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Archive for August, 2010
Multi-User Community Campus Case Study – Bel Air Campus
Friday, August 27th, 2010
While it is nearly September and the start of school has already begun, you may notice the changes that have been completed at Bel Air High School. Work was started in 2007 on the athletic fields as part of the replacement of the aging facility.
While the school provides a space for education, it also functions as much more in the Bel Air community. It is a source of recreation, offering walking trails, playgrounds, gathering spaces and land for passive recreation. The whole campus serves as a meeting place, pedestrian corridor, and a green island in the semi-urban area.
The Plan
When started, goals were set to replace the high school and elementary school. Key challenges arose in the planning process of the multi-use campus.
- Parking Issues
- Circulation of Pedestrians and Vehicles
- Operation of Facilities while Construction was underway.
Overcoming Issues
The vision became clear: alternating green space and built elements allowed for several problems to be addressed. Parking could be shared, green areas were created to serve as transition space, and smaller parking areas were created to provide for space for important features , like the athletic fields or other park elements.
Construction
Construction commenced on the new high school while keeping the existing one open, while construction for the new elementary school is not yet scheduled.
Overall Outcome
The planning presented several challenges, but the combination of proper communication and cooperation allowed for these problems to become opportunities. Unique solutions were discovered to create a distinct character for the overall campus.
KSmall
Case Study
Case Study
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Virtual Globes Assist in Land Surveying
Thursday, August 12th, 2010
Google Earth has popularized the concept of virtual globes, and the technology behind them is developing at an astounding pace.
Virtual Globes
These virtual globes, generated by 3D software, are helpful for viewing the existing conditions of properties and allow users to move freely around the properties, changing viewing angle, position, scale and data layers. Within the survey group, we rely on these 3D images as we develop survey budgets because it is a quick way to review the property. Using Google Earth we can determine how difficult or long it may take to traverse around the perimeter with our lines of sight due to the amount of foliage. Also, we can use it to determine the magnitude of improvements that will need to be located, i.e. fields, building, fences, parking lots, roads, etc.
Surveying Using 3D Images
When it comes time to actually execute the survey operations, these 3D images aid in communicating with the staff the scope of the project through visual representation. Additionally, these 3D images help us to identify possession lines and give clues on where to look for markers when performing boundary surveys and needing to recover boundary markers. While some will say that 3D images are not accurate enough yet, they can be a definite aid and tool to the surveyor who is inclined to use them, and the quality of high-resolution imagery is both substantial and growing on a rapid basis.
jmettee
Surveying
Google Earth, land surveying, virtual globes
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