16. Design Concept:
We create a beautiful sanctuary where every element of the design not only creates an intimate space for eating and entertaining, but also provides delicious nourishing food and medicine. We maximize the yield and energy use by stacking principles of permaculture and good land management while setting up the system for a perennial tree landscape and garden legacy for generations to come. The land is moist as rain water seeps into the ground, bees fly around pollinating the multitudes of lush green vegetables and bright vibrant edible flowers.
17. Schematic Design Using Methods of Design
Reflections on the Schematic Design Process:
This Saturday (4/30/11) my design group got together in class and after we developed our Design Concept, we sat down to create a Schematic (Conceptual) Design. We rolled out tracing paper over our Base Map and quickly wrote down elements that we could include in our design onto little pieces of paper. Next, with a pile of elements in front of us, we began quickly placing them on the map and started brainstorming. This step of the process on Saturday really flowed. Starting over on a fresh sheet of tracing paper over the Basemap, I feel like we were really able to revision certain parts of the existing landscape, and the brainstorming/beehive nature of the exercise allowed us the freedom to think outside of the box with elements that we had not previously considered to be changeable. The schematic design process was a very freeing exercise, and the knowledge of each of our own functional analyses flowed very naturally into the imagining process of how we put our elements into relative location on the map.
We relocated the shed to the NW corner of the lot to serve as a part of the windblock area, and to place the chicken coop in a better location relative to the House. Initially, the chickens were going to go in more Zone 1 area, but in the process we placed them further out in Zone 2 where they will still be close to the house, but not so close that noise or smell from the chickens may be a problem. Mulberry trees next to the coop provide shade and food for the chickens. We can grow asparagus nearby (which our client wants a lot of) and the chickens can scratch and fertilize the ground around the asparagus since we learned during our field trip to the EcoVillage that chickens don't like Asparagus. The KiwiBerry Wall is supported by many other plant species that will attract pollinators and other beneficial insects, in addition to the Kiwi Wall providing privacy (and edible fruit) for the backyard. Grapevines along the alleyway serve as both food and a living wall between the backyard and the alley. Vermi Compost was moved from far away from the house to closer in where they can be protected by the shade of the house, and the compost they create can be better transported to the annual and perennial veggies nearby.
A stone/recovered concrete eating area is also the central element to keyhole gardens of vegetables that can be picked and added to dishes right away. Hot compost is moved to the back of the land where smell may be less of a problem and where there is more room to turn the piles, the Concrete patio is going to be removed to run a greywater system from the Kitchen sink. The front of the house/south side of the lot will be used for more vegetable growing, along with other edibles that can benefit from high sun, like strawberries and basil. We conceptualized a water feature that will divert the water from the roof gutters and consolidate it into a channel of water that we can use to water the keyhole gardens. The tyre pond will add biodiversity and beauty; the swale by the Paw Paw trees will maximize the use of the water from the roof on the west side of the house and provide water for the chickens in the coop nearby.
