geology. Contradictions - between freedom and exploitation, vast and minuscule, stability and explosion, conflict and peace - are perhaps the best way to explore the messiness of the anthropocene.
Oil on canvas
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R H S C H AT S WO RT H F L OW E R S H OW Silver-Gilt medal winning Long Border, 2019 The border was inspired by campaigns such as the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;RHS Greening Great Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. It explores humanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship with nature in post-industrial landscapes and envisages a future in which nature is celebrated for the rich sensory experience it provides for humans and wildlife alike.
The design, planting, and presentation of the garden were done in partnership with Alfajri Rahmatullah. Sourcing plants from nurseries, potting them on, planting and engaging with the public on show days all provided a valuable experience, and a great opportunity to share my enthusiasm for landscape architecture.
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OT H E R WO R K
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emilyhull24@gmail.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-hull-a23295107/
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