Drawing at Teddington Lock
December 17, 2006
During the second focus week we continued having drawing lessons with David. On Monday we went to Teddington Lock. Here we looked more in depth at how objects fit together especially going into the water, for example, the footbridges and how they are constructed. We then went on to draw large sections of the lock and we put together what we had learnt. This was a useful session and got us to look at things in more detail which we will apply to projects.
On Thursday we went back to the lock to finish off the large section and put in the context of the lock by drawing in the background and surroundings which also gave the section a scale.
Mile End Park
December 11, 2006
It is located in the east of London. The park has undergone a transformation at the cost of £25 million which incorporated the many separate parks; play arena, Ecology Park, Arts Park, terrace garden, Adventure Park, Sports Park and children’s park.
The first stage of the development was the green bridge and terrace garden which opened in 2001. The park was soon after completed and opened in 2002.
Terrace Garden
It is shielded from Mile End Road by a dense row of trees. It is centred around a water cascade and fountain. The planting of the area aimed to create a “garden of the senses”.
Sports Park
It has plans for a new swimming pool which will also be home to other indoor sports such as, squash. The rest of the area has football, tennis and basketball courts.
Overall, the park felt very insecure due to the CCTV cameras situated along the footpaths. I have never experienced this before in a public park and due to this I never fully felt relaxed and escaped from city life. However, I did like the way the park has been designed with its different zones in an elongated shape. As you pass through the different zones they each give you another quality with the different ranges of planting and materials. The park seemed to be poorly maintained and many areas were over grown and had a lot of litter.
Greenwich Wetland Park
December 11, 2006
The 4 acre fresh water park was created by English Partnerships in 2000 as part of the regeneration of the Brownfield land on the Greenwich Peninsular. The park opened in 2002 to the public. In the park there are 2 lakes, areas of shingle beach, marsh, meadow, wet woodland and 2 bird hides. The site has a network of board walks giving easy access to the public.
However, the park is over looked by the Millennium Village which gives the impression that the park was an after thought. This gives a poor experience of ‘being with nature’ as you can constantly see the built environment which surrounds the park. The park has a visitor centre and I can see its value it has for young children learning about nature. Getting to the park was not very easy and the size and the experience of the park does not justify the journey length.
Leonardo da Vinci – Experience, Experiment and Design
November 27, 2006
I went to the V&A to see the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition. The exhibition showed some of his sketches and some of his designs and inventions.
Some of the sketches displayed were of drawings of the human heart, rules of proportion and architecture. With the sketches you could also see the notes he made with his backward handwriting.
Above the sketches were animations of his drawings and some of his inventions. They showed his drawings in 3D and how some of his inventions would work and informed some of the things we see today such as the helicopter.
The exhibition was a good opportunity to see Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings and how detailed they are, how important they were and how they have influenced how we are today. The animations were affective and brought his drawings to life and gave the chance to see how his inventions would work. However, the size of the exhibition was disappointing; it would have been nice to see more. There were few drawings and sketches and the animations felt like they were done to bulk up the exhibition.
Studland
November 6, 2006
I visited Studland to do research for my landscape management report. Studland is located on the south coast of England in the county of Dorset. It offers a 4 mile sandy beach, sand dunes and heathland. The area attracts over 1.5 million visitors a year and on a peak day in the summer Studaland can receive over 30,000 visitors.
Studland beach
The coastal site forms part of the Purbeck Heritage Coast and is a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The beach is split up into three sections South, Middle and Knoll beach. However, over the past 10 years the Studland has had to deal with rapid coastal erosion. Previously the National Trust tried to defend the beach from the sea using man-made defences such as gabions. But since 1998 the National Trust has adopted management retreat which means any man-made defences will not be replaced. They now feel that any man-made features on the beach can adversely affect the beauty of the area.
Sand dunes
The dunes are of high national importance because all 6 British reptile species inhabit the area; these include the smooth snake and sand lizard. However, they have been breached a few times due to strong stormy weather. They are also suffering with erosion due to trampling. There are some areas on the sand dunes which are sectioned off from the public to allow marram grass to re-colonise and stabilise the sand dunes. These sectioned off areas also provides added protection to the reptiles.
Studland Heath
The heath is 1559 acres and has been a National Nature Reserve since 1962. It is also an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and has other protection policies due to its importance for nature conservation. The National Trust have been managing the site since 1982 previously it was managed by English Nature. Since the National Trust has taken over with its management they have put in board walks and nature trails to encourage visitors to spread over the whole of the Studland site.
Visiting this site for my report it offered me another area to study instead of urban projects which I have looked at in the past. I really enjoyed looking at the natural elements of a site instead of the built environments. I like looking at the natural processes of this site such as sand dune succession and erosion processes. It was also good to see the conflict between nature and man and how to solve the problem to allow them to work side by side. I would like to continue to look at this field of study during the next semester as I find this a lot more interesting and enjoyable.
Malmo form / Design Centre
October 28, 2006
The form/ design centre is housed in the HedmanskaGarden – “Hedman Court” which was a large brick warehouse. It displays the current and best Swedish Scandinavian design. It has more than 20 exhibitions a year ranging from architecture to crafts. The centre has permanent exhibitions from some of the best companies within Swedish furniture, textiles, lighting, and arts and crafts.
One of the items displayed that I found of interest was called “Like a letter in the post”. This was a bowl made out of thin metal found in the rural areas of Sweden. The bowl could be folded up flat and sent in the post. It can then be unfolded when lightly pressed creating a pattern but has the function of a bowl. However, the bowl required a complicated mathematical equation to produce the results displayed!
The whole exhibition was worth seeing. Throughout the whole building was high quality design which informs the viewers of the high standards expected from designers. The old character of the building also provides a unique stage juxtaposed with the modern era of design.
Malmo
October 27, 2006
Malmo has a population of over 265,000 and is the third largest city in Sweden behind Stockholm and Goteborg. The population is set to increase over the next 10 years putting pressure on Malmo to expand.
For the Dare project a group of us went to Malmo, located on the south coast of Sweden.Here we were to pick a site that has been finished to of high quality and then we were to design something daring.
Bo01
This was a European exhibition of housing which ran from May 11th to September 9th 2001. It is located on the coast in the Vastra Hamnen (WesternHarbour) district of Malmo and is in walking distance of the city centre. It formed the first phase of the long term development for the western harbour. It then consisted of 800 apartments but has now grown to over 1500. The exhibition was to inform people about the ecology and sustainability of the project.
Today the apartments are still under construction as the project moves through the phases of development. The houses were designed by various architects but all have the common theme of sustainability. The area is to become a national and international example of sustainable living.
The urban district is supplied by renewable energy resources. Electricity will be produced by wind power, heating will be generated by solar panels and bio gas produced from the area’s waste. All the buildings were designed to minimise energy demands and increase energy efficiency.
Turning Torso
Located in the Vastra Hamnen district the Turning Torso forms the centre piece of the area and provides Malmo with a landmark. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava, based on the sculpture Twisting Torso. It was completed in 2005 and has the height of 190 meters which is 54 floors. The entire construction twists 90 degrees on its way up, hence its name.
Sundspromenade
Sundspromenade was designed by Jeppe Aagaard Andersen Landscape Architects. The promenade is located along the coast reconnecting Malmo to the sea, a reflection of the past. It is 300 metres long and is constructed out of wooden decking. It has large steps that lead down to the sea providing plenty of seating where you can watch the sun set behind the OrestrundBridge. The promenade sits parallel to boulders along the sea front and overlaps in places. Scattered within the boulders are some highly polished stones which is the art work called “Diamonds are everywhere”.
The construction of the promenade is of very high quality which reflects the whole of the B0o1 site. It is also shown with its various users from walkers to skaters and in the summer it becomes a vibrant place to be. Whilst you are on the promenade you feel very exposed to the elements, especially the wind, giving it more prominence and your experience of the site changes with each visit.
I really enjoyed the site but I would like to re-visit it in the future but during the summer to experience the atmosphere of the place. I have seen pictures and it looks a complete contrast to the winter where there are fewer visitors.
Dania ParkDania Park was designed by Thorbjorn Andersson and PeGe Hillinge. The park is located to the north end of Sundspromenade and forms a continuation with the link to the sea. However, Dania Park is more exposed to the sea at the north end of the park where two seas meet the Ribersborgsbucht and the North Sea. Here a bastion has been designed where you can walk out over the sea. Along the sea front there are 3 wooden decked platforms providing visitors a chance to swim in the sea.
Within Dania Park there is a grass field which people can use for recreational activities but in the summer it holds musical events. The park also provides more shelter compared to Sundspromenade. There are seating areas which resemble fortresses allowing people to find comfort out of the wind. The park still follows the linear shape, the same as Sundspromenade, but Dania Park also reaches into the sky. There are tall lamp posts which resemble construction cranes which light up most of the park at night. 
The materials used for the park were wood and walls and barriers were constructed out of granite. The choice of these materials was for their sustainable nature, the granite can be re-used at a later date if the park was to change. The construction is of good quality, the same as the rest of the area. I enjoyed the park more compared to Sundspromenade. It offered more variation with the different materials. The park also had planting adding to the quality of the area.
The encounter with the sea is also more dominant here. There are diving platforms and steps going into the sea connecting the sea and city. I also like the idea of the bastion; it gives the park a focal point and was clearly a favourite with visitors. The sheltered seating also allows people to stay in the park longer during the winter because it’s more comfortable. However, I don’t think the park worked particularly well at night. Most of the lighting fixtures were broken and therefore not lighting up the park very well which needs to be addressed. www.malmo.se
Copenhagen Design Museum
October 18, 2006
Whilst in Copenhagen I went to the Design Museum. One of the main features was a display which had a supermarket layout but the products on sale were things bottled up such as pause, inner calmness, obesity dissolvers etc.
Overall the museum was disappointing. The objects were poorly displayed and the layout was bad. I don’t think the museum showed the best designs and I didn’t find visiting it that useful.
Architecture Museum
October 18, 2006
The museum sits on the river front in Copenhagen. I went to an exhibition in the museum which showed some of the design for the Beijing 2008 Olympics and had the quote “From Made in China to Made by China”.
The exhibition also showed the percentage of the world’s population that lives in China. It also showed how the population is getting wealthier and that the Chinese are now looking to go abroad for holidays and that the western population should now make china their main market because there is a lot of money to be made from them. The exhibition also showed the knock on effect of the changes such as pollution.
