Tate Modern, Material Gestures exhibition

The current exhibition at The Tate Modern is Material
gestures, within Landscape Architect and designing in
general materials can make or break a design.
The exhibition is very eclectic with 9 different artists
work appearing clearly from this you could gain a
sense of how materials meant different things to a different
personality, some used projection as a means to inform,
others sculpture some painting.

There is a clear message resonating through all the work
on display and that was that you could you any colour tone
media to create a expression in your work but it must have
a context to why it exists the reasoning behind it.
The exhibition is helpful in defining how you must engage
with the work and context to really appreciate the work on
display and this lesson is what I value most from the work
on display.

The Scoop and Surroundings, London

This space is the flagship site in London with constant

media attention lavished here. The Scoop at More

London is an outdoor sunken amphitheatre with seating for 800.

The Scoop is designed so that in the summer months it can host

on variety of performance events. The events as described by

More London are free films, free music and free theatre

to local community events and activities.

The design at this site is very eye catching not for reasons such

as bold colour, because the site is rather underststed with Dark

blue granite featuring predominantly through the site. What it

does stand out for is the quality of work which has gone into

sculpting the stone into different geometrys which breakup the

site while revealing each design aspect subtly.

The Scoop for me isnt the best part of this landscape but rather

the baron landscape created from using only one material it

celebrates the pure space of the space. This is a must see just

to see how so many elements can fit together to create such a

contemporary site.

Old Qubec Street, London

Old Qubec Street has undergone somewhat of a
facelift from its original through way into a oasis
site in the Oxford Street, Regents Street Bond Street
development plan. The first thing that strkes me when I
looked at this space is what has been done this site is
very poor it offers no oasis that I can see and I would'nt
want to sit here and relax.

To best describe the space is to say its grey bland and a
definate oasis for concrete. The space has no real identity
and the only obvious plan for developing the site has been
to create a paved area.
The only people using the space are the ones living in the
doorways along the street there is no vibrance and there is
certainly no oasis to this site very disappointing.

Parliament Square, London

Parliament Square strikes me as a rare island of

tranquility in the very symbolic centre of London.

To best describe the Square, I would say it is a very

traditional english space for this part of historic London.

The spacwe fits in very well with its surroundings but

does look rather tired and under used.

The Square provides a real island persona because there

is a river of traffic surrounding it on all four sides and no

crossing designed for people to reach the cente.

Whilst the square does not obscure the hustle and bustle

surrounding it, there is a sense of seclusion, there are no

plantings to create barriers just the vastness of the roads

creating a makeshift moat.

For such a prime space in London oppersite the Houses of

Parliament this site is servely understated however this

understatement and seclusion give Parliament Square its

real personality, the real reason to like the space.

Putney Wharf, Visit

Putney Wharf is a very generic form of urban

space it serves its purpose as a waterfront site but

doesn't really inspire. There are very clean straight lines

used throughout the space and small terraces built up

to define differing uses for the spaces along with durable

solid material use.

Overall the space lacks any real personality to describe what

Putney Wharf was, now is and will be in the future.

There is no celebration of the space it most likely serves its

purpose very well on a sunny day when people flock

to the river front, but this space is just a very generic

design almost out of catalogue.

Potters Fields Park

The space here is defined as Potter's Fields Park but
the space has been designed to flow into the surrounding
landscape with some success immediately adjacent to the
London Assembly it has alot to compete against. The main
emphasis of this site is the enjoyment of the surroundings
namely the Thames River and there has been detail
devoted solely to this such as the seating with water patterns
built into them.
The level changes on site have been delt with by subtle terraced
seating interspersed with green space overlooking some of the
best views in London.
What doesn't seem to work with the space is how rapidly it has
become worn away and there is a lack of definition and quality
to some parts of space, such as the tarmac used, considering the
prime location of the park I would expect a high quality finish
throughout.
This is a nice addition to the SouthBank Landscape which could
have been so much better defined.

St Pauls, Visit

This space was a nice compliment to the very formal

historical St Pauls Cathedral, the space is is designed

with a series of terraces which are cut by a ramp for disabled

access and also focuses the sightline toward St Paul's.

There is a simple use of material and shape and the

tourist information centre also has this designed into it.

What would have been nice here would be more maintainenance

of the lawned areas but otherwise a very solid design if not

a little conservative, but it does work well for the space.

St John Zachery Churchyard

St John Zachery Churchyard is a surprising space the
present owners are a corporate bank and as one might
expect with a space associated with big business it would
be slick with clean lines and little left of what once came
before. That is whats most appealing about this space it has
a real history in its fabric the original church court yard as
it once was is now a elegant garden set below street level
with the original walls surrounding the space while newer
elements like the fountain have been added.

The space is nice because its not overstated and seems to
surprise one attention, grabbing the site out of curiosity
for what is hidden beneath it relatively modest walls.
Set against this lovely court yard space is a eye catching
terraced garden, built into the side of the ajoining office
complex it is clearly an attempt to intergrate the old fabric
of the space with the new arcitecture but this is what lets the
space down somewhat. The old historic churchyard cant be
competed with it doesn't need a modern counterpart but
rather just celebrating this charming space is enough.

Overall the St John Zachery Churchyard is a nice little hidden
space set in a very pronounced surroundings its a charming
space to stumble upon and well restored as a courtyard garden
which can shelter anyone needing refuge from the outside
surroundings.

Sedley Place, London

Sedley place is a small site tucked away behind the

busy retail parade of Oxford Street. To best describe

the space I would have to say it has a hidden, secret garden

like appeal to it with the tranquility that Oxford Street lacks.

The space has been designed with 2 entrances and 2 feature

walls, one wall is made up of a fountain waterfall which

becomes more apparent the closer one gets, while the other

wall is made from climbing plants and appears as a wall of

green.

The space is a perfect oasis and compliment to the busy

Oxford Street. The space is also clean, uncluttered and has

achieved a real thought process apparent through its design.

If you find this little space, it's definately worth taking a

moment of your time to recharge your batteries in this

tranquil, contemporary space.

Noble Street, Old London Wall

This is part of the old Roman Fort wall which once surrounded
London of old and was destroyed in the Fire of London.
The space is actually quite in contrast to its setting in the
middle of a commercial central London location it is
a slender minature green belt like feature which offers
tranquility and history because it retains its old features
but has long since become a refuge for wildlife to create a
foothold in a concrete jungle.

This landscape would really lack if this quirky little
space wasn't here its slightly overgrown in parts with wildflowers
but I think this is perfect for the use it has charm because it
is off limits and wild but still create a beautiful addition to
the landscape and highlight Londons heritage.

Argyll street, visit

This space was designated an oasis site in the Oxford Street,

Regents Street, Bond Street regenertation plan the site is just

off of Oxford Street and offers a space for people to sit and enjoy

a coffee, but under no circumstances would I call it an oasis there

is nowhere you can just relax with being it a restaurant or Coffee

shop and the street because it is paved is swarmed with people.

The pedestrianisation is nice and simple keeping surfaces on one

level whilst defining areas with colour of paving, the space has a

purpose to entertain, nut it is not somewhere you could cut of

from the energy of Oxford Street and it is very simple and generic

in design.

Aldermanbury Square, visit

Aldermanbury Square is situated in an area of considerable
wealth, with companies such as Lloyds TSB and other financial
companies based nearby. The importance of this is it sets the
background for what is a contemporary design with nice clean
lines of design, high specification materials mixed in with a few
bold artistic statements.

The design itself consists of varying paving sizes to delineate the
spaces functions such as 20 cm granite sets for road and 1mx50cm
for paving and other ranges for planting seating and no go areas.

The design does consist of 2 parts one part out in the open with trees
and moveable benchs and another part consisting of a waterfall which
cosidering how new it looks was under some repair.

The whole site is very nice from a corporate high quality point of
view and possibly one of the few sectors that can afford such a
finish.
However the space isnt without its own charm offering
secluded spaces for secret smokers and plenty of seating
without being cluttered.
Overall it is a nice contemporary site but a little on the
generic side but worth a visit, if not just to see the sculpted
seat and fountain wall when its working.