Wulingyuan National Park, China

Wulingyuan is a historic interest area in Hunan Provincethat provides exellent views, famous for its 3,100 tall quartzite sandstone pillars(Estimated), some over 800 meters in height, that are in a kind of karst formation. It's part of the City of Zhangjiajie, which is about 180 miles from the capital of Hunan Province, Changsha.

I was left amazed at this natural area in China, its tall pillars stand out to extreme heights. Although I have not visited this natural wonder is a downside.

courtesy of msn.com

Focus Week 2 - Portobello Green Market

Portobello Green Market has been famous for its diverse mix of fashion and vintage stalls. It is a place to find many bargains, surprises and beautiful artifacts from around the world. It is a place were many shoppers have been inspired to look for a new era.

Portobello is a speacial place, especially for those to come for a bargain, it's unique look gives a stability for weather conditions as it covers the majority of the market from rain.

"H.E.A.R.T= Handicraft, Entrepreneurs, Artists, Retro, and Talent

Friday - Antiques, Retro, Art Deco, Vintage
Saturday - Fashion Market, Designer Clothes, Jewellery and Accessories
Sunday - Bric-a-Brac, Clothes, Books, CDs and records etc"

www.portabellofashionmarket.com

Vatnajokull Glacier, Iceland

Vatnajokull Glacier, Iceland. Has an area of 8,100 km², This is the largest ice cap Vatnajökull, by volume (3,100 km³) and second largest ( Austfonna is First in Nordaustlandet, Svalbard) in area. It became a part of the Vatnajökull National Park on 7 June 2008. The estimated average thickness of the ice is 400 m, with a maximum thickness of 1,000 m.

This Ice cap came across to me as a remarkably one of the most interesting in the world today. The size of it is extensive, and would love a few natural and unique ice caps in England.

courtesy of msn.com

Socotra Archipelago, Yemen

Socotra or Soqotra is a small archipelago(island in a group) out of four islands in the Indian Ocean. There is another island also called Socotra which is the largest, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies off some 150 miles east of the Horn of Africa and 240 miles south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island is Known as the most Alien place looking on Earth.

Socotra stood out to me, it consists on open space mainly and is isolated, there are trees that are shaped so unique, this is one of the reasons that it can convey Alien looking area.

courtesy of msn.com

Richat Structure, Mauritania

This prominent circular feature in the Sahara desert is known as The Richat Structure. It attracts a lot of attention due to its Dart style Bulls-Eye shape in the ordinary situated desert. The structure, which has a diameter of approx 31 miles and is located 400–450 metres above sea level and have become a landmark for space shuttle crews.
It was initially interpreted as a meteorite impact structure because of its circularity, it is now thought to be a symmetrical uplift (circular anticline or dome) that has been laid bare by erosion.

This dart board look a like erosion is a natural element that want to see, it looks so appealing from the aerial view and would love to see it in reality.

courtesy of msn.com

Namib Desert

The Namib Desert, Namibia, is a desert that forms part of the Namib-Naukluft National Park and the largest game reserve in Africa. The name "Namib" is of Nama origin and its definition is "vast place". It is considered to be the oldest desert on Earth, having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for the minimum of 55 million years.

The simplicity of the desert stand outs immensly to me as it is known as one of the oldest desert and considering the conditions its been though for many years.

courtesy of msn.com

Kamchatka peninsula, Russia

The Kamchatka Peninsula is a long peninsula in Russia, with an area of 182,400 sq miles. It lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk.
Also know as the Commander Islands, and Karaginsky Island constitute the Kamchatka Krai of the Russian Federation (RF). The peninsula contains the Volcanoes of Kamchatka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kamchatka receives up to 2,700 mm of precipitation per year. The summers are moderately cool, and the winters tend to be rather stormy with rare amounts of lightning.

Argubably one of the most attracting and intersting in natural wonders around the globe. Its efficient arrays of Volcanic Symbolism makes it stormy in winters. For me this should be classed as one of the wonders of the World.

courtesy of msn.com

Iguaçu Falls, Brazil-Argentina

Iguazu Falls, Iguassu Falls, or Iguaçu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River located on the border of Brazil and Argentina. The waterfalls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu.

These waterfalls for me falls into the same wonderful and maybe more beautiful than Niagra Falls, Its beauty is immence and I would love to vist this place.

courtesy of msn.com

Focus Week 2 - Alexandra Gardens, Windsor

Alexandra Gardnes is a great place to start your journey when visiting Windsor. It corresponds with River Thames alongside it, it boasts stunning views of the castle on the hill. It retains it's victorian presence in the gardens that date from the early 1990s. Held within the park are many activities, enough space for hundreds to barbeque, play sports, small fairs and rent mini speed boats. There are many resturants and retail outlets leading up to the castle. I regard windsor as a great oppotunity to go out with friends and family.

Windsor Castle is one of homes for the Royal family, headed by Queen Elizabeth.

Focus Week 2 - Vectorworks Modelling

I used this tutorial to design a 3D model for my Abstract model for studio!

Focus Week 2 -Benjamin Smith's Garden

All Photographs Courtesy of Benjamin Smith

I managed to visit our former student colleague Ben, who arranged with his family to install a pond in his garden. He happily gave me some photographs he took when installing the pond.

Focus Week 2 - Using Cad for Garden Design

Focus Week 2 - step by step guide on Garden design and construction

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I aimed to discover many ways of designing landscpape and this video provided me with an insight of CAD software, A Beginning!

Hell’s Gate, Turkmenistan

Derweze is a Turkmenistan village located in the middle of the Karakum desert and consists of about 350 inhabitants. It is about 260 km north from Ashgabat.

The evening views of this village are deemed to be called Hell's Gate due to its Fire type Situation. The element of fire lights this location into an amazing sight.

courtesy of msn.com

Great Canyon of Yarlung Tsangpo

The Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is regarded by some as the deepest canyon in the world, and is longer than the Grand Canyon by the slightest margin, making it one of the world's largest.

This is an eventful Canyon that not many people are aware of due to the USA's Grand Canyon, even when it is slightly larger.

courtesy of msn.com

Grand Prismatic Spring, US

The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States, and the third largest in the world, next to those in New Zealand. It is located in the Midway Geyser Basin.

Hot Springs not only look amazing but the warmth relaxation is contains is magical.

courtesy of msn.com

Goreme National Park, Turkey

Göreme is located among the "fairy chimney" rock formations, it is in a town in Cappadocia, Turkey. The Göreme National Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.

For me, Goreme is a wonderful sight to look at especially since its located in a Historical region and contains beautifuls of the pillars.

courtesy of msn.com

Crystal Cave of the Giants, Mexico

Cave of the Crystals or Giant Crystal Cave is located in Chihuahua, Mexico. The main chamber contains giant selenite crystals, some of the largest natural crystals ever found. The cave's largest crystal found to date is 11 m (36 ft) in length, 4 m (13 ft) in diameter and 55 tons in weight. The cave is 27 m (89 ft) in length and 9 m (30 ft) in width. The cave is extremely hot with air temperatures reaching up to 58 °C (136 °F with 90 to 100 percent humidity.

Amazed by the beauty inside it not many people are lucky enough to see with there own eyes due to the high temperatures and humidity, I would jump at the chance to see this in reality.

courtesy of msn.com

Coyote Buttes, Arizona and Utah

The Wave is a sandstone rock formation located in the United States of America near the Arizona and Utah border on the slopes of the Coyote Buttes, in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, on the Colorado Plateau.
It is famous among hikers and photographers for its colorful, undulating forms, and the rugged, trackless hike required to reach it.

The swirly/curvy shaped rock formation makes me wonder what the world has hidden, and that nothing man made can be equivalent to such a wonder.

courtesy of msn.com

Belize Barrier Reef

The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs straddling the coast of Belize, roughly 300 meters and 25 miles country limits. The Belize Barrier Reef is a 186 miiles long section of the 560 miles long Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System.

This Reef reminds me of the time I visited the Blue Hole in Eygpt, its simplicity and perfect shape is like non other and the clear and distilled Ocean is one that is lovely to Snorkle in.

Charles Darwin described it as "the most remarkable reef in the West Indies" in 1842.

courtesy of msn.com

Focus Week 2 - Factory Quarter

Image courtesy of Durkan.com

The Factory Quarter comes to a cost of a £71 million development, designed by Durkan Estates (Its largest to date). It provides 450 homes on behalf of the Genesis Housing group.
Before the Factory Quarter was designed, the location used to set out as a Prestolite Factory complex. Architects BPTW, Living Architects and GHM, all linked up as a group that provided a mixture of 104 appartment for rental, 185 for shared ownership, and the remainder of 165 apartments for private sale. There are many blocks contructed and range from 2-8 storeys, this development takes up 2.4 hectres of space.

Other facilities include a multi-use community focused meeting space, retail and commercial space and a children's play area.

Focus Week 2 - Anish Kapoor

Images courtesy from GettyImages

I was amazed when viewing the mirrors, it actually showed the world upside down. It is constructed from highly reflective stainless steel, it's upside illusions is the most prominent feature as the giant surfaces created in various forms such as curved mirror suface that creates the distortion of the natural surroundings. I was engaged throughout the visit and it even possibly made me a child for a minute.

Focus Week 2 - Landscape Graphics

Author: Grant W. Reid



This book will inspire me to improve my plans, of what I have heard it is a cheap and superb book. It main focus is on landscape designing, it's supposed to take you through the stages of the design process, and also to give details of quality graphics.

Awaiting Delivery!

Focus Week 2 - Photoshop Landscape Effects

This video shows how to changes colours and lighting effects to change the mood of a image.

Focus Week 2 - Aspirations

Top of the list for things to do is to visit the Anish Kapoor Exhibiton, an event I missed out on focus week 1. I've heard only good things about it!

Also for this week I set out the task of learning new software, and it couldn't have come at a better time as we had a task of designing a beautiful abstract object, I would need to experiment with a 3D software that will enable me to cut though wood for my design.

Martha Shwartz - Barker Park

Residential rear garden design

Focus Week 1 - Detail in Contemporary Landscape Architecture

Virginia McLeod



This is an excellent book for all students and professionals within the Landscape Industry. The lack of training in these important skills means that you have to improve by using additional resources such as this book. This book uses a great combination of details, images and texts of many contemporary projects. It also includes CAD files of the details on CD placed in the back of the book. This is an invaluable source of inspiration and technical reference. I highy recommend this book to all of similar interests.

Focus Week 1 - Imperial Wharf

Imperial Wharf residents however will be overwhelmed with beautiful surroundings. Landscaped gardens. The landscapes are spread over a third of the whole development and balconies, terraces. From balconies there is said to be a wonderful view of parkland area and river. In this development there are 1800 luxury riverside apartments.

PS. A Few Chelsea Football player live here such as Ivanovic, Essien etc.