Spring begins

It was really good to visit the site again yesterday - great to see the parks in sunshine (and with a few people in them!), rather than draped in grey gloom like last time round. The knee-deep plane leaves were also gone, which made the existing structure much easier to see - and was a well-timed reminder of how bumpy the topography of Dickens Park is!

It was impossible not to notice autumn with all those leaves around last time, and spring is definitely springing now - I want to emphasise a continual sense of seasonal transformation in my design.

 
The low sun was creating some lovely textural shadows. Even two of the world's most most boring walls were livened up a bit:

And there's no escaping the Shard in this area of course; the ethos behind it has little relevance for my site, but it's certainly claimed its place as a landmark of the London skyline:

Starting point

A very, very belated first sketch design for my 'transformative' theme...

Connectivity, inclusivity, usability and sense of identity should all be 'transformed' using water, seasonal change and increased reasons to linger. Dickens Park is becoming a wetland (Amanda!) to retain its wildlife value in a more designed way, and Newington Gardens will be a convivial city square (well, wonky rectangle...).

Jamie nearly had to crack my head open like a coconut to get any of this out. Very worrying that I couldn't seem to do this myself at this stage, but such a relief to have something to go on! Just needs several hundred layers of refinement now...