when it all was new and fresh.

Design – Spatial Studies 1-4. Year one.

Year one, what a joy, what a chock! I remember the first weeks as a total stressed and panicked time in the studio. We had hardly any tutoring time and none of us knew what we were supposed to do or how to do it. But we worked together and helped each other out when we were stuck, for me I remember having no idea what a sketchbook was or how to express myself in an artistic way. Since I had no background in art whatsoever, I had been working with politics and hadn’t had an art class since I was 14 I felt loss and I was questioning why I had been accepted to the programme at all. Here I was in the studio with 20 really talented artsy people and all I could do was discuss politics. In no way did I feel that my work at the Swedish parliament could benefit me here. But I did try and I was one of the few who went to every single class of first year studies, trying to learn and eager to make sure I could justify my spot at ECA.

The Meadows project was great fun, creating a space for all those dreamers of Edinburgh and working with plants for all the senses. The crit went very well and I remember Ross giving me an A right there and then saying it was one of the best projects of the lot. Well, that didn’t span out, I got a B in the end and learnt to never really trust the tutors until you have the feedback sheet in your hand! Never get too confident too soon, it will only come back to bite you.

Cammo Park was also fun and I do feel that maybe my project was a bit misunderstood because I couldn’t express fully what I meant and how I wanted it to be. But yes, I understand the feedback; it was just one apple after the other. Although for me this came like a bit of a chock since I had absolutely nothing said to me about this before the crit, and the guidance I so, so needed at that point wasn’t given to me until after the project was done. That made me disheartened and I felt alone and lost. Maybe it was this first term that made me doubt my ability to be bold and courageous in my projects. I don’t know. But I do remember being much more daring and creative in these first two projects that just never came back.

Feedback from Ross Mclean:
Meadows project: has good exploration of the designed space, especially as a more gardenesque sub-space within the openness of the broader landscape. This project is well detailed, with a good exploration of planting material and how this creates the structure. Its location within the meadows seems a bit arbitrary, in regard of how your space would interact within the broader landscape. But overall this is a strong project, well thought through and clearly presented. You also avoid the problem of using symmetry – i.e. design has to form a space rather than a pattern on paper – try to relate your design to the dynamic of how humans will experience it.

Cammo park: the choice of sculpture could have been developed further to include more variety from other artist who work with scale. In effect its one big apple after another! It’s also not so clear how people should interact with them – are they for vision only or can people climb/sit on them?
The placement of the sculptures around the park is good, with coverage throughout. The final design creates some issues; you have designed an enclosed space but potentially the walled garden would have provided as good a setting, with the same interaction between inside/outside. Beyond this issue the spaces are interesting and follow your idea to create a fantasy/stage set type landscape. You should maybe also think of how people move through these spaces.

Overall; some very good exploration and detailed designing, that has the potential to develop into some strong landscape proposal.

Grades:

B.

is a space a sum of all its parts?

Computer Aided Design. Year two.

In this project I took the café I worked at, recorded the sounds of the space and photographed the interior and then I built a virtual copy of it in the Meadows.



The project was so different and so interesting on many levels. I think we all thought we would be learning AutoCAD but instead this module was all about finding new ways to display a project. We got taught the basics of many programs but I focused my project on MediaScape. It gave me a new understanding of how a landscape or a piece of architecture is more than the structure or the space it takes up. It’s about the people moving through. The sounds of the passing cars, the wind, and the espresso machine making a cappuccino. It’s about the visible obstacles as much as the invisible ones. And it also made me wonder about what a space actually is if you can’t see all the parts or if the parts are moved and distorted. Is it still the same thing? I know I could have analyzed the retrieved information more and made connections to other designs and artists and if more time would have been given I think I would have made more of an effort representing the actual building in a better way than the extremely poor SketchUp drawing I made. This method though is definitely something I’ll use again in my future projects to show clients an onsite experience of the proposed design.

As an extra fun note, I think Chris Speed used my project in an article he and Dermott McMeel wrote for a landscape architecture journal!



Feedback from Chris Speed:
Fascinating piece of work that warrants further exploration in your studio practice. you sustained a strong line of enquiry and brought a lot to the module that has enabled you to deliver a fascinatig experience. The final production is strong and allows you to reflect upon the work with insight and interest. It would be interesting to continue to explore the use of mediascape and in particular exploring the resolutions of GPS and the construction of invisible landscapes.



Grades:
Demonstrate a broad understanding of CAD & its relevance to landscape architecture: A
Perform simple 2D & 3D drafting, editing & modelling operations: B
Employ simple computer presentation techniques: A*

"our house, in the middle of the street"

Urban Design and Housing. Year two.

This is one of the modules I have enjoyed the most during these three years of my degree. I have realised that this is what I love, urban planning. Bigger. Bolder. Since I have worked in politics for several years before coming here I have really found an interest in social issues of how, why and where people live. When I worked at the parliament I worked with several issues concerning social structures and urban environments. This is what I enjoy with urban planning as a subject, it contains bit of everything that I find interesting. Design, psychology, demographics and politics.

This module was divided into three parts and all from the first one week project of redesigning the square in the Quarter Mile, to the group project in Portobello and the housing project in Kirknewton it was a truly fun and enjoyable term.



Quarter Mile
The first project was situated in the Quarter Mile and here I made an Urban Scottish Oasis Plants has always been one of my strongest interests and one of the reasons I choose Landscape Architecture. Here I wanted to create a space where everyone can experience a bit of Scotland even though you are just here for a weekend or a business meeting. I understand what Kenny meant by playing it safe, seems to be my most recurring feedback. To be more bold and adventurous. And every time I try and do very well in the beginning of the project but then seem to panic and change all my ideas at the last minute to make a more safe design. Something that always ends up being extremely boring.

Feedback from Kenny Fraser:
Conceptually and in terms of planting this was one of the strongest projects in the group. Technically you should be able to get some of the smaller plant established in the raised plant beds you propose; however I don’t think the Scots Pine would survive, you would need a minimum of 900mm topsoil and even then it’s probably not a good idea. Spatially the project is fine, just a bit safe; you should be a bit more adventurous next time.

Portobello
This group project was several weeks of pure fun. I think we all got surprised of how well we all worked together and this was the first group project we had. We had a tricky bit of land shaped like a triangle situated between to highly trafficked roads. We tried to resolve this by creating sound barriers and by making a pleasant community within the courtyards of the housing development. In this project I produced a film that showed our work in progress, how the scheme evolved and how much fun we had with it.



Feedback from Kenny Fraser:
Overall, this is a very good project with an excellent presentation model. The building layout us very promising although neither fully refined nor resolved. Massing of the buildings is good. The other two aspects of the project, infrastructure and landscape are less well considered and there are one or two obvious ‘glitches’ in the relationship of landscape to building. The contouring along Sir Harry Lauder Road is sensible.

Your workbook is good while your movie is excellent (especially so given that it was not a project requirement). Sections and visualisations require greater attention as they let the project down somewhat; visualisations must be at eye level.

This site has proven to be very tricky in the past and your project is a very good effort.

Kirknewton
I remember getting extremely ill during this project so most of it is just a big hazy fog due to high fever and sleeping. So therefore I must say that what I am most proud of about this project was the fact that I finished it on time. I designed a self-sufficient eco village in the style of Findhorn where the focus laid on new technology and where the SUDS were a prominent part of the design. Gardens and community was the main feature where all houses were individual and built by each and every one of the residents to fit their needs.

Sadly the whole lot got destroyed in one of the drawers in the studio. One day when I pulled my drawings out it was all covered in coffee. So the handmade sections that Kenny mentions in his feedback has all been lost. Witch is really sad because those are things I was most proud of. Well, I guess that taught me yet another thing about designing. Always record what you are doing and keep copies…!

Feedback from Kenny Fraser:
You have performed well throughout the module. Both the first two module components were successful. Your Kirknewton project is quite nicely resolved with some reasonably successful experimental graphics; the masterplan graphically works well but gives more of an overview of your ideas rather than a really precise description. The section graphic is an interesting technique. Your sketches and detail plan are less well resolved. The masterplan layout is very good.

Grades:
Demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles of urban design: B
Demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles involved in housing layouts: B
Design simple housing layouts employing basic principles of urban design: B