Talk:Planting Design 2013 - Working Group 5

CASE A: Gerdab (Gerdab-e Ben, the Ben lagoon) گرداب بِن by Majid Amani Beni

Radu - absent for the pressentation,(feedback based on wiki page) : The author pressented an interesting case study that I hadn't any knowledge before. I enjoyed learning about this site. The case was well documented from the cultural point of view but lacks in information about climate and plant species that are relevant for me to fully understand the site characteristics. The analytic drawings demonstrate author's approch in a macro fashion. This could be a good way to undertand the site context but I think he should be more interested in detailed view on the site, too. He didn't upload any projective drawings but from analyzing the analytic drawings I can say that the author want to have a continous tree line and better realtion between the site and soroundings. In my opinion I would try to show more the unicity of the place by treating the site as an oasis in the context of lack of green areas. The lagoon have the potentiol to be highlated because of the plants that are there that seems to be in contrast with soroundings, and this asspects can be more valuable then integrate the site more fluently with the soroundings. This way it can become a interesting site from tourism point o view and a landmark for the region. I encorouge the author to keep documenting about this place because it's an interesting one and should be given more attention from the community.

Rebecca: Analytical drawing 4 is the most helpful diagram, which visually explains the problems of the site. It brought up a few questions in my head such as: is there a mix of species of the trees? It seems that the lagoon is mostly for human recreation, perhaps you could suggest also lower level planting, which might also provide new more enclosed spaces for people to relax in? As Radu mentioned, seeing the site as an 'oasis,' is something you could really run with. You were saying one negative point was that there is no green space between the city and the lagoon. It is a really great idea to connect the city to the lagoon via a green route. I believe this would be a good way to encourage people to go to the lagoon, and also, to walk or ride a bike there. However! How easy would it be to do this in the climate? What is the climate?! I saw in one of your pictures near by some irrigated planting site, presumably agricultural food produce. If a planting design would need irrigation, this is another problem you should bring up. It would be interesting to know what animals insects you might find there? I noticed that the edge of the lagoon is a concrete edge, which is not ecologically great; it is better to have sloping slightly vegetated banks. If there is any trailing native plant species, this is a easy/cheap way to connect the water to the land for nature. I come from a place where it rains constantly, with lots of birds, so I apologies if the above things I have said are not helpful, again this is why it would be helpful to have more more information about climate/nature. Otherwise I enjoyed learning about this place which is so different to what many of us are used to.

John: I found it very interesting to read about the connection between greenery and tourism. This is a topic that swedish research would like to know more about but at the moment information is rather scarce here. Is it believed that an ecological approach to planting design reduce maintenance because nature handles itself more? It was almost but not perfectly clear, I guess this is a common conception anyhow. The seasonal approach in the analytical drawings was helpful. I agree with Rebecca that analytical drawing no. 4 was really helpful in explaining the current situation, I also liked the projective drawing no. 4 out of the same reason. I would like more landscape archiects to use these tilted aerial photos. A scale measurement or scale bar would have been useful in the analytical plan

CASE B: Park Angiolina by Leon Plahuta

Radu - absent for the pressentation,(feedback based on wiki page) : The author did a complete and very good documentation about his chosen case study. Park Angiolina is world known for its flower borders. I enjoyed reading about whole site and learning important facts about its culture and landscape. The documentation he's done, made a very clear idea about the site and its context. I enjoyed that the author raised some questions and issues about law when it comes to protected areas and how green spaces are degrating in time or how can we conserve the site. This questions can lead to an intersting discussion and raise awerness on this important issues. Even though the author admits his subjectivity on the case he presented very relevant information on the site. The analytic drawings are very well done with clear information that puts firmly the site in the urban context and showing the good and bad parts that can imediatly lead to proposals. After this good documentation and analyzing of the site the proposals came naturally. I like the author's perspective on non aggresive interventions that do not change the site characteristics but improve its value through punctual functional proposals that are developing the area of the park.

Rebecca: There is a lot of passion in this project, which is really great to see, this landscapes cultural and social background is highlighted in a lot of ways and I believe it is really successful for gaining an insight in to the landscape. The analytical drawings are really successful; I found the one, which analyses characteristic views particularly interesting and it was possible to get a real feel for the site without ever having visited. You mention that to some people, might find your ideas farfetched. However It also seems by what you have said, that some areas of the park are undergoing rapid change. It might be possible to talk about the changes you want to see in then next fifteen year come in stages. What could you do in 5 years…and what could you do 5 years after that? Also in terms of the structure of writing it would be helpful to have more subtitles. All in all a very interesting and enjoyable piece.

CASE C: MFO-Park by Carolina Esteves Flores

Radu - absent for the pressentation,(feedback based on wiki page) : The author presented an interesting case that is meant to show good practices in using an old industrial area and transforming it in a useble, recreational park through planting design. The architects that designed the site used climbers to cover the metal bars from the site. This gave a distinctive look that quickly became a landmark of the city. The documentation is well done, making clear about the context and the plants that are used. One of the most important facts about this case is that they used a high variability of plant species so the changing of the seansons can realy change the perspectives on the site through the changing colors of the flowers and foliage. The author highlights the importance of using season changing in your advantage through planting design. The analytic drawings make a clear idea about the context of the site and shows the author's main issue on using plants that give distinct feelings in different seasons. The projective drawings are demonstrating the positive example of "bringing to life old industrial non functional areas", through planting design. The human intervention should only start the natural way of vegetation invading not usable space and creating a very unique site.

Rebecca: In a way the author chose a difficult site to analyse, because, as she mentions there is not likely to be massive changes to the landscape in the next few years and so projective drawings are difficult. For a lot of people our natural surroundings we do not nessisarily want to change in a big way, only manage. So, I really liked how she brought across the idea of "nature taking over," it is certainly something we are seeing a lot in recent landscape architecture, where our industrial heritage meets a kind of nature hegemony. I have been interested in this site for a while and so it was thought-provoking to get a local perspective on this landscape. I would be interested to know how tourists and local people use this space, do people walk through and leave, or is it somewhere that people feel comfortable spending time? As Radu says it is good that the author has highlighted seasonal change. I was wondering how dynamic the place could feel so was really helpful to get a full list of plants.