Creating Landscapes Using Contours This chapter will incorporate what was presented in previous chapters to advance our understanding of site grading and refine our skills. We will explore how to modify a project site using contours as our initial means of representing grading design intent. By manipulating, changing, and altering the location and shape of contours, we create graphically what the resulting landform and ground surfaces will look like as represented in the site-grading plan. The contractor will employ a grid system to transfer the grading plan onto the site, to guide the earth-moving operations. In addition to contours, the grading plan will include spot elevations, which are used where more precisely controlled elevations are necessary, such as the height of walls, built features such as fountains, or paved and landscaped areas. Design is an activity that involves a back-and-forth conversation between linear and reiterative processing of information. The process is linear in that the activities are done in a sequence, beginning with project definition, site analysis, and programming, then progressing to concept formulation and design development. The process is reiterative in that earlier steps of investigation and analysis might be revisited several times, reworking initial thoughts on the basis of new insights. The design process usually begins with a meeting between the designer and the client. For complex projects, several meetings with the client may be needed to finalize project goals. Next, the designer would make one or more visits to the project site and surrounding neighborhoods, to understand the project site’s physical features and contextual considerations that would be important for project programming and later design considerations. Once the project designer or design team have (1) gained sufficient understanding of the project site and its context, (2) completed due-diligence research of governing matters such as zoning, governmental regulations, and design criteria, and (3) established programming requirements, the designer may begin the design process. Working over a base map, the designer develops initial design concepts and their spatial layout. This initial development of a project design is referred to as the schematic design (SD). This is the first phase of a professional service contract between the client or owner and the project design consultant. 164
Landscape Site Grading Principles
