Construction Drawings for Tree Planting

Whilst in the library I noticed a book on Tree Detailing by Michael Littlewood. Looking throught it I found lots of construction drawings and detailing for tree planting. As tree planting is something I have done alot of over the years working for my Dad's landscaping and planting company I thought this would good to practise drawings on. Also, I think they would be useful in the future to ensure contractors put tree ties on the correct way and neatly. First I drew a scale drawing of a single stake for an advanced heavy standard tree. I was able to fit all the important infomation on, however, I drew it to high so I could not represent the full height of the tree on my page so next time I need to make sure to measure the maximum dimensions onto the page first so I can ensure the drawing fits.

fter this I decided to draw how a tree should be tied to a single post using a rubber tree strap with buckle and a rubber spacer.

A walk around Nottingham Hill

Waking up to seeing a bright blue sky out my window I thought I had to get out and go for a walk, to make the most of the nice weather. Also, i thought this would be a good oppurtunity to find some fences, gates, and walls that I would be able to sketch in my notebook later on. Looking at my map I found a small circular route around the common land and woodlands of Nottingham hill on the edge of the cotswolds. Whilst on the walk I passed through multiple gates on the footpath which I thought would be a good feature to use to practise my construction drawings. However, as I did not take measurements of the fence I could not draw it to scale instead just sketching what i saw.

After passing through 2 muddy woodlands I came to a farm track surrounded on either side by dry stone walls, made out of Cotswold Stone. I thought this would be another good feature to sketch. When I got back to my room I looked for cross section drawing of drystone walls which helped me to complete mine and add annotations for the differant parts of the walls and stones used.

Project F Site Visit

Today instead of a lecture we visited to Gloucester to look at the two options for our site for project F. 

First we looked at a small community built garden located at St Michael's square. It featured a small lawn with seating and some mature trees. 

Next week visited the second site, which was Kimbrose Triangle. This is a shared space featuring a large sculpture and the main link between Gloucester city centre and its docklands. 

Out of the two sites I chose Kimbrose Triangle as I though it would be more interesting to try and redesign as it features lots of existing functions that need to be retained as well as lots of opportunities for improvement.

Old School House Final Design

I continued with the idea of using an octagon shape in the courtyard as it was a way I was able to fit the existing doors with a formal and symmetrical layout. I could also add design features inspired by gothic architecture. Some examples of this is a gothic font, and a flower pattern in the paving, made using arches commonly found on gothic windows.

To better visualize the space I made a sketch up model 

1 Week Tasks

This week I was tasked with redesigning the courtyard outside of the Clegg Building at Francis Close Hall. 

I wanted to design a space that reflected the mock gothic design of the surrounding building so I began sketching shapes found in gothic architecture.

I particularly like the circular windows that can be found in gothic buildings, which feature intricate patterns so I further focused on these.

However I realised it would be hard to fit a circle into the space and decided an octagon would fit better and found there was also lots of gothic windows that fit into an octagon shape. I printed off lots of octagons and began sketching in them. I created lots of patterns I really liked.