Update and Orno terra

Its 2014 and time has long passed. Greenwich was very hard work and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to study a Masters in Landscape Architecture. Since leaving I worked as a project manager /designer for an SW London based company, and have just set up my own company, Orno terra landscapes.

Ai Wei Wei Released

Following a previous Blog, I am delighted to hear that Ai Wei-Wei has been released by the Chinese authorities. He is said to be living in Contemporary Installation Exile, nurturing seeds of silent artistic protest.

Kingston Uni Architecture and Landscape Architecture Corporate Fundraiser

4 July. Meal at Somerset House to promote Kingston’s School of Architecture, to guests including. David Knight, teacher, designer and author. Kieran Long London Evening Standard correspondent, Catherine McDermott director of Curating Contemporary Design at Kingston, run in conjunction with the Design Museum, Ron Melville regional director of the Forestry Commission and author of the Forestry Commission report; The Olympics – A vision for a green games, Sara Muzio an artist coordinating ‘Caravanserai in Canning Town, London, which converts 6000sqm of brownfield land into living installations during the Olympic period, Stephen Pretlove is the director of Archilab at Kingston University which aims to develop sustainable and environmental strategies on the design of buildings, Nicola Read, teacher, designer and curator, Dickon Robinson chairs RIBA Building Futures and advises on sustainable building, Finn Williams a member of Croydon Councils Urban Design team and a director of the Common Office, Peter Bishop a director at Allies Robinson and formerly of LDA, Mark Brearley is Head of Design For London (the Mayor’s office), Pat Brown is Director of the school of Landscape Architecture at Kingston University, Juliet Davies researcher at the LSE, Irene Djao-Rakitine heads up the London office of Vogt landscape and works on the Olympic Park, Clive Dutton Director at the London borough of Newham for planning and regeneration, Alex Ely Director at Mae Architects and co-author of the Mayors London housing design guide, Eleanor Fawcett is Head of Design at the Olympic park Development Company, Liza Fior runs MUF Architecture/Art, Tricia Hackett an Associate with Future Communities at the Young Foundation which explores how new communities can succeed, Jane Harris of Kingston University, and Chaired by Daniel Rosbottom who is Head of the School of Architecture and Landscape at Kingston University and has his own practice DRDH Architects. And they still have not paid me for the evenings waiting service, doorman duties and for cleaning up afterwards!!

Degree Results

4 July, Degree Results day. I went on the motorbike accompanied by my Psychotherapist wife, just in case the results were not as expected. But as she opened the envelope, her smile gave it away, big PASS. It just goes to show, that it is never too late to follow a dream, but do it as soon as possible, so you can enjoy the results.

Noel Farrer, The big Landscape 2020 Conference

Noel Farrer, Farrer Huxley, says landscape is a holistic profession. The client is the fee payer, but users of the space are the market. He highlighted how the green wall at Westfield’s West Kensington site has resulted in a sought after aspect and sitting area for users and retail stores, as opposed to the brick wall which was the cheaper option. He recommended reading the Governments paper, ‘The National Ecosystem Assessment: A Closer Look’. Noel says Landscape Architecture students need to be confident and stay ahead of things. Noel advised students that landscapes change all the time, so it is difficult to say how a landscape can have longevity. Things change.

Vectorworks, The Big Landscape 2020 Conference

Adrian Slatter of Vectorworks sponsored the event and gave a little background to the software. It seems to be a more useable medium than the industry standard CAD. Students get a free licence and can take command of it very quickly, but they will have to revert back to CAD to work at most companies. One very clever application is to be able to view a design from any site aspect.

Lindsey Whitelaw, The Big Landscape 2020 Conference

I have attended a few talks Lindsey Whitelaw has given on landscape architecture, and her enthusiasm and presentation is inspiring. She has recently sold her partnership Whitelaw Turkington to a big conglomerate, Grontmij and I hope that does not diminish her flames. She advised us that we will work in a team and we must lead on our strengths and let others lead on theirs, as in the horse herd theory. Lindsey says find your specialism then work with it and act as you say. She recommends Jim Collins’ ‘Good to Great’ as a must read.