Contents
About Me.........................................................................................................................................01 Parkwood Springs........................................................................................................................ 02 Aire Island...................................................................................................................................... 03 Special Project (Phase 1 - Planning)....................................................................................... 04 Special Project (Phase 2 - Design)........................................................................................... 05 Creative Suite................................................................................................................................ 06
E-mail..........................................................................................simonjenkins@current.co.uk Phone number........................................................................................................ 07748570089 LinkedIn....................................................www.linkedin.com/in/simon-jenkins-1477b885
01
About Me My Objective
Key Skills
To find a company which will help me to continue developing as a landscape architect and aid my journey toward P2C.
• Graphic design & communication
I am a creative, pragmatic individual who enjoys problem solving and wildly enthusiastic about the profession and the positive influence it has on the world.
• Organisation & management
• Teamwork & collaboration • Presenting & teaching • Conceptualising & thinking outside the box • Good work ethic & positive attitude
LA Employment/Experience
• Model Making
James Blake Associates.................................................... 06/2016 - 09/2016
Employment
Sturt Noble.................................................................................12/2014 01/2015
• University of Sheffield - Teaching Adobe Creative Suite
James Blake Associates......................................................12/2013 - 10/2014
• Marle Place Stately Home - Gardener Assistant • Millets - Sales assistant
Education
• Kent College - Life guard • Underground Specialists - Labourer
Sheffield University
• Farm work - Hop/fruit picking/packing
Masters in Landscape Architecture (ongoing) 2:1 Landscape Architecture & Town Planning
Interests/Achievements
Shillington College (Brisbane)
• Travelling & photography (photos opposite)
Certificate IV in Design (Australian Graphic Design Qualification)
• Cooking, baking and all things food!
Bethany School
• Walking/hiking/cycling/swimming/racket sports • Music & film
3 A levels 8 GCSEs (including maths & English)
Competent in: Photoshop
InDesign
Illustrator
AutoCAD
Sketchup
GIS
02
Parkwood Springs Brief (summary)
Strategic Planning
Masterplan
Research,create a strategic plan and detailed plan for Parkwood Springs (an old landfill site at the edge of Sheffield city) and the surrounding community.
My teammate and I decided, in the short term, to build off the existing sports culture associated with the area by re‑introducing the Sheffield ski village as a catalyst to rejuvenate the area. It will also cater for other activities such as highropes and mountainbiking (which are cheap for the local community to install and run). A key decision was to cover the landfill area and for it to be grazed; thus enhancing biodiversity, producing income and keeping users away from contamination.
We decided to focus on the re-opened ski village and introduce a new green space with comparatively high maintenance; making the area look cared for and the low maintenance areas with high biodiversity look deliberate. The park also offers a shared space for the new and surrounding communities to bond over.
Research Our group researched the site’s ecology. We used GIS data to identify and locate the different habitats and assessed their rarity, level of biodiversity and if they accommodated valued species to proscribe an ecological value to each habitat. We used this analysis to suggest to the class at large where development was most suited and where it was appropriate preserve or enhance the existing habitats.
The long term aim was to re‑image the area as an activity park focused around an activity centre. The park would be linked to the Sheffield tram network which also serves a new community developed in the old industrial area. Ultimately, we aimed to introduce a cable car heading from the tram st. to the activity centre atop the hill offering views across Sheffield.
During the masterplanning phase we determined that the grazing area (above the land fill) would house deer due to the site’s history; which would also give the park a distinctly rural character and a chance to escape from the city. Within the grazing field would locate a new wetland which creates more valuable habitat and deals with the increased surface runoff caused by the landfill capping.
Ecological Value Plan Very High Value High Value Medium Value
Key
Key
Context
Mixed Use Development
Green corridors Green infrastructure River Don
Low Value Very Low Value
Habitats
Neepsend Tram Station
Sub-Site Interventions
Scale : 1:2,500
Wetland Creation
Habitats Pond
Sheffield Skyline
Wetland Rough grassland
Wetland Creation
Car Park & Entrance
Rough grassland extension Heathland
Pond
Higher maintenance park
Wetland
Existing woodland
Connected Woodland
Rough grassland Rough grassland extension
Proposed woodland Park Trees
Heathland Existing woodland
Built Form
Proposed Woodland
Cable car Activity centre
Landuse
Allotments
Residential Urban farm Allotments Improved existing Footpath Proposed Footpath
Mountain bike trail
Grazing
Improved existing MTB trail Proposed MTB trail
Built Form
Orchard
Sheffield Ski Village
Cable car Activity centre
Mountain Bike Trails
Activity Hub
Linked Roads
N
Removed Roads
Park in the Park
High Ropes & Zipwire
N
ub-site Section
Ski slope & mountain bike trails Scale : 1:1,500
Park with high maintenance areas
Improved and added woodland with high ropes climbing course
Neepsend tram/cable car Station
Key Context
Mixed Use Development
Green corridors Green infrastructure River Don
Habitats
Neepsend Tram Station
Sheffield Skyline
Wetland Creation
Pond Wetland
Connected Woodland
Rough grassland Rough grassland extension Heathland Existing woodland Proposed Woodland
Landuse
Allotments
Residential Urban farm Allotments Improved existing Footpath Proposed Footpath
Grazing
Improved existing MTB trail Proposed MTB trail
Built Form
Orchard
Sheffield Ski Village
Cable car Activity centre
Mountain Bike Trails
Activity Hub
N
Key
Sub-Site Interventions
Scale : 1:2,500
Wetland Creation
Habitats Pond Wetland Rough grassland
Car Park & Entrance
Rough grassland extension Heathland Higher maintenance park Existing woodland Proposed woodland Park Trees
Built Form Cable car Activity centre
Mountain bike trail
Linked Roads
Removed Roads
Park in the Park
High Ropes & Zipwire
N
3 0
Aire Island Brief This project was about social restorative urbanism and applying analysis and design techniques to focus on the human scale. It is located in Leeds river corridor which has recently been redeveloped unsuccessfully due to a very sterile landscape; our task was to bring back the life it has lost.
User Exploration
design exploration
As a group of six, we invented an array of characters and detailed stories of how they used the area. On a site visit we used experiential mapping techniques to understand the characters experiences on their typical journeys in order to analyse and identify key transitional edges and establish our character’s ‘wishes’.
museum
Transitional Edge In a group of three, we chose Aire Island as our key transitional edge. It is an island between the canal and river Aire, it was identified by several of our characters as their ‘wish’ location since it has a special ex-industrial canal character, it is the only strip of green in an urban sea and has valuable sensory qualities associated with the water.
1:100 ISO & 1:50 Model
1:200 Concept Plan - reduced to A3
Canal and River Trust
Baring in mind our characters wants and needs; we came up with a series of proposals for spaces and uses to adapt the existing landscape. Key design decisions include:
strategy plan Calm water place
Low water edge and barges
Cycle Route
• Allowing easy access to the island and water (boats/river taxi/swimming)
Group Activity Place
• Open up and treat the blank, monolithic façade to make it less imposing
Active water sports
• Create a community centre and social space for the existing estranged residents. • Break up the linearity by naturalising the edges to create intimate niches.
Water Taxi Paddle Boats
Quiet canal lookout
Canal Boat
• Offer flexible space for concerts to markets so to populate the island with different activities throughout the year.
Community Flexi-place Active Niches Museum
lars “group activities like my yoga class help me de-stress before work” sam “yoga and pilates classes are helping me lose my baby bump”
katy “finally a place still lively in the evenings” lars “the lighting really highlights the planting and keeps the island safe and accessible at night”
4 0
Special Project Brief For this stage of the special project the main objective was to further understand and analyse the area at a larger, planning scale and refine the vision and aims of the project to suit the area at large.
Site I expanded my view from the self written brief to look at the whole borough of Newham before honing in on the ‘Arc of Opportunity’ — a series of close nit brownfield/light industrial spaces which are likely to be developed in the near future.
(Phase 1 - Planning)
For the green infrastructure aim I looked at case studies where policy changes could inspire small scale piecemeal development alongside large scale green corridor projects.
Strategy To compose a ‘green spine’ running the length of the ‘Arc of Opportunity’ with a series of strategically chosen creative catalyst developments/projects with room within and around the catalysts for bottom up growth.
Phasing
The vision and key aims I had developed in the brief stage (inspiring a creative community and establishing an ecological framework), were still appropriate so I conducted research of theory and precedents to better understand how best to implement them at the planning scale.
The phasing is an important element of the strategy on two scales: on the site specific scale when numerous small bottom up projects will be attempted; some will succeed whilst others will fail, allowing the area to evolve and change over time.
Theory
On the Macro scale, the interventions will commence in the areas most at risk of gentrification in order to protect the vulnerable communities, before spreading west to east along the arc.
For the creative community aspect I researched literature such as Richard Florida’s ‘Rise of the Creative Class’ which suggests that creativity is not something that can be imposed by a top down approach, rather, that communities are inherently creative and just need space and encouragement. This led me to study top down approaches which allow bottom up creative movements to occur.
Presentation All the work was distilled down to a wall display shown opposite and a 7 minute presentation given to two professors to critique.
5 0
Special Project
(Phase 2 - Design)
Brief
Strategy
This second stage of the special project was an opportunity to demonstrate how the ideas of the planning strategy might become manifest through the design of a particular site.
The strategy adopted was to provide top down guidance in the areas which required a level of expertise i.e. the green infrastructure strategy, built form foundations with inbuilt service infrastructure, street layout and design, potential zoning and design of parks/urban squares.
The Vision of preparing for the predicted 50% job automation via creativity and repairing the fragmented ecological network remained the same.
Site The site I chose to design at greater detail was the Millennium Mills Quarter since it is: at risk of gentrification, has generally poor ecology and is well positioned to effectively spread the ideas of the movement.
Theory I examined ways in which to design in order to get the full benefit of the ideas of Plot Based Urbanism. My solution was to allow and support autonomy through co-operative principles; giving users dominion over their own live/work spaces which in turn would provide untold diversity and character.
The idea is that the layout is designed but on the human scale it is totally up to the occupiers of the space at that time. It will feel organic and natural but will have the efficiencies of something designed.
Phasing The phasing builds both the physical development and the societal structures needed for autonomy. It stems from the Millennium Mills building where the necessary skills, tools and experts will be located to assist with any project. It will also house the seat of local power. As the project grows beach block will form a block co-op from which an elected representative will sit on the community council.
06
Creative Suite Photoshop I have always enjoyed using Adobe’s Photoshop ever since A Level photography; despite the fact we were strongly discouraged from using it - happily I ignored this piece of advice! I used Photoshop frequently during my year in practice; however I felt that I was not progressing (since there was no-one at the company who could teach me anything new). I therefore took it upon myself to improve by watching tutorials and experimenting in my free time. The following are two examples of my personal experimentation using Photoshop outside of the landscape profession although using skills which could be adapted to fit a landscape project.
Indesign & Illustrator Similarly I furthered my knowledge of InDesign and have become very comfortable with the program however more recently have been trying to improve my Illustrator skills since I believe I have only scratched the surface of its potential I am always looking for chances to improve and learn new creative software. My next challenge will be Adobe After Effects to try ‘Kinetic Typography’.