Design diary

I have been exploring how I can apply the main elements of my concept throughout my master plan. I will then take these ideas and create a sketch design of what I would like to create. My primary concept is surrounding the idea of chaos and order and how we can have an impact on the natural world. This is a rather literal interpretation of the butterfly effect. A lot of the ideas come back to conservation and how we can have a huge impact on the natural world with this site.  

I have been working on my NBS Specification. I have been using the NBS software to create this, and this has allowed me to add the different materials I wish to have. These specifications become the basis for ensuring everything on site is built correctly and maintained correctly on site. This has been really interesting to see how the small details which I want are communicated to others. I have found specifying the elements I need easy enough but sometimes it's hard to know if you've specified everything you will need.

  I have been working on my drainage plan. I first looked at the direction and the flow of water within the site. In areas where there is a down slope and hard surfacing I have then put drainage channels across the hard surfacing.

  This week I went to the natural history museum, it was really intresting to look at different parts of history and think about how we can incoperate these ideas into the natural world. My favourite part of this museum was the geology area. It was really intresting to see the different rocks from around the world and how beautiful they can be. It gave me an appreciation for the parts of the earth we can't see and how we can really pay homage to these elemenets of natural form within landscape design.

 I have been looking at creating my setting out plan. I have been using the field feature within AutoCAD which allows me to create a block that when I move the point will automatically generate the coordinates rather than me manually inputting each one. The feature isn't perfect due to the point constantly changing sizes however this method is still significantly easier than manually creating the setting out plan. Setting out plans is used on-site to ensure all areas are built correctly. This method of setting out allows people to use a GPS to ensure everything is in the correct place. The other method of setting out is to use an agreed centre line which then dimensions are created relative to this agreed line. There are pros and cons to both methods however with how advanced GPS is it makes the most sense to use this method as there is less room for human error.

  I have started to sketch my design and look at how I can use shapes to show my message surrounding the butterfly effect. Within the site there will be many areas that will be colorful and have elements of play. There will be a lot of areas which are rewilded and have species which are specifically aimed at encouraging butterflies to go into the site. There will also be an area of educational wetland for users to learn about flooding as the site is prone to this.

  I have created a functional diagram for the site, this will allow for me to create a more detailed masterplan. I have sectioned each area around a central point, which will be a meeting point for users. The site will have many nods to butterflies, which is my concept. The play areas will be really colourful and hopefully give some more character to the site.

  I have started to explore the butterfly effect and how this idea can be integrated into the site. There are many different ways for these ideas to be shown including focusing on the different generations of people from children (through play) to elderly people (through rest). The concept revolves around the idea that the impact we have as humans is important and we therefore need to be aware that even the small things can have huge consequences.

 I have been starting to develop my theme for Alney. I have been doing this by using each keyword and thinking about what comes to mind when I explore each word. I started with my objective and started to explore the words "nature" and "human". This exercise really helped me think critically and deeply about my concept and the themes which I am exploring. I think in future I will do this straight away when coming up with a concept as I found this to be a lot more fruitful of an exercise in comparison to a usual mood board.