Journal

Keeping the rain on the plain

February 2006 Issue

Land and water are intrinsically linked, each shaping the other. As a landscape architect, forming the land should be part of our basic design vocabulary and, as such, our understanding of the mechanics of drainage and hydrology should be second nature. While many perceive the government’s housing agenda and the £60,000 house to be unachievable in a market economy the ODPM's Design for Manufacture Competition has pushed sustainability agenda to a new level. The sites selected by English partnerships for the competition are typically brownfield containing the remnants of disused buildings and associated infrastructure as well as a scattering of existing ecology. Not only must the houses meet rigorous standards of energy efficiency and affordable modular construction, but the landscape has to provide surface water attenuation, habitat creation, play facilities, clear and legible circulation and sufficient buffering between the many conflicting uses.

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