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The How to Create a School Sculpture Garden Manual
5. FIRST
STEPS
What is my first step? Where do I begin? Where do I look for help? How will
I find the experts?
If you are not knowledgeable in the area of Landscape Design and Architecture, you must secure the advice and counsel of architects, landscape designers, and landscape contractors. Begin by surveying students and staff members in your building. You may be surprised to find that you are already networked to the consultants you require. Set up a display at Back-To-School Night. Ask for volunteers and the areas in which they believe they may be of assistance. In our case the husband of our Media Specialist is a Landscape Architect. One of our very active PTSA (Parent, Teacher, Student Association) member volunteers is a Landscape Designer/Contractor. These professionals each volunteered their time as project consultants. If your school community does not yield these consultants, there are other areas to explore. If your school or district is involved in school construction, has recently completed a construction project, or has an architectural firm on retainer, approach them for assistance. An alternative approach would be to survey staff and parents for the names of reputable designers and contractors they have employed. People are generally very willing to make recommendations as a result of a personally positive experience. These consultants along with the professional staff from Grounds For Sculpture and the International Sculpture Center formed the nucleus of our Nottingham Sculpture Garden Advisory Committee. The development of an Advisory Committee is addressed later in the body of this manual.
From My Perspective (see resources) provides the answers to the following questions from the various points of view of our consultants, teachers, and school principal.
List the first 5 considerations you should address when designing a sculpture garden.
- What is your single most important consideration? Why?
- How do you begin to conceptualize a project? What are the elements of a good design?
- Do you have a standard process or approach to beginning a project that works particularly well for you?
- How do you establish a rapport with your student designers? How important is communication in this process?
- How would someone locate quality professional assistance in his/her community?
Feel free to share our reflections with your students or use the questions to collect data from your own colleagues.
One other area to investigate prior to beginning a project of this magnitude is the services provided by the Director of Maintenance and Operations for your school district. Find out what construction and maintenance services your Maintenance Department can offer. If you are a large district you may have a full time grounds crew. The Director of Maintenance and Operations will provide invaluable assistance in gaining permits, as well as any capital improvements necessary to begin construction. In our case, we needed to change a single door to a double door, in order to accommodate equipment and to minimize cost. Read Planning and Permits for more information.
If you are still looking
for a reputable Landscape Architect at this point, check the American Society
of Landscape Architects at www.asla.org. Lining
up the expertise required to complete the project is critical. While this manual
provides extensive information, each site is unique and requires attention to
its exclusive challenges.
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