[Leo Gonzales]

This is a wonderful translation of local culture into landscape ideas, and IMO, the best strategy to educate and create a sense of ownership within the local population.  When we are able to tap this connection with the users, we help them realize there is more to landscape design than just aesthetics, repeating patterns, and cover for engineering blunders. 

Suspect, though, are some of the ground covers used which will require considerable maintenance during the summer.  Setcreaseas and Rhoeos will burn under full sun during these months, sometimes even under partial shade.  I’d also be curious to find out later how the plants will perform given the slopes they are planted.  Then again, parts of Al Maryah is a private development (this one by MSP seems to be) which will be maintained by the developer and thus, might have an above-average maintenance program past the warranties.

[Leo Gonzales]

On the flip side, ‘big names’ have a greater chance of introducing new design ideas and principles that in a lot of cases are beyond the layman’s (VIP or not) understanding of what these spaces could be here.

Also, these projects typically are reviewed by landscape architects, with the role of design managers for the developer and the local government.  Generally, projects done by whoever are reviewed and assessed to match local conditions, standards, and best practice every step of the way, and VIPs typically see the designs only during certain milestones.  Designs align with the very broad development goals set by the VIPs. 

Abu Dhabi does know what it wants, and it is reflected in the various design guidelines it published in the last few years, spearheaded by the UPC and the AD Municipality.

[Leo Gonzales]

+1!

How are you these days, Ed?

[Leo Gonzales]

Core i7 desktop! I think the rest of the posts pretty much cover the others.

Also, invest in a good sized (and quality) monitor. That extra inch is always helpful when rendering site plans. And to help lessen the burden on your PC as it grows older, don’t upgrade your software unless you really need to.

Hope this helps.

[Leo Gonzales]

Hey Brandon. That’s “never use a pencil” when designing, especially when using ’tissue’ layering techniques. When erasing design-process sketches you also erase ideas, on the other hand a pen preserves previously drawn layouts that you can go back to when considering design options. A previous sketch might be the genius layout that wins an award! Aside from the crisper lines and non-smear, you also don’t produce a lot of ‘lead and rubber’ from erasing too much 🙂
But hey, I do love your pencil renderings. Your sketches are so fundamental and perfect, straight out of a book I used to love back in college. Can’t beat that with Photoshop.

[Leo Gonzales]

Hey Guys. Great tips and references. Perspectives have always been tricky for me, so I’m all eyes and ears!

LEo

[Leo Gonzales]

Hey Lee,
This video reminds me of my year-long stint in the mainland, roughly 5 years ago when the boom was just beginning. I stayed in Shanghai and settled in Hangzhou, and had trips to several cities including Chongqing. Crazy driver indeed, like the many cab drivers in Hangzhou I’d gotten used to. Dubai drivers are pretty much the same.

I know how you feel about being a foreign face in meetings. I did that a few times. In one bid conference we had people were shouting at each other and I was jsut sitting there clueless. Turns out they were just answering one bidder’s query…

Great work you posted recently. Cheers.

Leo

[Leo Gonzales]

You’re welcome, Nick.

There’s a funny story behind that. I was working with Roy Wilson, an American LA/Planner a few years ago and, while we were sketching he asked me to pass the tissue. I took the box of tissue at my end of the work table and he was laughing and making fun of me the rest of the day. ‘Took me a few minutes to figure out he meant the white trace roll. Roy’s someone who’s mature but cool, curses a lot, and has a great sense of humour- you could imagine how he got the kicks out of that one. I’ll add bumwad to my little book of terms and see how my colleagues react, heheh…

Sure, I love using blackline cad print base, more so when I’m in a rush. When you use a lot of texture and overlapping lines on your pen rendering you wouldn’t notice the difference. Just keep the lines crisp and adjust the B/W contrast in Photoshop. It also helps when you alternate ruled lines with crooked hand lines; it produces good line character (i.e. hard, ruled lines for paving and hatches, and softer hand lines for trees and plants). Plus, I love extending my lines creating a “dirty” drafted drawing. My old boss said it’s not a real plan if it’s clean. Figures why that is one of the original effects in SketchUp.

I’d be happy to share more stuff with you guys. Have fun drawing. Better a pen than a mouse as an extra finger, right?

Leo

[Leo Gonzales]

Hey Folks:

Excellent works you guys have posted!

In my practice timely delivery is just as important as good graphics, so my work is a product of both. I stick to the basics: line weights, good contrast, texture, light/shade and shadows. I design with a Pilot v7 pen, whether for design-process sketches of final output, and color with markers. My old boss, IPSantos, told me never to sketch with a pencil when designing, because pencil lines can be erased, and therefore ideas can be erased and forgotten. I layer tissue after tissue of sketches until I arrive at a final layout.

In the past I photocopy blackline sketches and color with markers, scan and process in photoshop afterwards. The last few years with my rendering collaboration with fellow lounger Ian Buyco, we decided to (Ian’s idea, actually) scan the blackline sketches/prints, and color with photoshop ala markers, using basic brushes on various color layers for trees, paving, roads, and such. We then apply textures to the colored plans afterwards. This technique usually just takes a couple of hours once you get the hang of it. Plus, you can improve the look of even the roughest, crooked sketches into something presentable and make it presentation-board-worthy.

Example:

[Leo Gonzales]

I’ve worked in the UAE for more than five years and spent my time with a “consolidated engineering company”. Here’s a few terms most of the design professionals (not just engineers, even landscape “designers” and architects) here use…

Land Escaping, and of course… Land Escape
Plantation
Water future

No need for translations, I assume?

[Leo Gonzales]

There’s a very helpful add-on that lets you add tabs to navigate each drawing: works like the tabs in IE for multiple pages. Appload or add to your startup suite. See attachment.

[Author]

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