Montgomery Historical Society Project
Tallying to roughly 45 hours of work in total over 14 days, this digitally-drawn, hand-rendered (colored) master plan of the Figh Pickett home, overseen by the Montgomery Historical Society, in Montgomery, AL (follow this link to view the website) represents an additional milestone in my design journey. It was the second project that I had to complete for my Intermediate Landscape Design class. This project, much like the King Residence Master Plan, was completed from site analysis to the final master plan, except with this assignment I had to hand-render my drawing. I used a design software called Dynascape to create the plan, which made the entire design process more convenient when compared to doing it by hand (there was no need to ink, hand-draw graphics, no need to deal with measuring, positioning, and inking a large plant table with notes, plant counting was automated, etc).
For the duration of this project, I met and consulted with a group of historians who were seeking to revitalize the property while also preserving some of the Victorian aspects associated with it. I kept in regular contact with them and made any necessary revisions to the plan whenever they had suggestions. Thus, this project was enriching in ways that were different from the King Residence Master Plan. Establishing the zeitgeist (the “spirit” of time in a given place, which in this case, was loosely based on the Victorian era) and genius loci (the “spirit” of place associated with a given space, which in this case, was a space dedicated to education, historical exploration, and congregation) was definitely a challenge with this project as it somewhat dictated the type of plant material/ hardscape materials I would need to incorporate. A fun aspect of this project was the fact that there were lots of leftover bricks, stones, fountains, and trellises from past refurbishings that I could repurpose for the design.
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This project featured my first time using Dynascape to design a space, which has increased my versatility and competency with digital media. This is a necessary skill for landscape architects as many projects, especially larger-scale ones, are created using software. The master plan document also showcases my first time creating a fully rendered master plan, which tested and has sharpened my ability to visualize and combine colors, textures, and different art media (markers, colored pencils, pastels, etc) to create a dynamic design. I presented my master plan to the committee of historians at the end of the project period.
Working on this project was a valuable experience in a multitude of ways: again, I had the opportunity to sharpen my analysis, planning, communication and visualization skills, but I also had the opportunity to delve into the historical contexts of the space. Working via digital software has expanded my skills as a landscape architect. Collaborating with the committee of the building has honed my ability to apply critiques and make necessary revisions to my plan. Truly, it was an exciting project, and what is even more exciting is that they are planning to implement features of my design (in addition to features from fellow colleague’s design) into the landscape!
