Overlays for Design Projects 2

 

Tom Leader - TLS Landscape Architecture, California

"It’s important to join communities we work with so we can gain their trust, get to learn their priorities, values, deep passions, and hot buttons. It’s the same with their sites. One of the great values of being new to the problem and the site is the fresh eyes that we can bring to what is really powerful, beautiful, and provocative. These features or qualities may be so familiar that they have been hiding in plain sight."

"We’re always looking for those things that the city is already made of, that make cities unique, turning the familiar into the strange and beautiful experiences that resonate with native culture and create vivid memories that could never exist anywhere else."

Shanghai Sanlin Eco Valley due to be completed in 2022:

The above is a design for a 241-hectare urban park aiming to become the “Green Lungs” for a city of 24 million feeling the impacts of climate change and exploding urban density. Situated on the Huangpu waterfront (New Bund), the surroundings host 'a great festival plaza and landmark arch framing views into the park and a new mountain overlook containing an art museum.' The design aims to weave together 'diverse strands of Sanlin culture' with a varying topography of hills and valleys' made from rubble from urban demolition, housing and underground garage construction. This topography variation 'allows for the greatest degree of biodiversity and multiple ecosystem cultivation including Cypress bogs, aquatic gardens, emergent wetlands, lowland meadows, and vast upland forests.' Between the areas of native forestry, sites for urban sports, sustainable farming, a sculpture park, a children’s ecological learning center, and wind harvesting have been made. the shape of the site creates a wind tunnel funnel allowing a summer breeze through the living areas, adjacent to areas of the city hence acting as a barrier to the colder winter winds. New canals, streams and ponds feature throughout the park acting as a huge bio-filtering system which 'cleans canals and runoff as well as retaining and infiltrating rainfall to mitigate the frequent flooding typical of overnight urbanization.'

To me this design is massively innovative and forward thinking. It is truly inspiring to see that connection to nature and sustainability has been applied to every possible aspect of the park. It is not only adaptable to the people using it but also to the city as climate change alters the state the city is in. The shapes in the design are intricate and rounded creating a calm feel to the site. The link to the city's past use and link to water are extremely effective and mean that the design respects the culture of the area. The area of native forestry pictured in the final image looks almost magical and you can really imagine nature thriving there.

Kunming Wujiaba, China:

Another design which caught my eye is the one photographed above. I could not find any information on it however just from the images I can see it is a similar style to the previous. The combination of highly urban space with lush greenery and nature is in my opinion something which will become more and more common as we move into a future with less inhabitable land and more people seeking out natural spots for mental and physical health. I especially find the waterfall off the bridge to be inspiring and something I have wondered about myself. It creates a tropical type of atmosphere especially on a sunny day like the one pictured and could be used for recreation too (kayakers/canoers).

James Corner - Field Operations

Field Operations are an 80 person team based in New York and aim to create innovative design primarily in cities and urban spaces to create authentic spaces which work for the people living there.

The above design, by James Corner and Field Operations, was built in 2015 and cost $7.4 million. It is located in the heart of Philadelphia's Navy Yard Corporate Center, a site which has historically been marked by wetlands, a key habitat for many bird species. The design is innovative and links to the urban nature of the site as well as its native habitats, creating a sustainable, green, open space which has functionality as a social and active space. The circle organisation frames the indoor park which features flower meadows, groves, an outdoor amphitheater and fitness stations. I think that this design is a great way to make fitness and sport more attractive and accessible to people and provides a hugely pleasant space for people to exercise and feel safe in. the circle design gives the impression of honeycomb linking to the emphasis of nature in the site.

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Chris Reed - 'Stoss'

Chris Reed is the founder of 'Stoss' which is a Boston-based landscape and urban design firm aiming to remake cities and social spaces.





The design above is at Harvard University and is called 'The Plaza'. It is located at the heart of the University and is used by staff and pupils as well as the local community. It is a sustainable design and offers a high-performance surface which responds to storm water drainage and local circulation flows. It also hosts a farmers' market, food trucks, live performances and social gatherings. There are 17 bespoke benches located across the site made from sustainably-sourced yellow cedar wood and are designed with the human body in mind and located in different areas, some which see sun and some in the shade. Low-energy LEDs are integrated into them which reflect the plaza and provide a soft glow at night. I personally find the design very aesthetic and I think it complements the area and the use of the space. The red structure which dapples shade onto the path is an interesting idea however I feel there could be more shapes and ideas like this applied to the space. I feel that the integration of more vegetation on the site could complement the architectural design more as currently it looks slightly bare and open.

The above design is of the 11th Street Bridge Park crossing the Anacostia River. Named 'The Crossing', the designers have created an innovative space to encourage social and community life. It is a space for walking, running, fishing, strolling, hanging out in, grabbing a coffee in and relaxing in - a hugely multi-purpose space. It also creates new river spaces including boating docks, fishing piers, boardwalks and cleanses the river wetlands along its banks. Along the bridge there are windows into different activity spaces including a small amphitheater, a café lookout, a river plaza, an environmental education centre, a climbing wall/play space, an art area and an urban orchard. A variety of views of the river are created through the structure. This is a really exciting design with lots of inspiration and forward-thinking. It is people focused which I think is its biggest success, and I can see how it really works for the types of people who will be crossing through it. It is an unusual idea to have a social hub on a bridge and is quite a futuristic architectural idea, however I think it is very attractive and would also act as a must-see tourist attraction.

Some drawings for the Representation and Design Module

 

Key inspiration images from Design Project 2 Key Readings

 

Kathryn Gustafson - Marina One, Singapore (2018)

Kathryn Gustafson was born in 1951 and is an American landscape architect. She has done projects including; the Gardens of the Imagination in Terrasson, a city square in Evry, and the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park. She is regarded for her use of sculptural forms, and use of earth, grass, stone and water, as well as incorporation of memories of past settings in her designs. She initially trained in fashion design in Paris however later turned to landscape architecture.

Marina One, Singapore (2018):

Gustafson worked with her team at Gustafson Porter + Bowman to create this design. It is highly innovative and sustainable and I believe it succeeds in reaching its ambition to be a green heart. Four towers with integrated vegetation are arranged around the green heart courtyard  and visitors enter into the central garden with reflecting pond and three-story waterfall. Paths wind through the 240 trees and plants in the park to create an immersive journey. Overall, the building contains over 160,000 trees and plants with 350 species.