Monaco November 07

Between Fance and Itally

Monte Carlo in Monaco is a strange little place, between mountain and sea, it is easily seen in a weekend. It is beautiful and nice to visit but has little identity or culture of its own. Its a mix match of spec materials, random sculptures, flash cars and hotels amongst the older forgotten buildings, hilly terrain and lush vegetation. Nothing seems quite at home, not even the people as they are mostly there to remain rich and dodge tax! This plant, along with the curry plant appears all over the Principality, If you know what it is please tell me! and I discovered 'mind your own business' Soleirolia soleirolli (Helexine soleirolii)

Climate Change- the challenge for Landscape architecture

The Landscape Institute held a Climate Change Conference in Regents Park 01-02 November 2007. I attended and focusses on current issues for my 1st Focus week. 29th Oct- 3rd Nov.

Regents Park in Autum colours

We are the make or break generation of designers, we can turn the world around for the future of the human race. This will take much testing, experimenting and innovation.......

There were some fabulous talkers, some not so fab talkers and here's my favorite points:

Tim Lang

main message Be Veggie! 2/3 of our seared food is fed to animals.

Well actually 'What is land for?

Housing? Transport? Recreation? Food Production? Biofuels?

The World Wild Life Fund states that 3 planets would be needed to sustain our current lifestyles,
however in food terms we are looking at 6 planets to sustain our greedy guts!

Britain is 63% self sufficient this is 15% less than three years ago therefore Britain is living off other peoples land.

Tim Lang also talked of the 'nutritional transition' which is facinating and is basically showing how less people are dying of infectious disease's & there are more deaths caused by none communicable illness. Which indicates an increased life style quality globally.

to read more about nutritional transition CLICK

He questioned if progress really meant spending less on food, cheap imports, having shops such as Primark! Where somebody else Is paying the price for our cheap goods through being forced into poor quality of life.

David Burnie on Edible new Middlesborough

A step towards self sufficiency of the urban. Food Soveriegnity.

Community allotments have been integrated into the public realm of the ASBO capital of the UK! Middlesborough has been voted by channel 4 to be the worst place in the UK to live- an amazing show of community involvement proved them wrong. Over 1000 participants worked on allotments which fed 3,500 people in a town Food Feast! This is to happen every year and the estimated upkeep cost is £70 per year
EAT That!

CLICK for more on Edible Middlesborough

Kim Wilkie Don't panic!

Possibly the most inspiring talker of the conference, here's some of his points:

Accross London 32 square kilometers of our green space being eaten up by 'modern' paving over front gardens, that's 22 times the size of Hyde Park & the City's Urban Drainage system is dramatically & negatively affected.


Farmers markets-- rejuvenation--bring good food for a good price into our conciousness

There is a new common agriculture policy since the 2nd world war when farmers were encouraged to produce as much as they could using pesticides and herbcides. Now we seek organically produced quality stamped food however many still opt for he cheaper option.

Map Ramble with Tim Waterman

Regents Park to Kings Cross

The: Future: Laboratory

See more of Future Lab click

Lecture on IN HOUSE TREND 30/10/07

The future Laboratory has been in practice for 7 years. They collect data about society and trends. They portray analyse it in exciting ways. They predict the future trends based on up-and-comming designers attitudes.

Here's some most of the interresting facts and takes on facts highlighted :::

Consumer Attitudes Audit

This seasons attitude is decency & fairness
'neither a lender or a borrower be' seems alien in a society that is based on borrowing. However we are becoming concerned and aware of our spending and it will be increasingly difficult to part us with our cash!

when asked 24% of people say a higher salary would make them happier, whereas 30% want to spend more time with friends and family.

(We live into whatever pocket we have, fill our homes to the brim whether a mud hut or a plalace- we value wat we have and beleive we need it all to get by, are more scared of loosing that than excited about getting more, lifesyle change to live simply is difficult transition)

Buying patterns will change. eolpe will be morelikely to only buy what is neccessary (perhaps this will combine well with leading more sustainable lifestyles- ie needing less wanting less- having more?)


SLOWTOPIA

34% o travellers claim to love travel but hate travelling
& 54% of the UK is concerned about flying

(In Alain de Botton's Art of travel he explained that travelling is marketed as pure crystl beechs- bliss- sereniy- until you get there and realise your still a part of the picture!)


We have a desire for authencity- to do places that are untouched, however this travelling experience has been trendy for a while and we will now seeking a deeper spiritual experience- which is about state of mind from the begginning of the journey to the end.

There is now a shift away wanting cheap flights with easyjet, to wanting luxuroious journies. Designer Patrick Blanc is making the most of the shift:

read more at:
http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,23483,21706840-39535,00.html

There could be a rivalry between our desire for slowtopia and eco
However there is a definate shift towards cruises and away from flight so they may have some common ground.


By 2015 'work' will be a search for self actualisation and meaning! This shows we a a generation that has all the anemities.

(It also remins me of Kim Wilkies ideas of work being play- flexible working hours
and enjoyment & integrity in life)

The sales in male toiletry increased by 800% in the last 7 years! & in 3 years equal amounts of men and women will be booking in for spa treatments(my boyfriend disagreed!)

customised design is favoured over mainstream- men wearing fitted suits, Amazon has 6 million titles this is vast compared to the average bookshop & the main books bought from amazon are the quirky titles, the rare and unique, rather thean books other bookshos may stock.


Festivals are the thing to do now, not clubs

Recyling is down cycling- lets work with technology and upcycle. mixing organic with synthetic.
designers will need to look for solutions to how society is run- less chucking in the recycling bin. Products that arn't to be disposed of
ultra materials to repel dirt- so cotton towels don't need to be washed- much less emboddied energy in a products lifetime

to have fun in design we need to be scientists, chemists, illusionists and magiciens- the world of design will ned to collaborate massively.

Focus week 1. 29th October

The BLog becomes an on-line diary for you to record your aspirations and achievements, and reflect on the value that this opportunity has, as a complement to the other aspects of your study.

The blog is fantstic, an opportunity to be graded on your interests and continuous encouragement to reach out from Knights Park and to take the time to be inspired.

This focus week I will be looking at:
Habitat Creation
Sustainable Design &
Vocabulary

I am lucky enough to have a free place on a conference about Climate Change,it was awarded to two people form each accredited university from the LI. I have access to many journals to touch up on my landscape linguoe and my knowledge.

One week definately isn't enough but I will try my best!
What resources can you exploit to meet your needs? LI library, talks, conferences

analemma

This is the suns position at the same time of day throughout the year,
take a look at:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020709.html (where the image is from)
if you want to know more!


image taken 'by Dennis di Cicco on a single piece of film that was exposed on 45 different dates throughout an entire year in a permanently mounted camera'
& from following website:
http://www.uwm.edu/~kahl/Images/Weather/Other/analemma.html

SHEFFIELD. SLIC

Gatley and Manchester airport were the next stops, I could have stayed on the train and gone straight home, but having travelled for 4 hours I hopped off in Sheffield- the Second time I have ever been there despite growing up next door!Oh well it was a fun two day visit but I don't feel massively deprived!!
Had I stayed longer the Peak District would surely have been next on my list and and next time I go it will hopefully broaden my view on the city!
Noticeable characteristic of Sheffield include:
beautiful and various use of street trees,
lots of construction
quirky student character & friendly people
lots of brand new, corporate, high spec streetscape's,
some central drainage channels & mixed use (no pavement) streets,
lots of water features,
generic & commercial high street
Great free botanical gardens with wildflower planting and a bench carved out of a log

Here's a taster:

The reason for my visit to Sheffield was a SLIC meeting. SLIC is the Student Landscape Institute Committee and this was the first meeting of the academic year. We meet up to discuss how we can involve students in the Institue and vise-versa and we often set up stands of students work in conferences.

One competition SLIC is organising this year s a video competition for students as the accredited universities.

We discussed the breif for the competition & decided that the videos should relate to how life changing studying Landscape is! 'Its always on my mind'

We deliberated over how to produce a green wall for the SLIC stand at an up coming cityscape event. It is to be 17m long, 3m wide, relatively economic. It is to be constructed 3 days before the event, to be demolished three days after! Any ideas?!

SLIC is also planning to create an online overview/introduction to useful computer programmes in the field. The programmes that are to be blogged so far include: photo shop,illustrator, CAD & Sketch up. I will be concentrating on Illustrator.

Roll on the next meeting to be held in Leeds!

poetry workshop

As part of the Kingston UNITY week 22nd-26th October 2007 I attended a workshop devised by Zena Edwards named 'Character development' in short:'an exploration of character from initial creation to a believable living, breathing character in live performance'
We began by discussing what makes a 'character', we also investigated effective describing words:

Smell- Aromas- rounded & full. STINKS- harsh-jagged. Senses and perfume

Touch- Texture & Temperature

Hear- Musical noises & the Soundtracks of our everyday environment

Sight- Movement, bright, vivid, pattern, colour, size/shape

Taste- Body- wines- cheeses, fine/not so fine

Organic- A person's awareness of heart beat, aches, breathing, digestion

kinaesthesia- weight, gravity, movement, balance


My experience of getting up

bang bang bang beep beep bleep bleep squeak goes the alarm dragging me into consciousness

bright light peers through the curtains, I am a heavy warm solid and hibernating

a pang of routine hunger encourages a stir, I clunk downstairs

I routinely munch through cereal and debate on toast, today its Marmite

I greedily gulp down half satisfying instant Kenco with its promising aroma

a splash in the refreshing shower

then I emerge into the day. Riding my bike speedily in the Bright fresh October morning

few cars emerge, a smooth ride with little negotiation

I start my day with the market it is squeaky full and brand new for another day.


Zena was wonderful & full of energy, she had to rework the workshop as only I and Kaori- another Landscape Student were present, she reworked the creative writing programme to fit in with our studies!

Describe a landscape
as male/female
with a name
in a coffee shop

My 2nd Poem:

The Dalyan mud baths lie heavily at the peak of many a mountain in Turkey

Bubbles and Groans of grumbles emerge the strain of tourist troops flouncing through

The mud is thick and slow alike chocolate milkshake,
swallowing what it can a belching a mask of mud
a surreal common identity for all visitors awaits

Barbara an artist, once brilliant and brimming with love, greeting those she meets
is broken, dried out and she waits,
she dresses to impress in her accumulated treasures
Maybe she can impress
once fluid and bubbling with excitement,
now reaped, a fag clinging to her wrinkling lips, a triple espresso fix shaking between her now delicate fingers
Barbara waits