Designing Functional Spaces
Spaces are voids in the landscape. They give a feeling of enclosure by being surrounded by hard or soft edges. Although it is easy enough to create spaces for outdoor entertaining, raised decks, outdoor cooking areas, lawns, vegetable gardens, play spaces, feature gardens etc, these spaces must be functional, linking the building to the space and most of all be capable of assuming the desired function.
Some Landscape design principles to follow:
- ENVIRONMENT – Research the local environmental factors that will affect the designed landscape, what is the local rainfall, where is the sun, is the area wind effected or in a coastal area that would be troubled by salt spray etc.
- NATURAL FORM – How does the land shape and contours affect the design, are there any features already on site that could be used eg creek, rocky outcrops, hills etc. are there any features that need to removed.
- BORROW – Look at neighbouring properties and research what will grow in the area, use ideas that have worked in similar areas and try and incorporate them into your design.
- SIMPLICITY – Don’t “over design” your work and try to keep it as simple and as clean as possible, don’t use too many plant species
- BALANCE – use symmetry between design elements and choose common elements in all areas of the landscape to link and unify the design.
- PROPORTIONS – Short, tall, dense, sparse, wide, narrow. Remember to calculate all these factors and more when designing the landscape, keeping in mind that Landscapes are living artworks and focus on what the plants will be like when they mature.
- FOCUS – Try to provide a focal point in the landscape design, something to draw people’s attention to. Eg artwork, statue, fountain pond
- MOVEMENT – How will people travel thought the landscape and get from one area to another, is it functional, how will the landscape be maintained, can all areas be accessed.
- RYTHYM – Does the landscape flow and draw people into other areas
References
Here is a link to some excellent papers on this concept:
Space in landscape design – Wikipedia