Larry Huo

Design Statement

The title of my graduation project is called "Le Sol Vivant", inspired by a French exhibition and the book of the same name, "Sol Vivant". This project is about soil and is based in Glasgow.

In my project, to save the soil and in response to the climate crisis, I built a restricted forest where people are not allowed to enter during the first 18 years (to protect saplings and show respect to nature). Also, as Leonardo DaVinci said, “We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.”, I also want to take this as an opportunity to educate people about soil and let them aware of its importance. Thus, I designed a community garden where people can test the local soil and have some soil-related activities.

We all know that people make Glasgow, so if they knew better, Glasgow would become better.

Materiality in landscape architecture

Besides my design project statement, I would like to talk about options that we can have in the way of expressing our design.

During my six years of design study, I have mastered the skills of digital drawing proficiently. Before entering ECA to study, I drew countless site plans, renderings, and analysis drawings, all these drawings have limitations: people cannot interact with them. I think this stage of postgraduate study should be a stage of exploration, rather than repeating proficient skills. There are three main reasons why I choose embroidery as a unique expression method. 

1. In nature, there is not a single plant or a leaf that is the same, not even a cell is the same. However, if the design is expressed by digital drawing, repetition is inevitable. The uniqueness of nature is forgotten by us. 

2. The design needs to be felt, not only through our eyes. When our hands touch the embroidery, we can clearly feel the bulge of the cotton thread and how the plants form groups. Even, my teacher suggested that such an embroidered plan can make people with visual impairment feel the landscape. 

3. Arts are interlinked. I am exploring the relationship between different materials and different artistic expression methods within the landscape profession. Can we challenge the traditional way of expressing landscape, could we look for some different and novel expressions? While we are enjoying the development of technology, can some old technologies continue to be preserved? The screen is cold, but the cotton thread is not.

This is my first time trying to embroider, I learned some embroidery skills through YouTube, such as satin stitch, stem stitch and French knot. The last one is what I use most often, this method can express the size and height of trees very well. Embroidery is an easy technique to learn, but it takes a long time to practice if you want to really master it. I will continue this time-consuming but relaxing craft.