Lexicon of Garden and Landscape Architecture : Meto J. Vroom (Author)

It is very useful and easy to use reference guide to landscape design. It serves to clarify important tems and expressions that designers use on a daily basis.

[Restoration project]

Ballast Point Park

The Ballast Point Park is situated on the Birchgrove Peninsula in the inner reaches of Sydney harbour, Australia. The site was contaminated by former industrial lubricant production site.
The design uses world leading sustainability principles to minimise the project’s carbon footprint and ecologically rehabilitate the site. The environmental approach is further underpinned by site-wide stormwater biofiltration, recycled materials, and wind turbines for on-site energy production.



8 vertical axis wind turbines and an extract from a Les Murray poem, carved into recycled tank panels, forms a sculptural re-interpretation of the site’s former largest storage tank. The wind turbines symbolise the future, a step away from our fossil fuelled past towards more sustainable renewable energy forms.




Dominant new terrace walls sit atop the sandstone cliffs but these walls are not made of precious sandstone excavated from another site, rather from the rubble of our past. What once was called rubbish is now called beautiful. It is the new ballast. But it is more than this at play: It is the total composition of these recycled rubber filled cages, off set with concrete coping panels topped with fine grain railing, that allow these walls to sit confidently at the portal to the inner harbour.

Tree Museum in Switzerland

Have ever heard that tree museum? This is the World's first tree museum in Rapperswill-Jona, Switzerland. It would be interesting to note that the museum will include over 2,000 trees that will beautify the lands of a 14th century monastery. The 22 species of trees will grow on a territory of 2.5 acres. The list of species includes English yew and Scotch pine.

Focus week IV

Ecobuild Exhibition: 1-3 Mar, 2011 at Excel, London

Ecobuild opens for three days of eco-friendly building ideas, products and innovations. It's upgraded that compared to last year into the larger venue of Excel. I looked at the exhibition on the ground floor and attended seminar programmes. The most interesting subject was sustainable design in the city and green infrastructure.


Seminar 1- How green is my city: This session considered international examples of cities which are leading the way in striving for sustainable development.

12:30-13:00 Learing from leading European eco-towns ( Nicholas Falk, Founder Director, Urbed)

Ecotown:

- offering huge attractions and community, including schools and open spaces.

- well linked to job and service

- developing around railway station

- well connected

- sustainable drainage system

Seminar 2- Building biodiversity: This session presented what can be done to create a greener urban environment and what should be done to support biodiversity in urban areas.

14:15-14:40 Making the case for biodiversity ( Caroline Birchall, Adviser, Green Infrastructure & climate change adaptation)

Green Infrastructure:

-Network of high quality green spaces and other environmental features
-Designed and managed as a multifunctional resource
-Capable of delivering a wide range of environmental and quality of life benefits for local
communities.

Seminar 3- People-first design: sustainable urban placement: This session takes a people centric view of planning and place making.

15:45-16:10 Sustainable city making via evidence-informed design and planning (Dr Kayvan Karimi, Director, Space Syntax)

-Spatial accessibility can be linked to any other urban attribute.

-Fundamental concepts of city making: visibility and movement

-Cities are created by spatial patterns

16:10-16:35 Creating public places as if people mattered ( Henry Shaftoe, Senior Lecturer, University of West England)

-We need to start a design for people and what they want to do at public space.

As part of the exhibition, Kingston University launched sustainable materials that was renewed. They displayed products from sustainable materials at Ecobuild. The recent Kingston University project is advising Marks & Spencer pic on the use of appropriate sustainable materials.

Focus week IV

Merrist Wood College Horticulture Class: 2 Mar, 2011

During the last focus week, the horticulture class was arranged. We arrived early in the morning at Guildford and we met Ellen Sivell who worked for some years at Wisley garden. She introduced how to sow seeds as different sizes and origins and we looked at container grown plant and was given tips on how to specify plant successfully. It provided some of the most satisfying gardening experience.


Starting plants from seed indoors is a great way to get a jump-start.




In the afternoon we met Brian Rodger. Before looking at the hedges we studied about advantages of hedgerows, loss of hedgerows and how to the rescue.
After that we had a practice for cutting and laying trees. It was very hard work to cut and make hedgerows but it provides valuable habitat for flowers, birds, insects and other wildlife.