MEET THE COLLABORATOR:

For our event we are collaborating with Lynn Setterington. Lynn is an internationally recognised textile artist who works as a Senior Lecturer at the Manchester School of Art. Her works have been exhibited at the V&A Museum and the Whitworth Art Gallery.

Lynn has a passion for gardening and has always wanted to improve the Benzie roof garden space with exciting planters.

Working with the textile department allows the planters to be used in the future to grow dye plants. This will allow the School of Art to dye their own fabrics with natural resources and create their own beautiful fabrics.

WHAT'S THE PLAN - WEEK 1:

For our event we have two weeks to reach our final goal of creating 3 beautifully made planters.

Week 1 is all about preparation. We will visit the roof terrace to understand the context the planters will be placed in. Then we will visit a succesful garden and speak to the cultural park keeper and the landscape gardener at Whitworth Park. This will be an inspiring day to give us lots of ideas.

Then we will split up into 3 groups, each designing a planter. Initial ideas will be shown by sketches with research from plants and precedents informing the designs.

Producing final drawings will help us to understand how we will build the planters. Each team will make a "How to Build" manuals so that we can have a smooth build in week 2!

WHAT'S THE PLAN - WEEK 2:

Week 2 is all about building! By the end of week 2 we will have 3 innovative and well made planters.

We will be using tools in the Chatham courtyard to build our planters out of recycled materials. Following our "How to" guides should make for a quick start.

Throughout the week we will continue to share where we are with the build progress. Then on the final day we will present our final build to our collaborator, textile Senior Lecturer Lynn Setterington.

It will be a fun filled, productive two weeks where we will learn lots about the design and building process.

INSPIRATION:

Our collaborator, Lynn, sent us some great precedents. Here's one in Kings Cross, London.

The use of fabric planters allows for easy set up. But once the soil is added it gives it the weight it needs to stay in place.

We love the mix of the urban setting and gardening with these planters and they add lots of colour to the grey paving. They also soften the harsh city landscape.

This can be applied in our project because currently the materials on the terrace are very harsh and grey. But through our project we will brighten up any grey Manchester day!

INSPIRATION:

Lynn, our collaborator, was inspired by the way that roof terraces are used in Japan. All space is utilised and the roofs of buildings become gardens.

The roof gardens are calming and relaxing spaces to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. They give much needed respite to the users. They also create places to meet friends and socialise outdoors.

Our site, the terrace of Chatham building, has the potential to create a similar atmosphere and our project will be one step closer towards this goal.

THANK YOU:

A big thank you to our collaborators, guest speakers, visits and everyone who has been involved with our Events project.

We really appreciate everyones input to making a great Event!