Planting Planning

Project 2 has been completed and much to my surprise, I have managed to catch up and complete it this evening. Tomorrow it will be bound and delivered to 'Teach', one day ahead of deadline. PHEW. A slight nagging feeling that it can't really be this straight forward but I am quashing that as simple nerves!

This section of work is a specification document, which will be used in a tendering process and along with it all the associated drawings - a Key Plan, Cascade Drawings (Drainage, Setting out, Levels, Paving) and of course Planting plans.

The Planting plan took me a good deal longer than I thought it would and after two false starts, one involving the full rendering of the plan before I realised it fulfilled nothing that I had set out to achieve. Being a confirmed plant-aholic it is hard to limit myself to the 20 species recommended. If I am honest I went over a little but not too wildly. It is a process of learning the balancing of grouping and labeling and this one is not perfect but it I find it pleasing and am hoping that those marking it agree with me!

From Finished Drawings

Tomorrow we have an afternoon of feed back on the Hard Landscape portfolio and the Bespoke portfolio handed in 10 days ago which will be fascinating to see the work of peers and find out how well, or not, mine went down.

What is a Hard Landscape Portfolio?

I was asked this lately and realise I have skirted around the details in previous postings.

The task was to prepare full construction drawings from Plan, Elevation and Section through to the Detail. Enough to allow a contractor to build each project successfully.

Furnished with some plans, some photographs and some written material the level of detail was up to each person to decide upon.

For some of the students, me included, this meant learning the 'how' of what to build i.e foundation width, depth and content, how does a retaining wall retain, what are the components of a decking structure and how do they fit together, how deep is a pond? and what sits beneath it? how deep is a step riser?, what are the dims of a brick?, a concrete slab? and even a roof tile? plus endless beams, joists, noggins, hoggin, mortar and sub-base components. This detail fathomed, how to brace, hang, support and wedge (!) together. Lastly to gather it all elegantly and efficiently into the CAD program of choice, Vectorworks 2010 which turned out to be stage two of the steep climb to knowledge.

Stage three was printing it all out with perfect titling, positioning, labeling and the right amount of information. Each requiring detailed knowledge of printer performance, features and why DPI might be relevant.

The learning aim was clearly about getting the written construction material off the page and into heads. Then from heads and sketch pads into Vectorworks. Upping skills in both areas, pronto. Having a real project is, for me at least, a blessing, something to actually 'do' rather than play at doing.

I leanrt more than I needed to in some areas and not enough in others.

The final part was a Bespoke portfolio of 12 pieces drawn with enough detail for a craftsman or woman to build for our clients. A creative exercise and most enjoyable although some of my crafts people will need to be magicians as well!

All in all my HLP and bespoke took me 192 hours (curtesy of www.tickspot.com) to complete. That's sitting down at the computer hours, not faffing about making tea, reading, researching, getting help, discussing with peers, tutors, sending 'help' emails, completing Vectorworks tutorial book, deciphering VW help text (bad, really bad!) and the many other tasks that surrounded it. For that, Tickspot reckons another 40 hrs, give or take.

All will be on show at the end of year exhibition in June (16/17), of course updated per instructions from those marking them in the coming weeks.

Snow and landscape detailing

In the Milky Way lecture it was indicated the best titles for blog posts are questions but I can only ask so many times 'How much snow did you get?' I suppose I need to work on my questions at some point.

I splashed out on the 4 Landscape Detailing books (water, surfaces, structures, enclosures) by Michael Littlewood in a moment of panic about this HLP, almost £150 from discounted Amazon. VERY expensive. But in the end they are brilliant and worth the gross expenditure (as long as I carry on to do this professionally that is!) Full to the brim with all kinds of structures and surfaces detailed beautifully. They may not be exactly what I need but many are pretty darn close.

The books are sporting index postit's galore, now I need to get down to it and flex my newly forming VW muscles.

....and of course it's one more snow day, how much did you get ?!

From Collages