The purpose of this project is to:

• Experience working with a client
• Practice working with a group
• Build and expand on previous experience with the design process
• Integrate and apply skills and information learned throughout the class

At the end of this project, students will be able to:

• Work with a client to develop measurable project goals
• Productively analyze the existing conditions that will influence design decisions
• Use resources to identify opportunities and constraints that will influence design decisions
• Organize and Integrate a variety of information
• Generate a variety of ideas to solve a problem
• Present a solution that effectively addresses the stated goals
• Provide a clear summary of the reasoning that led to the selection of solution.
• Identify resources that are available to support the work
• Produce a visual representation that accurately conveys the concept and provides a basic outline for building the product.
• Make an informative and interesting presentation that represents an idea and process
• Drawing on individual perspectives and skillsets, make positive contributions to the group effort to complete the project

Food for thought:
The late Steve Jobs put it this way: “A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.”

The Design Process
We will be using the first two sections of this book (pp 1-112) to guide you through the design process for the master plan project. It is expected that your project reflects the information found in the relevant sections of the book.

To design a safe and aesthetically pleasing outdoor learning environment that:

• Supports teachers in linking outdoor experiences with academic goals across a wide range of curricular directions
• Empowers learners and promotes academic achievement
• Fosters intrinsic motivation, self-confidence, creative engagement, and connection to community.

pp 59-70

Students developing attitudes of stewardship, scholarship, and citizenship through integrative outdoor activities in a safe, supportive, and splendid learning environment.

Review the principles of developing SMART goals. Working with your client, make a list of 5 goals that will guide your project. Each group will develop its own set of goals. Write your goals below:

The base map accurately records the size and location of permanent features on the site and is the foundation on which the new design is built. Going through the process of making the map will help you to inventory what you have to work with and understand the “lay of the land.” For this assignment, the site analysis should include a secter/flow overlay and a scale of permanence analysis. A more thorough analysis might also include the addition of elements such as soil maps or easements and utility maps. Information on how to do site analysis and make sector, zone, and flow maps can be found on pp 72-87 in the “Practical Permaculture” book. The University of Minnesota’s “Sustainable Urban Landscape Information Series” might also be helpful.

Insert a slideshow containing the following below:

• To-scale Base Map (pp72-78)
• Sector/Flow Overlay (pp79-82)
• Sector Analysis (short narrative)
• Scale of Permanence chart  (pp 83-97)
• Scale of Permanence Analysis (short narrative – p 87)
• Summary of constraints and opportunities (short narrative – p 87)

The creative process utilizes both divergent and convergent thinking. In order to make the best choices, the first step is to make sure you have lots of choices from which to choose. There are many creative thinking tools to help loosen your mind; some are listed on pp 92-109 in Practical Permaculture. The internet is also full of information on how to develop creative thinking; I’ve collected a few links here. Of course the best way to develop creative thinking skills is to practice them. This section of the project gives you an opportunity to do that so make the most of it!

Before coming up with ideas together as a group, each group member should spend time alone generating their own ideas so that the group already has many ideas to work with when it convenes. Insert your 5 individual ideation drawings below.

The first part of the process is to generate loose sketches that break the site into broad areas (AKA “bubble diagrams”) Examples of these are on p 96. Once you generate a bunch of these bubble diagrams, choose a few and start working them up into more detail by doing trace overlays that locate specific elements within the bubble scheme. Do additional overlays for zone analysis. Don’t forget to include “boneyard” elements and access considerations for different kinds of traffic. Information about flow, schematic, and zone diagrams are on pp 92-109

These ideation drawings should show some evidence of having considered the information from the book. Include schematic and zone overlays for ideas that show the most promise. Work and rework your ideas through creative exercises such as “random assembly, ” (described on p 93)

Arrange your images documenting your ideation process into a slide presentation and then insert the presentation below. Include at least 5 different ideas. (for this section, all members of the group will use the same presentation)

As your group generates ideas, you will gradually start narrowing down to a selection of thoughts that make sense and everyone seems to like. It’s time now to check in with your client to see what they think. Prepare an informal group presentation of 3 options  and write a brief narrative describing each one. Drawings don’t need to be super-clean  at this point; in fact it is often advisable to show drawings that are obviously in a working state to insure that your client feels they can actually participate in the decision-making process. But they shouldn’t be too raw either; your job as designer is to work though and integrate all the information into something that is easily understood and digested by your client.

Set up a meeting with your client to review the options you’ve come up with. Listen to their input and make a list of the decisions you agree to. Put your 3 options (both drawing and narrative) and the comments and agreements from the meeting into a slide presentation. Insert the presentation below. (all members of the group will use the same presentation)

Once you’ve met with your client, its time to distill all the information you’ve gathered and generated into the final master plan presentation. In order to ensure clarity, master plans are often separated out into seperate overlays. This master plan presentation will include 4 drawings; the site map, the planting plan, a featured element, and an elevation drawing

The master plan drawing should be to scale, Remember to include the address, a scale, and north indicator. Make a slide show that includes all of the following elements and insert it below. (all members of the group will use the same presentation)

Presentation element 1: Concept Statement

Write a paragraph description of your group’s concept for the garden design. The description should focus on the elements that are unique to your particular design rather than reiterate the goals and elements that are common to all the designs. One way to think of the concept is as a “theme” What is the theme of your garden and how do the different elements and relationships reflect that theme? Remember that you are trying to “sell” your idea so make the language inviting and persuasive.

Presentation element 2: Site Map

The site map is like the base map in that is shows the location of all of the major elements on the site. It should include buildings, paths, fences, ponds, and anything else that is a permanent feature of the new design

Presentation element 3: Planting Plan

The planting plan is an overlay that details what will be planted where. In addition to the plant locations, the overlay should include a chart that shows a symbol representing each type of plant as well as a chart listing how many of each plant is needed and the distance they need to be planted apart

Presentation element 4:Elevation

that shows the relative heights of site elements in relation to each other.

Presentation element 5: Featured Principles

For this section,  choose 3 permaculture principles and give examples of how those principles are applied throughout the design.

Presentation element 6: Featured Element

For this section,  choose one of your site elements and do a detailed description of what it is, why it is important, and how it is connected to other elements. Include a visual representation of the element (photos or drawings)

Use this section to document your individual contribution. You may use whatever method you think works best to show how you contributed to the success of your group’s presentation.

For the above sections, you will be using the internet and other resources to find information that you need to complete your design. Use this section to cite your sources. (minimum of 10). For each source, write a brief description of how that source was useful to you.