1. Manchester School of Art
BA (Hons) Landscape Architecture
academic session: 2009-2010 years: one &
graduate diploma
session: one units: 14011501/
14012501
Y1_S1_B1_Sense of Place
Brief
Introduction
As we go through life, we develop, consciously or otherwise, a personal database of landscapes, each
conjuring up its own specific mixture of sights, sounds, smells and other associations. These
experiences and memories have a profound influence on the way we perceive new landscapes.
Unconsciously, we decode the language of a place based on value judgements derived from our
personal autobiography. The ability, as designers, to deconstruct these judgements is a useful way to
articulate our intuitive response, communicating the essence of the landscape as experienced
through our own personal lens.
Our response to place, although largely governed by visual stimuli, is also influenced by other sensory
elements such as smell, sound and touch. Often these are accepted as part of the scene, acting
subliminally on our consciousness, but are nevertheless extremely important in forming our view and
memory of a place. This project will explore a number of ways of looking at and thinking about
landscapes and will encourage experimentation with different means of communicating and
representing our personal ‘Sense of Place’.
Knowledge
• An understanding of the how our individual perceptions of the physical world are constructed
• An understanding of the inter-relationships between the ‘natural’ and the ‘human’ in the
construction of landscape and place
Skill
• To have the ability to de-construct the landscape and communicate our personal perceptions
• To use desktop research to support an understanding of “Why things are the way they are”
Imaginative Interpretation
• To experiment and present creatively, personal representations of different landscape
components
Programme
Monday 27th
Sept, 9-12am: Launch Part 1 and Perception Workshop
Monday 27th
Sept, 1-4pm: Talk and workshop – Representations of Landscape
Tuesday 28th
Sept, All day: Trip to Peel Tower, Ramsbottom, Bury
Monday 4th
Oct, 9-12am: Presentation and Review of Part 1
Monday 4th
Oct, 1-4pm: Launch Part 2, Mapping the Place (Presentation and workshop)
Tuesday 5th
Oct, 2-5pm: The Golden Triangle, City Walkabout
Monday 11th
Oct, 9-12am: Presentation and Review of Part 2

2. Manchester School of Art
BA (Hons) Landscape Architecture
academic session: 2009-2010 years: one &
graduate diploma
session: one units: 14011501/
14012501
Part One: Walking the Line
On Monday, we will discuss and compare our own personal landscapes and the associations these
have for us, and also techniques for recording and representing the landscape. This is by way of
preparation for a trip to Peel Tower, on the Lancashire Moors, north of Manchester. Here we will
explore the surroundings of an industrial milltown set within a landscape of hills and moors. In a walk
from the valley to the hilltop tower we will observe and record the transition from town to village to
surrounding countryside. We will focus on the complex relationship between the given or ‘natural’
topographical elements and human or social elements in the construction of the landscape and
unique sense of place. Using a sketchbook and a range of pencils and pens, you should draw on the
exercises and discussions of the previous day to record the landscape with the aim of capturing and
communicating your own particular interpretation of the ‘sense of place’. Elements you should focus
on include:
• The main lines which shape the landscape
• Varying patterns in the landscape and the elements which generate these
• The main components of the landscape and the relationships between these
• Scale – the broad sweep of the landscape down to the tiniest details
• The textural and tonal qualities of the landscape
• The quality of light and its effect on land, sea, buildings, water
• Views – from the town and path to the tower and from the tower to the wider landscape
You should also make a record of your walk in terms of your emotional response to the landscape
such as fear, joy, exhilaration, exposure, claustrophobia, sadness, nostalgia, etc., or associations
which the landscape has for you to other places or memories. In the process, try to be aware of all
your senses, including sound, touch, smell, and ‘map’ this aspect of your experience as well. The aim
is to produce an illustrated and annotated record of your walk which reflects your own personal
emotional journey, as well as the full range of sensory experiences along the route, capturing your
own personal sense of the place in its broadest possible sense.
Outputs_Individual Portfolios:
• A fold out A5 booklet (concertina or map style), containing a sequential record of your walk, with
annotated sketches recording not only your sensory impressions but your personal emotional
responses along the route.
• A second A5 booklet, to match the first, recording the line, tone, texture, colour and pattern of
the landscape and conveying a sense of the quality of the place from the large scale to the tiniest
detail. This should be based on your sketches on the day but colour, tone or notes can be added
afterwards to highlight key elements.
• A series of 3 A3 paintings or coloured drawings using media such as oil, acrylic, pastel or collage
to convey an abstract impression of the essence of the landscape on the day, focusing on the
sense of changing light and movement.
• Sketchbooks: You should keep a sketchbook throughout the year or session and use it to record
your impressions and ideas on the projects through sketches, doodling and notes. This is for
submission with your portfolio but will not form part of the formative review.

3. Manchester School of Art
BA (Hons) Landscape Architecture
academic session: 2009-2010 years: one &
graduate diploma
session: one units: 14011501/
14012501
Part Two: The Golden Triangle
After an introductory session on memory maps and sensory mapping, we will go on a triangular walk
around Manchester city centre, between three cardinal points, all major public spaces of very
contrasting characters. First we will walk the whole route as a year group, stopping to discuss at key
points along the journey. Afterwards, in groups of 6, you will discuss and compare your own
impressions and agree a strategy for mapping the route to reflect these impressions. The groups will
then walk the route again visiting the three spaces and, in pairs, record an agreed range of data for
each space. This could be done by descriptive words, by measuring noise levels, by smells – good and
bad, by estimating the concentration of different activities, by degrees of enclosure or openness, by
amounts of litter or cleanliness, etc. You must collectively decide which is most important to you and
then collect evidence to measure these factors on your trip. You will then have to produce as a
group a series of ‘sensory’ or ‘cognitive’ maps, not necessarily to scale, comparing the qualities of the
three spaces and the relationships between them through the imaginative use of graphic devices,
annotation and illustration.
Outputs_Datasets
• 1 no. A1 Route Map. This should identify the relationships between the three spaces and the
qualities of the route linking them. This should reflect the group’s shared perception of the
significance of key elements along the route and feelings which the walk generates. The map
should be highly visual, although text may be used as art of this graphic quality. It should be
accompanied by sketches and images such as magazine or newspaper photographs or flyers,
which reflect an aspect of the character of the place in an abstract or metaphorical fashion.
• 3 no. A3 Sensory Maps for each space (9 maps in total). Each of these should ‘map’ a distinct
aspect of the space as described above. The same data should be mapped for each space so that
they allow a comparison to be made between the three distinct spaces. These ‘maps’ should be
in landscape format and combined together in linear fashion as a sequence. Again, a range of
graphic techniques to communicate data should be explored, such as textures, collage, text, etc.
• A written description of the group’s discussions and explanation of the strategy for mapping and
comparing the spaces to be on a single side of A4 in arial at 11pt, no less than 200 words.
• Workshops: The outputs from all workshops during the session will also be assessed as part of
the Datasets element of the unit and should be submitted with the final portfolio but will not
form part of the formative review.
Recommended reading
Bell, Simon. Landscape: Pattern, Perception & Process. E&N SPON. 1999. 712/BELL
Angus J.L. Alan G. The North West. Series England's Landscape. V. 8. Pub: Collins. 2006.
Annely Juda Fine Art. Christo-project for wrapped Reichstag. Berlin. Catalogue of an exhibition.
London. 1999. 709.24/CHR/ANN
Appleton. J. The experience of landscape. Wiley. 1996. 719.01/APP
Schaal. H. Landscape as inspiration. Academy editions.1994. 712/SCH
Digby. J. The collage handbook. London. Thames and Hudson. 1985. 745.54/DIG
Farnworth.W. Approaches to collage. London. Batsford. 1976. 745. 594/ FAR
Wescher. H. Collage. New York. Abrams. 1968. 751.493/WES