sym.posium Articles

Has coffee & food become our new passive recreation?

by | Aug 19, 2015 |

Sym. Studio Director, Conrad Grayson presented at the 15th ICTC Conference and 5th National Mainstreet Australia Conference in Wollongong last month.

The conference “People, Places and Partnerships Creating livable & lovable places” called for a range of expert speakers to talk on the latest developments in urban design, opportunities and trends, place making, retail, planning, development, project management, main street marketing and management.

Conrad’s talk addressed the shifting nature of leisure and free time as a result of changing social demands.

Key Points

  1. As towns and cities densify (horizontal + vertical), the quantity of ‘leftover’

space is compromised and demand for its use increases.

  1. Greenspace previously used for passive recreation becomes programmed for active recreation.
  1. The leftover ’Greenspace’ (incl.waterways) are required to fulfill a more specialised ecological function.
  1. Specialised ecological habitats conflict with full scope of human recreational pursuits.
  2. ‘Open space’/Passive Recreation must become an integrated component of the everyday urban environment – ‘Urban Openspace’.

Sym determined six integral components that allow a space to realise its passive recreation potential. We applied these components (traditionally confined to greenspaces) to a main street, laneway & plazas to re-imagine the spaces as integrated ‘Urban Openspace’.

Using Avalon Town Centre as a case study – this approach to design and rejuvenation creates spaces that attract and engage both the young and the elderly to promote inclusion, health & economic prosperity.

What contributes to a successful residential subdivision? (6 Do’s & Don’ts)

by | May 25, 2015 |

The Warriewood Valley is a rapidly changing urban release area full with residential subdivision. The sector contains typical examples of both design success and failures.

Given our four current subdivision projects in the Warriewood Valley (and our office location) we felt it was time to really get to know the area in detail and the varying standards of development.

Sym Cycle Tour

On a hot 28 degree day the Sym team (complete with helmets and high visibility vests) started our cycle tour through the Warriewood Valley. We collated our observations from the day to produce 6 urban design considerations that apply to all residential subdivision projects.

Warriewood Valley Snapshot Do’s & Don’ts

  1. Placemaking/Visioning

Do However small or large a development – Placemaking (including a vision statement) is a great tool to provide a clear design intent for all consultants to work towards. Placemaking establishes the unique ‘essence of place’ and ‘x factor’ of your site.

Don’t expect your consultants to seamlessly coordinate without a clear project vision.

Value A vision statement ensures continuity of design ideas across consultants as well as creating a strong community identity that buyers can relate to.

  1. Involve a Landscape Architect from the beginning

Do Bring a professionally qualified Landscape Architect into the team from the very beginning. This is when our capabilities are best utilized. We provide Placemaking, Site Masterplanning, and Lot/Building Location. Landscape Architects looks at the site as a whole – to consider the local and regional context, site constraints, grading & drainage (based on slope), vehicular /cylceway /pedestrian connections, entry sequence, identity signage and open space amenity planning.

Don’t have consultants working independently and in isolation. Don’t finish the site design and employ a Landscape Architect at the end to “shrub it up” (or do – but you’re missing out!)

Value Early involvement of a Landscape Architect ensures quality urban design outcomes and a holistically well-considered development.

  1. Property Frontages

There is a fine balance required to ensure frontage consistency whilst still allowing for owner ‘personalisation’.

Do ensure consistency of verge setback width, property levels & grading, wall and fencing locations, height and width as well as letterbox locations and dimensions. Individuality between properties should be created through materiality choice of the above elements and planting design.

Don’t Give complete design free reign to each property owner – the development will lack design cohesion and street appeal.

Don’t make all the design decisions for the owner – the development will lack character.

Don’t situate the properties too far from the road or too close to the road. Too far inhibits social engagement and too close isn’t pedestrian friendly and doesn’t make for an attractive streetscape.

Value a well considered property frontage encourages social interaction between residents, enhances street appeal and salability and helps create a strong community identity.

  1. Treat storm water requirements as an opportunity rather than a constraint:

Do Employ a Landscape Architect to sensitively consider stormwater initiatives.

Don’t treat stormwater as purely an engineering exercise.

Value A sensitively designed bioretention basin can serve as a much needed visual amenity, raingardens and swales can create unique and beautiful streetscapes whilst also working to improve water quality. Well considered WSUD practices can reduce the need for hard infrastructure as well as adding aesthetic value.

  1. ‘Back of house’ streets:

Do consider garage access, garbage storage and collection points from and early stage.

Do consider walkability and how to create pedestrian friendly streets

Don’t consider garbage collection and storage late in the piece – it will look like an afterthought and often results in an unattractive design outcome.

Value Offline secondary streets at the rear of properties are a great way to hide garages, bin storage and ‘back of house’ street uses. This separation creates consistency in frontage appearance aswell as pedestrian friendly streets.

  1. Invest in the landscape:

Do consider both long-term growth as well as day one impact. Plant establishment takes time.

Dont undervalue the impact of the landscape. We understand your budget/design requirements and will strategically consider the placement and impact of the landscape – especially around entries and display suites.

Value Well considered planting design can provide privacy screening, shade, create a sense of arrival, determine sightlines and views and create beautiful spaces that residents value and want to use.

 

 

 

When to use a Landscape Architect vs. a Landscape Designer (in a small-scale residential setting)

by | Apr 1, 2015 |

Clontarf-1

A prospective client recently asked us when to use a Landscape Architect vs. a Landscape Designer and what is the difference.

A generalised & quick answer to this question would be – scale; Landscape Designers tend to deal with site specific and predominantly residential projects whereas Landscape Architects deal with a broad variety of projects that range from residential to urban and regional in scale.

We could elaborate on the above answer to mention the immense differences in our professional training – but for the purpose of this article let’s accept the limited answer of scale as the main point of difference between professions. If so – this then provokes another question of what is the difference in professions and services provided when working at the same residential scale? ­Specifically:

When to use a Landscape Architect vs. a Landscape Designer in a small-scale residential setting?

To answer this question the Sym team went to a long lunch at Bayview Marina (intrinsic to the thinking process we assure you) and hashed out our apposing & shared opinions on the topic. We also contacted a number of professional colleagues for their input on the topic.

It should be prefaced that we are a team of Landscape Architect’s who drew from our understanding of Landscape Design the best we can – there are always exceptions to the rule and in the interest of providing a definitive answer we have used generalisations. We encourage future discussion and the development of our initial findings.

Our answers for determining the selection process fell into the following categories – Site Context & Planning, Horticulture and Ecology, Design & Management & Price.

Site Context & Planning:

In general our degree training means that Landscape Architects are better equipped to understand the site within its wider context. We are trained to look beyond the extents of the property boundary; to consider issues of locality (social, cultural, environmental & geographic), strategic planning and legislation & the interface with surrounding properties (visual & physical grading).

An architect & sym.studio colleague believed the main difference lay in approach, that “Landscape Architect’s look at the opportunities and possibilities to think outside the boundaries”.

Horticulture & Ecology:

In general the degree training means that Landscape Designers are better equipped in horticultural knowledge and design.

A certificate IV in Horticulture is a prerequisite to study Landscape Design. Horticultural studies of a Landscape designer provide a thorough understanding of plants, agriculture, soil, pests & diseases, maintenance, weed control, irrigation & turf.

The majority of horticultural knowledge of a Landscape Architect is gained through years of experience rather than tertiary education. Landscape Architects do however; have a thorough understanding of larger ecological and vegetation communities – but lack the detail horticultural knowledge by comparison.

Design & Management:

Landscape Architects have an extensive education in both the history of the landscape design traditions as well as contemporary design theory. Landscape Architect’s also study architectural theory and building styles to design landscape that are architecturally responsive. Furthermore, registered Landscape Architects are required to achieve a level of CPD (Continued Processional Development) points each year to maintain registration thus ensuring that we are up to date with our design knowledge and skills.

The diploma of Landscape Design has more of a practical focus without the extensive theoretical background offered in Landscape Architecture. Landscape Designers gain majority of their design theory through experience and self-study rather than through formal education.

The relevancy of this theoretical knowledge to a residential project would depend on the client expectations, architectural design, scale and landscape significance.

Landscape Architects are well equipped to design and coordinate large structures including shade structures, pavilions, decking, pools and retaining walls. A Bachelor of Landscape Architecture includes technical subjects and electives and/or interdisciplinary subjects within the Built Environment that develop skills in structural design.

A lot of landscape design companies offer both design and construct. This combined company can be beneficial for a client who is looking for a quick turnaround. Design and build practices can thoroughly consider the practical construction methods as well as respond better to changes on site and last minute decision-making.

Landscape Architects are often involved in the management of landscape construction, which is usually carried out, by an external landscape contractor rather than a subset of the same company. As a result of working on large-scale projects Landscape Architects constantly interact with a variety of consultants and often play a leadership role within the project consultancy team. We can offer project management as we have a broad understanding of the roles and responsibilities of other disciples to ensure an integrated and well-considered design outcome.

Price:

The truthful and first answer of an architectural colleague on the difference between a Landscape Architect and Landscape Designer was “Price”.

In general the price of a Landscape Architect hourly rate is higher. This is a reflection of the higher degree of professional training, variety and standard of services provided and level of insurance they must hold. For a small-scale residential project this increase in up-front cost for a client is harder to justify.

Who’s most suitable for your project?

In general there seems to be a many areas of overlap. Both professionals are qualified to address issues of drainage, grading, materials, planting & material choice and in the end the decision will come down to the wants of the client.

For residential landscapes that require complex grading, project management, working with a team of consultants, significant planning controls, has a high flora & fauna impact, high visual impact or requires significant architectural/structural design we would suggest the use of a Landscape Architect.

For residential landscapes that require predominantly ‘soft’ (planting) design, design & construct capabilities, a very quick turnaround or is working to a particularly low complexity we would suggest the use of a Landscape Designer due to their extensive horticultural background and specified skill set.

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