Writtle University College is celebrating the success of the Design Degree Show 2022. The annual event displayed the very best creative talent from undergraduate and postgraduate students.
The event showcased work from Landscape Architecture, Garden Design and Art and the Environment courses.
The exhibition launched on Wednesday 11th May with a private viewing for industry members and invited guests. Work remained on display to members of the public until Sunday 15th May.
Senior lecturer Saruhan Mosler said: "The show highlighted an exceptional range of innovative work. Our students displayed both dedication and talent and, as always, we enjoyed welcoming local people and industry specialists."
Companies within the landscape architecture and garden design sectors drew attention to outstanding work with a series of awards. These included:
Gillespies
Best Exhibition Piece
Winner:
- Meg Cowell (MA LA), Rural Connections - Reidentifying Bradwell Power Station on a Recreational Coastline
"It is a powerful exhibition piece, bold in colour and graphics with so much information. The more you zoom in, the more you read, the more you see the thoughts and work that has gone into this project. I also enjoyed the approach with a strategic masterplan, before zooming in. This is very important to set the context and give meaning to the proposal."
The following submissions also stood out and should be congratulated for beautiful work:
UG Commended:
- Jiyeon Park (BSc LA) - Taming the Untamed
- Laura Cohen (BSc LGD) - Gweledigaeth Twnel (Tunnel Vision)
PG Commended:
- Martin Smith (MA LA conversion) – Cellular Proportional Rewilding
- Sarah Freeman (MA LA) – Ready, Set, Walk - Re-imagining Ipswich as a 15-Minute City
CED Stone
Best Use of Hard Landscaping Materials
PG Winner:
- Clare Birkbeck (MA LA), Salutogenic Connections - Increasing Community Cohesion in Thaxted
Giles Heap said: "As usual, a very high standard all around. I can see the students' level of detail and understanding of 'space/place' and how we as humans interact with the built environment growing every year. The thoughts, considerations and ideas that your students are putting together yet again, gives me hope for the future not just of our industry, but of our environment. Again, huge kudos to the faculty."
"This simple, yet thoughtful design has completely captured the essence of one of Essex's, indeed the entire East of England's, oldest towns. Thaxted has such a rich history, both in terms of trade and local tradition, but also the architecture, which gives it such a sense of place, it is unmistakable.
"Claire's understanding of the issues (resistors) that the town suffers from is, in my opinion, spot on. Her choice of warm, traditional materials, sometimes used with a twist, suit the town better than almost anything else she could have chosen."
UG Winner:
- Jiyeon Park (BSc LA), Taming the Untamed
"Jiyeon has shown a deep understanding of the industrial history of Swanscombe and managed to choose a pallet of materials and design that embodies not just the past, but the present and, hopefully the future."
"Solid and bold design features and material choice give context, yet allow the site to be enjoyed as a wonderful space. Encouraging the wilding of the area can only be a benefit to all, and the soft contours of the paths and planting are balanced beautifully by the hard, industrial, black granite features."
BricsCAD
Most Innovative Digital Rendering
UG Winner:
- Laura Cohen (BSc LGD), Gweledigaeth Twnel (Tunnel Vision)
PG Winner:
- Sam Laws (MA LA), Liminal Landscapes - An Informal Armatures Approach to Displacement Management at Calais
"In both their renderings, their choice of colours and lineweights in their individual renderings beautifully articulated their design concepts whilst maintaining a sleek overall graphical look to their storyboards."
Essex Gardens Trust
People's Choice Award
UG Winner:
- Jack Wakefield (BSc LA), Healing Waters – Enhancing Ecological and Human Systems
UG Runner-up:
- Laura Cohen (BSc LGD), Gweledigaeth Twnel (Tunnel Vision)
PG Winner:
- Meg Cowell (MA LA), Rural Connections - Reidentifying Bradwell Power Station on a Recreational Coastline
PG Runner-up:
- Lissy Moriarty (MA LA conversion), HEAL - Health, Environment and Agriculture Lab