Dreaming, Designing and Drawing: How it Really Works
Creating fun, functional and
relaxing outdoor rooms and landscapes requires designers to think and
communicate visually and spatially. Different drawing techniques help us to
move from ideas to a built project. At
the core of the design is a plan, a map of the project. How will the rooms fit
in the space? How will we move from one space to another? How does the furniture work within the space?
What about plants?
Yet plans don’t help us see or
feel spaces. To virtually meander
through the backyard retreat, to virtually relax with a cool drink to the sound
of the fountain, to virtually sit by the fire pit, smoking cigars and watching
football…we need 3 dimensional projections.
Site photo taken before... |
Sketches of future project! |
Site photo taken before.... |
Sketch of new outdoor living space! |
But, as sexy as virtual reality
and the look books are, it lacks the technical nuts and bolts we need to build
projects. What are the next steps?
The plan view that addresses the
vertical plane is often referred to as the grading and drainage plan. Since
landscapes are rarely flat, this document addresses how many steps it takes to
get from one space to another, and the relative heights of vertical elements,
especially retaining and seating walls. This plan also determines how rain
water, including water from the roof, will move safely away from structures and
patio spaces. This information about the vertical plane, documented as contour
lines or bench marked spot elevations, is absolutely critical to the execution
of a successful design.
Although critical for
construction, a grading and drainage plan is hard to visualize, and we already
saw that virtual reality isn’t technically accurate. For precise understanding
of the vertical plane, designers turn to sections, elevations and isometric
projections.
Sections, elevations and
isometric projections show the vertical plane to scale, just as plans are a
scaled map of the horizontal plane. Sections, elevations and isometric
projections help us design safe, practical and gracious walls and steps.
Sections and elevations show how outdoor kitchens, fire features and fences and
gates will actually work. The spot
elevations on the plan and the sections/elevations/isometric projections are
correlated, ensuring that the project will fit together seamlessly.
Preliminary rough design sketches |
Ready for a design review! |
A successful built landscape starts with many rough sketches that never make it out of the design studio, progresses to illustrative virtual reality sketches, and eventually evolves to a set of accurate construction documents. Knowing what to draw, which information we should explore internally, how to best illustrate ideas for clients to understand, what is critical to share with contractors is one of the hallmarks of quality design. If you are purchasing landscape architectural services, ask how the design staff approaches drawing. Or, of course, contact us at Ivy Street Design…because after reading this,
you know we do it right.