construction realities

orientation:
the school is to the left, the school cafeteria at the end of the garden and a neighborhood cafeteria to the right. the rectangle at the bottom of the picture is the footing for the table. the cmu block (cinder block) walls in the middle will contain the sunken garden and rebar tree. the stage and steps are behind these beds at the far end by the cafeteria.

design-build creeds and observations:
- landscape architecture involves an alarming amount of concrete and hardscape. the plants are almost secondary to the initial site layout and design.
- mixing and pouring concrete by hand is miserable, brutish work. the dust gets EVERYWHERE. daily showers are a must and blowing one's nose at the end of the day never ceases to horrify.
- batches of wet concrete become exponentially heavier as the day wears on.
- i never found my knees attractive but now i am actually repulsed by them.
- mixing mortar is an art form. too much water and the stuff slips and oozes and is generally unappetizing. too little water and a glop of it just stares back at you, refusing to perform it's crack-filling destiny. perfectly mixed mortar is a pleasure to smooth out and sets up like a lovely greyish pudding. voila!! wall extraordinaire!
- working construction is the best way to combat insomnia.
- always be aware of who is above you, beside you, behind you and what they are swinging.
- the only thing you can count on when building a design is that it will never be built as designed. expect change, adapt when necessary and then let it go while taking a nice hot shower!