Landscape The Journal of the Landscape Institute
The Awards in full / 23 Planning Galicia's coastline / 16 What's happening in education / 9
Winter 2014
landscapeinstitute.org
Experience the fascination of light
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Landscape Winter 2014
Editorial
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Awards, work and pleasure i n September, some of the most accomplished members of the landscape and related professions gave up 24 hours of their free time to judge this year’s Landscape Institute Awards. They were given food and drink, and beds to sleep in, but no other recompense. Some of them gave up more of their time to visit the selected winning projects and ensure that they deserved a prize. The awards committee also put in a great deal of effort, and the president of the institute, Noel Farrer, spent time poring over the winners to select the best of the best, the recipient of the President’s Award.
Cover image ©: LDA Design 1 – Agnese Sanvito
EARLY
1 — Ruth Slavid, editor.
This happens every year and it is not unusual for an awards scheme. All well-run awards schemes rely on the efforts of volunteers. Those entering awards schemes also devote a considerable amount of time to putting their submissions together, just as they do when entering a competition to win work. The difference with the award scheme is that, even if successful, they will not receive any recompense. What a lot of work it all is. There may be a few disgruntled entrants, pipped at the post by what they consider an inferior entry, but for everybody else it is vastly rewarding. Judging awards provides an opportunity to meet your peers, to be inspired and to think about landscape in a way that may not be possible when bogged down by day-to-day activities. CPD is seen by some as an obligation, and by the wiser as a chance not only to stay up to date but to broaden their horizons and refresh their thinking, and judging awards is a glorified form of CPD.
Tim Waterman, in ‘A word’ at the back of this journal, argues cogently that we should not work too much and that overwork can actually make people worse at what they do. But what if people can have work that is so pleasurable that it is the best thing that they can do? What if the dividing lines between work and leisure become so blurred that people no longer know where they are? Fortunately for the organisers of awards, and for those seeking volunteers in other capacities, that seems to be an ideal solution for many. The LI awards may not be unique in the way that they call on volunteers, but they are different from the norm in another sense. Almost all awards in the built environment are given for design or, sometimes, for execution. The LI awards are special because, in addition to the design categories, they recognise areas such as planning, research and communication. These are not the easiest to judge. You can’t just look at a few pretty pictures and plump for the one that you prefer. But they do reflect the breadth of activities that members of the landscape profession undertake, and reward excellence in all its forms. The importance of work that is not a straightforward design project can be seen in our future on the coastal management plan of Galicia. By looking carefully at the way that land is used and developed the Spanish region has come up with a way of preventing the indiscriminate development and sprawl that was threatening to overwhelm a valuable natural resource. You won’t of course ever see this project win an LI award because it is in the wrong country, but I hope you enjoy reading about it.
Landscape Winter 2014
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Landscape Contents
The Journal of the Landscape Institute
Regulars
Editorial
Bigger picture
Editor Ruth Slavid 020 8265 3319 landscape@darkhorsedesign.co.uk
3 Awards, work and pleasure
Editorial advisory panel Tim Waterman, honorary editor Edwin Knighton CMLI Jo Watkins PPLI Jenifer White CMLI John Stuart Murray FLI Jill White CMLI Eleanor Trenfield CMLI Amanda McDermott
6 The last time I saw Paris
Landscape Institute president Noel Farrer PLI Director of policy and communications Paul Lincoln ––– Subscriptions landscapethejournal.org/subscribe Advertising landscapeinstitute.org/contact Membership landscapeinstitute.org/membership Twitter @talklandscape ––– The Landscape Institute is the royal chartered institute for landscape architects.
The education dilemma
Technical
Practice
Culture
59 Take a seat
65 Working with the NEC contracts 72 What’s new at the Landscape Institute
A Word
74 Work
As a professional body and educational charity, it works to protect, conserve and enhance the natural and built environment for the public benefit. ––– Landscape is printed on FSC paper obtained from a sustainable and well managed source, using environmentally friendly vegetable oil based ink. The views expressed in this journal are those of the contributors and advertisers and not necessarily those of the Landscape Institute, Darkhorse or the Editorial Advisory Panel. While every effort has been made to check the accuracy and validity of the information given in this publication, neither the Institute nor the Publisher accept any responsibility for the subsequent use of this information, for any errors or omissions that it may contain, or for any misunderstandings arising from it.
Landscape is the official journal of the Landscape Institute, ISSN: 1742–2914 ©December 2014 Landscape Institute. Landscape is published four times a year by Darkhorse Design.
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Landscape Winter 2014
Update
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Features
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Planning a coastline Galicia in north-west Spain now has a detailed coastal management plan which consolidates information and enables sustainable decision making about development. It is an approach that could be applied profitably elsewhere.
Photo ©: 1 – Cannon Ivers 2 – Landlab & IET Xunta de Galicia
Publisher Darkhorse Design Ltd 42 Hamilton Square, Birkenhead Wirral, Merseyside. CH41 5BP T 0151 649 9669 www.darkhorsedesign.co.uk
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Landscape Institute Awards 2014 Full details of all this year’s winning and highly commended schemes, including comments from the judges.
Photo ©: 3 – Broadway Malyan 4 – Peter Cook 5 – LDA Design 6 – Steve Morgan/ Pennine Prospects 7 – Gillespies 8 – Juice Architects
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Landscape The Journal of the Landscape Institute
The awards in full / 23 Planning Galicia's coastline / 16 What's happening in education / 9
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Winter 2014
landscapeinstitute.org
Cover image – Tidal Lagoon (Swansea Bay) by LDA Design. Landscape Winter 2014
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Bigger Picture By Ruth Slavid
The last time I saw Paris
T
he success of the High Line and the many imitators it has spawned may make us think that derelict rail lines are a thing of the past. In fact there are still plenty, and Paris has a particularly fine example. Despite having created the Promenade Plantée well before the High Line, the city has a larger railway which has, in parts, been unused for 80 years. Called La Petite Ceinture (the little belt), this 32km track circling the city was a victim of the early success of the motor car, and passenger services ceased in the 1930s. Some areas of the track were used for freight, but those services all ended by the 1990s. Now it is unused but not entirely neglected, as some maintenance is still carried out. And there are plans for the future.
Photo ©: 1 – Pierre Folk
Many will welcome regeneration, but for photographer Pierre Folk there is a charm in this ‘intimate place where past and modernity make their acquaintance’. Since 2011 he has been documenting the railway line, and intends to continue as it enters the next period of its evolution.
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Landscape Winter 2014
Landscape Winter 2014
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Update By Hayley Hannan
Responding to the crisis in landscape education Is there a crisis in landscape education? A decline in student numbers has placed greater pressure on the education system. What can be done to raise the profile of the profession and attract the kind of students the profession needs to meet future challenges?
'E
verything begins with education,’
writes Sir Terry Farrell in the Farrell Review of Architecture and the Built Environment, an industry-wide review published this year, led by Sir Terry Farrell and commissioned by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey. It’s a simple statement that applies to every profession. Landscape architecture begins with students who are trained, equipped with professional skills and develop a culture, attitude and set of values. Their imaginations and creative problem-solving skills are teased, stretched and strengthened over four to five years of study. The feedback from current landscapearchitecture students is largely positive, citing a stimulating, challenging and fulfilling mixture of building a broad knowledge base, practical skills, enjoyable course content and interactions. The LI-accredited courses enjoy high
employment rates following graduation. Anecdotal evidence from practitioners points to increasing project numbers, picking up momentum following a temporary reduction after the global financial crisis. However, the public sector still faces contraction. Edwin Knighton, head of landscape architecture at Leeds Beckett University (formerly Leeds Metropolitan University), says that the number of undergraduates joining is smaller now than when he began teaching, more than 25 years ago. ‘Student applications to undergraduate courses have declined noticeably over the last five to ten years – this trend seems to be continuing,’ he says. In contrast, Knighton says, a growing number are joining postgraduate courses. The reason for the overall drop in undergraduate students is unclear, he says. ‘We’re having problems identifying what the problem is. There’s certainly an issue about the profile of landscape architecture – or lack of a profile – with 16–19 year olds. Despite all these big projects we hear about – the Eden Project, the Olympics – we’re still not getting our message across to school kids and to college kids about this fantastic subject as a possible career.’ According to LI figures, the number of students has risen and fallen since 2005 (see table). Overall joining numbers sit at 332 in
2013, which is 15 below the 347 recorded in 2005. The overall joining levels temporarily climbed to 528 joiners in 2008 and 532 in 2009, but have been falling since 2011, when the course fee increased from around £1500 – 2000 per year, to £6000+ per year. Andrew Jones, careers and education officer at the Landscape Institute, says that the falling numbers of students joining courses do not tell the whole story. ‘There has always been a degree of flux in numbers, relative to industry requirements and other factors at any given time,’ he says. ‘If we look back to 2005/06, the number of undergraduate joiners was reported to the LI as 202; in 2012/13 the total number of undergraduate joiners to accredited landscape courses was 212. Yet following that year, two undergraduate courses closed reporting low student recruitment. ‘Why were these numbers acceptable in 2006 but not acceptable in 2013? The answer lies in the broader changes within higher education under the current government, and the increased financial pressures placed on academia to perform economically under this new model. The fact is that the amount of money a course costs to run, against how much money it brings in, is under closer scrutiny than ever before. And landscape architecture needs to respond to this.’ /...
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Update
1 – The former landscape architecture studio at Manchester Metropolitan University, showing the collaborative approach typical of landscape courses.
Two LI-accredited courses have closed within the last three years – the Bachelor in Landscape Architecture at Kingston University and at Manchester School of Architecture (Manchester Metropolitan University, MMU). Edward Fox, programme leader for landscape architecture at MMU, suggests that landscape architecture courses are closing due to ‘unsustainably’ low numbers of students and applicants. ‘UCAS statistics demonstrate a steadily shrinking number of applicants to the K310 course code (the code for landscape architecture), and in the end that is the bottom line for universities. The institutional context within which landscape departments operate is also a contributing factor. Most departments are within faculties of art and design, and many are considered a subset of architecture. In a market-driven education sector, when management are ever-more focused on the economic viability of courses, small landscape programmes are a tempting target.’ He agrees that the cause of dropping student figures is hard to pinpoint. ‘It’s very difficult to answer and none of us in the academic world has any convincing explanations,’ he said. Low graduate numbers have consequences for the profession, he says: ‘This will lead to wage inflation and difficulty in filling posts, falling standards due to universities having to accept lower grades in order to fill courses, a loss of 10 Landscape Winter 2014
expertise in the academic sector and a loss of research into areas of interest for the profession.’ Addressing student interest levels in joining university courses is also on the government’s agenda. A current proposal to remove student number caps could result in an influx of students. In 2014–15, the cap will increase by 30,000 students and, from 2015–16, universities will be able to recruit as many students as they like. A call for change weaves its way throughout many discussions. In particular, the Farrell review calls for integration between planning, landscape, architecture, conservation and engineering professions from schooling to retirement to reform education, governmental decisions, cities, towns and conservation of an increasingly interconnected and rapidly evolving economic landscape. In a move to raise the profile of landscape architecture as a viable career, and increase the number of students studying landscape architecture, the Landscape Institute will work closely with the Standing Conference of Heads of Landscape Architecture (SCHOLA). It will also work with LI branches, members, practitioners, current landscape architecture students and Pathway to Chartership candidates, to provide new career promotional materials, clear and defined messages, and encourage school presentations and events promoting landscape architecture.
A Landscape Futures – Future of Education event will run in early 2015 specifically to explore the topic and raise awareness, while a nationwide regional press PR campaign will promote the profession. The careers scheme will roll out in stages, starting from late 2014. Andrew Jones explained the new approach. ‘Education is a marketplace, and landscape needs to find a way to compete,’ he said. ‘It needs to re-assert itself within this new economically minded playing field. Landscape architecture needs to rise to the challenge of how to market itself.’ Extensive research has informed the LI’s approach. Two surveys carried out in early 2014 of LI members and current students provide key indications of why people enter the landscape profession, as well as of their aspirations and job satisfaction. The results paint a picture of passionate, dedicated professionals with an interest in protecting the environment, improving places for people and making cities more liveable through innovative planning, spaces, renewable energy and green infrastructure. Both groups are stimulated by the broad knowledge required by, and used within, the profession, and by the fact that so many subjects are brought together in landscape architecture. The surveys show evidence of a fragmented and highly varied route to entering the /...
Image ©: 1 – Edward Fox
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Update How did you find out about Landscape Architecture as a career? Other School career service University course marketing material Family member / friend was a landscape architect Family Talk by landscape architect Landscape Institute publication ‘I want to be a landscape architect’ News or broadcast coverage Social media 2 – Charts showing how students learnt about landscape architecture and what attracted them to the profession.
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What appealed to you about studying landscape architecture? Interest in design Working in a creative profession Concern for the environment Interest in nature Protecting and enhancing the natural environment Interest in the built environment and the creation of place and space Improving the local community, making places for people to enjoy Improving the urban environment Interest in ecology Environmental management Other
382 329 266 248 243 242 215 197 135
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profession. Although the majority of members found out about landscape architecture from a school career service (18.2%), university material (16%), or a family member or a friend (14.2%), an impressively large number of students found out about landscape architecture through the signature site, ‘I want to be a landscape architect’ (17.48%). Based on these insights, the message of landscape architecture as an attractive and rewarding profession will be spread through online media, careers materials, university careers and SCHOLA communication, and by word of mouth through LI member, practitioner, P2C candidate and LI branch presentations and events and member involvement. Audiences will be targeted through specific outlets. An overhaul of the I want to be a Landscape Architect website (launched in early 2008) has resulted in the Be a Landscape Architect campaign and supporting promotional careers materials. The new brand is clear, strong and visual. The image-led website and supporting promotional material focus on the big issues that landscape architects tackle (green infrastructure, sustainable urban drainage, health and wellbeing, housing). The messages are targeted at 16–19 year olds, career changers, students enrolled in related courses (art & design, geography, architecture), and existing professionals. The new content, images, /... Landscape Winter 2014 13
Update
case studies, videos, profiles, professional industry and career course information all focus on defining and simplifying the complex, inspiring and widely varied profession.
Owens, principal landscape architect at Groundwork explains, getting out into schools and colleges to talk about the profession and inspire pupils to become landscape architects is critical.
Plans for a nationwide regional landscape professional career push, with involvement from LI members, branches and Pathway to Chartership candidates, are currently being developed.
‘The profession plays a leading role on many key issues of today i.e. green infrastructure, water, housing etc. and I believe this can stimulate meaningful engagement and inspiration at all ages,’ he says.
Chris Sheridan, head of education and membership at the LI, says the careers campaign should help support universities, encourage student joiners and promote and further define the profession.
‘Trying to tap into the national curriculum and generate discussions about landscape architecture at the earliest stage of someone’s education is fundamental. By bringing landscape architecture into the classroom, we hope to inspire as many young people as possible to enroll at university and become the landscape architects of the future.’
‘We will specifically target students at the FE and HE level studying topics that our surveys show informed current students’, he said. ‘We will also target school students by providing materials that members can use in classroom presentations. I’m sure this has been done before in some capacity. We know that branches/devolved nations are active in this area. Perhaps what is different this time is that we will work with SCHOLA, our university partners. We will also embed this activity so that it becomes part of our annual cycle of work.’ At an individual level, landscape professionals can help to boost the profession by simply taking the time to explain what landscape architecture is and achieves. As Gethin 14 Landscape Winter 2014
An Education Series featuring in-depth interviews about the current landscape architecture education situation, and possible steps forward, will be published on the Landscape Institute blog throughout December. The series includes interviews with former LI president Jo Watkins, Alister Kratt, Partner at LDA Design and Ian Houlston, Associate at LDA Design. Visit http://www.landscapeinstitute.co.uk/ news/Blog to read more. New recruitment material and advice for school presentations will also be available from the LI website.
Edward Fox warned, ‘Education is the foundation stone of any profession and we neglect it at our peril. We should ask ourselves what is it we want and need as a profession. Ultimately, what we need are graduates with the confidence, skill and vision to lead and frame the debates affecting the human environments of the future.’ To get involved and represent the profession, engage with a young audience, a school, college or academy, contact careers and education officer Andrew Jones on andrewj@landscapeinstitute.org or 020 7685 2656.
3 – New material developed for the Landscape Institute is intended to inspire and inform young people about the potential of landscape architecture as a profession. Hayley Hannan is communications officer (education and membership) at the Landscape Institute
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Feature
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Galicia in northwest Spain now has a detailed coastal management which consolidates information and enables sustainable decision-making about development. It is an approach that could be applied profitably elsewhere. BY: MIRIAM GARCIA GARCIA
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Image Š: 1, 2, – Landlab & IET Xunta de Galicia
Planning a coastline
the last decade, there has been a growing awareness in the province of Galicia in northern Spain, awareness of the shortcomings of the urban growth model that we could describe as ‘without criterion’. This model underlies the area’s intense urbanisation which is producing inefficient urban systems and a series of impacts and disturbances that are not only affecting the perception we have of the coastal littoral landscape, but also the littoral system as a whole (hydrology, habitats and biodiversity, land waste and contamination etc.), endangering its functioning. The consequences include production of impervious soil, fragmentation of the habitat, loss of biodiversity, pressure on the quality of water resources, contamination and waste production and urban dispersal.
• t he establishment of a frame of reference for urban planning in coastal areas based on a series of criteria, principles and general norms; • t he application of regulations related to the conservation, protection and highlighting of coastal areas.
In response to these problems, the first work relating to the Coastal Management Plan of Galicia, (Plan de Ordenación del Litoral, POL) was enacted in the Law 6/2007 (Ley 6/2007) regarding urgent measures for the joint planning of the territory and the littoral by means of an integrated territorial plan. From that time until its endorsement in February 2011, the document was enriched by the contributions of the administrations and individuals involved during the different phases of document development.
Methodology The particular features of the Galician coast (relief, land dynamics, climate, sea tides, vegetation, heritage elements, etc.) make up a complex and varied patchwork. In response, the plan adopts a systemic approach and a relational framework capable of encompassing the complexity of the area studied.
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1 – Typical landscape of the Galician coast 2 – The position of Galicia in Western Europe
Aims and objectives The plan aims to be the framework for critical reflection on the different public policies affecting the territory, by facilitating a profound knowledge of the littoral system, its dynamics and landscapes. The final aim is the realisation of a more coherent and sustainable use of the littoral space and an improvement in the quality of life for its local inhabitants as well as for visitors. These general objectives can be divided in two main ideas:
For the consequent development of these two main ideas, we are following a particular framework for the territorial model. This is to: • i dentify and characterise the distinct areas and elements included in the delimited area of study of the plan; • e stablish the relations existing between these different elements; •d etermine the criteria, principles and general norms for each of the elements.
For this reason, the plan integrates regional and landscape planning policies from a holistic understanding of the coast and coastal processes, avoiding reductive approximations based on issues related only to the immediate coastline itself. To reach this goal, the point of departure has been the 2,555 linear kilometres of the Galician coast: this perimeter includes the 432 kilometres of islands, the 464 kilometres of marshlands and finally the 1,659 kilometres of specific littoral perimeter. /...
Landscape Winter 2014 17
Feature integrated within it. In addition, taking into consideration the relief, including the hydrographical viewsheds, and the different mountain ranges and littoral alignments, the data helped us to define the area that is ‘looking towards the sea’ and which was crucial for the delimitation of the area of study. Furthermore, the landscape characterization of the coastal area enabled a vision at a territorial as well as at a human scale. Seven large regions were identified and characterised based on their geomorphologic and lithologic attributes. At a secondary level, geographical variability was established within each of the regions and 35 different internal landscape sectors, each with a high degree of landscape coherence and homogeneity, were established. At a third level, we identified and described 441 coastal landscape
Dynamic
Predominant system
Uses of cartography
Natural
Foreshore
Foreshore plains Marshlands
Geoforms
Beaches Sand dunes Lagoons and coastal wetlands Cliffs
Vegetation
Coastal vegetation* Native forests Riverbank forests Mixed forests Forest re-colonisation Other types of humid formations Scrubland
Agroforestry
Farming and fields Fruit and nursery farming Vineyards Greenhouse farming Forest repopulation
Cultural
Other tree formations
Artificial
Other water surfaces Quarry
Urbanized
Artificial
Anthropic
* Vegetal cover associated with cliffs
Field / Category
Cultural assets
Archaeological heritage
Ethnographic heritage
Military and maritime heritage
Total
Study Management Sea Total
253 98 0 253
2.783 1.751 5 2.788
6.672 5.521 2 6.674
352 345 2 354
10.060 7.815 9 10.069
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Image ©: 4, 5, 6, 7 – Landlab & IET Xunta de Galicia
Within the boundaries of the plan live 1,299,663 inhabitants in more than 82 municipalities. The analysis of the first watersheds linked directly to the coast, in accordance with the viewsheds from the coastal perimeter, enabled the delimitation of an area of study that was also later adjusted to define the final management area of the plan, covering 215,400 hectares. This area also included all the landscape units directly related to the littoral or coastal dynamics such as the extension of tidal influence in the estuaries, the zones affected by geomorphologic or marine processes (landslides, land levelling, coastal terraces, sedimentary deposits, etc.) and also particular habitat areas and the formation of coastal vegetatation. This data allowed us to acknowledge the magnitude of the territory that the plan covers and the series of dynamics that would necessarily need to be
3, 4 – Understanding the underlying dynamics of the coast. The methodology is based on an understanding of the landscape, of the logic and coherence of the processes that shape it, allowing us to objectify decision making in planning. 5 – Planning on a number of different scales has made it possible to move from measures to preserve the coastline at a regional level, to acting more locally.
units (physiographic) based on the delimited areas of the viewsheds, directly linked to the first line of the coast and coinciding with the watersheds, functional or not. At this level, we also described smaller territorial units and a higher level of homogeneity, which can be perceived at the scale of the inhabitant, thus facilitating a direct reading of the plan. The main determinant of the master plan is the great variation in its constitutive elements, factors of change and processes evident in the territory it covers. On the one hand we can mention the factors related to specific marine dynamics corresponding to the coast type (sedimentary or cliff formations): change in the foreshore areas, coastal sand dune systems, and cliff edges. For example, 863 beaches and 71 sand dune systems were studied and characterised ex novo, and all of the cliffs on the Galician coastal perimeter have been classified. On the other hand, we can identify the changes in land use and occupation patterns: urban developments, farming and agricultural fields, forest exploitation, as well as mobility and service infrastructures. Thus, 7815 settlements, 7911 heritage elements and 750 observation points have been gathered and classified. Only a multiple factor analysis, at different scales, enabled us to gain the knowledge necessary to establish a new territorial and management model.
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Understanding the underlying dynamics of the coast The methodology is based on an understanding of the landscape, of the logic and coherence of the processes that shape it, allowing us to objectify decision making in planning. The methodology employed for exploring and identifying the territory for the management plan and model is based on an understanding of both natural and cultural dynamics. For this reason, we have identified not only the constitutive elements of the territory in the classification of different landscape types, but also the relationships existing between them. We have been able to undertake a qualitative analysis of these elements, which serves as a basis for thoroughly detailing the actual dynamics behind changes in land uses and their relationship, not only to the natural and ecological values but also to cultural and marine heritage, as well as landscape values of the coast. Planning strategies The plan uses the analysis and characterization of the landscape as a methodology, enabling a new way to read and map the territory.
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In addition, the plan proposes a model for future occupancy of the coast. Its structure is articulated through different superimposed and complementary elements, in a dynamic process that enables the gathering of the peculiarities of each sphere of study. For this reason, it defines the basis of a green coastal infrastructure composed of elements relating to /... Landscape Winter 2014 19
Image ©: 8, 9, 10, 11 – Landlab & IET Xunta de Galicia
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natural dynamics; along with a proposal for ecological corridors. Additionally, all the human dynamics integrated in the territory that constitute the cultural heritage, material and immaterial, define the ‘brown infrastructure’. The two infrastructures complement each other, making up the environmental and cultural framework of the plan and defining a series of uses and elements that can be used in the different processes of spatial planning. Above all, this plan is a dynamic tool for management of the coast. For this reason, the plan also establishes a series of norms that articulate future growth proposals and the corresponding levels of compatibility. It also includes requalification of existing built ensembles that are not in accordance with the proposed model. Achieved goals The main contribution of the plan to Galician regional planning is to provide guidelines for decision making that allow a sustainable management of the littoral, the recuperation of degraded areas and the conservation of vulnerable ones. The plan constitutes the legal framework as well as the foundation document on the basis of which the 82 municipalities of the province of Galicia have to develop and organise all their public policy with the support of the community. It also informs the population about the environmental problems that coastal areas are facing and the urgent need for rational and comprehensive management of this territory. The plan can also generate further levels of information. It is the fundamental document for the production of the first catalogues that have as their main subject the coastal landscape of Galicia. Related projects at different scales are also being achieved within the general framework of the plan, such as a network plan for the walkways and itineraries of the Galician coast, which brings the plan into the direct spatial experience of the inhabitants. In addition, an information technology system ensuring a dynamic follow up based on the assessment of environmental indicators has been implemented to achieve ongoing updating of the data related to the plan.
8 – Plan of the territorial model
Contribution to coastal management practice Global concern about sustainable planning and integrated management of coastal zones is relatively recent. Particularly since the 1970s, not only the scientific community but also society in general
have become aware of the need to resolve the conflicts appearing in coastal areas. Many countries initiated policies to preserve the coast, especially its cultural and natural heritage. However, mechanisms aimed exclusively at protection have proved inefficient at managing the dynamics of coastal processes, and have been evolving in recent decades towards regional planning and management. The Galician plan is an example of this new approach to coastal processes from the perspective of the landscape. This approach is of utmost importance for the planning of future resilient frameworks, using the coast as a laboratory for analysis and proposals within a dual dimension: the characterisation of coastal aspects and the elaboration of proposals to establish the necessary conditions (physical, ecological, sociological, etc.) for intervention. The plan as a dynamic landscape management tool reflects all these critical concerns. Communication and promotion of the plan is of equal importance. Addressing a general public requires the cartography and mapping produced to be legible and comprehensible not only by the scientific and professional community but by society at large to achieve a wider awareness of coastal issues. Understanding and knowledge of this complex coastal system allows society to understand the territorial model adopted, as well as the decisions made and to engage actively in its application. Credits Planners: Miriam García García, Manuel Borobio Sanchiz Client/developer: Xunta de Galicia Location: Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spain Area: 215400 ha Realisation: 2009–2011, development ongoing Awards: Good Practice 2012 by the Comité Un-Hábitat, and First Prize in the XII Biennial of Spanish Architecture and Urbanism, 2013 Miriam García García is an architect, urban-landscape planner and researcher, dealing with a wide spectrum of aspects associated with urban development and regeneration processes. She was director of urban and territorial planning for Cantabria (2003–2007) and is now principal of LANDLAB with projects awarded nationally and internationally. She teaches the landscape masters programmes at the University of Zaragoza, CEU S. Pablo and Madrid.
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Future Direction Members’ Consultation Last year ‘The Conversation’ was initiated to find out how members felt the profession should position itself for the future. The Policy Committee which led this project welcomed ‘ambitious and radical ideas for the long term future of the profession’. It prompted many varied, interesting and thoughtful responses from individuals, practices and branches, providing invaluable insight into the thoughts and aspirations of the membership. Some of that thinking has influenced proposals for making the LI more democratic and accountable to its members. We are therefore inviting members to follow up this work by participating in an important consultation on the future structure and governance of the organisation.
The Landscape Institute Future Direction Members’ Consultation
Full details and an online questionnaire are available in the members section of the LI website. Closing date 5th January 2015.
Find out more: landscapeinstitute.org/members
Landscape Institute Future Direction Members’ Consultation
Landscape Winter 2014 23
Landscape Institute Awards 2014
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Setting the standard for the profession The schemes submitted to me from which to choose the President’s Award were all category winners that the judges thought worthy of high praise. To this end I have taken the idea that the President’s Award should go to an entry which has an impact beyond the boundaries of the category itself. On writing this I am also preparing for the Landscape Institute Board away day. I have selected a scheme that chimes with and in some way informs how we meet the future challenges for the profession. 24 Landscape Winter 2014
I have been delighted by just how good the entries are. Employing the criteria set out above, I was able to narrow my choice to three deserving candidates. The first was the winning student dissertation. Jacqueline Jobbins chose to explore 'A new ethical design process'. This is a subject close to my heart. It is without doubt an emerging necessity that our profession must meet standards that reflect human values and the relationship between man and the environment. These
ethical targets are difficult to define and more difficult to capture in a way that allows objective judgements to be made. But the study attempts to address vast issues and does so in a way that enables the debate for the whole profession to start in earnest. I next considered the brilliant submission for the South Pennines Watershed Landscape project in the Communications & Presentation category. It addresses the simplest stratagem for all our landscapes, urban or rural,
which is to successfully engage the hearts and minds of everyone. This piece of work was wide ranging but it started by re-acquainting people with their landscape and, through developing interest and desire, has woken people up to the role that landscape can play in their lives. If we can achieve this for our body of work, and crawl out into the light, we will have moved our entire society closer to landscape and therefore all of us closer to achieving the important goals and recognition we need.
Image ©: 1, 2, 3, 4 – Ralph Hodgson
By Noel Farrer
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Our profession needs to promote and take the reins of complex project leadership and that has been done here.
And finally, to my winner. If I am a little hesitant it is because I have chosen a big project by a big practice. This may cause some rolling of the eyes in the many small practices who dream (just as I do) of what they could do if only they had that gig! But that is why I have given so much thought and praise to the two entries mentioned above. The winner, LDA Design with its design for the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, winner of the Strategic Landscape Planning category, has acted in a way that we all need to follow. The landscape architects have truly led from the front. In their role as client advisor they have briefed the architects and engineers on what they need to do. Our profession needs to promote and take the reins of complex project leadership and that has been done here. The landscape architects have also addressed a key issue which as a society we need to address responsibly. Rather than pretending, as infrastructure so often does, to hide, the scheme says, look at me and what I do and what I can contribute. This is truly landscape coming out into the open. LDA Design is a truly deserving winner of the President’s Award for 2014.
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President's Award Winner
Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon takes top prize
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Any project that wins the President’s Award has to be special, but this year’s winner is genuinely unique. The award goes to the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, which will be the world’s first man-made tidal lagoon, the first in a series that the client intends to deliver throughout the UK. The project will harness the 8.5m tidal range of Swansea Bay (average Spring tides) to generate renewable electricity for 14 hours per day, for 120 years, with a net annual output in excess of 500GWh (equivalent to about 90% of Swansea Bay’s annual domestic electricity use, or 11% of Wales’).
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Image ©: 1, – LDA Design 2, – FaulknerBrowns Architects
Alongside this, it will provide a major sports, tourism and leisure destination, contributing to local regeneration. This is not a
prototype to be rolled out in other places, but is firmly grounded (if that is the right word for an aquatic structure) in place. It will deliver the regeneration of 2.5km of redundant dockside on Swansea Bay, opening up the seafront for public use for the first time in over a century. In addition, it will be a major tourist destination and a regional/ national venue for watersports. LDA Design’s involvement is crucial. Its strategic landscape planning and masterplanning work drew together the complex environmental, socio-economic, political, legal and landownership context with technical on- and off-shore design requirements to create a coherent and compelling vision and design narrative for
the project. Its roles include: • lead masterplanner designing and delivering the vision, strategy and masterplan • public realm design • design team coordinator • DCO application plans and document production and coordination • contribution to land negotiation • consultation with Design commission for Wales; production of consultation, marketing and branding material • architectural brief coordination and workshops • expert advisors for LVIA, transport and sustainability Subject to approval of the DCO application, construction is expected to start in 2015.
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Landscape architect and masterplanner: LDA Design Consulting; client: Tidal Lagoon (Swansea Bay); legal: DLA Piper UK; design engineer: Atkins; architects: Juice Architects, Faulkner Browns Architects; lighting consultant: Michael Grubb Studio; onshore transport, hydrology, flooding, socio-economic, air quality, land quality and terrestrial archaeology expertise: URS Corporation Onshore Transport; coastal processes, benthic ecology, marine mammals expertise: ABP Marine Environmental Research; navigation expertise: Anatec UK; water quality expertise: Intertek; expertise in fish: Turnpenny Horsfield Associates; expertise in terrestrial ecology: MP Ecology; expertise in fish, birds, seascape, landscape and visual impact and advice in relation to lighting impacts: Soltys Brewster; marine archaeology: Cotswold Archaeology; arts consultant: Cape Farewell; construction management: Costain Group Landscape Winter 2014 27
Adding Value through Landscape
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Winner
Maida Hill Place came into being following a City of Westminster initiative to review and rejuvenate its seven district shopping centres. Gillespies authored the Civic Street Report (2005), outlining strategic opportunities to enhance the prosperity and public realm character of these districts. Prince of Wales Junction, at the convergence of five roads, presented a great opportunity for improvement from its status as one of the top three per cent of areas in inner London for crime.
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Gillespies transformed the area into Maida Hill Place, providing a meeting point for the diverse community that is welcoming to all including the vulnerable and previously excluded. Crime has fallen by 85 per cent and there are markets six days a week. Gillespies has created a robust granite ground plane, a paved shared space and an urban grove, as well as bespoke seating and a monument to local musician Joe Strummer.
The judges said It was clear that the scheme created a robust and usable space for commercial activity and had a positive impact upon the feasibility of businesses in surrounding buildings. The markets and thriving local businesses will provide opportunities for training and employment and will help to provide essential services for the local community.
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Landscape architect: Gillespies; client: Westminster City Council; main contractor, landscape contractor and engineer: West One
Image Š: 1, – Kate Beard/ Kerb Food 2, 3, – Gillespies
Maida Hill Place, London
Highly commended
Landscape Strategy team at Hampshire County Council
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Highly commended
Columbia Grange School, Discovery Park, Sunderland
Image ©: 4 – Sunderland City Council 5 – Hampshire County Council
This project was in two phases. In the first phase, the school asked the landscape team to prepare a masterplan to guide future redevelopment, which it did following consultation with staff and parents. The second phase was the design of a sensory garden for twoto-eleven-year-olds with severe learning difficulties and / or autism. The design, based on the idea of a maze, maximises the use of the space and creates a series of flexible pocket spaces radiating from a roundhouse.
The judges said The scheme added significant value to a challenging learning environment through the delivery of an inspiring and stimulating space which users confirmed provided opportunities for students that were not possible indoors.
Landscape architect: Sunderland City Council, Design Services; client: Columbia Grange School; design and build of Phase 2 structures: Handspring Design phase 1 construction of adventure play area: Brambledown; phase 3 construction of maze garden and learning space: Trevor Atkinson and Co
Hampshire County Council’s landscape strategy team was established to enable schools to develop their grounds as vital spaces for teaching and learning, play, recreation and immediate contact with the natural environment. The team developed the whole-site planning process which has informed the Learning through Landscapes philosophy now taken forward on a national basis by the charity Learning through Landscapes. In many cases the team has been a catalyst within schools for their development of teaching practices and school leadership.
The judges said The simple strategies increased awareness of the importance of landscape architecture and provided a basis for participating schools to secure investment and deliver many interventions that cumulatively have added significant value to the learning environment across the area.
5 Landscape architect: Landscape strategy team at Hampshire County Council; clients: Individual Hampshire schools & HCC Children’s Services Landscape Winter 2014 29
Communications and Presentation Winner
South Pennines Watershed Landscape Project: communications and interpretation strategy Initiated in 2010, the Watershed Landscape Project was a Heritage Lottery funded Landscape Partnership Programme managed by Pennine Prospects, the regeneration company for the South Pennines. The Watershed Landscape Project focused on encouraging people to think differently about their landscape. The project improved understanding about how moorlands have provided resources for our society in the past, and in particular the pivotal part this landscape can play in rising to the modern challenge of climate-change issues such as flood management and carbon sequestration.
This is a project devised, formed and managed by landscape architects and delivered by a team that included designers, archaeologists, artists and interpretation professionals. Evaluation shows that the Watershed Landscape project has helped a wide range of people engage with the landscape, using innovative techniques in the creative arts and writing. The project has also helped people to engage deeper, whether they are new to the landscape or existing visitors and audiences.
Landscape architect: Pennine Prospects; client: Pennine Prospects managing the South Pennines Watershed Landscape Project with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund , South Pennine LEADER and project partners; project partners: City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, Kirklees Metropolitan District Council (West Yorkshire); Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council and Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (Greater Manchester) and Lancashire County Council: Natural England, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water, RSPB and Groundwork; interpretation consultants: Tell Tale Associates, FDA Design, Blue Design, Dan Boys, audiotrails; website designer: Bigger Boat Company: sign fabricator; Shelley Signs; artists and writers in residence: Andrew McMillan [poet], Char March [poet], Simon Warner [photographer], Sally Barker [artist], Angie Rogers [artist], Anna Chilvers [writer]; graphic designers: Mike Barrett, Frog Design, Hebden Bridge; Den Stubbs; copywriter: Nicola Carroll.
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Image ©: 1 – Bev Addy/Pennine Prospects 2, 3, 4, 5 – Steve Morgan/ Pennine Prospects
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The judges said
This is a pioneering project designed to develop the idea of South Pennines Watershed as a place on the map. Although this is a lightly populated area, this did not affect the team’s ambition to attract the million potential visitors within striking distance. There are many other similar “Cinderella” places across the UK and we felt that there was much that could be taken from this project to assure them a happier future.
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Design Small Scale Public Winner
Tumbling Bay playground, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park, London
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Image ©: 1, 2 – LUC
The brief was to deliver ‘a play, leisure and learning experience of international renown’. LUC has delivered a range of exciting and stimulating play experiences in an inclusive, high-quality landscape. Its design has been created around a strong concept of ecological processes and plant life cycles, entwined in a riverine landscape flowing around the Timber Lodge café and community hub. Bespoke detailing features heavily throughout the project to create a place that is memorable and encourages return visits for both local residents and visitors from across the globe. Tumbling Bay predates the housing that is planned around it, so the success of the park was key to the success of the surrounding development in drawing people in and creating a desirable location to live.
Highly commended
Liverpool Central Library
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The judges said
Image ©: 3, 4 – Austin-Smith: Lord
This was an excellent solution, innovative, engaging and responsive to its setting.
Landscape architect and masterplanner: LUC; client: London Legacy Development Corporation; architecture, lead consultant and design of Scots Pine play structure: erect architecture; art and engagement strategy: Ashley McCormick; structural engineering: Tall; services engineering: Max Fordham; catering design: Russell Partnership; main contractor: BAM Nuttall. landscape subcontractor: Frost; Scots pine play structure subcontractor: Adventure Playground Engineers; sand and water play subcontractors: Mel Chantrey and The Fountain Workshop; willow dens subcontractor: Jim Buchanan; artists: Heather and Ivan Morison (Cross and Cave), Public Works (Experiments in Household Knowledge), Ashley McCormick (Coleridge School engagement), Discover (2013 Children’s Legacy Poetry competition), Lucy Harrison (A Club Collective), Fieldwork Facility (Cloud observatory); local craftsmen and artists involved in construction: Adventure Playground Engineers, Mel Chantrey, Jim Buchanan.
The design concept for the public realm at Liverpool Central Library was developed as part of the competitive bid to secure the work. The Literary Carpet leads visitors to the new entrance door, and features the names of many books, films and music titles that can be found in the library, all chosen by the public in a city-wide competition. The granite wall provides strong visual signage and connection to the street frontage, while the existing stone balustrade was opened up to give the new entrance more emphasis.
The judges said This was a clear concept, cleverly realised, addressing site constraints to create a positive and welcoming place which reinvigorated Liverpool Central Library. Stakeholder consultation was both imaginative and effective.
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Landscape architect and architect: Austin-Smith:Lord; client: Liverpool Central Library; joint venture between Amber Infrastructure & Shepherd Construction: Inspire Partnership; main contractor: Shepherd Construction; civil and structural engineer: RoC Consulting. Landscape Winter 2014 33
Design Medium Scale Public Winner
Eastside City Park, Birmingham
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investment, bringing with it jobs, training and long-term employment opportunities. It will also make a significant contribution to the future setting for the HS2 station. The park has been used extensively throughout the seasons by all members of the public, especially students and families with young children playing in the water features. Local residents, businesses and students have set up a ‘friends of the park’ group to work alongside the City Council to manage the park and organise events.
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The judges said
With a strong landscape design strategy, the scheme successfully stitches together dislocated parts of the city and stretches it eastwards. Lead architect & landscape architect: Patel Taylor; landscape consultant: Allain Provost; client: Birmingham City Council (BCC); landscape technical consultant: Applied Landscape Design; civil/structural/electrical engineer: Arup; project manager: Acivico (BCC); quantity surveyor: Acivico (BCC); main contractor: Wates Construction.
Image ©: 1, 2 – Peter Cook
Patel Taylor and Alain Provost won an international competition to design Birmingham’s first new park for more than 130 years. The brief demanded an innovative, inviting and inspirational place that set the standard for surrounding developments. The park needed to be able to stand alone, or at least with limited company, for the first stage of its life, but allow for integration of future developments. One of five regeneration areas in BCC’s Big City Plan, the park has already attracted £375 million of
Highly commended
Highly commended
Lon Gwyrfai, Multi Use Path, Snowdonia National Park
City Park, Bradford
The purpose of the project was to create a brand-new 6.5km long multi-use path for walkers, cyclists and horse riders between Beddgelert and Rhydd Ddu in Snowdonia National Park.
City Park has remodelled previously incoherent spaces to become the ‘great meeting place’ for those who live in Bradford and a bold starting point for the city’s renewal. At the heart of the park is a 76m by 58m shallow pool with 100 fountains, mist and geysers. As the day unfolds the water rises and falls, revealing causeways, allowing people to walk through the pool. The water can drain fully to provide a dry plaza for events and 10,000 people.
The attention to detail in the design drawings, and specification of high quality materials (along with the build quality of a good-quality contractor) has led to a high level of finish to all of the built elements of the scheme which work with, and complement, the outstanding existing landscape.
The judges said
The sensitivity of the landscape design ensures the path makes a great contribution to the Park, and enhances the experience of the people who will use it.
Image ©: 3 – HDD 4 – Tim Green (Flickr)
Lead designer and landscape architect: Harrison Design Development; client: Snowdonia National Park; structural engineer: Optimum Consulting; construction contractor: GH James.
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The judges said
The scheme has transformed Bradford city centre. It is a fantastic place to meet.
Landscape architect: Gillespies; client: Bradford Council; project manager and QS: EC Harris; main contractor: Birse Civils; structural, civil & M&E engineer: Arup; fountain design: The Fountain Workshop; architect: Sturgeon North Architects; landscape contractor: Ashlea; public art procurement: Atoll; artists: W. Buttress. Haque Design & Research.
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Design Large Scale Public Highly commended
Burgess Park Regeneration Project, London
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The judges said
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This is a wonderful regeneration project, changing the nature and identity of a space, involving local people and delighting the client. It is a fantastic expression of landscape design.
Lead landscape architect: LDA Design, client: London Borough of Southwark; civil and structural engineer: Alan Conisbee Engineers; ecologist: LDA Design Ecology; horticulture: University of Sheffield.
Image ©: 1, 2 – Southwark Council
Southwark Council’s vision was for Burgess Park to be a 21st Century park that would provide a high-quality and safe green space worthy of its central location. This safe park is well connected with an improved footpath network and open sightlines. The entrances and horticultural displays create a bold identity. Redundant roads have been removed and the hardstanding converted to parkland, which has unified the park and improved its appearance and quality.
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Highly commended
Image ©: 3 – Jim Stephenson 4 – Croydon Council
Wandle Park, London Borough of Croydon After being buried for 40 years, the thinking behind river catchments and flood alleviation began to change and the idea of restoring the River Wandle in Wandle Park gained an increasing level of local support. Wandle Park exemplifies not only a sensitive and successful
river restoration for flood alleviation, but also a project which combined funding and resources to provide a comprehensive regeneration of an historic urban park, creating a beautiful and vibrant open space which reconnects a community with its river.
Landscape architect: Croydon Council, LDA Design, & Annabel Downs with Robinson Landscape Design; client: Croydon Council; river restoration: Environment Agency; structural engineer: Royal Haskoning DHV / Jacobs; project manager/cost consultant: Croydon Council / Sense Cost Consultants / William Dick & Partners; contractor: J. Breheny Contractors / Freestyle Skateparks / ETC Sports Surfacing; architect: Erect Architecture / Geraghty Taylor; CDMC: Pierce Hill Project Services; M&E/sustainability engineer: Chris Evans Consulting.
The judges said
In addition to the visual transformation, the improvements to river capacity and potential for flood alleviation were impressive. The project’s impact in terms of the wider regeneration of the town centre and as part of a connected series of spaces is commendable.
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Design Medium Scale Private
Highly commended
Battersea Power Station pavilion and pop-up park The brief for the pavilion and pop-up park was to provide a marketing facility to showcase the Phase 1 development of the wider Power Station site. The pop-up park was to provide a flexible hard and soft landscape, which could be used by the client to host events, annual parties and community events. It was to have the appearance of an established landscape from the day of the pavilion opening to the public, with a seasonal landscape that looked attractive throughout the year.
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The judges said:
This design goes further than an average temporary scheme for a salescentre. The planting design has been well thought through, and the events lawn is functional, as it should be
Lead landscape architect: LDA Design; Client: Battersea Power Station Development Company; architect: Ian Simpson Architects; building services engineer: Hoare Lea; civil and structural engineer: Buro Happold. 38 Landscape Winter 2014
Image Š: 1, 2 – B. Cannon Ivers
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Highly commended
Image ©: 3 – Tim Crocker 4 – CBD Landscape Architects
London South Bank University public realm The project represented the first ‘anchor’ within London South Bank University’s strategy to revitalise its campus with enhanced public realm, improving connections and legibility. Drawing inspiration from history, most notably artist David Bomberg, who taught at the University in the 1940s and 50s, the aim for the rejuvenated public realm gateway was for a dynamic ‘carpet’ of quality granite setts that draws the strong geometry of the undercroft structure out into the landscape.
The judges said
The design makes positive use of previously underused and fragmented land on the site, and is a highly commendable transformation of urban space
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Landscape architect: B|D Landscape Architects; client: London South Bank University; architect: Hawkins\Brown; structural engineers: Conisbee & Associates; lighting engineer: TGA Consulting Engineers; quantity surveyor: Gardiner & Theobald; main contractor: Mansell Construction Services; landscape contractor: Baylis Landscape Contractors. Landscape Winter 2014 39
Design Small-Scale Private
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Highly commended
Vermilion, Rathbone Market, London Rathbone Market is a high-density mixed urban regeneration scheme which consists of three plots developed individually to form a ribbon of development around a new marketplace and library.
Working closely with the architect and client, Churchman developed a concept to harness water shed from the building, via a series of bio-diverse and productive roofs to create a large water feature at the heart of the scheme. This was complemented by a living acoustic barrier to attenuate noise at podium level.
This was an ambitious concept and design addressing site constraints such as acoustics, to develop a comprehensive design solution that addresses the environmental and social benefits to the residential community. Landscape architect: Churchman Landscape Architects; client: English Cities Fund; architect: CZWG; structural engineer: Ramboll; mechanical & electrical engineer: Hilson Moran; cost consultant: Rider Levett Bucknall; project manager: Buro Four; planning consultant: Longboard Consulting; water feature engineer; :Kingcombe Aquacare; contractor: John Sisk & Son 40 Landscape Winter 2014
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Image Š: 1, 2 – Tim Crocker
The judges said
Heritage and Conservation The judges said
Brockwell Park stood out for its quality of restoration, community involvement, and most importantly the investment in ensuring a longterm community commitment to the upkeep of the park. The project showcases the breadth and depth of the role of the landscape architects.
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Highly commended
The restoration of Brockwell Park, London
Image Š: 3, 4, 5 – LUC
Brockwell Park had become severely rundown and was not fulfilling anywhere close to its full potential for the people of south London or for the environment in terms of green infrastructure services or biodiversity. The purpose of this project was to revive these neglected and run-down 52 hectares bordered by Brixton, Herne Hill and Tulse Hill using the rich 18th and 19th century heritage as the touchstone of the scheme.
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Lead consultant and landscape architect: LUC; client: London Borough of Lambeth; quantity surveyor and cost consultant: Heritage Cost Consultants; conservation architect: Richard Griffiths Architects; CDM co-ordinator: Planning Supervisors Management; principal contractor: Blakedown; M&E consultant: Eng. Design; water feature designer: The Fountain Workshop; hydrological engineer: Peter Brett Associates; architectural metalwork: Metalcraft; architectural signs: Browse Bion; bat specialist: ASW Ecology; structural engineer: Ralph Mills Associates; building contractor: Telson Construction. Landscape Winter 2014 41
Landscape Policy and Research Winner
A Comprehensive Street Tree Management Plan for Hong Kong The purpose of the project was to define future management of street trees in Hong Kong to achieve a sustainable, highquality tree stock maximising environmental, social and economic benefits, promoting public safety and minimising risks associated with trees. Principal challenges included the volume of research required, selective analysis, formulation of relevant local strategies and presentation in an easily understood and engaging format. Illustrations were used throughout to support and convey information and engage the reader’s interest. Examples of the positive contributions street trees make within Hong Kong were emphasized to underline the importance of ongoing management. The format was carefully considered in order to be user-friendly, flexible, prescriptive but practical in terms of the prevailing context.
The comprehensive coverage of the key issues, and the rigour applied to the assessment, was exemplary. The methodology is not specific to the management of trees in Hong Kong, but could be adapted to such a programme anywhere.
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Landscape architect: Urbis; client: Development Bureau, Works Branch, HKSAR Government; GIS special advisor: NGIS China; urban forestry specialist advisors: Dr Billy Hau, Matthew Pryor. 42 Landscape Winter 2014
Image Š: 1 – awaiting
The judges said
Highly commended
Environmental stewardship and historic parklands The purpose of the project was to undertake a national study of historic parklands to inform the future direction of funding through Natural England’s Environmental Stewardship (ES) scheme following CAP reform. It highlights the importance of historic parkland landscapes, which are a finite resource, and the need for their conservation. Ultimately the report provides recommendations for Natural England and DEFRA at a national 2
scale, as well as being an accessible and comprehensive ‘handbook’. The judges said This provides a ground-breaking assessment of the role that the main funding body for the conservation of historic parklands plays. The application of qualitative and quantitative analysis has produced a report that is clear and comprehensive and which will be of great value to decision makers.
Landscape architect: Cookson and Tickner; client: Natural England.
Highly commended
Landscape impacts of Environmental Stewardship
Image ©: 2 – Sally Parker: LUC 3 – Heritage Lottery Fund 4 – Cookson and Tickner
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Highly commended
State of UK Public Parks 2014 The primary purpose of the study is to provide a clear evidence base to influence national and local policy on the importance of investing in public parks and urban green spaces. It describes the current condition of public parks and highlights the challenges presently being faced by local authority parks services. It identifies particular trends in
the condition, use, funding, staff resources and community participation involved in managing and maintaining parks.
The two linked projects covered by this entry were required to provide objective evidence and analysis of the scheme’s impacts on landscape character and quality in England. They form an essential part of the Government’s ongoing analysis and evaluation of England’s primary agrienvironment scheme, Environmental Stewardship. They are influencing national policy and programmes in ways that should significantly enhance
England’s landscape, for the widest public benefit. The judges said This work has played an important role in setting consideration of landscape character and condition on the same footing as other environmental objectives.
The judges said We were impressed by the clarity of the material presented and its accessibility to a wide audience.
Landscape consultant: Peter Neal Consulting in partnership with Community First Partnership; client: Heritage Lottery Fund; public opinion poll: Ipsos MORI; parks advisor: Peter Harnik, Centre for City Park Excellence, Trust for Public Land, USA; research advisor: Dr Edward Hobson; communications strategy: Ben Hurley Communications
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Lead consultant and landscape architect: LUC; client: Natural England on behalf of Defra, part funded by EU; supporting consultants: Fabis Consulting, Countryscape, Julie Martin Associates and Sheffield University. Landscape Winter 2014 43
Neighbourhood Planning Winner
Church Street and Paddington Green Infrastructure and Public Realm Plan, London
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Image Š: 1, 2, 3 – Grant Associates
Landscape architect and design team leader: Grant Associates; client: Westminster City Council; architect: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios; engineer: Buro Happold; ecologist: Biodiversity by Design; artist: Ackroyd and Harvey; cost consultant: Davis Langdon; financial modelling: Thomas Lister.
This project is highly innovative in the way that it unlocks the potential of the neighbourhood. The vision is to bring under-used spaces, which are in Westminster City Council ownership, into the public realm in order to bring social, environmental and economic benefits to the community. Sensitive reworking of on-street car parking and the introduction of shared surfaces enabled the team to develop a new north-south linear park. This combines informal play
spaces, productive gardens, rain gardens and tree planting. It links many of the individual estates, delivering a new green community space that complements the redeveloped Church Street and vibrant market. The plan has been warmly received by the local community and wider stakeholders. An active programme of engagement with residents helped foster a sense of ownership, reflected in overwhelming support for the area renewal plan in a residents’ vote.
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The judges said
The proposal represents a strong vision for a sustainable and liveable future, promoting public health and social cohesion through thoughtful and intelligent new public spaces and connections that are designed to integrate the best in modern technologies that look to address water, waste and energy management.
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Strategic Landscape Planning Winner
Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon will be the world’s first man-made tidal lagoon, the first in a series that the client intends to deliver throughout the UK. It will harness the 8.5m tidal range of Swansea Bay (average Spring tides) to generate renewable electricity for 14 hours per day, for 120 years, with a net annual output in excess of 500GWh (equivalent to about 90% of Swansea Bay’s annual domestic
electricity use, or 11% of Wales’). Alongside this, it will provide a major sports, tourism and leisure destination, contributing to local regeneration. LDA Design drew together the complex environmental, socio-economic, political, legal and land-ownership context with technical on and off-shore design requirements to create a coherent and compelling vision and design narrative for the project.
The judges said
This is a landmark scheme for Swansea Bay and potentially the whole UK – a landscape-led piece of nationally important infrastructure. The sense of ambition is hugely impressive and the range of amenities provided alongside the core build is exemplary. If the build and delivery come close to the concept and visualisations, this will be a very worthy winner indeed.
Landscape architect and masterplanner: LDA Design Consulting; client: Tidal Lagoon (Swansea Bay); legal: DLA Piper UK; design engineer: Atkins; architects: Juice Architects, Faulkner Browns Architects; lighting consultant: Michael Grubb Studio; onshore transport, hydrology, flooding, socio-economic, air quality, land quality and terrestrial archaeology expertise: URS Corporation; coastal processes, benthic ecology, marine mammals expertise: ABP Marine Environmental Research; navigation expertise: Anatec UK; water quality expertise: Intertek; expertise in fish: Turnpenny Horsfield Associates; expertise in fish, birds, seascape, landscape and visual impact and advice in relation to lighting impacts: Soltys Brewster; marine archaeology: Cotswold Archaeology; arts consultant: Cape Farewell; construction management: Costain Group Terrestrial Ecology expertise: MP Ecology 46 Landscape Winter 2014
Image ©: 1 – Juice Architects
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Highly commended
Seascape Assessment for the South Marine Plan areas, south coast This is the first seascape assessment in England to include a character study and visual resource mapping. It piloted a method of objectively assessing the visual resource that the sea provides. The resultant VRM (visual resource mapping) approach developed for the South will be used by the Marine Management Organisation in future marine plan areas as marine planning is rolled out across England. The judges said
Image Š: 2, 3 – LUC
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This is an impressive and important piece of work. Bringing together character study and visual resource mapping, the assessment also includes creative and novel elements such as integrating the earth’s curvature and climate into visual impact mapping.
3 Landscape architect: LUC; client: Marine Management Organisation. Landscape Winter 2014 47
Student Dissertation Winner
‘A New Ethical Design Process’ by Jacqueline Jobbins, Writtle College Inspiration for Jacqueline Jobbins’ dissertation came from an interest in the nexus between philosophy and practical situations. Her research led her to the work of philosopher Warwick Fox and his ‘Theory of General Ethics’, and then to Anthony Radford, Professor Emeritus in the School of Architecture and Urban Design, University of Adelaide who has applied Fox’s theories to architecture, and has used the theory in a book on sustainable architecture. Jobbins developed a prototype framework which could be used in the design process at many scales.
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The judges said
The dissertation subject has clear relevance to current issues and provides a very ambitious and sophisticated ethical approach to the subject. It is well-written with an excellent clarity of purpose. 2
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Image ©: 1, 2 – JJ Jobbins (base map Edina digimap, 2013)
Its focus, first on the natural, then on the social and then on the built environment, provides a systematic approach which, although not dissimilar to current approaches to the design process, codifies it in a way which may help to address the challenges we face, as professionals working in landscape and as members of wider society.
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Highly commended
Highly commended
‘Addressing open space pressures in urban centres: Assessing and planning for the recreational use of historic English urban cemeteries’ by David Hammett, University of Edinburgh
‘Minami-sanriku Disaster Resilient Planning’ by Vanessa Powell, University of Gloucestershire
This study investigates the current recreational use of historic urban cemeteries in order to bring forward recommendations regarding such use. Three exemplar modern case studies of recreational cemeteries, two from England and one from Denmark, are evaluated and these insights are complemented by the practical considerations and opinions of current cemetery overseers in historic English urban cemeteries. The study concludes by highlighting the importance of recreation in
existing cemeteries alongside the need for greater guidance, leadership and vision. The judges said
The Committee believes that this dissertation provides some publishable material and we would encourage the author to follow up this possibility.
In post-disaster areas, can multifunctional landscape planning support both the medium and long-term needs for recovery? Can an holistic landscape-led approach stimulate greater long-term resilience for surviving communities, than a reconstruction focused strategy? Through an active and on-going case study of post-disaster planning in Japan, and a variety of global precedent case studies, this paper differentiates a landscape approach from a reconstruction approach, seeking to explore new perspectives and distinct viewpoints of landscape expression.
The judges said
The conclusions are potentially valuable for decision-makers and landscape architects and thus should be disseminated widely.
Image ©: 3 – David Hammett 4 – MIT JDW, 2012 5 – Laura Mikkola
Highly commended
‘Memory-Sensitive Landscape Architecture’ by Laura Mikkola, University of Edinburgh
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This study looks into three recently built public places in the metropolitan area of Paris, in an attempt to map contemporary themes regarding landscape architecture with mnemonic and temporal ambitions. It coins and begins to define the concept of memory-sensitive landscape architecture as a philosophy of landscape design and provides an initial collection of contemporary
approaches and topologies applicable to the creative process of a project. The judges said
This dissertation has a clear narrative structure. It is beautifully written and well-considered.
Landscape Winter 2014 49
Student Portfolio Winner
In her supporting statement, Paloma Stott described her work as follows: ‘For me, designing is like entering a discussion with the landscape; naturally revealing what is there and what should be preserved or eventually removed. Understanding how the site and its vegetation change through time and throughout each season, is essential in securing a harmonious blend between project and landscape. I consider my work to be the direct and unique result of its environment.
‘I enjoy the idea of starting a project with a structural base, certain geometry, often inspired by former agricultural patterns that provide order and meaning to the landscape, over which the design can then be integrated. This allows for living systems to interact freely with the space. My designs aim to unite nature and natural living systems, with architectural structures. My strategy is simple, work with what is there, add structure, lucidity and use the ecological richness of the site to provide new life to the area.’ 2
50 Landscape Winter 2014
Image ©: 1, 2 – Paloma Stott
Paloma Stott, University of Edinburgh
3
Highly commended
Freddie Egan, University of Edinburgh
1
The judges said
Image ©: 3, 4 – Freddie Egan
The hybrid of hand, collage and digital creates very evocative, painterly, atmospheric scenes. These graphics are nicely balanced with text which has created a very strong narrative.
In his supporting statement, Freddie Egan wrote: ‘I spent much of my final year of study researching the fundamentals of how it is that we actually experience these designed spaces. Through research I identified the importance of designing with a multi-sensorial outlook and that walking is a key factor in building up our understanding of the environment and gaining a sense of place.’
The judges said
Graphics and design style are used to fantastic effect in delivering conceptual ideas and design output.
4
Landscape Winter 2014 51
Urban Design and Masterplanning Highly commended
Canal Park Design Guide and Implementation Plan, London Canal Park Guide satisfies one of the many planning requirements of the Legacy Community Scheme (LCS) of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The LCS condition for a Design Guide was intended to set standards, aspirations and a delivery strategy for parkland along the Lee Navigation, ahead of zonal masterplanning of adjacent development platforms. The intent is richly illustrated in a meaningful way that is evocative and accessible to both stakeholders and prospective developers in terms of authenticity of landscape articulation.
1
The judges said
2
Landscape architects: J & L Gibbons with muf architecture/art, East, Meadowcroft Griffin; client: London Legacy Development Corporation; engineer: Stockley; cost consultant: Appleyards; ecology: Ecology Consultancy; accessibility: Shape; land management: Land Management Services; soil scientist: Tim O’Hare Associates; lighting consultant: Dekka. 52 Landscape Winter 2014
Image Š: 1, 2 – J & L Gibbons
We especially liked the diagrams mapping stakeholder engagement and the evocative visualisations.
3
Highly commended
Masterplan for East Village, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Image ©: 3, 4 – Broadway Malyan
The team devised a mid-rise European-style urban development with mixed tenure and a range of building types with active frontages framing busy pedestrian routes, urban squares and links to the riverside. This has changed perceptions of East Village from a no-go area into one of North America’s
most valuable real estate opportunities. Residents and businesses are opting for East Village’s convenient location, high quality contemporary features integrated, historic character pedigree, vibrant atmosphere and riverside parks and restaurants.
4
The judges said
Masterplanner: Broadway Malyan; client: Calgary Municipal Land Corporation; market sector advice: Roland Berger Strategy Consultants; retail advice: Thomas Consultants; planning, civil engineering and riverwalk landscape: Stantec; transport: Bunt Consultants
This is an important project to revitalise a key inner-city area in need of regeneration. It has transcended the typical North American zoning system. Landscape Winter 2014 53
College of Fellows Award Winner
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54 Landscape Winter 2014
Image Š: 1, 2 – LDA Design
Adapting to Climate Change: launching the debate in the Lower Ouse Valley
The judges said
This clearly demonstrates a long-term vision (up to 2150) that has the “bones� to provide a practical solution to the adverse climatic changes that we face.
The team, led by landscape architects and working with leading climate-change, flood-risk and coastal-change specialists, worked with communities in Newhaven, Seaford and Lewes and surrounding rural areas on and near the south coast, to help them understand the risks and opportunities of long-term climate change and sea-level rise, and plan for the future. They developed communications materials, including landscape visualisations, for various uses: public exhibitions and events, workshops, an online consultation and a pub quiz. They used the outcomes to develop a vision and action
plan for local adaptation, working with the Coastal Futures Group. To continue raising awareness beyond the project lifetime, the team was commissioned to design a climate trail with displays in five popular local destinations. The project looked beyond traditional flood defences to consider alternative adaptation approaches over the next 150 years – well beyond regular planning horizons. This allowed the team members to think more creatively, but they also had to ensure that people could relate to issues arising beyond their lifetimes and the effects on future generations.
2
Landscape architect: LDA Design; client: Environment Agency; co-financing partner: EU Interreg IVA 2 Seas Programme; specialist advice on flood risk management and coastal change: Royal Haskoning DHV; photography: Neil A White; community representation: the Lower Ouse Valley Coastal Futures Group.
Landscape Winter 2014 55
Thanks
The Landscape Institute would like to thank all the judges of the awards who gave up their time to scrutinise the entries. Adding Value through Landscape –R oss Ingham (chair) Ingham Pinnock – J on Berry CMLI Tyler Grange –H attie Hartman The Architects’ Journal Communications and Presentation – S tella Bland (chair), AECOM –T im Calnan CMLI CS Design Software – Jim Hudson Small Scale Design categories – Clare Devine (chair) Design Council –C laire Bennie, Peabody – J ames Lord CMLI HTA Landscape Design –P eter Massini Greater London Authority –D ianne Western CMLI The Landscape Partnership Large Scale Design Categories –R obin Buckle (chair) Transport for London –M att Bell, Berkeley Group – David Finch CMLI Grant Associates Medium Scale Design – Public – Kathy MacEwen (chair) – Nicole Collomb CMLI – J ose Rosa, MRG Studio
56 Landscape Winter 2014
Medium Scale Design – Private –D iane Haigh (chair) Allies & Morrison – Tom Armour CMLI, Arup –M artin Hird CMLI Terra Firma Consultancy
Student Portfolio – Allan Mitchell CMLI (chair) University of Gloucestershire – Trudi Entwistle Leeds Metropolitan University – Bethany Gale Building Design Partnership
Heritage & Conservation – J enifer White CMLI (chair) English Heritage –N eil Davidson, CMLI J & L Gibbons –D r Marion Harney University of Bath
Student Dissertation – Maggie Roe CMLI (chair) Newcastle University – Pat Brown CMLI Kingston University – Helen Neve CMLI Land Management Services – Carly Tinkler CMLI Carly Tinkler Environmental, Landscape and Colour Consultancy – Sophie Tombleson, OOBE
Landscape Policy and Research – I an Houlston CMLI (chair) LDA Design – Katherine Drayson, Policy Exchange –M ary O’Connor CMLI, WYG Neighbourhood Planning –K aty Neaves CMLI (chair), Turley – J ames Parkinson, RIBA –H enry Smith Greater London Authority Strategic Landscape Planning – J im Smyllie (chair) Natural England – Tim Johns CMLI TEP – Joe Wheelwright CMLI, Arup Science Management and Stewardship – Hilary Ludlow CMLI (chair) Landscape Science Consultancy – Krishanthi Carfrae CMLI G L Hearn – Rosie Whicheloe The Ecology Consultancy
Urban Design and Masterplanning – John Slaughter (chair) Home Builders Federation – Ian Barrett Sustrans – Felicity Steers CMLI, Erz College of Fellows Award for Climate Change Adaptation – Paj Valley FLIAtkins – Neil Williamson PPLI FLI New Forest District Council Landscape Institute Awards Committee – David Withycombe CMLI (chair) Land Management Services – Rob Beswick CMLI B|D landscape architects – Anne Evans CMLI Anne Evans Landscape Architects – Nicola Hancock CMLI The Environment Partnership – Paj Valley FLI, Atkins – Jo Watkins PPLI CMLI
The Landscape Institute is grateful to the sponsors of the awards. They are:
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Landscape Winter 2014 57
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Tel: 0845 303 2524 Email: office@wienerberger.co.uk Twitter: @wienerbergeruk 58 Landscape Winter 2014 www.wienerberger.co.uk/landscapes
Technical By Cannon Ivers
Take a seat Digital fabrication offers opportunities to create complex forms, but it also puts power back into the hands of the landscape architect.
T
Image ©: 1 – Cannon Ivers
he process of shaping objects aided by computer technology is not a new phenomenon. The automotive and nautical industries have been doing it for decades and architecture practices are readily embracing the technology to push the boundaries of production beyond the output that traditional methods could achieve. The landscape profession, however, has been slower to embrace digital fabrication. There has been a steady and gradual integration of the use of 3D as a design tool to visualise and study a space, to critique and refine a design response, but there has not been a groundswell of practices that have gone so far as to use the 3D information to streamline the construction process and realise the forms on site. In this article, I will explore a series of projects that showcase the potential of digital fabrication in the realm of landscape architecture, highlighting the positives of the technology and where it has been used in preference to traditional approaches. Through these exemplar projects, I will explore topics such as the fabrication process, materiality and contractor knowhow with the aim of demystifying the process and
1 — A range of ergonomically designed components make up the bench at Piazza Gae Aulenti in Milan.
elucidating the tremendous possibilities that this technology affords. This, I hope, will encourage designers in organizations ranging from large practices to boutique studios to delve into this process in order to push ourselves as designers into a new era of creative expression. Piazza Gae Aulenti is a public commercial space in Milan designed by AECOM and local Milanese practice LAND Milano. The most notable feature of the scheme is a sculptural seat, encircling a 60m diameter reflecting pool in the heart of this prestigious mixed-use development. AECOM developed a modular system of seating elements, providing a series of ergonomically different components, which would be seamlessly fused together with a sophisticated transition module.
At the schematic design stage, the AECOM team colour-coded the entire sculptural bench to illustrate the different modules and their overall arrangement, and then used CNC (computer numerically controlled) technology to create 1:20 models out of high-density foam to communicate the options to the client. This made it possible for the client to physically study and assess the design, ask informed questions and subsequently, make confident decisions predicated on the quality and accuracy of the physical models. Once the design had been agreed with the client, LAND Milano, which is the leading landscape architecture practice in Italy, took AECOM’s fully detailed design information and associated 3D models and optimised them for construction through /...
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Landscape Winter 2014 59
Technical
coordination sessions with local fabricators and engineers in Milan. The final sculptural bench is made from seven different pre-cast modules that were crafted using 3D software, before using CNC to create a timber mould to cast the final smooth white concrete components. It is evident from the quality of the finish that the contractor was conversant with CNC as a process for creating complex and sophisticated concrete work. The standard seat modules measures 1.5m (l) x 1.35m (w), with the larger transition modules reaching 2.2m (l) x 1.35m (w). The average weight per module was 2.5 tonnes. Due to the weight and the inherent constraints of this being a podium landscape, circular voids were added to the mould to reduce the load. The finished seat is both elegant and impressive, with a feminine sensuality that seems to encourage public displays of affection; or maybe that’s just the nature of the Italians. At LDA Design we explored a similar modulated system for a project in Mumbai where a sinuous seat was conceived as a symbolic ‘thread’ to visually stitch together a three-storey marketing suite, drawing inspiration from the rich textile heritage of India. After modelling the seat in Rhino as a series of standard modules with sculpted transitional pieces, our team of designers contacted the Rhino support team. They sourced a fabrication specialist in Mumbai 60 Landscape Winter 2014
3
who was au fait with CNC fabrication to deliver this signature element of the project. The specification for the seat was granite, but due to weight restrictions, the modular seat was fabricated out of glass reinforced plastic (GRP) and made to look like granite. In this instance, the use of the 3D information afforded the design team a degree of confidence and control over the completion of a project that was 4,500 miles away without costly flights and the consequential contribution to climate change. This process will inform the construction of the final seating elements, which will be delivered in granite for the permanent residential development. Closer to home in the UK, an ambitious project in Liverpool, which was awarded both the RIBA CABE Space Public Realm Award and Landscape Institute Honour Award in 2010, used extensive digital fabrication to complete the scheme. Conceived by AECOM as a series of folded planes with granite seating terraces and steps overlooking a new canal link, Pier Head pushed the boundary of CNC technology. The most striking element of the scheme is the languid and beautiful transition from the granite seats to the steps that make up the level change for the plaza. Interestingly, using the digital fabrication process allowed the designers to integrate anti-skateboarding components in the granite seating modules to create a robust and elegant solution, in contrast to a
retrofitted steel element tacked on as an apparent afterthought. James Haig Streeter, design practice director at AECOM, explained the digital fabrication process like this; ‘Today’s typical design process is a curious thing, with the act of making being divorced from the act of conceiving to the point where some would say “design” only really happens at the beginning of the process; with the majority of effort being “documentation”. By contrast, the use of CNC is a bit like “digital craftsmanship”, enabling the designer to maintain control of complex design elements right to the point when the stone is cut, just as the architects of historic buildings once did.’ Early on, AECOM consulted Marshalls about selection of the stone. During this process, the design team was informed that Marshalls’ Chinese stone supplier was able to offer CNC cutting, which it had used for the Beijing Olympics. This opened up design possibilities, as it meant the team could design stone seating elements with complex surface geometries, without adding a great deal of extra cost. The construction documents, therefore, had both ‘traditional’ plans and sections, which were used to accurately lay out the different stone pieces, and also 3D views taken from the Rhino model. AECOM provided the digital 3D information to Marshalls as templates for cutting and then Marshalls took
Image ©: 2 – Lee Carus, 3 – LDA Design
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2 – Seats and steps at Pier Head, Liverpool. 3 – Visualisation of the complex bench for a Mumbai marketing suite. 4 – Timber benches in a rejuvenated square at Harvard.
Image ©: 4 – Cannon Ivers
responsibility for modifying the files to add in joint tolerances and other installation-related information. The Rhino model had to be exported to a format that the CNC router could use; basically converting the 3D surface geometry into a series of closely spaced sections, which the CNC router traced to create the desired forms. Once cut, the stone was given a flamed finish by the stone cutters before being shipped to the UK for installation. I asked James if he had considered other materials. ‘As Pier Head is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the use of natural stone was the only real option,’ he said. ‘Granite and sandstone were traditionally used on site but sandstone wears badly due to the wet site conditions. The colour of the seating is intended to closely match sandstone, with the durability of granite.’ For a project with such an important setting, the expertise of the supply, fabrication and implementation teams was vital to its success. According to James, the stone supplier Marshalls was knowledgeable enough to guide the design team, although all the cutting was undertaken by Marshalls’ Chinese stone supplier. Marshalls told AECOM that Pier Head was the most complex project it had ever been involved with; a combination of aligning complex, sinuous forms, which had low construction tolerances for error – typical joint widths were designed to be just 6mm. Marshalls’
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reward came in 2010, when the project won the UK’s National Stone Award. I asked James about the economies of scale with a project like Pier Head. Was it more cost effective to use CNC fabrication, I wondered. ‘When it comes to complex forms,’ he said, ‘CNC is typically considered cheaper than traditional methods for the simple reason that a robotic CNC machine can work 24/7. As a human stonemason can’t, the savings come from production time, enabling orders to be processed faster. That said, the stone is still finished by hand.’ Across the Atlantic in Cambridge Massachusetts, landscape practice STOSS has rejuvenated a threadbare space at the heart of historic Harvard University. In close proximity to the Graduate School of Design (GSD), the square consists of a simple plane of well-executed concrete planks, acting as a platform for a collection of beautifully crafted timber and concrete benches: an outdoor gallery of sorts. Similar to the Milan project, in this space the humble bench becomes the pièce de résistance in the form of an artistic, cutting edge and evocative art piece that people just happen to sit on. Erik Prince, a graduate of the GSD and the project leader for STOSS, explained, ‘Originally, we explored options for constructing the benches out of Corian and even fibreglass. However, it became
clear that those materials would not stand up to the fierce winters and the inherent wear and tear that the benches would be exposed to. Timber was selected, which has now weathered beautifully, providing a warm patina that catches the fading light.’ The majority of the benches are constructed out of timber, measuring up to 6m in length, but there are also large concrete forms that twist and contort from seat height up to chest height to allow the integrated wayfinding map to be easily read. These elements also double as crash barriers and bike stands and have to satisfy more structural requirements. These, too, are executed with panache and flair, acting as a foil for the traditional neo-Georgian architecture of the surrounding Harvard campus. The benches, with a total of seven different permutations, give visitors the opportunity to occupy the seat in a variety of ways, providing an added dynamic and energy to the space. Prince explained the design process to me, ‘We used Rhino to push the iterative design process, producing multiple concepts and geometries, all of which were 3D-printed. We used Grasshopper as a time-management tool to take the overall “skin” geometries from the Rhino model into CAD plans and sections, and for the arraying of the wood slats.’ What was the difference in the fabrication process between the timber and the concrete, I asked. ‘Concrete is a /... Landscape Winter 2014 61
Technical
4 – A bench in the southern hub of the Olympic Park has a similarly sinuous form.
In closing, the limitations on what can be fabricated are dictated only by how conservative we are with our creative intellect and imagination. 4
The contractors on this project had never attempted, let alone completed, such tricky geometries. They used their own in-house 3D software and moulding printing (usually used for casting traditional detailed banisters/columns etc.) and adapted it for something more custommade and contemporary. Serendipitously, the woodworkers were busy on Renzo Piano’s renovation of the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard. The contractor was using the best ‘temple’ grain Alaskan yellow cedar and had an overstock of this particular wood; which is the hardest known cedar in the world and historically used by the Japanese to build temples. Prince said, ‘Normally to specify Alaskan yellow cedar is very suspect in terms of sustainability because this wood is beautiful, but very pristine, old-growth 62 Landscape Winter 2014
wood, and cutting down old-growth forest in Alaska for some benches doesn’t sit well with most landscape architects. For us, we thought it was already there sitting in a shop so why not, plus our timescales were very quick.’ Stoss provided 3D models to the concrete and timber contractors, both of which then created their own models to understand the detail for coordination and software issues – neither used Rhino. The Stoss 3D models communicated the design intent, but traditional 2D drawings were used for coordination. These case studies paint an exciting future for the landscape profession. Through the use of 3D modelling and digital fabrication, designers can continue to redefine the aesthetic of contemporary landscape architecture. This approach to the design of space and objects is still in a period of experimentation, but it is a territory, I believe, that is giving way to true innovation. With the coupling of imagination and technology, we as designers should be entering into a chapter of iterative design on a par with industrial designers, where we test, critique and refine our designs through the use of physical models churned out with the help of these fabrication tools.
Although the majority of the examples I have put forward have used Rhino as the modelling software, other software programs can also be used to great effect. Once the digital model is complete, there is a CAD/ CAM software that converts the digital information and prepares it for use with CNC milling machines. This is traditionally carried out by specialist model makers and contractors, but leading education facilities have CNC machines for student use, where they are able to understand firsthand how to convert the information and finesse the machinery. Rhino support is a great starting point for anyone interested in pursuing this technology. Additionally, there is a knowledgeable online community that can readily be reached from the Rhino website at www.rhino3d.com.
Cannon Ivers is an associate at LDA Design
Image ©: 4 – Cannon Ivers
much more natural material for complex geometries,’ he said. ‘Producing the mould is easy with 3D printers, and concrete cast naturally to a sturdy mould. The trick with concrete is to get a constant finish, free from any pockets. With wood, there are still good contractors out there, but the trick was to get one that has the sources of wood readily available; dried and in stock.’
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64 Landscape Winter 2014
Practice By By Collette Patterson, Noor Itrakjy and Richard Patterson
Working with the NEC contracts Clients are increasingly using the NEC suite of contracts. There are many advantages, but landscape architects need to understand how they work.
C
lients routinely need a standard contract in order to procure both landscape design services and to then realise landscape works on the ground. This article discusses the NEC1 suite of contracts and their relevance to landscape architects. It highlights some of the different approaches that NEC requires compared with more ‘traditional contract’ forms including the JCLI 2 contract. If you work with some public bodies or on larger
infrastructure projects you may have already come across NEC. The adoption of NEC is becoming more widespread... get ready for it! Your landscape practice may be employed under the NEC Professional Services Contract (PSC). The actual landscape works you design may then be procured under one of the NEC family of contracts. Contract options Landscape works can be: • a stand-alone piece of soft and/or hard landscape or • part of a bigger building or infrastructure project.
In the case of maintenance, there can be a standalone requirement for maintenance of an existing landscape asset or a requirement for maintenance by the contractor directly after construction/planting. This article introduces the possibility of using NEC contracts instead of the JCLI contracts that are likely to be more familiar to many landscape architects. The options for landscape contracts in the two suites are set out in the table below.
JCLI
NEC family member
Landscape project
Agreement for Landscape Works Agreement of Landscape works with Contractors design Agreement for Landscape and Maintenance works combined
Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) or Engineering and Construction Short Contract (ECSC)
Landscape maintenance
Agreement for Landscape Maintenance Works
Term Service Contract (TSC) or Term Service Short Contract (TSSC)
Professional services
Landscape Consultant’s Appointment
Professional Services Contract (PSC) or Professional Services Short Contract (PSSC)
References - see page 70
Landscape Winter 2014 65
Practice
1 – Mott MacDonald recently successfully used the NEC ECC for landscape works included as part of the Rutland, Grafham and Pitsford Waters shoreline restoration.
Background to the NEC contracts The NEC contracts date back to 1985 when the UK Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) carried out a review of the contracts available for construction and the problems they were facing – or causing. Out of that came a radical new contract that truly broke the mould. Then called the New Engineering Contract, over time it has developed into the NEC family 3 of very similar contracts covering projects, services and professional services. The guiding principles of all the contracts are: • flexibility • clarity and • to stimulate good management. Flexibility Although NEC contracts are published by the ICE, they are not in any way restricted to civil engineering. Instead they can be used for defining and then managing any project or service. As indicated in the table opposite, there is a ‘short’ version of each of the ‘main’ contracts which is designed for simpler contracts. The ‘main’ contracts are modular and allow the selection of a range of options appropriate for your contract including a range of payment options. The Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) can be used for any level of design by the contractor. Each of the main contracts can be used with minor modification as a subcontract – which can be used to pass on obligations and liabilities ‘back to back’ to a subcontractor. In the case of the ECC there 66 Landscape Winter 2014
is a published Engineering and Construction Subcontract which follows the procedures in the ECC almost word for word. All the contracts are designed to be used anywhere in the world. Clarity NEC contracts are written in plain English with short sentences. Stimulus to good management The contracts are designed to be actively used and managed. They provide clear processes for all aspects of contract management and are designed to support – and require – active management of change, cost, time and risk. The above factors support the fact that the contracts actively encourage collaboration between the parties; this is not a contract for ‘the bottom drawer’! Lastly the fact that all the NEC contracts have a very similar structure, are based on the same concepts and use the same language allows a regular client to adopt them for all their procurement needs with obvious benefits of standardisation. The diagram shows the range of contracts in the NEC family available for different stages in the life of an asset.
Where might a landscape architect encounter the NEC? The NEC is endorsed strongly by the UK government as a good way to spend public money. As a result, more and more public bodies are using NEC for their infrastructure and buildings projects, not least the Environment Agency, the Highways Agency and, recently, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation4. Private clients in a range of sectors, including water, energy, nuclear and transport, are doing likewise. For example, the NEC was used very successfully to deliver the majority of the infrastructure for the Olympics, not least the land remediation and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. As an introduction to NEC, the landscape architect might find him or herself employed under the NEC Professional Services Contract (PSC). The PSC is now the contract of choice for many clients. As an example, Mott MacDonald was recently part of a team preparing the Environmental Statement for High Speed 2 – a significant contract under a PSC. Landscape works are often included as an element of a larger construction contract, for which the NEC has been chosen for all the good reasons listed above. In that case the landscape architect’s drawings and specification will need to be part of what the NEC calls the ‘Works Information’. References - see page 70
Image ©: 1 – Mott MacDonald
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2
2 – Aerial view of the Rutland project.
After award, the landscape architect might be appointed as or to support the contract administrator under the Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC)5. A main contractor, working under an NEC contract, may elect to subcontract the landscape works. In this case he may be well advised to use one of the NEC’s subcontracts to pass on his liabilities ‘back to back’ to a specialist landscape subcontractor. He would be most likely to use the Engineering and Construction Short Subcontract (ECSC).
NEC family
SC & SSC – Supply Contract & Supply Short Contract
SUPPLY
HIGH
PSSC Professional Services Short Contract
PROJECT COMPLEXITY
PSC Professional Services Contract
ECC – Engineering and Construction Contract
TSC – Term Service Contract
ECS – Engineering and Construction Short Contract
ECSC – Engineering and Construction Short Contract TSSC – Term Service Short Contract
ECS – Engineering and Construction Short Subcontract
LOW
Framework Contract
Image ©: 2 – Frank Pickering
Adjudicator’s Contract Business case
References - see page 70
Design
Construction
Operation / maintenance
The generic advantages of the NEC suite of contracts mean that they can also be used as a basis for a standalone landscape contract. Selection of the most appropriate contract will depend on the size and complexity of the works. If a priced contract with relatively little contractor design is required, the ECSC may be preferred over the more flexible, but more complex, ECC. There is no specific value threshold above which the ECC should be used rather than the ECSC: complexity of the project is typically more relevant. It should be noted that the JCLI contracts are recommended for use for simple landscape works up to a value of £200,000. Stand-alone landscape maintenance could be the subject of an NEC Term Services Contract (TSC) or more likely the NEC Term Services Short Contract. After new landscape works, the maintenance or ‘aftercare’ of the asset can could be procured under /... Landscape Winter 2014 67
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Practice
3 – Mott MacDonald recently used the NEC ECC contract on a project for flood alleviation on the River Ness in Scotland
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a stand-alone maintenance contract or incorporated in the construction contract as a ‘section’ after the ‘completion’ of the construction/planting as discussed under pitfalls below. Note that there are pros and cons for each approach which are not specific to the NEC.
Image ©: 3, 4 – Mott MacDonald
What are the pitfalls? All NEC contracts have a first clause requiring that the actors ‘shall act as stated in the contract and in a spirit of mutual trust and cooperation’. This sets the scene and is supported by clear roles, processes and timescales throughout the contract – but you do have to understand and use the contract. NEC is not specifically tailored to landscape works As mentioned above, the NEC contracts are not specially designed for any sector and they are definitely not specially designed for landscape. Some minor modification may be required of the conditions using what the NEC calls ‘Z-clauses’. These are often over-used by ill-advised clients and sometimes drafted by people without the required experience. They must be prepared with care.
You need provision for aftercare As noted above, maintenance/aftercare may be the subject of a separate contract. If, instead, it is added to a construction contract, then a follow-on section for active aftercare – often three to five years for soft works – is likely to be required. The ECC has an option for sections of work but the ‘defects date’, the last date to notify defects (the end of what would be the ‘Rectification Period’ in JCLI), is a single date normally defined as a period after completion of the whole of the works. This is also the date for the release of the second half of retention (if the option for retention is used). If the ‘whole of the works’ includes the section for aftercare of landscape works, then a contractor for a building project with some landscape works will not relish waiting for three or five years for the release of the second half of his retention and being subject to having defects in the construction notified in that period. However, additional conditions to correct this issue can be drafted. The ECSC does not provide for sectional completion at all. However, it is relatively simple to add in the concept of sections from the words of the ECC to provide for the necessary section for aftercare.
Works Information is critical The NEC contracts are very different from ‘traditional’ contracts – including the JCLI contracts. They do tend to highlight inadequacies in the definition of the requirements in the Works Information, which, rightly, must be prepared very carefully. The ECC and the ECSC can in theory be used for any level of contractor design. This means that, in drafting the Works Information, the landscape architect has to be very clear about what exactly is to be designed by the contractor and what particulars of the contractor’s design are to be submitted for acceptance after award of the contract. All the design team should be trained on the principles of the NEC and understand the language of the contract and the importance of clear Works Information including drawings, specifications and more. Completion, not ‘practical completion’ JCLI, like its cousins the JCT contracts, uses the concept of ‘practical completion’, a concept that can be the subject of disagreements and disputes. The NEC contracts require the drafter of the contract to positively define in the Works Information exactly what is required for completion. Theft/ malicious damage The JCLI provides for a provisional sum for the replacement of plants subject to vandalism. Under the ECC or the ECSC, there is no concept of a ‘provisional sum’ /... Landscape Winter 2014 69
Practice
4 – Mott MacDonald recently used the NEC ECC contract on a project for flood alleviation on the River Ness in Scotland
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Active management is essential Perhaps most importantly, since the NEC contracts were designed to stimulate good management, they do require much more active management than ‘traditional contracts’, including the JCLI contracts. For example, there are detailed requirements relating to programme in the ECC, and in all NEC contracts there is a defined period within which to reply to every communication under the contract. There is a positive requirement for the parties to provide ‘early warning’ of events that might affect the project. All changes to stated requirements and other events at the employer’s risk are required to be notified and managed as what all NEC contracts call ‘compensation events’. These have tight timescales for notification, quotations and assessment to encourage the parties to deal with them during the works rather than letting them fester. There is therefore a need for the parties to get some (ideally joint) training, develop appropriate systems for communications and, for best effect, to adopt an actively collaborative approach to the processes within the contract. In our experience the main ‘pitfall’ is signing up to an NEC contract but then not managing 70 Landscape Winter 2014
the contract as required, ie ‘acting as stated in this contract’. NEC is very definitely not a contract for the ‘bottom drawer’. Conclusion NEC is a modern, well-drafted family of contracts. It is not specifically designed for landscape, but with a few careful modifications it can and has been used successfully for landscape works. Of course, in general, people react against change and it may take some years for NEC to be adopted widely for landscape. If you have a requirement for small, simple works to be carried out by a small specialist landscape contractor, you may well want to stick to JCLI – but you should at least consider the benefits of the ECSC. For a project of more significant value and one where you want more flexibility, consider the ECC. If your landscape work is a part of a bigger infrastructure contract you may well have no choice. A landscape architect operating in today’s market place cannot ignore the NEC and should at least be considering it when presenting options for contracts to their client. If the NEC is to work for the client, the landscape architect needs to be prepared for it. Any feedback? Please contact the authors.
References 1 NEC is the brand for the family of contracts. See www.neccontract.com 2 JCLI is the Joint Council for Landscape Industries 3 The NEC contracts are published by Thomas Telford, a wholly owned subsidiary of the ICE. 4 The EA includes commentary on the use of NEC in its ‘Landscape and Environmental Design Guidance’ 5 The ECC contract is administered by a Supervisor (compliance, testing and defects) and a Project Manager (all other aspects of contract management); the ECSC is administered directly by the Employer or an ‘Employer’s Agent’. Collette Patterson CMLI is principal landscape architect at Mott MacDonald, collette.patterson@ mottmac.com Noor Itrakjy CMLI is a landscape architect at Mott MacDonald, noor.itrakjy@ mottmac.com Richard Patterson MICE is NEC and procurement specialist at Mott MacDonald richard. patterson@mottmac.com
Image ©: 4 – Mott MacDonald
and any damage to the works prior to take over is a contractor’s risk and one he is required to insure against. If a change to this standard ECC risk allocation were wanted an additional condition of contract would be required.
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New from the Landscape Institute
Profitable Places – why housebuilders invest in landscape These are busy times, with a major exhibition in the offing, and an important publication out recently.
Housing is high on the political agenda, and population projections show that we need 230,000 new homes each year. However, in 2011/12 only 128,160 new homes were built, while affordable housing saw a 68% fall compared with the previous year. With the government putting pressure on housebuilders to build more homes than at any time since the post-war building boom, and with confidence growing in the
1 – Another featured project is Water Colour, Redhill – The Canal by Studio Engleback. 2 – Accordia, Cambridge – the Stirling Prize winning scheme with landscape designed by Grant Associates appears in the publication. 3 – The exhibition will take place at the Building Centre in London.
property market, the scene is set to create the sustainable communities we need in the future. Profitable Places shows how the best housebuilders and developers are using a landscape-led approach to seize this opportunity. The publication is available for download from the LI website.
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In October the Landscape Institute launched Profitable Places, a new publication showing why housebuilders need to invest in landscape. The booklet highlights five ways in which landscape professionals can add value. These five principles are illustrated through five housing case studies where landscape has informed the location, layout and design of new developments to great effect. 72 Landscape Winter 2014
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Photo ©: 1 – Luke Engleback, 2 – Tim Crocker
Profitable Places – why developers invest in landscape A new publication for house builders
Rethinking the Urban Landscape – creating the liveable city 5–30 January 2015, Building Centre, Store Street, London The Building Centre and the Landscape Institute present a new exhibition: Rethinking the Urban Landscape – creating the liveable city. The exhibition will explore new ideas in green infrastructure, water sensitive urban design and the creation of liveable, healthy places. The exhibition will demonstrate how we can better tackle social and environmental issues through integrating landscape as a fundamental element of urban planning and design. It will show how landscape architecture can meet the challenges of climate change and urban living as well as the need for new infrastructure.
Photo ©: 3, 4 – Building Centre
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Rethinking the Urban Landscape is a timely initiative that capitalises on a heightened awareness of landscape within the built environment. The Farrell Review referred to landscape as ‘the primary infrastructure’ arguing we ‘need to reprioritise the importance of its role and perception in place making’.
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Landscape Winter 2014 73
A Word By Tim Waterman
1 – Tim Waterman is a landscape architectural writer, speaker and critic, who lectures at the Writtle School of Design and is a thesis tutor at UCL Bartlett School of Architecture. His books on landscape architecture have been translated into seven languages. He is the honorary editor of Landscape.
‘Work’
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Most who work in the landscape professions can actually lay claim to doing true work that makes an actual difference, a rarity in this age where many people work what anthropologist David Graeber has called ‘bullshit jobs’ (such as telemarketers, corporate lawyers, or people suspended in the middle of vast bureaucratic structures who can see for themselves that their work is meaningless). In order for these people to have self worth in such jobs, society has been 74 Landscape Winter 2014
and if you do, you should be paid less. People who genuinely do good things in the world are often paid a pittance – care-givers, teachers, artists, designers. Second, the creative lives of creative people are now governed by an insane work ethic that keeps them at their desks for fearfully long hours, despite the fact that creative work requires copious quantities of down time, thinking time, and lots and lots of time to make mistakes and learn from them.
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restructured such that the value of work lies in the act of work, and not in the value created from it. In this skewed world, someone who works 50 hours a week producing nothing has greater value than someone who works a few hours a week producing something that makes the world a better place, such as beautifully illustrated children’s books or solar panels or delicious pies. Graeber believes we should judge the value of labour by how well it cares for people rather than by any other conventional measure. This attitude of work-for-work’s-sake means a few rather dreadful and dangerous things for designers. First, because the work of design is both enjoyable and it can produce things that make the world a better place, it is suspect. You shouldn’t enjoy your work,
Finally, and I think this might be the most damaging consequence of long working hours in design – particularly landscape design – everyone is working so hard that they have forgotten how to live, how to relax, and how to enjoy those spaces that they are straining themselves to design. You wouldn’t ask someone who never eats delicious pies to make some for you any more than you would ask someone with no experience of leisure to design the places you need for fun and conviviality. So, next time you find yourself in the office at 8pm do yourself and everyone else a favour and leave. Go to the pub – no, better yet, go to the park. Live a little, relax a little, and then when you go back to work what you do will be all the more meaningful for it. Strike a blow at those capitalist oppressors by doing a lot more true work – and stand up for your right to work and be compensated for something that’s not a bullshit job.
Image ©: 1 – Agnese Sanvito
enezer Howard, the father of the b garden city, whose diagrams of garden city relationships of 1898 have consistently been mistaken for blueprints ever since, would, were he alive today, be aghast at both that fact and at the fact that we have fallen so far short of the ideal social relationships that he envisioned as well. Howard was a radical with a keen sense of social justice, who believed that people should be in charge of their own environments and their own destinies, and that they had a right to do meaningful work that would benefit themselves, their families, their communities, and the natural world around them. Listen to his tub-thumping tone here: ‘The true remedy for capitalist oppression where it exists, is not the strike of no work, but the strike of true work, and against this last blow the oppressor has no weapon.’ He meant both the work of the traditional workplace, and also the work that we do as part of our communities to build a better world together.
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Literally Inspired. Central Library, Liverpool. Architects Austin Smith-Lord’s £55 million Liverpool Central Library project opened in 2013 after a three year complete overhaul. The scheme, in a World Heritage Site, involved the restoration of grade I listed elements as well as the insertion of a new building behind a historic facade. The restoration and redevelopment was carried out by Shepherd Construction as part of the Inspire Partnership, a joint venture with International Public Partnerships. Hardscape produced and supplied the Artscape ‘Literary Carpet’ outside the main entrance and inside the atrium area with Crystal Black, Kobra, Royal White granite paving, Artscape Crystal Black and Kobra granite walling, Woodkirk sandstone paving and Crystal Black granite textured benches around the entrance.
Part of the Hardscape Group of companies. For further information on Hardscape’s Artscape process and paving products range please visit: Landscape Winter 2014 75
Photography courtesy of Carolyn Willitts Design, Manchester.
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