It’s been a busy year here on Land8–and we’ve published some of our best blog posts yet. Thanks to our talented contributors, we’ve toured landscapes around the world, counted down the winners to our fantastic design competitions, and reviewed the latest technological innovations to hit the field. Keep scrolling to read our best landscape architecture blog posts of 2013!
1. Urban Agriculture: 8 Landscape Architecture Firms Leading the Way by Abbagail Jewel Taddei
There are few landscape architecture firms today that can say Urban Agriculture Design is on their shortlist of services offered. Most firms are capable of designing a productive space, of course, whether or not they can say they specialize in this area of design is another matter. Below are eight North American Landscape Architecture firms that are leading the way through their own advocacy and stellar Urban Agriculture projects.
2. DesignIntelligence Announces Best Landscape Architecture Schools for 2014 by Lucy Wang
DesignIntelligence has just released their list for the best landscape architecture schools of 2014 with some interesting new insights. Penn State University leads this year’s undergraduate pack, snatching the coveted position as America’s top BLA program from Louisiana State University, which held the number one position for the past three years. And for the tenth year in a row, Harvard University still dominates the ranks as the best graduate landscape architecture program in America. Keep reading to see if your school made the list!
3. 10 AutoCAD Tips Every Entry-Level Landscape Architect Should Know by Land8 + Landscapeplanner
Brush up on your AutoCAD knowledge with these TEN AutoCAD tips every entry-level landscape architect should know, courtesy of Land8 member landscapeplanner!
4. 10+ Resources to Enhance your SketchUp Skills by Jayson Wood
With the follow-up to Daniel Tal’s 2009 book,”Rendering in SketchUp,” hitting stores last week, Land8 continued its Webinar series with Daniel Tal showcasing SketchUp Pro’s new layout space and the improved interfacing between SketchUp Pro and AutoCAD. Much like Daniel Tal’s book series offers a holistic foundation for SketchUp success, this post provides Daniel Tal’s book recommendations and technical references in the web series to date.
5. How to Make a Portfolio: 5 Tips for Telling your Story by Andrew Spiering
Newschool of Architecture + Design (NSA+D) has put out a video to help educate their potential applicants on how to make a portfolio for graduate submissions. Not only is it a fun and useful guide, it is an example of great marketing. (It certainly made me want to create something beautiful and apply.) You will want the same, positive reaction when someone reviews your portfolio. Whether you are applying for graduate school or a new job, the following 5 Tips will help you create a portfolio that communicates who you are, what your passionate about, all while showcasing your skills and helping you stand out:
6. Five Modernist Landscape Architects by G. Ryan Smith
Modernism as a whole had a major impact on the twentieth century, especially in the arts and in design. Architecture, landscape architecture, film, movies, and art were all heavily influenced by the movement. While modernism’s impact may have been less significant in landscape architecture than in other disciplines – landscape materials, for example, didn’t change as radically in the twentieth century as did building materials in architecture – there were nonetheless many academics and practitioners who sought to move the profession forward as modernism came to prominence in the early- and mid-20th century. Below are five modernist landscape architects whose work you should be familiar with:
7. The Results are In for the CitiesAlive Student Design Challenge! by Lara Moffat
A HUGE thank you to all of the teams that submitted a design for the CitiesAlive Student Design Challenge for a new Tenderloin Community Center! The design submissions were viewed over 13,000 times with 2,361 votes cast and the winning entry with 1,043 votes goes to Ellis’ Grove, submitted by the team from Universidad Francisco Marroquin.
8. Quarry Garden 矿坑花园 | Shanghai, China by Lucy Wang
Were it not for its honor award in the 2012 ASLA General Design Awards, I might not have ever heard of the Quarry Garden, much less been willing to make the trip out to visit its rather remote location in Songjiang District–it took me over two hours on public transportation to get there from Pudong (foreign tourists are thus a rare sight here)–but I’m so glad that I did. The Quarry Garden, as well as the surrounding sights in Chenshan Botanical Garden, are highlights in my trip to Shanghai.
9. Design Library: 6 Books on Construction Details by Jayson Wood
The Land8 Webinar: ‘Details for Landscape Architects’ featuring Thomas Ryan provided a much needed look at the adapting field of detailing. Details are a Landscape Architect’s bread and butter. Consideration, intuition, and final construction are why we’re hired. The material and design consideration for a simple detail can be mind-boggling and very in-depth; But you have to set the first brick to build Rome–and that brick, it turns out, is 3/8″ inch smaller in each direction.
10. Congratulations to the Winners of the 2013 Iron Designs’ Challenge! by Andrew Spiering
Congratulations to the Winners of the 2013 Iron Designs’ Challenge! At the beginning of April, Iron Age Designs challenged you to design a winning site furnishing family consisting of a bollard, bench, and a bin. From among the 77 design submissions, a group of the Top 10 Finalists were selected. It is now with great excitement that we announce the winners of the 2013 Iron Age Designs’ Challenge. And the winners are…
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