Richmond Park
3 November 2009
We visited Richmond park with Micheal Hermann, in order to have talks with park ranger Adam Curtis, Adams job is crucial to the management of Richmond park. The talk with him was very beneficial to us for part of our university course, (a writing project based on investigating the management of a meduim scale site; I am looking into the management of Burgess Park, for example). We also had a small talk from part of the police force which patrols richmond park. The park has its own police force, which is unusual for a park, but a couple of the royal parks employ this management strategy, we were told that the park had a very low crime rate and one of the major problems it encountered was people picking mushrooms and chestnuts, to take home. This causes problems for the deer, as this is a crucial part to their diet in the winter. Speaking to the police officer was really interesting, as he pointed out things like this which i hadn't really considered before. I come from the countryside which if managed at all, is managed by farmers, so to be somewhere which felt like the countryside, but was so intensely managed was interesting to me. Things that I would just take for granted were thought through and had some sort of system. I found the experience very useful; I now understand the full scope that Landscape management can have, and exactly how much work goes into managing such a huge area as Richmond park.
Adam mainly spoke to us about a new gate which is being put into the park to commemorate the building of st pauls cathedral. The gate is close to King Henry VIII's Mound, which is the highest point in the park, and has a view to st pauls cathedral, 10 miles away. The view from the mound to the dome is protected for a dome and a half 's width either side of the cathedral. The gate is positioned at the start of this view before a slice is cut through the woodland framing the site. We were asked our opinions on several designs for the new gate, some referring to the nature in the park some referring to royalty, or echoeing small features found on the cathdral itself. The designs were interesting and things which were taken into account were interesting, such as health and safety, wether or not the gate would fit into the park and wether or not it was making enough of a statement to commemorate. We were told that whichever way you chose one group of people will be unhappy with it, so the best option is to aim to compromise on all aspects of anything. nightmare. Some of the more beautiful and original designs were just not considered for this reason. One design was of two deer fighting with their antlers entwined when the gate was closed; to open the gate the deer raise their heads, and the antlers unlock. It was a fantastic design challenging the conventional way in which a gate is opened, but for health and safety reasons the design would have to be altered to open in the conventional way, if it were to be considered. I found looking at the designs really interesting and the way in which they are considered for use interesting, but a little depressing as a designer. on the way out of the park we came across a herd of deer, with huge antlers, very beautiful. 