Discover Top Posts Tagged with #la152

Week 16: Martin Maca Lecture Council and About the Blog

Lyle Pudwill from Confluence began the lecture by giving some background about himself and his business. He noted that they began as a small business and have grown so much. I thought it was relatable that Confluence hadn’t realized how big they had really gotten. Lyle also talked about some of the projects Confluence has worked on. It was interesting to see the variety of landscape between the different areas of the business. The one thing he stressed was to observe: observe your surroundings, observe what works, and observe what doesn’t work. Another interesting point he made was that a lot of things in landscape are borrowed because certain things work well.

I thought the lecture was very and educational. I strongly agree with Lyle’s advice of observing all the time. If you can’t see that something doesn’t work, you will never get any better. It was also interesting to see some of Confluence’s projects that I hadn’t seen before.

I enjoyed doing the blog. It forced me to research different topics and learn about design, not only in landscape but in general. Reading everyone else’s blogs and their opinions about certain topics was eye opening and helped to me to think about different viewpoints of topics.

#LA152 #PeaceOutLA152 #blogabouttheblog

Week 13: Environmentally Sustainable Landscape Practices

When landscaping, you encounter several environmental issues. There are numerous sustainability practices to solve these environmental issues. Some of them include rain gardens, placement of shade trees and wind breaks, and soil management.

Rain gardens are built for drainage purposes. They are placed so water runoff from driveways and such are absorbed into the ground by the rain gardens.

http://www.laurensgardenservice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/How-Rain-Garden-works4.jpg

Placement of shade trees and wind breaks are important to conserve energy. Placing deciduous and evergreen trees in certain areas can provide shade and encourage air flow near air conditioners. Wind breaks can slow the cold air flow reducing heating costs in the winter.

https://www.arborday.org/programs/treecityusa/bulletins/images/004-figure-placement-diagram.gif

Soil management is important in landscaping to keep the soil healthy. Minimal tillage is used to keep essential organic matter in the soil. Maintaining ground cover and diversifying vegetation also partake in healthy soil.

#LA152

Week 12: Landscape Graphic Production

The point of landscape graphic production is to show the client a visual representation of what the site will look like. Some different examples of these productions are renderings and 3D models. You can render by hand or digitally. Rendering by hand is can be closer your initial ideas. Digital rendering can be faster and more precise when measuring. Renderings show the clients a more detailed view of the space than 3D models. On the other hand, the 3D models, obviously, show a more three dimensional view of the space.

3D model

https://landscapeblogger.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/model-making.jpg

hand rendered drawing

http://www.washingtoncountylandscapes.com/wp-content/themes/construct/lib/scripts/timthumb/thumb.php?src=http://www.washingtoncountylandscapes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/landscape_design.jpg&w=580&h=252&zc=1&q=100

digitally rendered image

http://landarchs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/shutterstock_133245701.jpg

#LA152

Week 11: Meaningful song

Picking the artist for a meaningful song was a no brainer because Toby Keith is my absolute favorite artist. Picking the specific song by Toby Keith was a challenge though. I tear up a little every time I hear a Toby Keith song (with the exception of Red Solo Cup). The song I finally decided on was “American Ride.” The song is about what it’s like living in America and the “American Dream” in a way. Even though the song is upbeat and sort of absurd, the message in the song is very true. One of my favorite lines is “spill a cup of coffee, make a million dollars.” I also love the music video because it is very funny and creative.

#LA152 #TobyKeithismysoulmate #LACrew #americanride

Week 11 - Meaningful Song

I really enjoyed doing this week’s blog because I love music! However, I found it very challenging to choose only one meaningful song because I have many favorites and listen to a wide variety of genres. After going through my playlists a couple times, I finally settled on “100 Years” by Five for Fighting. This was one of my class’s high school graduation song, so it holds a lot of meaning to me. I was familiar with this song long before my graduation, but the lyrics never really hit me until the summer before my senior year. The lyrics for “100 Years” basically say that you shouldn’t wish for the next stage in your life to come because you will end up missing the old stages. My favorite lyric of the song is near the end when it says “ I'm 99 for a moment. And dying for just another moment.” I get chills every time I hear it because it reminds me how precious our lives are and how we have to cherish every moment. I feel like this song has a meaning that benefits everyone. I know this song will remain one of my all-time favorites, and I hope that I continue to remember this message for the rest my life.

#LACrew #LA152 #OnlyGot100YearsToLive

Week 10: Landscape Architecture Firm

Appel Osborne Landscape Architecture has gone through several name changes, but has always kept their personalized service. The partners, Bruce Appel and Alfred Obrist began the firm in 1975. Their goal was to combine civil engineering with landscape architecture. Bruce Appel was behind the civil engineering portion of the firm. After retirement, name changes and partner changes, Appel Osborne Landscape Architecture was set in stone. Today, partners Vincent Pietrzak, Peter Osborne, and Timothy Bonaparte complete the firms twenty-person staff. The still incorporate engineering with their landscape architecture.

The firm completes a wide variety of projects from residential sites to larger scale projects. They have designed several K-12 schools, along with some colleges, such as Cornell University. They have worked on corporate, government, and healthcare sites. I was most interested in their designs of athletic complexes and parks. A majority of the athletic complexes Appel Osborne has designed were for school districts. They have also designed softball parks and YMCA’s. Aside from designing a regular park or plaza, the firm has designed zoos and golf courses.

Rosamond Gifford Zoo

http://www.appelosborne.com/assets/portfolio-items/Rosamond-Gifford-Zoo-Wetland-Graphic.jpg

North Collins Central School District

http://www.appelosborne.com/assets/Uploads/_resampled/FillWyI3NjAiLCIzNDAiXQ-Northcollins.jpg

VanKeuren Square (housing facility for veterans)

http://www.appelosborne.com/assets/Uploads/VanKeuren-Square-2.jpg

Cornell University Donor recognition area

http://www.appelosborne.com/assets/Uploads/cornell-donor-sketch.jpg

#designordie #LA152

Week 8: Travel Destination

I want to travel to Athens, Greece. Athens is full of historical landmarks and ancient buildings. The Acropolis of Athens contains several of these ancient buildings, one being the famous Parthenon, a former temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. Also on the Acropolis is Propylaia, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike. The buildings were damaged in the Morean War which I think makes them more interesting. One of the historical landmarks I would visit is Areopagus, which was the court for deliberating homicide. Mount Lycabettus would also be on my list of places to visit. I would love to be able to see the view from the amphitheater at the top of the hill. Plaka is an old historical neighborhood in Athens that is next to the Acropolis. All of the utilities are underground. The last thing on my list to visit in Athens would be the Panathenaic Stadium. The 2004 Olympic Games were held there and the stadium hold 45,000 spectators.

Mount Lycabettus

http://static.mwsrc.net/articles/wp-content/uploads/cache/2015/03/athens2/375120481.jpg

Parthenon

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/The_Parthenon_in_Athens.jpg

Panathenaic Stadium

http://www.pacificworld.com/webwp/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Panathenaic-Stadium-2-705x335.jpg

#LandscapeIsLife #LA152

Week 8 – Travel Destination

I had the hardest time trying to choose just one travel destination! There are so many places that I hope to visit someday. Of course, a couple of the places at the top of my list are pretty classic like the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the Vatican City in Rome, Italy. However, I choose a travel destination I would want to take with my whole family. After about an hour of searching and debating, I finally settled on Biogradska Gora National Park in Montenegro. My family is really into hiking and camping, so that is what got me on the idea of national parks. The last two trips we went on were to Glacier/Waterton National Park on the border of Montana and Canada and Smokey Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The reason I specifically choose Biogradska Gora is because it combined my favorite parts from these two parks, mountains and glaciers with stunning green forests. The vast landscape is not limited to only mountains, glaciers, and forests. It also has multiple crystal-clear lakes and rivers. Biogradska Gora is one of only threeainforests preserved in Europe. The park starts at Biogradska Lake. From here, there are many trails lead into the mountains. One of the most popular is the hike up to Mount Bendovac. Hiking is not the only activity this national park provides. There is also canoeing, biking, and white water rafting. My goal is to visit every national park in the world. Well, at least in the United States. Hopefully, I will get the chance to visit Biogradska Gora!