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The Importance of The Sketch in Renzo Piano’s Work
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Author Archives: Kraft
Pencil Love
Australian architect Glenn Murcutt on drawing by hand.
Doing Garden Design, part 3: Field Notes
As summer’s yard work draws to a close, I offer the following garden-related “notes-to-self” that have been scribbled in my journal during the season.
fatsia berries
PLANT CARE
- Consider and then use the best available tool for any given task.
- Don’t cut corners in any task, large or small.
- Learn about the form of root systems of undesirable plants, the better to eliminate them.
- When pruning, eliminate dead, weak, and crossing shoots/branches. Be mindful that any cut made will determine the leading edge of new growth. Try to visualize the direction the new growth will take. Cut to encourage growth into outward-inclined free space.
- No two plants can thrive in the same exact location. Choose one. Carefully extract the other. (See item #4, above.)
- Mulch, and mulch again.
magnolia, with hardy geranium ground cover
REFINING THE DESIGN
- Think big, pay attention to tiny details. Be on the lookout for surprises.
- Allow room for growth.
- Build into the design some tolerance for chaos. Selectively groom to let in happenstance.
- Cut losses with too-far-gone plants or schemes.
giant fern, unfurling
MINDFULNESS
- Note the cycle of patience punctuated by decisive action.
- Observe with focus.
- Stand back regularly, and take the long view.
- Pace self.
- Slow down. Patience is a goal.
- Stop and smell all of it.
tulip
All photos by Laura Kraft.
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Doing Garden Design, part 2: Drawings/ Plans / Designs
Gallery
This gallery contains 10 photos.
In the previous post, the initial step in my garden design was to compile and analyze a lot of data, and to make many lists. Now, it’s time for pencils and paper, to bring unformed ideas into physical being. Drawing … Continue reading
Doing Garden Design, part 1: Analyze This
(a 6-part series)
1996 2016
A garden constantly changes over time. So, too, does the gardener. And (lately), so does the climate. After 3 decades of tending my lush and ever-bearing yard, it was time to re-think its current design. There was little to limit my imagination except the limits of my physical ability and my time.
I approached the design similarly to the way I approach any architectural design project, with a progression of phases.
Phase 1. Identify Problems in Need of Solutions:
- Some beds have become grass-and-weed-choked beyond repair.
this path (L) has become tangled up (R)
- The shade from established trees has expanded.
- I have gotten more measured in my energy expenditure as I age, and need to dial down the amount of high-maintenance plants.
- The summers have gotten hotter and drier; some plants now wither where they used to flourish.
this slope became too dry and shady for its plantings
Phase 2. Gather Facts About Prevailing Conditions.
Over the years, I have developed a head full of experience and opinions about this garden’s performance.
The hardscape (paths, stairs, retaining walls, and paved areas) has been developed over the years. It will essentially remain as-is.
I have noted plantings that have succeeded and those that failed. Some of them combine with others. Some are easy to care for. Some offer great rewards, such as long blooming time, delicious scents, beautiful colors, and/or striking textures.
On the other hand, others are short-lived, invasive, fussy, too chaotic, or I just don’t like them.
I made the following double-duty diagram.
sun/shade exposure / existing features, to remain
Examples of elements well worth keeping as-is:
enormous old rhododendrons with 70’ tall Western Red Cedar beyond
native ground covers within the rhododendron grove
sunny flower garden near house
Phase 3. Scheme, daydream, and imagine possibilities. Start wish lists, accompanied by deep research in books and on the web. Some of my lists:
- Flowers I want.
- Drought-resistant shrubs with “winter interest.”
- Plants that will bring sparkle to the shade.
- Plants (from small-to-large) with remarkable foliage.
- Scented plants to locate near the path.
- Evergreen ground covers, bedding plants, and specimens.
- Plants with notable shapes.
- And so on…
I love the evocative names, and all of the promises they hold
At the end of this third phase, armed with information and ideas, I am ready to start drawing.
The next 2H Pencil post will be:
Doing Garden Design, Part 2: Plans
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Spirals
It is Winter now, but Spring is right around the corner. Looking back at this picture of a tulip, unfurling from the ground in front of my house a few Aprils ago, got me thinking about spirals.
Many living things, both plants and animals, share this form in their growth patterns. 
This plate from Art Forms of Nature by German biologist Ernst Haeckel shows examples of ancient Ammonitida shells. I marvel at their complexity and perfection.
No less amazing is M74, the Perfect Spiral Galaxy, a spectacular example of a “grand design spiral galaxy.”
Fibonacci numbers describe these spiral phenomena mathematically.
There are many works of architecture based on the spiral, from whole buildings to details, to spiral staircases.
There is a special spiral staircase in Baker Hall, at my alma mater, Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU), built with nothing but layered thin Terra-cotta tiles, as a variation of timbrel vault type of construction.
It supports itself without a steel armature, posts or beams. The sinuous gentle curve is gorgeous. The a herringbone tile pattern along the curved underside is one of three layers of tile adhered together with fast-setting mortar. The resulting laminated shell is almost as strong as reinforced concrete.
It was built by the company of a Spanish master builder, Rafael Guastavino, who excelled at designing and building timbrel arches, vaults, and spiral stairs. Guastavino structures, unlike Roman arches and vaults, don’t require heavy wooden supports (centering) during their construction. “The Guastavino craftsmen could start at the four walls of a room and build toward the center. The masons could stand on a ladder or a platform, but they didn’t have to build a wooden frame to support their structure while it was being built—it almost seems miraculous…We have a difficult time today calculating the geometries of (this) structure. I have students here at MIT doing doctoral research, trying to understand how these structures stand up. We can’t build this staircase today.””
The above quote is from MIT structures Professor John Ochsendorf in “Vaulting Ambition,” by Craig Lambert, in Humanities Magazine, a great article that explores the Guastavino’s history, work and influence.
There is an upcoming exhibit in the National Building Museum, called Palaces for the People: Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces, which will be on view from March 16, 2013 to January 20, 2014. I hope to get a chance to see it.
The first photo is mine; the second photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; the third photo is courtesy of NASA; the fourth photo is courtesy of Wikipedia; and the fifth photo is courtesy of Michael Freeman.
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New Toy
A while back, when I taught art in a high school, I conducted an experiment in moving lines from the paper into the air. In the library, we researched and made line drawings of insects and other small creatures. The next day, using wire and pliers, we manipulated the lines in space. It was fun! The unclaimed 3D line drawings ended up on my mantle at home.
I appreciate their embodied energy, and their economical structural integrity .
Recently, I obtained a 3Doodler 2.0, a device which enables one to create lines in the air using molten ABS plastic, the stuff of Legos.
In theory, this new toy presents a vast array of opportunities. In reality, first, there is a learning curve. I will have to internalize:
- the rate of the material’s cooling.
- the variable speed and thickness of the material’s flow from the instrument tip.
- the strength and plasticity of the material.
My first efforts: pyramids. I’ve got a long way to go.
A recent review notes the following:
“Honestly, you’re not going to make many practical, functional, or truly useful objects with 3Doodler … it’s really just a fun artistic tool. If you’re looking for a legit 3D printer that you can make useful objects with, you should definitely look elsewhere…
That said, if you like the idea of drawing objects in three dimensions, without having to jump over all the hurdles that lie between ideation and creation (like software, computer models, and properly calibrated machinery) then the newest 3Doodler should definitely be in your artist’s toolkit.”
I look forward to making some objects. Perhaps they will be models of conceptual products. As likely, they will be one-offs. Or is that ones-off?
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The Death of Drawing?
I applaud Sophia A. Gruzdys, the author of this review, for taking a stand against this book’s argument that drawing is no longer a viable tool for architects.
Read the review: The Death of Drawing: Architecture in the Age of Simulation | Book Review | Architectural Record.
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Heptagon
Mass-market example of a rarely seen seven-sided shape, the heptagon.
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Color Options
My client chose a particular rich dark green siding and black window trim for their Craftsman bungalow. I presented them with options for the remaining trim and door colors. Then I made this quick GIF animation for fun.
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