Landscape Site Grading Principles - Grading With Design in Mind

A complete guide to site grading for designers and other visual learners
 
Grading With Design in Mind: Landscape Site Grading Principles is a comprehensive guide to grading, written specifically from the design perspective. Heavily illustrated and non-technical, this book meets the needs of designers and visual learners by presenting the principles and methods of site grading with less emphasis on engineering, and a strong focus on the effect on the overall aesthetic. Written by a professor in America's number-one ranked undergraduate landscape architecture program, the book guides readers step-by-step through the process of solving various grading problems in real-life scenarios.
 
Landscape designers, landscape architects, and engineers need to have a deep understanding of site grading as the foundation of any project. Grading plans must not only solve practical requirements, but also create landforms that contribute to the aesthetic ambition of the overall site and architectural design concept. Grading With Design in Mind takes a highly visual approach to presenting modern grading techniques and considerations, providing designers the guidance they need to become competent in site grading while understanding the design implications of the subject. Features include:
* Numerous illustrations to support the text
* Step-by-step examples
* Professional grading plans
 
Studying the professional grading plans helps readers better understand the real-world application of grading principles in different situations. Site grading is a complicated topic with plenty of on-site variables, but Grading with Design in Mind breaks it down into clear, concise instruction with value to both professionals and students in the field of landscape design.

List of contents

Preface xi
 
1 Some Background on the Subject of Site Grading
 
Site Grading Informs Design 1
 
Let's Begin 3
 
The Importance of Grading in Design 4
 
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words 6
 
Gaining an Essential Grasp of Site-Grading Concepts 7
 
What the Student Needs to Know about Site Grading 9
 
Professional Relationships 12
 
The Basic Structural Approach to This Book 13
 
2 Site Grading and the Legal Requirements
 
What Is Site Grading? 15
 
Avoiding Grading Problems in the Landscape 18
 
Encounters in the Field of Grading: Problems That Could Have Been Avoided 19
 
Site Grading in the Professional Practice of Landscape Architecture 21
 
Professional Registration to Practice Landscape Architecture 22
 
3 Site Planning and Grading Process
 
Introduction 27
 
The Design Process 28
 
Steps in the Design Process Continuum 28
 
Step 1. Background Research 28
 
Step 2. Site Analysis 30
 
Step 3. Program Analysis 36
 
Step 4. Land Use and Circulation Diagram 38
 
Step 5. Schematic Site Design 40
 
Step 6. Schematic Design Grading Plan 42
 
Preliminary Site Grading Plan 45
 
Design Development and Subsequent Phases in the Design Continuum 47
 
4 Drawing Conventions
 
Drawing Conventions: Landscape Drawings and Music Scores 49
 
Drafting and Representation 51
 
The Concept of Documentation Conventions in Music and Design 52
 
Following Drawing Conventions Prevents Miscommunication 56
 
Construction Documentation 57
 
Another Word about Scale 58
 
5 What Is Scale, Why Is It Important, and How Is It Used?
 
Scale: A Word of Several Meanings 61
 
The Need for Scaled Drawings 63
 
Site Grading Is Integral to the Phases of Design 64
 
Using and Choosing the Right Scale 65
 
Reference Plan and Match Lines 66
 
Architect's and Engineer's Scales 68
 
Topographic Maps Are Useful Preplanning Tools 69
 
Map Scales and Contour Intervals 72
 
Recognizing Landform Patterns 73
 
The Information Contained in Topographic Maps 74
 
U.S. Geological Survey and Scales of Other Countries 75
 
6 Where Are You?
 
The Language of Maps 77
 
How to Find and Locate Places in the Landscape, or: Where Am I? 78
 
Maps Serve a Variety of Purposes 82
 
Coordinate Systems 82
 
Latitude and Longitude: A Geographic Coordinate System 82
 
Referencing System for a Land Parcel 86
 
Licensed Land Surveyor 87
 
Locating a Building or Other Element on the Ground 88
 
7 Contours
 
Introduction 91
 
Reading the Landscape 92
 
Contour Lines: A Language for Two Dimensions 93
 
What the Landscape Would Look Like with Contours 94
 
Contours Explained 100
 
Slope in Plan and Section 104
 
8 Signature Landforms
 
Landform Signatures 109
 
Watershed Landform Signature 112
 
Putting It All Together 116
 
9 Calculating Slope and Other Grading Calculations: Tools for Gaining Mastery in Grading
 
Introducing Calculation of Slope 120
 
A Few Slope Conventions 122
 
Slope Equation: Primary Tool for Most Calculations Required in Grading 124
 
10 How to Calculate Spot Elevations
 
Introduction 139
 
When Are Spot Elevations Needed? 139
 
Where Spot Elevations Are Necessary 142
 
Overview for the Grading Conditions Discussion 150
 
How Spot Elevations Are Used by Cont

About the author

Bruce Sharky, FASLA, is a Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University. He served as Principal Landscape Architect for wildlife habitat and landscape restoration for the 860-mile Trans-Alaskan Oil Pipeline, and his Master's thesis at the University of California, Berkeley, was the basis for legislation that established the California Coastal Commission. Bruce's current focus is on informing design through culture and environment, and non-structural approaches to planning natural disaster-resilient communities.

Summary

A complete guide to site grading for designers and other visual learners

Grading With Design in Mind: Landscape Site Grading Principles is a comprehensive guide to grading, written specifically from the design perspective. Heavily illustrated and non-technical, this book meets the needs of designers and visual learners by presenting the principles and methods of site grading with less emphasis on engineering, and a strong focus on the effect on the overall aesthetic. Written by a professor in America's number-one ranked undergraduate landscape architecture program, the book guides readers step-by-step through the process of solving various grading problems in real-life scenarios.

Landscape designers, landscape architects, and engineers need to have a deep understanding of site grading as the foundation of any project. Grading plans must not only solve practical requirements, but also create landforms that contribute to the aesthetic ambition of the overall site and architectural design concept. Grading With Design in Mind takes a highly visual approach to presenting modern grading techniques and considerations, providing designers the guidance they need to become competent in site grading while understanding the design implications of the subject. Features include:
* Numerous illustrations to support the text
* Step-by-step examples
* Professional grading plans

Studying the professional grading plans helps readers better understand the real-world application of grading principles in different situations. Site grading is a complicated topic with plenty of on-site variables, but Grading with Design in Mind breaks it down into clear, concise instruction with value to both professionals and students in the field of landscape design.

Product details

• Authors: Bruce G Sharky, Bruce G. Sharky, Bruce G. (Louisiana State University) Sharky, Sharky Bruce G.
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 20.01.2015
• EAN: 9781118668726
• ISBN: 978-1-118-66872-6
• No. of pages: 320
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Architecture; Landschaftsarchitektur, Landwirtschaft, Architektur, Planung, Gartenbau, Architecture, Planning, landscape design, Agriculture, Horticulture