2.4 North Points

A north point indicator is an important part of any landscape plan. Every designer should consider aspect and answer questions like - where is the best location for an outdoor seating area, can a pond be placed in a shaded part of the garden such that maintenance is reduced etc.? These decisions require an accurate indication of north in the site and on the plan. The figure below shows a design for a rooftop garden which includes the all important indictor showing the direction of north. In this case, the indicator has been embedded in the title block information area at the bottom of the sheet.

We want you to prepare some hand drawn north point indicators for your sketched plans. We hope that by generating a few examples, you will settle on a design for a north point which suits your style and stick to it for your hand drawn plans. A unique north point indicator helps put a personal stamp on your drawings.

This project

Produce a series of drawings similar to that shown below showing your 'take' on a design for a suitable north point indicator. The figures below shows some samples of hand drawn north point indicators.

Please scan your drawings of north points and send them to us for comment to - info@gardencad.net. When you submit your sketch, please indicate the symbol that you have 'settled on'. Keep the scanned (digital) copy in a folder where you can find it and file the paper version in your portfolio. In a later exercise, we will turn the hand drawn north point into a CAD drawing using the scanned version as a guide.