Landscape Journal - Autumn 2014

Landscape The Journal of the Landscape Institute

Autumn 2014

Capability Brown comes of age Landscape character assessment / 23 King’s Cross takes shape / 38 Science of smell / 45

landscapeinstitute.org

A S T R O Fascinating encased gemstones for modern urban settings – The

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Landscape Autumn 2014

Editorial

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There’s nothing wrong with normal under a year ago, the fashion world

coined the word ‘normcore’.

According to Vogue, New York trend agency K-Hole came up with the term last October, to describe the idea of dressing like everybody else, in regular clothes that don’t immediately shout about their design – jeans, T-shirts, sports shoes, that kind of stuff.

Cover image ©: National Trust Images/David Noton 1 – Agnese Sanvito

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Since this is the world of the trendy, there has to be a twist. The fashionistas may look pretty middle of the road to most of us who are what film stars patronisingly term ‘civilians’, but the cognoscenti can spot, through the odd careful detail, that what at first glance looks unexceptional is actually excruciatingly expensive and exclusive.

That kind of sartorial in-joke is the last thing that one would want to translate into landscape. Just imagine: ‘It may look like an ordinary gravel path, but actually it contains a significant number of uncut diamonds’. It wouldn’t and shouldn’t work.

But turn the concept on its head and it becomes more appealing.

Giving a great deal of attention to the quotidian, so that it works extra well (and not at inflated prices), is one of the best things a professional can do. Celebrations of the everyday are even more important than of the special. In her article about landscape planning on pages 9–12, Rebecca Hughes explains that where once effort went only into understanding the ‘special’ landscape, there is now a growing understanding of the importance of the everyday, especially to locals.

Dominick Tyler’s big picture (pages 6 and 7) comes from a project that celebrates local and disused terms for describing landscape – a way of helping us all appreciate what is around us, since once something has a name we consider it to be more significant.

Our technical feature on smell and the city (pages 45 to 47) talks about ways that we can better understand the ordinary world that surrounds us, and design for it. And, in ‘A word’ on page 66, Tim Waterman argues against the mindless embrace of the icon.

Landscape architects are often criticised for being insufficiently assertive, but making modest places special in a quiet way is not a self-effacing thing to do. It requires skill and confidence, and probably the ability to fight some battles. Noel Farrer’s presidency is taking housing as one of its main themes, and that is an area where numerous high-quality but ‘ordinary’ spaces are required. Read Jo Watkins’ piece on housing on pages 23–28 and you may decide that, while ‘normcore’ has already peaked in the fickle world of fashion, dealing with the normal in landscape architecture is an approach whose time has probably come.

Landscape Autumn 2014

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Landscape Contents

The Journal of the Landscape Institute

Publisher Darkhorse Design Ltd 42 Hamilton Square, Birkenhead Wirral, Merseyside. CH41 5BP T 0151 649 9669 www.darkhorsedesign.co.uk Editor Ruth Slavid landscape@darkhorsedesign.co.uk Editorial advisory panel Tim Waterman, honorary editor Edwin Knighton CMLI Jo Watkins PPLI Jenifer White CMLI John Stuart Murray FLI Ian Thompson CMLI Jill White CMLI Eleanor Trenfield CMLI Amanda McDermott Landscape Institute president Noel Farrer PLI LI director of policy and communications Paul Lincoln ––– Subscriptions landscapethejournal.org/subscribe Advertising landscapeinstitute.org/contact Membership landscapeinstitute.org/membership Twitter @talklandscape ––– The Landscape Institute is the royal chartered institute for landscape architects.

Regulars Editorial

3 There’s nothing wrong with normal

Bigger picture

6 All in the name 9

Character Assessment

Technical

Culture

66

A Word

45 Smelling the city 49 Carved in stone – Liverpool library

A long way from home A team from BDP travelled to the other side of the world to work on one of the first and most important projects, restoring Christchurch after its earthquakes.

Landmark

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The views expressed in this journal are those of the contributors and advertisers and not necessarily those of the Landscape Institute, Darkhorse or the Editorial Advisory Panel. While every effort has been made to check the accuracy and validity of the information given in this publication, neither the Institute nor the Publisher accept any responsibility for the subsequent use of this information, for any errors or omissions that it may contain, or for any misunderstandings arising from it.

Landscape is the official journal of the Landscape Institute, ISSN: 1742–2914 ©August 2014 Landscape Institute. Landscape is published four times a year by Darkhorse Design.

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Landscape Autumn 2014

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55 A celebration of Capability Brown 61 The future of landscape

As a professional body and educational charity, it works to protect, conserve and enhance the natural and built environment for the public benefit.

––– Landscape is printed on FSC paper obtained from a sustainable and well managed source, using environmentally friendly vegetable oil based ink.

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Update

The evolution of Landscape

Features

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38

King’s Cross takes shape The landscape at London’s King’s Cross has reached a halfway point.

Developer Argent is adding an interest in horticulture to its concern for the public realm.

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23 Photo ©: 1 – Steffie Shields 2 – BDP 3 – Crest Nicholson 4 – Atelier Loidl Landscape Architects/ Julien Lanoo 5 – John Sturrock

Good news for housing Landscape lessons from the Housing Design Awards, and an in-depth look at the Bath Riverside project.

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A park of two halves Gleisdreieck Park in Berlin, built on either side of a busy railway line, is a great success thanks to its limited palette of materials and community engagement.

Landscape The Journal of the Landscape Institute

Autumn 2014

Capability Brown comes of age Landscape character assessment / 23 King’s Cross takes shape / 38 Science of smell / 45

landscapeinstitute.org

Cover image – The Capability Brown landscape at Croome Park in Worcestershire, now owned by the National Trust.

Correction – In the summer issue in our interview with Noel Farrer, we said how much he would like to see a course in landscape architecture at a Russell Group university. The University of Sheffield, which has a highly respected landscape course, is in the Russell Group. Apologies to staff and students at Sheffield.

Landscape Autumn 2014

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Bigger Picture

By Ruth Slavid

All in the name

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he photo opposite is of an ooze.

While we might think of ooze as just a descriptive word, according to photographer Dominick Tyler it is also a word used in the South East for a large tidal mud flat. He knows because he has set up the Landreader Project, to create a glossary of the English landscape.

As for the ooze, Dominick Tyler writes, ‘There are several examples of oozes in the Thames and Medway estuaries including Ham Ooze, Slede Ooze and Stoke Ooze.

This image looks out over Bishop Ooze in the Medway. Ooze is one of the many landscape words that I’ve found which go above and beyond the simple job description of a noun. Rather than just designating a thing or a kind of thing, words like ooze evoke the nature of that thing, in this case the ooze is as the ooze does. What better word could there be for a mass of mud?’

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Landscape Autumn 2014

Photo ©: 1 – Dominick Tyler

It is in two parts. He is inviting members of the public to submit words with photographs and locations of the words on a dedicated website www.thelandreader.com. And next Spring, Guardian Faber will publish a book called Uncommon Ground which will show his photographs of landscape features against stories and histories of the features described.

Landscape Autumn 2014

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Update

By Rebecca Hughes

The evolution of landscape character assessment Landscape planning is now a substantial and important part of the practice of landscape architecture, and has been maturing for three decades to a point where it is a core area of work for many landscape architects. As we approach the vote on Scottish independence, we examine the differing approaches in the devolved nations, and look at how landscape character assessment can straddle boundaries.

Photo ©: 1 – VisitBritain / Britain on View

T

here was a time in the late 20th

century when the validity of

considering and caring mainly for those places that ‘made the mark’ which justified special designation, whether for ecological, cultural or landscape reasons, was beginning to be seen as an incomplete way to recognise and manage our land-based resources. Within the sphere of landscape planning, it became increasingly apparent that there was a need to consider the wider landscape and landscape scale processes and systems, such as river catchment systems, whole watersheds or topographic units. This belief led to the need to compile comprehensive landscape inventories from a clearly structured and rigorous method of landscape survey in order to produce a factual rather than an evaluative database which defined the landscape characteristics of different

1 – Landscape character assessments can help to define and preserve landscapes such as this in Swaledale, Yorkshire which help attract visitors to Britain.

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areas of countryside. This inclusive approach ultimately gave rise to what is now called landscape character assessment (LCA) and now provides the foundation or backbone of many aspects of landscape planning practice today.

Why did the LCA method develop?

The LCA method developed partly in response to a change in the way that environmental resource inventories were conceived in various disciplines. It became clear that, in order to provide more effective advice in land management, it was necessary to scale up land-based inventories and to use a perspective that put natural systems at the forefront.

The LCA approach required field survey considerations to be at a landscape scale, spatially defining and describing areas and

the diversity they displayed. Hence since the late 1990s, a fairly complete record of the distribution and description of all landscapes no matter what their condition was assembled. This included the spatial determination of all landscape character types and areas, descriptions of their key characteristics, patterns and attributes at a scale of at least 1:50,000 of all rural parts of the UK. It is worth remembering that the LCA method of mapping and survey recording was developed at a time when GIS was not yet in mainstream use. Since then all this material has been converted to digitised map versions and electronic datasets which can be used in combination with other environmental data sets and for monitoring landscape change over time. Before this /...

Landscape Autumn 2014

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Update

period, data, information and spatial records of many UK landscapes were often at best incomplete, or at worst non-existent.

What is the basis of landscape character?

The complex pattern and diversity of landscape character on these islands owes much to its remarkably complex geology which underlies the natural and managed land cover, as seen on the BGS Solid Geology and Stratigraphical Map. In some areas the BGS map also demonstrates the commonality and continuity of this baseline topographic structure between different mainland areas of each of the devolved nations. Look for instance at the common geology between parts of coastal Northern Ireland and Southwest Scotland or the marches of Wales and the West Midlands or the border hills of northern England and southern Scotland.

Unsurprisingly this is also reflected in the identification of certain landscape character units found in various regional-scale landscape character assessments. The landscape character types and areas defined may have different names and will have substantially different cultural landscape histories and patterns of land use as a result of human engagement and intervention.

However their underlying commonalities will be found in the detailed descriptions of physical attributes of their landscape character which is essentially derived from their baseline geological formation, history of geomorphological processes and resultant topography.

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Crossing boundaries The reason for focusing on this is to reiterate that the administrative boundaries of the devolved nations do not necessarily reflect changes in landscape character on either side of these boundaries, nor would we expect them to.

When landscape planners undertake LCAs in these areas, they can assist any dialogue and continued liaison between neighbouring administrations and local authorities. This may be by advising on potential landscape change or policy review processes which may affect the wider landscape of bordering landscapes regardless of which administration they are governed by.

It is often the case that the boundaries of different landscape character areas are not necessarily definitive lines on the ground and do not follow a feature, such as a road or a forest edge. Instead they often present a zone of transition from one character area to another where features or patterns change as one moves from one area to another. Due to the presence of transitional landscape areas there may also be a need for different administrations to seek advice on potential landscape implications which may be due to the activities or decisions proposed in neighbouring areas which may be the subject of statutory consultations.

Today there is a general consensus that the pace and scale of actual or potential landscape change is increasing. As noted in the European

Landscape Convention ‘developments in agriculture, forestry, industrial and mineral production techniques and in regional planning, transport, infrastructure, tourism and recreation and, at a more general level, changes in the world economy are in many cases accelerating the transformation of landscapes’.

This rapid change makes it all the more important that Landscape Character inventories are reviewed or updated periodically so that they can also be used as the basis for monitoring landscape change. This monitoring can also feed into any advice that may be requested on the capacity of landscapes to accommodate further change of different types. This enables the sustainability of landscape character to be possible rather than ‘tipping points’ of landscape change being passed so that diversity of landscape character may be lost over time. There is now a second generation of refined or specific LCAs, which are landscape capacity studies. These are frequently commissioned by public bodies that are faced with complex scenarios for particular development types such as housing or wind farms. These studies can inform and assist in decisions on future policy and suitability of different planning applications, including cumulative effects of multiple proposals.

Ordinary landscapes It was in the late 1980s that there was a growing awareness among those working in wider and local rural contexts, that all

Image ©: 2, 3 – VisitBritain/ David Clapp 4 – Reproduced by permission of the ‘British Geological Survey ã NERC. All rights reserved. [CP14/075].

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2 – This patchwork of fields in Southpool, Devon, is typical of the area.

3 – Murlough Nature Reserve looking towards the Mourne Mountains, County Down, Northern Ireland.

4 – This map shows sedimentary rocks classified according to their age of deposition and igneous rocks according to their mode of origin.

landscapes were important to someone.

No matter how ‘ordinary’ certain landscapes may have seemed to those who were not familiar with them, and despite the fact that they could not be compared to landscapes recognised for their special qualities or iconic status at a regional or national level, these ordinary places mattered to individuals and sometimes to whole communities.

This point has come up repeatedly in public consultations where there are particular development proposals, or in boundary discussions where new or revised landscape designations are being considered. Landscapes that can be seen from, or enjoyed close to, where people live are often very much valued.

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Reproduced by permission of the ‘British Geological Survey ã NERC. All rights reserved. [CP14/075].

Geological map of Britain and Ireland

Yet there was little comprehensive landscape information or spatial data available for these landscapes. The introduction of the LCA approach made it possible for the first time to record them on comprehensive landscape inventories.

This countrywide ‘wall to wall’ LCA coverage was achieved and led in various ways by the commitment of agencies such as CA, SNH, DoeNI and CCW. At that time these bodies served the devolved nations, working together and evolving a means to rectify the limited data and spatial information on landscape compared with that for ecology, habitats and species distribution.

At that time landscape architects in the public sector were beginning to describe

their LCA work as landscape planning, rather than traditional landscape architecture, especially if they were employed by agencies such as the Countryside Agency or Scottish Natural Heritage.

A few local authorities had in-house landscape expertise, albeit often a skeletal resource and not all LI members, who dealt mainly

with land use policy and development proposal application casework, often without any knowledge of LCA or its potential applications.

So landscape character assessment programmes were established which covered all land areas of England and Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Scotland was the first country in Europe to complete /...

Landscape Autumn 2014 11

Update

5 – Hadrian’s Wall, seen here near Housesteads, Northumberland, is a traditional barrier between England and Scotland, but does not mark a change in landscape character.

coverage of LCA at a regional level as SNH used a ‘bottom up’ approach, partnering with each local authority across the country.

This contrasted with the initial approach in England which commissioned a top-down approach covering the whole land area in a single exercise that was driven by the early days of GIS, and later much refined with the Character Map of England project.

Europe and the European Landscape Convention Several European countries, including Holland and Sweden, had watched the development of LCA and were keen to adopt this comprehensive landscape approach.

Ultimately this led to a Europe-wide project and map of LCA led by researchers at the University of Wageningen which was later adopted by the Council of Europe.

The early stages of the formulation of the European Landscape Convention also assisted the process of adoption and dissemination of the LCA approach in various countries, both within and outside the EU as it is essentially inclusive, comprehensive and, at the first stage, non judgemental on issues such as landscape values and quality, focusing more on condition or ‘state of health’ of landscapes.

In the UK a variation in the approach of different countries was often linked with differences in the degree of detailed appreciation of the cultural landscape dimension by our heritage environment colleagues in those countries. In Wales, 12 Landscape Autumn 2014

where the LandMap (see http://www.ccw. gov.uk/landmap) landscape assessment approach developed, this relationship provided a particular stimulus as historical cultural landscape relationships were already perhaps better understood at a greater level of detail than elsewhere.

LCA today LCAs, which were originally undertaken in various ways by the different administrations to suit differing circumstances and needs, are now being updated, extended and/or reviewed, as appropriate. There is a common understanding in all the devolved nations that the inclusive approach to landscape assessment is beneficial and that the need to record and monitor all landscapes, their current characteristics and dynamics of change is both necessary and worthwhile.

Armed with this data, better informed decisions can be made for managing landscape change and the future sustainability of landscape character in all parts of the UK. The LCA approach has made it possible, both in terms of diversity retention as well as assisting in defining a landscape’s capacity to accommodate the demands of today and tomorrow.

policy and development planning. One example of this is where regional landscape character assessments have been adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance to inform Development or Local Plans. Other LCA applications have also advanced in the last decade or so, for example seascape and coastal unit assessments, landscape capacity and sensitivity studies. Application of these assessments can assist decision makers in considering various changing land use patterns or increasing development pressures and potential cumulative effects, such as new settlement planning, major road or other infrastructure provisions, or renewable energy proposals. In answering this demand many landscape architects have developed the appropriate skills and widened their experience in LCA and its various applications especially in the field of landscape and visual effects assessment. Indeed some landscape architects now work exclusively as landscape planners.

The growing importance of landscape planning now requires further thought in the future provision and training of landscape architects in the contents and depth of this topic in the LI’s core curriculum.

Discuss...!

The increased understanding of the LCA approach that now exists among policy makers and land use planning professionals in all parts of the UK, has contributed to discussions on sustainability issues and the management of the landscape resource in

Rebecca Hughes is a fellow of the Landscape Institute and is the policy consultant in Scotland.

Image ©: 5 – VisitBritain / Rod Edwards

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Feature

A long way What is it like to work in an earthquakedevastated city on the other side of the world?

It is exciting, challenging and fulfilling, a landscape team from BDP learnt when it was appointed to one of the first teams of consultants after the Christchurch earthquake.

Image Š: – Ross Becker, photographer

BY RUTH SLAVID

from home Landscape Autumn 2014 15

Feature

THE LANDSCAPE which has its headquarters in TEAM FROM BDP, London, has just completed its

work on a project about as far away from its home base as it is possible to get, in an environment which is both familiar and unfamiliar, and which poses challenges and opportunities that, we hope, we will never encounter in the UK. The team has been working in Christchurch, New Zealand, addressing the area around the Avon River, following the devastating earthquake that the city suffered on 22 February 2011. The Avon River loops through the city centre, the worst-affected part of the city. More than half of its buildings were wrecked, as well as thousands of residential properties and numerous underground services.

The restoration of the CBD therefore will be key to the regeneration of the city, and what is exciting is that it will not be returned to the way that it

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was before – instead the aim is to make it better.

Christchurch, which is the largest city on New Zealand’s South Island, was seen as the most European of cities as epitomised by its cathedral, destroyed in the earthquake – and of course the name of its river. But it was not perfect, and there was an aspiration to have the kind of sweeping improvements that can only be made after a catastrophe. These included making the city greener, making it easier to get around and less cardependent, and improving the quality of buildings in the CBD and make it more compact – while there were some well-loved buildings, there were also many later examples that were indifferent.

Image ©: 1 – BDP 2, 3 – Ross Becker, photographer

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1 – Montage showing the new waterside terraces that will be created.

2 – The city centre was the hardest-hit part of the city.

3 – Large areas of the centre were fenced off because buildings were structurally unsafe.

The earthquake We talk about ‘the Christchurch earthquake’ of 22 February 2011, but in fact it was one of a series, with some even arguing that it was an aftershock of an earlier quake. The 22 February quake measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, whereas on 4 September 2010 there had been a quake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale in Canterbury, the region in which Christchurch sits. That earlier quake had caused considerable damage in the city, whereas the February quake was much nearer and more devastating.

Just 10km southeast of the city centre, and 2km from the port town of Lyttleton, it killed 185 people, More than half of these died when the Canterbury Television Station building collapsed and caught fire. The government declared a state of emergency.

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One of the reasons that the earthquake was so damaging was that it was very close to the surface and led to a lot of liquefaction (literally becoming liquid and losing all strength) of the ground – not only contributing to the collapse of buildings, but also silting up the river.

In addition, there was a series of severe aftershocks in the area, some classified as ‘very strong’ and at least one as ‘destructive’. These both caused some further damage and made people nervous – a reason why there was some migration out of the city, although people are returning now.

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Landscape Autumn 2014 17

Feature

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The Avon River Precinct was the first of these.

It covers a 3.2 km stretch of the river travelling through the CBD, including not just the river but the land on either side. For the British working there this was disconcertingly familiar.

Christchurch is known as the ‘Garden City’, and the trees on its banks included weeping willows, chestnuts and limes – all common trees of the British landscape but, of course, imported exotics in New Zealand.

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Destinations A series of episodic events • Activity nodes and park ‘rooms’ (lawns, spaces, transitions) • Social infrastructure • Constantly evolving series of ‘events’ • Facilities re-engagement through, new access and transitional uses etc.

Otakarol / Avon River

5 4 – The masterplan for the Avon River and East Frame, which between them contain the central business district.

5 – Analysis, considering the river as a series of destinations.

6 – The family park has aspirations to be the best in New Zealand.

7 – A new promenade will link the informality of the river to the businesses and activities that will face it.

Image ©: 4, 5, 6, 7 – BDP

Andrew Tindsley, who is a landscape architect and main board director at BDP, explained, ‘It was evident that the community of Christchurch sought change and wished to see a rejuvenated city that was greener, easier to get around, and with a more compact centre with a stronger built identity.

Together these suggestions helped to provide a direction for the Blueprint, the first stage of the City’s wider recovery plan. Completed within just 100 days, the Blueprint defined a new spatial plan for the city centre, proposing zones of development activity, a network of green spaces and a number of anchor regeneration projects’

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After the quake In response to the severity of the event, the New Zealand government set up a dedicated organisation called CERA, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority. This was a government agency with a cabinet minister overseeing the process of regeneration and renewal.

CERA works in partnership with Christchurch City Council and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu which represents the local Maori community. Re-planning started quickly, with the community participating in an initiative called ‘Share an Idea’, which generated more than 100,000 contributions.

BDP was appointed as part of a team led by Opus, a large and successful engineering practice in New Zealand. Also including in the team were two local landscape practices, Boffa Miskell and Land Lab, and EOS, an ecology practice with expertise in aquatic ecology and river systems. BDP brought its expertise in running major projects as well as its overall understanding of landscape architecture.

The project was complex, but the principles were straightforward. They were: to re-establish the river as a vital corridor in the city, for recreation and for pedestrian and bike transport; to reintroduce some native planting alongside the imported species; and to improve the health of the river, which became severely silted as a result of the earthquake – in places the banks had also shifted by 0.5m. The aim however was to make it healthier than it was before by narrowing it in places so that the flow will be faster. This involved a delicate balancing act in terms of the vegetation. While vegetation stabilises banks, it also makes them ‘rougher’, tending to slow the flow. This is particularly important because the river has to carry away the water from a one in a hundred year flood – something that was experienced soon after the team started on the project. The work of the expert ecologists was vital. One of the aims is to allow inaka fish to re-establish. These tiny fish – a native equivalent of whitebait – are a good indicator of the health of rivers. /...

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Landscape Autumn 2014 19

Feature

In addition to the English, Andrew explained, Christchurch was home to ‘Ngai Tuahuariri, the local iwi of Ngai Tahu. They were the first inhabitants of this part of New Zealand and the land now occupied by the central city had traditionally been their food gathering place. Over the last 150 years much of their culture has been lost or hidden by the development of European settlers and the post earthquake rebuild provides a unique opportunity to celebrate both cultures and weave their futures more closely together.’

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The formality of the park-like environs of the river over time will give way to much more informal planting along the riverbank itself, and it is here that the native planting will be restored. The edges of the river will be as informal as possible. ‘We want people to be able to get right down to the water’s edge,’ Andrew said.

Beyond this edge there will be gardens, public spaces and in one place ‘the best’ new family playground in New Zealand, with the pedestrian and cycling routes beyond them. And beyond these there will be riverside facilities – bars and restaurants etc. This linear zoning has been worked out carefully in a way that should make the use of space easily legible without creating artificial striations – it should work on a subliminal level. In addition, the team has contributed to the masterplan for the East Frame, previously an urban mixed use city quarter just beyond the CBD. It has now been designated for redevelopment as a residential area, but one that will be denser and connect better with the city centre. The residents will be ideally placed to enjoy the newly defined Avon River – a place that has always played a vital part in the city and now will be even better equipped to do so.

Image ©: 8, 9, 10, 11 – BDP

The ‘English garden’ approach of the river largely ignored or superseded the original vegetation – plants which ironically have found their way into English gardens as exotic imports. After all, the climate is not all that different. These plants included cordylines and phormium tenax, both fibrous plants.

The Maori used both of them for their fibre content and as part of a wider natural system which provided them with food. At the time when Christchurch was developing, little attention was paid to this cultural history, but this is changing now, with an opportunity to redress some past actions.

8– T here will be direct access to the river and its water.

9 – Some of the ‘Red Shed’ team. Andrew Tindsley is third from left.

10 – The Red Shed – not a conventional workspace for landscape architects.

11 – Discussion between disciplines.

Working across the world Landscape architects work in a variety of offices, both their own and those of clients and collaborators.

None, however, have probably operated before from a bright red former secondhand car warehouse.

This was where BDP found itself operating – an indication of the very special challenges and opportunities for the team.

These were twofold. Firstly, there was the fact that there is almost nowhere that is further from northwest Europe than New Zealand. Working from the UK was never going to be an option.

The team was appointed in December 2012 and flew out to start work the next month. Given the degree of devastation, accommodation was not easily available – and was expensive. As the workers realised that they were going to be there for a while, they needed houses rather than to stay in hotels. They all found places to stay – helped

by Andrew Tinsley’s wife who, having taken early retirement, set herself up as an unofficial accommodation officer.

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‘Alongside all the others, we built a really good team out of all those disciplines. Everybody wanted a piece of space in the Red Shed.’

For the first few weeks the newly coalescing team ‘never touched a computer’. Instead they were walking, talking, sketching and even kayaking along the river to survey the situation from there.

At weekends many of the BDP team went away to explore the country, aware that this was an opportunity that might not come again. The team both within and beyond BDP has evidently developed a great strength. Younger members have learnt self-reliance, and Tindsley as a senior member of staff had the opportunity to concentrate almost entirely on a single project – a rare opportunity for somebody in his position.

Working a long way from home can be tough, but it has great advantages as well. Whilst the BDP team have now returned to the UK, their New Zealand consultancy colleagues continue with the tough challenge of taking the project through construction.

Office space was not readily available either.

Opus picked up the first arrivals and took them to their new workspace – quickly christened the Red Shed. The main change that the team made, Andrew said, was to have all the partitions taken down so that the lots of people could work together.

It became such a vibrant place that even those working for other consultants nearby who didn’t need to co-locate chose to do so.

‘We were in a temporary office building,’ Andrew explained, ‘with a lot of people we didn’t know, on the other side of the world.’ Even the BDP people weren’t all used to being together, coming from different offices in the UK and the Netherlands.

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Landscape Autumn 2014 21

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Feature

Photo ©: – Crest Nicholson

Good news for housing

The entries to this year’s Housing Design Awards show a generally encouraging approach to landscape.

We discuss how much things have improved, and how much more is needed, and focus on one of the most delightful schemes.

BY JO WATKINS Landscape Autumn 2014 23

Feature

THERE IS A STORY Bevan made a speech to THAT IN 1946 NYE Parliament at 2pm setting up

the National Health Service, and at 4pm he made another speech announcing the Housing Design Awards. Championed subsequently by both Labour and Conservatives (Macmillan was a big fan), the awards were a recognition that it wasn’t just a co-incidence that people who lived in squalid housing conditions tended to get sick more often than those who didn’t.

We know there is a relationship between health and environment, but sometimes society is too lazy or too myopic to do anything about it. The Landscape Institute’s recent position statement Creating Healthy Places has sought to spell out why the economic, cultural and environmental benefits of creating healthy landscapes make doing so simply a ‘no brainer’.

Unlike many other awards, there is no ‘landscape’ category within the Housing Design Awards. Each entry is judged on its overall merits, so, public space, urban design and the relationship with the wider landscape are all taken into consideration, along with, for example, tenure mix, quality of build and whether or not this would be a nice place to raise the kids.

Judges comprise surveyors, planners, architects, developers, surveyors and this landscape architect.

It is a fertile and entertaining mix. All shortlisted schemes are visited by all the judges. Generally this consists of two days touring London and two days in an insane charge around the country looking at everything else. Somehow it works.

This is my second year as a judge and it is striking that there really does seem to be a genuine attempt to deliver good open-space planning and highquality landscape design in nearly all the projects.

These are light years away from the poorly considered, car-dominated layouts I recall from when I first started working as a landscape architect 30 years ago.

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And yet... there are still, even in these austere times, examples of criminal waste, either through a lack of understanding of the importance of correct landscape management, or a ludicrous dependence on planting which is manicured to within an inch of its life. It wouldn’t bother me in a fully private setting, but there’s a lot of public money involved here. Over-engineered roads (unsympathetic highways authorities who stubbornly refuse to acknowledge there was ever something called the Manual for Streets), metalwork repainted at the whim of company chairmen, established, healthy native planting ripped out and replaced with ornamental species.

‘It was only temporary’ – why? They should heed the mantra: ‘Do it once and do it well’?

The downside of design and build contracts is always in evidence. With design teams frequently ditched at planning, the quality of finishes really suffers either through a failure to grasp the intention of the designer, or through deliberate cost cutting.

This ranges from badly crafted internal bannisters to cheap doorbells and duff paving details. It may result in ‘a cost-effective solution’ but it is not sustainable design or good value.

It is therefore quite remarkable, that in spite of all this, there is some truly great stuff going on out there.

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Bath Riverside 1 – The new buildings are dressed in Bath stone. They are being used to recreate connections to the riverside.

Don’t, whatever you do, ever, attempt to drive into Bath from the east at 9am. Traffic is at a complete standstill. If ever a city needed help with devising alternative transport strategies then this is it.

Image ©: 1 – Crest Nicholson

So, the news that construction has begun on a vast residential scheme (by Bath standards) at the former Stothert and Pitt crane works alongside the River Avon next to the city centre is to be celebrated.

When complete, Bath Riverside will contain over 2,200 homes on a site of 44 acres, 19 acres of which will be open space. There will be commercial space and a school.

This is the gritty side of Bath. No Georgian crescents here. This is Sainsbury’s and Holiday Inn Express territory. There are sheds where presumably things are made or repaired. There is tat. There is even a small gyratory system (Bath scale). There is a lot of derelict and under-used land, but what to do with it and how should it look? That is the perennial Bath problem which seems destined to strangle any development in the city at birth, so to get anything built which is not neo-Georgian pastiche is an achievement in itself.

But at last after, it has to be said, much careful thought and exhausting consultation, the project is under way with the first phase of 299 homes up and running and occupied. Of these 40% are described as affordable.

The thing is, that by encouraging high density development (by Bath standards), at a riverside city centre location, this ticks lots of boxes. It is on brownfield land. It encourages people to leave their cars behind (in a splendidly vast underground car park for 220 cars) and use buses which connect through the middle of the scheme, or bikes (it’s flat beside the river in this city of hills), or walk the 15 minutes to the centre of town, or, maybe, take a boat.

Connections are key. For the first time in decades, the public has access to this stretch of riverside, bridges are being restored and new networks created, effectively extending the walkable city to the south west. /...

Landscape Autumn 2014 25

Feature Masterplanned by Feilden Clegg Bradley (Holder Mathias is the executive architect) with Grant Associates as landscape architect, the scheme manages to straddle inevitable references to Georgian architecture with a recognition of the scale of the brick and stone Victorian warehouses which still exist further upstream and which wouldn’t look out of place in a northern industrial town. Yet what we have is an undoubtedly contemporary solution and this is a credit to the developer Crest Nicholson, the design team, the planners, and to the good folk of Bath who have had the sense to recognise something good when they see it.

There is probably something to be said for employing Bath-based architects and landscape architects who presumably have by now a pretty good idea of how to get things done in the city. The fact that Feilden Clegg Bradley and Grant Associates work together on a regular basis must help a bit too.

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There is one nice quirk to the project which is the low-rise neighbouring scheme of carefully sculpted houses designed by the excellent Alison Brooks Architects which acts a foil to the Feilden Clegg Bradley buildings.

Brooks’ scheme, of just 26 dwellings, not yet complete, is a follow on from its wonderful project at Newhall Be in Harlow, but with a Bath twist.

There is nothing twee or retro about these. The houses anchor the key north east corner of the site and will be a clever transition to the traditional low-rise Bath townscape. There are nods to Bath’s traditional building forms, and carefully controlled views towards the city and the river. Grant Associates is the landscape architect for this too.

The scheme was one of four winners in the ‘project’ category of the Housing Design Awards, for incomplete work.

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Image ©: 2, 3, 4 – Crest Nicholson 5 – Grant Associates

The scheme is dominated by bold monolithic blocks punctuated with generous amounts of open space, much of it either public or publicly accessible.

However there are two sizeable ‘pavilions’ set within gardens overlooking the river, and a series of townhouses tucked away to the rear. Unsurprisingly, dressed Bath stone is the dominant material.

2 – A crane is a reminder of the former use of the site, as the Stothert and Pitt craneworks.

3 – Alison Brooks Architects has designed a smaller scheme alongside, which is currently under construction.

4 – There has been an investment in public art – amusing if irrelevant.

5 – Landscape plan of this first phase.

Now, I have always been suspicious of public art.

‘Let’s make a real mess and then tart it up with bits of art’. I hate the gratuitous use of sculpture.

Crest Nicholson makes a big play of public art at Bath Riverside. There is stained glass (nice) and lots of little bits and pieces of sculpted artifacts tucked away in nooks and crannies, and all designed by local students and schoolchildren. Which is rather sweet really. Regrettably, even in Bath, a lump of metal is a lump of metal and bits are being nicked (even as I write this), with the same gusto as they’d be nicked in South London (where I am writing this).

In a way, setting aside their scrap value, this altruistic gesture is fine because these small pieces, slow worms, roman helmets, ships etc celebrate the place, but by banging on about what is really a bit of a sideshow, Crest Nicholson is missing a trick.

Why bother when you’ve got such distinctive and elegant architecture set in a landscape which is all about its place?

This is a terrific scheme. It is bold and creative and there’s a mix of people living here. It’s in a great location. It celebrates the river. It connects to the city by bridges and pathways. It creates new open spaces which link to other city parks. But mainly, I think I’d like to live here.

The landscape design is crisp: simplicity of materials with appropriate planting palettes. In some locations just two or three species are used in a masterly way when others would be tempted to ‘enrich’ things a bit. As with the buildings, Bath stone dominates the finishes.

The apartments are spacious and from the upper levels have views to the surrounding hills and to key Bath places such as the Royal Crescent and the Abbey.

The other great thing is that the riverside path is allowed to flood and that part of the open space is set at riverbank level with the express intention of this too being allowed to flood. More boxes ticked. /...

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Landscape Autumn 2014 27

Feature Beside the river, there are complex and entirely appropriate matrices of waterside herbaceous planting, including (to my delight and surprise) wild garlic (pretty to look at and you can cook with it!).

Courtyards are cleverly considered so several groups of residents can gather in secluded spaces without being too aware of people nearby and without a sense of being overlooked, even though they are. There is a boules court in the middle although I suspect it may have been a mistake to surface it in astro-turf. There are places to have barbeques and places for children to play.

Much of the planting is edible. There are great swathes of strawberries, plum trees and herbs.

It is all so sophisticated that someone who knows what they are doing will need to look after it all.

I was slightly concerned at one point when it was announced that the sort of tasks the concierges (caretakers?) would undertake was grounds maintenance. One can only hope that Crest Nicholson don’t fall into the trap of thinking, even for a moment, that low cost is good value.

And it won’t take much to look after this planting properly, just a bit of thought and some decent advice.

Trees are planted big, and they’re alive and healthy.

There’s no mucking about here. Bath Riverside is thriving on the back of an investment in the skills of a good landscape architect. I hope Crest Nicholson recognises this.

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So, there’s a rhythm and a quality to all this which cheerfully ignores the surrounding late 20th century British vernacular of sheds, roundabouts and car parks, to reflect Bath’s historic core and helps reconnect this place with the city, its people and its landscape. It tells us that we can do things differently if we are just prepared to invest in a bit of thought and go that little bit further. I, for one, am rooting for it.

Jo Watkins is a former president of the Landscape Institute.

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Image ©: 6, 7 – Crest Nicholson

6 – Courtyards have been wellconsidered and designed for a wide range of uses.

7 – Much of the planting is edible.

Landscape Summer 2014 07

A park

30 Landscape Autumn 2014

Feature

of two halves Photo ©: – Atelier Loidl Landscape Architects/ Julien Lanoo

Creating a park from land that is divided by a railway line and surrounded by building sites cannot be easy, but Atelier Loidl’s Gleisdreieck in Berlin is a great success, thanks to its limited palette of materials and sensitivity to the needs of the community.

BY JIM HUDSON

Landscape Autumn 2014 31

Feature

The sites were largely abandoned after the war, and later further divided by the route of the ICE high-speed rail line that rises from below ground at the only point where the two sites connect, creating an uncrossable wasteland, effectively separating the residential districts on either side.

A decade ago, when I first came to Berlin, the area was a lost world of long-abandoned train tracks and graffiti-smothered buildings in the undergrowth – an urban explorer’s paradise, but not a place that was part of the life of the city.

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32 Landscape Autumn 2014

The new park forms a key element of the Berlin Senate’s long-term green space plan for the city following the fall of the Wall, as a still ongoing process of ‘rethinking the gaps’ and knitting the divided city back together. It is also a response to the strongly expressed needs of local residents’ groups to bring at least part of the derelict site into community use; although the district is well served in terms of green space, there is little in the immediate area. The site lies in the former West Berlin district of Kreuzberg, which has a long history as Berlin’s most alternative and politically active borough, giving rise to strong local action groups, who successfully opposed a 1970s motorway network that would have radically changed the area. They have remained closely involved in the gestation of the park proposal, which was first designated as a protected green space in the mid 1990s, and local groups had already piloted some small-scale projects on the site’s western edge, before work on the park began.

1 – The high-speed rail line is visible from much of the park.

2 – Plan of the park, showing the two halves joined later at a narrow crossing over the railway line.

Image ©: 1, 2 – Atelier Loidl Landscape Architects/ Julien Lanoo

translated literally, means ‘platform triangle’, and refers to the prominent intersection of three early twentieth century railway viaducts that still stand and now form a single station close to the centre of Berlin.

The name gradually came to refer to the two vast areas of disused goods yards to the south and west of the viaducts, which have recently been reborn as Gleisdreieck park.

THE NAME ‘GLEISDREIECK’

The brief set by Grün Berlin – the Berlin state-owned company that has already created and run several other parks across the city – was therefore to create a space that would reconnect the residential districts, and would also link these older quarters with the new office and commercial district of Potsdamer Platz immediately to the north. Grün Berlin also wanted the park to serve both the local community and residents from across the city, with as many different and varied uses as possible. Atelier Loidl, the landscape architect that won the commission in open competition in 2006, responded to the brief with a ‘park of two speeds’, and has successfully created a huge variety of different settings, achieving the feel of several different parks in a single project.

The total budget was 12 million euros, with a total park area of 26 hectares.

Because of the nature of the site as two distinct parts, and the ICE route that cuts through it, the project was conceived as two separate but linked parks built in separate phases: the Ostpark, (East Park) completed in 2011, and the Westpark, finished in May 2013. A smaller third phase, the ‘Flaschenhals’ (or ‘bottle neck’, named for its shape), forms a southern extension to the Ostpark, and opened in April this year. Although the Flaschenhals is divided by a busy main road, the designers have renovated a number of the original cast iron railway bridges, which allow cycle and walking routes to connect the two parts. The Flaschenhals is also the final piece in the completion of the Berlin-Leipzig cycle route, which runs south from the centre of the city.

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The 10 hectare Westpark is the buzzier, ‘active’ side of the park, incorporating multiple sports pitches, play areas, and cycle and roller-blading tracks, but also a large grassed sun terrace. It feels strongly like a part of the city, surrounded by ongoing construction, criss-crossed by two busy overhead rail lines, and with the office towers of Potsdamer Platz. The 17 hectare Ostpark, by contrast, is much more relaxed, incorporating large areas of protected nature reserve along with several former railway buildings and sections of track, and has the air of a series of meadows set in shady woods. Numerous play areas and activities for younger children have been located along the eastern edge of the Ostpark where it meets the older residential districts. /...

Landscape Autumn 2014 33

Feature Another very successful design element is the largescale striped font used throughout the project for signage and way-finding symbols, acting as a kind of brand for Gleisdreieck (it is not used in other parks run by Grün Berlin). The font is even extended into the markings for sports courts and play areas – a particularly effective moment is the pavement lettering for the Berlin-Leipzig cycle route, which chimes with the speed of the ICE trains as they hurtle down the length of the park.

Atelier Loidl has restricted itself to a limited but very effective pallet of robust construction elements that result in a modern, industrial aesthetic. Berlin is rarely a ‘pretty city’ in a Parisian sense – it is a 19th century industrial city violently impacted by the events of the 20th – and Loidl’s designs embrace and work with the ‘rough-and-ready’ feel of the locale.

Red concrete surfaces form ramps and pathways, and sometimes widen into terraces that use polished red cast asphalt. Grey asphalt and white concrete are also used (the latter for paths that cut east-west) as well as long strips of stone track ballast alongside these. The orientation of the pathways in the Ostpark echoes the north-south linear feel of the former rail tracks, and this is further emphasized by the design of the chunky Accoya wood benches, which are aligned in runs of up to 80 metres. The luminaires that follow various routes through the whole park are also a key visual element – a simple design, but with each post ‘cranked’ at a different height. Combined with the benches and paving, these form a kind of sinuous sculpture across the park.

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34 Landscape Autumn 2014

The Westpark was perhaps the greater challenge to the designers; given the busy rail routes that border and cross over it, an ‘oasis of calm’ was not an option.

Its ‘active’ nature is oddly compromised by the incorporation of some existing ‘Kleingärten’ on its western edge. To describe Kleingärten as German allotments does not fully convey their essence; they are as much a social club as a place to grow fruit and veg, usually having semi-permanent buildings and a patch of lawn, and often a communal bar (a café and shop for trading produce has been provided as part of the park development). It will be interesting to see how the privacy of the Kleingärten and the particular openness of the Westpark evolve alongside each other.

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Image ©: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 – Atelier Loidl Landscape Architects/ Julien Lanoo

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In the Ostpark, Atelier Loidl has used the fact that the space is essentially a raised plateau at a level of up to 4m above street level to create a world apart from the city. The original station wall down the length of the eastern boundary on Möckernstraße has been reconstructed, with a number of stepped entrances that give direct access to some of the community-driven projects: an intercultural garden (modelled on New York’s Community Gardens) is long established, and provides space for small-scale community agriculture. In Germany, and in Berlin especially, there is a strong tradition of ‘outside education’ particularly at preschool level. Berlin also sets the bar high for the design of children’s playgrounds, and the Ostpark does not disappoint, with numerous facilities including a playground formed as a forest of tree trunks, and a highly successful ‘nature experience area’ for local 6 to 12 year olds.

Image ©: 8 – Jim Hudson

3 – There are ‘wild’ areas within site of the railway lines.

4 – Materials are simple but wellconsidered.

5 – There are intelligent changes in level in what is basically a flat space.

6 – The designers were not afraid of ‘urban’ materials, such as concrete.

7 – A play area for children.

8 – With few parks in the immediate area, this is a welcome resource.

A significant part of the Ostpark has been designated as ‘Das Wäldchen’ – the ‘little wood’ or ‘grove’, where woodland has grown over the goods yards largely undisturbed for the last 50 years. Some of the woodland is closed off to protect species of nesting birds and other wildlife, although this is low key, and is achieved by retaining much of the dense planting and by fencing off some core areas. /...

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Landscape Autumn 2014 35

Feature

Image ©: 9 – Atelier Loidl Landscape Architects/ Julien Lanoo

9 – Preserved rail tracks run through the park.

10 – At points the rail lines run through clearings in the trees, creating a slightly mysterious feel.

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For many visitors, the most memorable element of the whole development will be the Ostpark’s half-buried railway tracks and crumbling platforms, which emerge spookily from the undergrowth of the Wäldchen. The woodland boundaries are clearly defined by the clean edges of the white concrete paths that cut through them – an effect that surprisingly heightens the sense of ‘unexplored territory’ beyond. In some locations signal boxes and other railway structures are held in a state of arrested decay, evoking the postwar wasteland as well as the century of industry that preceded it.

The effect is taken further still in the Flaschenhals extension to the Ostpark, with woodland partially cleared from rail tracks and signal boxes retained, complete with their as-found graffiti. These conserved elements feel like a natural extension of the ideas used at the German Museum of Technology

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(Deutsches Tecknikmuseum) on the park’s northern boundary. The museum opened in 2003, retaining and reusing many of the existing railway buildings in a park-like setting, dominated by the rusted steel bulk of a water tower. One of the fully working diesel locomotives from the museum’s collection, which previously ran on a short section of track within the museum grounds, is now able to make its way slowly down the entire length of the Ostpark – a surprising and slightly surreal sight.

Despite using such striking imagery to refer back to the site’s past, Atelier Loidl stress that the focus of its whole design ‘is on the future development of the park and the new image of the site’ rather than on ‘railway history or the nature myth created by man’s absence over the last 60 years’. It sees the park’s history as a starting point rather than an act of

36 Landscape Autumn 2014

11 – Old railway structures have been kept in a suspended state of decay.

12 – Outdoor games room.

13 – CorTen steps are part of the ‘tough’ aesthetic.

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Image ©: 10, 11, 12, 13 – Jim Hudson

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conservation. And it is true that beyond the ‘set pieces’ of the park’s historical traces and the ‘settled’ feel of the eastern edge of the Ostpark, it seems implicit in the way the park is designed that there might be future changes, a sense of a work-inprogress, even though the project is technically complete. This impression is reinforced by the fact that this part of Berlin is itself a work in progress; both parts of the park currently seem to be

surrounded by a sea of tower cranes and construction activity. A large new development of low-energy community-led housing is fast rising next to the Westpark (with Atelier Loidl responsible for the landscape). The mass of industrial buildings that clusters around the Gleisdreieck viaduct structure itself is currently being converted piecemeal into a new media hub, and in the process opening up a more porous boundary to the park. Inevitably the nature of the Westpark in particular will change as these new districts come to life.

If one criticism can be made, it is that the weakest element of the park’s design is the linking of the Ostpark and the Westpark. At present, the transit point between the two is a single narrow route, which on the Ostpark side comprises a single fenced-in path that feels cramped, before opening out as it crosses over the ICE rail link. As the park becomes busier, this link is bound to become a bottleneck.

Perhaps a future development would be a stronger east-west link that is able to span the parks in a direct line, with another bridge over the rail line.

But this seems not to be a problem for the new park’s wide range of users; the many different elements and parts that make up the project have so far proved hugely popular. In the first days of this summer it was clear that Gleisdreieck had passed the ultimate Berlin park test: it had the feel of a summer festival, but one where you can still find your own quiet corner.

Jim Hudson is an architect who lived in Berlin from 2007 to 2013.

He blogs at http://betavilleblurb.wordpress.com/

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Landscape Summer Autumn 2014 37

King’s Cross takes shape Developer Argent is already known for its enlightened attitude to landscape. As its development at King’s Cross in London takes shape, it is more than fulfilling expectations – and showing a new interest in horticulture.

BY RUTH SLAVID 38 Landscape Autumn 2014

Feature

at the massive King’s Cross THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT YEAR development in the heart of London. With planning permission granted at the end of June for the large new square and park at the centre of the development, the landscape for the scheme has reached a halfway point in terms of planning and delivery.

And it is not just any old landscape. From the beginning, Argent, the developer of the property (actually a joint venture with London and Continental Railways and DHL, called King’s Cross Central Partnership Limited) has put landscape at the forefront, seeing it as vital to the creation of a new place from what was for a long time a blighted area. What is fascinating is not only to see this coming to fruition, but also to appreciate how the thinking has developed and ideas have changed in the course of the project.

Image ©: 1, 2 – John Sturrock

Argent already understood the importance of putting in infrastructure and landscape first.

It had used this approach on Brindleyplace in Birmingham, working with the same masterplan team of Allies and Morrison, Porphyrios Associates and Townshend Landscape Architects – two very different architects plus a landscape specialist.

At King’s Cross it was essential to create a ‘place’ from the beginning that would work for residents, users and those simply passing through.

The original masterplan, on which the outline planning permission was based, defines routes through the site and areas of public realm – in total 40% of the 67 acre estate consists of new streets, squares, parks and gardens. While the ambition is laudable, it would not work unless they were good streets, squares and gardens – but they certainly are.

Townshend Landscape Architects has retained its involvement throughout the project, but although it has designed some of the key spaces – Granary Square and the newly consented new garden – it is not responsible for all of them. The new public space has been designed by US practitioner Laurie Olin, for example, and Handyside Gardens, a narrow strip of garden leading down to the canal, by garden designer Dan Pearson. Pearson’s involvement extends beyond that. He is working with Townshend on the ribbon of planting that will lead from Handyside Gardens to Granary Square and also on an elevated area above the canal that is drawing inevitable comparisons with the High Line.

It carries on to Gasholder Park and onto the roofs of two buildings, a school and the planned ‘triplets’ housing. /...

1 – Granary Square, with the buildings of Pancras Square taking shape to the south.

2 – The ghat steps connect the development to the canal.

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Landscape Autumn 2014 39

Feature There is a delicate balancing act. King’s Cross is meant to be a new city quarter, not a ‘development’ that is alien to all that is around it. Yet it also needs its own coherent character, and not to be a collection of whizzy moments with no peace and calm. So far it is definitely avoiding these pitfalls – there isn’t a ‘King’s Cross style’ like some corporate development, yet there is a sense of continuity.

You reach Granary Square by crossing the canal on a new bridge. Granary Square itself, fronting the canal and backed by the award winning University of the Arts building and by two fine restaurants, has come to typify the public space at King’s Cross.

And yet its very success has led to some of the changes in thinking.

Simply paved in slender blocks of porphyry stone, Granary Square is animated by the people who use it – and by the four blocks of fountains, designed

by Fountain Workshop, which can change in their pattern and colour. It is a delightful space, furnished with some temporary (although impressive) benches, and also with lightweight bright yellow metal cafe chairs. These latter were an experiment.

Ken Trew, a landscape architect who is in charge of the public realm for Argent, explained that nobody knew when they were bought whether they would be stolen or not. The fact that they were not was hugely encouraging and has led to further planned purchases.

The original intention was that Granary Square could accommodate a range of events, including major concerts and other relatively formal occasions.

But its success has precluded that. Major events which require shutting down part of the space for build-up and taking down would disrupt the happy and intense occupation of the space.

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The other factor is how very hard the surfaces are.

There is a bosque of pleached limes on the western side but that is the only planting. It is appropriate and successful, but it led Ken Trew to question how hard many of the other spaces should be. ‘As we bring each area forward,’ he explained, ‘we have to do a reserved matters application. We said to Robert Townshend, do we want to do something else?’

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3 – Masterplan of the King’s Cross site, which is to the north of the railway station.

4 – Fountain Workshop designed the fountains that provide so much pleasure in Granary Square.

Image ©: 3 – Argent 4 – John Sturrock

Much of this is down to the calm choice of basic materials. The north-south routes through the scheme are all in place, lined with plane trees, creating a ‘spine’ and considerable development is complete along this route. At the southern end, nearest to King’s Cross station, are the office buildings of Pancras Square, fronting onto King’s Boulevard. The massive Google headquarters will go opposite these, and the way that Argent has dealt with its main entry route running through a building site is indicative of its approach throughout.

It has put a great deal of thought into the design of hoardings and until recently the space was also animated at lunch times by the Kerb food stalls.

When the next phase of building works required the hoarding to move out, narrowing the street, these food stalls moved to Granary Square.

One reason the garden is so little used may be because of the presence of a gate at the northern end. It is low and elegant and easy to open, but it gives a sense that one should not go through. I felt discouraged by it, even knowing that access was allowed, and a casual visitor is likely to be even more put off.

But the collaboration has worked well, and is to continue, with Townshend and Dan Pearson marrying their skills to give the more horticultural approach that Ken Trew is seeking. The Pearson-Townshend design and planting is made possible by Argent’s commitment to maintenance. The seasonal planting that Dan Pearson does is more demanding to look after than grass and box hedges, but the developer understands what is involved and is happy to do it.

And it will keep Dan Pearson involved over the years to help as the designs need to evolve.

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Image ©: 5, 6 – John Sturrock

5 – Garden designer Dan Pearson designed Handyside Gardens, sandwiched between the Arthouse apartments and a future retail development. You can see the back of King’s cross station in the distance.

6 – The planting in Handyside Gardens, still maturing, is far more imaginative than most municipal schemes – and Argent is committed to maintaining it.

The question was whether to bring more green in to future developments. Trew was struck by the public enthusiasm for Piet Oudolf’s planting at the 2011 Serpentine pavilion, designed with Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. As a result, he said, the team started to look for something different.

‘We looked at a lot of landscape consultants.

They were all a bit samey – a lot of box hedges and a bit of herbaceous planting. It is all right where it is appropriate, but we have a lot of residential development. We felt it should be more seasonal.’ There is a lack of public accessible gardens in London, Trew believes, and he was keen to provide some.

Dan Pearson said, ‘What is interesting about Argent is their commitment to quality and their vision of a landscape being something that has considerably more depth in terms of interest than an average landscape might have.’

Even with quarterly maintenance visits and the top-notch maintenance team, he has had to forgo some approaches that he would commonly use in a private garden. There are few annuals and few plants that will self-seed promiscuously, for example.

‘We have to provide the lived-in feeling in a more public way,’ he said. /...

Having looked around, the team decided to try working with Dan Pearson, who is a magnificent plantsman. ‘We thought we would see what happened,’ Trew said. Handyside Gardens was a challenge for him. It is a long narrow plot, with restricted clearance above a railway tunnel, which meant that some of the beds had to be raised to achieve a decent soil depth. It has the newly completed Arthouse apartments to one side, shielding it from busy York Way, but the other boundary is at present a hoarding to a busy construction site. It contains seating, incorporated into the beds rather than separate, and some play equipment aimed at younger children. It could have been a disaster but it is really lovely, a little gem.

At present, it doesn’t connect up well, since the path along the canalside that will lead to Granary Square is not yet open. Trew admitted that he regrets that there are not more visitors, but at least this has given the planting the chance to establish.

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Landscape Autumn 2014 41

Feature The mood will change as one travels along, he said.

Handyside Garden is influenced by the industrial heritage and linear nature of railway lines. As one approaches the canal, there will be a more watery language, and on the viaduct, which Dan Pearson insists will NOT resemble the High Line (‘there will be a greater sense of order, with hedges to echo the buttresses’), there will be a drier feeling.

Robert Townshend said, ‘I think in three years time, when the whole of the north bank of the canal is complete it will be a pretty fantastic piece of planting, and that will be down to Dan.’ He is obviously relishing the collaboration and says there will be further collaborations with other horticulturalists.

‘I think there will be more iterations of the same idea.’

But at the same time Argent has an intelligent attitude to time. This is shown in its embrace of the temporary, such as the Skip Garden which

has already had a couple of sites and has become involved with local restaurants, and in a willingness to wait to get exactly the right seating for Granary Square, rather than rushing for an OK solution.

It put up a living wall on the edge of canal, which was considered to be temporary. But Ken Trew says that it will stay ‘as long as it lasts’. If that is for 20 years he will be delighted. But there is a solid wall behind it in case things go wrong.

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42 Landscape Autumn 2014

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Argent is willing to change as time goes on, to sense a developing mood and to learn, not from its mistakes because there seem to have been few, but to see how things could be even better and to appraise the changing roles that the spaces it has created could play. If you are making a place, it is the people who use it that will decide how it functions. That is a simple truism – but one that many developers struggle to grasp. Argent is to be commended for having done so.

7 – Townshend Landscape Architects has designed the new park as a simple space for families to enjoy.

8 – The new square, designed

by OLIN, will be able to accommodate large-scale events.

Image ©: 7, 8 – Argent

What is really interesting about King’s Cross is Argent’s mixture of farsighted vision and a willingness to change. It has known from the beginning the type of place that it wants to create – engaged, green, a part of the city with high-quality landscape and architecture. It has the commitment to carry this through – long-term stewardship and coherent planning. So, for example, as new areas for development take shape, Robert Townshend is involved in advising the architects on animating the streets. For example, he cautions against having large areas of glazing on ground floors of office buildings. Occupants tend to feel over-exposed, and as a result either keep the blinds shut or put up reflective film – exactly the opposite of what was intended.

What’s next for King’s Cross At present what you can see if you walk around King’s Cross are well-designed streets, the great set piece of Granary Square, the charm of Handyside Gardens, the local landscape at the base of some housing, a new bridge (there are more to come) some temporary installations – and that is about it.

But there is a lot more planned. Here is some of it, described roughly going south to north.

Giant tree In Battlebridge Place, outside the exit from the Underground and at the start of King’s Boulevard, a large pin oak will be planted as a feature tree.

This is coming from Germany, and a team from the UK went to select it. Trees in German nurseries are often ‘engineered’ to be symmetrical for ease of transport but this one has been selected for its more natural appearance. Planting large trees can be hazardous, but those at King’s Cross should do well, since the developer is following Robert Townshend’s stipulation that every tree pit should have a capacity of at least 12 m3.

Pancras Square Due to open later this year, this is tucked behind the new office buildings by David Chipperfield and Allies and Morrison and in front of the council building and swimming pool being constructed to designs by Bennetts Associates. Conceived very much as a local space primarily aimed at the office workers, and which may also provide a cut through from the station, it takes advantage of the drop across the site of 7m. Water features, designed to be calming and to mask noise, will prevent different aspects when seen from above and below.

The ‘High Line’ The name may be cringeworthy but the intentions are great. A raised walkway on top of arches looms by a historic wall next to the canal. It fronts some buildings which will be turned into a restaurant and pub (apparently by Jamie Oliver) and is also likely to provide an alternative cycle route to the towpath below. Dan Pearson is designing the planting, taking into accounts the restrictions – in some places there is no additional load capacity or structural depth available for soil, and there has to be sufficient access for fire trucks.

Gasholder Park There are four gasholders that are being retained but in new positions, as they were displaced by the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

Three are still being restored and when they come back to site as the ‘triplets’ will form the enclosure for housing, designed by Wilkinson Eyre. But the first is already on site and will contain a park that will be a simple circle of grass surrounded by a colonnade with some planting, again by Dan Pearson. It will make the most of its enclosed nature to become a peaceful place, with the intention that at some times of day it will be used for activities such as Tai Chi. New public square Originally designated as Cubitt Square, but currently without a name, this was one of the two spaces to receive planning permission at the end of June.

Designed by American practice OLIN, it measures 78m by 49m and is intended to accommodate up to 2,250 people for events. To the west of the central spine, it will face a major cultural building (details are still under wraps) and will have seating, planting and fountains on its eastern side. Despite the vast dimensions of the square, Olin has designed these so that they will offer some privacy and intimacy.

New park Again currently without a name (it was previously known as Cubitt Park – you get the pattern), this has been designed by Townshend Landscape Architects and also received planning permission at the end of June. Situated in the northern, predominantly residential, area of the development, it is a deliberately simple space which will be largely grass. Measuring 136 by 40m it will be a place for families and recreation. There will be some sculpting of land into gentle mounds, both for visual interest and to prevent the entire park becoming one large football pitch. The flat areas between the mounding should just about be able to accommodate a five aside game. An avenue of plane trees on the eastern side will provide a visual link to York Way, the major road that runs along the site’s eastern boundary.

Temporary swimming pool On the northern part of the site that will eventually become the new park, and surrounded by construction activity, a temporary outdoor ‘swimming pond’ is being created. Opening this autumn, and intended to remain for 18 months, it has been created by Dutch architect Ooze working with Slovenian artist Marjetica Potrc. With an irregular form and surrounded by planting, it will be chemical free. It sounds fantastic – Argent may have to cope with some discontent when this temporary feature is removed.

Landscape Autumn 2014 43

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44 Landscape Autumn 2014

Technical

By Fiona McWilliam 1 – Victoria Henshaw, with an olfactometer, which measures the intensity of smells.

Smelling the city Urban design encompasses a wide range of issues, but smell is generally ignored. The author of a new book is keen to remedy the omission and get everybody to pay more attention to the ‘smellscape’.

O

r sense of smell cannot be switched u off, rather it draws in odours indiscriminately whether we perceive these odours to be good or bad.

Image ©: 1 – Steve Hill

While we see can that the visual landscape is separate from our bodies and have some control over our engagement with it, explains Victoria Henshaw, a lecturer in urban design and planning at the University of Sheffield and author of the blog Smell and the City, we are constantly immersed in the ‘smellscape’ as we breathe in and out.

Sense of smell is much more important to people than they actually appreciate, Henshaw says. ‘It is sadly only when we lose our sense of smell (a condition called anosmia) that we truly appreciate the role it plays in connecting us with our surrounding environment, our friends and family, and in evaluating the everyday items that we encounter in our lives’.

She mentions how Fifth Sense UK, a charity for people with smell and taste disorders, found in a recent survey of its 485 members

1

that 56% felt alone and isolated as a result of their condition and that 42 % suffered from depression.

‘Yet as it currently stands,’ Henshaw says, ‘smell environments generally exist as a by-product of other activities rather than having been created as an intended design for an area.’ As a result of this, she adds, ‘we get these weird scenarios where the most scented plants can be found in areas such as the central reservations of roads, or hanging baskets above people’s heads, where we can see but not smell the flowers’.

Scent has unique qualities, Henshaw argues: ‘It is ubiquitous, persistent and has an unparalleled connection to memory, but it is usually overlooked in discussions of sensory design’.

Through her work, which includes organising urban ‘smell walks’ both in the UK and further afield, odour advocate Henshaw is trying to get people to switch their attention to smell. ‘I like to take people to alleyways behind shopping streets which provides a good and surprising insight into how we organise our smell environment’.

You can smell the products of a particular shop, Henshaw says, through ventilation systems – smells that include the dye from new clothing, ‘artificially inserted perfume’, or the immediately recognisable odours of pet shops and pharmacies.

Pollutants, ie those gases that can potentially harm humans or the environment (such as those included in vehicle exhaust fumes) can adversely affect our noses. People who live in cities, Henshaw says, generally have a poorer sense of smell than those who live in the countyside. And living in heavily polluted cities can cause permanent damage to one’s sense of smell.

Gases can mask subtler smells, including those of vegetation, and can even reduce scent trails for bees by about a third.

Yet there’s no such thing as a good or a bad smell, Henshaw insists, as our response to different smells is learnt. (Babies, she claims, like the smells of excrement and sweat, because they are familiar).

The only in-built preferences we have for smells, it seems, are associated with those ‘that tickle our trigeminal touch nerve (on page 47’). These include mint and potentially toxic substances such as nail polish remover, which some of us grow to love.

How we react to smells in the outside world is highly influenced by place: we expect different smells in different types of places, a country roadside for example, or a city square. ‘If a hotel room is next to a kitchen, we might find its smell disgusting,’ Henshaw says, ‘but it’s not, it’s just in the wrong place at the wrong time.’ /...

Landscape Autumn 2014 45

Technical

2 – Victoria Henshaw leads a walk during the Manchester Science Festival in 2013.

3 – Diagram showing the interaction of smell, the environment and individuals.

4 – Leading a smell walk in Barcelona.

Numerous smell surveys have explored smell preferences, and Henshaw mentions that when the US army tried to develop a universal stink bomb for dispersing crowds, they couldn’t find one single smell that all people disliked. That said, freshly baked bread is one of the most universally favoured aromas in the West.

Across the Western world, she says, smell is not only one of the most marginalised of the widely recognised five senses, but also the one that people are apparently most willing to lose. In 2008, a UK insurance company assigned a monetary value to the total loss of sense of smell of £14,500 to £19,100. This compared with £52,950 to £63,625 for the total loss of hearing, and up to £155,250 for the total loss of sight.

like”’. They were also associated with ‘the working masses, ethnic minorities, the elderly and those living and working in the rural hinterlands’.

The prioritisation of vision in particular over the other senses was, Henshaw argues, fully embraced by modernism, ‘leading to the further rejection of positive roles for odour in progressive, high-quality urban environments’, in which designers ‘seek to suppress smells’.

We have to look back in history to understand why smell is held in such low regard, Henshaw explains: in the 17th and 18th centuries, ‘the enlightenment marked a societal move towards a civilised and humane society which prioritised the “noble” sense of sight and hearing over the “lesser” senses of smell, touch and taste’ – an approach ‘which became contained within physical built environmental form’.

She believes that smell should be ‘pro-actively considered’ in the delivery of areas where people can escape from the stresses of modern life. She has identified a range of ‘tools’ by which odour might be better considered as part of the design and management of the urban environment. Outlined in her new book Urban Smellscapes: Understanding and designing city smell environments, these relate to air movement and microclimates, activity density and concentration, materials and topography. These are all factors, Henshaw says, that are currently considered as part of existing design, development or management practice, and so ‘a wider, more holistic sensory approach to design could therefore easily be incorporated into existing practices’.

The enlightenment also heralded ‘a view of the natural role of women as being determined through physical and biological factors,’ she adds, ‘and the senses of smell, touch and taste became seen as feminine and “witch-

How designers respond has to be ‘area appropriate’, she explains. For example, near a busy road they could perhaps encourage air movement while in enclosed areas with cafes and restaurants or fragrant planting,

46 Landscape Autumn 2014

they could design buildings in a way that enables smells to concentrate.

‘One of the key things for designers to recognise are the smells that are already there, which can be revealing of the identity or history of a place, and which could be reinforced by visual or sound prompts.’

In her book, Henshaw notes that although ‘soundscape perception’ has a significant role in restorative experiences of urban parks, the number of studies examining any potential restorative effects offered by urban smellscapes remains limited.

When considering the key roles that smell plays in aromatherapy treatments and relaxation sessions at spas, she says, its omission from the majority of restorative environmental research ‘illustrates how markedly neglectful our cultural attitude is regarding odour, the roles it can play and the places where it belongs’.

Sensory gardens can provide great examples of where smell has been incorporated as a positive element in landscape or environmental design, Henshaw says, ‘but in my view these are few and far between and we need to think more proactively about the pleasures to be gained via smell and some of the other senses, such as the textures, taste and sound in more mainstream design practices.’

Image ©: 2 – Chris Foster

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Odour characteristics

Concentration/intensity Toxicity/trigeminimal stimulation Odour tenacity/rate of evaporation Length of exposure Gender

Odour familiarity

Social class

Individual characteristics

Culture

Odour training

Age Bodily state – hunger, pregnancy, illness

3

Volatility (heat)

Odour associations

Smoking habits

Air temperature

Smell perception

Built environmental form

Place expectations Occupation and workplace

Environmental characteristics

Wind-flow strength and direction

Natural or restorative elements

And while allergies will always have an influence on a small proportion of the population, she adds, ‘I actually believe that in our current practices, we deodorise environments far too much and as a result, make people less resistant to allergies through the resulting limited exposure.

‘In thinking more proactively about smells in our designs, we might create more human environments and places that better meet our sensory needs’.

How our olfactory system works It is only in recent years, claims Victoria Henshaw, that a dominant theory has been widely accepted by the scientific community about how our sense of smell works.

‘The sense of smell functions by drawing information from two key smell sensing organs; olfactory receptors provide the primary source for detection, with additional information provided through the trigeminal nerve.’

Image ©: 3 – Routledge

Air quality

Activities in the environment

When a smell is inhaled, Henshaw adds, it travels through the nose and is dissolved in nasal mucus. Information is passed through neurons to the olfactory receptors and to the olfactory bulb which is located in the limbic system, otherwise known as the brain’s ‘emotional centre’. This relays information

4

to other parts of the brain to form a pattern, and it is this pattern that the brain recognises, drawing from previous memories of encounters with that odour.

The olfactory receptors enable the average person to differentiate between approximately 10,000 different smells, and while normally a human can detect odours in concentrations as low as a few parts per billion (when diluted in air), other animals can detect much lower concentration levels. Dogs, for example, can identify smells somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 times better than humans can, while polar bears can detect a seal from more than a kilometre away.

‘The second, lesser known element of the sense of smell,’ writes Henshaw in her book Urban Smellscapes, ‘is the trigeminal nerve, which is the nerve responsible for sensation to the face’.

Olfactory nerve endings on the trigeminal nerve can detect even very low concentrations of odours that produce bodily sensations, typically the tingling and hot or cold feelings associated with substances such as petrol, paint, nail-varnish remover and many toxic chemicals. Some substances have odours detectable only through the trigeminal nerve, including a number of air pollutants.

‘Most odours have some trigeminal element to them,’ Henshaw explains, ‘this is what makes some people’s eyes water when peeling

onions, or causes them to sneeze when smelling pepper’.

The ability to detect an odour and the way that odour is perceived can vary, she adds, ‘according to the characteristics of the smell, the characteristics of the individual detecting it and the environment’.

She summarises these sources of variation in the diagram above.

Henshaw writes that over time, recollection and identification of odours has been shown to be much more consistent than that of visual images, and ‘once we have formulated memories of odours, we are very likely to retain them’.

Anosmia, the inability to perceive odour, is caused by inflammation of the nasal mucosa; blockage of nasal passages or a destruction of one temporal lobe. It can be temporary, but traumatic anosmia, caused for example by a blow to the head, can be permanent.

Further reading Urban Smellscapes: Understanding and designing city smell environments, by Victoria Henshaw (Routledge, 2014).

Invisible Architecture: Experiencing places through the sense of smell, by Anna Barbara and Anthony Perliss, (Skira Editore, 2006).

Landscape Autumn 2014 47

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48 Landscape Autumn 2014

Technical

By Carolyn Willitts

Carved in stone Designing creatively with stone requires more than just a great construction detail; understanding the material is key to achieving a fantastic end result.

for the landscape design through planning to construction detailing, I worked closely with Anthony Collins from Hardscape so that we could push the technical properties of the stone to achieve our concept, from the initial choice of materials to the detailed design and the creation of a tight specification.

1 – View across the literary carpet and granite wall to the café terrace.

Chris Moor, the landscape architect who worked on the project during construction, explained that most of the complications on site were to do with the setting out and how to get all the separate elements to line up perfectly.

The paving had to be designed so that the joints lined up with movement joints /...

T

e new entrance forecourt to the h award-winning refurbishment of the Grade II* listed Liverpool Central Library, by Austin-Smith:Lord, was designed to open up the space to the street, create a wow factor and signify the transformation of the library.

Image ©: 1 – Austin-Smith: Lord

Adrian Hazelwood, the landscape architect who designed the concept as part of a competitive bid to secure the work, says, ‘We were looking for something bold to set us apart... The library is in the middle of a line of very grand, large-scale buildings, so creating a new entrance that was both clearly visible but didn’t detract from the architecture, was quite a challenge’.

Two key elements achieved this: the literary carpet that names many books, films and music titles that can be found in the library; and the wall, which provides strong visual signage and connection to the street frontage.

Both elements were constructed from granite and a great deal of time was spent working with the supplier, Hardscape, which is wellknown for creating bespoke art features from stone. As the landscape architect responsible

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Landscape Autumn 2014 49

Technical

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50 Landscape Autumn 2014

Image ©: 2, 3 – Austin-Smith: Lord

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every 6m in the concrete slab below. Because of this the coursing of the granite in the literary carpet had to line up with the coursing of the surrounding sandstone. It also had to line up with the stone steps, the stone seating, the stone tactile paving, the slot drains, the lighting columns and the lengths of the LED in-ground strip lighting that ran along the edges of the literary carpet. In a different situation, without the need for movement joints, the paving coursing and step joints could have been staggered which would have allowed for much more tolerance on site.

Image ©: 4, 5, 6 – Hardscape

I met up with Anthony at the library twelve months after the defects liability period, and it looks great. He said he was most pleased with how the individual elements come together to create a complete environment.

It is one that both adults and children enjoy, and this is, after all, why we go through this complex process when we design.

5

anti-skate profiling which projected vertically above the finished stone level.

We consulted an ex-skateboarding champion when designing the anti-skate measures that the client had requested for the library. He recommended that we only used defence measures where there was genuinely a risk of stone being damaged, rather than using a scattergun approach and firing stainless steel balls at everything in sight. The wall was the perfect height for skateboarders and BMX bikes, and some defence was required to the top of the wall on both sides. A projection of 5mm above finished stone level is enough to stop a skateboard, so we used the letters themselves on the entrance side and hand-carved projections in the stone on the

2 – The granite wall in elevation and section, showing how the stone units are sized to fit the font, rather than the other way round.

3 – The literary carpet in plan and section, showing the paving coursing lining up with the surrounding paving and step units.

4 – Individual granite cladding pieces during the polishing and sandblasting process at the quarry.

5 – The literary carpet leading to the newly created entrance to the library.

6 – The literary carpet under construction.

other. This meant that our defensive measures against damage were an integral and positive part of the function and form of the wall.

The literary carpet We chose a dark and a light granite to create the literary carpet. Because they are the same stone type, they have the same properties which ensures the entire surface wears down at an equal rate over time. The text was water-jet cut out of both the Royal White and the Crystal Black granite. The cut letters were pocketed 25mm deep into the 80mm thick flags. Joints around the letters were 1mm maximum and filled with resin on the underside and grouted on the face of the slab.

Tolerances were tight around the letters, /...

The granite wall The granite wall was the most complicated item to achieve technically, consisting of polished Kobra granite cladding pieces with large hand-carved letters in relief. The granite was polished right up to the edge of the letters, which were sandblasted, with a rounded edge.

The cladding was 40mm thick and had a 50mm recessed shadow gap. The letters were 700mm high and projected out by 40mm.

The 100mm thick coping incorporated

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Landscape Autumn 2014 51

Technical

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Hardscape developed a set of rules to work with when designing the layout of the text within each individual flag, for example no waterjet cutting within 20mm of the edge.

There were some very special cases, however, where we agreed to have a letter within 10mm from the edge of the slab to suit the paving joint, for example between the ‘o’ and the ‘p’ in the word ‘Philosopher’s’ in ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’.

The steps A stepped approach was required within the frontage to cope with the level changes, as William Brown Street has a steep slope of 1:15. Dark granite nosings, cut from stone in China, were fitted to the sawn York stone step units in the quarry in Leeds, to ensure a neat finish and joints that lined up before delivery to site.

The York stone for the steps and the surrounding paving was Woodkirk sandstone from the Woodkirk Quarry in Leeds. It was chosen because the grey-buff colour worked well with the existing stone of the library, while also complimenting the contemporary mid and dark grey granites.

The stone seats The seating was introduced into the design, following discussions with the access officer, 52 Landscape Autumn 2014

to reduce any risk that could come with tapered steps being a trip hazard.

Coordination was required between the stone supplier, the granite quarry in China, and the sandstone quarry in Leeds, to ensure that the tops of the seats would fit perfectly on to the base pieces. The York stone cladding was 75mm thick, and the end pieces were 300mm thick to give the benches a solid appearance.

The bench tops were single pieces of Crystal Black granite 2400mm x 800mm x 150mm.

Hardscape had to reserve good quality large pieces of granite from the quarry well in advance because it is not usually recommended to use single pieces of dark granite that are so large, as the dark stone comes out of the ground in smaller pieces than lighter coloured granites.

Tips for designing with stone • Anthony Collins from Hardscape says ‘Remember that stone is a natural material that comes out of the ground and has natural imperfections. This is what makes it such a beautiful material to work with’.

• Granite is a dense stone, but edges can be vulnerable. A subtle chamfered edge can prevent pieces getting chipped on site.

• Different quarries have different skills.

Check with your supplier that the granite you want comes from a quarry that has the skills you need.

• Dark granites come out of the ground in smaller pieces than lighter granites, which should be taken into consideration when designing. This is why the darker the granite, the more expensive it gets.

• Make the most of your supplier’s expertise; they have the knowledge to know whether what you want can be done. If they don’t know, they can speak to the quarry.

Use them!

• Each material has its pluses and minuses.

Limestone can have up to 75% wastage due to the size and shape of the block and how it fits on the saw, which is why it is more expensive in flag size than sett size.

This understanding of materials is key to specification.

• Why use natural stone in generic concrete sizes? There’s no need. If you can wait 6–8 weeks for it, granite can come in almost any size.

Tips for creating text in stone • Respect the kerning (letter spacing) of the font. Don’t move your letters to fit the joints, move the joints to fit the letters.

• If you are using a non-standard font (we used Proxima Nova) you need to purchase it, as does the supplier who is creating the stone cutting drawings, as does the client who needs a licence in order to use it. Your colleagues need it on their computers too,

Image ©: 7, 8, 9 – Carolyn Willitts

as well as in the flags themselves as the coursing had to line up perfectly with the courses of the surrounding York stone.

7 – A family enjoying the granite wall in the sunshine.

8 – The dark and light granites of the literary carpet will wear equally.

9 – Playing with words.

just in case one day they amend the drawing, pdf it and issue it for construction without realising that the text has reverted to Arial.

Remember to check issued drawings for the correct font!

• For waterjet cutting, agree the minimum gap you can design between letters, and between the edge of a letter and the edge of the piece of stone with your stone supplier.

• Print some of your paving out at 1:1 and walk up and down it in the office. Then get your client to walk up and down it too.

It uses up a lot of paper but everyone can agree the sizes of the font and the paving.

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• Triple check your spelling and get others to check it too. Even after many checks an accent was missed off a letter in a Spanish word in the literary carpet and had to be added two days before opening, because the word meant something unsavoury without it...

Carolyn Willitts used to work for Austin-Smith:Lord and is now director of Carolyn Willitts Design, based in Manchester.

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Landscape Autumn 2014 53

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54 Landscape Autumn 2014

Culture

By Hayley Hannan

A celebration of Capability Brown

1 – Weston Park in Shropshire is one of the best understood of Capability Brown landscapes.

The nationwide celebration of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s life, work and legacy is gathering momentum as the Capability Brown Festival takes shape, celebrating the man and his achievements three hundred years after his birth.

Photo ©: 1 – Weston Park Foundation

E

x amples of Capability Brown’s landscapes span England and Wales yet his influence reaches across the globe, with parks and gardens inspired by his work being found being found in many parts of the world.

From serene landscapes, designed for multi-purpose play and economic functionality, to walled kitchen gardens or water management schemes, Brown is estimated to have worked or advised on a staggering 255 sites across the country.

A prolific worker, Brown is credited with evolving the archetypal Arcadian English landscape style, yet he left few written records. This lack of a paper trail has meant that he has not been studied or celebrated in the same way that many of his eighteenth century groundbreaking contemporaries have been.

Brown is considered ‘the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due’. The epitome of an Enlightenment polymath, he blended art, science, engineering and design to create natural and beautiful landscapes

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that are still visited, admired, emulated and celebrated today.

The memorable nickname of ‘Capability’ is thought to have come from his practice of telling landowners that their landscape had ‘capabilities’. He travelled the country by horseback often installing lakes, bridges, follies, meadows and woods, and replacing earlier formal gardens. His landscapes are renowned both for their feeling and their functionality and were at the forefront of fashion.

The upcoming Capability Brown Festival has evolved from a growing demand that he be properly recognised and celebrated. It is funded with a development grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, enabling the project team to scope out and develop what may be the largest festival of its kind ever attempted in the UK. It is managed by the Landscape Institute and unites 17 partners.

The festival will build over the next 16 months, culminating in nationwide celebrations in 2016, the 300th anniversary of his birth. /...

Landscape Autumn 2014 55

Culture

2 – Trees reflected in the lake at Compton Verney.

Activities will take on a myriad of forms to help people access, understand and celebrate Capability Brown, his work, and his landscapes.

The second strand of the project is to discover more about Brown’s work, and how he created his amazing landscapes and management systems with the tools available in the 18th century. Universities, schools, landscape courses, researchers, media, volunteers, independent groups and passionate individuals are encouraged to undertake research projects on Brown and his work, which will be collated into a knowledge base and shared through exhibitions, websites and a range of events.

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56 Landscape Autumn 2014

Image ©: 2 – Steffie Shields

The project has two key strands. The first is increasing public access to the sites Brown created and advised on. The festival will open up access to Capability Brown sites not usually seen by the public, as well as deepening knowledge and access at Brown sites currently open. People will be able to explore, interpret and engage with Brown’s legacy landscapes, features and houses as never before. Schools, charitable trusts, independent and public sites, local authorities, landscape architects, festival partners and any other interested groups will be supported and encouraged to work together to provide a network of open sites, site background information and interactive interpretations on site and on-line.

3 – The great lake at Wotton House in Buckinghamshire.

4 – Spring at Burghley House, near Peterborough.

The Capability Brown Festival project network and framework were launched with an information day at Compton Verney in June. Attendance was at capacity, with 95 guests. In between presentations and workshops, the tea room buzzed with enthusiasm as site owners, managers, representatives of schools and local authorities, landscape architects and project partners shared Brown stories, ideas and ambitions.

Even 298 years on, Capability Brown has a far-reaching influence. For Steve Fancourt, Arup associate landscape architect, Brown’s work still applies to contemporary landscape architecture.

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‘I am fascinated by the fact that in the 18th century, he was designing with a multi-disciplinary mind, and I think that that has huge resonance today,’ he says.

‘Some of the things he was dealing with on a massive scale – landscape engineering, architecture, landscape architecture – are all things that we have to address in the current environment. Some of his thinking affects projects like High Speed 2, the Olympic Park, new housing areas, eco towns and urban extensions.’

Steve is interested in how Brown transformed the landscapes into what is seen today.

‘[Brown’s landscapes are] usually wellmanaged, and calm and serene, but at one point there was massive change involving construction, lots of people, moving villages, converting streams to lakes, and I’m fascinated by the process,’ he says. ‘If you speak the language, you can understand that the landscape you see today is totally man-made and involved mathematics, engineering, and landscape. He fused all those sciences and creative arts.’

Kirkharle, Brown’s birthplace in what is now Northumberland, is a community already well entrenched in Brown celebrations and knowledge. Kitty Anderson co-owns and runs Kirkharle Courtyard and Lake, which sees 40,000 visitors stream in annually to see a lake built from a Brown plan and the artist courtyard and workshops.

Image ©: 3, 4 – Steffie Shields

For Kitty, hopefully the festival celebrations will encourage more schools to get involved. She already works with local schools to learn about Brown, build interpretation boards and visit trees and landscapes, but is lacking a formal education pack which she expects will develop through the festival planning.

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At the other end of the spectrum, Lee Marshallsay, from Harrow School in Middlesex, hopes to get involved in the festival by opening up access to a golf course adjoining the school which was built on a Brown design. /...

Landscape Autumn 2014 57

Culture

5 – Capability Brown designed the Sphinx gates that lead into the landscape at Temple Newsam, Leeds.

6 – An oak tree at Harewood Park in Yorkshire.

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Lee’s next step is readjusting the landscape to reflect Brown’s work, he says.

that he’s bigger than Brunel, bigger than the engineers that work on sites.

‘Our landscape is trying to get back a little bit of how it used to be – it’s a golf course, and that’s not going to change, but we’re just trying to readjust it a bit,’ Lee says.

‘It’s about finding out about how the site was when Brown was alive.’

‘This guy transformed England, and that’s why we’re here today.’

Hayley Hannan is communications officer for the Capability Brown Festival.

At the same time, the school grounds team and school staff are learning about Capability Brown themselves, as they weren’t aware of the depth of his influence before the festival.

Find out more about the Capability Brown Festival, or get involved through www.capabilitybrown.org or email Ceryl Evans, Festival project manager on ceryle@landscapeinstitute.org Join us on Twitter: @BrownCapability, Facebook: www.facebook.com/ Capability.Brown.300 and Pinterest: www.pinterest. com/capabilitybrown/

The challenge for Lee, he says, is then to figure out how to share Brown’s influence at Harrow School with the wider public.

Whatever the academic or event focus, the festival gives sites the opportunity to open people’s eyes to the beauty of landscape. As John Phibbs, principal of Debois Landscape Survey Group, said at the Compton Verney Information Day, a united celebration of Brown has been a long time coming.

‘What makes Brown fantastically international and good, is the scale of Brown’s work. Only then will we realise 58 Landscape Autumn 2014

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Image ©: 5, 6 – Steffie Shields

‘The question you’ve got to ask is how do you get people to know about it?... It’s a tough one to get people to learn about him, and understand.’

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Culture

By Susannah Charlton

1 – Multifunctional landscapes are the future, and fortunately are precisely the kind that the public loves.

The future of landscape The Landscape Futures series of lectures, held in a variety of locations in England, pinpointed issues the profession needs to address – and reaffirmed its importance for the future.

R

Image ©: 1 – Julian Jones

emarkably consistent themes

emerged from speakers during the

series of six Landscape Futures lectures that took place around the country earlier this year, discussing the challenges ahead for the landscape profession. They highlighted the new, interdisciplinary skills needed by the profession, the importance of the language we use, the need for strategic planning for housing, energy and transport infrastructure, how multi-functional approaches can enhance, conserve and protect the countryside, the impact of digital developments on our work and the imperative for landscape architects to raise our public profile.

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about land use’ and whether we are ‘still equipping those coming into the profession with skills fit for yesterday and largely unfit for the complicated decisions they’ll have to make for tomorrow’. The skills to plan and manage landscapes for the long term, advise local communities effectively, and design creatively to mitigate the impacts of climate change are urgently needed in the light of competing pressures on land, globally and in our own small island.

Educating the professionals of the future Perhaps the strongest theme was ensuring that landscape architects of the future have the range of skills they need.

Recruitment to UK undergraduate landscape architecture courses is falling, yet there is a burgeoning need for professionals able to lead inter-disciplinary teams delivering sustainable, landscape-scale developments, from new energy and transport infrastructure to entire new districts like Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm. Carys Swanwick, academic, former practitioner and author of GLVIA3, argued that education in landscape architecture rarely turns out graduates who are competent in landscape planning. ‘Do we need new courses,’ she asked, ‘to create professionals who can lead the way in landscape services?’ The idea of a common foundation year for built-environment students, proposed in the recent Farrell Review, has already been well-received by universities, according to Sue Illman, President of the Landscape Institute until this summer.

Environmentalist Jonathan Porritt asked ‘how well prepared we are to make … holistic, integrated, optimising decisions

Planning for infrastructure The necessity for bold, visionary planning to create inspirational landscapes was a strong

theme. Frazer Osment, a partner at LDA Design, referred to the vision of garden city planners, and Alister Kratt, also an LDA partner, to the confidence of the Victorian engineers responsible for so much of our infrastructure. They were proud of what they built; as Selina Mason, then with the London Legacy Development Corporation, said, ‘Brunel would have been dismissive of the idea of hiding the Great Western Railway’.

Kratt argued that we need a national vision for infrastructure, not least to help local communities see how proposals affecting their immediate environment are justified by the bigger picture.

Not all local authorities have strategic infrastructure plans, and expecting individual developers to pay for essential services can, as Osment pointed out, make housing schemes financially unviable.

Whoever pays for it, Mary Parsons of Places for People stressed the importance of ‘I before E, infrastructure before expansion.’

Her organisation’s investment in infrastructure and long-term commitment to maintenance has added a 20–25% premium to sales values. Joined-up planning is vital for our rural landscapes too: Lyndis Cole of LUC cited the Living Wales Programme as a possible template for a national resource plan. These issues are all about taking a long-term view of change, rather than going for the quick win. /...

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Culture

2 – Visualisation of the Mumbai park.

3 – LDA Design also used digital design for these giant ‘pebbles’ in Blackpool.

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Talking the right language One of the barriers to the success of planning consultations, in Mould’s view, is the use of legal language or jargon. Pam Warhurst, chair of Incredible Edible, also believes that professionals often employ language that most people don’t understand. Using the language of food had helped her engage and empower the local community to ‘take back the spaces of the public realm’ in Todmorden.

62 Landscape Autumn 2014

Several speakers stressed the need to change our language to be understood by people who aren’t landscape architects, and to be more positive. At the moment we talk a lot about mitigation – which Selina Mason thought ‘a corrosive concept’ – rather than starting from the premise that what we are doing is a good thing. Digital technology may also help us communicate more effectively. Alan Thompson of Hayes Davidson described the exciting potential of tools that will enable a group of people to manipulate 3D objects together in real time.

According to Mary Parsons, when asked why they want to live somewhere, people say things like it makes them feel safe, included, proud, relaxed and secure and gives them a sense of belonging. These things matter more to them than the design

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of the houses. Using language that the community understands, listening to what they really value and encouraging everyone to talk about the experience of actually living in the proposed development are crucial.

Image ©: 2, 3, 4, 5 – LDA Design

Our current planning system, is hampered by ‘pretty crude trade-off dynamics’ (Porritt) and a front-loaded consultation process. Barrister Tim Mould, veteran of planning enquiries for projects like Crossrail, regards it as a well-intentioned system that nevertheless results in expensive delays, and can still leave communities feeling disregarded.

4 – At Cliveden, LDA Design, working with ECD Architects, made green space a defining feature of the design.

5 – Soundscape performance at the Miami Foundation is an indication of how we can share new experiences in public spaces.

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Multi-functional landscapes Recent flooding has been a wake-up call about the impact of climate change on today’s often single-use landscapes, though government has been slow to react. The radically simplified landscapes of agribusiness or intensive development are dysfunctional: gains in productivity or housing have come at the expense of pollution, degradation of soils, increased flooding and other ills that are expensive and difficult to fix.

Image ©: 6 – Arup

The good news is that the qualities that people want in rural landscapes – strong landscape character, variety, accessibility, tranquility and wildlife and richness – are those that can also provide the ecosystem services we need: water regulation, carbon sequestration and protection of biodiversity.

The functional approach to landscape planning has been more evident in urban design, from the Thames embankment being created as part of Bazalgette’s sewerage scheme, to new housing developments in the Netherlands incorporating innovative water-management features.

Lyndis Cole felt that the rural landscape has fallen off the government’s agenda, and the forthcoming changes to agri-environment funding, explained by Naomi Oakley of Natural England, are a cause of concern.

As Cole said, ‘the landscape profession... has much to do to help politicians see the environment, including the landscape, as a vital resource for living, not a cost’.

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Digital working The exponential increase in the role of digital media in our lives is throwing up particular opportunities for landscape professionals. Intelligent space mapping (measuring the performance of the environment) provides vastly increased data on how people use the spaces we design.

The wide availability of wi-fi has turned public spaces into extensions of our homes and offices: research comparing our use of them now and in the 1970s found that people actually use public spaces more today – with obvious implications for design.

Many people are skeptical about whether smarter city technology is delivering real benefits. But Rick Robinson of IBM cited cases like the ‘sophisticated road charging scheme in Stockholm which managed to

reduce journey times and increase life expectancy by cutting congestion and the resultant pollution’ as showing their potential.

Digital tools also facilitate remote working, and more sophisticated design, visualisation and prototyping. For example, Sophie Thompson described an LDA project to design a complex seat for a park in Mumbai.

The budget did not stretch to site visits but the team was able to prototype the design in the UK and then send the digital files to a fabricator in the city, who made it to the exact specification. Advanced simulation packages allow visualisers like Thompson to provide extremely sophisticated and highly manipulable modelling of designs. /...

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7 – Landscape professionals need to deliver more places like Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm.

8 – Another inspiring place – Millennium Park in Chicago.

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We need to promote what we do not only to ensure our work is valued for its economic, health and environmental benefits, but also to ensure that talented young people are aware of landscape architecture as a career.

Members in the audience talked about the reward of seeing the light go on in a student’s eyes at a school open day, when they saw what the profession could offer.

What happens next This lecture series was part of a wider conversation instigated by the LI Policy and Communications Committee about the future of the profession. Issues raised by members are already having an impact on LI strategy. The Conversation is intended as an ongoing forum; Kate Bailey and Ian Houlston are keen to hear your views – the best way to do this is on Talking Landscapes (http://bit.ly/1j8cTF0 ).

64 Landscape Autumn 2014

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Further lectures are already planned in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast, followed by a meeting early next year to present the output of all nine lectures to educators. It is hoped that this will be the start of a closer dialogue between practitioners and academics.

While action to address some of the challenges ahead – the landscape architecture curriculum, thinking about the language we use, designing multi-functional landscapes, raising the profile of the profession – can be instigated by the Institute and individual practitioners, others need action by government, local authorities and developers.

The profession now needs to communicate more effectively with the public and with policy makers. And it will not achieve that by being quiet and self-effacing.

Further information See the Landscape Futures conversation on Talking Landscapes (www.talkinglandscape.org) Dates for further lectures: Edinburgh, 15 October; Cardiff, 26 November; Belfast, TBC. Watch videos of some of the Landscape Futures lectures on the LI’s YouTube channel.

Susannah Charlton is a consultant to the Landscape Institute. She organized the Landscape Futures series of lectures.

Image ©: 7, 8 – Arup

Promoting the profession Tom Armour of Arup and Sue Illman issued a call to arms: the time for landscape architects is now! Landscape architects often lead the delivery of high-profile projects yet our public profile doesn’t reflect that.

We have the skills to do what is needed, said Phil Askew of the London Legacy Development Corporation, and a project like the Olympic Park is evidence that involving landscape architects from the start gives an integrated holistic result. What we do is essential, not an optional extra.

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Landscape Autumn 2014 65

A Word

By Tim Waterman

Landmark

O

u r cities are places defined by what the architectural historian Spiro Kostof called ‘a certain energised crowding’. This is an understated way of describing the intoxicating density and intensity of action, interaction, and spectacle that defines the urban experience.

The fine-grained texture of our cities, though, is not one of continuous hyperstimulation. Even in the wealthiest and most congested city centres, where the greatest number of buildings and other elements of urban topography vie for attention, there are still calm and dignified stretches of unified cityscape.

66 Landscape Autumn 2014

Landscape architects, within planning processes in urban design, need to be constantly vigilant to carefully moderate the urges of both clients and of building architects to make every edifice a monument or a logo. Even the most celebrated architects are guilty of designing objects displayed on plinths that are utterly acontextual. When a number of such buildings are crammed together, as they are in such orgies of bling as Dubai, the overall effect is camp writ large – as though every street corner were one of Liberace’s extravagantly jewelled knuckles.

A good landmark, whether a building, a sculpture, or a feature within a park, should be of its place and for its place, or perhaps in radical contrast to its place; but overall the effect should be to punctuate and to anchor.

In striving for logo buildings many architects have gone too far and plugged up a landscape

Note how I’ve mixed my metaphors? I have bungs and corks, sand and pearls, orgies and jewels and knuckles. I’ve spangled this column with the same sort of overwrought conceptualism that is so problematic in our cities. There are places, though, where this approach can actually work. This is in a park where many conceptual structures can be a collection of follies. London’s Olympic Park is a good example, where a stadium, a ‘wave’, a ‘Pringle’ and that awful loopy red thing all conspire to provide an exquisite balance between theme park and peaceful haven, reinventing the grand tradition of Stowe, Stourhead, Castle Howard, and Kew. Kew has only preserved a fraction of the number of follies it had when it was built (there were once fully twenty classical temples), so there is comfort that Stratford’s ensemble will still have integrity when the Orbit is demolished.

Image ©: – Agnese Sanvito

The same concentration of totemic features that many cities display is evident in the design of theme parks, which are typically a dizzying mishmash of emblematic structures, logos, and loaded imagery. The back of one attraction is the front of another, and no matter which way one turns there is a landmark loaded with signification.

This way Paris, that way Venice, over here Tomorrowland, and here dinosaurs grazing in primordial swamps. Both cities and theme parks overload the senses, resulting in an intoxication that can be euphoric or disorientating or both. Each requires an eventual escape. With a theme park this is a simple matter of finding the exit, but with a city those mechanisms for release must be found within. The city as a whole cannot be constantly and everywhere in a state of climax.

with buildings like bungs. Foster’s London City Hall and his Sage in Gateshead are both rounded in plan and section and both are designed as though on plinths. Neither building will allow for the city to flex and change around it. Neither, I would imagine, will still be standing in twenty years’ time.

Neither is as much a landmark, a marker of place, as it is a monument to itself. Rather than the grain of sand that forms a pearl, each is an irritating foreign body that will eventually be rejected.

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