Student Competition 2010 Results

Please remember there are two more competions this year, SGD Student Competition 2010

Photographic Competition

Winners names with judging panel comments In setting this competition, The Society of Garden Designers aims to inspire and encourage a greater use of photography by garden design students as an aid to the development of their skills of observation and study of nature and gardens The Society is delighted that leading garden photographer Jerry Harpur agreed to judge the photography category of this year’s Student Member competition. 1. Profiles of existing gardens: Ideas: Each photographer should capture the atmosphere as well as the essence of a garden, after deciding which of its features best describe it. Finding an unknown face of a familiar garden or simply an honest portrayal of its true personality Discovering and clearly portraying an unfamiliar outdoor space 13 entries received. Winner: Kim Woods Rabbidge, KLC. Picture: Mayfield garden, Oberon. View winning picture Judge’s comments: ‘This looks like the civilisation of the Australian outback. Using a wide lens, Kim has achieved great depth between the immediate foreground and the far distance. The yellow evening light, chipping here and there, pals up with the autumn colours of acers in this landscaped garden, with detail everywhere. Various shades of the sky make the picture, with the evening glow rising behind the trees’. Runner-up: Caroline E Butler, Berkshire College of Agriculture. Picture: Tranquility. View picture Judge’s comments: ‘How much simpler could this be? An avenue of Carpinus betulus, with daisies and grasses either side of a mown path, leads up to an elegant stone seat. Caroline’s telephoto lens completes the job in a beautifully soft light.’ 2. Gardens currently under construction: Ideas: A clear narrative and recording of work in progress Rediscovering beauty in the incomplete Visual technical descriptions of the stages of construction 5 entries received Winner: Steve Smith, Pickard School of Garden Design Picture: Grass Grid / topsoil View winning (2) pictures Judge’s comments: ‘Steve shot these images as part of a series describing the construction of part of a garden. They are exactly what was intended : a well-exposed and well-composed set recording different aspects, for commercial publicity.’ 3. Plant portraits: Ideas: Effectively describing a plant’s unique personality and features, whether within the broader context of the garden or as a single statement Considering clear plant combinations as design research - placement of plant combinations imaginatively has become essential to good garden design, particularly in the last ten or fifteen years. Before that, Beth Chatto was leading the way and her garden structure is mostly created with plants whilst Tom Stuart Smith, for example, combines his plant knowledge with a variety of physical structures, some of them happily derivative. Plant details which might inspire design ideas 18 entries received Winner: John Davies, London College of Garden Design Picture: Pennisetum at Wisley View winning picture Judge’s comments: ‘John’s wonderfully sunlit photograph of pennisetum grasses, off-set by the dark silhouettes of Echinacea cones at RHS Wisley, reminds us of American prairie planting at its most romantic. The light in garden photography is the key to all that is best in making a good picture, as Claude Monet and now John Davies have shown.’ Runner-up: Danielle Washer, London College of Garden Design Picture: Animal or Flower? View picture Judge’s comments: ‘Danielle’s sensitive recording of the various tones of sempervivum plants is ideal for use in various good publications, to illustrate garden stories. The main plant, in sharp focus, is set convincingly in its softer-focussed and softly-lit location. It is beautifully balanced both compositionally and tonally.’ 4. Landscapes: Ideas: Capturing the nature of a particular environment and describing its unique voice ‘Nature’ as design inspiration 10 entries received Winner: Kim Woods Rabbidge, KLC Picture: Devon House, Glen Innes View winning picture Judge’s comments: ‘This demonstrates good camera composition combined with a wise choice of evening light. It describes the excellence of the current European style of garden planting merging easily into the Australian landscape. Altogether a very pleasing photograph which deserves a wide audience.’ Runner-up: Kathryn Aalto, London College of Garden Design Picture: Sages & Grasses in Eastern Oregon’s High Desert. View picture Judge’s comments: Sometimes you’re lucky as, I suspect, was Kathryn on this dark day in Eastern Oregon’s High Desert. Placing the silos off-centre below the black clouds but setting the rooves against the lighter sky above the horizon, has made the best use of the conditions. Lower down are bushy-looking sages rising from the diagonal sweep of the grasses. It is not, of course, a garden, but is, nevertheless, inspirational.’ 5. Research for a design outcome: Ideas: Examples of inspirational images and how they have been developed into a successful design outcome Photography as primary visual research (Entries for this class must be accompanied by a simple sketch or drawing to illustrate how the image selected has been utilised in the development of a design idea) 4 entries received Winner: Rhoda Maw, London College of Garden Design Picture: Dry Stone Wall View winning (3) pictures Judge’s comments: ‘Rhoda tells us that a dry stone wall was the inspiration for an excellent garden design, the plan and entertaining computer image of which accompanies this accurate wall photograph.’ Stephen.J.White. M.A. Garden History, M.S.G.D., Dip.Hort.KEW, D.P.S.E., M.I.fL. Society of Garden Designers ~ Education, Mentoring, CPD, Colleges and Students


Graphic Illustration Competition

Winners names with judging panel comments In setting this competition brief The Society of Garden Designers aims to encourage accurate and clear communication of ideas by garden design students through hand or digitally rendered graphics or by a combination of the two. Detailing should have a particular purpose / emphasis and the end use of each illustration must be clearly stated on the illustration. A maximum of four different illustrations per student are allowed in total from the following selection – one for each class only: 1. Conceptual sketches winning entry 11 entries: Winner Henrietta Murray-Wicks, London College of Garden Design Images may be hand rendered or digitally produced Drawings should be in a suitable scale Drawings should be clearly labelled Drawings may be in colour or black and white Judging Panel comments: ‘An interesting set of concept sketches to illustrate some potential seating ideas within a garden. The images were all quickly sketched in ink and colour rendered with markers to give the clients a good idea of a range of possibilities. These sketches demonstrate the essence of good concept sketches – quick to produce, if necessary in the presence of the client, and rendered in a clear, simple and striking graphic style. They perhaps just needed individual titles to distinguish them from one another for future discussions with the clients.’ 2. Planting plans winning entry 5 entries: Winner John Davies, London College of Garden Design Images may be hand rendered or digitally produced Conventional or individual graphic symbols should be used Drawings should be clearly labelled Drawings should be in a suitable scale Judging Panel comments: ‘A very clear and precise planting plan utilising conventional symbols with carefully annotated plant name labels. This plan would be easy for a contractor to follow. Perhaps just needs some indication of planting distances on some groups of plants.’ 3. Mood boards winning entries 8 entries: Joint winners Charlotte Murrell (Gamester) and Moira Rusbridge, both Sparsholt College Hampshire. Presentations may be either as printed scans of hand produced collage work or as prints from digitally produced files Please indicate in 100 words how the mood board facilitated the design process Judging Panel comments: ‘The panel could not decide which of these two boards was the better as they both contained some excellent attributes and fine attention to detail and so we opted for joint winners in this category. Both boards were very clear in expressing ideas through images and text and both were produced to a very professional finish albeit by different graphic methodologies. They both represent the true value of mood or concept boards in expressing to the client the designer’s ideas and thoughts on garden layout, hard and soft landscape materials, sculptural elements and seating possibilities. Well done to both students.’ 4. Axonometric or Isometric drawings 3 entries: no winner selected – the panel felt that the entries in this category were not perhaps to an acceptable standard for publication. Entries suffered from mistakes of detailing, incorrect angles of projection or a lack of titling and explanation. Such illustrations must be relatively accurate and self explanatory to the clients if they are to fulfil their true purpose of giving the clients an idea and a visualisation of what the designer is thinking / intending.’ Images may be hand rendered or digitally produced Drawings may be in colour or black and white 5. Perspective drawings/Graphic Illustration winning entry 10 entries: Winner Phoebe D’Arcy, London College of Garden Design. Images may be hand rendered or digitally produced Drawing should clearly describe your design outcome Drawings may be in colour or black and white Judging Panel comments: ‘Although untitled, this was the best example entered in this category of a clear and simple perspective sketch to get across to a client the designer’s intention for a garden space. Very well detailed and colour rendered, although potentially quite quick to produce, this sketch made the viewer really believe that they were in the future garden space – very well done.’ 6. 3D modelling winning entries 6 entries: Joint Winners Rup Rahman, KLC School of Design and Lucy Walton, London College of Garden Design. Images should be either 2D screenshots of 3D digitally produced models or digital photographs of 3D hand-built models. All to be suitably inserted / published onto one sheet of A3 or A2 paper Judging Panel comments: We again had great difficulty in selecting the best entry in this category as all six entries had their own individual merits. The panel felt that these two entries epitomised the essence and value of the 3D model to the designer and their clients and both exhibited very well the different methodologies a designer might utilise to produce such models. Lucy’s project involved photographs of an actual 3D model which had been simply but most effectively constructed and Rup’s model was digitally produced with a variety of software. Both were excellent examples of the value of 2D models – well done to you both.’ 7. Specific Construction detailing 3 entries: no winner selected – the panel felt that the entries in this category were not perhaps to an acceptable standard for publication. Entries suffered from mistakes of detailing, a lack of suitable dimensions or a lack of titling and explanation as had been requested in the brief for the category. Images may be hand rendered or digitally produced Conventional or individual graphic symbols should be used All drawings must be clearly labelled (Entries for this last class must be accompanied by a simple sketch or drawing to illustrate how the image selected has been utilised in the development of a design idea) Construction detailing drawings must be absolutely accurate and self explanatory to the contractor if they are to fulfil their true purpose of giving the contractor full details of what the designer is thinking / intending.’ Overall, the judging panel was pleased with the number of students who had entered the competition – 19 students from 6 colleges submitting 47 pieces of work, and hopes that this and future competitions will encourage students to further practise and develop their graphic skills. Stephen.J.White. M.A. Garden History, M.S.G.D., Dip.Hort.KEW, D.P.S.E., M.I.fL. Society of Garden Designers ~ Education, Mentoring, CPD, Colleges and Students