Community Planning: Methods
Elevation montage
- description
- more detail
- more pictures
Elevation
montages show the facade of a street by assembling photos of individual
buildings. They can be useful for helping people gain an understanding
of the building fabric and devise improvements.
An elevation of a street is created by assembling a series of individual photographs. Both sides of a street can be done and pasted either side of a plan.
Simple instructions ask people to make comments on Post-it notes or cards and place them underneath the relevant section (what they like/don't like/would like to see).
The build up of Post-it notes or cards generates a dialogue amongst participants and useful data for later discussion and analysis.
An elevation of a street is created by assembling a series of individual photographs. Both sides of a street can be done and pasted either side of a plan.
Simple instructions ask people to make comments on Post-it notes or cards and place them underneath the relevant section (what they like/don't like/would like to see).
The build up of Post-it notes or cards generates a dialogue amongst participants and useful data for later discussion and analysis.
Photocredits
Kingswood, UK, 1996, Roger Evans Associates.
Kingswood, UK, 1996, Roger Evans Associates.
Table-mounted
Photomontages as part of a workshop aimed at generating urban design proposals.
Tips
- Table-mounted displays make it possible to have both sides of a street opposite each other on a plan. Wall mounted displays only work if it does not matter treating both sides separately.
- Useful debates can take place around the exhibit. Keep a notepad or sound recorder handy.
- Very useful as an ice-breaker at the beginning of a workshop, and as a visual prompt for all participants during a workshop. Also useful as part of an open house event.
Costs
- Main costs: Film processing and purchase. Preparation time (2 person days).
Tips on montage making
- Stand the same distance from the building line when taking all photos unless there are setbacks in the buildings, when you should move closer.
- If relating to a plan, then it is best to mount the montage on a long table. If on a wall, then one elevation will be upside down.
- Digital mapping which can be re-scaled is useful for adjusting the plan to fit the elevation.
- The plan is more understandable if photos are placed directly on the building line.
- Elevations are more understandable if photos are stuck together so that shop signs are readable even if there is some mismatch at roof level.
Advantages of elevation montages
- Good icebreaker at the beginning of workshop sessions
- Helps participants and design professionals gain a visual understanding of the environment they are dealing with.
- Secures the views of people lacking the confidence to speak in group discussions.
- Can be left as part of an unmanned exhibition over a period of time.
- Can be costly to prepare and may not be cost-effective compared with other methods.
Wall-mounted
Residents pasting Post-it notes on a wall-mounted montage.
Detail of above with comment
Photocredits
Birmingham, UK, 1994, Nick Wates.
Birmingham, UK, 1994, Nick Wates.
Thanks: Julie Withers, Kathryn Anderson, Roger Evans Associates.