people and environment 2009 - landscape architecture programme

People and Environment 2009

Department of Work Science, Business Economics and Environmental Psychology in cooperation with Department of Landscape Architecture

SPETSAMOSSENUrban Playground

Water

Grove

Skate park

Square

Entrence

Purling water

Hiding place in the reed

Jumping stones Play and hide in the grove

Illuminated in the night

Climb

Sit-

Jump

Hide-and-seek Temporary activities like exhibitions or letting the children paint

0 10 20 30 40m

Water has many different qualities. It fascintes, gives relaxion and en-courages play.

Nature is an important element in the urban environment. Here children can play freely and cre-ate their own little hide-aways. In this, the concret boxes make an exciting element.

GroundThe concret boxes give an urban impression at the same time as they are flexible and versatile; making the basic blocks for many different and changing surroundnings.

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LK0069 People and Environment, 15 HEC

Människa och fysisk miljö The course is given as part of the Landscape Architecture Programme (admission before 1 July 2007); Landscape Architecture Programme, Alnarp; Urban Land-scape Dynamics - Master´s Programme

Syllabus Approved: 6 November 2007

Subjects: Landscape Architecture/Landscape Planning

Level and Depth: Master D

Marking Scale: 5:Pass with Distinction = A and B / 4:Pass with Credit = C / 3:Pass = D and E / U:Fail = F and Fx

Objective

The aim of the course is to provide insights into how the interaction between people and the physical environment functions and what different outdoor en-vironments can mean for quality of life, well-being and health. The course will provide training in the ability to analyse and investigate people’s relationships to their surroundings and to translate this knowledge into design and planning processes. After completion of the course, the student should be able to:

- describe perspectives and concepts within social science and behavioural science, mainly within environmental psychology and urban sociology, that are relevant for the knowledge area of Landscape Architecture

- apply a selection of the methods used for investigating how people use, experience and evaluate external environments (e.g. interviews, street walks, observations or surveys)

- problematise and analyse people’s different needs and interests in external environments on the basis of e.g. gender, age, social situation, cultural context and disability

- analyse and critically examine people’s relation to place and use this under-standing in design and planning contexts

Content

The course is characterised by perspectives of social- and behavioural science on problem issues within Landscape Architecture, Architecture and Town Plan-ning. Seminars and exercises will provide training in the ability to investigate and analyse people’s situation in relation to their surroundings. Students will also be posed different design problems and will be given the opportunity to translate their knowledge within environmental psychology and urban sociol-ogy into planning and design proposals.

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A course summary

This resport is a summary, a kind of review, of the four different assignments the students had during this course. These projects were called Street Art, Places for Memory and Meaning, Spetsamossen and Sommarsol.

The first assignment was made during week 5-6, in the Urban Sociology theme. Here the students chose wether they wanted to work with Street Art (supervised by Emma Paulsson) or Places for Memory and Meaning (supervised by Sabina Jallow) and handed in an individual assignment on it. During week 7-8 all made individual assignments on Spetsamossen which is an urban playground. In week 9-10 all handed in individual assignments on Sommarsol; a rehabililtation centre for people with neurological diseases. Finally the students, in eight groups, re-viewed one of these four projects.

l Street Art

l Places for Memory and Meaning

l Spetsamossen

l Sommarsol

Alnarp, 27 March 2009

Carina Tenngart Ivarsson & Elisabeth von Essen

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Street Art

People and Environment

Eva-Marie Samuelson, Karolina Bjerler, Jessica MacDonald, Mateja Havlicek, Sona Kralikova

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IntroductionThe intention of this summary is to highlight the main themes and trains of thought present throughout the various projects. The projects focused on traffic signs, switchboxes, tags and all street art. This summary analyzes the different methods and results and compares the discussions between the various groups.

MethodDifferent methods used were mapping, photographing and categorizing. Different groups had difficulties making categories and clearly defining them. Dividing street art from advertising and political messages was hard. A general comment was that there was not enough time given to develop a more effective method for gathering the information. Some groups thought it would be beneficial to go back and see the same area later on or to investigate two different areas within the city. Also to be able to look up the links included in some of the art to see if it is actually street art or rather an advertisement for something. It may have been beneficial as well to write some notes while you are gathering the information about the different types and materials used as you might not be able to see it from photographs.

ResultsGroups with similar methods interpreted and presented the results in different ways. Some groups created maps that showed the locations of the different types of street art. Others created graphs that interpreted the prevalence of different types of street art as well as the locations that they were observed. Another group mapped out all of the traffic signs and numbered them on a map showing their locations. The graphs were effective and presented the information clearly but this method would not translate perfectly with the different projects.

DiscussionThe intention or message that street art is trying to get across was discussed, if the message is too hidden or difficult to understand. The message behind the street art is what makes it significant, however many people either do not look at the street art or do not understand the message that they are trying to get across. The length of time that the street art was present was also considered because if it has been there for a long time the message may not be relevant any longer. Street art was also seen as a method of communication between the various residents within the city, it creates a dialogue between people who would otherwise not communicate with one another.

The reason that stickers were thought to be so prevalent on the traffic signs was also thought to be because there is such limited space on the signs. This limited space does not allow for a masterpiece or a large installation so the artwork adapts to fit the space available.

The right to the public space was considered concerning commercials and advertising. The thought of how only rich people who can pay to have their message communicated can have a voice within public space. Some people think that street art takes up too much public space.

Street art could be considered the life between buildings. Jan Gehl mentions that life between buildings is not just pedestrian traffic but includes social and recreational activities (Gehl 2006, p.14). He explains that life between buildings contains a wide range of activities that make the place have meaning and aesthetics (Gehl 2006, p.14). Street art could be one of these activities that create meaning within a residential area and personalize the space.

Different kinds of street art and graffiti. All images by Karolina Bjerler.

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The legal wall at parking house Anna in MalmöAll images by Karolina Bjerler.

Especially concerning the traffic signs and the tags repetition was used to emphasize their work. Repetition is a marketing tool that is somewhat abused by those making use of traffic signs for advertising. Tags were repeated to compete with others and to mark that space as their own.

Stickers were the most common in the traffic signs and tags were the most common when considering the whole environment. This was thought to be the case because both mediums are very quick to put up which is helpful when you are doing something illegal. In the literature seminar concerning street art the fact that street art is illegal was discussed as something that made it more appealing. If street art was suddenly made legal it would take away from the excitement of it. Free zones from the text by Lieberg (1995) were discussed, opportunities for artists to freely express themselves. This discussion on free zones or free walls can be interpreted both ways. It can be seen as a great opportunity for an artist to spend more time on their work and not risk being caught by the police but at the same time the context of the work is very important to convey a message. So the message intended by an artist may be lost if it is confined to the free zone defined by the city.

Something that our group thought was important but not discussed was the level of street art that is acceptable and how the location also informs if it is well received or not. One example was given by Emma Paulsson (lecture, 2009) concerning Nazi symbols and a box said to be containing the gas that was used to kill the Jewish people located near a Jewish synagogue. This type of work

brings up the question of what level is acceptable and what street has gone too far. The location of this installation added to the inappropriate material raising the question of where street art is appropriate and acceptable.

One thing that was discussed were the different surfaces that were used for the street art and graffiti. Smooth surfaces were more common and fences that were perceived to be more public were used more often. Places that were more private such as people’s homes were not as common, this may also be because artwork and graffiti are removed more rapidly.

ConclusionThe topic of street art exposed those who participated to different levels of graffiti and street art. The dynamic of public space and the discussions surrounding it may have brought up more questions than answers.

ReferencesLieberg, M. (1995). Teenagers and Public Space, Communication Research, vol 22, no 6, 1995Paulsson, Emma, Street art as a theater or a prospect, 26th of January 2009Gehl, Jan (2006). Life between buildings: using public space. 6. Ed. København: The Danish Architectural Press

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MethodWhen approachning a problem, an adequate method is needed. The method has to be carefully thought through as it will be reflected in and perhaps affect the results you get. It is also important to carefully describe the method to be able to evaluate the results in a good way. One way to find a suitable method for a specific investigation is to start up with a background research and literature studies, to find out what questions you want to be able to answer. Added to this useful preparations can be making some kind of checklist to keep in hand when in field. Further on it is of importance to evaluate the used method as this can lead to new and better approaches of investigation in the future. In the studies done during the course project upon street art, a very limited area of Malmö city was given every group, consisting of a couple of streets. This was probably due to the very limited time, but as landscape architects, we discussed this in a plan-ners perspective and wants to point out that it is important to also look at the city in a broader perspective. It is interesting to study the whole city as a unit and not only secluded districts, which is important to have in mind for future studies.

What is Street art? What is art and what is not? This is a very subjective matter that all groups within these projects have had a hard time striving with. We cannot really define what art is in general, and therefore not street art. There are a lot of different motives among artist why they do street art. It could be to send out political messages, clearly shown or for the observer to interpret. Some artists see the reaction perceived from people as the actual art. Artists might want to provoke the public in this way. Street art can also be seen as a way for the artist to show his or her territory and existence in the city. Some artist might just want to make the streets more beautiful, like making a hidden corner in the city visible by putting up a trophy for citizens to find. Art work seams to have some kind of meaning for the artists but not always for the observer. If the meaning is known to the ob-server he or she has the possibility to reflect from a different point as compared to when viewing the art when the meaning is unknown. We as designers are reflecting upon street art from our point of view and our amount of knowledge in the subject. That is why it is important to decide on forehand what you want to investigate to be able to choose a proper method that will take all user groups in to consideration, when it comes to public spaces.

REFLECTION - STREET ARTThis is a reflection up on projects carried out during the course People and envi-ronment LK0069 in 2009.

Street art in the public spaceWho has the right to the city was one common issue put forth in reflections. It is considered to be a problem of democracy, referring to Mitchell (1995), where the threat is that public space can start to function as a individual property, where the owner sets the rules (advertisement companies, corporations...). In this way the ones with financial resources has more control over the city. Furthermore it was discussed that everyone should thus have the right to express themselves in the city, but can this really be done everywhere in public spaces and in any way? Then, if the public space belongs to everyone, what right do street artists have to do their art in the city in relation to those who does not like street art; they have a need and right to express themselves as well. We perceive the street art as only one way to express oneself in the public space, there are many other, such as with clothes, hairstyle and music for example. What we discussed more, was that public space in fact is not thouroughly free of charge, where everyone is allowed to act freely and according to his beliefs. Actually we are paying taxes so in this way we are paying for the public spaces in cities. There were also some interesting comparisons made how the public space can be perceived, like for example public space as a canvas for street artists or the city as a playground and the streets as a parliament where the street art phenomena takes place (Andersen, 2007). When does street art take up to much space? When it becomes too much it can start to take over the city and impede the view of the city, just like advertisement in some cases do. Then there is no space left for the “empty” spaces that probably appeals to a lot of people. When it impedes the function of a place it is also considered too much, like when street art is put up on the front on a traffic sign and impedes the view of it and in this way disturbs the drivers. It is also less accepted when the street art go beyond the public realm and into the private. It can perhaps also cause disturbance among people when it is placed in highly public places, where a lot of people not only pass by but stay for a longer period of time.

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Where does street art occur?Street art is found everywhere along the streets, on objects, on the ground or on the walls. Street art in general seems to occur more frequently in semi-public ar-eas instead of the highly public areas. Repeated objects such as traffic signs and switch boxes are frequently used. A constantly competition between street art, advertisements and the ones cleaning the limited surfaces available is a common scene in the streets. Artists probably think quite differently about the location of their street art. Some seems to place it very visible so that it is easy to spot for as many people as possible and some seems to want to place it more hidden as a surprise for the viewer. The connection with a certain place might also sometimes be of importance, but in the projects there were no street art showing this con-nection. The street art could though give a comment on that very specific place, like environmental issues on switch boxes commenting on the ongoing discus-sion of the greenhouse effect.

How do people see street art? We can make a conclusion that the perception of street art (and also what is treated as such and what isn’t) is in the eyes of viewer and of the individuals knowledge and background. Is he or she familiar with the special meaning of the expressed action? Some think that street art enriches the city, but others says it cheapens places no matter the meaning behind it. Maybe it is also a matter of scale when accepting something as appropriate to be there. For example, a bus completely filled with graffiti expressions perhaps might work as an art expres-sion, but on the other hand just a tag on an otherwise clean street wall can be perceived as an act of vandalism. An interesting theory about how we percieve the environment is that we filter out the necessary information from the environ-ment and disregard the rest, as all would be too much information to process. (Grahn, P., Stigsdotter, U, 2002 p.62) street art would therefore most likely in many situations get filtered out as not important information, at least for most of us.

Appropriate and offensive Some people perceive street art as vandalism and perhaps find the expressions of the art frightening and offensive. The art is not affecting only the visual ex-pression of the room but also the feeling and atmosphere of it. It may also inter-fere with the movement pattern of people, for those who percieve the street art as something negative. When people are affected in this way of street art it can result in segregation, as people might feel that they don’t belong in certain areas. To divide Street art in accepted and not accepted art is as difficult as describing art because there are no answers. In the public space where the street art often occurs, we can discuss democracy and the question of who has the right to the public space. Is some street art more accepted than other? From the researches point of view in the studies carried out in Malmö, schablons, stickers and posters seems to be more accepted than spray tags. One reason can be the effort and money put into the art and the more careful preparations to create a schablon, sticker or poster in contrast to spray tags. Seeing the concept of street art as temporary art installations stickers and poster are also visionary easily to remove compared to the spray tags which can be another reason to why this kind of street art is more accepted. Professionally printed stickers can also cost a lot of money and many people might therefore think of it as more socially accepted.

Temporary artAs it was mentioned above, tags are the ones often seen as an action of van-dalism. Making a tag more temporary by spraying it on a poster would perhaps be precieved as more accepted. In relation to temporary art we discussed the possibilities of using paint that is easily washed away in rainy weather. As it costs a lot of money to remove spray paint and stickers from the streets, the more temporary the art is, the more accepted it would probably be; something that the society do not actively has to remove. The notion of dynamics in the public space is also an interesting topic widely discussed in the course projects. The appearance of the city and the street art within the city changes all the time and agitates the feeling of the art being permanent.

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Street art vs. advertisingThere were the conclusions that advertising occurs probably more frequent in the streets than street art does. Some groups expressed that they wanted to in-vestigate this relationship further, which demands more time for deeper research about it. However, it was found out that advertising consumes public space for sure. And there were questions about the borders between street art and adver-tisement. Is it possible for them both to overlap each other? Rather many reflec-tions resulted in the opinion that advertisement impedes the view of the city. It is also a matter of relation between size and perception. Huge advertisements mean that you have no chance to escape. On the other hand the city gets money from advertising and not from street art.

In relation to city planningWhen discussing the role of landscape architects or spatial planners in relation to street art, we can draw a line that street artists do more temporary things. One student expressed it as the street art is a way of temporarily tattooing the cityscape and leaving visual traces behind. Landscape architects and planners though plan and design the city as a whole and in a more permanent way. It is also important to mention that these professions have a more objective perspec-tive and see to the needs of the user groups. One can think of street art as a beginning of revival of urban wastelands which offer a lot of possibilities for temporary uses and street artists – areas where less people are affected by their art. Street artists can be seen as catalysts in planning in the way that they bring lost places back in people’s minds, as Oswalt (2007) claims. There is perhaps a need to include this potential in our formal planning to make our surroundings more interesting and exciting. There was also a notion of Lieberg’s thought of backstage places in the cities where teenagers can try out new things, like street art. As we can agree with Oswalt’s statement that spontaneous, temporary uses could have positive long term effects, we can at the same time discuss that the strictly defined areas where there is no room for backstage expressions maybe cannot contribute to a place for all. The public space in the city should represent the city’s heart and its people.

ConclusionDuring our task we came across with lot of further questions. We didn’t feel like we have the competence to completely answer them but to put them up for further discussions. In our reflection of the street art theme in the course we therefore tried to scoop the overall reflections, both from the student assign-ments and the literature.

L e n a A g r e l l , E v a - B r i t t K a r l s s o n , T a d e j a R o z m a n

Places for Memory and Meaning

Nicholas Pettinati, Karolina Alvaker, Marielle Karlsson, Shabnam Gholoobi

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Memory and meaning in public spaces, whether an urban square or a country road, is a difficult issue to discuss. However, this was the subject for one of the projects in the course People and the Environment at SLU. The assign-ment was to design an urban space in the Western Harbor of Malmö as a place for memory and meaning. The assignment started with a review of some relevant literature and continued with a walking tour of some different spaces in Malmö. Ultimately, the students prepared a group presentation about their thoughts on memory and meaning, and an individual proposal for the site they were asked to design.

The students read through several relevant texts to gain a deeper un-derstanding behind the concepts of memory and meaning. The texts dealt with some very difficult theories regarding memory and provided a general framework for the students. After a discussion of the texts the students embarked on a walking tour to try and discover places for memory and meaning that already existed in Malmö. The goal was to try and photograph places that had charac-teristics of memory and meaning as a basis for thinking about the site. These spaces weren’t necessarily meaningful places, but spaces that could have some elements that create meaning. The walk culminated with a visit to the design site, and the begining of the design process for the students.

The goal of this paper is to summarize the results from these proposals and the overall success of the assignment. There is also a brief summary of the texts that were used for this assignment. We will start with a brief background of the site, and some of the questions that faced the students as they began the design process. Then we will move to a discussion of the proposals themselves, and the themes that we felt emerged from the designs. Finally, we will end with some of our own thoughts and comments on the project.

INTRODUCTION

Background

The site that was selected for the design is located along the coast in the Western Harbor of Malmö. The physical site itself is a large square that is elevated, overlooking the sea and the Oresund Bridge. Also, in the northwest cor-ner there is a small platform that protrudes from the square and forms an over-look. This corner has been nicknamed “the Titanic” after the scene in the movie where the two main characters are hanging off the bow of the boat pretending to fly. In the center of the square there is a stage that is handicap accessible. The entire site is handicap accessible via ramps up to the square. The space also fits into the larger scheme that forms a boardwalk along the coast. The area is extremely popular in summer, with hundreds of people lounging, swimming, and diving into the sea.

As was mentioned previously, the goal of the design was to create a space for memory and meaning. Some of the difficult questions that the students had to answer are how do you create a space for memory and meaning in the public realm? Whose memory and/or what meaning should the space have? Does there have to be an event that occurred to make a space meaningful? What about the meaning that the space already has? What characteristics or ele-ments give a space meaning? The design proposals answer all these and many more questions in amazingly unique ways.

Pictures of the site (provided by Mateja and Tadjea)

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While each proposal addressed the issues associated with creating memory and meaning in an urban public space in their own way, there were also several themes that emerged from the designs. The three main themes focused on the view of the sea, the element of water, and the use of sculpture.

The proposal by Jenny Åkesson, Johanna Verbaan and Sofia Fribyter used the view as a major element in their design. They created “cave-like” rooms (see graphic below) that could be entered and used as a place to quietly reflect. They wanted to highlight the view of the sea and the powerful meaning associ-ated with it. and also use silence as a way to create meaning. “...The place could

be decrbied as a parallel reality where an anti sound installation makes you aware of sounds by creating absolute silence at a place which should have sounds...”

The next proposal, by Tadeja Rozman, also used the view as a driving force for her design. “To feel its drops, to smell and taste the salt (of life!), to hear the roaring, to see the ocean`s horizon and its eternal vastness. Just being here and now, in the present of the preseence of all sense sactivated. It gives a shelter, a possibility to draw back, be among people, but still alone, hearing stifled sounds of the ocean and of people´s voices somewhere around...” She talks about using this space as a place to pause from the everyday flow of life,

Picture from the proposal “Silence” by Jenny Åkesson, Johanna Verbaan and Sofia Fribyter

Graphic provided by Tadeja Rozman

THEMES

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and creating meaning through taking this break. Using this space as a chance to stop and reflect on whatever we can.

The second theme that emerged from the different proposals revolves around the element of water and its possible uses on the site. The proposal by Mateja Havliček focuses on just this element. She wanted to create a space where the experience of water drives the meaning of the place. She accom-plished this through a shallow pool that flows into a waterfall off the edge. This pool can be experienced by all through as many senses as possible, and as such creates a new meaning for the space through water. “The tactile experiences of sight, sound and touch have a big value in this project.”

Cordula Gielen also used water as an important element in creating meaning in the space. Similar to that of Mateja, she brought the predominant element of the site (the view of the ocean) into the actual physical space. As the graphic above depicts, the center stage has been turned into a shallow reflect-ing pool that can be experienced in many different ways. Her main concept was to use the idea of reflecting, both metaphorically and physically (in the water), to bring new meaning to the area. “Consequently, this place provides possibilities for being active as well as being spirtiual. They just happen side by side.”

Finally, the last theme that developed from the different proposals centered around the use of scupltures, and their ability to create meaning. The proposal by Emily Hansen used a sculptural element to create activity and mean-ing simultaneously in the space. She created several different pillars that can be used for sitting, standing, jumping, demonstrating, and anything else someone can think of. The focus is on the social interactions that can be created by these elements and the people in the space, and the possibility for that social narrative to evolve and change. “The social character of the space exists in an alternate sort of reality, one that continues to define and redefine the space through ex-periences and interactions of and between people in the collectively recognized physical setting.”

The proposal by Eva-Britt Karlsson also uses a sculpture to bring mean-ing to the site. However, her sculpture is one that has a great cultural significance and historical background. The idea she had was to have different artists to create a sculpture of a hand in the center of the stage. This hand could change through time and the idea of the hand has a great deal of meaning attached to it. As the

Left: Graphic Provided by Mateja HavlicekMiddle: Graphic Provided by Cordula Gielen Right: Graphic Provided by Emily Hansen

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graphic to the left depicts, even the shape\orientation of the hand can alter its meaning. This simple gesture changes the makeup of this urban square and accomplishes the goal of creating new meaning. “No one knows who the hands belong to, (accept the designer). The meaning is to show that all people have the right to the public space.”

The next proposal by Karolina Alvaker takes in the sense of hearing in the memorial experience. Echoing sounds and wind passing through the sculp-tural elements creating music which stimulates the senses and draws upon the idea of remembrance in a playful way. “With particular focus on sense and spirit, and with the natural elements as a mirror rather than any connection to a god, the Titanic Memorial is built to capture the individual person i a vast crowd.”

The proposal by Ann Henrikson also uses the idea of wind and sculp-ture to define meaning in this urban space. Her concept revolves around the idea of wind as a way to trigger a fascination about the site. The sculptures force an extra awareness about the environment that surrounds the users of the site, and adds a new dimension. The statue of the wind formalizes the idea of the sculptures and the concept that they symbolize. “...a public meeting place where the perception of feeling and being a human being is in focus. The memorial of the wind is in fact a masque of the human perception of the wind...”

Finally, the proposal by Nicholas Pettinati, deals with sculpture in a slightly different way. He wanted to use the memories of the people who use the site to add meaning to the space. He accomplished this goal by creating a photo collage as the paving pattern for the center stage, and on the walls of the space. The photographs to be used would be donated by people who use the space and would be constantly evolving, with more and more photographs being added. This collage is a physical representation of the memories that have occured on the site, and as such embody the meaning of the place. “The installation has a pround effect on the meaning of the space. Now, it is not only about what activi-ties are occuring there, it is also about remembering and re-living those experi-ences and learning about the experiences of others”

Conclusion

As evidenced by the various proposals, there is no correct answer on how to add meaning and memory to a space, especially one in the urban public fabric. However, there are some elements that emerged from this design exer-cise as possible solutions.

All the proposals dealt with the existing conditions, and those conditions have a large impact on the design of the site. The themes that developed evolved from the interpretations of the site, and the conditions that are present there. It would be interesting to see what would happen if a completely different site was given for this same exercise.

The question of how to create meaning or memory in a space is still a difficult one to address, but this assignment helped to shed light on some pos-sible ways to deal with the very complex issue.

Top: Graphic provided by Ann HenriksonBottom: Graphic provided by Nicholas Pettinati

Top: Graphic provided by Eva-Britt KarlssonBottom: Graphic provided by Karolina Alvaker

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We want to take this opportunity to share our thoughts and comments on the project. To start some general thoughts on the process; The literature for this project was helpful as a starting point, and definately got us thinking about memory and meaning. However it didn´t directly relate to the site, or the task. For us, it provided more of a framework for the design, and the design evolved more from the site conditions and the individual thoughts of the students.

Memory and meaning also occur on a very individual level, and we question whether you can create a space for everyone that is meaningful in a spirtual way. The question of religious vs nonreligious is always at the back of our minds when talking about this issue and another big question is how do we resolve that?

Getting to the actual proposals, we thought it was incredible how there were so many different solutions to this problem. Each proposal handled these difficult questions in a very unique way. It was also really interesting to see how the themes evolved from the projects. It showed us how while each project was individual the group discussions had a great impact on how the process was handled. The discussion with Sabina Jallow also had a very profound impact on the process. Sabina Jallow talked about how the ocean allows us to be silent, and even just that comment influenced the designs.

Another really interesting aspect of this project was the requirement to write it as an article from a third persons view. This was an excellent way to critique our own

proposal, but was difficult for some to get started. It definately added a unique dimension to the proejct.

Overall, we all really enjoyed this project and would reccomend doing something similar in another course. It provoked some very difficult and challenging questions about how people interact in an environment. Those types of questions we think are at the core of this course and should be the ones to be explored further.

REFLECTION

The Titanic Corner, Picture by Cordula Gielen

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The following summary is made from reflections on the course literature made by the students working with “places of memory and meaning” and from our group discussions.

• Spiritual places can gather people and act as meeting points in the outdoor environment. The experiences of a tragedy also often get people in difficult situations which can make them work together and get stronger. Memorial places can however also act excluding in the way that they sometimes can have a too directed design or purpose.

• Memories can be personal and/or public. There have therefore to be a balance between memorial places for individuals, which are person-oriented and can be individualized, and places for the public, which are spiritual and suitable for different people and cultures. Every person has however their own mourning process and there are therefore good if it is possible to make room for individual mourning expressions in places with common monuments.

• Both the past and the future are important for the present time as the present exists in between the two. Since we can relate to things in the past it can be a great source of information and inspiration when forming the future. For a person who is morning it can be very hard to look into the future as one wants to remember the past, but it can also be hard as you see that the future will be different than you had pictured.

MEMORY AND MEANING

• Spiritual and memorial places can be used for all outdoor activities; necessary, voluntary and social activities. These places can today also often be more symbolic than religious. As the time goes on, the use and meaning of a memorial place furthermore changes. Many memorial objects, such as statues in the city, act for instance as places for meeting where the original meaning of the object no longer is important.

• The remembrance can be voluntary, but it can also be uncontrollable. Memories are often recalled by complex and individual triggers and not by places themselves. The triggers can be a certain symbol, feeling, spatiality, detail, etc. Of these triggers, some can be more effective than others. One of the triggers that can be very important for our remembrance is the activation of our senses since they are a primitive part of us.

• Sometimes people want to remember actively, which often make them connect the memory to a certain thing or a place. The active remembrance can however be created in a lot of different ways.

• Memories are not the whole truth, but a creative imagination of the past. The memory and meaning of an event or thing can therefore vary a lot between different individuals.

The reviews where based on the literature, which references are on the next page.

Literature reviews- a summary

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These guidelines are inspired by and canalized of what we have read in the literature reviews/articles and of our discussion.

TOOLS: TEASE THE SENSES & SYMBOLISM

• TEASE THE SENSES

- To strengthen or weaken one or more senses:

o Stimulate one sense by e.g. using a significant smell or sound.

o To mute one sense by e.g. make a place quiet.

o Stimulate all the senses by using one phenomenon, e.g. water that you can touch, smell, taste and hear.

o To emphasize by using contrasts, e.g. dark and light, loud and quiet, small and big, high and low, etc.

- You can control some senses more than others e.g. you can decide whether you like to touch something but it’s harder to not experience a smell or a sound.

• Gehl, J. (2006). Life between buildings: using public space. 6. ed. København: The Danish Architectural Press. Or in Danish; Gehl, J. (1996). Livet mellem husene. Udeaktiviteter och udemiljö.3. uppl. Köpenhamn: Arkitektens Forlag.

• Hillier, J. (2007). Stretching beyond the Horizon. A Multiplanar Theory of Spatial Planning and Governance. pp 94-95Lieberg, M. (1995). Teenagers and Public Space, Communication Research, vol 22, no 6, 1995, pp.720 -744.

• Mitchell, D. (2003). The Right to the City. Social Justice and the Fight for Public Space. New York: The Guilford Press. Chapter 4, The End of Public Space? , pp 118-160.

• Parr, A. (2008). Deleuze and Memorial Culture. Desire, Singular Memory and the Politics of Trauma. Pp 181-189. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press.

• Petersson, A. (2004). The Presence of the Absent. Memorials and Places of Ritual. Lund University: Dept. of Architecture. Chapter1 and 3.

• Santino, J. (2006) (Ed). Spontaneous Shrines and the Public Memorialization of Death. Goldstein, D. E. & Tye, D. The Call of the Ice: Tragedy and Vernacular Responses of Resistance, Heroic Reconstruction, and Reclamation. New York. Palgrave Macmillan.

• The Wanås Foundation (2008). Loss. Svenle, E. Defining the Past within the Present: Loss at Wanås. pp 13-32. Laholm. Trydells Tryckeri. ISBN 978-91-973972-9-2.

References Guidelines and Tip-offs

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• SYMBOLISM

- Who will understand the symbolism and what does it mean if you do not understand the symbolism?

- Use symbolism from the past, the moment or for the future.

- Beware of the change of symbolism, e.g. the swastika that was a symbol for sun but now are connected with Nazism and the christian cross that should be the symbol for hope but now are perceived as a symbol of death by many.

- Use the universal symbolism of nature elements, e.g. water can be recognized as the source of life.

- Use contrasts that make the symbolism clear, e.g. a water element might have a stronger influence in a dense city than in direct connection to the seaside.

- Use the written language, e.g. quotations written on a street in Stockholm that remind you of certain things.

BE AWARE OF: THE PUBLIC SPACE & THE PERSONS

• THE PUBLIC SPACE

- A memorial place can exclude some people e.g. different religions, different cultures, people who are not mourning, etc.

- Memorial places can act as meeting points where people can share a memory with others, e.g. a memorial place of an accident.

- The accessibility, e.g. for disabled people, wheelchair users and different genders, ethnicity, religion, age, etc.

- How to raise a memorial.

- How to take a memorial away e.g. build up something new with another meaning.

- That different places are more or less appropriate for memory and meaning and that the right design for the place is important.

• THE PERSONS

- That a traumatic memory can pop up trigged by some thing in the environment.

- That the memory can be actively evoked, e.g. by some ritual.

- The fact that a memory is not the whole truth but a creative imagination of the past, e.g. some childhood memories of certain happenings get more “pink” after a period of time.

- Different kinds of stages in for e.g. the mourning.

Is this hope?

...or just Summer?

What happened?

What do we remember?

How does the dis-tance affect you?

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It was quite interesting to regard the influence of the literature background on the final design proposals. We figured out that there is an obvious connection between the given literature and the proposals. The literature directed the thoughts of the students’ design process. While discussing about the different proposals we noticed that for us senses could play an important role in triggering memories. Although senses like the sense of hearing play an important role in several designs, students hardly discussed about it perhaps as they had no text to rely on.

Even if the students had the same theoretical background, the literature was used in different ways. Some students used clear references to the texts and thus created a proposal with a very scientific character. Other students however used the literature more like a first inspiration. Although they did not use strict references it is obvious that they refer to the same theoretical background.

We regard it as very important to do either or. If one uses references one should try to do it in a correct and stringent way because parts of the proposal without references seem to be one’s own ideas. Without any references the reader of a text might be aware that the author draws upon a given theoretical framework.

Every design proposal is based on, first of all, the person’s own experience of the place and it has the marks of the concerning literature. As people worked on this task in several groups, and they had group discussions, the effects of the discussions are noticeable in each person’s individual work. For example:

• when elements of nature were emphasized on a discussion, it is noticeable on the students works

• it is the same effect with triggers

• or the importance of public interaction

• the most of students kept the original identity of the traced area

• and a group which discussed the importance of height, view and freedom, it is mentioned in the individual texts as well.

As we noticed, every work was seemingly completely different, but looking behind it – reading the text – there were marked signs which group they belonged to. This shows the importance of talking to different kind of people, different kind of user groups and professionals.

Influences by the literature Influences by the group

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SPETSAMOSSEN

Group 7: Anna Ekdahl, Anna Stefkova, Hrafnhildur Hrafnkelsdóttir, Karin Ingemansson, Sigrid Lönnerholm

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Our task was to make proposal for a kind of urban playground in part of Spetsa-mossen park in Vaxjo. The city is surrounded by water, which is a major element of this town. The park is located in the downtown. People pass through the site everyday to get to work or city centre but there is no inviting atmosphere that will make them stay and spend some time there. The municipality have now decided to rebuild the park because it is considered to be unsafe and of limited use by the citizens. The new suggestion for the park structure came from Kragh & Ber-glund architects.

Difficulties:One of the difficulties we were confronted with was how we were supposed to make the proposal if we didn’t know how the place exactly looks like and didn’t have opportunity to see it.

Another question was the concept of an “urban” playground. An urban play-ground feels a bit on contrary to what we have learned or read in the literature. Many people defined urbanity with materials, shapes, vegetation which can give an urban character to a space.

Safety: A lot of people didn’t consider the park as a safe place. Lighting and also vegetation were considered as elements to counteract this perception.

Activity was also mentioned according to different age groups. People came up with question if it is possible to include all age groups to one place and make everybody satisfied and active. If you try to please everyone you may loose the fascination of the place.

The term “playground” tends to be used for children and it was confusing to work with. Also play was included between all age groups- from the children to elderly and disabled people.

Some people made their assignment as a professional design proposal for the municipality; the others made it more as a school assignment and were writing more reflectively about their ideas than promoting them.

THE TASK

Illustration: The proposed activity area (Kragh and Berglund Architects)

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In this assignment we were given an overall proposal from the Architect Com-pany Kragh & Berglund. The students have different attitudes to this concept, whereas no one has chosen not to work with it all, people have used their con-cept differently and in varying degrees.

The distinct paths are a subject that many students have mentioned, and many have seen the paths as an urban shape and something that will contribute to the desired urban character of the park. Some have decided to work further on these, also on a more detailed level in the urban activity area that we were given. And that seems to have worked well, the activity area then look more connected to the rest of the park.

Some are critical against the elevated paths, that they will direct the movement too much and prevent people from finding their own way around in the park. And also that they will give a feeling on being on-stage and possibly make people feel very visible, vulnerable and exposed.

The Kragh and Berglund concept have raised a discussion about urbanity among many students. Especially when they mentioned that materials as asphalt and concrete would contribute to the urban character many students questioned what urbanity is? The conclusion is that urbanity partly lies in the choice and use of materials, but also distinct shapes, elements and lighting etc. are important to get the desired urban feeling. Also it is argued that the many different activities that will take place in the park can give it an urban feel, that this density of activities is very urban.

Some think that the Kragh and Berglund proposal have divided the different ac-tivities in the park and not made the park inclusive enough. They describe it as a park consisting of different ‘activity islands’. Some have reflected on that it might be a good idea to extend the ‘Urban activity’ area and lead the main path trough it so that it will be a natural place for people to stop by at, and thus avoid it to be another separated ‘activity island’. This division is feared to lead to divided age groups and less integration in the park.

THE KRAGH AND BERGLUND PROPOSAL

Illustrations from top: Carina Daubner, Zita Lándori, Sofia Fribyter

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THEMES IN DESIGN PROPOSALS

Illustrations from left: Anna Ekdahl, Erika Jonasson, Emily Hansen, Jessica Macdonald

A great variation in handed-in material could be noted. Some proposals were very conceptual whereas others were more detailed, some had illustration plans and others simple sketches illustrating basic ideas. When looking through the design proposals we found some common themes and similarities.

Wetland/BogA lot of the proposals discussed the context of Spetsamossen as a former wetland and used this as an inspiration for the design of the activity area. This background was first introduced in the Kragh & Berglund concept.

Nature-like design or actual biotope

In some proposals the wetland as a biotope or natural elements from it have been used, for instance:

• Dewateringareawithreedandjumpingstones

Symbolic

Other proposals have mainly been inspired by the shapes or forms found in wet-lands, for example:

• Areadividedinto“islands”

• Inspirationforidiom

WaterWater has been used in almost all of the proposals in one way or another. It is, by many, considered a playful element that increases well-being just by being pres-ent.

• Water-play

• Fountain

• Streamingwater

• Stillwater

Use of all sensesExploration with other senses than just vision (touching, tasting, smelling and listening) affects the experience of place. Activity does not necessarily have to be physical, it can also be mental.

• Tactileelements

• Exploringwithyourbodyandactivatingyourbrain

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Illustrations from left: Mateja Havlicek, Merle Talviste, Magdalena Galle, Eva-Britt Karlsson

Eye catching objectsObjects that attract attention and evoke curiosity. Work like magnets that draw people into the area from where they can start-off and discover other parts. Some examples of this:

• Maze

• Disco-gamewithmusicaltileslightedindifferentcolours.

• High-ropecourse

• Originalswings/hammocks

• Spectacularfurniture

• Redpath

• Play-sculptures

• Creativelighting

Hills and levelsArguments for using hills or other differences in height include that they promote motion and evoke curiosity of what might be behind. They can also provide a place for overview of the area. Examples of this:

• Rocksorstructurestoclimb

• Largehillasborder/viewpoint

• Groupofsmallerhills

• Modelingoflandscape

MultifunctionalityThis theme includes objects or elements that have no specific function and can be used in more than one way. Places can also have multiple functions.

IdiomSome have used an over-all idiom, like a certain shape or pattern, often devel-oped from the concept of Kragh & Berglund, others have used objects conse-quently throughout the area.

SecurityThe problems with rape and criminality in the park have been considered in many of the proposals, often by avoiding dense shrubberies and putting emphasis on lighting. Other aspects of security are all the regulations concerning play equip-ment and public places. This is not something that is discussed to any larger extent in the proposals, perhaps because it might be limiting in the conceptual stage of the design process.

AccessibilityAccess for all seems to be an important issue in all of the proposals. It has been considered in the choice of ground-material, by making paths and by allowing activities for everyone, including people with disabilities.

25

We think it is important to think about who will be reading your proposal. Who is your target group? Will your use of the references be easily understandable to those who have not read the literature, or have forgotten what the literature was about? The references must be presented in such a way that the reader will know what they are referring to and be able to connect them to your work.

References in individual proposals were used to strengthen and support the student’s concept in the design proposal. Some were relevant to the literature we have been reading, while others weren’t.

Reflections on children’s play, public places, the senses, activities, users, objects and vegetation were the most common ones. The researchers with the most references to their work were Gehl, Cele, Mårtensson, Kylin and Boldeman.

References - literature for every-one;

Boldeman

o better motor skills in natural environments

o different height levels important

o a green environments triggers activity

o vegetation protect children from dangerous sun radiation

o physical qualities of outdoor places important to trigger healthy behav iour in children

o physical elements like sculptures result in more spontaneous play than prefabricated equipment

o fenced-in surfaces can have a hindering affect on physical activity

Cele

o object

o problems with creating labelled places

USE OF REFERENCES

Illustration: Lavanya Asogamoorthy

o three elements: the permanent, the changeable, the momentary

o provide a feeling of freedom and keep play going

o use of all senses when experiencing place

o awareness of geography, concrete place and not just abstract

o gender perspective, boys do not necessarily need more space than girls

Cooper Marcus and Barnes

o gardens must convey a sense of security

o positive effects of water

o positive effects of being outdoors

Gehl

o people gather where the main attractions are

o primary seats and secondary seating

o new activities begin in the vicinity of events that are already in

progress

o people as social creatures

o activities grow from the edge to the middle

o people are attracted to other people, especially if they are active

o public places have changed from being used because of needs to being places for optional, recreational activities

o human scale

o other people are the main attraction of public spaces

o public spaces need to have opportunities for people and meetings

Gifford

o passive observation most of the time

o people have different experience and thoughts of place

o if groups feel welcome and use it, there will be more life

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Grahn and Stigsdotter

o elements that allow you to test your senses

o benefits of being outdoors

Kylin

o absence of large green areas

o children, special place, special meaning

o children’s need to manipulate environments

o dens – hidden places where children can observe without being

observed

o possibilities to climb, hide, meet with friends

o layers of vegetation is important to play

o dens vary from very secret to very social

o vegetation promotes activity

o children needs a more intimate scale, this triggers them to create their own space

o teenagers need to have opportunities to feel free and independent

o step-by-step, smaller children keep closer to parents

o respect for children’s own creativity and needs is necessary when

planning for them

Lieberg

o on stage, offstage

o teenagers seek to avoid adult supervision

o teenagers have few places in the city in which they can hang out

o in between/ free zones

o places to retreat

Illustration: Emma Ekdahl

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References - from lectures:

Grahn

o easier to find something they like if the place offers one function, and easier to find something to do if one part is used for a particular play or activity

o usage of the eight park characters

o using an orange colour as stimulation of activity- white and bluish co lours are good in relaxing environments

Mårtensson

o objects

o objects, something to touch, things to do

o own rules, play and usage of space

o vegetation promotes activity

o vegetation should be emphasized in the outskirts of the area, focus on edges which promote play

o children create their own world in which they define roles, places that can be related to each other like high or low, dense or open support this kind of play

o areas for children are often too organized

o children need to have places for their own

Nebelong

o stimulate the senses

Illustration: Cordula Gielen

References – for further reading:

Jacobs

o the mixture of users and uses is what changes a place into an urban place

Ward

o defining aspect of a park is accessibility

References - from other than those in our literature list:

Appelton

o prospect, refuge

Delshammar, Tim

o user participation

Diarmuid Gavin

o wooden platforms inspired one student

F.L.Right

o quotation:” form follows function “

Gaventa

o traditional public places are not enough to meet the needs and wishes of people today

Kaplan and Kaplan

o sitting places with open front and closed back make you feel

comfortable

Both of the images are illustrating my second characteristics of this area. These are the pathways. These roads are levelled from the ground as the existing proposal suggests. I have de-cided to keep it higher because it gives another dimension. The areas itself is flat what make it rather dull, compared to levelled/hilly landscape. The research have shown that the more varied landscape is more valued (P.A. Bell, T.C. Greene, J.F. Fis-cher, A. Baum , 2001). In some places the way lowers to the ground giving the easy access to different spaces. It is espe-cially important for example elderly people, wheelchairs, mothers with carriage, disabled people. It could be seen also as a tool for experience. Children , youngsters could use the edges for try out the balancing or just enjoy jumping down.

I have added additional element to the pathway; integrated sit-ting areas. I find it interesting to transform one object smoothly to another. I see it also as a possibility to bond different spaces together and it creates more unit feeling. As seen in these il-lustrations then the rubber material has transferred from visual/play object to a sitting place (creating in itself a smaller place). Could the material use in a different context create a more com-fortable urban place for everyone? I mean that if for example adults use it first as a sitting place, will they be courage to use also rubber balls to sit on. Can the material be used as a place making attribute?

The rubber material is not only used during the day time. I have thought it as a lighting material. These colored objects will be glowing during the night time and makes it then also accessible when it is dark. Urban places should be used round-the-clock. The matter of safety is not only about the amount of light. It is a lot about the use of space by the people. When the area is attractive and pleasing for the citizens then there will be people walking around (Composition and Material lecture, SLU Al-narp 2008). Where there are people, the crime is more unlikely to happen.

Integrated sitting facilities gives the possibility to rest, observe, listen, meet randomly a friend. These are one of the activities that can take place next to a urban playground. Children are experiencing the rubber human figures. The figures in a active poses can trigger others also be active in this park.

Rubber element next to the playground (first characteristics). It function as a space in its own. It opens up a view to another space that can catch the interest to join the activity. Object offers different possibilities to enjoy the park; more actively or passively. The material creates the unit that permeate different spaces.

Spetsamossen playground

Illustration by Merle Talvieste. 28

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P. 27/49

KRAGH

& BERG

LUN

DLAN

DSCAPE ARCH

ITECTURE AN

D U

RBAN D

ESIGN

This project holds the summary and reflection of the project Spetsamossen. The ideas, opinions, and discussions are that of spring 2009 students of the class People and Environment. This student project took place in the campus of Alnarp, SLU Agricultural Sciences. The results and reflection are those concern-ing the design of the site Spetsomossen and general design elements that may be effective elsewhere. We tried to provide an impression of all these proposals without evaluating each design proposal. Thus, we wanted to reflect and maybe provide some feedback on how to incorporate the design of Spetsomesson to future design proposals. What were the basic questions asked by students? How can this be related to the current understanding of the public’s view? What is the outlook on future designs concerning the matters discussed in this project? What elements are repeated? These are some questions that are addressed in this report.

Our given proposal site is in the Spetsamossen Park. Our task for the site was to create an untraditional urban playground. This space had previously been very unsafe and more of a forgotten nature area. It has been neglected and underap-preciated. The municipality would like to change the park to something that all citizens can use and take pride in. Kragh & Berglund are the landscape architects taking part in this project and have provided a proposed plan for the entire site. However, our task was to look into this one specific part located south of the skateboard area. We were supposed to create a suitable design considering the context and requirements of the site. In this process questions and discussions were formulated to provide a better understanding of the task at hand. This sum-mary and reflection is a conclusion of our findings, of our questions and future design possibilities.

INTRODUCTION

The proposed urban pathways for the Spetsamossen park illustrated by Kragh&Berglund.

SPETSAMOSSEN PROJECT

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Spetsamossen

P. 18/49

DIS

PO

NERIN

GS

PLAN

Amfi_ SittplattformarLekplats_Gummibeläggning

Cirkusplats

Minigolfbana

Parkering

Parkering

Parkering

Allmänning

Skatebane

Petangue

Lekplats

Avvattning_ Hoppstenar

Avvattning_Vasskog

Grillplats

Bollbanor

Ankomst

Sittsten

Sittsten

Sittsten

Sittsten

Dagvattenbassäng_ Vasskog

Dagvattenbassäng_Gräs

Gräs

Gräs

Gräs

Gräs

Energipil

Energipil

Sittsten

GräsGräs

Gräs

Sand

Sand

Sand

Grus

Grus

Grus

Grus

Grus

Gräs

Gräs

Gräs

Sten med vide

Sten med vide

Sten med vide

Sten med vide

Sten med vide

Gräs

Gräs

Elefantgräs

Bladvass

Sten med siv

Sten med vide

Gräs

Tuvtåtel

Gräs

Projektorer

Projektorer

Projektorer

Projektorer

Projektorer

Skärmar

Skärmar

Skärmar

Skärmar

Gräs

Gräs

Gräs

Gräs

Gräs

Gräs

GräsGräs

Græs

Paviljong

Paviljong

Paviljong

Paviljong

Paviljong

Gräs

Gräs

Gräs

Gräs

Sten med vide

General ideasThe proposal from Kragh & Berglund is to create an urban park that offers many different activities. Spetsamossen should be a place for everyone; a park where people can meet and integrate.

Kragh & Berglund main idea is that the park should have an urban feeling and being a central meeting place. They state that a functioning urban space should consist of three elements; permanent, changeable and passing elements. This means the park should contain solid objects and interior that is permanent as well as having a possibility to arrange temporary social events. But there is also a wish for creating a place where spontaneous activities and meetings can occur.

The design proposal features a system of irregular concrete pathways that will connect the different parts of the park with each other. The main idea with these paths, besides getting an urban feeling, is to encourage movement in the park and to divide the park into different zones, where every zone has its own activi-ties. The range of different activity-zones provides an opportunity for every group to have a place to go to. The main road will go through the park instead from around it and this will bring more people to the park, even though they are just passing through. Some other elements in the park will be storm-water basins and a wetland character in the choice of plant material.

Thoughts about the proposalThe students had a lot of thoughts about the proposal of Kragh&Berglund and formed different opinions about their design-ideas.

In general, the proposed design seems to be too determined, inflexible and not open for spontaneous movement and play. Every area has a certain function. Kragh & Berglund separated different activities from each other and thus there is less possibility that different people can meet and interact spontaneously. Differ-ent groups have their “own” area that likely causes a lack of integration. In this context there were doubts about an appropriate choice of the activities’ locations (skatepark next to barbecue and pentague area).

KRAGH&BERGLUND PROPOSAL

When having a closer look at certain elements there might be too less lighting to animate people to use this area in the night as well.The shape of the paths was something people had contrarily opinions about. On the one hand, it creates an urban character and provides an interesting design. On the other hand, the elevated paths probably will cause a problem of accessibility for elderly and disabled persons. They might even prevent spontaneous move-ment and animate the people to stay on the paths and not to go into the single parts because they direct too much. Furthermore, the elevation creates a feeling of being on-stage and therefore being vulnerable. People feel uncomfortable. The uncommon pathways might even induce people to avoid the park at all because shortcuts are not easy to be done and people always think about the shortest way.

How students worked with the ideasResulting out of these thoughts, there have been dif-ferent ways of dealing with the proposed design.A lot of students tried to integrate Kragh & Ber-glund’s ideas. To work with the paths, the dewater-ing zone, certain materials and elements (stepping stones) and vegetation can be taken as few ex-amples.

There have been also ideas of how to solve weak points of the Kragh & Berglund’s design. Putting attrac-tive elements into the “islands” might trigger people to step from the paths and therefore to foster a more intense interac-tion between people and this place.

There was also the idea of changing certain activities or to locate them at a different place.

The proposal plan for Stetsamossen by Kragh & Ber-glund Landscape architects.

31

Because we were supposed to make a proposal for an untraditional playground, more like an activity park, everyone was struggling with the question: What is activity? What does activity mean for different people and groups?

Activity is a broad concept and can mean both play and calm activities which means that we can create activity for the body as well as for the mind. Even though passive is the opposite word of active most of us were in common thought that there is both an active activity and a passive activity. Is there any way you can create both active and passive activation in the same place?

WHAT IS ACTIVITY?

How to define activity is based on different factors like age and physical ability. But overall does active activities mean more advanced physical activities like playing and sports and the passive activity is calmer and includes observing and sitting, listening, talking; evoking our senses and just being in the present and being aware of yourself »here and now«.. Social interaction is another activity, and it is important that children are a part of the social life (Cele, 2006). It’s impor-tant that there is room for passive activities like observing, because if we cannot see people we might not go to a place, although the place offers attractions (Gehl, 2006).Furthermore, if there is not room for basic activities - that are more passive - the advanced activities do not proceed (Gehl, 2006).

The difference between user groups is that children are more physically active; they become active through interaction environment and use their whole body in their play. They run around, climb and searching. For kids play is a way of living and through that they learn and sense the world (Kylin, 2003; Cele, 2006). Even though they are mainly active, they also do more passive activities. Children need calm places too where they can withdraw and be by themselves (Kylin, 2003; Cele, 2006).

Adults and elderly do more passive activities like sitting and observing, talking. But they can do more active activities if they wish and have the strength. Adults play could be described more as an entertainment. Usually it is conceive as a pleasure where the competition moment adds the adrenalin. Many of us com-mented that it is difficult to know how adults see at activity and play since there is hardly any literature about the subject.

Teenagers are both active and passive. They are looking for specific activities like sports and skateboarding, as well as being out of reach of adults’ supervision and “hang out”. They need both on-stage and off-stage places in their environment (Lieberg, 1995).

Le : Placing of the hammocksBelow: How it can look

Hammocks as a symbol and equipmentThe hammock is a talked-about symbol for lazy summer days and the feeling of holiday (Wikipedia, 2009-02-18). It stands for long permissive days with a book in the shadow under a tree and total freedom to do whatever you like. Hammocks are equipment that invites you to relaxa on but they also invites you to play. You can swing in them, try to turn each other out of it and climb in them. The most common place where you use to have hammocks is in the country, or at least in your garden, it is something rural and idyllic about them. But with bright colors and tougher material I think that they can be a surprising and fun element that gives the urban area a fun twist. They will serve as the necessary contribu on that transform this entrance area from a place you walk trough on the way to all the other ac vity places in the park, to a gathering place where you can stay, meet your friends, rest for a while or play around.

Johansson, M. & Küller, M. 2005, Svensk miljöpsykologi, Grahn, P. Om Trädgårdsterapi och Terapeu ska Trädgårdar, LundKragh & Berglund Landskabsarkitekter A/S, 2007, Spetsamossen, KöpenhamnWikipedia, 2009-02-18, search word: hängma a

An example of hammocks that invites you to lie in them and relax but also to act more active by swinging in them as illustrated by Maria Malmstöm.

VARIOUS SWINGS | Everybody can do it if the DESIGN of the swing fits the user group. And it´s social too.

STEP1: Irresistible SWINGING.

UNIFORM SWING CHARACTERS | Visible from a distance, perhaps lending the shape from the street lamps.

P A G E 5


Water

Grove

Skate park

Square

Entrence

Purling water




Climb

Sit-

Jump


0 10 20 30 40m




Observing is an important passive activity as illustrated by Magdalena Galle Rambe.

Activating your body and challenge yourself as illustrated by Jessica MacDonald.

Social integration by cooperation illustrated by Emma Ekdahl.

Playing for children is more than running around. It’s also about calm play and learning about the world as illustrated by Lavanya Asogamoorthy.

32

o hilly landscape is interesting and makes people curious

Michaela Lica

o colour affection

Mitchel

o grass root activity

Moore & Cosco

o safe and security can sometimes result in a loss of play opportunities

for children

Osberger

o colour affection

Skovbakke Villadsen, Kielgast

o strongly specialized spaces can become destination places for

networking in the neighbourhood and the city

Sullivan

o quotation: ” form follows function “

Villarreal, Edgar L.

o stormwater in an urban context

Worpole

o users need protection from each other

Illustration: Anna Stefkova

Walker

o public spaces are for everyone- question of accessibility

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Activity and User groups

Children Adults Older people Teengers

Main target group Secundary target group Secundary target group Secundary target group

Mainly active but also passive activity

Mainly passive but also ac-tive activity if wished.

Mainly passive but also ac-tive activity if wished.

Both passive and active activity, depending on the time of the day and the amount and type of people in the area.

People and Environment Lk0069Assignment: An urban playground

Johanna Verbaan2009-02-19

Who is the target group and what are their needs? The target group can be any group of people divided by age, gender, social status, background, disability, illness, and so on. Each of these target groups has their special needs such as considering physical challenges, accommodation, and culture to name a few. Be-cause of each target group’s special needs conflicts can occur when facing other groups because of differing views and interests. For example, children like to play and be noisy but adults desire peace and quiet.

Is it appropriate to integrate all user groups into one space or it is better to divide the space? Focusing on a single target group means their individual needs are met but when shared with other users it means that the needs of the whole are met rather than the individual group. If one separates the target groups there is the loss of interaction with other users. There are fewer challenges in the social realm.

To bring together different users invites greater social interaction in which one af-ter effect is influence. Thus, is it better to force different users to interact through creative activity? If so, then how to bring about multiple target groups into one space? This might mean we need to generalize the interests of each user or vice versa and include many activities and alternatives so that all interests are met. It might mean using one user group to invite or force other user groups to partici-pate within the space. For example, to create a place for children might influence the space used by parents and grandparents.

We should also keep in mind that people attract other people to come to a space. Maybe, understanding that adults need play as well can bring together various user groups. How to incorporate challenges that satisfies all target groups? Many in their review of Spetsamossen have explained that maybe nature is the answer. Nature provides interest for all audiences and provides play through the imagina-tion.

TARGET GROUPS

Illustration by Johanna Verbaan.

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The assignment was to create an active place for everybody in an urban context for the park of Spetsamossen. Therefore, every student asked about the term of urbanity.

There have been thoughts about the use of certain materials (concrete, asphalt, glass, plastic), and shapes (sharp, strict, determined) but also colours (grey or more intensive ones like blue, red, green, yellow). But it has to be mentioned that some students really defined urbanity in this way and some asked about if this is meant to be urban.

For a lot of students urbanity goes together with a high density of (mixed) people who meet and interact with each other. Furthermore, urbanity might be connected with a lot of activities that happen in one place, different activi-ties according to activities in natural environments (skateboarding, etc) and a lot of movement and happenings in general. Kragh&Berglund proposed special lighting for this park of Spetsamossen. The huge lamps initiated thoughts about lighting and urbanity. When considering the sun as the natural light, (such) artifi-cial lights create an urban feeling anyway.

Some groups thought about the need of an urban park in this place of Spet-samossen, if it suitable at all. On the one hand, there was the municipality’s demand for an urban park and the central location that might make an urban character eligible. But on the other hand, there were proposals that struggled with an urban character being aware of Mårtensson’s (2009) statement of a natural environment that is more suitable for children’s play. Some even negated urbanity for this place.

It was often the case that urbanity has been put in relation to natural/rural envi-ronment.

Some were thinking about if urban character excludes nature or how it is pos-sible to integrate nature in an urban way. Maybe just to shape vegetation in a sharp or geometric form, or to use uncommon species for the certain location instead of planting common species in more layers, can be one way of how to bring the two terms together. Urban seems to be more determined, more shaped, more defined and natural more complex, unordered, undirected, more open for creativity and fantasy. Thus, there was this notion that it has been difficult to decide how to integrate urbanity when it is more determined, less flexible and seems to have a certain function. When designing an active place

URBANITY

for everybody the environment has to be multifunctional and open for different kinds of fantasy and creativity.

There has been also the opinion that urbanity excludes nature, that urbanity means less greenery or that nature does not fit into an urban context at all.

As one can see, there are different opinions about urbanity and that it can mean different things to different people. One group stated the difficulty to handle this as planners because everybody has his/her own image of urbanity and one never knows if it meets other opinions and if this urban character is recognizable and appreciated by others at all.

When looking at the single proposals it becomes obvious that the discussion about urbanity and the results of it lead to design-ideas.

The use of defined shapes and certain materials like Magdalena’s concrete boxes, the eye-catching-effect of intensive colours (Johanna’s cubes or Merle’s red rub-ber objects) the importance of social interaction (Jenny’s dancefloor, Cordula’s ferries) as illustrated by images.

The more people you are, the fast-er it goes and the sounds will become a melody.

In our group we have discussed light, both as a way of prevent the feeling of an unsafe environment, (main point in safety is people in movement), but also as a element belonging to the urban context.

On the Stepping concrete blocks you can jump around surrounded by a shallow open water surface, you can chose to jump over to the pavilion or towards the trees. There are diffi culties in joining aesthetical and safety for the steeping concrete blocks for the wheelchairs, but the “edge” on the path is so far the best solution. The joints are not a problem since they can be fi lled with materials as silicone colored as well as transparent.

To be able to choose where you would like to go and who you want to meet is important for the personal feeling of freedom (Cele, Gifford). The viewpoints are important for the fascination keep to the interest of what is happening around the corner but struggling with the fear of violence in the park the balance between open and closed have to be carefully considered. The main character is according to Kragh and Berglund open and fl at.

The pavilion is considered to be a roof, for sun or rain protection. The benches are partly movable, tracks in the concrete fl oor makes it possible to furniture the scene. To be able to change a place gives this area a dynamic design, and its satisfying to be able to change your environment (Mårtensson,Kylin). I have a vision where I see different age groups as Lieberg or Gifford says hanging out here and socialize.

Walking trough the area you will meet a mix of adventure and possibilities, here you can try out your abilities and be aware of you body. What seems to be an easy walk for most of the citizens is perhaps true. But the path is not totally straight and plane so if you are in a wheelchair this will be an adventure as well.The fi rst part you will be walking over bridges. The ground covering material on the bridges is plastic and has a structure pattern for a safe walking during winter and rainy days. It can be made in different forms and shapes. The surface is also possible to feel with your hands. The poles for balancing and climbing are for training the body abilities. All are not able to use them but it is meant to be a challenge as well as a aesthetic value. If you fall down the soft grass will moderate the fall. High vegetation like perennial grass spices will grow under and around the bridges and out in the storm water area moisture lowing plants will be growing.

The poles are in two different materials (after the discussing that too many materials give an untidy expression the last decision has not been made). Some of them are in wood and some of them are in plastic, the once in plastic will be shining during night. Too many orange sticks will in my opinion be takeover the impression of the surrounding. Wood is more to be a part of the nature and not interfering with the surrounding in the same way, the color of the wood will change affected by the wetter.

The dynamic lighting and colors of the dance floor fosters social integration as illustrated by Jenny Åkesson.

Ferries fostering cooperation in the design by Cordula Gielen.

Urban shapes and materials as illustrated by Eva-Britt Karlsson.

Principal sketches

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CUBSThe cubs are made by plastic and should be hollow so they not become so heavy. The cubs will be placed where the pathways get wider. The thought is that the cubs can be moved around and people can use them for different kind of purpose. I was also thinking that the cubs can be a chance for children to experience their body, use their balance, use their creativity and see the world from different angles. For example children can build a dens or jumping around and playing don’t touch the ground. Eldery people can sit on the cubs, watching the children, the vegetation or the cubs that in some way also can be seen as artwork that have different shapes every day. The place will change and it will be interesting do go there and see what have happened, what have other people create. Some of these cubs are stuck to the ground and on the night there will be light inside them.

I will also put some of the stucked cubs into the vegetation. Because I got the feeling that the rised pathways give the feeling that you are only allowed to go on them and and not in the vegetation. Through putting out ordinary things into the vegetation I think that people will feel more secure to walk in the vegetation. The cubs can then be used as a bench where you can lie down watching the sky, reading a book or study other people moving around. They can also be meeting places for teenagers that just want to hang

out or used by families for picknick in the vegetation. There are so many possiblities you just have to use your imagination.

Why these forms? I wanted to use I form that could be associated with many different things and also work good to put together to create other things. So it up to the viewer to decide what it is or should be. My thought was also to have a form that we can associate with the urban sorrundings. I have chose to work with strong colours on the cubs so they will be visible and make people curious to find out what it is. I took some inspiration from the picture in the design program but I haven’t really thought it through so much. I’m aware that some people might be stressed of to much colour or maybe don’t like it. But this is just a little bit of the park so they have the possibility to go to other parts that don’t have so many colours. It is also important that the colour fit to other colours in the park.

Of course there is a big risk that these moveable cubs will disappear from the place. For me it’s not a big problem then the place is built to work also with out them. But I think that if the place work well and people get attached to it they will stay. Maybe visitors will move them around in the park but that’s also fine with me because then they have become more creative.

Movable, multifunctional, plastic cubes in bright colors evoke creativity illus-trated by Johanna Bilfeldt.

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Multifunctional useIs it better to have a flexible or more specified design? A place and elements that can be used in many different ways can evoke creativity and fantasy. There may also be a risk of, when using very defined functions or elements, that it may distract some user groups negatively since they feel that it’s not made for them. Consequently, a more open-ended design can therefore be an advantage. When being able to transform the place yourself, perhaps there is a better possibility to generate place attachment because you have the opportunity to make the place whatever you want it to be.

On the other hand, a few people raised the question that very open-ended de-sign could make people uncertain about how to behave. Perhaps more defined elements, where it’s clear what the purpose of the function is, might make it easier for some people. For example, adults might not be as used to as children in interacting deeply with their natural environment.

Attracting people and plan for social interactionSeeing, meeting and talking to other people is not only an important part of being activated – people are also very attracted by other people and especially when other people are active. A good way of creating activity is therefore to plan for a good meeting place. This might include choosing a good setting close to a main path and providing good places for seating. Another way is to design some-thing spectacular, fascinating or irresistable. This, in itself, will attract people and make them want to explore the place. Another way is to plan for activities that fosters cooperation, and which gives people a reason to interact.

Stimulate different sensesA design that stimulates different senses has many advantages. It creates a closer and deeper interaction with the environment. It means that there are more di-mensions to explore. It can also be a very successfull method when dealing with a variety of user-groups because it has something to give people regardless of dis-ability or limitations. It can be choosing different materials or materials that have many different qualities, like fruit-trees, soft leaves, pouring water and rounded stones. Plants and vegetation is very useful because it stimulates so many differ-ent senses and also provide diverse qualities throughout the year.

Create variation and possibilitiesA design which has variation in rooms and possible experiences can serve differ-ent uses and user-groups at the same time. It is also likely that a variated place will hold people’s interest for a longer time. It also evokes a sense of freedom when one can choose where to go. People need both on-stage and off-stage places which a design should take into account (Lieberg).

Heights and levelsWhen the ground plane varies, this can motivate people to activate too. Climbing hills, walls, steps or benches provide different challenges and healthy physical movement and body-awareness. Hills are a well-used element in playgrounds for children, but can be an enjoyment for adults as well.

BenchesSitting is a very important activity, perhaps especially for adults and elderly. It gives possibilities to rest, to observe other people, to read a book or talk to a friend. Strategically placed benches is therefore an important part of the design and should provide different possibilities in privacy, sun/shade and on-stage/off-stage. Light, movable chairs has even more possibilities for people to choose the perfect spot and to interact with each other. Seating is very important in the public square as it one of the requirements suggested by William Whyte.

DESIGN FOR ACTIVITY

VISIONS/IDEAS...

This sketch could illustrate my visioned first characteristic area. It is a rather open area next to the water collecting pond. There is a combination with rubber balls and stones. The surface here is sand. I found it very important because a lot of people make this relation to beach, maybe vacation, relation. So this could work for a adult as a restorative area, sunny spot or make a will to clime? As in the research (lec-ture with P.Grahn) with the children the sand is very impor-tant play tool. So here it isn’t putted in a box, it allows to act everywhere. The wooden pathway leads to a hidden place on the water. A lot of research has shown that water is a very pleasing element in the landscape. The wooden pathway allows to access to this spot fort every one, even elderly people.

Levelled pathway that leads through the area. There is a larger are on the way, where could rest, meet other person or observe what is happening. On the left side the wood sticks thicket creates see trough screen.Stones next to the wooden pathway allows to enter differ-ent room. The red rubber form catches the eye from the dis-tance. The use of it depends on the user groups. It could be a meeting place, sitting area or used as a slide or climbing tool.

Entry to a water platform. Bend-ing pathway makes wonder what is behinf the corner.

I have though to use rubber that is covered with a smooth coat-ing, as an outstanding material. It is more about trying to com-bine it with natural materials, like stone and wood. In a one had it is a question about emergence , but the other hand it is also about being visible and triggering. On my illustrations have de-cided only color the rubber elements, to emphasize their loca-tion and place in the space. I have used mostly rounded shapes in my vision. The use of this form is mostly about accordance with the natural forms. I see in my design also a different kinds of stones that could be used as jumping stones, for sitting, hid-ing. My idea was to try to combine the similar form but different materials. Even though I can’t get a feedback about that , but I would like to know would it triggers people to use more different materials in a combined way. The rubber elements will be the recurring feature through the playground. I see this as a object that could establish this kind of urban context.


Water

Grove

Skate park

Square

Entrence

Purling water




Climb

Sit-

Jump


0 10 20 30 40m




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Stone islandsStones are other objects that can be used to experi-ment with different height levels and also be used by children in their play by climbing up and down the

where they make their own “private” places.

I’ve thought of creating stone islands and by using different materials, not just natural stones but also in-organic material like concrete and plexiglas the users can experience and touch different textures which ac-tivate the brain. By combining different height levels with different textures gives the place more dimen-sions which is very important for the experience of

also a particularly good way to let blind people feel

Stones can also work perfect as seating. Gehl discuss the important meaning of having both primary seats, like chairs and benches but also secondary seating like stairs, fountains or as in this case stones. By com-bining these seating a place is more seldom experi-enced as abandoned since there aren’t too many emp-ty benches, and of course the best about secondary seating is their multifunctional use. (Gehl, J. 1996). In other words the stone islands can be used both for active play and for passive activities like sitting down and observing other people. Some stones should be put next to the big path to invite passing people to take a pause which in the end also can contribute to interaction between people on a social, active or pas-sive level.

Different height levels can be a physical challenge where we as a social activity can help each other to manage it, in other words it can make people start to interact with each other.

Textures

1) Transparant surfaces mixed with covered surfaces can give a more mysterious expression. Different materials also transfer sound in dif-ferent ways which gives the place a third dimension.

2) Natural stones have a very irregular and hard surface where each stones are unique. Natural stones can get warmed up by the sun which makes them very pleasant to sit on.

Stone islands

1 2

Some of the stone islands are mixed up with vegetation that can work as screens that divides the place into smaller rooms.

Some stone islands only consist of one material other of different materials, shapes and sizes.

FORM, MATERIALS & ACTIVITIESThe main thoughts for the levels are that they should function like lanes with the same form expression as the ordinary paths in the park, but with dif-ferent heights, widths, materials and uses/activities. The edgy form of the ordinary paths is not just taken in the horizontal plane but also in the verti-cal plane. That is, the lanes height changes in an edgy way, like it is made of ramps (see view images). The direction of the lanes is irregular and made so that the end of them cannot be seen. The bene�its from this are that the attention is directed on the surrounding environment, the atmosphere gets a stronger spatial feeling and the lanes can be experienced as longer than they really are. Although the lanes only run in one direction it is possible to go between them by smaller paths perpendicular to the lanes. These small paths could either be done in less urban materials (for example in sand, bark or wood chips) or be created by the use of the visitors themselves. In some places these paths could start by a narrow �light of stairs over a larger height difference and in some on places where the height difference is none or very small. To make people start spending time in and experiencing the level landscape there are some usual activities integrated in the lanes. In one glade next to the water there is a grill area and in another glade there is a pentangue/boule area. From the arrival crossing in the very south part to the skate park there is also a lane for the skaters. Here youths can skate and practice some of their tricks on edges made in the ground and on the corners of the lane walls (corners have to be strengthened by metal). In this lane the lane walls could also be made extra high and function as “legal walls” for graf�iti.Each lane has a special character that either is the same throughout the whole lane or changes along the way. Some of them consists of water, some of concrete paths and some of vegetation. The lanes of concrete paths are in a darker color than the main paths and with a rougher surface treat-ment, which makes them stand out from the ordinary system of paths. All of the lane walls (the sides that take up the height differences) are made of the same light (white) concrete as in the main paths. The vegetation in the lanes does in some of them only consist of cut grass while in other of trees, shrubs and/or perennials. As the form of the lanes has an urban character the vegetation can be more natural without losing the urban feel. Although more urban vegetation (as trees in hard surfaces etc.) can be very nice, much research establishes a general preference of more natural vegetation (Kap-lan & Kaplan, 1998; Ottosson & Ottosson, 2006). The amount of naturalness

of the vegetation does however differ between children and older people. In some places the vegetation lanes therefore have a very natural look, with many plant layers and different kinds of species. This kind of vegetation is perfect for children’s play and it encourages them to build dens as they can �ind good places that correspond to their size and the environment contri-butes with the material that they need in their construction (Kylin M., 2003; Cele S., 2006). In other places the vegetation is more cultivated and simple, since adults often prefer more tidy looking vegetation. The most important thing for the plants is though, as mentioned earlier, that they have as many variations in qualities throughout the year as possible. The vegetation clo-sest to the pentangue/boule area and the main paths should be lower and more open due to security (mostly experienced security). Next to the pen-tangue/boule plants should also be used that have �lowers during summer as well as spring and autumn.

In all of the lanes, both along the paths and in the vegetation, there are many sitting possibilities. This way people have the option to stay on their favo-rite place and teenagers can get their own secluded meeting points. These seatings can be made by ordinary benches, concrete parts coming out of the lane walls, natural stones, wooden stems, etc. It is though important that they do not all look like benches, as even a very well used place can look deserted by empty benches.

Modules that can be put together to create “changing chairs” as illustrated by Michael Schmölz.

Red rubber spheres, undefined objects for creative play and imagination as illustrated by Merle Talvieste.

Versatile concrete boxes as illustrated by Magdalena Galle Rambe.

Various objects to stimulate the senses illustrated by Erica Jonasson.

Elevation changes providing interest and activation for the users illustrated by Carina Daubner.

A variation in ground materials, like wood, turf, gravel, sand and rubber illustrated by Lavanya Asogamoorthy.

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Vegetation and natureWhen it comes to childrens’ play, nature and vegetation has proved to be very stimulating and provide many possibilites. Plants provide places to hide, to observe other people, it can be manipulated into paths and dens and it activa-tes many different senses. Vegetation can have restorative effects and activate people, even if it’s not be as physically engaging as it may be for children. To include plants in the design is therefore very useful in most places, but perhaps even more so where you want people to activate.

WaterWater is a very useful element offering many different experiences and activities if added to a place. It can be a very calming material and at the same time be a good element to transform and use in activities; touching it, making it move, hearing it, making things float or sink to the bottom. Combined with bridges or stepping stones over the water, it can add a challenge to the ordinary activity of walking.

DensDens are an important part of childrens’ play, making them create a world of their own, feel freedom and observe other people while hiding. A place where there is possibility to create dens will be a good place for children, and the use of vegetation is especially good for this purpose. Could there be something similar to dens which adults may want to use?

P A G E 4

Stepping stones in water brings excitement and closeness to water as Jessica MacDonald.

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For the different design proposals the students used various kind of literature that has also been discussed in the literature seminars.

To mention only some, Cele (2006), Mårtensson (2009), Kylin (2003), Boldemann et al.(2006) provided a broad spectrum of what planners have to consider when designing environments for children. It was very helpful to work with it. The discussion of a natural environment being more suitable for people’s well-beings and children’s play than an urban environment often occurred and was mainly fed by the various authors’ statements.

The place in the Spetsamossen Park was supposed to be an active place for everybody. Therefore, it was interesting to think about activity for adults and elderly as well. Unfortunately, there was literature missing that gave us a deeper insight in what kind of features and elements can activate them.

When having a look at the single proposals, there are other works that have been helpful to refer to (not an entire list):

Jan Gehl

Robert Gifford

Mats Lieberg

References

Kragh and Berglund Landskapsarkitekter A/S Köpenhamn. (2007) Program for Spetsamossen Växjö.

Boldeman, C. et al. (2006). Impact of preschool environment upon children’s physical activity and sun expo¬sure. Prev Med 42(4), pp 301-308.

Cele, S., (2006). Communicating Place. Methods for Understanding Children’s Experience of Place. Doct Diss, Stockholm University pp 9-80.

Gehl, J. (2006). Life between buildings: using public space. 6.

ed. København: The Danish Architectural Press.

Gifford, R. (1987). Environmental Psychology, principles and practice. Allyn and Bacon, Boston. Chapter 10: “Community environmental psychology”

Kylin, M. (2003). Children’s Dens. Children, Youth and Environment. 13(1), Spring 2003.

Lieberg, M (1995) Teenagers and Public Space, Communication Research, vol 22, no 6, 1995, pp. 720-744

Mårtsensson, F., (2009). Lectures “Place attachment – from childhood to adult-hood” and “Health promoting outdoor settings”, 2009-02-16, Alnarp.

LITERATURE

38

People and Environment

Emma Ekdahl, So�a Fribyter, Erika Jonasson, Merle Talviste and Johanna Verbaan

ASSIGNMENT SOMMARSOL

39 2

How does the design process a�ect the �nal result of a design? What are the possible approaches of a design process and what are the de�nitions and representative features of these? We have gone through the projects of Sommarsol, trying to analyze and spot possible categories and types of approaches for this task. Finally we ended up with four categories which we interpreted as di�erent ways of dealing with the rather intricate and complex assignment of Sommarsol.

This analyze is one way of re�ecting of what has been done in the Sommarsol project and such an analyze could create an awareness of possible ways of approaching this type of project in the future.

The four categories

Structural/general focus (12%)

Conceptual view (40%)

Detailed focus (28%)

Focusing on Details (20%)

Introduction

40 3

The approach of a structural/general focus in a design process seems to aims towards an overall analyze, to �nd arguments and guidelines further on in the design process. This point of view emphasises the importance of connecting desired environment to the most preferable location through analyze and structuring. By analyzing the basic conditions, considering the wants and needs of the users, looking into desired features and elements in the envi-ronment, the designer aims to de�ne zones to clarify what has to be done in this di�erent zones to create a design which applies to the whole structure. The structural/general focus requires a visual material which shows the site in a greater context with its sur-roundings.

Representative features: .Maps with colour schemes connected to de�nitions are the most common representative features.

Most frequently used literature within this category

Bell, P.A., Greene, T.C., Fischer, J.F. & Baum, A. (2001) Public space and territoriality. pp251-292. Environmental Psychology. Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont CA.

Bengtsson, A & Carlsson,C. (2006). Outdoor Environments at Three Nursing Homes: Focus Group Interviews with Sta�. Journal of Housing for the Elderly, 19(3), 49-69

Ottosson, J. (2007). The Importance of Nature in Coping: Creating increased un-derstanding of the importance of pure experiences of nature to human health. SLU Reproenheten, Alnarp.

Ulrich, Roger S; (1999). E�ects of Gardens on Health Outcomes: Theory and Re-search. In: red, Cooper Marcus, Clare., Barnes, Marni. Healing Gardens, Therapeu-tic Bene�ts and Design Recommendations. pp235-322. New York.

Stigsdotter, U.and Grahn, P. (2002) What makes a garden a healing garden. Jour-nal of Therapeutic Horticulture, AHTA, Volume XIII

Structural/General focus

Illustrations:Emma Ekdahl and Carina Daubner

People with neurological diseases further require an environment that supports activities for learning basic functions (Bengtsson, 2006). By connecting possible outdoor rehab activities and place those close to the existing indoor rehab activities, the rehab garden is probably more likely to be used by staff as a complement to the different indoor programs.

Finally, in making sure that this new healing garden at Sommarsol will be used as both a therapeutic garden containing physical training as well as a restorative garden for passive enjoyment, I believe it should be created where the major existing lawns are today. This is a much larger area with greater possibilities to attend to all those different characters needed in a healing garden.

Preferably it could be divided into two smaller gardens; one inner and one outer related to the pool area in between. The inner garden could hold a more therapeutic approach, focusing on activities, security and social meetings. The outer garden could then have a more restorative approach with possibilities of finding a private secluded place, including paths for walking that could be connected to the way to the beautiful surroundings; the sea and the forest.

Placing the garden here, it would also be visible for all visitors and could strengthen the identity for Sommarsol. If there were more time for this assignment, now the process of planning the gardens in detail could begin together with the staff working at the facility...

.

The outer restorative and private garden

The inner therapeutic and social garden

The pool area

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This method has a strong concept as a basic, from what the design is proceeded. It is in a way hierachical approach, where every next sept is �tted to a previous setting It is not focused on the detail, rather on an impression and space cognition that the design needs to express. It handles a question between person and environ-ment both in a mental and physical level.

Process features:1. based on one feature (like sense, path)

2. based on restorative method (mental level, being aware of the nature)

3. based on physical restorative method

4. based on di�erent space and territoriality question (personal space and interaction with the others and cognition about the environment )

5. why-how method (analyzing)

6. starting a dialogue between opposites fragments (like users, spaces, arti�cial features vs nature)

7. looking beyond the clinic area (try to connect to overall concept)

8. connections and accessibility

Most frequently used literature: within this category

Cooper Marcus, C. & Barnes, M. (Eds). 1999. Healing Garden: Theraputic bene�ts and design recommendations. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Bell, P.A., Greene, T.C., Fischer, J.F. & Baum, A. 2001. Environmental Psychology. Public space and territoriality. Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont CA.

Bengtsson, A. and Carlsson, C. (2006). Outdoor Environments at Th ree Nursing Homes: Focus Group Interviews with Sta� . Journal of Housing for the Elderly, 19(3), 49-69.

Tenngart Ivarsson, Carina (in press). Utvärdering av utemiljöerna vid psykiatrin i Göteborg.

Conceptual view

Illustration:Jessica McDonald

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Jessica MacD

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arch Sixth 09LK0069

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The detailed focus approach of the design process aims towards a design solution with de�ned forms and elements which shows the design of the site. This type of approach mainly considers the area in focus and only brie�y discusses the context which surrounds it. The detail level of representation is high and the designer often aims to express the atmosphere of the design through sketches, illustrations, images of inspirations which visualize desired ele-ments, functions and activities of the site. You could say that this approach is guided by functions and elements required in the speci�c environment, and not by an overall idea, a concept.

Representative features: An overall view connecting the assigned place, illustrations and sketches connected to a detailed plan.


Bell, P.A., Greene, T.C., Fischer, J.F. & Baum, A. Environmental Psychology. Public space and territoriality. Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont CA, 2001.

Bengtsson A. & Carlsson, C. (2006) Outdoor environment at three nursing homes: Focus group interviews with sta�.

Sachs, N. (1999) Environments for psychiatric care, In: red, Cooper Marcus, Clare., Barnes, Marni. Healing Garden: Theraputic bene�ts and design recommenda-tions. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Zeisel, J & Tyson, (1999) Alzheimer’s treatment gardens, In: red, Cooper Marcus, Clare., Barnes, Marni. Healing Garden: Theraputic bene�ts and design recom-mendations. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Detailed focus

llustrations: Lena Agrell and Eva-Marie Samuelsson

To make sure that all guests at Sommarsol can get a view over the garden, a glass veranda is placed in the north western corner of the garden. This also enables a use of the garden sight every day of the year. The comfortable environment that the veranda offers might be extra important for guests that are sensitive to weather exposure (Bengtsson & Carlsson (2006). The veranda will be connected to the house with a glass passage. The possibility to see through the walls of the passage will enable the ones that pass, either from Sommarsol towards the new elderly home or coming from the other direction, to get a view into the oasis. There are several rooms facing the sight of the garden. To keep their privacy high, it’s important for everyone’s well-being that while one is in the garden, he or she is not able to look straight into the guest rooms (Bell, Greene, Fisher & Baum, 2001). Therefore a wooden pergola, to be covered with climbers, is placed along the façade of the house. The border between private and more public space is made ever more clear by a stone wall, which at the same time creates a path for the guests with rooms facing the garden so that the can have a direct access to the garden from their rooms.

Landscape architect Anna Bengtsson held a lecture where she meant that

agree. I think it’s important that a designed area is created for its users, so that it can be meaningful to them. When I’ve chosen materials, shapes and colours for this design, I’ve done it with a typical guest at Sommarsol in mind. Besides the fact that a guest often suffer from some kind of disease, we know that the average age of the guest list is quite high. Therefore I did not want to make the design too modern. On the other hand, I did not want to put an obvious focus on the physical disabilities of the patients. Earlier mentioned Bengtsson did at the same lecture discuss the theory of gerotranscendence, where you look at aging as gaining things and abilities instead of loosing them (Alnarp, 2009-03-03). All the paths shall be wide enough for two wheelchairs to meet (min. 1.80 meters), but I didn’t want them to look that adjusted. Instead of designing equally wide paths, I let the shapes of the plant beds form surfaces to walk and sit on. These shall be paved with Y1 asphalt, with a surface of 4-8 mm gray gravel, so that it will be smooth and suitable for wheelchairs, walkers and heavy feet.

glass veranda & passage

elevated plant beds

pergola

seating area (s)

wooden fence

water system

(s)

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6

This group seem to focus more on the possible contents of this healing garden without placing all the proposed features in a precise plan, or at most connect them to a very loose one. How to connect the assigned garden to its surroundings is also brought up in most of the assignments, trying to understand and give this particular place a meaning in doing so.

Representative features: loose plan or no plan at all, inspirational pictures, , sketches of details, many loose examples of what to do, follows no clear concept.


Bengtsson, A. and Carlsson, C. (2006). Outdoor Environments at Th ree Nursing Homes: Focus Group Interviews with Sta� . Journal of Housing for the Elderly, 19(3), 49-69.

Ulrich, Roger S; (1999). E�ects of Gardens on Health Outcomes: Theory and Re-search. In: red, Cooper Marcus, Clare., Barnes, Marni. Healing Gardens, Therapeu-tic Bene�ts and Design Recommendations. pp235-322. New York.

Zeisel, J & Tyson, (1999) Alzheimer’s treatment gardens, In: red, Cooper Marcus, Clare., Barnes, Marni. Healing Garden: Theraputic bene�ts and design recom-mendations. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

U.and Grahn, P. (2002) What makes a garden a healing garden. Journal of Thera-peutic Horticulture, AHTA, Volume XIII

Sachs, N. (1999) Environments for psychiatric care, In: red, Cooper Marcus, Clare., Barnes, Marni. Healing Garden: Theraputic bene�ts and design recommenda-tions. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Focusing on Details

Sketches and layout from left; Eva-Britt Karlsson, Cordula GIelen, Shabnam Gholoobi, Anna Stefkova

44

7

The hard part was to �gure out, how to deal with this task, where there were very di�erent proposal. The variation accrued probably, because many of us did not under-stand how to solve the problem; garden in a clinical facility. Thus it was interesting to see how di�erently students start to deal with the situation.

Even if the students used di�erent approaching analysis of the place it was still possible to �nd in common features for all proj-ects. This could be explained as a fact that the same literature has been used as references to make evidence based design proposals which have limited the students individual design thoughts that occurred in the beginning of the project. Because of the di�erent approaches it was hard to make any exact manual about design guidelines for the features. That would not have been correct, because of the time we had for this task and gaining additional knowledge about the patients needs. From that reason it felt wise to use process features that could describe , give an overall impression and understanding about the various thinking processes that students decided to use. The interesting part was to see, how one issue (f.ex space) is used in a di�er scales through various projects. Is it taken as a basis or as a tool to form the detail design?

The design and form of features (f.ex raised beds, paths, water features) could have been very di�erent from each other, even if they are an evidence based design. It means that there weren’t so to say crazy design. Perhaps this could depend on the limited time schedule that made it impossible to develop the design further but it could also be a matter of lacking knowledge of how much it’s possible to change a feature without a�ecting its positive e�ect on the users that is stated in the literature?When looking at these proposed gardens and also the read litera-ture, then came the question what is the solution for the healing garden? Are there universal features that we should use in these projects? An interesting question that could be connected to the used litera-ture is; how many common features could have occurred if every-one had to search references on their own? Would there been more variation between di�erent proposals? Were the students being more encouraged to go their own way? It showed that almost all of use used additional material. That re�ects that there lack of information about this speci�c topic as a neurological disease and patients’ needs. Even though there was a lot of material that could be used in this approach.

We are on to something…but it needs some more time… !!!!!!!

Common features and discussion

PATHARC/PERGOLA

LABYRINTHSEASONAL FLOWERBEDS

SENSESWATER

VEGETABLES

RAISED BEDS

GLASS HOUSE

TRANSPARENT SCREENINGS

RAILINGS

STONES

CLOSED AND ENCLOSED SPACES CREATED WITH PLANTS/ARTIFICIAL FEATURES

SITTING PLACES INSIDE PLANTS

FRUIT TREES

FRUIT BUSHES

MULTIFUNCTIONAL FURNITURES

ANIMALS

VEGETATION WITH SENSATIONAL SMELL, FEELING AND COLOUR.

FAMILIAR MATERIALS

HERBAL/KITCHEN GARDENMEMORY OBJECTS

ORIENTATION

WOOD DECKING

VIEWING NATURE PRIVACY

ACTIVITY

SOCIAL MEETING

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8

Structural/general focus

Antonovsky, A. (1991) Hälsans mysterium, Natur och Kultur, Köping.

Bengtsson, A. (2003) Utemiljöns betydelse för äldre och funktionshindrade

–Kunskapssammanställning. Statens Folkhälsoinstitut.

Eckerling, M. (1996) Guidelines for designing Healing Gar-dens, Journal of Therapeutic

Horticulture, American Horti-cultural Therapy Association, Gaithersburg.

Grahn, P. (1991) Om parkers betydelse (Doktorsavhandling) Stad & Land nr 93. Alnarp.

Gröna Fakta (2004) Växter skapar rum för samvaro och vila. Tankvärda trädgårdar. 2004:4.

pp IV-V. Movium & Utemiljö.

Kaplan, R. Kaplan, S. (1989) The experience of nature, University Press, New York, Cam-

bridge.

Ke-Tsung, H. (2001) A review: Theories of restorative en-vironments, Journal of Therapeu-

tic Horticulture 2001;XII.

McGrath Salamy, V. (1996) Stress Management through Garden Design, Journal of Thera-

peutic Horticulture, American Hor-ticultural Therapy Association, Gaithersburg.

Olsson, T. (1998) De urbana grönområdens betydelse för människors hälsa och

välbefinnande.

Ottosson, J. (2007) The Importance of Nature in Coping - Creating increased understand-

ing of the importance of pure experiences of nature to human health. Diss. Alnarp: Swed-

ish University of Agricultural Sciences.

Ottoson, J & Grahn, P. (2007). The role of natural settings in crisis rehabilitation.

Landscape Research, accepted.

Ottosson, J. 1997. Naturens betydelse i en livskris. Stad & Land 148. Movium,Alnarp.

Schibbye B. Pålstam Y, (2001) Landskap i fokus. Utvärdering av metod för landskaps-

analys, Riksantikvarieämbetets förlag, Stockholm.

Searles, H.F. (1960). The nonhuman Environment in Normal Development and in Shizo-

phrenia. International Universities Press, New York.

Conceptual view

Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

rehabilitation. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth

Edition. Retrieved March 05, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.refer-

ence.com/browse/rehabilitation

Grahn, P. (1991) Om parkers betydelse. Stad & land 93. Movium / institutionen för

landskapsplanering,Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet,Alnarp

Kaplan Rachel, Kaplan Stephen, & Ryan Robert L. (1998) With people in mind. Design and

management of everyday nature, Washington D.C.

Lawton, M.P. The Elderly in Context: Perspectives from Environmental Psychology and

Gerontology. Environment and Behavior, 17, pp. 501-519. 1985.

Kielhofner, G. Conceptual foundations of occupational therapy (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: F.

A. Davis. 1997.

Ottosson, J. & Grahn, P. 2007. The role of natural settings in crisis rehabilitation. Landscape

Research, accepted.

Ottoson, j.; Grahn P. Utemiljöns betydelse för äldre med stort vårdbehov, Med ögon käns-

liga för grönt, Stad & Land, 155:1998, Alnarp

Ottoson, j.,The importance of nature in coping with a crisis, Creating increased under-

standing of the importance of pure experiences of nature to human health, SLU Reproen-

heten, Alnarp. 2007.

Searles, H.F. The Nonhuman Environment in Normal Development and in Schizophrenia.

International Universities Press, New York. 1960.

Simson, S. & Straus, M.C. Horticulture as therapy: Principles and practice. New York: Food

Products Press. 1998.

Kaplan, R. & Kaplan, S. 1989. The experience of nature. Cambridge,MA: Cambridge Univer-

sity Press.

Stigsdotter, U. & Grahn, P. (2003). Experiencing a garden: A healing garden for people

su�ering from burnout diseases. Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture, 14, 38-49.

Grahn, P. (2005). Att bota sjuka i en trädgård – om trädgårdsterapi och terapeutiska

trädgårdar. In M. Johansson & M. Küller (Eds.), Svensk Miljöpsykologi [Swedish

Environmental Psychology. In Swedish], Lund: Studentlitteratur, in press.

Additional literature in Structural/General Focus and Conceptual View

46 9

Additional literature in Detailed Focus and Focusing on Details

Detailed Focus

Hultman, S.G. (2005) Naturvärden i vården, Grön terapi och rehabilitering-en naturlig del

av framtidens hälso- och sjukvården? Förstudie för Landstinget I Uppsala län.

Linden, S. & Grut, J. (2002) The healing �elds. London: Frances Lincoln Limited.

Maynard, A. (2004) A sense of a place

Ottoson, J. & Grahn, P. (1998) Utemiljöns betydelse för äldre med stort vårdbehov. “Med

känsliga ögon för grönt”. Stad & Land. 155:1998. Alnarp

Ottoson, J. (1997) Naturens betydelse I en livskris. Stad & Land, nr. 148:1997. Movium, SLU.

Schmidtbauer, P. Grahn, P. & Lieberg, M. (2005) Tänkvärda trädgårdar när utemiljön blir en

del av vården. Stockholm: Formas

Focusing on Details (20%)

Küller Rickard & Küller, Marianne: Stadens grönska, äldres utevistelse och hälsa, Byggfor-

skningsrådet R24:1994, Stockholm, 1994.

Jonasson, Inger. Marklund, Ber3l & Hildingh, Cathrine, (2007). Working in a training

garden: Experiences of pa3ents with neurological damage. In Australian Occupa3onal

Therapy Journal.

Schmidtbauer, Grahn&Lieberg, (2005), Tänkvärda trädgårdar när utemiljön blir en del av

vården, Stockholm:Formas

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Sommarsol

48

Introduction - the work we have done

Our assignment is to look at the work we have done designing a garden for the rehabilitation and recreation centre, Sommarsol. The aim was to come up with a checklist that could be used to guide the design of gardens for people with special needs. Background research is an important part of being able to understand what is required to create spaces that accommodate and stimulate people with psychological, physical and neurological limitationsWe summarized our student work which was based on the introductory lit-erature in order to create these guidelines. Then we made some conclusions based upon that work.

When you are designing a garden for people with special needs, there are some certain things that you need to think about. First, of course it is important to identify what these special needs are. By identifying the users of the space you can begin designing by a user oriented approach with the goal of creat-ing an environment that in the end will meet the user’s needs. There are some categories that are most important, when designing for people with special needs, and always have to be considered like accessibility, how to divide the space and that all the senses have to be content. These main ideas were reflected in the literature, student reviews and design projects.

Sensual Experience/ Inspiring Design Divison of space

Restorative and Therapeutic Gardens

Accessibility

Security Private and Public

Emily Hansen, Johanna Bilfeldt, Marie Malmström, Lubomir Krupa

49

Accessibility

SecurityThe outdoor environment can be demanding, especially for people with com-promised mental and physical capacities. The physical characters of a space and the atmosphere of place must take into account these limitations but also provide stimulation to encourage positive effects. There are certain standards and physical requirements that make it possible for people to use and enjoy outdoor environments in ways they have not been able to before. In these types of institutional environments, like Sommarsol, there are often many different people with many different needs therefore variety and flexibility in the outdoor space is important.

Raised beds can make it possible for people with compromised physical abili-ties to interact with natural elements.Positive effects increase when contact with natural elements is linked with an activity such as gardening (Tennagart Ivarsson, in press)

Ground surface are important to ensure people can move easily through the space, hard surfaces provide constant predictable ways to navigate through space also allowing for use by wheelchairs and people with other mobility aids

Active space should incorporate opportunities for challenges and stimulation to avoid some more advanced user groups becoming bored. Walking loops of varying lengths is one way people can choose activity based on ability.

Sitting and passively experiencing a place is an important activity for elderly people especially. Access to seating is important for people with psychological impairments who have trouble processing complexities of the outdoor environ-mentBell (2001) stresses the importance of personal space; designers must then understand how much space people require based of physical or psychological conditions.

As psychological and physical capabilities become compromised people avoid certain outdoor environments in which they feel unsafe or unable to access a sense of control over themselves or their surroundings. In these cases we must consider design measures that enable people feel comfortable in the outdoor environment. This concept is explored by Bengtsson and Carlsson (2006) when they looked at the outdoor environments of nursing homes but is an idea that should be considered when designing environments for all people.

Precautionary design (Bengtsson and Carlsson, 2006) is described as creating environments where people can feel safe, secure and in control of their sur-roundings.These characters of a place allow people to explore their surroundings more in-dependently which may be more or less important based on a patients specific condition.

Familiarity is important but may be more of a consideration for elderly people with psychological diseases (Bengtsson and Carlsson, 2006). For others incorporating elements that users can recognize will increase their confidence in the environment encouraging them to explore and experience new things.The practise of allowing patients to personalize outdoor space, as they person-alize indoor space, especially in places where they will spend longer periods of time.

Illustration from: Anna Ekdahl, 2009

Illustration from: Johanna Verbaan, 2009


50

The sensual experienceInspiring design

Inspiring design has to promote stimulation of senses and provide positive impressions for the user. Like Carina Daubner writes in her Literature Review w.9-10, “people with mental illness or other health problems are vulnerable and sensitive to things that in some way could be perceived as threatening or depressing”. This is very important to think about when you design a garden for people that are mentally instable, and also when designing gardens for elderly people since you don’t want to be reminded about things like death and illness when you already live on the edge of life. In a garden like this there should only be things that can be perceived as positive. One way to guarantee that is with user participation, to ask the staff and the users what they want. An environ-ment that offers these types of positive impressions makes, due to Kaplan and Kaplan’s theory about direct attention v. soft fascination, the user to feel more relaxed and at the same time alert (Grahn, 2009).

To stimulate all your senses, to give the user a sensual experience, there are a lot of things to think about and tools to work with.

Vegetation can offer a lot of different opportunities when it comes to designing a garden. There are plants for all types of needs, colors in almost all nuances and structures that offer experiences as different from each other like leaves as soft as the ear of a bunny or as sharp as a needle.

The four Elements – fire (as in the sun and warmth), wind, water (as in ponds, streams and rain) and earth. These are all important to include and work with in your design.

The Seasonal changes are an important element to consider because it shows how the time goes on and it is also something to trust when everything else is upside-down that “after winter comes spring again”. There the plants and more stabile things like stones, sculptures and equipment (benches etc.) are equally important.

Senses – sight, smell, taste, sound, touch. They should all be satisfied in the garden. Different structures to feel and walk on, eatable plants to taste, the sound from running water or the wind rustling through the leaves. Fragrant flow-ers and colors and structures that gives you something to look on.

Garden work gives people the opportunity to experience natural elements in combination with a rehabilitation activity, they can become closer to nature. Feeling, smelling, tasting, seeing and hearing. In addition to its sensual qualities garden work can be fulfilling provide a means of social interaction.

Illustration from: Erika Jonasson, 2009

Illustration from: Karolina Alvaker, 2009

Illustration from: Merle Talviste, 2009


51

Division of space

Separation of space is especially important when designing spaces where user groups with specific needs will interact. The design problem at Sommarsol was challenging as we had to deal with incorporating adjacent private rooms into the public space while maintaining access.There was also the challenge of designing for guest of Sommarsol, both reha-bilitation and recreation, and residents of the proposed elderly homes in the adjacent property.

Social space is especially important in places where patients or residence are confined and have little or no contact with outside life (Bengtsson and Carls-son,2006). This opportunity for social interaction needs to exist in such a way that people have the opportunity to choose the way in which they will interact with others and the environment. In some cases it may be more comfortable for this social contact to happen in conjunction with an activity to ease the transi-tion towards more social behaviour.

Providing all of these types of spaces is important to facilitate different types of social interactions. Opportunities for different types of social interactions then become part of a healing process when it is inherently linked with the structure of the outdoor environment.Private space is important for those who have low mental power.As confidence and mental power increased people have the opportunity to explore semi-public and public places within the same space.

‘Transition zone’ between indoor and outdoor space can encourage people to use the outdoor environment providing the opportunity to move more slowly form one extreme to another. Incorporating natural elements into indoor spaces can make a stronger connection between inside and outside making the entire space more of a cohesive whole.Entry and exit points must be clearly defined and could exist as a focal point of the space to help with way finding (Bengtsson and Carlsson, 2006). It is also important however not to encourage people to gather at these points which could be intimidating for people who are not prepared for high social contact (Tenngart Ivarsson, in press)

Views into and out of the space are important and achieving a balance between openness and security is key to people’s comfort in a space. At Sommarsol the private rooms immediately adjacent to the gardens provide a challenge and creating a buffer of semi private space could be a solution to understand the shift. Views out of the garden and within the garden should also be considered however they are more important when designing gardens for elderly people with dementia or patients with other psychological diseases.

Public and private

Illustration from: Ann Henrikson, 2009

Illustration from: Merle Talviste, 2009

This diagram from Merle Talviste, 2009 shows the importance of a connection

between indoor space and outdoor space. A strong connection can help to create a

cohesive environment and encourage people to use the space on more of a regular basis.

This illustration by Johanna Verbaan, 2009 shows the use of ‘transition space ‘ as an intermediate step between use

of the indoor environment and use of the outdoors. In this space people can expe-rience some of the sendual experiences

of the outdoors without over stimulation.

Illustration from: Emily Hansen, 2009


52

Conclusion

Illustration from: Anna Ekdahl, 2009

Illustration from: Marielle Karlsson, 2009

Although the task to design the environment for people with mental disease seems to be clear, we should be aware of complexity of the problem. This complexity dwells in satisfying the different users’ needs, which differ with the various diseases. Although we had the opportunity to deal with the issues of designing for those people, there are still some difficulties we face. It is really tough task to find the balance between the accessible and inspired environ-ment; both two extremes are harmful. On one hand, too accessible settings may fit to one group of the most impaired people but such an environment becomes too boring for those with better health condition. On the other hand, a complex environment may seem too challenging for people with compromised abilities and be recognized as unfriendly, which is not acceptable.

There is still the challenge of how to make the environment the most therapeutic and restorative as possible and every landscape architect is responsible to fulfill it the best as he/she can. Each rehabilitation garden should include the aspects we were referring to (accessibility, security, division of space, sensual experi-ence) and the interpretation of these aspects depends on the nature of the garden which users it is to address.

However, there are no exact rules which can ensure the success in this field and it is the responsibility of the landscape architect to fully understand the nature of each design problem. For sure, it is worthwhile to follow the findings of former and current research in this field. The Evidence Based Design and user-oriented approach has proved to be successful when designing gardens for people with special needs.


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References

Bell, P.A., Greene, T.C., Fischer, J.F. & Baum, A. (2001). Environmental Psychology. Public space and territoriality. Th omson Wadsworth, Belmont CA. (pp 251-292).

Bengtsson, A. and Carlsson, C. (2006). Outdoor Environments at Th ree Nursing Homes: Focus Group Interviews with Staff . Journal of Housing for the Elderly, 19(3), 49-69.

Tenngart Ivarsson, Carina (in press). Utvärdering av utemiljöerna vid psykiatrin i Göteborg.

Lecture. Patrik Grahn; Attention Restoration theory and Aesthetic Affective Theory. 02/23/09