Swiss cottage open space, Gustafson Porter.
During the first year of studies we were set the task of conducting a profile of a landscape practice in an attempt to gain insight into its workings. I selected Gustafson Porter, who were kind enough to provide me with some time to ask some questions. What i was keen to discover was the various stages within the progression of a project from inception to completion. The example explained to me was Swiss Cottage open space, London completed in March 2006. I had never previously got the opportunity to visit the site in person until recently one sunny Friday afternoon.
The first thing i noticed was how well used the site was, the majority being mothers with their children enjoying the swings and the rectangular pool at the centre of the park. You had to take a second look as the toddlers ran across the pool, the appearance from a distance being that there existed some depth of water, but actually only about 10mm. It was a great sight to see, not only the illusion it created, but the obvious delight the children had in splashing through the water. I had only seen photographs of the site and now two and a half years old the site was showing a few signs of wear and tear. This wasn’t through poor design or workmanship, rather a lack of sufficient maintenance around the pool edges where algea was allowed to develop which made portions looking unkempt and a possible safety hazard. Other signs displayed visitors keenness to get to the water by lines of worn grass from the theatre end of the park, down the terraces to the pool.
The light shades of the limestone paved surface provided a lift to the site, its L-shaped ledge offering additional seating being put to good use and its grey granite borders complementing the grey surface of the water. The different levels within this area creates interest and enables interaction by all to the waters surface. Unfortunately the water jets were not working and can only imagine the added drama this would have brought to the park.
The soft tones of the buff resin bound gravel paths contrasted well with the emerging planting scheme of Cherry trees, Box, Ilex and rose borders to create a seductive avenue, which included almost private seating areas for visitors to sit, relax and enjoy the views.
Overall i found the park a pleasant place to be, not only as a Landscape Architecture student to experience a successful contemporary solution for a multi-functional public space, but also to witness the enjoyment the visitors gained from it.
