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Sissinghurst Descriptions
The Design Project
This project is the core of the program and what many students will take with them. With a provided base plan with existing features located, students will be introduced to “the client” and an outline of their wishes. Photos of the property and other data will be provided and students will work on the design all week. More experienced students may move along faster than others, which is not a problem. Each will do what he/she can and some will get further than others. The studio time will be a relaxed, loose atmosphere, conducive to creativity. If you need to go get some air, go for it. We'll have music playing and refreshments available.
Graphics are not important for this exercise, but we do want an atmosphere without distractions. We'll have plenty of studio time during the week. On Friday, each student will have an opportunity to present his/ her design to the class for feedback.
Friday afternoon, each student will have an opportunity to present to the class for feedback.
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The Design Process
Design IS a process, not based on "intuition" or "feeling." We'll review some of the principles and strategies that you will use in this week's design project.
There are many factors in understanding how the puzzle pieces of a good design go together. Although we draw plans in two dimensions, we need to understand how the landscape will eventually be experienced. Our designs will improve if we can train ourselves to mentally "walk through" a landscape in the design phase.
As a class, we will "deconstruct" some well-designed landscapes and see how they are put together. We'll explore relationships between landscape and architecture and discover how different areas of a landscape interact with one another.
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If you are going to design a landscape that is appropriate to its context, it is important to understand what the context actually is! Formal, informal, prairie, woodland, Victorian, and English are all terms we use to describe a garden. Just as many terms are used to describe architectural styles. We'll review what many of these terms mean, discuss various architectural styles, and discuss how to decide the best approach to designing the right landscape for the architectural context.
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Just because we are designing landscapes does not mean that gardens are all we need to know. By studying other designed spaces, objects and even words, we can increase the depth of our skills as designers.
Have you ever thought about the process a writer goes through when writing a book, and article or a script? How about an artist creating a sculpture or painting? It is the same process a landscape designer goes through! There is a lot to be learned by observing design in other forms. It's also fun! As a bonus, improving your ability to "see" with the right side of the brain can help us enjoy and appreciate many other things in life!
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This is not a discourse on “my favorite plants.” You can get that elsewhere. What we will discuss are ways to use plants as design tools. Often we choose plants for a functional purpose, such as to create privacy. Other times we use them to establish a theme or a rhythm in a landscape. Keeping in mind that most landscapes are not viewed from above the way plans are drawn, we can use plants as foreground and background, effectively creating color and texture combinations between and among plants that are not physically adjacent. Huh? Stay tuned and you'll see!
Since specific plants are regional in nature, the approach we use on this topic will be conceptual and methodological.
Depending on time available, we can discuss some of the complex issues of natives vs. adaptives/exotics, grouping plants by horticultural requirements, invasives, maintenance and related issues. But the main focus will be the aesthetic strategies.
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People don't hire the portfolio. They hire YOU. But an effective portfolio is still important to making a professional impression. Whether for a job interview, or for a potential client, your first impression is crucial. If you consider your entire first impression as your "curb appeal," then you realize that your "portfolio" is more than photos, drawings and paper. It's your whole first impression.
There are many ways to show a potential client that you are the one they ought to hire. Even if you don't have 20 years of photographs, awards and published works to show, there are creative ways to get your message across. You don't need to be a big talker either. You just need to gain their trust.
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The term “starving artist” exists for a reason. We can create the greatest design the world has ever seen, but if we can't get someone to understand how good it is, and why it is good, it is not likely ever to be built. We'll review strategies for getting your ideas across to your client.
Many designers are guilty of presenting a plan to a client the way they would present it to another designer or a foreman. "Over here is a ____ tree. Over in the corner is a water feature. The patio is right here." Pretty exciting huh? If you want your client to get excited about it, you're better served if you present it with his/her interests in mind. Some clients actually do understand design, so by all means describe how various spaces relate to the house, how hardscape details are repeated and how you solved that difficult grade change issue. But, for many, this will be more than they want to know. It's just detail. Most want to know that this new patio will be just the private place they've always wanted, where they can now enjoy a cup of coffee and a newspaper on Sunday morning, without the neighbors spying on them. They want to know that their backyard will no longer be a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and will be usable for backyard soccer, now that you've solved their water problem.
"What's in it for me?" is what they are thinking. Give them the benefits. We'll go over ways to do this and anyone who wants a chance to practice can do so when we present our designs to the class!
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