Dissertation Subject


My dissertation subject looked into the role of urban lawns in our outdoor spaces, in particular the role of urban lawns in our city and town spaces and their cultural, economic and environmental significance/relationship with other areas of the space. 

The dissertation was based entirely on secondary research and after completing initial background reading my hypothesis/initial thoughts centred around how lawns were bad for the environment. I assumed this because my initial opinion was that they were highly maintained, monoculture based planting areas with limited uses. However research into this topic concluded that actually it was often the management of these spaces that culminated in the poor environmental effects. I looked into the historical role of the lawn and how it was similar/different to grass, how it was used in design throughout renaissance, English landscape style and also how social factors played a role in the lawns development.

I concluded that the most achievable and realistic option was a change in lawn management, a reduction in frequency of mowing, watering, chemical application etc. However the best option would be to phase out sections/small percentages of urban lawns and convert them to naturalistic planting areas, forestry, biomass planting or meadow schemes. This is because the research that I analysed and the papers/experiments I looked through suggested a decline in ecosystem disservices with the conversion of urban lawns.

The full version can be found on the link below:

KH AD6600 Landscape Architecture Dissertation.pdf

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Alney Island Masterplan

Image
 Design approaches that guided Alney Island Design: 1. Water Management - The management of the River Severn and the fairly consistent flooding that occurs on site was a key driver in the development of this site. The river bursts its banks in the Eastern channel and the water moves across the island to the Western channel. The site was designed using culverts, drainage channels and large retention ponds which all act as flood management but also as varied habitat for local wildlife. 2. Ecological Sustainability - An important aspect that influenced the design, the opening up of the site for visitors and wildlife was important for both groups, the provision of varied habitat was also important, fluctuation in water levels ensure that many different types of habitat are created suitable for all sorts of species including migratory and wading birds, small mammals and also an array of native invertebrates and pollinators. 3. Connection of Spaces - The connection of Alney Island to the...
Read more

Final Alney Island Masterplan

Image
This is my final masterplan for a second term project near Gloucester. It is a more detailed (1:500) scale plan with a added visual at the bottom. The key part of this design was the "furnitecture" element which we added as part of the second term brief. My idea was a bench/walkway that appears to enter and exit the ground at different points, similar to Thomas Heatherwicks "Blue Carpet", strands of steel and iron then come out of these benches, capturing the movement and flow of the Severn Bore. Additional features include the hanging art and sculptures from these "helical" strands. I think the masterplan is quite successful, Especially in meeting the brief points, but also in creating an iconic space that can be used throughout the year by everyone. One thing that I would have changed however are some of the vegetation graphics, for example I would have added greater clarity between mixed deciduous woodland and shrub planting.   
Read more