My Day on Site

Thoughts and musings

My Day on Site

Lewis | April 8, 2015 | 0 Comments

You know, I do love working in a marketing capacity, but sometimes it is nice to get out of the office environment; staring at a screen all day isn’t always fun and games!

So luckily for me, our head Landscape Architect here at Oakleigh Manor Rupert Davis needed a hand in surveying a project we have near Dorking, in Surrey. My first thought was that I haven’t got the faintest idea about landscape surveying; Rupert and I have totally different specialities! But he reassured me he just needed a helping hand, and I duly obliged.

I’ve wanted to see how this vital part of the landscape design and build process takes place. It involves a lot of measuring! But tedious to some is vital to others, and this ensures Rupert will design the perfect garden for his clients. It is good for him to be on site in general as well, and time amongst the surroundings gives him time to think of unique and bespoke ideas he can offer our clients at the design stage. For example, he thought of a potential repositioning of the driveway amongst the trees. This proves every garden we create is tailored to the owner, much like a new suit!

The image you can see on the left is Rupert using a theodolite; a measuring instrument for measuring angles in the planes, both vertical and horizontal. We definitely needed that contraption today, because believe me, the garden we were surveying was very hilly! It was not flat to say the least. So as he looked through, I was at various points all over the garden with a measuring staff, manoeuvring it amongst tall tree branches. Nevertheless, it was a fun, learning experience.

Also, it was a good experience for me in general to see this vital part of the design process, and to have a rare trip out of the office! Win-win really…