Violet Blyth Portfolio & CV by Violet Blyth

Portfolio | Violet Blyth Selected Works 2021 - 2023

CV | Violet Blyth vivblyth@gmail.com 07564179961

Education

2021-2023 2014-2017 2013-2014

Technical Skills

• • •

Employment History

Landscape Assistant Summer 2022 Colvin & Moggridge Ltd, Croydon

Volunteer History

Clare Risbeth - Personal Tutor The University of Sheffield Arts Tower, Western Bank Sheffield S10 2TN 2

Art Foundation Diploma - Distinction University Arts London, Northbrook College

•

Gallery Manager & Studio Assistant 2019 - 2021 The Painting Pottery Café & Gallery 31, Brighton

Reference

BA (Hons) Fine Art Photography - 2:1 The Glasgow School of Art

•

Personal Profile

I am interested in imaginative, long-term and process-orientated designs which offer the general public greater connection to the biosphere. I would like to gain experience of different landscape fields and work towards becoming chartered. Having graduated from the Glasgow School of Art, I want to bring my creative and conceptual outlook into landscape practice. I am a friendly and focused individual who can be relied upon to work to a high standard. I am an enthusiastic team member and excited about all the possibilities landscape can offer. I am also a keen outdoor swimmer!

MA Landscape Architecture - Distinction in completed modules The University of Sheffield

Orchard Volunteer 2021 Brighton Permaculture Trust, Brighton Gallery Attendant & Workshop Leader 2018 - 2022 ONCA Enviromental Gallery, Brighton

• • • •

During my photography degree I developed strong skills using the Adobe Creative Cloud software, in particular Premiere Pro and Photoshop. I worked on editing and layout for GASM (Glasgow Art School Magazine) using InDesign. I enjoy drawing - from rough sketches to final renders, by hand or using a tablet/ iPad. From working on my MA I am confident using Vectorworks and have also been practicing Rhino with V-Ray. I have found both Arc & Q GIS to be useful tools. I am fully competent at using Microsoft Office software, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint as well as Google services. As a photographer, I am adept using cameras, in both film and digital formats (I have a Canon 5D Mark III). I also have expertise in shooting and editing videos. Prepared detailed construction drawings (e.g. drainage and slopes). Assisted senior landscape architects with masterplan proposals, detailed sections, and renderings for a sustainable eco-retreat. Designed layouts and graphics for public promotional materials for numerous projects. Assisted with LVIA report writing and presentation.

• •

Programming and liaising with artists for the inhouse gallery space. Teaching painting demonstrations, throwing on the wheel, inspiring, and hosting parties. Glazing and loading kilns, painting requested items to briefs. Taking and logging bookings in digital calendar systems, taking deposits and sending invoices. Stock management, answering the phone and emails.

• •

General maintenance and upkeep of the Racehill Community Orchard. Gardening a permaculture plot at Stanmer Park.

•

Running and teaching art workshops for service users of domestic abuse charity RISE. Assisting artists with installation of exhibitions. Watching over the gallery and offering information. Running Graduate Monthly, an artist collective and support network.

•

• •

Violet Blyth Portfolio

Portfolio | Contents

The Cutting | 2023

An Experiential Biodiverse Nature Park Foregrounding Heritage Liverpool, UK p. 4 - 12

Nursery Street Nature Park | 2022 Designing with Maintenance Sheffield, UK p. 13 - 18

Into the Familiar Unknown | 2022

Catalysing the Heart of Parkwood Springs Liverpool, UK p. 19 - 23

Living in the Clearing | 2022

Making Rotherham a natural & cultural destination Rotherham, UK p. 28 - 31

The Weather Garden | 2021

A local park connecting people with the elements Sheffield, UK p. 24 - 27

THE CUTTI NG Transformation Heritage

Embracing transformation and cycles, this project sets out an alternative approach to preservation in the UK. The inseparable, ongoing co-production of nature and culture is exposed, giving rise to experiences of awe that catalyse connection to the biosphere and reflection on the Anthropocene.

Key themes | Reconnecting with the Biosphere Naturecultures The emotional response of awe is elicited by experiences or stimuli that hold a ‘vastness’, that call us to reflect on scales larger than the self, breaking out of our usual experiences or references (Keltner & Haidt, 2003) Donna Harraway’s ideas of Naturecultures show human and non-human processes as beyond separation (Haraway, 2003). The immersive experience of the cutting will foreground this interwoven relationship, layering and blurring the separation between the human hand and nature resulting in reflection on our assumptions about the natural. This idea of what is natural or constructed is played with across the site’s design and will continue to be influenced across time as the authorship becomes further blurred.

Awe as Catalyst ‘Landscapes are not backdrops for historical action: they are themselves active. Watching landscapes in formation shows humans joining other living beings in shaping worlds’ (Tsing, 2015) In Sustaining Beauty, Elizabeth Meyer impresses the importance of utilising the power of landscape as a medium that can express cultural values in space and form to affect social change on climate indifference. Meyer suggests that through immersive experiences of nature, ‘we are decentered, restored, renewed and reconnected to the biophysical world’ (Meyer, 2008, p. 17) and reasons that experiences of awe offer a receptiveness to change. Due to its natural characteristics and cultural significance, Edge Hill Cutting is well-positioned to manifest these dynamics, continuing its legacy in societal change.

The Cutting

Site Context | Edge Hill Cutting History Resurfaced In Liverpool the grand railway history is fading. However in 2020 the site was granted Scheduled Monument Status. There is an opportunity to put forward a 21st century conception of heritage preservation.

Connectivity

Existing Conditions Emergent undergrowth, rubbish, rail tracks used as a headshunt once a month.

Birthplace of Passenger Rail Situated just outside Liverpool’s city centre, in what was once known as ‘The Grand Area’, is Edge Hill Cutting. This 12m deep cutting was excavated 200 years ago using gunpowder and pickaxes.

Emergent woodland. Silverbirch, Salix, Bracken, Field Maple.

It served as the engine house for the world’s first intercity passenger rail line, the Liverpool to Manchester Railway, which revolutionised ideas of time, work and travel worldwide.

Three tunnels. Two (Wapping and Crown St) are currently blocked off.

A Sunken Monument Secluded and sunken below the streets, this striking and awe-inspiring site, with its sandstone walls and unique rock-cut chambers, is now blocked from public access, host to emergent ecologies.

Wooded passage next to railtracks

Wasteland Scheduled Monument Area

Fenced off exit

Under utilised National Rail parking (previously Spekeroad depot)

Salvage yard

Masterplan

Pooling of Water and People The topography of the site is designed to create specific movement of water - where people flow, water should flow, where people gather, water collects. Man made riffles in shapes inspired by the rope haulage system will interrupt the flow of water in ephemeral swales. The riffles will create interesting sounds and, across time, become eroded into new shapes, eventually provoking questions about authorship and the constructedness of landscapes.

¯ ¯ 3d visualisation of water movement on the site.

This notation plan illustrates areas that might give rise to experiences of awe. The flow of water is designed to work in conjunction with the flows at play here.

0.125

Chance of flooding from rainfall per year 0

> 0.1%

>1%

0.125

> 3.3 %

0.25

0.5 Kilometers

Basemap: (GoogleEarth, 2020) Data: (Defra, 2013) 0.25

0.5 Kilometers

Violet Blyth Portfolio

Vision

The Cutting is a biodiverse nature park and cultural space that resurfaces the rich and intertwined human and natural stories it holds. Processes, materiality and form bring time and space at different scales together here in an intimate and immersive encounter.

Biomorphic Form Rectilinear forms are, of course, easily associated with railways, and they are present in the design, especially inside the cutting itself. However, much of the site uses more flowing, biomorphic forms.

In the city, design is mostly led by functional qualities leading to mostly geometric forms (Farah & McClelland, 1991). Biomorphic natural-seeming forms could increase visitors’ affiliation with nature (Joye, 2007).

Networks and Nexus points The curving path network is non-hierarchical, encouraging a feeling of discovery and exploration. Inspired by the interconnected pieces of the rope haulage system used in the cutting, paths connects to a central ‘cog’.

Perspective Illustration

Southern and South-western cutting walls removed. 7

Violet Blyth Portfolio

Designing with Processes Traditional heritage approaches aim to honour a site’s history by striving for a kind of stasis. This is at odds with the dynamism inherent in Edge Hill Cutting’s rich narratives, layers and textures. Instead, the vitality of the site and its ongoing story is centred by allowing ecology to unfold, working with materials that age and employing a management strategy with transformation and change as its focus.

The idea of allowing for sites to adapt and respond over time is of increasing concern in the heritage discourse as climate forces speed up changes in conditions (HeritageFutures, 2020).

Creating Thresholds The rammed earth and rebar trellis arches echo the form of the Sankey Viaduct further down the Liverpool to Manchester Railway. They stand tall, contrasting against the wilderness below, framing views across to the running railway and birch woodland. They are placed almost parallel, but not quite, so as to produce a shifting perspective as they are moved through.

Casting long shadows, they create thresholds, the waving rammed earth lines, inspired by the cutting strata, have a dreamlike quality. Their surreal scale might surprise and reorientate a visitor, leading to a re-examining of their beliefs and potential (Gersham, 1969 p. 21). Over time, the rammed earth will erode, revealing more of its composites and creating habitats, eventually just the rebar and ivy will remain.

1. Stabilised rammed earth (as per tests) 2. Rebar d-20mm 3. Concrete footing, unpolished Ecoplus C12/C15 with waterproof anti-fracture membrane - at least 100mm above ground on all sides 4. Free draining backfill MOT type 1 5. Geotextile drainage mat 6. Expansion joint introduced in build 7. 3mm non-alloy steel sheet Red dimensions change per arch corresponding to level change

(Chirico, 1955)

(Bury, 1831)

(LMRailway, 2022)

The Cutting

Time on a Geological Scale The geological formation of strata revealed in the cutting offers a connection to a deeper sense of time, time on a geological scale.

The waving forms of the strata that embody this sense of deep time are pulled out across the site. The topography has been reshaped into a wavy biomorphic form, emphasised with colourful bands of planting, creating more varied habitats (Whitehouse, 2008, p. 5).

Outside of the cutting, man-made materials are used as substrate, drawing out a sense of the anthropocene, as nature thrives in broken concrete.

There is a playful inversion where the rectilinear man-made cutting reveals a long history of natural processes and forms in its strata, while the flowing organic forms outside of the cutting are constructed and layered with man-made materials.

Ulex europaeus Common gorse

wild

neat

dominant vegetation

managed vegetation

emergent

planted

high ground

low ground

bright colours

cold colours

scarcity

lush / abundance

low nutrients

high nutrients

dry

wet

temporary / decay

permanent

high change

low change

Gradient of Intervention Lavandula angustifolia Common lavender

Shrubs used to highlight topography (Lucas, G. R. et al., 2014)

Cornus sericea Red-osier dogwood

Across the site, there is a gradient of intervention, enhancing the feeling of journeying. The scheduled area is more tightly controlled, maintaining a heightened feel. Here, permanent materials and finer, delicate evergreen plants offer a sense of reverence and care. Moving out towards and into the park area, the rate of environmental change quickens gradually, plants are more dynamic, with greater seasonality, structures change, decay and evolve.

Rock formation visualisations inspired the waving strata forms that appear throughout the design. 9

Violet Blyth Portfolio

Responding to Heritage Features In the scheduled area, there are various elements that respond to past uses of the space. The stairway to the walkway hovers just above the original staircase. Water runs through a central trench, left as archaeological remains from the old haulage system.

The large rebar arch is an ode to the Moorish Arch, originally built to house engines, this new interpretation acts as a host for climbing plants - symbolising Liverpool’s green transition from its industrial past, whilst also honouring it.

Without a horizon, small details come into focus

A Geological Encounter A walkway runs along part of the northern wall of the cutting, gently flowing with the lines of strata. It sits just slightly away from the wall, with small curves at the edges to emphasise its separation, but with a light, hovering quality.

Mesh plates extend up to the hand rail on the outward facing side of the walkway. On the other side, the walkway affords a close connection with the sandstone. Visitors can touch the geology and see the pickaxe marks from the hands that cut it 200 years ago.

1. Galvanised grating MW31, mesh width 25mm x 25mm 2. Curved metal edge non-alloy 7mm 3. Handrail, Round non alloyed construction steel d - 50mm, handrail top curved untreated oak 80mm x 30mm, c4, non alloy steel mesh welded to railings 2mm mesh width 50mm x 50mm 4. Handrail post - Round non alloyed construction steel d - 50mm welded to support 5. Steel section support HE-A 240 welded to load-bearing staircase stringer 6. Load baring staircase stringer 7. Upright as tubular steel section 220 x 8mm 8. Steel slab 20mm x 300mm x 300mm welded to round tube, 4 bolt anchors M12, FZA 18 x 80 m12 9. Foundation C20 10. Steel supporting beam HE-A 240 welded to walkway supports 11. Supporting runners connected with bearing bolt and welded support stiffener to upright 12. Upright as tubular steel section 220 x 8mm, welded into 2 x 130mm x 8mm

The walkway brings the visitor close to the rebar Moorish Arch and then straightens, creating a reveal of the scheduled area, with its striking tunnels and caves. The stairs sit just above where the engine stairs once were, the mesh grid will allow looking down on the crumbling remains.

The Cutting

Substrate Meadow Plan Alkaline

Acid

A Meadow Emerges

Existing Soil Acidic, loamy clay soil. Used to create a lawn during warmer months.

The waving topography shape is echoed in the forms of the meadow typologies. Meadow typologies are dictated by the various substrates and varying particle sizes are used to create curving lines through each meadow. The substrates, retained from existing materials will result in a more diverse brownfield habitat mosaic.

This approach will be ecologically rich, rivalling ancient woodlands on species diversity and developing at a faster rate. This richness in biodiversity has proven to increase the psychological benefits of green space.

Resident Invertebrate Some meadows will be cut in spring to retain winter structure, providing seasonal change and avoiding loss of invertebrates which overwinter in dead stems. Meadows will be cut gradually to offer shelter for slowmoving invertebrates. Floral Buddleia In early March before Buddleia comes into flower, it should be pruned to stay more floral rather than woody.

Seeded Crushed Concrete Meadow Finely crushed foundations from on-site remains, alkaline PH 8, low in nitrogen, so low nutrients. Dry, higher compaction than other substrates.

Haystrewing across the Reused Tarmac Tarmac has high alkaline PH but offers higher nitrogen level than concrete.

Parasitic Annuals If grasses are dominating, Rhinanthus minor will be introduced, a parasitical species that will weaken grasses’ roots, therefore giving less dominant species a chance - sown at the end of summer as they germinate in the ground over winter. Ground Nesting Bees Across the meadows, on unshaded south-facing areas, small patches of substrate will be scarified in lines and spots (30cm), decompacting, aerating and exposing the ground. This exposed substrate heats up quicker than vegetation so offers an important habitat for invertebrates to bury into.

Rubble This will retain moisture. Creating a meadow of competitive grass species

Larger substrate Slower succession Larger ruderal species

For the first three years of establishment, in April, meadow cuttings will be brought from suitable donor meadows. The cuttings will be left for 3 weeks and then removed into on-site compost. This meadow will offer a frothy white mix with occasional pinks contrasting against the broken tarmac.

Biodiversity on the Tracks

Smaller particles Faster growth and succession Smaller seeds/ annuals able to take seed

There is an established connection between railways and ruderal plants. Railway lines were some of the primary vectors for the spread of ‘weeds’ such as Oxford Ragwort. This relationship between railways and emergent vegetation will be celebrated on the site with the use of railway substrate and existing site materials, also serving to allow different plant communities to thrive in shapes formed by the substrate.

Violet Blyth Portfolio

Planting Plan in Scheduled Monument Area Location

Conditions

•

Full/partial shade, slightly acidic, damp, loamy and clayey soil

•

Drainage and aeration will be improved at the back of the plant bed for the Viburnum opulus to thrive

•

Climbers surround base to arch structure

Woodland Floor As specified on plan No. required

Purchase size

Viburnum opulus

3ltr

Daphne pontica Climbers Hedera helix Wisteria sinensis

2ltr

4 2

2ltr 3ltr

9cm

Species Shrubs

Lonicera periclymenum Ferns Polystichum setiferum

Athyrium filix-femina

3ltr

Grasses Carex caryophyllea ‘The Beatles’

The planting inside the scheduled area is green and lush with a few cool toned flowers to contrast against the bright orange sandstone walls. Plants are placed with deliberacy, the area is well maintained.

9cm

Woodland Floor Mix A Area: 90m2 Species

Asarum europaeum

Planted Density Purchase in groups / m2 size of 247 7-10 11 9cm

Geranium ‘Orion’

162

7-10

9cm

Carex Divulsa

126

10-15

9cm

Diphylleia cymosa

3-5

1ltr

Milium effusum Carex remota

10 10

Polygonatum multiflorum L. Valeriana officinalis

Eurybia divaricata

no.

81 63

6-10 6 -10

3-5

9 7

1ltr 9cm

1ltr

3-5

1ltr

3-5

9cm

Woodland Floor Seed Mix 1 Area: 40m2 Grams to cover Over sowing rate 0.5g/ m2

Species Myosotis scorpioides

% 50

g. 10

Rabelera holostea

Woodland Bulbs Area: 40m2 Density: 30/m2

Species Anemone nemorosa

% no. 60 720

Hyacinthoides non-scripta

40 480

1:100 at A3

Nur s er y S t Nat u r e P a r k Designing with Maintenance

Using maintenance to create a community focused wildlife oasis on a vacant brownfield site in Sheffield, UK. Kelham & Student halls

Key

Building Use

City Centre

The site is recently cleared and sits within the ring road, North of the centre and next to the River Don. This area near the Wicker and Westbar of Sheffield has minimal greenspace and little activity in general. An exception is the neighbouring Nursery Street Pocket Park which could become part of a network with the site. There is a footbridge across the river that leads directly to the site and a 19th Century church facing onto it. The 2940m² patch was cleared of buildings in 2021 in preparation for a new housing development. For the purposes of this proposal, we will assume that this will not be going ahead. Given recent austerity budget cuts and the site being in Flood Risk Zone 2, this seems highly plausible. What remains is a fenced-off, flattened, empty patch of rubble that is collecting litter.

Sheffield has many brownfield sites due to it’s ex-industrial nature, but the Nursery Street site is unique in its connection to the river corridor, meaning that a variety of plants will travel onto the site. The porous, permeable surface of its ground, slightly lower than the surrounding pavement, offers some drainage for water run-off. However, if spontaneous vegetation is encouraged, greater water retention could be achieved.

Violet Blyth Portfolio

Survey of Existing Conditions | Recorded Species of Fauna, Autumn 2022 Existing plants

Site map

Latin

Material Vegetation Type

Persistent Ruderal

B Initial Pioneer

Persistent Ruderal

Established Pioneer

BB Edge Persistent Ruderal Raised edges are less compact with larger substrate and water runoff from pavement. Seeds more likely to be trapped here.

The river increases the likelihood of their propagules coming in. Central Persistent Ruderal Sand, tarmac, brick. Alkaline PH 7.8, low nitrogen but the tarmac means this side has a higher nitrogen level and brick adds to amount of water retention. Less compact.

Central Initial Pioneer Fine crushed foundations, concrete. Alkaline PH 8, low in nitrogen meaning low nutrients. Very compact. No banned invasive non-native species such as Japanese Knotweed were identified on the site.

Common

Euphorbia segetalis

Corn Spurge

Quantity

Brassica rapa

Field mustard

Low

Papaver rhoeas

Common poppy

High

Linaria purpurea

Toadflax

High

Geranium robertianum

Geranium

Low

Lactuca muralis

Wall Lettuce

Low - Likely to stay around edges

Chamaenerion angustifolium

Rosebay willowherb

High

Epilobium hirsutum

Hairy Willowherb

Low

Jacobaea vulgaris

Ragwort

Low

Urtica dioica

Nettles

Low

Aegilops geniculate

Ovate goatgrass

Low

Holcus lanatus

Yorkshire fog grass

Low

Polypogon viridis

Beard grass

High

Aira praecox

Early Hairgrass

High

Buddleja davidii

Buddleja

High

Erigeron floribundus

Fleabane

High

Erigeron sumatrensis retz

Horseweed

High

Erigeron canadensis

Canadian Fleabane

High

Desirable - to be encouraged

Desirable competitive - to be monitored

Desired grass - to be monitored

Highly competitive - to be prevented from dominating

Existing Section A - AA

Holcus lanatus Aegilops geniculata

Erigeron canadensis

Lactuca muralis

V Geranium robertianum

V Buddleja davidii Erigeron sumatrensis V Urtica dioica retz

Chamaenerion angustifolium Buddleja davidii

Tortula muralis

Euphorbia segetalis

Existing Section B - BB

V Papaver rhoeas

Brassica rapa

Aira praecox

Aegilops geniculata

Buddleja davidii

Polypogon viridis

Linaria purpurea

Erigeron floribundus

Violet Blyth Portfolio

Maintenance Goals 1. Engender a sense of ownership in the local community through involvement in maintenance.

2. Increase biodiversity through the creation of a habitat mosaic - likely to encourage a variety of invertebrate species (Littlewood, Stewart and Woodcock, 2011, p.5)

3. Create a sense of seasonality and natural change, a place that local people will return to throughout the year. 4. Keep maintenance sustainable, lowinput and low-cost while ensuring the site appears cared for and is culturally accepted.

5. Through monitoring and adapting the maintenance routine, be responsive to the changing needs of the landscape, wildlife and community and maximise the impact the space can have.

Vision

Utilising natural colonisation and succession, Nursery Street Nature Park will act as an urban oasis for people and wildlife. Meadows, wetted areas and wilder urban thickets will connect the community to the biosphere and each other.

A network of paths and a non-precious but looked-after aesthetic invite users to experience the rich biodiversity. The community connections are deepened through a volunteer maintenance scheme. 15

Development Plan

Existing tarmac path

N Urban Thicket

Ecotone Urban Thicket Self-set Trees

Ephemeral Scrape

Raised Walkway

Raised walkway

Maintained Path

Ephemeral Scrape

Opposite church entrance

Meadow of persistent ruderals

Maintenance Typologies

Area

% cover

1266m2

43%

Maintained pathways and gathering areas 311m2

10%

Disturbed Substrate Vegetation PINK Zone

646m2

22%

Sporadic trees, canopy cover over meadows

190m2

Urban thicket YELLOW Zone

214m2

Edge Ecotone

86m2

Ephemeral scrape BLUE Zone

90m2

Raised path

70m2

Pioneering Meadows ORANGE Zone

Opposite Bridge

Opposite Traffic lights existing tarmac path Approx.

Additional habitat provision

Existing tarmac path

Approx.

Area

70m2

% cover

Trees are not in fixed positions but will be looked to be kept in sporadic places where they have self set.

Above - Sycamore branch that has fallen over the fence

Nursery St Nature Park

Maintenance Typology & Key Considerations (Extract)

Maintenance Typology

PINK Zone - Disturbed Substrate Ground pattern affecting growth of emergent ruderals & creating varied burrowing habitats for invertebrate.

Potential Plant Species

Potential Wildlife Species

Papaver rhoeas - Poppy

Erynnis tages - Dingy skipper

Euphorbia segetalis - Corn Spurge

Key Consideration | Natural Colonisation & Succession Using natural colonisation and succession to establish the space will be environmentally friendly, free and it will be interesting to monitor what develops. However, the slow progression in its creation could have an adverse reaction from the neighbourhood. This means it could attract litter and the changes made in the first stage could be damaged. It is therefore vital that the community are involved and on board from day one, so that they can care for and report problems on the site.

Lycaena phlaeas - Small copper butterfly

Aira praecox - Early Hairgrass

Signage and events should explain the benefits the park will have to biodiversity, what is happening and how it will progress - particularly during winter as informing residents helps them accept the winter aesthetic (Southon et al. 2017, p. 117).

Linaria purpurea - Toadflax Erigeron acer - Fleabane

Brassica rapa - Field mustard Rumex acetosa - Dock

Smaller particles Faster growth and succession Smaller seeds of annuals able to set

Maintained at this stage through cutting

Key Consideration | Designing with Substrate Prior to the 6 month closure the community will be invited in for a day of initial maintenance and a preparation celebration. This will involve designing with the existing substrate by sieving the particles and placing larger pieces in lines as well as decompacting the ground. This will result in different plant communities taking to and thriving in patterns formed by the lines (Little, 2020). So although natural colonisation is in process, it will be framed within human intervention offering a ‘bold pattern’ to the spontaneous growth which improve perceptions of care(Nassauer, 1995). To improve this sense of investment, add structure and celebrate the beginning of the project, two trees will be planted by the attendees. Direct contact from the surrounding community with the ‘design’ at this early stage should create a sense of ownership and intrigue about what is to come.

Larger particles - slower succession larger weedier species

De-compacted

Large Particles of Substrate

Gathering space

De-compacted

Large Particles of Substrate

Violet Blyth Portfolio

Maintenance Plan (Extract) This maintenance plan proposes an alternative use for the brownfield on Nursery Street where the emphasis is creating a sustainable habitat for the local community and wildlife. Working with natural process, it is not known exactly what will develop, this plan offers a vision and ethos, a framework with approximate guidance but it should be adapted by those working on the site as it develops. With the right maintenance the site could become a protected habitat, reaching peak species richness around 15 years after opening. (Kattwinkel et al., 2011. p 2339)

Planted Alder

Section 10 years on An Ecotone will be created on the borders of these areas through maintaining and allowing different stages of succession.

Raised Earthwork Walkway Scrub

AA Ephemeral Scrape

A AA 18

I n t o t he F a m ilia r Unk nown Catalysing the Heart of Parkwood Springs

Re-imagining an abandoned ski slope in Sheffield, UK using a notational method that maps emotional responses. 0.5m

Parkwood Springs is a 12-ha area just north of Sheffield city centre. Part abandoned ski resort, part landfill, forgotten by the city, over time it has transformed into an urban wilderness. This project aimed to honour the wilderness while introducing new access routes and creating welcoming interventions.

Circulation diagram

Notation and Transitional Spaces I developed notation methods for understanding the relationship between experiential components of landscape and emotions.

The notation captures the sense of journeying, highlighting how emotional responses are not formed in isolation, but informed by what has come before - the impact of a glade that emerges from dense tree cover.

Leveraging this understanding, my plans create contrast and anticipation, focusing on transitions between spaces. This site, by virtue of its extreme topography, inherently provides opportunity for journeys that give rise to changing perspective. My redesign will play with and amplify the element of reveal across the site.

Proposed section & corresponding perspectives 19

Violet Blyth Portfolio

Into the Familiar Unknown

The lake’s reflective surface is mimicked in the playful symmetry of the tree planting and jetty placement.

To Allow | Surrealism and the Ski Slope Video stills from animation.

My design will ‘[frame and reveal] the ongoing interaction of human and non-human processes, yielding continuously changing conditions and experiences’(Langhorst, 2014, p. 1120). As the site gets wilder, paths will be cut through the undergrowth, responding to natural desire lines and emerging uses.

Walking through the abandoned ski slope, I was struck by the surreal quality in the collision of its man-made remnants with signs of new life. Among wild plants, disused floodlights protrude at uneven angles over discarded beer cans. The relics of its past, clearly obsolete and yet still visually dominant, invite us to look closely as we try to extrapolate forwards. The way this place is reluctant to reveal its present to us, makes it enigmatic and unique.

To Create | Thresholds & Vantage Points Thresholds and vantage points enhance journeying by creating moments of anticipation for what is around the corner.

An essential component is the experience of things emerging and then becoming obscured over time and space. Our inability to experience the place all at once lends significance to every moment we spend there. This inspired the idea that paths in the woods should not be straight for more than 30m.

The area needs landform adjustments to create an accessible path up to the top. There is already water forging its own way down this slope. It will be allowed to make its own winding channels, creating interest alongside the new pathway. 21

Violet Blyth Portfolio

To Mimic | Enhancing Motifs

A sunken natural garden. Sometimes of pools, or grasses, copying the pattern left from the slopes in yorkstone boulders. For a while, attentive visitors will spot the mimicry of the ski slope pattern, but in time the ski slope will have been take over and this garden will stand for those who spot its history. It can be climbed and sat on, accommodating large or small groups. Eventually, if not maintained, just a field of boulders and dips will remain, a catalyst for curiosity.

The view and strange relic viewpoint is an exciting environment to reach at the top, but I would like it to retain people for a little longer. It is also one of the more easily accessed areas. There would be added seating as well as man-made shallow dishes, creating reflective puddles. Encouraging visitors to look at the sky, themselves and their surroundings at a new angle.

Amongst areas of woodland, sculptures that mimic the natural forms around them will guide people along main routes. These interventions will encourage movement to places that otherwise might seem uninviting or impenetrable. Where visitation of an area is to be discouraged, only natural barriers such as swales and management of the fauna will be used - simultaneously creating interest along paths and permitting exploration for the adventurous.

Into the Familiar Unknown

The 5th Ecology In Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, Leonia is a city that, in pursuit of newness, “refashions itself every day”. The “remains of yesterday’s Leonia await the garbage truck” and “once things have been cast off, nobody wants to have to think about them further.”(Calvino, 1994, p. 102) Examining Parkwood Springs, itself abandoned and with its landfill full of detritus, we should consider what relationship we want to have with the past. It is in Tove Jansson’s meditative writing in The Summer Book, that I draw inspiration. Roaming, exploring and patiently cutting through the undergrowth, Sophia encounters the rose bush that “every seven years [...] died from salt exposure, but then her children sprang up in the sand all around, so nothing changed. She had only moved a little.”(Jansson, 1974, p. 74) Here, we see a different kind of renewal and an attitude that I hope my fifth ecology can cultivate - one of curiosity and reverence for changes and cycles.

T HE WE AT HE R G ARDE N

A Local Park Connecting People with the Elements

Reinvigorating Crookes Valley Park, Sheffield to create an engaging park-wide identity. The Weather Garden will give Crookes Valley Park a unique identity that amplifies the natural systems at play within its ecosystem - connecting people with the elements, the change in season, light and natural forces. This will be achieved by remodelling the main water source to the pond, exposing draining

systems, installing wind and rain sculptures, temperature gages and interactive sculptures as well as providing play equipment that emphasises cause and effect.

The planting will also reflect this theme, connecting with the existing blossom trees surrounding the park. This will create a sense of interconnection - from the street furniture to the biodiversity, exposing connections across the park visually, thematically and spatially.

Stone wall on boundary between meadows 116 v

114 v

Wind sculpture contrasting against the tall miscanthus grasses

AA Green Roof

115 v

Planters in industrial containers and water butt

116.2 v

Gently manipulating the topography creating moments of reveal and discovery 114.8 v

113 v Amelanchier

116 v

Sloping bank of perennial meadows and shrubs White highlights - Wild carrot, Elderflower, Yarrow

115 v

3m Seasonal tall planted spiral - i.e. fennel Path made from reused wall stones

114 v

Integrated Oak bench

Metal Planting Structures for climbing plants i.e. Honey Suckle Metal structure below water’s surface for planting

Specimen Willow marking path crossing and getting closer to the lake

115 v

113.7 v Blue Annual Wild Meadow 15m Self-seeding hardy annuals - love-in-the-mist

Path ranging from 1.8 - 2 meters wide

The Weather Garden

Masterplan A central idea was to create a more naturalistic feel to the park by adapting the topography to form small mounds and using planting to soften the edges of the reservoir.

Violet Blyth Portfolio

Detailed Design Area | Construction of Curved Bench & CEDEC Pathway 1:50 at A2

14. Spot height 113m v D

2. A

1:20 at A2

114.8 V 4 11

1. DD BB

3 11

115.8 V

1:10 at A2 CC

Spot Height 115m v

Spot Height 115.9m v 1:10 at A2

AA 10.

Spot Height 115.9m v 1:10 at A2

Golden CEDEC compacted to 50mm (65mm is the amount needed before compression, base rock not needed when working with CEDEC)

Plained Oak ground smoothed edges blunted with sandpaper 1870mm x 60mm x 30mm

Unpolished Ecoplus Colourcrete Regen Taupe (Hanson) C12/C15 with waterproof anti-fracture membrain

Free draining backfill MOT Type 1

Tarran 100 geotextile membrain

Subase MOT Type hardcore well consolidated

Plastic perforated drainage pipe 100mm diameter

Flathead countersunk Steel Bolt M6

Bondcoat and ceramic handpainted tile (painted in a community park project workshop)

10. Topsoil 10mm 11. Steel edging painted brown 75mm tall 12. Re-used yorkshire stone from pre-existing wall surrounding lake 150mm x 250mm x 60mm

Spot Height 115m v

13. Curved Stainless Steel bench frame 4.

14. Grit stone rocks from Peak District varying sizes 15. M16 Nuts and Bolts AREA of 1:200 PLAN

Spot Height 115m v

Drawing Title: Construction Detail of Curved Bench 1:50 at A2 The Weather Garden, Project: Crookes Valley Park LSC61001 Studio Project 1 Landscape Architecture: Nature, People, Place Date: 15/01/2022 Student: Violet Blyth

The Weather Garden

Detailed Design Area | Planting Plan of Naturalistic Meadows 1:50 at A2

Planting Specification

Sambucus Nigra F. Laciniata

8 Calluna Vulgaris Drift Erica Carnea

9 Echinacea purpurea drift

4 Echinacea purpurea drift

25 Calluna Vulgaris Drift

Bog Land Mix Spiral Mix

Wild Meadow Seed Mix AA

Enriched Lawn Seed

15 Carex Dipsacea ‘Dark horse’ drift

Wild Flower Seed Mix

Carex Dipsacea Drift

Wild Flower Seed Mix Area = 18 m2 | 36g to cover Sowing Rate =2g per m2 Species

Carex Dipsacea Drift

Achillea millefolium

Daucus carota

Dipsacus fullonum

Gentiana asclepiadea (9cm)

Borago officinalis (9cm)

Vicia cracca

Carum Carvi (9cm)

Digitalis grandiflora

Foeniculum Vulgare (12cm)

Wild Flower Seed Mix Carex Dipsacea Drift

Spiral Mix Area = 6m2 | Density = 9 per m2 Randomly Placed Species % No. Molinia caerulea subsp. 33 caerulea (1 L)

18 Carex Dipsacea ‘Dark horse’ drift

7 Carex Dipsacea ‘Dark horse’ drift

Potentilla fruticosa Ulex Europaeus

Wild Flower Seed Mix

Spiral Mix

Centaurea nigra

9 Carex Dipsacea ‘Dark horse’ drift

Vaccinium Myrtillus

AA Ulex europaeus Wild Flower Seed Mix

Carex Dipsacea Drift Vaccinium Myrtillus

Potentilla Bog Land Mix

Bog Land Mix Area = 16m2 | Density = 9 per m2 Randomly Placed Species

No.

Eriophorum angustifolium (1 L) Carex elata (9cm)

Narthecium ossifragum

Vinca minor (9cm)

Carex dipsacea Drift Area = 9.5m2 | Density = 5 per m2 Randomly Placed (2L pot) Total No. = 48

Enriched Lawn Seed Area = 2 m2 | 60g to cover Sowing rate = 30g per m2

Echinacea purpurea Drift Area = 2m2 | Density = 9 per m2 Randomly Placed (1L pot) Total No. = 18

Calluna Vulgaris Drift Area = 4 m2 | Density = 9 per m2 Randomly Placed (9cm) Total No. = 36

Species

Purchase Size

Total Supplier Required

Sambucus nigra f. laciniata

90-120cm 3 litre pot

Weasdale

Vaccinium myrtillus

1.5 Litre

Quercus

Potentilla ‘Goldfinger’

3 Litre

Ashwood Nurseries Ltd

Ulex europaeus

1.5 Litre

Weasdale Nurseries Ltd.

Calluna vulgaris

9cm

Forest Edge Nurseries The Heather Garden

Erica carnea ‘Myretoun Ruby’

1 Litre

Forest Edge Nurseries The Heather Garden

Carex dipsacea ‘dark horse’

2 Litre

Mucklestone Nurseries Botany plants

Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’

1 Litre

Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens

Centaurea nigra

Seed

Emorsgate Seeds

Achillea millefolium

Seed

Emorsgate Seeds

Daucus carota

Seed

Emorsgate Seeds

Dipsacus fullonum

Seed

Emorsgate Seeds

Vicia cracca

Seed

Emorsgate Seeds

Digitalis purpurea

Seed

Emorsgate Seeds

Molinia caerulea subsp. caerulea

1 Litre

Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens

Gentiana asclepiadea

9cm

Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens

Borago officinalis

9cm

Jackson Nurseries

Carum Carvi

9cm

Jackson Nurseries

Foeniculum Vulgare

12cm

Jackson Nurseries

Eriophorum angustifolium

1 Litre

Merebrook Water Plants

Carex elata

9cm

Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens

1 Litre Narthecium ossifragum (if available if germinated seeds will be added at a later date)

Jelitto

Vinca minor

9cm

Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens

Lawn Seeds

Seed

60g

Wild Flower Lawns and Meadows

AREA of 1:200 PLAN

Drawing Title: Planting Plan and Section 1:50 at A2 The Weather Garden, Project: Crookes Valley Park LSC61001 Studio Project 1 Landscape Architecture: Nature, People, Place Date: 15/01/2022 Student: Violet Blyth

Violet Blyth Portfolio Significant Buildings & Travel Times Sheffield 13mins Doncaster 23mins

Wakefield 29mins Leeds 50mins

Sheffield 5mins Manchester 57mins

Risk of River Flooding - UK Government Flood Risk Zones & Terrain

4. 3.

Meadowhall Large Floodzone

2. 1.

L iv in g in t h e Clear ing

Making Rotherham a Natural & Cultural Destination Connecting people & nature back to the River Don Habitats, Tree Heights & Perceived Biodiversity Hotspots

Connecting Ancient Woodlands

The goal of this project was to reinvigorate Rotherham, increasing the quality of life for all beings. Using GIS (ArcMap) to research flood risk, existing habitat, buildings and transport, I created a masterplan and strategy for development and management over the next 100 years. The plan connects woodlands, introduces wetlands, re-meanders the river and increases housing density in the town centre creating an interesting environment at walking pace.

Tree Heights

Priority Habitat InventoryDeciduous Woodland Open Habitat Mosaic Priority Habitat Inventory - No main habitat but additional habitat exists (England) Wood-pasture and Parkland BAP Priority Habitat

No Wetland Habitat

Habitat Mosaic

Priority Habitat Inventory - Good quality semi-improved grassland (Non Priority) Young Trees Network Enhancement Zone 2 Recording of Species Sighting

Journey of the River Don

Living in the Clearing

Planning strategy | Meadowhall to Rotherham

HIGHER DENSITY >15mins. 120 DPH

3 - 4 storey flats Activated ground floor, artist studios, collective amenities.

EMERGENT WOODLANDS

LOW DENSITY > 30 Mins. 80 DPH

Passive houses Terraced housing, apartments at the end of streets, shared spaces

SELF BUILDS

IMMERSIVE WETLANDS

Flexible modular housing, Residents remain for long periods

ALDER CARR

Phases Strategy

Link areas of existing woodland and improve biodiversity by creating a habitat mosaic across the site.

Retain younger residents and attract middle/younger age groups for a more balanced population. Create employment in the centre.

Prevent flooding in Rotherham getting worse by creating floodplains further upstream.

Encourage daily movement to tackle obesity by making walking/cycling exciting and the best option. 29

Violet Blyth Portfolio

Integrating with the Existing Fabric Building a model from recycled and found materials, I considered the use of trees for wayfinding and creating spaces whilst adapting roads into mixed-use streets to encourage walking and cycling. New buildings are marked with match sticks. 1:500 Model

Living in the Clearing

Although a fairly straight fronted building different depths of façades create a permeable sociotone.

6m distance between shop fronts and path so the shops can hold people attention.

Meeting at the River Urban square design, creating active façades along one edge with a formal boulevard of Gleditsia Triacanthos. In contrast on the other side of the square, there is a drop in topography to contain a small urban forest where the canopy blocks the residential buildings from view and noise.

5m Axonometric drawn at 1:50 31

Portfolio | Violet Blyth Selected Works 2021 - 2023

vivblyth@gmail.com 07564179961