…… with a canopy at Christines request! more images here, including a scrawl wall – benches that are designed to be graffiti’d

green roofs, green streets, green walls. how about some green seating?

this prototype bench incorporates a trellis to allow plants to grow around it. its a little clunky at the moment, but the design and construction are deliberately lo fi, so it makes a good Do It Yourself project. also i imagined it, when overgrown, looking something like a 3d Mondrian painting, as the photoshopped images here, hopefully show.

what it does have is a green ramp leading up to the terraces and roof gardens and some green walls too. at ground level i’ve left it open plan, with the use/function adaptable/open to interpretation. here i’ve been influenced by West8s designs (theres a short piece on them here)

i’m suggesting metal grills for the ground surface as these will reflect available light upwards and lighten the space, perhaps with room for plants to grow inbetween them in an ecological fashion? this could be interesting as different/more plant species would grow in different parts of the ‘garden’ according to the available light and microclimate. parts (or perhaps all) of the metal surface could be also galvanised to show the reflection of the moon at night, tracing its path across the sky.

the other elements are minimal. plenty of seating, which i think is key to the success of any urban open space, and some vertical elements which could include lighting and add a feeling of transition

i still think the site could be improved a lot with the demolion and repositioning of key buildings ( and god its such miserable architecture, who would miss it?). but perhaps these steps would bring back life to a dead zone?

i think  redevelopment should take place on the east of the site to re establish the streetscape, and would like to place some kind of open courtyard to the north.

Visualisation of the entrance courtyard (1)

should probably add some notes but its been a mad week and i’m tired. one thing springs to mind. following Christines notes about water fall, it could be important to work a drainage scheme into the design, in which case we’d need to find out what gradients (if any) are present. i suspect site conditions are going to place restrctions on our planting scheme, esp if we want to stick to the white theme, but thats something i’d like to work out once i’ve got the layout nailed. (besides, i suspect out of the three of us Tom is the most proficient plantsman!)

all comments/criticisms welcome, by the way!

so we have our site!

i’ve marked down a likely location for the wine bar area, and a couple of other things beside. the surrounding buildings cast a lot of shade.  of course we’ve know way of knowing what time of day/year the image was taken, but can count on the bottom (south) end of the site at least getting less light.

cant make out whats in the alcove created by the buildings at the bottom of the site, it could be a lower rooftop or something at ground level. it looks structural

the right hand side of the site (which i’ve marked down as the formal entrance) could presently be used for parking. an annoyance depending on whether or not we decide to acknowledge it.

also note how the building at the top of the site reflects a lot of light back into the site, creating patterns upon the ground. useful?

to go along with the discussion about planting design raging below, i thought i’d post this as an example of what can happen when a good designer and a good plantsman work together.

as part of Chicagos Millenium Park it references the indigenous landscape of the Midwest. the beds are contoured so the visitors walk along with the gardens at knee and waist height immersing them in colour. the native perennials (over 200 species) were carefully selected to create a dramatic sequence of colour and seasonal change. the effect is like a painting whose tone continually shifts throughout the year. if anything, i think it shows, if you want to create abstract effects 1. you cant be lazy about it and 2. you have to know your stuff

photograph copyright: Scott McDonald

drawings copyright: Gustafson Porter Ltd

( i got these images from pic-tures blogspot, but cant seem to find it any more to add the link. i keep getting redirected to this taiwanese blog! anyway, i’ll put up more images if anyone wants to see them )