Spencer Darg

Post Graduate End Of Year Show and Updated Online Portfolio

2010-05-27T06:22:00.000-07:00

It has been a year since I last posted a Blog entry, but that aside I have some news regarding our end of year show.

Having been working for a year as a Year Out Student in Oxfordshire, I have since returned to Kingston University London to do my Post Graduate Degree which I have now finished.

We have got an end of year show taking place between 5th June-8th June 2010 at Kingston University London's Knights Park Campus. Please feel free to come along and look at the work which has been produced over the year.

Also I have an updated online Portfolio to view and send to Potential employers at Landscape Architecture Companies.

The Link to this is : www.sdarg.moonfruit.com

Online Portfolio

2008-06-11T01:46:00.000-07:00

With my third year of university coming to a close, myself and many others have created an online portfolio for showing prospective companies our work. Please feel free to have a look at sdarg.moonfruit.com or visit www.landscapeis.org to view the third years uni work we have all been working on.

http://sdarg.moonfruit.com

Banksy At Waterloo Underpass

2008-05-09T03:02:00.000-07:00

Short video showing public art produced by Banksy and the general public.

Focus Week Five: New Street lighting at Gabriels Wharf

2008-05-09T00:32:00.000-07:00

Short Video showing light patterns at under passage, Gabriels Wharf

Focus Week 5: Banksy

2008-05-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

Banksy has had the joys of showing some of his marvellous artwork along a Tunnel underneath Waterloo Station. The Tunnel used to be used when the existing Euro tunnel run from there but is now full of artwork. The Graffiti style art both by artists and the General public will remain, but the temporary art will be removed towards the end of May. Unfortunately due to the popular attendance i was unable to get a glimpse myself, but this is a useful link as to what to expect.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7380785.stm

Focus Week Five: Public Spaces

2008-05-08T02:07:00.000-07:00

For the fifth and final Focus Week i thought what better way to make the most of the gorgeous weather and venture into London and Look at Public Spaces and the performances and art that occupies them.

To Start with i went to the Tate Modern where a lot of work is under way to create a series of giant graffiti style murals on the walls of London's Tate Modern gallery for its summer season.

The works, which will adorn the river-facing wall of the building, will be created by six artists including Blu, who is interested in death.

The artworks will be displayed for three months from 23 May.

A Tate spokesman said a protective coating would be placed on the wall to avoid damage when they are removed.

Other street artists involved in the project include JR from France, renowned for putting photographs of people from deprived areas of Paris onto walls in the city's affluent districts.

Sixart from Barcelona and Brazilian twin brothers Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo will also submit ideas for the wall art.

The murals are expected to measure 15 meters by 12 meters, and will decorate the Turbine High Wall of the building, a former power station on the south bank of the Thames.

Jubilee Gardens Future, South Bank London

2008-04-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

London's South Bank is highly recognisable for its performing Arts and events. This is mostly due to the London Eye, Hayward Gallery and the Royal Festival Hall. But as a key location that it is, Jubilee Gardens has been left behind the times.

This is all to change with the proposal by West8 to create a new renovation of Jubilee Gardens which will offer London a spectacular green public space along the Thames.

Jubilee Gardens will be a new focal point on the South Bank, elevated from the street level the park will be seperated from the London eye but will offer the most awarding views of London. The design represents a combination of the romantic green surface and the sharp and rough white edges which corespond to the white cliffs of Dover. This will act as an iconic english landmark on which is a landscape icon to be easily identified. The design is set to begin later this year.

Focus Week: Paving Materials

2008-03-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

More London.

Having Looked at East London, i decided that i would take a closer look at Paving materials around more London as i find it fascinating how each piece of Irish blue limestone has been carefully laid and crafted into its surroundings down to where the corners meet to the Scoop are used for performances. Slot Drainage sits flush with the carefully crafted paving.

The architects that will design the 2012 Olympic Park landscape have been announced.

2008-03-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

LDA Design • Hargreaves Associates will develop detailed proposals for the open spaces in the Olympic Park both during and after the Games. They will create a new kind of park that promotes sustainable and active living.

In 2009 work will start on the parkland's and public spaces that will help form part of the largest new urban park in London since the great Victorian era of park building.

After the Games the Park will be made up of different areas suiting a variety of needs including allotments and other food-growing areas, meadows, wetlands, wooded valleys, orchards, new wildlife habitats and facilities for sports such as canoing, mountain biking and climbing.

New cycle and footpaths will connect the Lower Lea Valley with the River Thames for the first time.

Focus Week: East London

2008-03-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

Surrounding the Laban Center.

The new developments in East London are booming with affordable housing and modern offices. In the meantime though there is a lot of derelict buildings which are in disrepair and really give east London its true character. How the new developments will look in 2 years time will only show and prove how East London is advancing and looking to the future.

Focus Week: Silvertown East London

2008-03-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

Peabody trust Housing.

Silvertown Eat London is a vast area which once was the main area of London where all merchandise, materials were bought in through the major docks which once existed there. Sadly in todays modern age the docklands have long gone and only few signs of what the are a once was remain. Since then a lot of re-development is currently taking place with addition to affordable

In West Silvertown is the Peabody trust's building. Work started in 2003 and was completed by early 2005 at a cost of 1.5 million pounds. The framework of the design uses timber framework and cladding which imitates the effect of water mixed with oil, or the mixed colors of the sun reflecting of a blue bottle (weird way of describing it), but it is made of light reflecting of the different colored materials using dichoric film which was inspired by the artist Martin Richman.

When the light quality changes so does the appearance on the building. The more light the more intense the color given of from the dichoric film. At night the whole building becomes illuminated giving a rich vibrant building to the area and its re-development.

Focus Week: London's hidden infrastructure

2008-03-18T05:13:00.000-07:00

The Building Center.

As London's skyline becomes ever more clustered with new developments and tall buildings adding to the historic landscape, it is easy to forget the complex underground infrastructure necessary to service this increasingly crowded over ground. The exhibition is on until the 19th April (so only a few days left)!!.

The display offers models, designs and installations and visualization's of current and future projects. The display looks at infrastructure such as water, sewage, typography, geology and how the underground buildings and tunnels in London are being forgotten as a hidden past.

The Great Trafalgar Square Freeze

2008-03-18T04:59:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing Video of how different events can take place in a well known public space.

Body > Data> Space

2008-03-18T03:17:00.000-07:00

This is a brilliant website which looks at how art involving people and how there actions and movements can be used in the composition between technology and the architectural space. A lot of their work involves projection's. There website shows all of there installations and up-coming events. http://www.bodydataspace.net/

"Leading into new and visionary territories, bodydataspace (b>d>s) work with the expanding integration between the human body, technology and architectural space".

Focus Week: Thames Barrier Park

2008-03-14T03:13:00.000-07:00

Focusing on Installations with lighting and being on the South side of the River Thames, i decided to also look at The Thames Barrier Park.

Thames Barrier Park lies in historic Silvertown on the South side of the Royal Victoria Dock. It is supported by the London Development agency in partnership with Newham Council.

An international competition in 1995 selected designers for the Landscaping, structures and facilities. The result is a haven of tranquil, waterside open space featuring water fountains, garden copses and wildflower meadows. There is abundant wildlife, picnic and children's play areas, visitor pavilion and coffee shop with views of the Thames Barrier.

Thames Barrier Parks future is closely linked to the development of the Royal docks and Thames Gateway. Near neighbors already include the ExCel exhibition center, London City airport, the regatta center and University east London. They will be joined by the 120,000 square feet Biota. This is the centerpiece of the Silvertown Quay project and is expected to attract over 1 million visitors a year.

A new road and rail bridge will span the Thames between beckton and Thamesmead. The effect of so much new development and progress surrounding the Thames Barrier Park can only increase its popularity as the ideal spot in which to relax and enjoy leisure time.

Focus week: Laban

2008-03-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

For this Focus week i wanted to look at modern installations that use lighting in there design as well as projections. I begun by looking at the Laban center which is one of London's leading institutions for dance artist training and one of the world's largest venues for contemporary dance.

In 1997 Swiss Architects Herzog & de Meuron won the international design competition to build the new Laban Building. The architects are Pritzker Prize winners (2001) for their redevelopment of Tate Modern. Situated on a 2-acre site beside Deptford Creek in South East London, the building creates a powerful, highly visible focus for the ongoing physical and social regeneration of Deptford and the surrounding area.

The visual artist, Michael Craig- Martin, collaborated with the architects Herzog & de Meuron on the bold decorative scheme for Laban's exterior and on some elements of the interior design. the 7800m squared structure is clad in a revolutionary semi-translucent, colored polycarbonate punctuated by large clear windows. The polycarbonate cloaks the building in semitransparent shades of lime, turquoise and magenta. Michael Craig-Martin previously worked with Herzog & de Meuron on the polycarbonate box which illuminates the top of the chimney at Tate Modern In London.

I found the way simple materials have been used to create an illuminated wall helps in corresponding to my design principles for that of the New Photographers Gallery in Ramillies Street.

Cityscape 2008

2008-03-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

Streetscene, the largest indoor representation of the public realm in the UK, will be the center piece of this years Cityscape, which is being co-sponsored by the Landscape Institute.

Designed by Landscape Architects Whitelaw Turkington and constructed by Skanska McNicholas, Streetscene will bring sustainability in Urban design to life. Streetscene will underline the importance of quality public space in supporting successful and sustainable places and housing, as well as the biggest annual exhibition of products and services for urban design and the management of the public realm.

My view on Cityscape this year was that it didn't reflect on how the landscape can be filled but how the hard landscape can be the key features in design. Can this be a good thing?, that question remains but with hard landscape mixed with soft a design can become an achievement and one designed to a high quality. More information

www.innovationsforthebuiltenvironment.co.uk

Putting the Spotlight on Leicester Square.

2008-03-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

Leicester Square is set to have a dramatic make- over costing 18.5 million with a redesign by Burns & Nice. The design principal will create an exquisite host for 50 film premiers a year, an eye-catching 200m white granite 'ribbon' seat will be installed to provide passers by with the opportunity to absorb the historic surroundings. The nine side streets that act as gateways into the square will also be revamped.

The physical improvements to Leicester square will fulfill a number of the councils One City targets. The new design will transform the appearance of the whole 'City Block'. The solution will be functional and accommodate the range of demands; it will be robust and hard waring, to ensure longevity; it will also be innovative and cutting edge.

Navigating London's West End

2008-03-02T01:41:00.000-08:00

Navigating London's West End just got a whole lot easier, thanks to legible London- a new system of pedestrian information being tested in the Bond Street area. The state-of-the-art sign system consists of a 19 on-Street signs, improved mapping in bus shelters and new information displays in Bond Street tube station- all with the initiative of making London become more pedestrian friendly.

If successful then legible London will be installed across the Capital, with the hope of having it in place in central and East London before the 2012 Olympics. With Ramillies Street becoming the new home of the Photographers' Gallery, having access to vast amounts of information being displayed will help in showing the position of the new Gallery.

St. Margarets Bay/ Pines Calyx

2008-01-13T14:35:00.000-08:00

Pines Calyx is the new, healthy, sustainable cliff top conference venue just 90 minutes from London and easily accessible from Dover, Ashford and the continent.

Located on the Kent coast within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Pines Calyx is purpose built, site-specific, flexible in approach and equipped to host a wide range of events.

Samphire Hoe

2008-01-13T12:56:00.000-08:00

	The chalk cliffs at Dover form a vital element of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - a Nationally Important and protected landscape.

	Samphire Hoe is one of the few places that you can truly appreciate the drama of the White Cliffs. Great care has been taken to make the landscape at Samphire Hoe fit in this dramatic setting.

	Samphire Hoe is the newest part of Kent, made from 4.9 million cubic metres of chalk marl dug to create the Channel Tunnel.

	Samphire Hoe is owned by Eurotunnel and managed in partnership with the White Cliffs Countryside Project.

Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year:

2008-01-07T02:22:00.000-08:00

At the Natural History Museaum in London there is a current Exhibition Looking at the winners of shell's Photographer of the year. The Portraits show that of some outstanding wildlife as well as the environment that we live in. There was also a display of three images showing how global warming is effecting the Polar ice caps and how we need to work at sustaining this exquisite Habitational area for the future.

Focus Week: Museum of London

2007-12-14T06:25:00.000-08:00

The museum of London shows how the changing city has evolved and grown over history from early settlers, to Roman Londinium. With Londinium being where the heart of the city is and then in the Saxon times another settlement was set up further down stream where Charing Cross is now. The City of London is built on a huge area of marsh land that over centuries has seen the River Thames Cut down in width dramatically One other exhibition currently on display is about the Great Fire of London in 1666 showing some of the original artifacts that survived the fire and how Londoner’s fled to the banks of the Thames to escape the flames taking only their most valuable, but not always their most useful or important of belongings.

Focus Week Barbican and Museum Of London

2007-12-14T06:21:00.001-08:00

Trained as a photographer, Shahbazi shoots images–including portraits, still life's and landscapes–and often uses them as source material not only for photographs but also for paintings, billboards and handmade carpets. By altering the scale and transposing the imagery into a new medium or a style associated with another culture, she subverts viewers’ expectations and explores the complexity of identity.

For her project in The Curve, Shahbazi collaborates with a team of Iranian billboard painters, employing techniques and styles typically used for commercial advertising in her native country.

Focus Week: The Barbican and Museaum of London

2007-12-14T05:53:00.000-08:00

Along Charing Cross Road I came across an art gallery called The Window Gallery. It is Sited opposite a bus stop and all the display windows are screened off with performing artists behind it that only show the shadows and silhouettes of their movements with no sound, almost like a puppet show that they do in Asia were you just see the shadows. Passers by are to watch the event to see how the couple being projected bond and touch each other in the mood of seduction. It is one of many events being held at The Window display Gallery titled Seduced created by PG Students at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. It is running in conjunction with The Barbican’s exhibition Seduced Art and sex.

Focus Week: Triton Square and Regents Place

2007-12-14T05:36:00.001-08:00

Triton Square won a, well deserved, hard landscape award. (EDCO were the landscape architects and Sheppard Robson the architects). The square is visually dramatic. It opens to the sun and the south but it is engulfed by noise from the Euston Road and battered by gusting winds generated by the high buildings. CABE commented that ' The nature of Triton Square and the surrounding development needs to be considered further in relation to wind disturbance.

Focus Week: Spitalfields Market

2007-12-14T05:18:00.000-08:00

Old Spitalfields Market, or simply 'Spitalfields' as it is fondly known, is the world-famous East London destination. Home to a flourishing creative community, Spitalfields has over the last 14 years secured a place at the forefront of interiors, fashion, the arts and food.

It has been the site of a busy market since 1638, when King Charles gave a license for flesh, fowl and roots to be sold in what was then known as Spittle Fields. Three hundred and sixty odd years later and now located within the historical Horner Buildings, the market continues to be the setting for a thriving narrative.

Focus Week 2: Medicine Now exhibition Welcome collection

2007-12-11T05:49:00.000-08:00

The Upper part of the Exhibition space is a Medicine Man and Medicine Now. Medicine Now looks at current day medical issues including Malaria, obesity and genomes and the links this can have to major illness in future life with the humans body such as diabetes, and over health problems. One of the main interests was that of a cut through of a donor’s body which showed how the muscles, veins and bones are laid out with in the body and the variations of color of each, which really had a fascination about it in how the body is structured together so precisely. There was also an area showing obesity and Malaria, which compares an illness associated with developed nations and a disease associated with developing nations.

Focus Week 2: Welcome Collection

2007-12-11T05:19:00.001-08:00

Walking on from the British Library I visited the Welcome collection which is an exhibition of different forms of work in the Building opposite Euston Station. It is free to enter the Gallery which has a large modern bookshop with a wide range of artist’s books and media design, a cafe, Reference library and three exhibition main spaces showing, mixing medicine, life and art all in one building The Main exhibition being shown on the ground floor was “Sleeping and Dreaming", which investigates the science and need for sleep and dreams and the effects of what this can have on the humans body due to insomnia.

There were videos and films displaying people and their sleeping patterns. This was then shown and recorded by having drawings of the different pattern readings that were carried out as well as artwork. The exhibition also was displaying scientific experiments which look at caffeine products in food and how this can change the appearance of the humans body and knowledge of how well they are aware of there surroundings.

Focus Week 2: British Library

2007-12-11T04:26:00.000-08:00

The British Library Situated Just of Euston Road London is one of the largest In Britain. On Approaching the Library from St Pancras Station you relies the infrastructure of the building is red brick work from the 1980's or early 90's. The gardens that create the garden into the forecourt of the Library actually look more modern than you would think with the date of the actual Building.

Photographers Gallery: A New Future

2007-12-05T03:50:00.000-08:00

The Photographers Gallery is to have a new home in the heart of Soho in 2010.

The new Gallery will have double the current exhibition space, provide state of the art technology for education, have a new on-line resource centre and a street level café and bar.

It will be designed by internationally acclaimed architects, O’Donnell + Tuomey, as their first major UK commission.

The gallery will have three main exhibition spaces, a cafe gallery called wall for all featuring the publics works and a print sales gallery. They also plan a whole floor for lectures.

The Gallery will also create a huge new art space for Soho.

Ramillies Street: A New Public Space In Central London

2007-12-04T00:58:00.000-08:00

Ramiliies street in London is sittuated just of oxford street, a small passage linking oxford street, to carnaby street and Great Malborough street. With the move of the Photographers Gallery here in 2009, the need for predestrinising this area is a key element to defining a new public space in central London.

Ramilillies street is a main delivery entrance to some of the top leading brands on oxford street so changing it needs to work along side allowing the vehicular access also.

Plantation Lane London : Public Art

2007-11-14T02:54:00.000-08:00

The most prominent feature in Plantation Lane is a glass art wall by Simon Patterson and Arup. The 135' (41m) by 20' (6m) wall happens at the midpoint of the street and follows the slight curve of it. An image of the moons surface covers the whole wall, with LED lights changing the back-illuminated wall different colors over time. The glass panels are held together with plus-sign clips; their combination lays a grid over the lunar-scape in, perhaps, a commentary on man's treatment of nature and the colonization of space.

Fire At London's Olympic 2012 site

2007-11-14T01:34:00.000-08:00

On Monday Morning on a visit to the Photographers Gallery i noticed a thick black cloud of smoke spreading across the clear blue sky's of London. Not sure what it was to be from a terror attack or an accident i thought it was interesting to post on my blog in the change it had on the London Skyline.

More than 75 firefighters tackled the blaze as 50ft (15m) flames engulfed the building in Waterden Road, Hackney Wick at about 1200 GMT on Monday.

Black smoke could be seen across the skyline and the Fire Brigade received more than 150 calls from the public.

Rail services were suspended between Dalston Kingsland and Stratford but roads in the area remained open.

The warehouse is on the western edge of the proposed site of the Olympic Village and was due to be demolished on Monday.

2012 Stadium Design revealed

2007-11-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

London 2012 officials have revealed the design for their new £496m Olympic Stadium. The structure, which has risen in cost from the £280m estimated in 2004 when London was bidding for the Games, will stand at the heart of the Olympic Park. It is being billed as a design representing a new era for Olympic stadium design.

The new stadium, to be built in Stratford in east London, will have to be finished at least six months ahead of the opening ceremony in July 2012 to allow for test events to take place.

After the Games have finished, the temporary seating will be taken away and the stadium will become a 25,000-capacity venue with a permanent athletics track. An anchor tenant such as a football or rugby club is actively being sought, but one has yet to be found.

Focus week: Young Architects of the year

2007-11-06T15:03:00.000-08:00

Carmody Groarke beat four other young practices to win the title - Carmody Groarke, Design Research Unit Wales, Graeme Massie Architects, Riches Hawley Mikhail Architects and WHAT_Architecture. While it was a strong shortlist, Carmody Groarke emerged as the clear winner, impressing the judges with its energy and determination.

As part of the young Architect of the year award on channel four i thought it was relevant to mention this on my blog. Carmodys designs are inspirational and unique and i clearly agree that he deserved the young Architect of the year award for his energetic design. For more information see www.channelfour.com/architecture

Focus Week: Riba

2007-11-06T00:24:00.000-08:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is the UK body for architecture and the architectural profession. They provide support for over 40,500 members worldwide in the form of training, technical services, publications and events, and set standards for the education of architects, both in the UK and overseas.

One of the main events that RIBA take great courage in is the sterling prize exhibition the six buildings on show were designed by David Chipperfield Architects, Foster + Partners, Glenn Howells Architects, Haworth Tompkins and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture with Arup-AFA. With the America's Cup Building, Casa da Musica, Dresden Station, Savill Building. The winning entryway was The Museum of Modern Literature in Germany.

At the Victoria and Albert Museum, the RIBA hosts exhibitions, archives, talks and shared study facilities in partnership with the V&A. for more in formation visit www.architecture.com/Awards/RIBAstirlingprize/asxp..

Focus week: the O2 Arena surroundings

2007-11-02T03:35:00.000-07:00

The surrounding area of the O2 Arena does not seem to have any connection with the Thames and is in great disrepair. This is quite shocking as the O2 Arena will be hosting a vast amount of games during the 2012 Olympics. Hopefully by then allot will have been done to establish a better maintained footpath and more greener atmosphere in the approach to the stadium and also for tourists visiting the stadium.

Focus week: Greenwich and the O2 Arena

2007-11-02T03:16:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I visited the new 02 Arena with my dear friend Paul. While walking around the huge arena there is still allot of construction work in progress such as a gigantic pyramid as well as a huge statue representatively the Tutankhamen exhibition which will be in a new state of the art exhibition hall opening soon.

The majority of space in the O2 Arena is mainly taken up by the new stadium but around this there are a variety of shops, bars and bistro cafes along palm tree lined streets, almost to look like a Hollywood boulevard theme. Putting this aside half of the dome is still under construction and one of the large open spaces which is for all year round events is currently empty so the dome seemed like it was not used to its full extent at present which seeing the size of it is not mixing in the surrounding communities or acting as a place which the local schools can use and get involved with.

Focus Week: Dissused Buildings

2007-11-02T03:04:00.000-07:00

After looking around the Gymnasium Building I had a look at the surrounding disused buildings In the Kings Cross area. Looking at all the old railway yard buildings, warehouses and derelict gas holder buildings, its a shame to see that these will all be knocked down and replaced with high rise glass office buildings and will not be kept in character with the surrounding area. Its a shame to think that all the history of this site will be forgotten forever...

Kings Cross Area (Gymnasium Building)

2007-11-02T02:52:00.000-07:00

While all the work on Kings cross is taking place an exhibition is currently open in the Gymnasium building just outside where the main entrance to the station will eventually be. The building is where the first gymnastics were imported into the country by German immigrants. Since then it is an art/exhibition building currently displaying models of how the Channel tunnel was constructed, how the new st pancras station has been changed and will allow the high speed rail link to kent. Upstairs in the building was a photographic display showing the workers and the skills they have used in the re- development of St Pancras station.

Focus Week : Kings cross ST Pancras

2007-10-29T12:44:00.000-07:00

Kings cross St Pancras is undergoing a huge redevelopment process costing 800 million pounds. This is to allow for the new terminal for the channel tunnel rail link or as it will be known fast track which will allow commuters to travel from ash ford in Kent to Kings Cross in just 27 mins.
The whole development plan also includes the pedestrianization of Kings cross and the development of shops, cafes, luxury apartments along Regents Canal.
After Looking around the new Eurostar terminal i walked around the outside of the station to get an idea of the other development work currently taking place. The old St Pancras chambers are being converted into luxury apartments as well as a hotel for business workers and visitors from overseas. As well as luxury apartments there is also one penthouse suite worth an outstanding 10 million pounds!!!. As well as the grand station being revived the Midland mainline has also had an extension to allow for the new high speed train service which will allow quicker traveling times to Kent. Once the station is fully finished the main entrance to it will be allot easier to access rather then the current confusion on how to access the site and move around it while the finishing touches are put in place.

North Downs Kent

2007-10-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

In the next few days i shall be of to the North Downs in Kent where i will be resefching on shrubs wood barrow in Bodsham. As of yet the area and geographical knowledge of the area is still vaige but once visiting and recording all the relevent information there will be a much bigger and understnading post on the North downs and the Barrow.

Windsor Great Park

2007-10-11T11:09:00.001-07:00

The Great Park, part of a vast Norman hunting chase, is set in 2,020 hectares (5,000 acres) of the Surrey and Berkshire countryside stretching from Windsor Castle to the north and Ascot to the south. With its varied landscape and sweeping deer lawns, woods, coverts and huge solitary ancient oaks, the park abounds in wildlife. The pastoral landscape offers over 2 million visitors a year peaceful respite and the opportunity to witness a rich and unique heritage a thousand years in the making.

Kent Downs AONB'S Useful Websites

2007-10-11T11:09:00.000-07:00

www.kent.gov.uk= Kents Local goverment website with useful links of what is going on in the Kent Borough.

www.aonb.org= Website for all AONB'S around the U.K.

www.thehistorychannel.co.uk= For use of what a Barrow (burial mound) is.

www.roman-britain.org= History on why and what the meaning of having barrows ment.

www.visitkent.co.uk= Local events on Kent and what Kent has on offer to visitors.

www.kentdowns.org.uk= How they are developing close links with neighbouring urban aonb's.

www.nationaltrail.co.uk= Information on all the wildlife and nature trail links accross England.

The list of useful websites relevent to North Downs in Kent. Hopefuly these will prove useful in understanding the area and developing ideas further.

Richmond park in late september

2007-10-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

Richmond park can be magnificant at all times of the year, wheather it be winter, spring summer or in this case the beginning of fall or as we call it autumn. Using my latest camera i was able to take some close ups of different views around richmond park and see the beauty of the trees from a different perspective.

Section of plants Experimentation

2007-10-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

Experimentation with photoshop on a section of plants for the ecological park in Lowestoft.

Autocad techniques

2007-10-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

Autocad has been around for a while now and allows architects and Landscape Architects to view base plans of an area aswell as designing floor plans, side elevations of buildings and generaly any structure.

Photoshop on Ecological park Lowestoft

2007-10-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

On a project in Lowestoft Looking at how a dull derelict area can be transformed to attract people back to the coastline of Lowestoft i designed an ecological park. One of the key tools in helping to show the development of ideas and see how they will look on the site is photoshop. The images show how certain parts of the ecological park will look and be transformed.

Architecture Association

2007-10-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

The A A School of Architecture (more usually known as the AA or AA School of Architecture) is one of the leading architectural schools in the UK. Its wide-ranging programme of exhibitions, lectures, symposia and publications have given it a central position in global discussions and developments within contemporary architectural culture.

Portsmouth Panoramics

2007-10-08T10:17:00.000-07:00

Lowestoft Most Eastern Point of England

2007-09-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

The town is divided in two by lake lothing, with the northern half being the commercial centre and the southern half being the holiday resort.

The town has two piers: to the south is the Claremont Pier and just over half a mile (1 km) to the north of that is the South Pier (so called because it is placed on the south side of the harbour and river mouth). In the early part of the 20th century, the Claremont Pier had a T-shaped pier head and was used as an embarkation point for the passenger steamships that operated between London to the south and Great Yarmouth to the north.

The seaward boundary of the harbour is a strip of land known as the Old Extension, or the North Extension. Over the last couple of decades the Extension has been the site of activity supporting the North Sea oil and gas industry; particularly the construction of rigs. For many years before that, for example in the 1960s, the Extension was unused by any industry, being derelict but showing signs of an earlier period of industrial activity in its old railway tracks and buildings.

Sagrada Familia Barcelona

2007-09-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

Probably the most stunning piece of Spanish architecture, a wild and inventive building. Gaudi could be described as a surrealist architect and his work has some resonance with the work of Surrealist artist Salvador Dali.

Sagrada Familia uses caricatures in stone to portray the story of Christianity but its
flamboyance has made it a symbol for the city as a whole. Gaudi frequently uses organic elements on the top of his spires, shaped like cloves crossed with the crucifix they are powerfully sculptural and very distinctive. Antoni Gaudi is often bracketed as one of the key European organic architects.

Barcelona parque Guell

2007-09-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

The best and most famous example of Art Nouveau landscape-architecture has been designated a UNESO World Heritage Site. Count Eusebi Güell, a wealthy businessman, conceived the project as infrastructure for a garden suburb on what Gaudi described as 'the treeless mountain'. The only parts to be completed, before worked stopped in 1914 and it became a public park in 1922, were a grand entrance, two houses, 3km of paths, a marvellous terrace and the hippostyle hall, planned as an underground market. Güell's friend, Antonio Gaudi, was the designer. Both men intended that the project would express the spirit of Catalonia as a potentially independent nation. The park is very popular and has an obscure symbolic content. Shapes and colours were inspired by natural forms which Gaudi, a devout catholic, saw as instances of divine craftsmanship. The park is set into the hills overlooking Barcelona. Serpentine terraces, seats, galleries and acrades run with the mountainside. They are decorated with polychrome mosaics of broken stone, ceramic pots and old tiles.

Wilkinson Eyre Architects

2007-09-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

Wilkinson Eyre Architects is one of the UK’s leading architectural practices, with a portfolio of national and international award-winning, highly site-specific projects. The practice has designed highly successful projects in diverse market sectors including transport, the arts, commercial, infrastructure, master planning, bridge design, industrial, office, retail, leisure, educational, cultural and residential buildings as well as component and systems design.

Singapore Gardens By the Bay designed by Wilkinson Eyre.

Kings Cross Gas Holders Designed By Wilkinson Eyre.

Shifting Sands

2007-08-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

Thomas Heatherwood was asked to re-design an old Kiosk which is situated in Little-Hampton, a small seaside resort on the south coast of England.

the building is sliced diagonally into ribbons which wrap up and over the building, forming a layered protective shell, open to the sea in front. The opening is filled with glass doors and windows, protected at night by roller shutters concealed within the building's geometry, the 30-centimeter width of the ribbons being the dimension of a shutter mechanism.

In contrast to the conventional white-washed seaside aesthetic, the building is raw and weathered, its structural steel shell finished with an oil-based coating that permits a rust-like patination to develop without affecting structural performance.

The Eden Project

2007-08-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

The Eden Project is a large-scale environmental complex in England. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay pit, located 1.25 miles (2 km) from the town of St Blazey and 3 miles (5 km) from the larger town of St Austell.^[1]

The complex comprises a number of domes that house plant spe cies from around the world, with each emulating a natural biome. The domes are made out of hundreds of hexagons plus a few pentagons that interconnect the whole construction together; each of these is a transparent cushion made of tough plastic. The first dome emulates a tropical environment, the second a warm temperate, Mediterranean environment.

The project was conceived by Tim Smit and designed by the architect Nicholas Grimshaw and engineering firm Anthony Hunt and Associates, with Davis Langdon carrying out the project management, Sir Robert McAlpine and Alfred McAlpine undertaking the construction and MERO to design and build the biomes. The project took 2½ years to construct and opened to the public on 17 March 2001.

Trafalgar Square

2007-08-30T12:20:00.001-07:00

Trafalgar Square is a square in London, the capital city of the United Kingdom, that commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. The original name was to have been "King William the Fourths Square", but George Ledwell Taylor suggested the name "Trafalgar Square".

The northern area of the square had been the site of the King's Mews since the time of Edward I, while the southern end was the original Charing Cross, where the Strand from the City met Whitehall, coming north from Westminster. As the midpoint between these twin cities, Charing Cross is to this day considered the heart of London, from which all distances today are measured.

In the 1820s the Prince Regent engaged the landscape architect John Nash to redevelop the area. Nash cleared the square as part of his Charing Cross Improvement Scheme. The present architecture of the square is due to Sir Charles Barry and was completed in 1845.

Marsh Meadow Cookham

2007-08-17T05:49:00.001-07:00

Marsh Meadow in Cookham Berkshire was a project that started in 1997 to create a habitation area alongside the river that would act as a retreat for birds, insects and generally mammals of all sizes and kinds. The project was started by Holy Trinity school in cookham back in 1997 when i was still at school there.

It was a project with which the school worked with the natural trust to create this marsh area which would be fed by the river Thames and over the winter months would flood to allow new species of plants to breed and also to make the vast derelict area of grass and woodland more enjoyable along this part of Cookham and the Thames.

After Re- visiting the Marsh meadow after almost 9 years it is remarkable how it has developed and flurished itself into an eco- system that depends upon the Thames that runs along side it.

Canary Wharf Londons Business District

2007-08-17T05:27:00.000-07:00

Canary Wharf is a thriving and vibrant Business district, with a wide range of shops, bars, restaurants and wine bars. As well as this there is also an extensive arts and events program.
The Vision of Canary wharf is now a reality with leading business now taking key advantage of the area and the specification with the increasing need for office buildings and a state of the art environment, no other place in the world can compare to the fine detail to that of canary wharf.

Floral street Bridge

2007-08-17T05:17:00.000-07:00

Twisting above Floral Street in Covent Garden, the "Bridge of Aspiration" by Wilkinson Eyre Architects provides the dancers of the Royal Ballet School with a direct link to the Grade 1 listed Royal Opera House.

The award-winning design addresses a series of complex contextual issues, and is legible both as a fully integrated component of the buildings it links, and as an independent architectural element.

The skewed alignment and different levels of the landing points dictate the form of the crossing, which is geometrically and structurally simple.

A concertina of 23 square portals with glazed intervals are supported from an aluminum spine.

Flooding in Maidenhead

2007-08-16T12:25:00.001-07:00

Maidenhead is a town that was built as a settlement on a floodplain. As of this as we all know we had some dreadful downpours a few weeks ago and well one of the areas that was badly affected was wee i live which is maidenhead!. Maybe the government will now start to realize that over building on floodplains will cause the local amenities to break down with the increased public and transportation through the area and also that it is not good in sustaining the environment.

Tate Modern London

2007-08-16T12:01:00.001-07:00

The tate Modern in London offers a look at modern art that is like nothing of this time. Situated in an old Turbine warehouse along the Thames it has large spacial areas for displaying all sorts of Marvelous art work and sculptures.

The main attraction to the Tate modern is the large entrance hall known as "the main Turbine hall", which hosts different creations through- out the year. At this time the l;latest installation was that of the slides which were positioned at different levels throughout the turbine hall.

Hyde Park London

2007-08-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

When King Henry VIII and his court were thundering across Hyde Park in 1536 in pursuit of deer and wild boar, it would have been difficult to visualize that years later the noble art of tai chi would be peacefully performed among the trees in the early morning, and the Italianate tenor of Pavarotti would echo across the park, applauded by vast audiences.

Hyde Park is one of London's finest landscapes and covers over 350 acres.

Henry VIII acquired Hyde Park from the monks of Westminster Abbey in 1536; he and his court were often to be seen on thundering steeds in the hunt for deer. It remained a private hunting ground until James I came to the throne and permitted limited access. The King appointed a ranger, or keeper, to take charge of the park. It was Charles I who changed the nature of the park completely. He had the Ring (north of the present Serpentine boathouses) created and in 1637 opened the park to the general public.

Hyde Park was created to satisfy a royal passion for hunting. But over the years it became a place where people have pursued many other pleasures.

Exhibition: Renaissance The Revitalisation Of Elephant and Castle

2007-08-10T01:28:00.000-07:00

Going to an exhibition at the NLA helped in seeing what new projects are happening in the city centre itself and also how new facades of buildings are being revitalised to provide a modern city for the 21st century and beyond.

The exhibition runs between the 17th July – 25th August and looks mainly at the £1.5 billion regeneration of Elephant and Castle is an ambitious urban redevelopment programme transforming one of London's oldest and most infamous areas.

Currently best known for its high rise estates, labyrinth subways, busy roads and red shopping centre, Southwark Council's £1.5 billion, 170-acre programme promises a massive new pedestrianised town centre, market square, green spaces and thousands of new homes and jobs.

New London Architecture

2007-08-10T01:11:00.000-07:00

New London Architecture is a vital addition to the public debate about the future of London. The capital is undergoing a period of massive change and NLA is a place where everyone - professionals, politicians and public - can find out and get involved in what is happening to their city.

The NLA space is a centre for display as well as a centre for debate and for networking. It is where visitors to London can orientate themselves, where school children can learn about their environment, where communities can be consulted.
A permanent exhibition of a 1:1500 scale model of Central London, surrounded by a display showing a cross section of current building projects, is enhanced by a programme of temporary exhibitions addressing London issues.

Kew Gardens Alpine House and Master Plans

2007-08-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

Kew Gardens has recently gone a step further in its research for protecting plants in the future with the installation of a new alpine house. Designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects at a cost of three million and designed to provide a sustainable energy efficient growing environment for world- renowned collection of Alpine Plants. It is comparable to the innovative high quality green houses which are traditional to kew and, as the first new glasshouse to be commissioned for nearly 20 years, will raise the profile of the Alpine collection and create a new focal point for this part of the site. The glasshouse is conceived as two back to back arches which create a stack effect to draw warm air out of the building.

Below ground level, air is pushed into a concrete labyrinth for cooling and then re-circulated around the perimeter of the house via a series of displacement pipes. Further environmental control is provided by a unique shading solution based on a fan- like- form similar to a peacocks tail.

Gunwharf Quays Portsmouth

2007-07-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

With Maritime regeneration happening in many coastal towns as well as cities such as London, I thought I would look at Gunwharf Quays as it has been transformed into a new generation of maritime regeneration in terms of almost giving the current infrastructure a new lease of life. This also relates back to a currant project involving working in partnership with the North Sea Faring Project across destinations including Vissingen, Oostende and closer to home Lowestoft. All these areas are in need or our currently being regenerated but the key elements of the maritime towns and their rich history is being forgotten. However in Gunwharf Quays there seems to be a mixture of the old and the new.
The history of Gunwharf Quays can be traced right back to the 12th century when Richard I in 1194, let out land for development of a dockyard and constructed a dock for royal galleys, known as Richard’s Docks. The area now is an array of designer shops, landscaped waterways with pedestrian access to a variety of shops, cafes and historical interests. As well as their is also a vast development of luxury apartments, with exquisite Landscaped gardens and the hugely popular Spinnaker tower which is the tallest sky scraper in England outside of the City of London.

Diana Memorial Hyde Park

2007-07-12T07:42:00.000-07:00

For one of my Focus week activities i decided to look at the Diana Memorial situated in Hyde Park. The design has always been seen by Landscape Architects as being a complete shambles but i wanted to judge for myself if the design was worth how much it cost and also to see if the general maintenance of the whole design is kept to a high standard. The fountain was built with the best materials, It contains 545 pieces of Cornish granite - each shaped by the latest computer-controlled machinery and pieced together using traditional skills. The design aims to reflect Diana's life, water flows from the highest point in two directions as it cascades, swirls and bubbles before meeting in a calm pool at the bottom. The water is constantly being refreshed and is drawn from London's water table.

More London

2007-07-06T05:28:00.000-07:00

More London is a huge new development which has parts of it still under construction. The area has been transformed into modern living space with new luxury apartments as well as new office buildings allowing easy access from the main transport links into London and allowing unprecedented views across the river Thames and famous landmarks such as The Tower Of London and The Gherkin. The whole development is too allow the general public to have a larger open space to enjoy this part of the Thames with shows being played and acted out in the scoop which is a large seating area in front of Ken Livingston's Modern office buildings. The whole cost of the on- going project also includes the new potters field park.

Potters Field Park

2007-07-06T03:46:00.001-07:00

Potters Fields Park, one of central London’s few remaining green open spaces along the Thames riverside is about to be transformed to meet the needs of its growing number of users. The new design will be inclusive, sympathetic to the local area and befitting to its high-profile location. The park redesign includes an associated management and maintenance plan and a dedicated Trust organization to oversee and ensure it is kept to a high quality for all to enjoy in years to come. The project is being funded and managed by the Pool of London Partnership, Southwark Council and More London. The cost of the new development to make this area of London more regenerated and rewarding for the general public is estimated at a cost of £3million pounds and has been designed by the renowned Gross Max Landscape Architects.

Plan of the under- construction Potters field park.

Cardinal Place Westminster, London

2007-07-06T03:17:00.000-07:00

Cardinal Place is a development in the city of Westminster. The design consists of three public spaces: the Landscaped roof garden, the grand galleria which allows views of Westminster cathedral and beyond and the pedestrian walkways which are lined with a vast array of shops, restaurants, and cafes. The large oval roof garden has been designed as a big open space with a large what looks like chest board paving which allows large concerts to take place their as well as sculpture and art work displays. The way it has been designed with vast green curves allows wide walkways for visitors and workers to sit and relax while having lunch. The garden has been designed to look minimalistic which looks effective and really works well. The grand galleria has large glass sculptures which add great detail at night especially with the lighting of the area and the bustling shops and restaurants that line it. However i feel the lighting is very minimal and doesn't add to the real effect of the new development.

Greenwich Peninsula

2007-07-06T01:50:00.000-07:00

After going to the newly opened o2 Arena i decided to take the opportunity to look at the beautiful designed Greenwich peninsula which is the gateway to the new arena. The whole area was designed by Whitelaw + Turkington who are one of the uk's leading firms of Landscape Architects. There work consists of mainly master planning, parks and open spaces and urban design mainly for commercial and residential areas. One of there many larger projects which they are currently working on is the Peninsula square in North Greenwich. This will be the main gateway to the o2 arena . The square will have shops, restaurants and cafes with an outdoor performance area with bold paving. This will create a new public space for London equivalent to the size of Leicester square. What i really liked was the attention to the different scales around the site and the diversity that they are undertaking in the design of the whole new public area.

Greenwich Peninsula.

The Barbican London

2007-07-06T01:39:00.000-07:00

The Barbican is a grade 1 listed building and is not partially that attractive with its vast amount of concrete facade. The main space is mostly private and is for the use of the residents who live in the flats. At first the infrastructure is not that appealing but when you look at it on a larger scale the whole area does have a unique attractiveness.

Relevant Links

2007-06-25T12:35:00.000-07:00

Cabe Website

Focus Week

2007-06-25T05:31:00.001-07:00

Focus Week.

Over the last month i have been designing a large scale model to correspond with our project in Lowestoft as part of the north sea faring project. In relation to this i thought i would use the fourth and final focus week as an ideal time to look at Landscape Architecture company's who visualize in creating models for new landscape developments in the uk as well as other practices in other parts of the world. In particular i have focused on the exquisite designs that show how new areas within London are in the process of being rejuvenated as well as larger scale projects in other continents around the world.

Archi-vision models are a fairly new company based in Mississauga Canada. They specialize in quality and affordable models which can be used for architectural as well as Landscape presentations and sales displays. There work consists of creating scale models for Landscaping, Industrial, commercial, public work, residential and urban planning. There projects include landscaping for schools in japan as well as public open spaces (as this one shown below). The website www.archivisionmodels.com offers a better connectivity to their project work.

Burns + Nice are a practice who specialize with urban planning, transport planning and the public realm. Based in central London they have worked on a series of different scale projects ranging from city squares to more larger scale urban projects such as creating neighborhoods with better transport links and more adequate planting. What really inspires me about this practice is its vision to creating public areas that relate to the surrounding area and the needs of what the community wants to see sustained in that particular neighborhood. In particular i really liked the proposed idea of how the new Riverside walk through the city of London will look. More designs and creations can be found at www.burnsnice.com

EDCO Designs are a practice that have worked along side leading Landscape Architects in London as well as Architects such as Arup, Wilkinson Eyre and foster and partners to name a few. There work consists of inspiring ideas that can be used with public open spaces, public squares and civil spaces to small private gardens. One project which i was intrigued by was that of Fleet Place in London. The design includes the installation of 12 deciduous oak trees which will encourage outdoor seating by creating an overhead canopy. Using a simple but naturalistic approach to this design is truly marvelous in how the area has now been totally transformed into a public space that is lively at different parts of the day.

Colvin and Moggridge are a well established practice that started in 1922 by Brenda colvin. They bring a well disciplined and principal approach to the execution of projects and have created some high design standards of work. The work looks at master planning, historic gardens and parks as well as houses and gardens too. One project that influenced me the most was that of Leeds castle. The design has dramatic new terraces, the folded retaining wall in brick matching the older retaining buildings encloses a series of intimate sun traps throughout. Also the comfortable scale of the garden belies its careful design to withstand thousands of visitors to leed's castles grounds each year.

Landscape. is Ham House Surrey (slide show of images).......

2007-03-04T06:41:00.000-08:00

Landscape. is Ham House Surrey

2007-03-04T03:10:00.000-08:00

I visited Ham House in Surrey which is just down the road from Kingston Upon Thames. I visited Ham House On the 27th December 2005, it was on record to this date the coldest day of the year and on record. I cant even think of any way in describing how chilly this day was, or the past fewe days after that!. Anyway i have already posted about Ham House, but it is such a tranquil place and shows of with true beauty at this time of year that i have put together a slide show of it................................

Landscape. is Drawing development and recording of Materials......

2007-03-03T10:14:00.001-08:00

A project i carried out around Knights park consisted of working in a group and recording the qualities of the material styles. I have recorded this by gathering rubbings of the surfaces of materialds and also scale drawings of the objects that are on the site. Enjoy..........................

Rubbing of the brick work materail.

Scale drawing of the paving.

Map showing the surrounding areas of where are site was.

Map showing from a questionaire where people travel into kingston on a day to day basis.

Information and photos on the site.

Sketches and quick diagrams done of the site.

Sketches of Teddington Lock.

Landscape. is Drawing development and recording of Materials......

2007-03-03T10:14:00.000-08:00

Landscape. is The River Thames from Kew Peir to Greenwich

2007-03-03T04:20:00.000-08:00

Ok so in December of 2005 we all went on a boat journey (known as a sea voyage of discovery by some), down the River Thames. We started by gathering in a large motly crew by Kew peir, and then started are journey down the Mighty River Thames. It was brilliant to see how the city develops and changes with its high rise sky scapers as you progress more and more into the beutiful city of London. The only down side with the trip was that on the way back the tide was so low which it normally is at this time of the year that it added on an extra two hours of going back down the Thames at a record 5mph i would say. Just fantastic haha!. Enjoy the slide show though........

Landscape.is Materials in an Urbanised Area......

2007-03-03T04:07:00.000-08:00

Right, well while carrying out the reserch on Teddington Lock, i did close ups on looking at materiall qulities and also on how they have been designed to use the most appropiate ways of creating barriers and useful signs in an area where they could quite easily get vandalised. As the images will show i have looked at the main barriers used around the weir and lock, and also streching into the main urbanisation of the town.........................................

Close up showing the way the barrier has been constructed.

The metal barrier used as a barrier from letting the general public gain access to the Lock.

Close up of the stairs.

showing one of the boys on the side of the Lock.

Landscape. is marking out areas and measuring...........

2007-03-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

Another project from the first year and this one was involving working in a group of four and selecting an area around Kingston University (Knights Park), and doing scale models and drawings on the site ranging from a scale of 1:1, 1:100, 1:1000 and so on. This was a great way of using my drawing skills again from studying fine art National Diploma at Reading Colledge before studying Landscape Architecture. We used red string to mark out the area, and i took some close up images and did some drawing materaillas on the site. ....................................................

The red tape and classy masking tape used to mark out the area.

The red tape at different levels.

Landscape.is Teddington Lock (slideshow)

2007-03-02T09:59:00.000-08:00

Lanscape.is Tedington Lock and Teddington town in surrey............

2007-03-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

The secound project i worked on in the first year was based at site surveying Teddington Lock/ weir. Teddington is about 3-4 stops away from Kingston Upon Thames, and is a quiet delecit little village really with nice shops and a loverly water leisure activities on the river thames. This area of the Thames is tidal as it is in the main tidal part of the river leading upto The Thames Barrier in London. This was a really good project in learning how to take recordings, material recordings, skercthes and genrally being taught how to survey a site. The images are alot for this so i will add some to this blog Post and also in a slide show..........

Boat Moring at Teddington.

Teddington Lock where are project was based.

The bridge over the River Thames at Teddington.

Landscape. is Creating a structure using fruit......

2007-03-02T07:20:00.000-08:00

One of the projects i designed involved me looking at an apple and recording the different stages of cuttifng and tearing it part to form a shape which i liked to be placed into a public space. This was the first project i have ever done in Landscape Architecture and is very basic, but it gave me the designs and abilities to progress forward with ideas. The images show how i recorded and achanged my demolition of the apple.......................

Starting to disect the apple, easiest option was to cut it in half first obviously!.

Astar shape was the best idea i could come up with at the time for my apple!.

Landscape.is Covent Garden (London), and China Town....

2007-03-02T07:07:00.000-08:00

In November of 2006, i visited Covent Garden in London. This is an excellant opertunity to see how a Landscaped area has been designed on a lrge scale in London, and also to see how a Public space has been created for a large amount of people mainly being tourists to London. It is a fantastic oppertunity to visit Covent garden to see how an area has been landscaped using Architecture in its design for a public open space. Also on my day out as i will call it i visited China town. Hope you like the pictures..........................................

Entertainment in Londons Covent Garden.

China Town London.

The mian entrance to China Town.

Covent Garden and China Town.

Landscape.is my journey through an urbanised Landscape Area....

2007-03-02T06:56:00.000-08:00

Landscape. is London Zoo (its almost great)........

2007-03-02T06:48:00.000-08:00

Right well in January of 2006 (yes i know it is 2007, but i had problems with my blog updating), so i have added it onto the new smart blog of mine and it all seems to be working. So London zoo is situated right near Regents park, myself and a couple of freinds decided a visit here would be nice, well it was untill we found at that time of year all the animals are locked away due to the harsh winter spell that we get. So i got some pictures and also some pics of the grade 2 listed Architectural buildings there. Enjoy the few pictures of London zoo...................

Giraffe at London zoo.

Antelope chilling out at London Zoo.

The Penguins enjoying there new pad at London Zoo.

Penguins again.

Landscape. is Model Making......................

2007-03-02T06:38:00.000-08:00

So with Landscape Architecture alot of the work consists of having to create scale models of your site, or like with this one in the image, developing your idea by creating it, and then using images of it in a program by Adobe called Photoshop which allows you to make the model look like it has been in the landscape for a long period of time for example. So here is my first model i have ever made, yes like the picture it did turn out to be a bit of a disaster, but have no fear as i have developed my model making skills over the past two years, and as you will see from the other images, i have made models at different scales for the relevant sites that i have visited. Hope you like them.....

This is a model i made for a design centre to be built in Hastings.

The same model but made to look like a close up and blending it in with its surroundings.

An Areial shot of my model, using lighting it helps to create different shadows on your design.

Landscape. is Marlow Buckinghamshire......

2007-03-02T06:36:00.000-08:00

Another town which is the county which i live is marlow. Marlow has a changing landscape for most of the year with it being hit by floods in the winter months and then in the summer being transformed also into a mass area for the Marlow Regatta. Marlow ahas been changing over the years since i csna remeber and have visited and lived there three years ago. More and more of the natural flood plains are being redeveloped into luxary houses along the river, and this is having a majour impact on the local area and other towns such as henley and bourneend.

The effects are caused by building on the flood plains and also changing the course of the river thames. No matter how much effort is put in the force of nature with water can not be avoided and flooding does happen as has in the town in the last couple of years over winter.

I have shown this Blog item to show that we must preserve the local environment and make sure the natural beauty is not taken up with just concreate slabs almost, we need open spaces and landscaped ares to be able to use the natural beauty areas more efficently......................

Landscape.is Henley on Thames

2007-03-01T02:11:00.000-08:00

Henley on Thames is sittuated in Buckinghamshire, during the begining of July i went to the Henley festival which was amazing, the organisers transform one of the sides of the river bank into a mass of marquees and entertainment with a floating stage on the river where they have a live band and events. The live band was staus quo haha!. Anyway i included this to show how a natural wild landscape along the river bank is transformed into an open area for hosting large events and entertainment. Landscape is the river thames and its banks.............................

Landscape.is Tenerife and the Canery Islands........

2007-03-01T02:10:00.001-08:00

Towards the end of the easter i went to the Canery islands in Spain. Seiing a beautiful series of islands that have been created from volcanic activity was amazing, it was seeing a totally dry desert type Landscape that had been formed and is constantly changing in a different dimension to what the landscape is like in the United Kingdom.

Even though the Volcano that is the main focal point on the island of Tenerife is now dormant, its past still remains as a key element to the landscape. The landscape now is made up of vast hoills and valleys, and very dry rocky terrain all around. And the beaches are made up of black sand which has vast quantities of volcanic material in it.

No matter where you go in the world the landscape is never the same, it is always different and constintly changing...............................

Landscape.is Ham House Surrey

2007-03-01T02:09:00.001-08:00

More pictures of the stunning Ham House In Surrey. Enjoy.................

Landscape.is Ham House Surrey

2007-03-01T02:07:00.000-08:00

Ok so i havent been able to post any new blogs on here for a while but i decided that now i have some spare time, that this page is getting a whole new update of what i have been doing regarding interests with landscaping.

Back in December 2005, day after boxing day i made a visit to Ham House in Surrey with my parents. This was due to a History essay that i had to do aswell as everyone else. I had manby options to choose from but i decided ham house as i have never been there before and thought it would be of great interest. The first impresions of Ham house on this freezing cold winters day, coldest of that year as a fact lol!, were that it has been designed and built to perfection, this is following the italian renaisance. This is noticable with the grand gardens at the back and also in the main courtyard that leads up to the front of the house.

I took loads of photos whilst i was there, and i am going to get all of them posted on here as soon as possiable if it lets me. Here are just some of them

Enjoy...................................

Landscape. is the landmarks of britain and the great parks that are sittuated there...

2007-03-01T02:05:00.000-08:00

Ok so going back to are walk through London we walked past trafalger square and then up the mall where we looked at how the parks have been regenerated and new modern cafes have been placed there now to allow people to onteract more in these large public spaces. From here we ended up walking to the british museam and seeing over famous landmarks in the city of London

This iamge is showing the new war memoraill that has been placed along the mall. It si not yet finished and is still under construction.

This is the new restaurant that has been built in the royal gardens along thre mall. It has a very modern design by being placed into a grass verge.

As this psicture shows, never be fooled by the january weather, this day was so so cold i cant even explain it. still had a brilliant day though!.

Landscape. is the route through the kingston landscape from knights park to my destination in town.....

2007-03-01T02:04:00.000-08:00

Right well your all probably thinking why has spencer recorded his journey from uni to sainsburys?, is he really going mad?... well im affraid im not going mad there was a reason behind this and this is it. Ok well for our first project i had to record how i came accross choosing my object which was an apple, and quite simply mine was from sainsburys so what over way than too record my journey there hahahaha!. here it is, not the most interesting blog but its something to be proud of i suppose. Enjoy.

Landscape. is Kew Gardens

2007-03-01T02:03:00.001-08:00

Back in April i defided that i would make a visit to the amazing gardens known as Kew gardens. I went them to see how a place of scientific interest had been designed into a large open space for the general public, and how different areas had been created and also to view the amazing glass house they have there which dates back from the victorian time. It is the largest glass house in the world and it houses saome astonishing plants from all over the worls, nad even some rare species being over a centruary old.

Whilst i was there i took many different images of plants using different shutter speeds and all and i collected what i think are some brilliant images of plants that can hopefully be used in my future landscape designs. Please enjoy some of the images from kew that i have on show.

Walking around London

2007-03-01T02:01:00.000-08:00

In February some of the Landscape students and Architects went to london to see how you can learn alot more about the landscape from walking to each place rather then relying on public transport to get from a to b!. we met at waterloo station and then walked along the embankment to the londopn eye and looked at how new investment is being funded toi create a park for the general public in the open area which is now unused at the base of the London eye.

This work is due to start in August of this year so i will post more information about that as it begins to develop. From here we walked to here more funding has taken to place to redevelop the royal festival hall in London. Alkong the embankment here they have cerated larger areas for public space by having more outdoor restaurants and the paving used is almost like agrey lime stone but it really blends in with the new architecture being built around it and on a cold damp day like it was when we were there it still shows carecter. Also what i noticed and really likred was the way they had created the change in levals with the paving for access from diabled people and to add more carecter to the area of embankment. It looked fantastic.

Walking around london it was clear to see that there is alot of new and re- development going on both with new designs being constructed and also to prepare london for the 2012 olympic games.

With my love of photography i decided to take some rather unique images of the construction of some pof these buildings so that is was clear to see the frame work in all its beuty before cladding and other materialls are then placed over this and hide the tremendous huge framework which kjeeops these new buildings upright. Here are some of them....

Landscape students trip to Bexhill.....

2007-03-01T02:00:00.000-08:00

In december of last year the first year architecture and Landscapoe Architecture students went to Hastings to carry out investigations for there new projects. On the way back we stopped of at Bexhill to observe the famous Architecture building along the sea front there. The building once used to just be used to allow people to meet up and unwind with a book and watch the worls go by. But now it has been revamped and saved from going into decay and it has now been transformed into a modern art gallery which displays local talent from the surrounding areas.

I would not say its the most interesting place to visit but its a day out and it is interesting to see. What else i liked about this was the large area that has been given for public space over looking the beach front, this is a very good design and it still uses the same techniques which the older generations used to use of relaxing on the prmanade reading a boook over looking the beuty of the english channel...