Leading on from my past visit to Mangawhai I've been working on a skatepark design within a recreational reserve in the area. Heres a bit of a blurb on the design ideas with some images...
The Mangawhai Skatepark concept has been designed to integrate a SENSE OF PLACE while being modern in its objectivity and form.
To achieve this SENSE OF PLACE we have looked at connecting the design to its local environment through its history, existing phenomenon and materials. Areas taken into consideration include:
Importance of the area to Maori for portage between the Mangawhai Harbour and Kaipara Harbour
Early settlement being dependant on the harbour as a point of access.
The typography of Mangawhai from the harbour into the surrounding landform
Materials and textures of the local environment.
Attractions in the Mangawhai area
The design will not be limited to these areas as it can develop through further input and involvement with the local community.
Got out last weekend for a little looksy around Mangawhai. Interesting enough, I gathered some bits and bobs off the beach and learnt a little something about the area to pull together a sense of space.
A couple other things of interest: There is a wildlife refuge and nesting area along the sand spit, south to Te Arai Point Maori portage route from Mangawhai harbour to the Kaipara Harbour in early times. Area decimated during intertribal warfare, many old pas and middens identified in archaeological surveys Locals battled nature and bureaucracy to reopen a closed harbour entrance
This is a project that I have completed recently with Mt Richmond Special School. The first design was completed in 2004 with development in 2008 and completion by the end of March 2009.
Here is a little blurb put together to sum up the design:
The purpose of the sensory garden at Mt Richmond Special School was to provide another area for students with more severe disabilities to be stimulated from their environment and to learn, as well as creating an opportunity for the more able to be generous to the less able of our students, through their regular maintenance of the garden .In achieving this, a range of stimuli that change constantly have been provided through the garden in all its dimensions.The sensory garden also illustrates a story entitled ‘fruits from the earth’.Through this ‘open minded’ environment students can feel comfortable with their immediate surroundings and develop from the stimulus that is provided and changing over time.
The original design was developed with the intention to provide a continuum range elaborated by Paul Pagliano in his book called Multisensory Environments (1999).He indicated that students react to various forms of stimulus differently, from becoming actively involved to being largely non-conforming.In considering this range, a wide variety of stimulus would need to be provided for the students so they can engage and respond no matter what their early stimulus threshold may be.
Using Pagliano’s design theory the space was developed to lead from a more calming area on one side of the continuum, to one that is more active, on the other side.The flow of the design was implemented through a Koru shape depicting the cultural background of the school.When the site was designed a range of phenomena would be implemented immediately, though the interactive possibilities created through the features of the garden. Over time further stimulation will be added by students and teachers adding different plants and structures to create a sense of change and ownership.From this we can see that this sensory garden has moved away from earlier ‘single-minded’ environments (being one that only provided for students with disabilities), to one that is ‘open minded’ and incorporates a multifunctional approach in terms of leisure, therapy and education so that everyone can participate.
The story about fruits from the earth came in more recent times in consultation with the teachers of Mt Richmond School.The ‘fruits of the earth’ theme was one of those moments of creative genius that is rarely possible to plan for. It was quite simply, a moment when it all seemed to come together and make sense. In retrospect a number of things took place.
The first was inspiration from nature in a favored landscape photo. It was a distant beach scene that offered multiple layers of colour and texture. Each element was given a place within the design scheme. The detail was, at that point, deliberately vague. It was an act of selfless leadership on behalf of the landscape designer to present the concept without taking ownership of it. Staff and students were immediately drawn to the design, and were able to interpret it for themselves. In a sense the baton had been passed on.
It was in this second ‘willingness to engage’, that things became possible. During the investigative/research phase of the project, considerable consultation took place with staff and students. Students, teachers, physiotherapists, caretakers and all, had a ‘single minded’ view of what might represent a ‘perfect garden’. Requests were made for sandpits and hanging chairs, water features and benches, handrails and mosaics.
Independently, funding had been secured from the Ministry of Health. They were keen to support the view of an edible garden. One in which the plants would subtly suggest healthy living. Students would be able to gather the “fruits of the earth” and prepare food to share with others.
In the end it was the synergy of like-minded people that brought the sum of all these things together. At one particular design meeting staff walked themselves through the garden plan from island to sea, beach to forest, up the mountain and down the stream that flows through the dirt beds. It was in that instant that the connection was made. The earth was complete and offering up its fruits.
This connection offered direction and clarity of purpose. It was clear that the design phase was complete and realization could begin. The fevered action that followed was perhaps another ‘fruit of the earth’. This garden allows for continuous change through the planting and gathering from annual crops to seasonal fruits that can be not only eaten but preserved for the future, as well as native plants traditionally provided food for Maori, thus teaching our students the simple concepts of planning for the future, an understanding that food can be found in the natural environment, and the visual changes in the garden as the environment moves through the four seasons of the year.
Staff and students will collaborate and plan together for the replenishment of the garden each year. Through this collaboration the garden provides stimulation and opportunities for all those who are involved and benefit from its existence. It provides an area suited for a wide range of users including our more able students and staff. In addition it appears to have inspired those who see it as an area for a raft of creative endeavours like sculptures, wind chimes, music and kinetic art. The emphasis of the sensory aspect in the design of this environment, means students with severe and profound disabilities in the sensory world described by Pagliano, can more easily achieve their early stimulus threshold levels that are essential for them to increase their cohesion with their immediate environment and thus allows them to interpret future situations without difficulty and with confidence.This garden allows those students with very high needs to be stimulated by their environment through a new form of educational medium that adds to the opportunities that the school can provide to motivate their learning.
The development of this part of the school grounds has added another space away from the even more intensely active environment of the playing fields, large sandpit and adventure and covered playgrounds. We have created another contrast in the continuum of recreation areas located across the school. This has provided the school with environments to cater for different student groups and to make them feel comfortable, relaxed, active and happy. To be stimulated, to socialise with others while working together as a team in the garden, or to enjoy peace and solitude if they wish.
