London Wetland Centre

November is perhaps not the best time to visit the London Wetland Centre in Barnes, however despite many of the native birds having migrated away a visit was duely made. The wildfoul centre was created on the site of a former water works and covers 43 acres on the edge of London. The site has a population of more than 180 species of birds as well as bats and other wildlife. Visitors are invited to view the wildlife from a series of 'hides' built into paths around the centre which offer views of the wetlands. Other areas include the themed 'world wetlands' showing snippits of different wetland environments from across the globe.

A large part of the work carried out at the Wetland Centre is in educating visitors and for this purpose there is a large visitor centre with interactive activities for children, also including a theatre showing a video of the history of the site.

Although the wetland centre did have a lot to offer I feel a lot of the information presented could have been done so in a more friendly form. The information about plant and animal speicies was often limited and presented in a form that was more likely to appeal to children. I left with an impression that although interesting the site had little to offer unless one was a birdwatcher or young child.

Royal Victoria Square

Close to Thames Barrier Park in London's Docklands is another innovative landscape site.

Like Thames Barrier Park, Royal Victoria Dock was conceived by the LDDC (London Docklands Development Commission) and is situated on the north bank of Victoria Dock. There are many comparisons between this site and Thames Barrier Park, due largely to the fact that parts of the design team were the same.

This site has a particular focus on history and is dominated by the huge former dock cranes which have been retained and tower over the space. Features such as the regimented blocks of trees are reminiscent of Mile End Park, while the structures have a similar minimalist feel to them. Unfortunately this site too seems to lack visitors. Despite being adjacent to the entrance to the Excel exhibition centre there were barely any people using the area on my visit. This made the site seem very distant and impersonal- particularly the large patch of rough empty grass at it's heart.

Some of the detailing here is very good, however the space still seems to lack purpose and no resounding feeling of quality comes through. Many of the ground surfaces appear unattractive also. In fact I believe that the site itself takes the backseat as the dock cranes and the impressive bridge across Victoria Dock capture all the attention.

A Brief Look at Europe

Although it may not look much, this really grabbed my attention. During some works on a public square in Frankfurt the railings have been covered in a photographic canvas- and what a vast improvement it makes over leaving all the building works visible. This fence becomes more of a feature than the usual eyesore.





These boardwalks in Zurich provided an attractive peaceful walk along the banks of the river, set down at a level close to the water. At certain times of year they can flood, forcing pedestrians
to use a higher level path. They provide a great contrast to the busy city despite being just behind the main streets and make one feel at home with the natural river environment.



This interesting square is situated outside Milan's Cadorna Station. The large abstract sculptures are of a needle and thread which disappears under the road only to reappear among jets of water in a large central fountain. Also note the tram- I became rather obsessed with these amazing rickety old things!




Probably the most interesting Landscape site of the trip was in Marseilles, close to the harbour. A large site had been graded with a variety of steps slopes and levels. Many interesting pieces of furniture had also been used to provide seating areas and to screen walls. Perhaps the most interesting element of all was a terrace which was covered in equally spaced 'oversized' pots. Each pot was taller than myself and rather than containing the usual plants instead was occupied by a sizable tree.

Summer Fun on the South Bank

London's South Bank comes alive in the summer with installations and exhibitions- many of which are free. Here are a few snippets that captured my interest this summer.

'Volume'
This interactive artwork was created by United Visual Artists and spent some time on the terrace outside the Royal Festival Hall this summer. The piece reacted with people walking around the area which stimulated sounds and lighting displays on the light towers.
I have to admit that I could not work out how interactions were causing the piece to respond, but never the less, I did enjoy the work. It was visually pleasing and watching the way in which an audience interacted with it was quite fascinating.

'Appearing Rooms'
An water fountain display created by Danish artist Jeppe Hein also ocupied a space on the Festival Hall terrace this summer. This installation was really fun and very much appreciated by younger children on hot summers days. The installation is formed of a cube of water fountains, created from four smaller cubes. Each side is controlled independantly and can turn on and off. This creates, reforms and removes 'rooms' with walls of water. These can trap people within them and even take them by suprise whilst moving through the fountains.

'Watch This Space'
This installation was positioned outside the main entrance to the National Theatre as part of their summer programme of events. The concept was quite simple- to make a fun space which could be used for a variety of events, or just as a nice location to spend time. In practise this involved creating a larger than life 'grass' room from an astroturf material. The piece included a larger than life 3-piece suite, lamp and a large rug, complete with over-large cushions. On a hot day the space worked fantastically, with the entire area thronging with people relaxing, socialising or even using the space as a picknic area. Even by night on barmy evenings people were still using this intriguing space, which due to the popularity of the area felt quite safe as there were always people passing through.

'Psycho Buildings'
The 'Psycho Buildings' exhibition at the Hayward Gallery represented artists interpretations of Architecture. The results were a very interesting collection of visual and spacial installations which challenged our relatioship with the space around us. My favorite instatllation at this exhibition was 'Show Room, 2008' by Los Carpinteros of Havana, Cuba. The piece depicts a room frozen in a moment of time of a disaster where the interior is being destroyed and scattered at random. The juxtaposition of the stillness in this image of sheer devastation provokes a curiously unatural responce. This work may certainly influence my design work for in the future, if even only in terms of the construction of the piece with items suspended from above.
Another quite unatural experience on offer here was in 'Normally , Proceeding and Unrestricted With Without Title, 2008' by Gelitin. This installation filled one of the Hayward Galleries terraces with water to create a small boating lake in whicn one could row across the skyline of London. Despite the fact that the creation was slightly victimised by it's own sucsess (it was so popular people had to que for the experience rather than stumbling across it by chance) the spectacle of rowing with views of the London skyline with the River Thames below you has to be quite unique!

The Great Gardens of Cornwall

During the summer I was lucky enough to spend some time in Cornwall (unfortunatly I was not lucky enough for the weather to be nice during this time!). The landscape of this entire county on this peninsula of Great Britain makes fantastic viewing from it's breathtaking coastline to the artificial china clay mounds which dominate the area around St Austel. However the two locations I am going to detail are perhaps the most breathtaking of all: The Lost Gardens of Heligan and the Eden Project.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan-

This has to be one of the most radical garden restoration projects anywhere in the country. The glamourous family owned gardens here were left to rot in 1914 for three quarters of a centuary untill their discovery in 1990. Since then the site has been restored to it's former glory, including many of the original buildings, trees and plant species which are so unique to the gardens. The range of garden styles here is extensive. From long scenic 'rides' to woodland wildernesses, formal gardens and kitchen gardens, with a range of rare or exotic plants including the famously huge 'Californian Redwood' trees and one of the largest collections of tree ferns in the area.

The Eden Project-

The hisotry of the Eden Project as a garden streaches back significantly less than the gardens of Heligan. Opening as a Millenium project in 2000 the Eden Project with it's distinctive biomes was built on the site of a former China Clay pit to showcase and increase knowledge of the worlds environments. The two huge biomes dominate the site and contain collections of platns from the tropics and mediteranian regions. Outdoors are more hardy plants from our own climate. The site is intended to be educational and as such there are various oppertunities to interact with the exhibits and learn more about them. The site also includes several spaces which can be used for various purposes including The Core building with it's organically shaped roofline which is used as an exhibition space.

Overall the site has a lot going on, and I think it is for this reason that it really does come across as a tourist attraction rather than a refreshing and enjoyable space. This may be no bad thing- afterall the site IS a tourist attraction. However on a busy summers day I did not find it very tranquil or peaceful due to the number of visitors. That said the staggering site does not dissapoint, though it is perhaps the shape of the site and the structures within it which form the biggest attraction.

A space close to home

It is always a pleasant experience to discover a wonderful space right on your doorstep, particularly when you may stumble across it quite by accident. I recently discovered a space just like this within my own University at Kingston. Lurking just beyond the 'eating and drinking' area of the Penrhyn Road Library lies the outdoor reading space, a hard, restricted site with buildings dominating all four sides. However the quality of materials used in the area really does make the space very pleasant. The benches are of wooden construction and follow interesting patterns, while decking material and gravel is used to give texture underfoot. the uninspiring walls are contrasted with a collection of fantastic tree ferns which dominate the area and provide a vertical dynamic as well as some much needed green foliage.
This I feel is truly a space the University should be proud of- so why is it not publicised? I stumbled across the space quite by accident and I am sure many Library users do not know it exists. It is also perhaps a missed opportunity that the highly skilled students from the Landscape Architecture department at the University were not involved in designing the space (though I would happily be corrected if they were)- this could have been a perfect small project for the students and could have saved the University from the additional costs of hiring external designers.

Thames Barrier Park

Thames Barrier park is located on the northern bank of the River Thames adjacent to the Thames Barrier (as the name would suggest). The site was designed by French Landscape Architect Alain Provost of Groupe Signes in partnership with ARUP. The site was previously occupied by heavy industry leaving issues of contamination to be dealt with in the design.
The park despite being located away from the centre of the city could not be easier to reach. Pontoon Dock DLR station overlooks the park which is at it's footsteps, making the space easilly accessible from both the city and other areas of the Docklands.
The central feature of the park is a former dock which runs through it's heart at a lower level than the surrounding land. This has been beautifully planted with waving hedges and a variety of foliage- although there is limited access to this lower level it is well worth a visit. The park seems to be split into two sections above this area with bridges spanning across the lower dock. Many of these higher areas are left unmown as a meadow of long grass, together with the contrast of the short grassy paths and trees this works very well and keeps a natural feel to the area which could otherwise give an overal impression of being filled with concrete angles.
The architectual elements of the site work well also, there is a structure providing some shelter next to the water front as well as a cafe centrally located within the park. It's structure seems to float above it's nearby grassy areas, though is rather less attractive after closing when heavy roller-shutters cover it's glass facards. It is a sad fact too that the park has to be designed to minimalise vandalisim in such ways- the signs indicating the the wiring in the fences has no scrap value make an unsightly reminder of the atmosphere or much of the land away from this oasis of peace.
As a general overview I rate this site very highly, it is interesting, generally well maintained and a good size to wander around and spend leisure time in (though the provision of a few more benches would not hurt).
One final note should be made of the sorry state of affairs at the water feature of fountains which people could play in- if they were not fenced off and labled as 'closed for the season due to vandalism'- it is unclear if this is the current season or the previous one!
The best way to experience this park is to visit it- you will not be dissapointed.

Brentford Biopsy

On the 8th May a visit was arranged to the Watermans Art Centre in Brentford to take part in a workshop related to the 'Brentford Biopsy' project on display. The group was already familiar with the area due to our work with the nearby Watermans Park where we had been developing Landscape proposals.
The Brentford Biopsy exhibiton, created by artist Christian Nold relates to peoples feelings and perceptions of Brentford and includes some unusual mapping and analysis techniques. The group was split into two with each conducting a different excercise. One group was split into pairs, with one person blindfolded and earplugged there perceptions of the area were recoreded using the remaning senses of smell and touch. Meanwhile other members of the group were dispatched into the town wired up to a sensor and GPS handset. The purpose of this kit was to record feelings and reactions towards the experiences people had while in Brentford and then to use the GPS system to create a map of the route they had taken, picking out the emotional responces which were felt along the way. Both analysis methods held some interesting results which we had not considered at the beginning of the day. The activity certinally has the potential to enrich future landscape analysis.
Further details about the Brentford Biopsy exhibition are available at http://www.watermans.org.uk/take_part/brentford_biopsy/

First Sights- Weald & Downland Museum and Littlehampton

The story of this first sights day on 7th May really has to have been the weather! With soaring temperatures and a beautiful cloudless sky fourteen landscape architects piled onto a minibus to head south. The destination was unknown... but we all longed to end up at the seaside!
A little while later and we arrived at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum near Chichester. The museum is an ecclectic collection of ancient buildings which have been salvaged from across this region of southern england and re-erected at the museum. The buildings include many common sights from an ancient village including a mill, blacksmith and of course residentual buildings. One of the highlights of our visit was to view the 'Gridshell' building, constructed by Edward Cullinan Architects, and completed in 2002. This curvacious 'green' structure is used to house the museums extensive collection of artefacts and also to provide a large workshop space. The building is a modern timber framed design, with wooded beams streaching the length and breadth of the building in a grid pattern in a shape resembling an egg shell pattern. The building is very efficient- designed to use a minimum of energy and to elliminate the need for lighting in the upper floor during daylight hours. The structure of the building is fascinating and it is interesting to see and hear how it was build and the challenges which were faced along the way. It also responds well to the environment with a natrual wood cladding and sinuous lines blending the structure into the hillside.


Having enjoyed a pleasant coulpe of hours at the museum we boarded the minibus for our other destination- the seaside! The primary purpose of the visit was to view the 'East Beach Cafe' on Littlehamptons seafront, designed by Heatherwick Studio. The cafe was a replacement for a common white-washed seafront structure, and is as big a contrast as is possible. The modern metal structure is layered to avoid flat surfaces and has an open face to the sea where shutters can be brought down over the cafe. The structure is certinally architecturally intersting, and makes a statement within the costal landscape, however I personally do not like it's form which seems rather out of place for the area.
Finally with the days work complete it was time to get on the beach and enjoy the sunshine!

The Salutation- Sandwich, Kent

Part of my assesment for my History and Cultural studies module involved writing an essay on the works of Landscape Architect Gurtrude Jekyll, her gardens and her relationship with architedt Edwyn Lutyens. Sadly Jekyll's premiere garden at her home, Munstead Wood, had not opened for the season- so instead I made a trip to The Salutation in Sandwich Kent to see another example of her work. The gardens here are unique in that it was Lutyens rather than Gekyll who carried out the majority of the design work, though the influence of Jekyll is clearly evident. The gardens are in the process of a complete restoration by the buildings current owners and opened to the public in 2007. The gardens here follow an architectural layout, often mirroring the rooms of the adjacent house. Fortunatly the weather for my visit was beautiful- and there was even some spare time afterwards for a walk along the beach in nearby Deal.

Landscape Animation

Part of my work for the Rotterdam project involved creating a short animation which would be suitable for uploading to a competition by the Student Landscape Institute Council (SLIC) http://slic.info/. I experimented with various techniques to put the animation together, including Adobe Photoshop before settling on Adobe Flash. The short animation features sections using photographs, moving plans and finally some models which I had made for the project. Once I had created the animated files I then stitched the scenes together in Adobe Premier.

Rotterdam Field Trip

Our first year Landscape field trip took us overseas to Holland to visit it's dynamic capital- Rotterdam. This city is known for it's interesting and cutting edge architectural and landscape design. Having visited briefly the previous summer I was aware of some of the interesting features of the city, including the large site developed by West 8 in the heart of the city- the Schouwburgplein. This large site was developed over a new underground multi-storey car park in the heart of the city. The site features three oversized hydraulic moving light which dominate the site. These took influence from the port activities of the city. The site can appear slightly sparse, but is also capable of being a functional space for events.
The National Architecture Institute (NAI) is an interesting point of call for a trip around the city, also conveniently located close to the Museum Park, which contains an interesting landscaped area based on the ideas of fluvioglaciation. Attached the the NAI is the Sonnivald House, a perfectly preserved example of 1930's ultramodern house.
Wandering round the city is a very useful way to spend an afternoon, admiring some of the cities maritime past alongside some of the pioneering and groundbreaking modern developments such as the cube houses at Blaak.
A trip to the Euromast is a must for any visit to the city. The tower rises 101m, with an additional 85m lift carrying passengers to dizzy heights above the city. On a clear day vast views are afforded- unfortunately ours was not so, but the trip was none the less worthwhile.

Half way through the excursion the group took a valuable excursion to the Europort, the worlds largest containerport. This combined with a trip along the River Maas provided us with an excellent grounding into the citys past, and the strategic relationship with the port and shipping activities.

Our final day in featured a visit to The Hague, towards the coast of the country. This one time capital features a mix of old and new buildings, as the impact of World War II was less severe here. Finally the afternoon was spent visiting the waterfront site on which our following project would be based.

Mile End Park

On 4th January I took a visit to the widely acclaimed Mile End Park in east London. The main landscape consultants for the project, which completed for the millennium were Tibbalds Monroe.
One of the most interesting, and noticeable features of the park is a bright yellow bridge which carries the green space across the busy Mile End Road. This was my first sight of the park, towering over the traffic- certainly an imposing vision, but not overly pleasing architecturally.
Once inside the park there were some obvious issues of maintenance which proved disappointing.
In many areas the grass has been eroded away as people have followed their own lines of desire across the grass, rather than following the paths. As I continued my journey around the park I did myself have to question the use of the laid out paths- they did not often seem to be logically placed, and in some cases came to total dead ends. The entire network also seems to be geared for use by many more visitors than exist- particularly the segregated pedestrian and cycle paths.
To the north of the bridge lay the biggest disappointment the park had to offer, a mound with a stepped wooden side. The only way to the top by a spiral path was difficult to locate, and it was clear most peoples method of reaching summit was to go straight up over the grass- making a mess of it in the process. Once at the top there was simply nothing there. Unless, of course, you count a small mound of sorry looking content as 'something'. Although I find myself speaking negatively about the environment, there is a lot that the park does achieve very well. The sweeping curved paths do act as a catalyst to move people along this long thin space, and there are a very wide variety of different features within the park designed for a variety of user groups.
Back south of the bridge the landscape is slightly more conventional- and this is no bad thing. A park does need by it's nature to have areas of open space which people can enjoy. At the extreme south of the site is a large sports centre and associated playing courts. Near to this is also a centre aimed at the youth of the area, and a play area, with a slight difference to what I was expecting. It was designed for 11-17 year olds. This is not the usual age group that play equipment in parks is designed for, and I think this is one thing that Mile End Park has opened my eyes to, some of the equipment here looked really fun! It was well designed, well maintained, and attractive to the age group it was designed for. You can guess what came next- I had to try it!