Site development With our initial ideas of what we wished to bring to this site and understanding what already existed we began development. I worked primarily over Zone 2, redesigning the main body of water, an existing park, and the disused coal gas holder and its surrounding area. I knew I wished to activate the area so that people could spend time there doing activities but also as a space which had enough room for myriad uses.
Gas tower and park
The existing gas tower stood out as a prominent landmark to retain as part of the area’s industrial heritage and an exciting opputunity for redevelopment. Taking inspiration from the development of similar gas towers at Coal Drops Yard, I wanted to allow the previously uninhabitable space to be a place where people could sit and look at the redeveloped Surrey Water. In the exploded view model above, I show the flowing water which would recycle and airate the water from Surrey Water while also cooling the new park. Further the benches located between the open space and the backing hedge uses the prospect-refuge theory to allow people to feel at ease in this space separate to the rest of the site. The photo above also shows an aerial view down to Surrey Water from the viewing deck which we planned to build into the gas tower, to allow users to view water bird habitat in Surrey Water without disturbing them.
Surrey Water In the development of Surrey Water itself, we saw a body of water which could be activated for many different uses. Due to the popularity of wild swimming in other water bodies in the area, we decided to build a designated jetty with a swim area around it into a historical ship berth at bottom right corner of the water. We also wished to attract water fowl to the water and therefore installed bird habitat in the middle of Surrey Water. Separating the two uses was a reed bed which would ensure birds remained safe and help naturally filter Surrey Water, preventing algal bloom which is dangerous to all life in the water. Also on Surrey Water I helped design a walk -way so that people may walk uninterupted from the river to the redeveloped area. You will also see red is a dominant colour throughout developments in this project. This is to reflect the red paint used on historic landmarks such as the bridge.
Skills development Over the days spent on this course I learned valuable skills for anyone wishing to do a landscape architecure degree. This ranged from developing your most initial ideas with drawing exercises to the hands-on work of constructing a large scale model. I also learned how we can bring our models to life through methods such as projection. This experience also enriched my teamworking skills and how to bring together many ways of working into one cohesive project which delivered on its goals.