Designing Mice Under the Carpet

In my previous post I spent some time talking about berms and such, plus some other fun nonsense. Fun nonsense? . . . and I must say some very practical nonsense on designing berms.

Mounds???

Berms and boulders as part of the Landscape

Notice I do not call these mounds. Why? Well they’re not. They are not mounds . . . as in Indian Burial Mounds.

We are also not at war here in America, specifically the Civil War or as my Southern friends and in-laws say . . .

The War of Northern Aggression

Which means we are also not designing Civil War Breastworks to place cannon behind and create good firing angles, no my friends we are creating landscaped berms.

Mice, where do mice come in?

Leave it to one of the usual suspects(e-mailers) going by his pen name of bushpeddler. Bushpeddler? . . . how’s that for an internet handle for a landscape designer? Actually(and I hate to give credit to him) it’s pretty damn good

Where was I? Oh yeah mice. So bushpeddler writes to me

Yeah, you’re right, but I tell clients those awful little mounds look like mice under the carpet.

Mice under the carpet, mice under the carpet I am thinking and visualizing to myself and I’ll be damned if that’s not the truth. When you look at some of the awful mound work going on out there it really does look like mice under the carpet . . . just visualize it for yourself next time you are out on a job site you are going to fix.

Mice Under the Carpet

Those do look like something under the carpet.

How does this Happen?

Simple. So simple in fact that it’s what drives me crazy insane. It’s like this. The lawn area is always flat or following along perfectly with the terrain . . . then P O W !!! blammo-mounding. Lawn, lawn, lawn . . . mound, breastwork, mice. Just like that.

With absolutely no connection to the surroundings. No wonder some people call them islands. Sometimes it seems the mound goes straight up defying all laws of gravity.

Then you got:

1. Perfect round humps.
2. 45 degree sides with a perfect flat top.
3. Big slopes with some badly place stones(lots of these).
4. Then; of course, we have the dreaded mulch mound. Year after year piling the mulch higher and deeper around the base of shrubs and trees-in an attempt to kill whatever is being buried.
5. And all other types of offensive mounds, hills, islands breastworks, and mice.

On the other hand

How about a better way to berm? Something more pleasing to the eye, more fluid, more integration between lawn and berm. A connection that allows for great space(s).

A more Pleasing Roll in the Landscape

It isn’t that Hard.

Why not roll the lawn or whatever the ground plane is, up into the progression of the berm topography? Creating a better connection; or melding, where the lawn and planting area doesn’t have to come across as so harsh and rigid divide.

It’s been said that the lawn is the foreground to the scene, and then the scene appears beyond that foreground. We have no need as Designers to so sharply separate one from the other.

So let the lawn roll up into the berm, or in some instances have the planting area develop down onto the flat topography that would have been all lawn. Create the flow.

The berming can become part of the landscape rather than be something in the landscape.

Pierre Boitard

A interesting looking book just sold on e-bay for $1.031.00 Not bad for a 1834 book on Garden Architecture.

Here’s a blurb on the listing:

Pierre Boitard’s 1834 Manuel de L’Architecte des Jardins. Handsomely bound in red morocco, this very rare volume presents an unparalleled picture of every aspect of garden landscaping and garden architecture in the 19th century. None have been sold at auction in twenty-five years and the only institutional copy we could locate is in the British Library. The only copy for sale on the Internet is a later (1845) edition priced at $2398. We offer our 1834 copy without reserve.

I’ve pulled a couple of pages/illustrations from the listing that I found interesting.

[ Examples of 'clipping" work ca1834. ]

Here’s another.

[ It appears the mowers are at work. ]

Here’s the title page

[ The book looked to be in good shape for it's age. ]

I bring this book up because it’s good to know where we have been, and how others in the profession face challenges and came up with solutions. Granted it’s a little different style/class of client but design principles are design principles.

This style of design is worth studying because there are principles to be learned from, borrowed from and used in the present day.

So good reading to the new lucky reader of this great looking book. It’s on this page, not sure how long it will be here, but I’ll post it anyway.

One last look from the book.

[some gate, wrought iron possibilities. ]

Interesting stuff

A Tale of Two Levels (cont.)

So here is an earlier drawing where I was looking at the possibilities from head-on; that is, from a person looking from the lower level.

I liked this look . . . but wasn’t sure if it was working. Then after I was done scribbling this I noticed that the wall heights were really 3 levels!. Well if i were to have to patios at different levels for this plaza-it seemed to me this would not be the look.

Unless one of the lower walls was not a seat wall(wall on right?). That could account for the difference in height.

I had even looked at the possibility of splitting it up this way. With an upper plaza area, some steps, a large landing-like space and then more steps out onto the connecting walkway.

It was around this time I had got the word that two distinct levels would make people happier. Something along the line of “lets have plaza space for both sides of the apartment complex”.

All of this looks much different than the original proposal(s) part of which is the drawing on the right. this color rendering is showing a more benign set of steps and a long serpentine wall going the length of the landscape.

This wall could still be part of the final plan. Again; looking at this as I type, I am now not sure if I like the idea of a long serpentine/curvilinear wall with a couple of right angle terraces at different levels.

1st thing that comes to mind is easy . . . where does the wall tie into the terraces? Upper or lower? Does the wall stay with the curves as I had earlier shown? Maybe the new set up calls for an even kinder gentlier(sp?) flow to it.

Maybe the entire area would look much better if the budget was put into making the terraces the absolute best they could be, add some other detailing, or embellishment to the walls, or change the material for the plaza floors to something a little heftier in size, texture, and emotion.

Maybe I’m crazy . . . no comment John, we already know what you think about that.

One thing is for sure the previous post(drawing below) had something in that perspective drawing that I was looking for. I think I’ll go back to that(for my amusement) and try to add walls to that perspective. My guess is they will make no impact from the angle I was drawing at.

This drawing . . .seems to be the closest I’ve some yet to solving my problem. I’ll try and add a wall(s) and see what happens to the space.

If the wall doesn’t work then we would have a gentle slope run the entire length of the landscape. It wouldn’t be the end of the World as we know it.

Heck it might look just fine.

A Tale of Two Levels

[ A ink line drawing, for me this one one of many concept sketches of the area. ]

Possible solution for some student seating between two apartment buildings for upper level and graduate students. The newer apartments off to the left are about 4.0ft higher than the existing apartments to the right.

The Task

I was asked to come up with a way for students to collect and get together, and at the same time not make one large space, but a upper and lower level for smaller groups to congregate. I’m also assuming they did not want one large blast of flat level surface.

To answer the question, no I do not know what the square footages are yet. I would like to see the upper level be about 1/3rd larger than the lower. Why?

I’m not sure. It’s just that in every sketch I drew where the upper was slightly larger the drawings looked better.

[ I thought I'd give this a try, looking straight on into the two-levels. ]

The above is obviously a real minimalist attempt at a landscape study for this space. The more I look at it the “rawer” it looks. Just stripped right down to the specifics.

I would guess that I/we would never use this as a presentation drawing(by itself) but it’s good enough for me to show a client and say, “Hey, here’s what I’m thinking, what do you think”?

If it were to become a presentation drawing it would need to show the apartments in the background, and I would need to throw some color on the page. For me . . . that wold also mean fewer ink lines.

Away they Went

I gave the 2 drawings along with a couple of even rougher sketches/studies to the contractor to show to the client. Will these need fleshed out?

I don’t know, not even sure if they’ll think this is in the right direction, but it’s a good start to the communication.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Addendum: The top sketch was done on a sheet of copy paper-from a stack of copy paper on the clipboard. I had reached a point where I was stuck on this concept. So I got up, grabbed the clipboard and a cup of coffee and went out and sat in the backyard . . . drawing away . . . trying to find an idea or two to put together for this two-level plaza.

The lower drawing was scribbled done in the moleskine a day or two earlier, also away from the desk/drawing table.

So I guess I am trying to say . . .

if you’re STUCK

Get off your ass, out of your comfy everyday workspace, and go find another space, another environment, another sensory experience.

Design Process (2)

So I’m thinking about steps and people, people and steps . . . . . .

[ Like I said, people and steps. ]

Question’s

• Where does the landing(s) g0?

• Where does the plaza go?

• Where do the seat walls go? At which levels?

• Tree’s? Shrubs? Trees and shrubs?

• Brick? Block? Brick and Stone?

Nothing better than people and steps, steps and people . . .

The Importance of Hardscape Design (6)

posted, 11/06/06
Single water falls, and tan sandstone walkways
More on the previous post. This was the 1st plan view color drawing that was shown to clients. Take notice that in this conceptual drawing there is only one waterfall, and the walkway is tan in color. the homeowners looked at this drawing and were very impressed.

I then remember them . . . starting to study the drawing and going over ever detail. It was decided pretty quickly they didn’t want brown sandstone for the walkway-they were positive about this.

2nd they were very concerned that the one falls would not make enough noise to screen out the eat of the neighborhood noise, and would only one waterfall be loud enough to hear in the kitchen, and breakfast nook.

Normally, I would just show them a different color of stone (actual stone piece), and take some overlay paper and draw the other falls in the hillside. That wasn’t going to work here, they wanted to see another drawing (specifically the wife).

So, I called the contractor and said I had to do another drawing for the homeowners, for x amount of hours to do the work (which he hadn’t agree to pay me for). He asked me if they were excited about the conceptuals and were they close to jumping in?

I said; heck yeah, they’re ready! . . . .

So the previously posted drawing is what they looked at, and of course they jumped in, over original budget request . . . because it was everything they wanted, in a logical layout, and the best parts could be enjoyed/viewed from inside the house.

Color rendering of pond and fire ring
Along with the plan view rendering, I showed the clients this conceptual rendering of how this area would relate to the new kitchen addition.

The addition is shown only in black line. I was trying to present the landscaping to add to the backyard, which is why my stuff is in color. We needed to excite them about tha landscaping, Heck they had already agreed to add the kitchen-no need to promote that.

I did; however, have to show how the new landscape would relate and enhance the new space. This rendering does a much better job than anything I could have done on a plan view drawing.

This drawing was the deal-clincher for this side of the backyard. I basically laid this on the table and it was over. Let’s go, let’s put it in, we can’t wait . . . those were the comments.

I’ve said this before, and will say it some more (hey, I’m a poet!), if you design hardscapes, structure, level transitions, etc . . . you must render. This is the only way to really communicate what you are trying to achieve to the client.

Has for this drawing, I’ll have more on my evolution as a designer . . . tomorrow.

Patio Design 2

posted, 08/21/06

More drawings and a continuation from the post on the 18th of this month.

This a a sectional drawing showing how all these elements will relate to each other in scale. This type of scale drawing helps show the human element and really focuses in on how much space is needed to pull this project off. The scale here is one-eighth of an inch equals one foot

This color rendering is the overlay to show the client the potential for combining all these elements in one space. As of right now the grill is at one end of the backyard and the wet bar is at the other. There is no protection from the elements if you exclude to umbrella over the table which is not shown here.

Combining the rendering along with the elevation or sectional drawing helps paint a picture which enables the homeowners to move along in their decision making process to creat the best possible use of space for their requirements.

This structure will bring everything together under one roof and will extend the use of this patios season in this Zone 5 backyard.

This is a quick study drawing of how the roof line would work out for this design of a new patio space. One point perspective is my goal here, and I am hoping to do an overlay on top of this. whic is what the drawing above is.

I could use this drawing and just draw on it, but if the clients reject my proposal on the color rendering I would have to start from scratch, this way I won’t have to do that.

More on the Terrace Design

posted; 07/28/06

This is another drawing of the same angle with different materials. I’m going to call this a warm-up drawing for the day. I did change the paver material color and lower how the plants would look.

Sectional Drawing: Not quite a true sectional because I added a few things that would not be on the section line I cut through the plan view. It does show the homeowner a good look at the relationship between the porch/steps/ and patio. A real quick drawing with the number one intention of showing how the steps would work out.

This was not taken off a photograph. Sectionals are good to show transition, change of elevation, and spacing. For me personally it is always better to show in some type of scale so these relationships show correctly.