Collaborative Design Planting Design Working Group 25

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University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Bucharest - a new study field

Name	USAMVB Campus
Location	Bucharest
Country	Romania
Authors	Diana Culescu, Amber Roberts, Kianoush Suzanchi, Tim Patton


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Landscape and/or urban context of your case

The proposed site is a residual space within the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Bucharest campus. It resulted when one of the oldest buildings of the University was demolished (at the end of the '90s) and since then - although it stands right in the heart of the campus - it doesn't seem to find its right place.

This green patch doesn't really have a purpose or a "landscaped face" and the plants layout makes it hard to be used by the students or the teaching staff in their every day activities. Hard, but not impossible! The lack of a proper pavement didn't stop people to cross it as a shortcut in the current movement. The image of the place and the comfort it can offer changes in bad weather.

The vegetation, peripherally disposed on the site, acts as an obstacle for the informal pathways developed all over the campus (people often use the roads in their daily routine because the sidewalks are formally made or lack frequently and, therefore, no coherent route can be established for pedestrians). So far, the plants disposition has taken into account two factors:

1) the footprint of the former building is conditioning the species and the size of the plants that can be used;

2) the empty space left in the middle represents a territorial reserve for future built development for the University.

The low efforts toward plants maintenance is another hint about the uncertainty which is characterizing the future of this little green space.

What are the objectives of your design?

Please give a short written argumentation (not more than 150 words). It is ok if you have different or even contradicting objectives within your group. Just make it explicit at the beginning of your process

Diana Culescu

My proposal aims to bring a new field of research closer to the campus users. The University has a broad space intended for study, but all the spaces revolve toward the "anthropic" approach of the vegetation (horticulture, fruit trees production, viticulture, vegetable farming, etc.). I think that a place where people can observe the natural processes (secondary succession) is really lacking in order to complete the research fields and the chosen site has the potential to become an emblematic space in this respect.

Amber Roberts

Kianoush Suzanchi

Tim Patton

Analytical drawings

Please add four analytical sketches/drawings (or montages/schemes) of your case. Every group member needs to contribute at least one drawing.

analytical drawing 1
analytical drawing 2
analytical drawing 3
analytical drawing 4

Projective drawings

Please add four projective sketches/drawings (or montages/schemes), of course with an emphasis on planting design/vegetation aspects. Every group member needs to contribute at least one drawing representing his/her individual ideas.

projective drawing 1
projective drawing 2
projective drawing 3
projective drawing 4

Design Synthesis

Please analyse the individual approaches presented so far and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses (you may use the SWOTanalysis model). Try to create a synthesis and represent it with a plan and some sketches. You can still use drawings/sketches.

Design Synthesis

Summary of the collaborative process

Please reflect on your collaborative design process. Which potentials have you encountered? What was most difficult? What does collaborative design mean for you? (approx 150 words).