Project presentation – LAA215 Construction Design

Aerial view of the design concept in progress. SketchUp with aftereffects in Photoshop & Snapseed.

The construction design course has finally been delivered and presented. It has been a very educational course, where the main emphasis has been on the design concept, while at the same time a lot of work has been put into technical solutions and construction material assessments. In many ways it shows how one as a landscape architect needs to keep everything in mind; from design to plan to descriptions; being creative in the design process but down to earth in how the project should be realised. It’s a challenging balance act.

Filed under: Illustrations, Presentations, construction design, illustration plan, LAA215, Pergola, SketchUp, technical, visualisation

Maiden voyage of “The Papp Swan”

Pardon the Norwenglish in this post. Papp is Norwegian for cardboard, and it sort of rhymes with black. You can handle it from there (I’m also aware the construction doesn’t resemble a swan at all, more like a swallow, but it was found to be more suitable. So there).

Excitement preceded the launch of the cardboard constructions in today’s design lessons – we were supposed to construct a device to protect an egg from a third story fall. Made as a competition, we were awarded points for our design based on aesthetics, functionality, amount of material used, and, of course, airborne style.

The maiden voyage of the “The Papp Swan”, loaded with an egg (medium sized) in it’s cargohold below the wings, was not without drama: an initial dive, followed by a loop and abrupt collision with the wall through the approximately 7 meter flight (or fall, depending on your view) made for a rather short event. Thankfully, however, both the Swan and its cargo were left intact for later attempts. Due to the nature of the event, I didn’t get much credit for style in the end (partly due to its lack of proper flight capabilities – or horrible judging, whichever you prefer). I guess aerodynamics never was my strong field.

Filed under: Illustrations, Studies, construction design, LAFT

Construction design, part 2

Visualisation in Lumion based on SketchUp model

We presented our site analysis today, along with some early attempts at visualising in Lumion (see picture above). A brief summary follows. See the project blog for more information!

Historical photo of the site, anno 1928. The tram line follows the same pattern today.

The site has an extensive history behind it, along with bits and pieces of architecture spanning over a century. The building in the picture, old Ullevaal theatre, now functions as a grocery store (actually, the grocery store is under construction) and auditorium for the University in Oslo, located just 500 meters to the North-West. Named after a significant tradesman of the time, John Collett, the area was a centre for trade and entertainment, with many small boutiques in the building, as well as a grand cinema. The site today is by and large dominated by traffic; it’s place you drive by, not a place you stay. The tram runs by frequently (twice every five minutes) as well, making the site appear very busy, however not necessarily in a good way. A place with great history, but a fragmented and dislocated feel to it today.

Filed under: Analyses, Illustrations, Studies, Analysis, construction design, Landscape architecture, Lumion, SketchUp, urban development, visualisation

Construction design, part 1

The spring semester has begun, and we’ve started off with one of the courses that will run throughout: Construction design. I’ve been looking forward to this for a while – a course tying things together, forcing you to be more conscious about your designs, with focus on construction and technical detail. Our project area this time is a public space in Oslo; John Colletts plass. I registered a project-specific blog for the students and teachers to participate and share their experiences, check it out here (Site is mostly in Norwegian).

Model work. Abstraction of the sense of volume and direction on the site.

Pen sketches and notes from the site. 

Filed under: Analyses, Illustrations, Studies, construction design, Landscape architecture, model, public space, sketches, urban development

Project presentation – LAA224: Shaping with vegetation

Project area. Google SketchUp + Photoshop

Above is the result of the project this semester in the course LAA224, shaping with vegetation. Our project has evolved from the initial blue-green concept of re-opening the stream running through the site, to include concepts for residential development and specific use of vegetation to create volumes and seasonal variation. The design is intended to make use of the historical qualities of the site; i.e. the former agricultural landscape, and the choice of vegetation reflects this.

Concept sketch from the site, seen from the south

Filed under: Illustrations, Presentations, Studies