Long time no see! Project Updates

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted! You could say time flies when you're having fun, but it's more like time flies when you're busy working full time! 

I graduated back in 2023 and it's 2026 already! These past years I have been working as a Graduate Landscape Architect for Nicholas Pearson Associates in Bath and I am loving it for various reasons, one being the constant challenges and learning journey I've been on since leaving University and the other being living in a gorgeous part of the country and still getting that 'wow' feeling when I walk around the beautiful Georgian architecture. 


This blog was started to record my first steps into Landscape Architecture from my degree modules to exploring what good landscape design looks like, and I guess this blog just fell by the wayside when it came to keeping up with my job and life!  Also I am actively trying to use LinkedIn more to post about career updates, so I apologise for leaving this blog empty for so long! I'd like to keep posting more informally on here and treat it more like an online design journal mainly for my own records and documenting my design thinking as time goes on! I still to this day use my sketchbook to capture organic thoughts and ideas - which I hope to scan some past pages to share on here soon.


For now, here's a sample of projects I've worked on since starting my career:

Bishopstrow Hotel and Spa - Warminster

A small-scale design project for an outdoor terrace extension for Bishopstrow Hotel and Spa in Warminster offered up a unique challenge. The grade II listed building already has an extension which holds the restaurant with a small patio area for outdoor dining, which the client hopes to extend to offer more seating options to enjoy the south-facing garden as well as improve the building’s façade as it’s a key viewpoint for arriving guests.

After methodical scrutinization of the existing site, I worked closely with the client and the arboriculturist to come up with a no-dig design to protect existing tree roots and align the new terrace with existing patio, building footprint and the natural topography. I produced a ‘Landscape General Arrangement Plan’, to demonstrate the balance of the hard and soft elements whilst optimising seating capacity and maintaining an accessible walkway from the driveway and car park to the restaurant. Pennant stone paving and a mix of formal and semi-formal planting was proposed to compliment the Georgian architecture and soften the established geometry of the terrace. Wide generous steps into the landscape encourage visitors to enjoy the parkland and additional native trees will strengthen the habitat for birds and bats.








New Manor Farm - Yarlington

Tasked with facilitating the planning application for a series of new farm buildings and agricultural landscape restoration, I successfully brought the design to life using her artistic eye and clear graphical communication to convey a simplistic but attractive scheme, using Adobe Photoshop. The elements included a dry pond, hedgerow enhancement, species-rich native meadow grassland, and sloped landform with scattered tree planting to mitigate sensitive views of the proposed structures.



Bath Spa University School of Art and Design - Locksbrook Campus

NPA was appointed to discharge a hard and soft landscaping planning condition and submit information for a new live planning application for a boundary fence and other related street furniture elements. The project was complex because many of the planning components had already been built. I carried out an extensive site survey to ascertain existing planting and materials and the existing elements in place that needed to be retrospectively approved, whilst evaluating how the new proposals will fit and interact with the current use and function of the site. She helped to produce a drawing package for planning submission which included; a landscape plan, a design report, a materials palette (existing & proposed), fence and gate details and a fence elevation plan. After submission, I presented the project to the NPA team to explore key learning points and takeaways.







Saltram East - New Country Park - Plymouth

I helped to produce landscape design plans for the expansion of the Saltram Country Park, a National Trust property in Plymouth that featured a new network of accessible trails and overall improvement of the site’s biodiversity and ecological value. She collated topographical information and site survey notes into an accurate spatial audit to take stock of the existing components and create a constraints plan that helped ascertain key locations for the new playground, multi-user wheeled activity area, car park and new access to future-proof upcoming phases of development.




Fyne Court Walled Garden - Somerset

As part of a restoration project of a historic walled garden at Fyne Court, a National Trust property, I helped to reimagine the upper terrace area that formerly housed a Victorian glasshouse. Following a precedent study and research into the site’s historical context, I sketched ideas to explore the potential design options for the glasshouse interpretation as well as a hard landscape plan and general arrangement plan of proposals using AutoCAD. My colleague was then able to take my sketches and create a rendered visualisation. 







Bellway Homes Ltd and Miller Homes Ltd Land at North Stevenage

Produced planting plans in KeySCAPE for the frontages of a major housing development north of Stevenage for over 600 houses. Used NHBC guidelines of foundation depths near trees to determine sufficient offset distance from the built forms by assessing tree species selection in terms of growth rate and water demands. Ensured consistent planting principles were followed across the development to provide a low maintenance approach using a variety of plant mixes according to shade tolerance and height. These are just the 'Soft Landscape Overview Plan' and two examples of the 'Residential Planting Plans' out of 12 in total each with its own planting schedule with quantities calculated using a specified planting densities with pre-set planting mixes. 




That's all for now, just a taste of what I've been up to all this time! :)


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