Activity

Concrete countertops with “seeded” agregate polished to represent granite
broken concrete stepping stones or retaining walls
stamped and stained concrete rather than stone
local agregate (lava rock, pumice, granite, etc.) in road surfaces (concrete or ashpault)
Recycled rubber tires in road surfaces
reused recycled stone.
Native stone
HiMacs…[Read more]

I’m just struggling finding a sustainable product that has the aesthetic qualities of stone. The issue is that the process of quarring stone is very environmentally devastating and energy intensive. So what material do we specify as designers that don’t have such a dramatic impact on the environment. I’m looking for alternatives that are truely…[Read more]

Sure, transportation costs of stone = energy lost, but what are the other sustainability arguments against using stone?

It doesn’t really require chemicals to install or maintain. It has good insulating properties. Depending on installation methods, it can make allowances for water infiltration. It doesn’t require much maintenance and has an i…[Read more]

Good question and debate – How about recycled product. Recovering and recycling stone products can extend the life cycle. Of course it has to be the right application.

I totally agree. Not a question (among most), just further evidence, both anecdotal and quantitative. Ming Kuo’s team at the Landscape and Human Health Lab have contributed significantly to this field over the decades, and this recent article in the Hartford Courant seemed like a good vehicle to tap into the more “serious” research that they are…[Read more]

Is this even a question? I thought real estate agents had calculated the added value of green space decades ago..Concrete numbers, that are quite high, and quite realistic, as far as I know….And then in the eighties, New York went even farther, with the theory that green space that is built to high-end standards will be treated better,so…[Read more]

This is what I like to see around here.

thanks nick

NO!!
two years….

Wow..good find.

Definitely brushes. you can download free sets from many places.

Here is a link to a bunch
http://designm.ag/resources/photoshop-nature-brushes/

I don’t do many strip malls, but they do occur.

In the last week I have worked on a cluster subdivision (with a species of concern in Massachusetts – Eastern Box Turtle), four residential landscapes (including one in an Area of Critical Environmental Concern), an ocean front division of a residential property in Hyannisport, an affordable housing…[Read more]

I went looking for the same thing a while back and found this

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/475869/realistic_grass_effect_using_photoshop/

I found it good and straight forward considering my limited knowledge of photoshop at the time although it will take alot of tweaking and practice to produce the quality shown in the posts previous to this!…[Read more]

ahh I found one I did with grass brush and cloning… here is my input to the visual discussion the first is the photo of the site the second is the proposed landscape with meadow in the mid and foreground all “painted” along with all other landscape in photoshop.

Thank you Rob..I did not know you were not an LA, and apologize for excessive defensiveness with regards to the LA profession..

Andrew, I don’t think I ‘twisted ‘ anything. You take pleasure in transforming a strip mall to a strip mall with bioswales – that is control, and influence, and professional judgement…
You may not have the control of Edwina Von Gal.
But how does that degree of conrol that you have influence your happiness, is the happiness question..
It is never…[Read more]

The key is to find or create the correct brush and vary the size of it using the brackets [ ] to make it larger or smaller as you sample for a photo of an actual prairie. That way you will sample the real colors and textures from the picture. Good luck! Post it up when you’re done!

Yeah I think Nick hit it on the head, the key is brushes, especially grass brush that you can “scattter” and “jitter” the hue/saturation for variation. You can also use the clone stamp from an existing image and “stamp” it into your image but this require more practice and a keen eye to get it to look natural.

I did this a few years ago for a student park project. Everything except for the sky is done from scratch with photoshop brushes I made or borrowed from the default library. There are also a few filters here and there. I can answer specific questions if you have any. That might be more helpful.