Shereen's portfolio 2023

Shereen. Din

Landscape Architecture

Portfolio 2023

I am currently a third year BA Honours Landscape Architecture undergraduate student at the University Of Gloucestershire.

My focus is inclusivity, to design spaces catered to people’s needs in a pragmatic way. Part of this is to be socially sustainable, for me this means designing in a way that encourages people to mix and converse. I want to specialise in designing green spaces for health care facilities as I believe the impact of green space on patient’s quality of life is often overlooked and undermined. I believe in innovation and the potential it holds to drive the industry forward.

Having said that, I am keen to learn from working on a diversity of projects to develop my thinking and skills set.

My graphical skills range across different applications. I am a confident hand-drawer that I often use as a communication for quick ideas. One of my strengths is writing for reports and presentations.

My current job as a careers coach has aided in my confidence to talk to a variety of people, in building their confidence and improving my communication. From this role I have learned to negotiate, collaborate, project manage and deliver presentations to clientele in a confident and professional manner.

North Place- Site analysis

Project 7

SOC:

Open up site to clear sky and more sun light

Views into site from building need to appeal to building users

Requirement to retain frontageconsider vehicular views into site

Use vegetation screening? Or hard landscape boundary?

Building heights restrict right to light, noise considerations? Buffer with topography or vegetation?

A4019- St Margaret’s Road

Surrounding site- grade II listed building

Block construction of new development, it may contrast against the site development

Enhance view of grade II listed building: use buildings to frame the view?

Block out views of unappealing flats

North Place Road- key route

Contextually significantgrade II listed building

North Place

A1 Analysis

AD5605 - ASS02

Design Project 2

1:500

Leave in view of top of Brewery Quarter building as wayfinding to town centre

Again consider building development height and privacy of residents. Avoid leveliing out windows with residential building heights

The site was initially a desolated car park in Cheltenham, we were briefed to create a space that would be in use for 24 hours and had a specified amount of car park.

My design aimed to create a more cohesive Cheltenham, offering a space for a diversity of people to come together and enjoy a 365 day site, operating 24 hours through the use of the amphitheatre, businesses which would operate as a cafe during the day and bar at night and a seating area lit up at night by the cascading water wall. The site included space for local businesses to inhibit, a main plaza to host local events, vegetated planters with herbaceous planting for local restaurants to use, cycle ways, a sunken amphitheatre for cultural activity and an underground car park with kinaesthetic paving, re-using the collected energy for the site’s electrical usage.

A glass university eco-hub was designated to provide a study space for students on the 1st and 2nd floor with the ground floor being occupied by food shops.

Cheltenham’s Social Circle

Car park buildings with allotment roofs for service users across the road to engage with and create their own allotments.

A main plaza set with different coloured paving to celebrate Cheltenham’s diversity which would host temporary festivals. Cascading water wall to the north.

Cascading water wall with the purpose to block out the noise for the surrounding residential homes.

A sunken amphitheatre with a stage and wheelchair accessibility designed to encourage cultural activity such as music and arts.

A fountain with visibility for drivers passing by to look into the site, the fountain was specified to be made of the same material of the adjacent grade II listed building as an appreciation to the local history.

Shereen. Din S4002756

Market stalls operated by local businesses.

Bike shelter

Bike repair shop

Coach parking

Wheelchair accessible seating area with planters

University eco-hub buildings with solar pannel roofs

Fountain Access

Visualisations

A shared pedestrian road with cobbled surfacing to ensure the safety of pedestrians.

LED lights in the tree crowns to light up the site at night in addition to glow stone aggregate activated at night.

With forward-thinking technology, a glass screen facade to the raised car park that displays the weather and time.

Paths lined with herbaceous planters for the local food businesses to use.

Permeable paths wide enough for wheelchair users, patterned flooring on the sides to create a more stationary area.

The main plaza with temporary market stalls and colourful kaenesthetic, mosaic paving to celebrate the cultural diversity.

A cotswold stone and oak sunken amphitheatre, with an internal elevator for wheelchair access and stage.

Castlemeads- Feasibility report

The brief was to conduct a feasibility report as a group and use this to decide what Gloucester’s local community need the most and prioritise this as a guide for our design concepts.

This group feasbility report was used to explore a wide range of aspects in relation to the site, from the current local politics, to current planning applications down to the exisitng soil and bedrock.

I found that through this extensive research a green space connection to the city was vital for the community to combat their current nature-deficit experience.

This was a quick visual made through a photo collaging technique that I often use to convey my vision for the site.

Adjacent are maps of the existing bedrock and soil, this is a personal interest that is useful in site analysis when considering planting.

My strategy for this abandoned wetland area is to design a space that inhibits the existing culture of Gloucester with a re-imagined ‘silk road.’ Through the use of market stalls, food stands and wetland areas to connect these spaces and educate the local community with bug hotels and information boards. This would suffice the communities’ current needs and in turn, the local councils.

Conceptual masterplan

Word cloud for my site vision

Barnwood Arboretum- strategies

The brief was to alleviate the flooding on site so that it could be usable, at current the site situated in Gloucester was an open area that was constantly boggy. This deterred visitors from this area of the larger site but the council wanted it to be usable.

Hydrology

The area was re-contoured to create a lake (far right) as a means of retention and circular rain gardens for attenuation. A swale and mound was designed to direct the surface run off into these allocated areas.

Raised boardwalks were specified, a gabion retaining wall and cafe with a green roof for run off.

Vegetation

The aim was to re-introduce native species to establish a woodland with the first phase of planting including nurse species. This would then be supported with shrubs and marginal aquatic species for areas with water.

Some of the plants included:

Quercus robur

Alnus glutinosa

Carpinus betulus

Corylus avellana

Laurus nobilis

Vegetation Moodboard

Park

campus- Planting matrix and Phase 1 habitat survey

The planting matrix consisted of a nurse species in the centre to establish a woodland buffer and protect the site from noise pollution coming from the road south of the site.

A phase 1 habitat survey was conducted in line with the handbook, this was used to identify the existing ecology and landscape before any proposed changes could be put forward.

Proposed earthworks and environmental data

A series of calculations were conducted to gather environmental data , along side the calculations shown there was;

Carbon content

Simpson index

Dynamic charts

Proposed lakes

Proposed mounds

Section A-A

Looking north-east

The existing contours have been re-graded through interpolation to fit around the two central proposed lakes and two mounds which would would be planted to become woodland. The conic method was used to calculate the volume of water the proposed lakes could hold.

Major project- Planting

Structural planting plan

The planting strategy was for the species chosen and design to be pragmatic, conservative and low maintenance but with the occasional seasonal colour.

Detailed planting plan

Why should it be a policy for all health care facilities to have healing gardens for children?

Synopsis

This dissertation is focussed on the health and well-being of children. As a whole, it will set out the argument in support of healing gardens as a direct health benefit for children in public funded health care facilities. The desired implication is that policies will be implemented for children to access healing gardens regularly in health care facilities.

Using a literature review it will explore the current thinking on healing gardens and their origins. And survey the important relationship of biophilia, the importance of play, the effect on children’s development, why they are not used as commonly as they ought to be and environmental benefits. Precedent studies will be used to show the current thinking of healing gardens in practise and used as exemplars of successful healing gardens. Equally it wll acknowledge arguments that undermine the power of healing gardens and the risks associated with them.

The recent evens of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease) has evoked an ardent revitalisation for the need of green spaces as set out in Labib et al (2022). The United Kingdom’s population was confined to four walls within their homes for months on end, ordered as a ‘lockdown’ by the government (Sherrington, 2022). With liimited windows of opportunity, the country grew restless to be outdoors and breathe in open green space, with some even breaking the curfew set by the government. The subject is therefore inspired by the calamity the nation experienced and urges readers to think of those who may experience this as their habitual lifestyle. In this case, children in health care facilities, those with both longterm and short-term stays.

land

Review

DesigningHealingEnvironments:ALiteratureReviewonthe BenefitsofHealingGardensforChildreninHealthcare FacilitiesandtheUrgentNeedforPolicyImplementation

ShereenKhatoon-JaanDin ,AlessioRusso* andJamieLiversedge

SchoolofArts,FrancisCloseHallCampus,UniversityofGloucestershire,CheltenhamGL504AZ,UK * Correspondence:arusso@glos.ac.uk

Abstract: Despitethewell-knownbenefitsofhealinggardensforchildreninhealthcarefacilities, policiesandguidelinesfortheirimplementationarelacking,leadingtotheirundervaluationby policymakers.Thisliteraturereviewinvestigatestheadvantagesofhealinggardensforchildren’s healthandwellbeing,withafocusonpublic-fundedhealthcarefacilities.Thereviewexploresthe definitionofahealinggarden,theories,thevalueofplay,theimpactonchildren’sdevelopment, andtheenvironmentalbenefitsofhealinggardens.Additionally,thereviewpresentssuccessful examplesofhealinggardensinpractice,whileacknowledgingpotentialargumentsagainstthem andassociatedrisks.Duringtheliteraturereview,researchgapswereidentified,andareasforfuture researchwerealsoexamined.Finally,thisreviewcallsforevidence-basedguidelinesforpolicymakers anddesignerstoincorporatehealinggardensintohealthcarefacilities,providingacomprehensive argumentfortheiradoptionandregularaccessforchildren.

Keywords: healingspace;biophilia;policy;landscapedesign;playvalue;theories;salutogenic design;evidence-baseddesign

Citation: Din,S.K.-J.;Russo,A.; Liversedge,J.DesigningHealing Environments:ALiteratureReview ontheBenefitsofHealingGardens forChildreninHealthcareFacilities andtheUrgentNeedforPolicy Implementation. Land 2023, 12,971. https://doi.org/10.3390/ land12050971

AcademicEditor:Thomas Panagopoulos

Received:14March2023

Revised:13April2023

Accepted:21April2023

Published:27April2023

1.Introduction

Copyright: ©2023bytheauthors. LicenseeMDPI,Basel,Switzerland. Thisarticleisanopenaccessarticle distributedunderthetermsand conditionsoftheCreativeCommons

Attribution(CCBY)license(https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/

HealinggardenscanbetracedbacktotheGreeksattheendofthesixthcenturyB.C. whentheyused“healingcentres”intemples[1,2]withthespecificusageofnaturalspring water.ThistrendwasfollowedbymonasteriesinEgyptbeforespreadingtoWesternEurope inthe5thcenturyA.D.[3].IntheMiddleAges,cloisterswereusedasprimarysettings forpatientstobetreatedbymonkswithinmonasteries[4].Theycontainedherbaceous plantingwhichwasthoughttobemedicinal.Therewasanemphasisonprovisionsoffresh air,accessingareasofsunlight,anddailywalksaroundthegardens.Throughplagues, migration,andharvestfailure,monasterieswereforcedtocaptheirmedicalresources[5]. Asmonasticismdeclinedinthe16thcentury,theirmethodologiesinusinghealinggardens becameadistantmemory[6].Inthemid-eighteenthcentury,industrialisation,migration, andoverpopulationaccountedforcountlessdeathsduetolackofhygieneandincreasing levelsofpollution[7].Thistriggeredamovementofbuildinghospitalswithintownsrather thaninthecountrysidewhich,atthetime,wereseenasmoresalutary[8].Inthemidnineteenthcentury,theconceptofpaviliondesignhospitalsinEnglandbecamepopular throughJohnRobertonandGeorgeGodwin[9].Themodifiedstyleallowedgardenviews frompatientrooms,increasedsegregationtopreventdiseasespreading,andenhanced ventilation[9].

ThiswassupportedbyFlorenceNightingale:“quiteperceptibleinpromotingrecovery, thebeingabletoseeoutofawindow”[10].Shefurtherdemonstratedthisthroughher findingsofalowermortalityrateinpavilion-stylehospitalsthanothers[9].Sanitisation, naturalsunlight,andcleanairbecameanormalityforpatientstoexpectfromhospitals[8].

Beforepavilion-stylehospitals,“openspacesattachedtohospitalsbecameaccidentsof

Environmental legislation

The brief was to create a planning and development brief as representatives of the local council, for developers whilst adhering to the NPPF, JCS and local planning authorities.

Development requirements

The developer is encouraged to apply “Good design” (Cheltenham Borough Council, 2020,5.1) which is an aspect that will be highly valued when considering the planning application. “Good design with well-considered buildings and spaces is key to making places that are successful” (Cheltenham Borough Council, 2020, page 20, 5.1).

Housing character and layout

37. There is a requirement of 90 new dwellings, of which 20 are for student accommodation, as stated in the vision. Policy HD1 sets out a “site specific requirement of approximately 70 dwellings” (Cheltenham Borough Council, 2020, Policy HD1: Christ College Site B). The additional 20 dwellings required in this development brief is a social strategy that comes under “exceptional circumstances” (Ministry, 2021, page 17, 5.61) in the National Planning Policy Framework where specifying the quantity of homes needed; “unless exceptional circumstances justify an alternative approach which also reflects current and future demographic trends” (Ministry, 2021, page 17, 5.61). In which, the social strategy is to increase the amount of dwellings for the purpose of student accommodation that will discourage an ageing population (refer to figure 41) and assist in Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury’s remaining student housing requirement of 179 student beds as shown in figure 42.

the developer should propose to supply a housing mix adequate to fit the 90 dwellings and ensure “that the needs of groups with specific housing requirements are addressed” (Ministry, 2021, 5.60 NPPF) by addressing affordable housing. These dwellings should strive to reach “the character and quality of the local environment” (Tewkesbury Borough Council et al, 2017, SD10.6, JCS).

38. The developer is encouraged to refer to the most recent housing needs assessment for Cheltenham included in a consultancy report from Gloucestershire (2020). “Overall, the evidence from HESA data, college literature and Council Tax data suggests that there is a need for accommodation for around:

» 6,600 students in Cheltenham and Gloucester, which, assuming an occupancy rate of 3.6 students per dwelling, this would equate to around 1,830 dwellings compared to 1,108 all-student dwellings identifiable as existing in Cheltenham and Gloucester;” (Opinion Research Services, 2020, 9.23) which supports this sites vision to increase student housing.

39. Additionally, the need for student accommodation derives from Cheltenham’s local plan “needs for specific, high-quality student accommodation and well-designed elderly care provision are key to the future of Cheltenham.” (Cheltenham Borough Council, 2020, page 60, 12.1)

40. The figure of 40% as an affordable housing mix originates from the Joint Core Strategy “minimum of 40% will be sought within the Cheltenham Borough” (Tewkesbury Borough Council et al, 2017, Policy SD12: affordable housing 1.ii) which will also help to encourage a younger demographic to remain or move into Cheltenham.

41. The character and density of the proposed dwellings is expected to meet Policy D1: Design in Cheltenham’s local plan,“development will only be permitted where it: b) complements and respects neighbouring development and the character of the locality and / of landscape.” (Cheltenham Borough Council, 2020, Policy D1: Design). If the developer has any recommendations on how to increase the housing density, they are invited to provide this within the proposal. It is further encouraged that the developer also look at the National Model Design Code 2021 (Ministry of Housing, 2021).

• There is no requirement to have chimneys but the developer is welcome to have dummy chimneys

• The housing style and finish must visually relate to the existing dwellings whether that be through the structure, masonry or colour

• Development should enhance the sense of locality

• Affordable homes should visually match non-affordable homes

42. The 1950s-1960s character of dwellings can be seen in figures 15-17 whereby terraced, detached and semi-detached homes are used. Open balconies are encouraged as they provide opportunities for residents to access open air and plant greenery which would support sustainable development goal “3 health and well-being” (United Nations, 2015). However, If the developer has any recommendations on how to further incorporate this principle, they are invited to include this within the proposal.

Shereen. Din S4002756 AD5603

To summarize, “transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals” (Ministry, 2021, 9.104 NPPF) and “opportunities to promote walking, cycling and public transport use are identified and pursued” (Ministry, 2021, 9.104.c, NPPF). Alongside this it is expected “e that credible travel choices are provided by sustainable modes” (Tewkesbury Borough Council et al, 2017, Policy INF1.1.ii, JCS) which would include improving the existing transport infrastructure. This underpins the 13th UN sustainable development goal; climate action which is approached through “moving to a low carbon economy” (Ministry, 2021, 2.8.c, NPPF) via more sustainable modes of transport being promoted.

general, 15: 174a. which infers the protection and enhancement of biodiversity on sites, would apply to the potential wildlife corridor running parallel to the railway track. And is expected that the developer would “contribute positively to biodiversity” (Tewkesbury Borough Council et al, 2017, Policy SD9.2.iii, JCS) as access to open green spaces would “enable and support healthy lifestyles” (Ministry, 2021, 8.92.c, NPPF) for the local community.

the developer “should aim to achieve healthy, inclusive and safe places which: a) promote social interaction, including opportunities for meetings between people who might not otherwise come into contact with each other” (Ministry, 2021, 8.92.a, NPPF) and where relevant for the planning application such as public consultation, communicate with local residents (as there is no current local community group).

the developer must assess the flood risk of “an area from flooding from all sources, now and in the future, taking account of the impacts of climate change” (Government, 2021, Flood risk and Coastal Change, NPPG) this is significant to achieve sustainability goal number 13; ‘climate action’ (United Nations, 2015). The implementation of sustainable urban drainage from Policy 1NF2 (Tewkesbury Borough Council et al, 2017, JCS) will “ensure that flood risk is not increased on-site or elsewhere” (Tewkesbury Borough Council et al, 2017, Policy INF2.2.iv, JCS), which will also benefit the climate, local area and site.

On the whole, the developer should strive towards a sustainable development which means “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations, 1987) which is also quoted in the National Policy Planning Framework (2021). This should be applied throughout the whole of the development phases whereby “design and construction seeks to use these resources efficiently and decrease waste both during the construction, use” (Tewkesbury Borough Council et al, 2017, 4.3.2, JCS).

2019, Design: process and tools, NPPG). The only good design to be accepted is “High-quality and well-thought-out design, tailored to meet the needs of people and location,” (Tewkesbury Borough Council et al, 2017, 4.4.1, JCS).

Figure 41 (No date, Gloucestershire County Council, page 4)

Figure 42 the table shows student bed spaces completions and requirements between Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury councils (Cheltenham Borough Council, 2020, 12.10, table 4: additional student bed spaces)

Garden design competition- Winning entry

Chaumont garden design competition

The entry was for Chaumont, a french design competition where the theme was resilience. Within my team we decided to create two parallels between a familiar and unsustainable domesticated setting- a living room, contrasted against a garden with resilient planting, including a reflection area with a water feature and sheltered seating.

The desired effect was for people to reflect on their current lifestyles and how they may change these to positively benefit the environment.

Section

Dead plants coming out of the sofa adds to an uncomfortable feeling in the typically associated ‘comfortable’ room. Thus reinforcing the message that anthropogenic factors are killing the earth yet plants remain resilient through all of the destruction.

Reflection pool with a colourful mosaic inside the bowl to refract these colours into the water, with circular wooden benches surrounding

Travel return train ticket to Chaumont 460

Total- €13,200

The inside of the bowl is to have pressed colourful, recycled glass pieces in a mosaic style. This will be filled with water so that the light reflects off the coloured glass creating ‘colourful water.’ This will create a calming environment for people to sit and reflect on how they can better their actions towards the environment.

Section B-B

Clear transparent bowl showcasing the root system of a Heuchera ‘Wild Berry’ to represent the resilience of plants and way they ground themselves. The glass is to represent the fragility of nature and risks we are creating through our destruction.

The bamboo trellis is one example of how we can harness nature.

Low hedges towards the path branching out to taller, larger hedges are designed to create a sense of order. This allows users to be immersed into the garden whilst understanding the order of resilience.

Wall of constructed room made of wooden palettes

Bamboo screen

Lumion, SketchUp, Adobe Cloud Suite

Graphical skills