Mary Scipioni – It’s (Not) About Landscape Architecture

Scipioni gives an insight into landscape architecture, working with allied professionals and makes many observations about interdisciplinary studies and the integration into landscape architecture. Scipioni discusses landscape ecology, landscape perception, messy landscapes, environmental psychology, healing landscapes. Scipioni pushes us to advance our thinking and move beyond our own disciplines.

How to attract Bird to your backyard

Birds

Bird Nesting

All birds need food, water, shelter, and breeding space to survive. Providing nesting materials and shelters in the existing area can be a strategy to attract birds. Enough food sources can also play an important role in attracting birds to nest. Spring is the most common nesting time for birds. 

Birds use twigs, leaves, bark, hair, mud, thread, and grasses to build the nests. Usually, these nests are used only for raising young birds and used only once. Birds prefer to select an area where can be well hidden and in dense foliage.  Providing birds nesting material may help to attract birds to the area. Birds may select the suitable material to build nests. As a garden manager, you should leave materials over trees or shrubs near bird sheltered spots or food sources area where birds may build nests. 

It is a good idea to leave a small mud area for birds to use. Some birds will use mud as a  “glue” to stick the materials they collected to build their nests. Human hair and animal hair (pets, horses) are soft and insulating material for birds to use. If possible, collect some human hair or animal hair, then cut them in 4-6 inches lengths. Then hang the hair on the trees. 

Don’t use pesticides, fertilizers or other potentially toxic chemicals in a garden. The US Fish and Wildlife Service reports that 72 million birds are killed by pesticides in the United States each year. Some pesticides may kill earthworms, which can reduce the natural food source for birds. Some may come in granular form, which may be strong enough to kill a small bird. Some may reduce the number of chicks that hatch successfully. 

Shelter

Dense shrubs provide safe nesting space for birds to shelter in bad weather. During the winter time, evergreen trees and shrubs are needed for birds. Common birds shelter include trees, shrubs and scrub brush piles. It is important to provide shelter at different levels for birds, because they prefer both high and low shelters. More dense planting area is popular with small and medium bird species. For larger birds, they prefer perches where they can scan nearby areas for predators and other dangers. Shelters should be built near feeders since birds can quickly retreat if they feel threatened while feeding.

Building a brush pile is a fast way to provide winter shelter for different types of birds. To build a  brush pile, choose both large and small branches to form the bulk of the brush pile with plenty of air spaces for roosting and keeping warm. Using evergreen trees for extra shelter and protection. Keeping the brush pile away from children, because the sharp branches may hurt them, and the noise from children may scare birds. Figure 3 shows the steps to build a brush pile.

Water

Water is one of the most important features to attract birds in a garden. Birds use water  for preening and drinking. Water is difficult for birds to find in winter. Much of a bird’s energy is wasted searching out open water sources in winter. A bird bath heater is suggested for birds use in winter, which can also be used in summer. It not only helps the birds, but also increases the variety of birds visiting by providing a bird bath heater in the Literacy Garden. 

Food

Providing natural food sources is an ideal way to attract birds to avoid constantly refill feeders or purchasing seed. It is expensive to plan the best bird-friendly landscaping, but choosing plants to provide food for birds may actually save money in the long run. Some open areas are desired for ground-feeding birds (mockingbird, blue jay, hummingbirds) but should have nearby shrubs and trees for ready cover. During the nesting season, birds will consume a large number of insects. 

Durham Central Park Co-housing Community

Durham Central Park Co-housing Community

The Durham Central Park Co-housing Community is a group of individuals, couples and families creating an urban, green, intentional cooperative housing community in downtown Durham, North Carolina. 

This community has built a 4-story building of 24 urban condominiums, designed for aging in place. Its 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units have access to the common dining room, kitchen, great room, meeting rooms, guest bedrooms, gardens, and rooftop patio. The physical design encourages a strong sense of community in the emerging urban surrounding area of Durham. Community members are active and engaged.

In order to foster sustainable living and energy-conscious design, the project will “think small,” “think green,” and “think conservation.” The design will de-emphasize cars and emphasize living outdoors. Here are the strategies to achieve the goals:

1. limit the size of units from 800 sq ft to 1,500 sq ft

2. seek maximum use of solar energy and conservation measures in physical spaces including but not limited to the use of CF lighting and star energy appliances, and conservation of water

3. seek to utilize solar opportunities for heating and cooling of units and common space and for the heating of water

4. seek opportunities for resource sharing, e.g. community-owned vehicles, shared tools (garden and other), shared laundry facilities

5. encourage behaviors that reduce the need to use cars , e.g. carpooling, creation of a local grocery, DCPCC owned vehicles 

6. advocate with the developer/builders to have access to the roof and an option for a balcony space for each unit

7. advocate for a DCPCC community ground(s) with gardening and composting opportunities.

Older members seek an opportunity to grow old with grace and to age in place. In order to achieve the goals:

1. Both private and common spaces will foster friendships and companionship for elders. In later life, we will live “not home alone.”

2. The building will be built with universal design features throughout to promote aging-in-place.

3. Community members will encourage mental stimulation, sharing, learning new skills and physical exercise for its members.

4. The community will encourage connection with neighbors who will notice “if one hasn’t opened her blinds in the morning.”

5. It will help us learn about how to care for one another in our later years.

The Durham Central Park Co-housing Community has provide opportunities for the site to maintain sustainable landscape development, moreover, the co-housing has encouraged people to learn how to respect elders and how to live in a Eco-life. Different form the Co-housing in suburban area, this project make use of the surrounding elements to achieve the goals of co-housing community.

Stephen Epler Hall

Stephen Epler Hall is nationally recognized for its storm-water design and has won several awards. In 2001, landscape architects from Mithun designed an educational residential courtyard in Portland State University. The goal of this courtyard is to educate and to serve the users’ needs and demands. 

Pennypacker  described this area as—a particularly engaging rainwater treatment and harvesting system that is―found in an intimate plaza enclosed by Stephen Epler Hall and King Albert Hall . 

Pennypacker then goes on to describe how storm-water travels across the courtyard: ―First rain descends from the roof of Epler Hall via downspouts that follow three of the building columns. At the bottom of each downspout the rain disappears into a raised concrete basin filled with river rock. People walk through the storm-water courtyard will notice that the water flows from the roofs of the buildings down to the river rock before it moves through scuppers at the bottom of each basin. The rainwater flow is then directed through the plaza into three separate runnels. Curious onlookers will find that the water will eventually flow to the courtyard planters. This project demonstrates a suitable way to treat storm-water, and also provides an example of how this treatment functions in a learning facility.

Naturalistic approaches to landscape design

Naturalistic approaches to landscape design involve the replacement of more traditional horticultural maintenance by techniques of vegetation management through the application of ecological awareness and knowledge to design and management of landscape and has been defined as an alternative to the restricted, artificial and expensive creations of conventional design. The naturalistic landscapes may vary in the degree to which native or exotic plants are used, and the extent to which they imitate natural communities and the amount of human intervention. Probably more important is the complexity of the plant communities and the degree to which the plants are able to interact with each other and form dynamic patterns. Hitchmough and Dunnet consider origin of component species and issues revolving around native and non-native species, biodiversity, the use of chemicals in establishment, the structure and appearance of vegetation, and the development of ecological processes as important to the application of the term ‘natural’ to designed vegetation in the urban context. Although naturalistic approaches initially focused on the use of native plants, increasing interest has been shown by landscape professionals in naturalistic plantings of exotic annuals and herbaceous perennials as well as native species in recent years. Impetus has been given to this trend by a number of publications in which the use of exotic species is encouraged to maximize flower color, flowering season and visual diversity in ways that are not possible using just native species by themselves. There are various, subtly differing, reasons given by professionals from both academic and practical platforms for the greater focus on naturalistic or ecological styles in the design and management of urban landscapes. These are involved with the search for landscape solutions to meet complex goals, such as nature conservation, community involvement, environmental education, sustainable development, aesthetic quality and more cost efficient establishment and management. 

Different planting styles have different consequences for sustainability in terms of diversity and dynamism and naturalistic plantings and ecologically inspired planting design are generally seen as more sustainable than traditional planting styles. In most cases, naturalistic planting is also claimed to encourage natural regeneration of spontaneous vegetation on site and allows distinctive urban common vegetation to develop. Furthermore, naturalistic designs contribute to sustainability as they are better associated with community participation in the design process, flexibility over final use and the use of locally derived materials while reducing labour input. Native species often tend to be accepted as most appropriate plants for sustainable planting as they are often seen to be pre-adapted to site conditions and are also assumed to harbour a wide range of associated wildlife. However, whilst native species may be the first choice for the countryside they are not always pre-adapted to urban condition and a more relaxed attitude may be needed in many urban areas (Spray and Spray, 1984 ). Exotic plants have also been part of people’s lives, landscapes and civilizations for a long time especially in Europe and it is therefore important to consider what the public think of as appropriate.

In 1969, Ian McHarg, of the university of Pennsylvania, published his influential book Design with Nature, in which he outlined a theoretical and technical basis for ecologically based planning and design. McHarg stressed the importance of systematic land-use planning according to the relative ecological value and sensitivity of each part of the landscape: “ The distribution of open space must respond to natural process…The problem lies not in absolute area but in distribution. We seek a concept that can provide an interfusion of open space and population.” McHarg’s method was based on a system of transparent map overlays. Each overlay represented a different category of nature feature, such as hydrology, geology, and plant communities. 

How to improve the landscape in MSU

College and University campuses are entrances for people to know about them. Campus environment changes everyday in both dramatical and inconspicuous way. In responding to such changes, college and university make minor and important, casual and formal, rational and irrational decisions to maintain a dynamic interaction in landscape on campus. Mississippi State University is famous for its strong sense of community and tradition. Its traditions arose from the intertwining of history and legend and are often evident in architecture form in the University's cultural landscape. However, with the development of modern college and university which are designed for ecological and educational propose, campus naturalistic or ecological culture is becoming a sort of culture in which human kind gets along well in harmony with the natural environment. 

In order to carrying out scientific outlook on development in an overall way and realizing interpersonal harmony of MSU campus, it is suitable to bring in naturalistic or ecological landscape design, which also can be helpful for intelligence development of university students, because when students access to a well-designed naturalistic landscape, it may stimulate the aesthetic appreciation of a student, and provide students a great experience of nature. From the construction perspective, MSU landscape environment is lacking of dynamic. For example, Starkville, where MSU located in, has a 5 inch precipitation each year. It is a good chance to create a ecological system to manage the large amount of water, people may know the importance of storm water collection and they may develop an awareness of water protection.

Naturalistic landscape is often mentioned with aesthetics, and aesthetic appreciation can differ from person to person. The most common discussion about naturalistic landscape areas are associated with appearance. The appearance of a landscape area is always what people would like to focus on, if emphasis   too much on appearance but ignoring the functional part, people may regard the design as a art form. That is why naturalistic education is needed, which gives people a better understanding of a certain area.

Rogier van der Heide: Why light needs darkness

Lighting architect Rogier van der Heide offers a beautiful new way to look at the world — by paying attention to light (and to darkness). Examples from classic buildings illustrate a deeply thought-out vision of the play of light around us.