Recycle Now!

It is staggering how difficult it can still be to recycle certain 'easily recyclable' items. Just this evening I was faced with an aluminium cake case. This is not a can... so surely I cannot put it with the cans? but it is the same material? And I know it can be recycled- I remember many years ago collecting it for one of the appeals on Blue Peter!
I turned to the Internet- surely that would tell me if I can put it in with the cans...
Next thing I knew I had found the wonderful www.recyclenow.co.uk This website gives country wide information on recycling centres and kerbside collections, as well has hosting an impressive amount of information about recycling. What is more, you can enter your postcode to find what your council will collect from your door, and where your nearest recycling points are. Brilliant.
Some while later I found I was still on the website, browsing information on novel ways in which big name company's are reducing their packaging- another must to help the environment.
As for my aluminium cake case... I can't put it in with the cans, and the nearest place I can recycle it is over 2km away!
We still have some way to go with recycling...

Bike hire comes to London

London is finally set to receive it's cycle hire scheme in the next few months, with operations set to be ready for the summer. The scheme, backed by pro-bicycle London Mayor Boris Johnson is based around the successful scheme which operates in Paris. The bicycle hire scheme will feature a number of 'cycle banks' positioned around the city from which users will borrow the bikes for short journeys, then returning them to any other cycle bank. Bicycle hire is predicted to create an additional 40,000 bicycle trips today around the capital, and of course all this travel will be totally green and environmentally friendly- a journey on a bike rather than hopping on a bus will even benefit the health of Londoners. This is defiantly a scheme which should be welcomed in the capital.

EcoBuild 2010

On 2nd March I attended the annual EcoBuild convention at London's Earls Court exhibition centre.

Ecobuild has become established as the worlds largest event devoted to sustainable design and the built environment, with thousands of suppliers featuring innovative products for use within the construction and design industries. Across the three day event there are also a wide variety of seminars and talks on all subjects relating to sustainability within the built environment.

During my time at the convention this year I attended three talks:
-What makes a sustainable community: discussing the most important factors of sustainability within communities both culturally and environmentally. The talk featured guest speakers including Peter Head (a director of ARUP, with responsibility for designing the eco-town of Dongtang in China) and David Blunkett (MP). The talk discussed issues of why people live where they do, and what makes people stay in a place. The implications of transport as well as the provision of facilities within local areas. The talk concluded with a discussion about the practicalities of the new eco-town movement.

-Retrofitting SUDS: Hosted by Paul Shaffer of the CIRA. This interesting talk gave an introduction to SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems), their uses and applications before looking in detail at a project to retrofit SUDS into an area of Bristol known as 'The Dings' and another example of SUDS being used successfully in a brownfield development in Sheffield.

-Streets for People: A riveting talk hosted by Ben Hamilton Bailey discussing the upcoming tred for 'shared space' streets and the removal of street furniture to better integrate streets into our urban environment. After an in depth introduction to the topic several schemes were presented, firstly the scheme in Ashford presented by Lindsey Whitelaw of Whitelaw Turkington Landscape Architects and concluding with a presentation on the re-designing of Oxford Circus.

Altogether EcoBuild 2010 was a very full interesting and inspiring day.
EcoBuild 2011 will be hosted in March at the Excel Centre.

Knollmead Permaculture Centre

Knollmead Permaculture Centre occupies a small site adjoining an allotment site on the banks of the Hogsmill River in Tolworth. Here a small group of enthusiasts practise gardening through the permaculture movement.

Permaculture is defined as 'a system of cultivation intended to maintain permanent agriculture or horticulture by relying on renewable resources and a self sustaining eco-system.' (definition from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/permaculture?qsrc=2446). This theory means that plants should only be grown in substances placed upon the soil, rather than the ground being disturbed, dug up or ploughed. To fertilize the soil, for example, leaves and manure will be left on the surface to leech into the ground rather than being dug through.

On this small site there are a variety of projects ongoing. As well as fruit and vegetable production there is also an active willow coppicing scheme where the material is used to make furniture and sculptures. Also there are areas where the group are growing mushrooms and producing honey- there is even a sustainable composting toilet!

As well as the sustainable attitude the volunteers here area put an emphasis on the idea of community- everybody comes together on Sunday working days to improve the site while there are less regular social meetings for the members.

Thanks to Michael Herrmann for organising the trip, and to members of the Knollmead Permaculture Centre.

Camley Street Natural Park

As part of a focus week study visit I went to the Camley Street Natural Park site. This small park is located on the southern bank of the Regents Canal at Kings Cross. Initially the site feels like an urban oasis, between the Midland and East Coast railways and opposite the huge Kings Cross development site. The ethos of the Camley Street site is to encourage and introduce nature back into the urban area of London. Information is available on some of the species which have been found on this former brownfield area. A range of activities engaging members of the public and local schools are run throughout the year and the area provides a perfect escape from the bustle of the Euston road just minutes away. The park attempts to be as sustainable as possible and makes use of processes such as composting and recycling to reduce it's waste.

Over the years the site has grown in popularity and is now looking for ways to expand further into the community through it's volunteering schemes and possibly with links across the canal to the Kings Cross development site.

Ecole Nationale Superieure du Paysage

I was lucky to be able to attend a weeks Landscape Architecture workshop at the French Ecole Nationale Superieure du Paysage (school of Landscape), based in the former kitchen gardens at the Palace of Versailles during September. The subject of the workshop was based around the publication of the greater Paris plan, which included proposals for urbanising additional land surrounding the city of Paris. Our task was to look at a site at Rungis, close to Orly Airport to the south of the city. Currently this land is put to agricultural use, but it is clear that the city's relentless growth will make this unsustainable.

Working in groups amongst students from many parts of the world with different skill bases a number of schemes were developed to incorporate this agricultural land into the urban plan for Paris. The group which which I was involved would aim to preserve the current landscape of agricultural fields by lifting the land and placing housing units beneath it, thus preserving the use of the land above and the view down the fields. The proposal not only created an interesting space but also instigated a new idealistic image of life in the fields without cars and with outstanding sustainable credentials- precedents for the project included the BedZed development near Wimbledon, London.

The Dunes of Prince Edward Island

The dune landscape has to be one of the most fascinating to exist. In just a few hundred meters one can travel from solid land to the ocean and witness all the stages of land development in between.

Created by the winds movement of sand, dunes by their very nature are fragile structures, first colonised by species such as lime grass and marram grass- one human footstep can literally set back dune development by many years. It is for this reason that the dune landscape must be managed if it is to survive.

On Prince Edward Island, Canada, Boardwalk paths have been built over the dunes to access the beach, while the dunes themselves are clearly fenced off from the public to discourage entry. Behind the pioneering line of the dunes dedicated footpaths and cycleways have been set up to allow people to enjoy the environment responsibly without damaging habitats. The use of natural materials in these projects hugely aids their aesthetic quality.

Education is important too of course- if people do not realise the ecological value of the dunes or the damage they can do to them it is unlikely they will respect this fragile landscape.

Temple of a Million Bottles

It is fair to say that most buildings are constructed from brick and mortar. Very few however are constructed from glass bottles and mortar- however this is exactly how the buildings at 'Wat Lan Kaud' (Temple of a million bottles) were built in Thailand. The project began in 1984 and is now estimated to have used more than 1.5 million bottles donated by the local population. As well as looking beautiful this structure says more to us about it's values. This has proven to be a very successful structure- the bottles are strong, low maintenance and allow in natural light. Another draw to the structure is its impressive sustainable credentials- using the bottles in this way is a classic example of recycling what would otherwise be a waste material- even the bottle tops are retained to create decorative mosaics.
Perhaps the most ironic thing is that of the 1.5 million bottles so far used in the project not one has been donated by the builders directly- Buddhist monks for whom drinking is a sin!
This project, which has now become a tourist attraction in the local area should inspire us all to look beyond the obvious choices for building materials when there may be more creative, sustainable and fun solutions available.
http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/10/27/temple-of-a-million-bottles/

The Lost and Found Orchestra

Being a Landscape Architecture student is not just about focusing on Landscape Architecture directly. By looking at a wider context it is possible to make links to projects and themes which will then enrich Landscape design and planning.
The Lost and Found Orchestra, from the creators of STOMP is one such event which I found irresistible to influence design. The theme for the 'orchestra' is to create music from found and recycled every day objects- from traffic cones to glass bottles and even a household shower. The results are truly outstanding. This energetic performance shows how objects which one might conceive as rubbish can be used to activate people, make music and ultimately art. This is certainly food for thought, sustainability is always at the forefront of the current agenda and the themes explored here certainly provoke ideas- particularly relating to my current project related to musical child's play.
The Lost and Found Orchestra played at London's Royal Festival Hall from 19th December 2008 to 11th January 2009.
http://www.lostandfoundorchestra.com/

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.

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.

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!