Proposed site plan and development

So, this is my first revision of my proposed site plan, with the wall to the North East edge of the site.


There is also a 1:500 model of this, which I'll upload some photos of soon.

I presented these to Steve, Ed and Rick on Tuesday as part of our usual usual morning session and the feedback was positive, here are some points which came out of those discussions to allow me to develop this further:

• The sections of the wall that curve around tree positions are exciting, can these incidental interventions be used elsewhere to express other parts of the wall?
• How close to the tress can I actually build? I've based my workings on the spread of the canopy, but Ed's Landscape Architect friend offered a definitive solution - If there is a Tree Protection Order then there is no chance of building a wall. For other trees I need to measure the diameter of the trunk 1.5m up from the ground and multiply that by 10 for a single trunk or by 12 for a multi-stem tree. Thanks for that very useful piece of information. I need to add this information to my site plan and amend accordingly.
• The individual sections of the wall (library, creche, etc.) and external spaces need to now be developed ahead of our Tech. Week (w/c 2nd March). The library and creche are, I feel, the most important elements of the proposal and what I will likely concentrate on for my Technology Report, therefore I need to quickly finalise the other areas to allow me to concentrate fully on these. I need to take a side-step and re-introduce the Pattern Language again.
• The construction/materials of the wall are crucial to the success of the building. Steve suggested something colourful may be the answer and I am to look at solutions for this. Tuesday's post on the Ordino Complex is one example, Ed suggested glazed bricks which could be a colourful and low maintenance solution. There is of course, the work of Gaudi to look at, particularly the Park Guell.
  
• The external spaces seem to split themselves up into 5 zones. In order from North to South they are: Car "Park", external Art/Performance space, new pedestrian entrance/transition zone, an as of yet undefined 'Something in the Middle' area and finally the garden allotments area. These need to be worked out to create 'Positive Outdoor Space'. I need to look at the 'kitchen gardens' of stately homes for an idea on how my garden area may work and also consider placing greenhouses throughout the site, possibly against the wall, to create a connection between the other areas and the, slightly disconnected, gardens and shop.
  
• Do I need a lift in the creche, despite it only being two storeys high?
• How does the school connect to the library, if it does at all? I think that maybe covered walkways directly from the school's existing staircases, at all levels, could be an exciting solution. I need to explore this further.
• The entrance in to the library and creche courtyard and the main entrance is very important, it is the propylaea of the project and as such needs to be an exciting space.
  
• There are school bus stops to Bricknell Avenue, can these be incorporated into the wall and made exciting places to wait?
• I had a colour co-ordinated image showing the use of existing schools, Steve thinks I should explore this further to incorporate my proposal. He suggest I look at the drawings of Portuguese architect Tomas Taveira.
• I need to have a proposal for the refurbishment of the existing school building, if only in diagrammatic form. The work of DRMM should give me some pointers. The refurbishment of the old school sports hall into a lecture hall, for example, is too extensive to undertake in this project but there need to be strategies in place.

So, lots to do ahead of our next meeting with Steve on Tuesday and also by the 2nd of March.