2016 APLD International Conference

I had a fantastic time at my second APLD Conference. It was wonderful to reconnect with friends from last year and see familiar faces from the Bay Area.

Just outside the hotel was the Santa Fe Railyard Park. The park featured beautiful hardscape and plant designs, a children's play area, and lovely gardens. I particularly admired how the designers incorporated the railroad tracks and other historical railroad elements into the park's design.

Right from the start, I was so excited that the keynote speaker was W. Gary Smith, the author of From Art to Landscape: Unleashing Creativity in Garden Design. I totally fangirled a bit and brought my copy of his book for him to sign. He was super nice and signed my book for me. Gary is an accomplished landscape designer, having won APLD Garden Awards and worked on many renowned gardens. Coming from an art and design background myself, his book really attracted me and I often refer to it.

These are in no particular order. I’m just dumping photos.

Check out these interesting gabions. They are partially filled with glass slag chunks! Neat!

This garden just had a TON of amazing architectural details. I love to fun round pavers, the colors! The whole thing!

Pleasant Hill, CA Rasputin Music Green Roof and Landscaping

I'm just starting to drive around the far East Bay (i.e. Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, etc). I drove buy this Rasputin Records Shop the other day and was kind of surprised to see the nice landscaping and green roof! I stopped to snap a few pics and I probably should have run in to ask who did their landscaping. Next time!

Anywho, how cute is this?! Do I see some invasive grasses? Yes. I am trying to ignore them though. :)

Discovering the Extraordinary Playscapes Exhibit

During our trip, we had a totally unexpected but amazing moment. We stumbled upon The Boston Society for Architecture's Extraordinary Playscapes exhibit while walking around Boston. As someone obsessed with playscapes, I was thrilled by this discovery!

The Science of Play

The exhibit was extensive, filled with information mostly about commercial play spaces but also delving into the reasons for play and how play spaces influence child development. There were interactive exhibits, outdoor installations that I couldn’t visit, and plenty of beautiful drawings, plans, and models.

We spent a lot of time at the "Imagination Playground" exhibit by David Rockwell. This featured large blue foam blocks that you could manipulate. Much like small-scale building blocks, these large ones allowed you to create your own world and build your space. I loved how these blocks enabled people (kids and adults) to interact in various ways. Whether you’re a builder, a zoomer, or a quiet hider, you could use these blocks to play for hours.

I just love plan view drawings. They are one of the reasons I was attracted to the career. :D.

Nature play is near and dear to my heart. Not only did I create a forest pre school for my kid but I also worked on the play environment at his k-8 school. I also have a whole workshop I have taught at the Mothership Hackermoms in Berkeley.

Here is a link with exhibit info:

https://www.architects.org/exhibitions/extraordinary-playscapes

https://www.architects.org/about/bsa-space/visit

Earls's Court Water Tower in Narragansett Rhode Island

I spent all my summers growing up in Narragansett, Rhode Island. I still have family there, and my parents often rent a beach house for a couple of weeks, graciously letting me join them and take over their vacation time. The beach is my happy place.

One of my favorite landmarks is an old water tower just a street over from my grandparents' house. I always found it enchanting, with a fairy tale-esque and mysterious charm. One day, my grandfather took me there with my sketchpad and favorite Ebony Pencil while he brought along a folding lawn chair. He sat and watched as I drew the tower. At the time, I was a bit put out—did I really want to sit and draw while he watched me? But looking back, I realize he was nurturing my natural inclination to draw, even after years of trying to get me to throw a ball with him. I still have that drawing somewhere and plan to dig it out someday.

On my recent visit, I sat awkwardly in my car and sketched the tower in my sketchbook again. It brought back a lot of memories.

In Praise of Ebony Pencils

A quick shout-out to Ebony Pencils: they're perfect for sketching with their rich, dark lines. If you haven't tried one, I highly recommend it! I absolutely loved these things when I was a kid!

History of the Earl's Court Water Tower

While Googling the tower, I found a fascinating photo on the Library of Congress website (link: Library of Congress). It's amazing how different it looked back then!

According to Wikipedia, the Earl's Court Historic District is a residential historic area in Narragansett, Rhode Island. It centers on Earles Court, between Gibson Avenue and Noble Street, and includes several properties on adjacent streets. The district features nine residential properties developed in the 1880s and 1890s, during the height of Narragansett Pier's popularity as a summer resort. Most buildings are in the Shingle Style, designed by well-known architects. Notably, the Sherry Cottages on Gibson Avenue were designed by McKim, Mead & White, who also designed The Towers. The development on Earles Court, designed by D. J. Jardine and Constable Brothers for New York lawyer Edward Earle, features a stone water tower as its central focus.

This beautiful old water tower is a testament to the rich history and architectural beauty of Narragansett. It’s fascinating to think about how it once stood proudly as part of a bustling resort community and continues to capture the imagination today.

Exploring MIT: A Glimpse into T**'s Alma Mater

During our East Coast visit, we spent some time on the MIT campus. It was really lovely to see where T** went to school and to show J*** around. The campus is beautiful. T** shared a fantastic story about dropping thousands of super balls from the ceiling of one of the buildings. We’ll leave out the environmental impact of that little adventure!

This might be the building he was talking about.

We came across signage for a rainwater harvesting project that was quite impressive. It’s great to see these types of initiatives on a college campus, inspiring young minds. This project features a 50,000-gallon cistern, and all the collected water is used for flushing toilets and landscaping irrigation around the building. Here isn article from 2009 about it.

Rainwater Harvesting at The Strata Center

We came across signage for a rainwater harvesting project that was quite impressive. It’s great to see these types of initiatives on a college campus, inspiring young minds. This project features a 50,000-gallon cistern, and all the collected water is used for flushing toilets and landscaping irrigation around the building. Here isn article from 2009 about it.

We also admired a rock wall memorial, complete with a water feature and seating area. I like how the rock retaining wall follows the form of the built up soil behind it.

The campus had some gabions in use as well. For those who are unfamiliar, a gabion is a wire container filled with rocks, which can be construction waste like broken concrete or other large rocks. They can serve as seating if you add a nice cap, and as retaining walls if you include a barrier on the retaining side. My feelings about gabions are mixed. While they’re an excellent way to keep broken concrete out of landfills, they need to be filled with pieces that fit well and look nice, which can add time and labor to a project. Moreover, there’s the concern about little fingers getting caught or small rodents and spiders making homes in them. However, with the right client willing to cover the extra effort, they can be a sustainable and attractive option.

The weather was incredibly humid, something I'm not used to anymore! I do love the East Coast though. Later we will meet up with some old friends and then we are off to RI, one of my favorite places!

New skatepark landscape

I noticed the other day when I stopped at CVS on San Pablo that they added a really interesting skatepark along the parking lot to this strip mall. What a great use of space! I really love the large boulders they used.

Designed by Wormhoudt Inc.

Here is a cute SketchUp walk through of the concept. They did include one female presenting entourage with a skateboard!

There is a you tube video of the grand opening here.

I stopped to walk through it and took a few pictures.

The SF Wave Organ

My sister and I jaunted over to SF to visit the Wave Organ in January, sketchbooks and coffees in hand. How had I never been here? All the years I was living in SF and specifically exploring everything I could and I somehow never ended up here. Anyway, I went now and it was a beautiful winter day with the sun shining. It was so nice to just sit and draw in my sketchbook listening to the waves and people and sea gulls.

Sun shining on an open sketchbook with a pen and green pencil. There is a pen drawing of the wave organ in the sketchbook

Sun shining on an open sketchbook with a pen and green pencil. There is a pen drawing of the wave organ in the sketchbook

The sculpture was delightfully like an ancient ruin. I do love a good ruin. A real ruin not to miss is the Sutro Baths. I go there all the time and I should post some pics of that landscape.

This wave organ is a sound sculpture made from reused items including stones from an old cemetery. I love that and it makes for some very interesting sculptural stone work. The actual organ pipes are PVC and concrete. I think it sounds kind of like rubber bands!

Panorama picture with a woman with purple hair pointing a camera , the Golden Gate Bridge in teh background, the smooth waters of the San Francisco Bay and then some palm trees and a sea wall on the right.

Panorama picture with a woman with purple hair pointing a camera , the Golden Gate Bridge in teh background, the smooth waters of the San Francisco Bay and then some palm trees and a sea wall on the right.

Sunset Headquarters in Menlo Park

I heard the Sunset headquarters is going to move so I wanted to dash down there to visit it before it relocated. When I first moved to CA I worked just down the street but did not know about Sunset magazine at that time. Nor did I particularly care about gardens at age 19. Anyway, my friend and I jaunted down there to take some pics.

I’m so glad we did! I just love the color and texture they are playing with. The bright orange, round trellis is also speaking to me. I would like to own this moon gate trellis for myself!

Pavement 2 Parks in SF

This Pavements to Parks initiative in SF is really interesting. I must see if Oakland has something similar.

I drove by this little parklet on my way somewhere and I came back later to investigate more thoroughly.

Guerrero Park by Shift Studio in SF

Guerrero Park by Shift Studio in SF

This Places for People idea is marvelous. I love how they have created these planting spaces and seating areas on the harsh concrete of this street using recycled materials. I hope people come hang out here!

Laura goes to Washington DC

This is my first trip to DC. I know a lot of folks go to Washington in 8th grade. I’m not sure why I did not. My confession here is that I did not realize that “The Smithsonian” is, in fact, a bunch of museums and they are all free. damn! I need to bring my kid here soon.

I’m here for the APLD Conference. This is my first one and I do not know anyone here. I made my reservations with a little padding so that I can at least explore a little bit. There is so much to do and I am a tad overwhelmed and having to talk myself down from trying to do everything. I can not do ALL THE THINGS. I also do not want to discount the value of vaguely wandering. :D

My first foray from the hotel brings me to this sweet garden and bird habitat! Such luck! Lots of pictures here of plant combos and textures that caught my eye. Also, a mondo grass lawn!? It’s cute!

I went to the Natural History Museum after hanging out in this garden and then headed to the Space one. Along the way there were MORE PLANTS!

Then I went to Washington Station (I think) which is basically a mall because I wanted to go to the Moleskine store. I did buy a new notebook and a little sleeve thingy that goes over it and zips to hold a few pens.

Little Free Libraries

landscape-littlelibrary-sketchplans-web

Little Free Libraries are small personally managed 'take a book or leave a book' libraries. They are usually adorable. You can look at their Flickr gallery to see some examples of the awesomeness that people create.If you want to have your library registered and affiliated with the site you need to pay a small fee. They send you an official plaque and list your library on their map so people can find you.I would like to make mine with a green roof! I am not a builder type though and have no tools. I have a couple of friends who are and I plan on commissioning them to make this for me.

Here is my final concept:

LFL-highcontrast-e1395802813526-1024x661.jpg

Design concepts - The Six Courtyard Houses

The Six Courtyard Houses were designed by Ibarra Rosano Design Architects in Arizona.This archdaily.com article has images and plan views. I'm not familiar with the climate in Arizona. I must say that I wouldn't want to live in the landscape pictured for these houses. It's a bit.. stark and exposed.What was the thought process for it? "I would like there to be a big central platform viewable from every window in the house. Plus, three plants." heeheee. I kid! Or do I?I'm more of a Secret Garden' kinda gal. But I want to learn more about this starker more modern/contemporary style. This Pintrest Board has tons of great examples.Various design concept sketches.I need to pick one to develop further. 1, 6 or 2?EPSON MFP imageEPSON MFP imageEPSON MFP imageEPSON MFP image