Focus week 4: 2nd March - Old Mareket Square, Nottingham

Old Market square is an award winning design and is recognised as due to its accomplishment on many levels. Although at first the square seems large you seem to become accustomed to it as it is so freely to walk through. I think that is one of the great features to have the chance to have an untainted journey from space to space and just enjoy your surroundings. The Square is rich in high quality materials both in the hard landscaping and the soft.

The use of exotic and uncommon trees such as the Ginkgo Bilbao adds the exotic and distinctive touch. However unless you know what the tree is pedestrians would just walk by completely unaware that such a tree is right next to them which is a shame as many people know and use in tablet form. The shrubs placed around the site such as the Chlorophytum comosum (spider plant) continues the exotic planting creating attention towards them.

The beauty of the waterscape is that it is both interactive with pedestrians and is enjoyable to watch. To place seating in between the two water features almost makes you feel a part of it feeling the spars of water and the sound of gushing water.

Granite is a luxury but with so much surrounding you, you become unaware the quality of what you’re standing on. If I was a pedestrian that had no intention of examining the site I would not have noticed the many types of paving used or why it had to be like that. This is partly due to the square having an enormous waterscape that draws you in with sound alone. The second would be the 60m tall Ferris wheel parked right in the centre of the square, this for me is an obstruction to the way the square flows. Although the Nottingham's public have asked for the installation to be permanent I think it would hinder the aesthetically pleasing aspect of the square.

Focus week 3: 28th January - Bristol, millennium square

This square in Bristol was designed by Edward Cullinan Architects, it was part of the regeneration scheme across the harbour side. The scheme was approved in August 2001, focusing on the SS Great Britain, and a new walk framing a view of the Cathedral. The square itself is adorned by a significantly large water feature and what at first appeared to be a large metal ball was in fact a large room dedicated to astronomy. another interesting aspect of the site was the analemma, which tells you how far and in what direction planets are. there are metal statue at one end of the site of Cary Grant, an actor born in Bristol. The other statues are William Tyndale a translater of the bible, William Penn and Thomas Chatterson, I'm unsure why these statues are there.

Focus week 2: 17th November - More London

personally I'm quite interested in how open spaces work, the ways in which it is integrated into its environment. I beagn by looking at More london. There is a lot of redevelopment in London, and a lot of change, so More London had to be quite versatile as a master plan and to some extent it is. The intention once visiting the site was made seemed that it should be a space that looks clean highly resolved and adaptive to a city that grows, very modern. The large open spaces allow people to flow through.

“ as landscape architects for the project with a brief to create a place of individual character while retaining the flexibility to change as part of an evolving city” (http://www.townshendla.com/projects/london/morelondon-11/)

I think the way that the designers accomplish this is by creating a space that is ahead of its time. The seamless effect of blue Irish Limestone can be seen quite hard. However I believe that due to Potter’s Field being right next to it they could produce a landscape that is hard. I believe it’s how you appreciate the site over time that shows its evolution as it’s a site ahead of its time.

The largest drawback I noticed is that the main square holding the GLA building had very little sunlight. So during winter months it’s not inviting especially being by the river. However during the summer months it’s extremely inviting as the shade is cooling and the water fountains are inviting.