Drawing Places
The idea behind introducing 'Drawing Places' was to bring planners and engineers back-to-basics on how to draw and visualise places. This is because the simple art of hand drawing has become marginalised, for the majority, within the profession. The challenge, therefore, was to reintroduce some essential skills in drawing and to help people, in the profession, to get a feel for scale, perspective, axonometrics, sketching, colour etc. and then how to pull it all together when masterplanning.
Drawing Places with Fife Council | March 2011
In March this year, Architecture and Place Division, worked together with Fife Council, in a unique collaboration, to engage built environment professionals from a wide range of disciplines within the Council in order to hone and develop their drawing and graphic skills. Backed by the Head of Service, Keith Winter, the three day event was sponsored by the Government, and led by Susie Stirling, Principal Planner in APD in conjunction with Sophie Corbett (Scottish Government), Ian Alexander (JM Architects), Ed Taylor (The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment), Alister Scott (Smith Scott Mullen Architects) Rowena Statt (Anderson Bell Christie Architects) and landscape architect Karen Esslemont.
Feedback from a delegate
"Organisation was excellent. Help and advice was invaluable. Thank you so much, the workshop has been an inspiration and made me enjoy planning again!"
For more information on the event please see the Article in the Scottish Planner which offers three reflections on the event.
Drawing Places with Students | March 2011
Following on from the success with Fife Council, an open invitation to offered to all built environment students (whether studying planning, urban design, architecture, landscape architecture or transport planning) to attend a one day 'Drawing Places' class on Saturday 26th March at The Lighthouse.
Feedback from students
"I just wanted to send a short email to express how much I enjoyed the Drawing Places course I attended last Saturday. It was an invaluable experience and within a week I already feel more comfortable drawing. Not only did it inspire me to explore the medium of drawing, it inspired me architecturally too, by providing me with new skills with which to design"
"I found the facilitators of the course to be endlessly encouraging, patient and knowledgeable. And I would like to express my gratitude and for all their time and effort"
"I would recommend this course to any architect student and in an ideal world every 1st year architecture student would attend one , giving them the foundation skills required for their craft"
"Many thanks again. I hope to forward you some drawing/watercolours that I intend to complete over the next few months"
Drawing Places with Built professionals | March 2011
A two day Drawing Places class was run for about 20 professionals, whether connected to SSCI projects, planners, architects or agency professionals. It was aimed at those who either felt it had been a long time since they had drawn in their job or its something they would like to do more often but don't know how to start. The emphasis, however, was only be on hand-drawing techniques not computer packages.
Feedback from the built professionals
"Just a line to say how much I felt I benefitted from the drawing course, and how much I enjoyed it! And, to be honest, I was quite cynical as to what practical benefits a yokel planner like myself would get out of it, but I can really see parts of the exercises being really useful in Development Management and Development Planning"
Workshops
Masterplan Masterclass with Dundee University | May 2011
Over a three day masterclass (25-27 May), the School of Environment hosted a 'Sustainable Place-Making: Hands on Design Workshop'. The aim was to inspire students with a series of lectures, and then to work in team to create a new masterplan for Seabraes close to the waterfront of Dundee. The event was orgainsed by Husam Al Waer & David Kirk and run by Noel Isherwood (NIA Architects) and Susie Stirling (Architecture and Place). As well as providing lectures, a key part of the workshop was to help students develop their visualisation skills, with a strong emphasis placed on hand drawing in order to convert ideas into final designs. The students gave a final presentation of their ideas to a panel of Allan Watt (Planner, City of Dundee) and Peter Noad (Scottish Enterprise).
Please see this youtube link for a video of the workshop http://youtu.be/_VPIe4NeZV4
Graduate Design Programme for Student Planners | June 2010
As part of the Planning and Practice Graduate Programme run by the Directorate for the Built Environment at the end of June 2010, Susie Stirling and Sophie Corbett of the Architecture and Place division ran a one day design workshop. The event was run in conjunction with Proctor and Matthews Architects and Waterman Boreham Engineers. The workshop was designed to give the 25 participants of the graduate programme hands-on design experience and began with a short series of lectures from design professionals who discussed issues relating to urban design, architecture, transport planning and infrastructure. The graduates were then allocated into groups and given the task of applying the place-making principles identified in the lectures to create a masterplan.
During the workshop the graduates were shown how to undertake vehicle tracking, calculate visibility splays and use the B-plan as a tool to identify roads, buildings and open space, and to apply these techniques to their masterplans. The aim was to generate creative responses and to encourage the graduates to apply their planning knowledge in a practical way with an emphasis on drawing - no matter at what ability. By the end of an intensive but creative day, each team had produced detailed masterplans for the site and were asked to present their ideas to the other graduates and the design professionals in the format of a crit session.
The winning design for the site illustrated a detailed understanding of the components of sustainable place-making and the masterplanning process. The winning team comprised of Ayah Abbasi, Elspeth Clark, Andy Macgibbon, Claudine Mahu, Michael Mulgrew and Majella O'Donoghue, graduates of Heriot-Watt University and Simon Fraser, a graduate of the University of Dundee.
Images of the Graduate Design Workshop
Orkney Design Training | July 2010
A 2 day workshop was carried out with Orkney Council for planners, engineers and councillors.
Outer Hebrides Design Stakeholder Group | March 2010
A 1 day workshop was carried out with planners, engineers and councillors. The workshop was chaired by Design Champion, Councillor Angus McCormack and the event was an open forum which which allowed everyone an opportunity to think about the type of guide that would work best for the Outer Hebrides. As a result, the guide that was produced was 8 pages and consisted of more diagrams than text. The workshop was filmed by Hebrides TV and can be viewed at http://hebrides.tv/videos/view/214
Masterplan Masterclass with Dundee University | October 2009
On 23 October 2009, the University of Dundee and the Dundee School of Architecture, combined forces to host a 'Designing Sustainable Places: Day of Expert Presentations and a Studio Workshop'. The aim was to inspire students with a morning of lectures, and then to provide an opportunity to learn through some 'hands-on' masterplanning.
Civic leader design masterclass training event | April 2009
On 3 April 2009, the Scottish Government hosted a design masterclass in Perth for Civic Leaders. The masterclass was developed with the intention to help key decision makers understand how their role can contribute to place making. It explained how, by applying the principles of Scottish urbanism, a focus on creating quality places can deliver value through sustainable regeneration and growth. The training was a mixture of inspired theory and hands-on practical training to raise awareness of the spatial dimension of all local government decision-making.
Study Visits
Ministerial and Councillor Trip, Poundbury | August 2009
On 20 August 2009, twenty-six Councillors accompanied by Mr Swinney participated in a study visit, consisting of a day's lectures and tour to Poundbury - which is an urban extension to Dorchester in Dorset, renowned as a pioneering example of urban development. The study trip stemmed from a Civic Leader Design Masterclass which took place in April earlier in the year.
Student Masterplan Study Tour, Poundbury | May 2009
On 13 May 2009, a student study trip to Poundbury was organised by the Scottish Government which included presentations, a tour and a masterplanning masterclass. The visit was open to undergraduates and post graduates and a request was issued for academics to attend to share in the learning process. Responses to the trip, which had a ratio of 2:1 students to academics, were overwhelmingly positive.
Bavaria
In 2002, the Scottish Government signed a Co-operation Agreement with the Bavarian State Government. This included a commitment to increase collaboration on land use planning and the design of development. In particular, this meant an exchange of good practice and officials. In March 2004, the Government took 16 stakeholders to Bavaria to see the Rennplatz development. The group consisted of architects, local authority planners, urban designers, house builders, engineers and joint venture companies.
Oulu
Following a visit by officials to the 2004 Finnish Housing Fair in Heinola, the Division organised a visit for housing developers and planners to the 2005 Housing Fair at Oulu which inspired the first Scottish Housing Expo at Inverness in 2010. Subsequent visit were organised to Finnish Housing Fairs at Espoo in 2006 and Hameenlinna in 2007.
Research
Research projects commissioned so far by the Architecture and Place Division have been as follows:
A Mapping Survey of Non-Technical Research on the Social Value and Benefits of Good Architectural Design (2003)
Summary Research Findings Report
Full Report
A Survey of Public Awareness of the Built Environment (2004)
Summary Research Findings Report
Full Report
A Survey of the building design professions' attitudes to the Policy on Architecture (2005)
Summary Research Findings Report
Full Report
A Literature Review of the Social, Economic and Environmental Impact of Architecture and Design (2006)
Summary Research Findings Report
Full Report
Design at the Heart of House-Building: a survey of how private house developers conceive design and engage with design quality (2007)
Summary Research Findings Report
Full Report
A survey of guidance issued by local planning authorities in Scotland which may inhibit appropriate sustainable design solutions (2011) Full report
Further details of these projects and copies of the full and summary reports are available from the Division for all these projects.
A research project Encouraging development in an economic downturn was commissioned this year to look at, via a questionnaire survey, what measures local authorities are taking through the planning system, to encourage and bring forward development in response to the worsening economic conditions. The first draft report has been submitted and it is expected that the final report will be published before the end of the year.
Consideration is currently being given to commissioning a survey of the assessment methods and guidance issued by local planning authorities which inhibit appropriate design solutions early in 2010.