Focus Week 3 - February 07

Model Making

I thought for this week I would make a model as it is an essential aspect of Landscape Architecture for communicating ideas clearly and they can also look very impressive.

It was made for the North Sea Faring project (Vlissingen) and I used foam board, card, pva glue, a scouring sponge, tooth picks and a stanley knife. Foam board is an effective medium to work with as it is light , easy to glue and cut, and has a white professional finish. I used card for the more delicate structures as it is possible to fold. The scouring sponge was ideal for the foliage of the trees as it is green with a soft but irregular texture.

Working in 3D was a useful learning curve for me as I began to understand the site more accurately and it also became easier to visualise my interventions to the site.

Focus Week 2 - December 06

Designing Modern Britain

I decided to go to the Design Museum, near London Bridge, to see the exhibition on 'Designing Modern Britain'. On the way there I walked down a nice old cobbled street, 'Shad Thames', where there were several distictive wrought iron bridges connecting the buildings on either side. I later found out from an information plaque that, before any redevelopment had taken place, this site was previously a dock, where the bridges were used for transferring food goods.

I felt for this week I needed to see an exhibition as I had not attended many, and this one in particular caught my eye, as it was presenting design from a variety of perspectives, and included the history of how design all began, which I thought might inspire me.




Chairs, Chairs, Chairs!

There were many chairs from different eras demonstrating how chairs have evolved over time, eveything from quirky colourful chairs to abstract rattan chairs. It seemed like half of the exhibition was filled by chairs, which I thought was excessive. The design of a number of the chairs did not look too comfortable, perhaps they were designed to be more of a fashion statement rather than for functional use.

Olympic Games 2012

The architecture/landscape architecture section was a surprisingly small display, considering it's contribution to design, which I found disappointing. The theme was based around the future plans of the Olympic Games 2012. The display consisted of computer screens and information boards together with effective models.

Focus Week 1 - November 06

This blog is aimed to record experiences in Landscape Architecture, including skills I learn on the course and places I visit.

Photoshop

In the first focus week I decided to learn photoshop as the skill is widely used in this field of work. Photoshop is a useful tool to create photo montages with, which demonstrate ideas quickly and clearly.

I started using photoshop by experimenting with it. At first I was lost but with a little help from fellow students and more time spent practicing I began to get the hang of it. But there is still room for improvement and hopefully one day my work will look like this.