doyle + o troithigh landscape - architecture REPORT: PROJECT: LANDSCAPE DESIGN REPORT. STUDENT HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AT WESTWOOD HOTEL SITE. DATE: MAY 2018. www.doyle-otroithigh.com
Landscape design report, Design development. 1.0 Vision for the Landscape The layout and design of the landscape is central to the long term establishment of this student residential scheme. The design and layout of the open spaces are essential in the creation of a built environment, with character and visual expression. The landscape aims to offer the development its own character and sense of place, whilst also connecting the proposed development into the surrounding environment. Prior to the development of outline design proposals, doyle + o troithigh visited the site to review the public realm surrounding the site, in particular the public open space to the east of site lands. We also reviewed the orientation of the site and the shadow impact on the internal courtyards. The objective of our proposal is to design and develop a series of open spaces which will become areas of passive and active recreation for the residents of the Student Accommodation. We aim to create open spaces which are accessible, legible and useable all year round; open spaces which will allow for the development of an address and the creation of a sense of ownership and community spirit among the student occupants. Soft works plant materials must; o Be suitable for the Irish climate o Be non-invasive o Collectively provide visual interest all year round o Enhance bio diversity and habitat creation o Be disease resistant The use and mix of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants have been considered in detail in order be robust enough to establish, while still offering seasonal interest, movement and a focussed expression. Many of the herbaceous perennials have been under planted with bulb species to offer flurries of colour from early to late spring. Leaf colour, bark colour and berries have all been considered for the scheme which allows for good contrast and again, seasonal variation. By approaching the overall landscape design of the scheme at both macro and micro levels, the scheme delivered on completion will provide a high level of amenity, will be considered, workable, aesthetically appealing, and robust and designed to a work both within the surrounding residential development, public open space and transport infrastructure. The design and layout of the open space is essential in the creation of a built environment for this development. The landscape design aims to offer this student residential development its own character and sense of place, whilst also establishing a precedent of landscape design for future student accommodation developments. As part of the preparation of the design brief a core design principal was established, this principal held that the designed landscape must be comfortable, passively supervised, accessible, welcoming, sheltered and safe. The open space areas must provide a high level of visual amenity and a seamless connection between the proposed development and the surrounding developments and transport infrastructure. The designed landscape amenity areas must offer comfort, passive supervision, ease of access and a safe space for all users. Second to the core principal of amenity was the development of a palette of materials for both hard and soft landscaping to both the amenity lands and the streetscape. To aid us during the process to select materials we have developed a simple check list of both hard and soft landscape materials. Hard works materials must; o Allow for ease of movement for all users o Enhance the space and not conflict with the building materials o Work and look attractive in both wet and dry conditions o Have a long timeline appeal Fig 1. Colour and variety to open space planting Fig 2. Sustainable trees which are suited to the the scale of the open space area
3.0 Proposed Amenity The provision of external amenities has proved key to the success of student accommodation in recent years. As part of the development of the landscape design we have undertaken a design review of suitable external amenities which can be located across the site campus. Each amenity proposed has been reviewed and scored against the site conditions and climate in which they will be located, our requirements have been for the majority of these amenities to be undertaken all year round. Due to the level of rainfall received in particular in the west of Ireland requires many of the amenities to be on a hard surface, to counter the use of hard surfaces we have also provided a series of soft landscape areas which can cater for informal ball games and external social spaces providing a counter balance to the extent of hard surfaces proposed. The provision of amenity across the site campus is seen as fundamental, providing points of interest in each of the three courtyards. Across the campus courtyard we have proposed the following amenities; o Chess / draughts, o Table tennis, o Boules, o Basketball / tennis, o Football games / Frisbee. With the introduction of soft landscape areas to counter the extent of hard surfaces, we have designed a series of spaces into which informal / secondary amenities can be undertaken these include; Fig. 3. Trees with year round interest 2.0 Site Constraints Fig. 4 Shrub planting with form, colour and texture As part of the planning application a detailed tree survey was prepared by Project Arborist Felim Sheridan Arborist Associates, this survey has been prepared under BS 5837:2012. Ahead of the development of the survey doyle + o troithigh in partnership with Arborist Associates prepared a site constraints plan providing a desk top overview of the trees within the site lands and those trees in lands neighbouring the site. As part of this overview we had prepared a constraints plan noting the trees which should be retained and those which should be removed due to their location and or condition. This drawings provided an overview of the site boundaries, and informed the project team on the development of the site plan, in particular with regard to the location of buildings and service runs and their potential impact on trees which are proposed for retention. o Yoga o Dance classes o Picnics Central to the provision of amenities is the development of a node point, an external focal point which can become a meeting place for students, an area for social interaction. This has been provided within the central courtyard through the design of the open space with the provision of a curved seating wall and hardstand areas into which tables and chairs are located providing an area which can become; o Meeting point, o Study area, o Café area. Early in the design of the external areas the issue of car parking was reviewed. The planning department of Galway County Council had requested that a minimum number of spaces be provided the client had agreed with this but asked if a higher volume could be provided in the summer months. This result of this was the design development of a multi use hardstand area which could accommodate basketball / tennis / football and through the use of a tarmac (hard surface) car parking. Through design development with the project team the required surface water attenuation is located beneath this hard surfaced multi
use area. This hard surfaces area had been design to accommodate a the ½ basketball court which can at times accommodate 14 car parking spaces, with the surface water attenuation tank beneath. Further to the provision of amenity is the provision of bike parking, through consultation with the project Planners, Architects and Client it was agreed that 140 bike parking spaces would be provided on site. We have proposed to pepper these across the site in groups, each group of stands will be sheltered with a transparent Perspex roof. These stands will be located across each courtyard area with the provision of 12 sheltered stands giving a total of 140 sheltered bike parking spaces across the site. Through the concept design process and through constant dialogue with the client and project team the landscape design has evolved to cater for passive and active recreation, social interaction, car parking, attenuation and fire tender access. 4.0 Access and Movement In tandem with the provision of amenity is the creation of a landscape / public realm for the development which provides ease of connection both to internally amenity areas and to the wider environment. As we developed the outline design we took into consideration the movement of; o Students across the campus courtyards, both on foot and on bike. o Maintenance vehicles including the fire tender requirements These potential patterns of movement informed the design layout and location of pathway in doing so we hope to avoid the creation of desire line in the future. Through this review and design process we have designed a landscape / public realm which is considered for all users and allows direct movement from the buildings to the external areas. In particular consideration was given to access to the Thomas Hynes road providing a direct link to the bus stop avoiding the potential development of a desire line across the public open space. Fig 5. Car park and basketball court. Fig 7. Outdoor Social areas. Fig 6. Grass areas for informal ball games Fig 8. Large scale external chess board. 5.0 Proposed Planting With the development of the open space and the provision of amenity a key element of the landscape is the pallet of planting proposed, with each project we set a criteria for all proposed planting, all plant materials must; o Be suitable for the local climate, o Be non-invasive, o Work with in the enclosed courtyard setting, o Work for a roof terraces setting, o Collectively provide visual interest all year round, o Enhance bio diversity and habitat creation, o Be disease resistant, o For trees be native and or naturalized. The planting palette and location of all soft materials has been included in Appendix A for review. Planting on site will commence with the completion of each stage of the works and as a result the programme is closely tied to construction operations. Ground preparation will precede planting and will include weed clearance and soil amelioration where necessary. Planting will largely be carried out during the dormant period from November March, with grass seeding carried out from April September. A 12 months defects liability and landscape maintenance period will be set in place for all plant material with plant failures being replaced in the following planting season. Plant materials selected for this residential scheme will largely follow the planting plan prepared specifically for the scheme; See PP-01-PP in Appendix A for details.
3. The location of all bike stands has been revised in line with item 2 to ensure that no bike stands are situated in locations which conflict with vehicle movements. 4. The landscape courtyards have been redesigned to accommodate low impact play areas to children up to 8 years of age. The inclusion of these low impact play areas provides a greater range of amenity in particular for families who will use the development during the out of term months. Fig. 9 Quercus rubra Fig. 10 Bulb Planting (Narcissus Dutch Master ) Fig. 13.Stepping timbers Fig 14. Low level climbing frame. Fig. 11 Fagus sylvatica (Hedge) Fig. 12 Crocus 6.0 Planning Process and review meeting with Galway City Council and An Bord Pleanala Following the initial submission to An Bord Pleanála the project team received detailed feedback from the Local Authority and An Bord Pleanála, following a meeting with Galway City Council and An Bord Pleanála during which many of the items detailed in the feedback received were raised doyle + o troithigh have made a series of alterations and additions to the landscape design, including; 1. The inclusion of removable bollards at the entrance to the temporary carpark / basketball area. These bollards will secure the area free of vehicles during term time. 2. With Arup Project Engineers doyle + o troithigh have revised the landscape layout to accommodate bus / coach and service vehicle traffic within the development. Please see the Mobility Management Plan as prepare by ARUP for full details. Fig. 15 Low impact play area 5. The location and species of all trees proposed within the development lands have been reviewed to ensure that the potential for future conflict with the development as the trees mature has been minimised. A landscape management strategy will be put in place following the complete of the landscape works to ensure the size and spread of all trees, hedgerow and shrubs plants on site are maintained appropriately for such a development.
6. A café seating area has been proposed at the north eastern corner of the development this will front out to the Newcastle Road and connect directly with the public open space on the Thomas Hynes Road in doing so providing a greater level of permeability and animating the public realm. trees is solely under the control of the owner. No trees outside the boundary of the site are being proposed for removal although some have been given a category U. Please see the revised Tree Survey and Impact Assessment for full details. the or indeed Fig 16. External café seating area to public road. 7. A series of landscape sections and details have been prepared to show a greater level of detail with regard to level changes, the relationship with the neighbouring development and proposed contours across the site. Providing detailed information for access, connectivity and proposed contours. 8. To the public open space on the Thomas Hynes Road the removal and replanting of the poplar trees has been discussed with Galway City Council and while doyle + o troithigh have proposed a series of tree species these will need to agree these with Galway City Council. 9. The tree survey has been revised to ensure that no questions remain over the condition and proposed retention / removal of trees. As per BS 5837:2012 trees on neighbouring lands which may be impacted by the proposed development must be surveyed, under no circumstance can any works be undertaken to these trees by a third party without the prior consent of the landowner in who s land the trees stand. In the case of trees which have been given a Category A,B,C or U but which stand outside the site lands the undertaken of tree surgery works on these
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