Whats it all about?

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Occasionally one watches a programme or hears a lecture and you really stop and think, what on earth am i aiming for?


Well just watched a programme about the photographers of LIFE magazine. To explain life magazine it was a magazine run by photographers first, then journalists. The first real picture on the world for Americans (and the rest of us). 


Started in the 30’s then on to when home boy, was in europe fighting another war, through the good times of the 50’s when the Americans seem to have everything, but ignoring the elephant in the room (the race issue). Through Vietnam were some of the most harrowing photo’s were taken by a magazine that was selling a 100 million copies a week (half the population). With money and influence the magazine searched deeper and deeper into the soul of America, from a small town Barbers to heroin addicts in New York, to civil rights 
riots to the shooting of President’s.

The question i ended up with after watching such a programme was humble photographers influenced a society with their images, what the fuck am i doing?


Then as usual a phrase pops into my head ,


Landscape without people is wilderness, the question is, as a Landscape Architect what is driving me???


Humanity, with all its faults. Its not so much about changing the world ,but using the talents we have to help foster change. 


I heard a radio commentary recently saying the spirit of 1968 seems to be returning, well i was 4 at the time so that passed me by, but…surely we can do something??


I am so envious of many of our lecturers as they will leave a legacy….us


What are we going to leave?  It has to be more than a salaried job.


I am never going to change the world, but i may just be a small cog in changing something. Just like those time photographers


Bed and ZVI….BUMP.







A Stirling Moss Job

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Cornwall 

Art and Context Trip


Well thought is was about time i put up something about the now legendary trip. 


What is the point?


Well for me it was a chance to really think about ‘space’ and how i use it as a designer and whether or not i really understand the consequences of an intervention, and experiment if you like. what happens if….


My studio


Rather than going into the in’s and out’s of the trip. The drinking, screaming in the forest and general getting back to the core of it all, ( and that was just Joey!!!).
The space, Joey and I just wandered off talking the usual crap and came upon this magical spot. Facing the right direction, with just right amount of shade and dampness to create a field of Moss beneath the Douglas firs. In fairness I probably ruined the space, but the space was a false creation anyway due to the forestry planting. A steep bank and hard accessibility also added to the drama. 


So with my simple tools, I attacked! The first (not shown) piece was to contrived, so the second (v in the ground) I just did it, not trying to be contextual, or adding any story, just shape, balance and contrasting colour. Tom and Jim seemed to like it and suggested I do a 3D piece.


Next day, rain, but up on site soon after dawn. A flask of hot water (for black Chai) and biscuits so a happy man.
Saw this decaying stump and just got stuck in, again just intuitively cutting and pasting so to speak. A mixture of additive and subtractive sculpture, only really thinking about the composition. A lot of teeth sucking. Worked like a dog ( no change there), once finished, decided lift the piece by adding more moss for contrast. Then ended clearing all the wood around the various pieces so as not to distract.


Just finished and Jim turned up (one of the lecturers) scrambling up the bank. Had a really good long talk. Pointing out some obvious points which were nagging in the back of my mind. Changed a couple of bits. And if i had time i would of extended one of the pieces.


Learnt?


Well ended up with more questions than answers, which is great as that means that previous views have been challenged, and thus need re-evaluating. So now working on this, learnt more doing this that building a hundred gardens.

Trusty tools, including bare hands



Flat Canvas



Looking up, pre Jim suggestion which simplified the piece

Simplified, framed in extra moss, what does it say? You tell me!

Dug in to expose the roots as to exaggerate the intervention

Just like these Pictures, Goodbye Moss, Goodbye Cornwall






The best unit of the whole 5 years







The Business Model

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The bane of  society
Well you may ask surely we need business models for business to run effectively and for growth and thus the prosperity of the general populous. Yes, but were on the chart of importance should it be?


A conversation between a dying Steve Jobs and Bill Gates ended in a humble appreciation of each others skills. But the give away comment for me was Bill’s using the phrase of the conversation “well, we have a difference of opinion of our business models” and there is the give away comment. The model first, then how to execute it, whereas Jobs view was innovation and connection. Innovation was primarily about the end user, for example the iphone, before that product the phone market resembled the TV market at present, confused, unconnected (how many handsets does it take to watch TV now!!!) and short term. Connection of products and operation systems learn one then you can operate all the other applications , ie get ‘Pages” (macs ‘Word’) then all the others have the same interface…simple. 
Try that with an Adobe product! A circle in Photoshop is different from InDesign which again is different in Illustrator, and before you say well they are different products so they have to be different, ask yourself who are you thinking about the engineers who build it or the end user? Who is your primary concern? Making life easier for the engineer or the end user?
Thats why artists and engineers have to work together, either on their own and you get a pretty product that crashes all the time or a product that works, but is overcomplicated for the ordinary user and therefore not used.


Make IT simple…Three moves 
We now take it for granted that we buy a phone and use it, not spending hours trying to find stuff and reading reams of instructions. It has to be intuitive to reach the majority otherwise you have a product the excludes.

So which is the better model? 
The one were you sell as a product that is short term, rushed to the market (the ipad has been promised for over 10 years, not until battery life was improved would it be released), selling something that is shiny and status driven or a product that is aimed for everyday people to use, setting bench marks rather than following, actually trying to improve people lives rather than just trying to get cash out of their pockets.


Its always about the end user


“They just don’t get it” (Steve Jobs) in reference to Google and Microsoft’s approach to product design


http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf

As Landscape Architects and Garden Designers we need to ‘GET IT’ otherwise what is the point? Vanity, personnel status, wealth? 
All chasing the wind, here to day gone tomorrow, all is vanity, as Solomon is alleged to have written.


Conclusion
The end user determines design.
This is our mission, if not, go and get a job in the City.


Legacy, what are you going to leave behind?

A bit of what you like

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Urban Noise Crit


Well after working hard on this it seemed to be appreciated, even if it was probably a bit safe on the idea front.




General Points from Robert And Benz


These are the points that are general to all of us.


1) Short, sharp and snappy. Keep on subject don’t try and cover it all.


2) More ambitious!!!!


3) Before and after, make it clear.


4) More sketch up for massing, as in buildings etc.


5) Image and Annotation otherwise a slide waisted.


6) No PDF. Use Powerpoint (or equivalent) carful with film.




Personal Crit


1) Could be more contemporary


2) Lighting was lame


3) More adventurous


All very fair points, so more pushing the envelope, so to speak.




Urban Noise Video 1 Minute (watch in HD/full screen for best effect)


Well it seemed to cause a bit of amusement near the end, not sure why, so answers please or is my Asperger’s cutting in?
A bit romantic and poetic thanks to Vaughn William’s ‘Lark Ascending’ (but not 
the obvious bit) going into a lovely minor key.


Always felt it had too many slides and the first few were a bit messy, generally needs tightening up and a bit more of a radical proposal.

A bit muddy on the lighting, and also a bit too many dark spots, has an East German Border feel about it. 

Worked hard on this one to try and get the sunrise through the tree, really not that easy, half blinded myself getting photos of similar sunsets. The important thing is the silhouette effect. The tree opposite should be much darker and the lens flare not quite right. More birds, though Mr Fox i like. Slowly getting atmosphere even if its not that subtle at present.


Dappled light and distance seem to work well. Plus grumpy teenagers out with Mum (much rather be on my Nintendo). pleased with the grass, trees improving.

Now a week of AutoCAD.

My least favourite programme, but found out today (thanks Paul) that files can still be converted to Bryce, but you have to convert to 3Dmax from AutoCAD.
Another 100 hours of my life gone i suspect.

Got a test copy of V-Ray, may give it a go as Photo realism is the in thing.

Thats it……


Thats All Folks!!!

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A quick note


I will not be adding to this blog for a while as it will clog it up for those present 3 rd years BA’s (good luck to all) who maybe having a look around to see were we got up to in the storm that is the last 5 months of the Degree.


If any of you are the slightest bit interested here is a link to my final work that was pinned up (spelling mistakes and all).


http://parklifetw.blogspot.co.uk

Also continuing (must be raving mad) to study on the MA see ‘Felix in a Hat’ on the side. Sequential’s are slowly improving, determined not to lose that touch that so many before me seem to lose from graduation to finishing the MA. Time will tell.

Any questions etc, feel free to ask, just put a comment on this post. And remember ‘it ain’t over till the …… guy sings’ (bless him, you won’t find a better teacher).

Winging It

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Is defiantly not good for you!


Well our group (group two Green Cranes) got away with blue murder today. Tom and Benz were very generous with their marks for us. Well done to Lisa, Jimmy and Ben, also all who contributed to the hashed together presentation.
Some of the other presentations were very slick and deserved the high marks that they got, particularly liked the model of Andy’s group, the graphics of the Isle of Dogs group and the Piano concept of Joey and the crowd. Well done to all, plenty to plagiarise sorry, be inspired by.


So we have now divided some of the work out to peoples strengths ( read comfort zones). The plan being that we all place our work on Dans mobile me account and then put together a slick, stunning and well thought out presentation.


A couple of sequential sketches.

A 300 year in the future (yep we still wear Jeans so my time traveller friend tells me, and they re-named the Snickers Bar back to a Marathon, so all is not lost for humanity) picture of a flooded London, with high rises losing their lower floor, but in tact as they were designed with that in mind (thanks Ambica). Also floating houses that move with the tide. Not very pleased with this one a bit rushed thus the distant buildings look a bit naff. Generally looks photoshopped thus the effect of belief is lost.

Much happier with this one. Set for the more recent history by the edge of the River Lee. Maybe some better refection of the sky in the water and more dappled atmospheric light, but it seems to work in a, Jekyll painterly manner’


Friday another  1 min silent presentation, particularly difficult for the likes of Jimmy, Ben, Dan and I (who says women are the talkers).


Curry, Bed and digging tomorrow at Hadlow……Nice.


In Art I am out of Context

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Or that at least how it feels


Normally I don’t comment on class crits, but this is an exception to the rule.
Why? Well sometimes one is overawed with wise and insightful advice and this was one of those occasions, for me at least.


As someone who loves Modernist/Constructionist art (though no expert, just get it) I have always been a bit suspicious of Post-modern art even though generally I like it. The point that I always struggle with is the allegory bit.
Connecting art with place, context, history etc. Surely must be better than the isolated modernist piece that relies on just being, were ever its placed.
I suppose ignorance always leads to suspicion (on my part ) so listening and taking extensive notes was a huge help to get somewhere to understanding this side of the art world.
I am very aware of the Emperors New clothes syndrome and like anybody else i don’t want to sucked in and mugged. I don’t want to be separate and exclusive from people, and the people we serve as designers/artists, otherwise its pointless and at worst vain.


Though the whole ‘space’ and ‘place’ difference is where its at for me, as jogging peoples memory or getting them to see a space as a place and thus valuing it, is the reason for our occupation….‘its about people…..stupid’. How we do it depends on all the other factors of context (but there are occasions were we create the context for others to follow, like the modernists) and in my opinion the God of context should be a small g.


On a personal note (like the above was somebody else’s opinion) the crit on my work was spot on and really didn’t think about the message being too simple and thus once solved (like a crossword puzzle in a daily paper) the piece would be ignored. So a bit more depth from my side of the gene pool, unlike the rest of my classmates who generally had thought through their work to a more in depth state with questions still to ask.


My conclusion its about the end user and their interaction on daily basis for my Car Park in the dullest of Suburbia.


As a sign off point the lecturers have a depth of knowledge that comes from actually creating such works with all the wrestling of justification and doubt that goes with the territory, as well as being well read. To be able to bounce back such wise words can only come from the deep pool of experience.



Pencil, with iconic Google pin as destination
Thin from the side and tilting back took look as if it landed like an arrow.
Quick bit of PS






As Changeable as the Wind

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Theme Project , silent (well almost) presentation
Well rather jumped upon finding out that we had only one minute to present, (rather than the assumed 3) so my 2 min video was lost in is minor glory. Also no sound on the machine (so i will endevor to upload some drivers so that we can all have sound if not bring a lap top in and play them simultaneously, as your lap top does the sound and the picture on the TV)


Other point to remember are, all MAC users save to mpeg-4, not a quick time movie as it won’t play(as Jimmy tried too).


Video 
Well rather rushed so the idea was not executed properly but with a bit more time would’ve refined it. The pace was set by the music and thus that i was annoyed that i could not play the whole 2 minutes. Admittedly we were the guinea pigs. So next vid will be more refined i hope. 


Full screen button next to ‘Vimeo’ press while playing 

The Boys Are Back In Town

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Or is it the Goodies?
Either way the inter tutor banter was alive and well. So we all met for the first time as a large group (40+) and Tom, Robert and Benz took us around the Embankment, South Bank, Grays Inn and back to Somerset House. Stopping occasionally for some observations about the good, the bad and ugly practice of previous designers.




Some points that I picked up


Noise
The issue of noise pollution and its effect on humans emotionally. Ways of screening ie the building next to the railway line blocking out the noise from the railway line to the South Bank. Effective use of the space for commercial enterprise, similar ideas in Holland ie the large car showroom that spans the edge of a motorway in glass and steel.


Space
Human scale and were to use appropriate width of path ,ie high footfall 11m but would be wasted and feel like an urban desert in an area that that does not have the density of population to justify such a scheme.


Long Term vision
300 years? or at least the provision for evolution over that period. Careful positioning of trees with the long term view. Creating a web of open space. Analysis of land use.


Gabriels Wharf
Village feel due to human scale of shops to open space felt a bit like the set from the 60’s series ,The Prisoner ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zalndXdxriI&feature=related ). Spooky.


Boza Bikes
Tom talked about Forum Magnum Square and why its a disaster.


5 Elements in Design
Buildings
Landforms
Paving
Vegetation
Water


Urban Theory


1)Jane Jacobs
2)Holly Whyte ( a particular favorite of mine, Mr Placemaker ‘ in my opinion)
http://felixfatfunk.blogspot.com/2011/02/its-about-peoplestupid.html
3)Billy Hillier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_syntax


Is it about  DESIGN or URBAN THEORY? or is there a third way (heard that somewhere before Mr Blair)?   =  THEME DESIGN


IE
Urban food production
Urban Forestry
SUDS ie a swamp
Quiet Space…(white noise Paley park NY, a brilliant study of human activity in a small space)
Specialised Space ( ie south bank skate area)


some pictures including, south bank skate park with some err colour, an interesting small landscaped space, not sure. Turbine hall Tate, never bored of theis space and building. An old Datum mark, always interesting when you find them. Finally the griil over the stones below at the rear of Somerset House.



Wandered away to the Thames never to be seen again…..