amber material - detail tee sap - precedent etc hermitage room - ties nature to a liquid form

"the plant wall has a real future for the well-being of people living in cities. the horizontal is finished - it's for us. but the vertical is still free, said patrick blanc, who, fascinated by plants that flourish without soil and in low light, went on to study this phenomenon at pierre & marie curie university in paris and traveled to malaysia and thailand to observe how plants managed to grow on rocks or in forest underbrush. the research he has carried on at the french national center for scientific research is central to his work with plant walls, which thrive indoors using artificial lighting. a plant wall begins as a surface like a painting and as the plants grow it develops volume. it does not need to be trimmed and the density of the planting prevents weeds from sprouting. a wall he designed at the cartier foundation for contemporary art in paris has never been pruned. the use of artificial materials enables longevity. a wall in the living room of his house is 25 years old. blanc never copies himself and has been careful to copyright his walls, like works of art. he prefers leaves to flowers and avoids plants with trailing vines. "i look at the architecture of leaves. i use plants with curves. when i am invited into museums to create permanent workds, i am treated like an artist," he said, "meaning capable of choosing the plant sequences that will function together in the long run. construction for the walls, which blanc leaves to gardeners, costs around $700 per sq-m, plus labor. nyt 5.3.07 "all his rooms are living rooms"

http://classics.understars.org/jargon.de.jour/

Botanical Gardens in Finland



The Botanical Gardens of
the University of Oulu



Helsinki University Botanic garden

 
A unique tropical garden, Gardenia, was opened in April 2001. It is a limited joint stock company co-owned by the City of Helsinki and the University of Helsinki. The luxuriant garden, covered by glass, is a beautiful and refreshing place to visit all year round.

Botanical Gardens in Finland



The Botanical Gardens of
the University of Oulu



Helsinki University Botanic garden

 
A unique tropical garden, Gardenia, was opened in April 2001. It is a limited joint stock company co-owned by the City of Helsinki and the University of Helsinki. The luxuriant garden, covered by glass, is a beautiful and refreshing place to visit all year round.

Making Connections...

Last weekend I went to Prague on a four day visit, an experience that let me take a step back from all my work. Its amazing how even when not writing and drawing ideas, you are still subconscious switched on in the mind as to how your surrounding i.e Prague's buildings, their relationships to the river and the use of boats and transport. Interesting graphic, slogans, the aerial views from the plane, textures, tiles and the cityscape captured my imagination as to how my design could be influenced.

The image to the right, was in a magazine I was reading on the flight, it caught my eye because of the way the boats docked inside the sheds - inside a covered habitat of a space. This led me to consider whether this 'boat room space' that is created, could be applied to the Pipewellgate site? It would be part of the Institute but could 'detach', more like a moving room than a ship. A connecting space that moves and helps network the urban farm ideology and the Finnish Institutes initiatives. This would be an interesting feature to the building and would being back life to the dead river. A reminiscent idea to the Tuxedo Princess ship that used to be on the river, an icon that brought nightlife and a new experience to Newcastle - it gave the Gateshead riverside an identity. This 'floating room' barge would input and output from the main building, completing the 'process' within. It would be an educational space, growing food, collecting waste and produce from allotments down the river banks. It could become a floating stall at the Sunday Market on Newcastle Quayside, selling produce and more importantly 'Fin-Gin'! It could act as a river taxi and reconnect remote villages and communities up and down the river. New experiences such as sailing under the famous bridges of Newcastle and enjoying a new form of transport. Sailing and shipbuilding is within Newcastle's historic urban grain, Pipewellgate and all the factories on the river banks of the 19/20th century were established around ship deliveries, I think this would be a good activity to bring back, both on a cultural and practical level.

Shot taken from plane coming back to
Newcastle showing the mouth of the Tyne.

   



Tuxedo Princess night club on the Tyne

FIN_GIN Mixing the English love of Gin & Tonic
with a some Finnish Botanical Hedgerow fruits. 

As mentioned in tutorials, the desired small scale urban farm and botanical aspects need to produce something worthwhile financially, its not a commercial farm, its an educational tool and a place for the public and the Finnish Institute staff to enjoy. Therefore the idea of growing and creating a product that is specific to the Institute would be worthwhile. A product that would help being identity back to the locality. Examples of this include Newcastle Brown Ale (which isn't actually manufactured in Newcastle anymore), Wensleydale cheese, Cumberland sausage, Mowbray porkpies, the Cornish pastie and the relevant example Jack Cain's Gin (seen below). My flatmate (who is a chemical eng student) had this bottle. On further study and chatting to him, I discovered the base ingredients to Gin is a mixture of neutral alcoholic spirit with the flavour of Juniper berries. This addition of a botanical element is what caught my eye, and led into further research into what variation were available. Saffron, Elderflower, lemon, orange, herbs, spices and many others are also on the market. However I want to make this specific to the Finnish side of things as Gin (and tonic) is quite an English tradition, and so I looked at 'Hedgerow Botanicals' and came across a reference to a fruit called the 'Cloudberry'. Used 'in Nordic countries traditionally for liqueurs such as Lakkalikööri (a Finnish liqueur). It has a strong taste and a high sugar content. (Another bit of info I found) In addition to cultivated berries, there are about 50 species of wild berries growing in Finland, of which 37 are edible. Sixteen of these are picked for consumption, most importantly lingonberries, bilberries, cloudberries, raspberries, cranberries and arctic brambles. Also important are wild strawberries, bog whortleberries, mountain crowberries, buckthorn berries and rowanberries, among others. Maybe then a Gin could be created and sold to generate funds and identity to the Pipewellgate Finnish Institute (Fin_Farm + Fin_Gin branding). Sloe Gin is also another specific option and there is a receipt for a Finnish Version called 'Sima'. 'To make sloe gin, the sloe berries must be ripe. They are traditionally picked in late October or early November after the first frost of winter. A wide necked jar that can be sealed is needed. Prick each berry and half fill the wide necked jar with the pricked berries. Folklore has it that when making sloe gin, you shouldn't prick the berries with a metal fork, unless it is made of silver, thus conventional wisdom is to use a wooden tooth pick or similar'. The connection with Folklore has connection with Finnish beliefs with the Forrest, and brings to my mind the Shakespeare play 'Midsummer Nights Dream'.

Traditional Finnish Sima

4 quarts of water

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 lemons, thinly sliced

1/8 tsp active dry yeast

4 raisins

1/8 cup sugar for carbonating

The new Roseisle Distillery by Austin-Smith:Lord Architects in Scotland.
David told me to looks for 'process building' precedents and this is a
great example of how beautiful the process equipment can be.
Form follows function in this building.

A table in a bar that mixed
copper and wood, thus 
reminding me of barrels and the
 pressurised equipments
alcohol is brewed in.



A small scale brewery in a bar in Prague

Making Connections...

Last weekend I went to Prague on a four day visit, an experience that let me take a step back from all my work. Its amazing how even when not writing and drawing ideas, you are still subconscious switched on in the mind as to how your surrounding i.e Prague's buildings, their relationships to the river and the use of boats and transport. Interesting graphic, slogans, the aerial views from the plane, textures, tiles and the cityscape captured my imagination as to how my design could be influenced.

The image to the right, was in a magazine I was reading on the flight, it caught my eye because of the way the boats docked inside the sheds - inside a covered habitat of a space. This led me to consider whether this 'boat room space' that is created, could be applied to the Pipewellgate site? It would be part of the Institute but could 'detach', more like a moving room than a ship. A connecting space that moves and helps network the urban farm ideology and the Finnish Institutes initiatives. This would be an interesting feature to the building and would being back life to the dead river. A reminiscent idea to the Tuxedo Princess ship that used to be on the river, an icon that brought nightlife and a new experience to Newcastle - it gave the Gateshead riverside an identity. This 'floating room' barge would input and output from the main building, completing the 'process' within. It would be an educational space, growing food, collecting waste and produce from allotments down the river banks. It could become a floating stall at the Sunday Market on Newcastle Quayside, selling produce and more importantly 'Fin-Gin'! It could act as a river taxi and reconnect remote villages and communities up and down the river. New experiences such as sailing under the famous bridges of Newcastle and enjoying a new form of transport. Sailing and shipbuilding is within Newcastle's historic urban grain, Pipewellgate and all the factories on the river banks of the 19/20th century were established around ship deliveries, I think this would be a good activity to bring back, both on a cultural and practical level.

Shot taken from plane coming back to
Newcastle showing the mouth of the Tyne.

   



Tuxedo Princess night club on the Tyne

FIN_GIN Mixing the English love of Gin & Tonic
with a some Finnish Botanical Hedgerow fruits. 

As mentioned in tutorials, the desired small scale urban farm and botanical aspects need to produce something worthwhile financially, its not a commercial farm, its an educational tool and a place for the public and the Finnish Institute staff to enjoy. Therefore the idea of growing and creating a product that is specific to the Institute would be worthwhile. A product that would help being identity back to the locality. Examples of this include Newcastle Brown Ale (which isn't actually manufactured in Newcastle anymore), Wensleydale cheese, Cumberland sausage, Mowbray porkpies, the Cornish pastie and the relevant example Jack Cain's Gin (seen below). My flatmate (who is a chemical eng student) had this bottle. On further study and chatting to him, I discovered the base ingredients to Gin is a mixture of neutral alcoholic spirit with the flavour of Juniper berries. This addition of a botanical element is what caught my eye, and led into further research into what variation were available. Saffron, Elderflower, lemon, orange, herbs, spices and many others are also on the market. However I want to make this specific to the Finnish side of things as Gin (and tonic) is quite an English tradition, and so I looked at 'Hedgerow Botanicals' and came across a reference to a fruit called the 'Cloudberry'. Used 'in Nordic countries traditionally for liqueurs such as Lakkalikööri (a Finnish liqueur). It has a strong taste and a high sugar content. (Another bit of info I found) In addition to cultivated berries, there are about 50 species of wild berries growing in Finland, of which 37 are edible. Sixteen of these are picked for consumption, most importantly lingonberries, bilberries, cloudberries, raspberries, cranberries and arctic brambles. Also important are wild strawberries, bog whortleberries, mountain crowberries, buckthorn berries and rowanberries, among others. Maybe then a Gin could be created and sold to generate funds and identity to the Pipewellgate Finnish Institute (Fin_Farm + Fin_Gin branding). Sloe Gin is also another specific option and there is a receipt for a Finnish Version called 'Sima'. 'To make sloe gin, the sloe berries must be ripe. They are traditionally picked in late October or early November after the first frost of winter. A wide necked jar that can be sealed is needed. Prick each berry and half fill the wide necked jar with the pricked berries. Folklore has it that when making sloe gin, you shouldn't prick the berries with a metal fork, unless it is made of silver, thus conventional wisdom is to use a wooden tooth pick or similar'. The connection with Folklore has connection with Finnish beliefs with the Forrest, and brings to my mind the Shakespeare play 'Midsummer Nights Dream'.

Traditional Finnish Sima

4 quarts of water

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 lemons, thinly sliced

1/8 tsp active dry yeast

4 raisins

1/8 cup sugar for carbonating

The new Roseisle Distillery by Austin-Smith:Lord Architects in Scotland.
David told me to looks for 'process building' precedents and this is a
great example of how beautiful the process equipment can be.
Form follows function in this building.

A table in a bar that mixed
copper and wood, thus 
reminding me of barrels and the
 pressurised equipments
alcohol is brewed in.



A small scale brewery in a bar in Prague

'Incredible Edible'

Just got in and watch the show 'Inside Out' on the BBC. A local community in Todmorden (near Manchester) has set up an organisation that promotes local food and its production. It has brought their community together, including the local high schools who are planning an Aquaponics farm for the students and cafe. These principles are what I want to bring to the Pipewellgate site. A central base that links different riverside allotment spaces, with local people growing and fuelling the Finnish Institute and its values through fresh produce and community based sustainability. Its all about education, understanding and connections to the life cycles around us.

Incredible Edible Todmorden from haymedia on Vimeo.

http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk/

A short film highlighting the work of radical new food growing movement 'Incredible Edible Todmorden'.

I love the idea the community started by growing food literally anywhere, with their message being 'the produce is free to anyone'. This links to the Finnish idea of foraging, and that all foods can be taken if found, an ideal that relates to equality and openness. There are so many different activity that could progress within the 'urban farm' framework i.e, chickens, other livestock, ice cream production, jams, pickles etc. the possibilities are endless making the scheme so interesting.

'Incredible Edible'

Just got in and watch the show 'Inside Out' on the BBC. A local community in Todmorden (near Manchester) has set up an organisation that promotes local food and its production. It has brought their community together, including the local high schools who are planning an Aquaponics farm for the students and cafe. These principles are what I want to bring to the Pipewellgate site. A central base that links different riverside allotment spaces, with local people growing and fuelling the Finnish Institute and its values through fresh produce and community based sustainability. Its all about education, understanding and connections to the life cycles around us.

Incredible Edible Todmorden from haymedia on Vimeo.

http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk/

A short film highlighting the work of radical new food growing movement 'Incredible Edible Todmorden'.

I love the idea the community started by growing food literally anywhere, with their message being 'the produce is free to anyone'. This links to the Finnish idea of foraging, and that all foods can be taken if found, an ideal that relates to equality and openness. There are so many different activity that could progress within the 'urban farm' framework i.e, chickens, other livestock, ice cream production, jams, pickles etc. the possibilities are endless making the scheme so interesting.

Why doesn't Newcastle have a Botanical/ Winter garden?

It struck me when looking at urban farming, aquaponics and green spaces within Newcastle, the city doesn't have a botanical garden. Many other cities do like Sheffield, Glasgow, Sunderland, Edingbrough, Kew in London and many other place. I think Newcastle is missing out on a sheltered social space where people can feel a connection with nature. Through research I discovered Newcastle University actually has its own Botanical Gardens about 15 minutes walk down Claremont Road. The Facility at Moorbank is used by the Biology students to cultivate a variety of exotic plant species, ranging from cacti, orchids, coffee and pineapple plants. I met up with Clive the manager, who showed me around, explaining the technical issues and environments the plants needed to grow. He pointed out heated water pipes that ran the length of the green house, a mechanically controlled air ventilation system that kept the space to a constant 30-35 degree C temperature. There were differently heated and controlled spaces relating to the species of plant, a layout that could be retrofitted to the different spaces within Pipewellgate Brett Oil refinery. Some plants where sat in water beds that had humidity controlled settings. Automated lights and blinds could be used to create adaptable environments. On further research I discovered the University had plans, around six years ago, to move the entire Botanical centre to the site behind the Hancock Museum. Architects Wilkinson & Eyre (who also designed the Millennium Bridge) were asked to design a 'Botanical Bridge' for Newcastle University

Location: Newcastle, UK

Client: University Of Newcastle Upon Tyne

Architect: Wilkinson Eyre Architects

Structural Engineer: Arup

Project value: £12m

The primacy of ecology is emphasised in this unique green bridge which sweeps across a major route into Newcastle city centre, cradling a new botanic garden high above the road. The proposed design is for a highly sustainable structure which will give the public access to the University of Newcastle’s extensive collection of plants. The internal space, 12m tall, is divided into a series of temperature zones defined by screens dropping vertically from the roof structure. Superimposing the footprint of the bridge onto the globe suggests a zoning strategy where planting is by latitude, with tropical plants from the equator clustering in the centre of the span, and plants from desert latitudes at the ends. This would allow visitors to acclimatise before entering the central zone and lessen heat loss from the centre by placing cooler zones to either side as thermal buffers. The bridge provides an iconic intervention on an important gateway to the

 city, repairing the link between the Town Moor and the

city’s heart, and ultimately with the River Tyne itself.

Pineapple Plant

I think their mentioning of reconnecting with the River Tyne itself is an important idea, and therefore the Pipewellgate could benefit from this. It would offer Newcastle and Gateshead a place (similar to Grainger Market) a warm sheltered place that still feels like the outdoors. A concept of reconnection with the Forrest and plants indoors. This new botanical indoor garden good connection the sculpture park that surrounds the site and establish the Finnish Institute as the base for the park, where people can get food, warmth and shelter but still surrounding by life, growth and the river. It would be an educational place where schools and walkers could venture, to uncover strange new plants, smells and atmospheres. I still want to keep the food production part of the building, as I felt the most intriguing part of Moorbank was the edible plant section. I also think the experience Aquaponics would being, could knit the whole scheme together in a very interesting way.

I'm am now looking closely at how a barge would be integrated fully into my design, maybe as I explained to David, 'A floating room' that can attach and detach into the main building. A more in depth posting on this idea will follow.

Food Grown at Moorbank:

• Sugar Cane
• Coffee Beans
• Tea Plant (but recently died)
• Pineapples
• Rice
• Had a student doing her masters project who studied Hydroponics - grew bulbs.

A Carnivorous Plant
section in the Cafe?

I would purpose on a social level, local people and schools could come and help maintain the small facility, but also a section could be held by Newcastle University and the Biology students, a idea that links back to the new Botanical Bridge scheme. Allotments along the river front beside Pipewellgate would strengthen this new green agenda.

Why doesn't Newcastle have a Botanical/ Winter garden?

It struck me when looking at urban farming, aquaponics and green spaces within Newcastle, the city doesn't have a botanical garden. Many other cities do like Sheffield, Glasgow, Sunderland, Edingbrough, Kew in London and many other place. I think Newcastle is missing out on a sheltered social space where people can feel a connection with nature. Through research I discovered Newcastle University actually has its own Botanical Gardens about 15 minutes walk down Claremont Road. The Facility at Moorbank is used by the Biology students to cultivate a variety of exotic plant species, ranging from cacti, orchids, coffee and pineapple plants. I met up with Clive the manager, who showed me around, explaining the technical issues and environments the plants needed to grow. He pointed out heated water pipes that ran the length of the green house, a mechanically controlled air ventilation system that kept the space to a constant 30-35 degree C temperature. There were differently heated and controlled spaces relating to the species of plant, a layout that could be retrofitted to the different spaces within Pipewellgate Brett Oil refinery. Some plants where sat in water beds that had humidity controlled settings. Automated lights and blinds could be used to create adaptable environments. On further research I discovered the University had plans, around six years ago, to move the entire Botanical centre to the site behind the Hancock Museum. Architects Wilkinson & Eyre (who also designed the Millennium Bridge) were asked to design a 'Botanical Bridge' for Newcastle University

Location: Newcastle, UK

Client: University Of Newcastle Upon Tyne

Architect: Wilkinson Eyre Architects

Structural Engineer: Arup

Project value: £12m

The primacy of ecology is emphasised in this unique green bridge which sweeps across a major route into Newcastle city centre, cradling a new botanic garden high above the road. The proposed design is for a highly sustainable structure which will give the public access to the University of Newcastle’s extensive collection of plants. The internal space, 12m tall, is divided into a series of temperature zones defined by screens dropping vertically from the roof structure. Superimposing the footprint of the bridge onto the globe suggests a zoning strategy where planting is by latitude, with tropical plants from the equator clustering in the centre of the span, and plants from desert latitudes at the ends. This would allow visitors to acclimatise before entering the central zone and lessen heat loss from the centre by placing cooler zones to either side as thermal buffers. The bridge provides an iconic intervention on an important gateway to the

 city, repairing the link between the Town Moor and the

city’s heart, and ultimately with the River Tyne itself.

Pineapple Plant

I think their mentioning of reconnecting with the River Tyne itself is an important idea, and therefore the Pipewellgate could benefit from this. It would offer Newcastle and Gateshead a place (similar to Grainger Market) a warm sheltered place that still feels like the outdoors. A concept of reconnection with the Forrest and plants indoors. This new botanical indoor garden good connection the sculpture park that surrounds the site and establish the Finnish Institute as the base for the park, where people can get food, warmth and shelter but still surrounding by life, growth and the river. It would be an educational place where schools and walkers could venture, to uncover strange new plants, smells and atmospheres. I still want to keep the food production part of the building, as I felt the most intriguing part of Moorbank was the edible plant section. I also think the experience Aquaponics would being, could knit the whole scheme together in a very interesting way.

I'm am now looking closely at how a barge would be integrated fully into my design, maybe as I explained to David, 'A floating room' that can attach and detach into the main building. A more in depth posting on this idea will follow.

Food Grown at Moorbank:

• Sugar Cane
• Coffee Beans
• Tea Plant (but recently died)
• Pineapples
• Rice
• Had a student doing her masters project who studied Hydroponics - grew bulbs.

A Carnivorous Plant
section in the Cafe?

I would purpose on a social level, local people and schools could come and help maintain the small facility, but also a section could be held by Newcastle University and the Biology students, a idea that links back to the new Botanical Bridge scheme. Allotments along the river front beside Pipewellgate would strengthen this new green agenda.