Author: Land8: Landscape Architects Network

Advancements in ecology and environmental studies have been particularly prevalent over the past few years. We recycle waste on a daily basis in the hopes of preventing past mistakes, because decades ago we did not understand the full extent of pollution. In the spirit of reusing waste, we have adapted contaminated sites to become useful once again through many means of cleansing and renovating the soil and surrounding structures. Here is a list containing some industrial landscapes that, helped along by Mother Nature and man, have become core to the surrounding communities, remembering the past while embracing the future. 10. Concrete Plant Park — Bronx, New York

The Concrete Plant Park was once a concrete batch mix plant located on the southern side of the Bronx River, along the western shore. The park is surrounded by large bridges and is cut off from the mainland by an Amtrak line. Community is at the heart of this renovation, as it is packed with chess tables, a beautiful waterfront, a boat launch, and a busy bike trail — all you need for a lazy Sunday. 9. Rincon Park — San Francisco Rincon Park, located just underneath the Bay Bridge, is truly a memorable park due to its large sculptural bow and arrow in the center created by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. A past of industrial and commercial use left the waterfront with low levels of contamination. After renovation, this park gives visitors a base to view some of the iconic aspects of San Francisco, such as San Francisco Bay, The Bay Bridge, and views across to Oakland. With open green space, walled seating, and the surrounding bustling area, this park shows it does not have to be large to make an impact! 8. Glass Beach — Fort Bragg, California Glass Beach is situated in Fort Bragg. After years of being the site of dumped glass, this beach has morphed into a very interesting result, as Mother Nature shows us her power. The beach is littered with smooth glass pebbles, creating a beautiful and colorful park. 7. Thames Barrier Park — London, England Thames Barrier Park was an industrial site for chemical and dye works, leaving the soil and groundwater contaminated. Today, it is a very different site, with weaving hedges representing the site’s dockland heritage. The park has strong contrasting diagonal lines, dividing up a rectangular park running toward the river. The park not only caters to tourists, but also welcomes the community surrounding the park, as it boasts a playground, fountain plaza, and a basketball court. There is a strong historical theme throughout this park, strengthened by the choice of vegetation and its location close to the docks. 6. Ayalon Park — Tel Aviv, Israel  Ayalon Park, named after the Ayalon Valley that lies at its feet, was the site of Israel’s largest landfill. This project turns 16 million cubic meters of waste into a 2,000-acre park, bursting with eco-friendly amenities such as a biological waste treatment plant, a garden waste recycling system, a battery collection facility, and many more ecological facilities. This project is set to continue until 2020. 5. Landschaftspark — Duisburg Nord, Germany Rather than reject this park’s polluted past, Latz and Patner embrace and accept its industrial history by using the remaining structures and cleansing the remaining contaminated soil through phytoremediation. The existing and past uses were carefully considered as they chose different uses for the remaining structures. Old concrete walls were morphed into a rock climber’s ambition and an old gas tank transformed into scuba diving pools, with the former steel mill creating the main square. 4. Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes — Silver Valley, Idaho Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes is a rail trail running through Silver Valley in Idaho. This trail was a positive outcome from the remaining residue left behind from the area’s silver mines. After the removal of the rails, the 73-mile track was transformed into a bike and hike trail with stunning sights along the paths. This trail won the 2006 EPA Region 10 Phoenix Award for achievement of excellence in brownfield redevelopment. 3. Alumnae Valley — Wellesley College, Washington This 13.5-acre campus site was transformed into a beautiful and lavish green valley consisting of various sections all coming together to create a unified landscape. The site was an environmental concern as lead paint, oil, and coal-tar was found on site. After decontamination, the college started a seven-year construction, altering the 175-space car park into a sloping, lush valley embracing the college within. See more here 2. Westergasfabriek Culture Park — Amsterdam, Holland by Gustafson Porter In the late 19^th century, two coal gas factories were built in Amsterdam along the waterways. By the time both factories ceased production in 1967, the site was heavily polluted. During the clean-up phase, they found tar, minerals oils, asbestos, and cyanide. Now stands a stunning 14-hectare city park designed by Gustafson Porter. This park stirs all the senses using the variety of spaces within, boasting marsh ponds, wildflower meadows, large open green spaces, and waterside decks. This park runs in conjunction with Bretten Zone,  a 10-kilometer stretch of waterways that encourage amphibians, reptiles, and fish to move freely within the waterways, another outstanding accomplishment that only adds to this park. 1. Freshkills Park — Staten Island, New York New York has made a leap forward, dealing with the iconic landfill on Staten Island and turning it into a new park for New York City. Freshkills Park is a 2,200-acre park, symbolizing renewal and restoration within New York. The area is divided into various terrains; 45 percent of the site is wetlands, open waterways, and unfilled lowland areas, creating a difficult and challenging space to consider. This space redefines New York parklands by introducing the community to the surrounding ecology. This short list of  industrial landscapes portrays the reuse of these hazardous sites and how they were turned into town attractions. They creatively engage in their industrial past while promoting a change for the future. These are proof of our leap forward into environmental studies in the hope of protecting our already stunning landscapes. Article written by Lisa Tierney. Featured image; courtesy of  Gustafson Porter

RO&AD Architecten surprise the world with their Moses Bridge. Dutch design has always been great reference when it comes to creativity and innovation – in this case, it is no different. The Moses Bridge is a very unusual pedestrian bridge (already featured in our “Top 10 Pedestrian Bridges”, check it out!) built in a fort located near Halsteren, in the Netherlands. What makes it so unique? Well, it offers more than just access from one side to the other like an ordinary bridge – it takes you in a journey back in time… THE FORT DE ROOVERE

Fort De Roovere is an entrenchment that was part of the West Brabant Water Line – a Dutch defence line consisting of a series of fortresses constructed between the cities of Bergen op Zoom and Grave in 1698. Over the years, the fort was forgotten and unattended and has only been restored fairly recently, thanks to the local community initiative – Friends of Fort De Roovere – a foundation that aims at keeping the memory of the fort alive. De Roovere went through many renovations in 2010 and one of the main interventions was the deepening of the old moat, an important feature in the fort that gave it so much character. Once the waterline was finally restored, a bridge was then needed to provide access to the fort accross the moat – not just a regular bridge, a bridge that would allow safe crossing even during enemy attack! The designers RO&AD Architecten was contracted by the municipality of Bergen op Zoom to come up with the bridge design for De Roovere. The works of Ro Koster and Ad Kil are very creative and varied – from interiors, restorations, offices, to housing and restaurants – all built and designed based on strong concepts. The designers felt it was innapropriate to build a bridge over the moat – after all, it is located on the side of the fort where the enemy was expected to appear. Instead, they decided to construct a sunken bridge, practically invisible to the enemies’ eyes.

Credit: RO&AD Architecten

The Moses Bridge The bridge blends in the landscape so well that you can barely see it from distance. As the structure is partially submerged, the narrow trench only opens up once you are right in front of it. We can easily guess why it has taken on the name “Moses Bridge”: it appears to have divided the moat’s water and the crossing is literally like walking through the water, as featured in the biblical narrative where Moses crosses de Red Sea. The bridge covers 50m2 of constructed area and its total cost was of 250.000 euro. It is entirely made of wood (Accoya Wood and Red Angelim), waterproofed with EPDM foil.

Creativity and sustainability Normally, bridges rise above to offer crossing to pedestrians but in this case they have to go down to the water level to cross, which puts people in direct contact with the moat so they can interact better with it. Moses Bridge is not just an example of great innovative design, it holds great cultural values as well, preserving Dutch history and at the same time offering recreational attractions to the local community and tourists as there are several routes for cycling and hiking from there. RO&AD say they want to work on a more sustainable world and they surely have contributed a lot with this bridge – socially, culturally and economically. You may also enjoy reading: Top 10 Pedestrian Bridges  Article written by Julia Lucchesa Featured image: Moses Bridge RO&AD Architecten

This week’s sketchy selection has been particularly inspiring, with all kinds of interesting works coming in. Our readers have been especially imaginative with these. This is why I’ll start this selection with a quote from one of this week’s entries by Emilie Marques Jordao: ‘You should give hand drawing a shot even if you have a non-artistic background. Find something that inspires you and your sketching abilities will flourish!’ No. 10 by Nancy Sarai Vazquez, Landscape Designer, USA

‘This sketch was drawn while on a study abroad trip to Italy. We were in Venice that day and the views of the harbor were just spectacular. Since that trip, I have traveled with my sketchbook, always stopping to draw only the things that grab my attention, be it people, places, or things. The materials used were a #2 lead pencil on acid-free cartridge paper.’ No. 9 by Pung Jia Chyi Janet, Architecture Student, Malaysia ‘It was a Sunday morning in Kings Street, Penang. However, it was not an ordinary Sunday because it was bicycle day. I tried to capture people’s motion and observed their contact with this heritage site. The situation was chaotic, full of people along the street but I felt people’s curiosity about the city. I hope this heritage site and even more other historical attractions in Malaysia could be noticed by more people around the world. Thus, letting more people know about this beautiful country.’ No. 8 by Brandon Cornejo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Landscape Architecture student, United States ‘This is a section elevation of a design solution to a circulation issue on campus over a riparian corridor. It features a powder-coated steel bridge that connects the eastern side of an arboretum to the western side of a student housing complex. This sketch was drawn with pencils and markers on bond.’ No. 7 by Ronak Roshan Gilavaee, Architect B.A., Rasht, Iran ‘I am really fond of historical villages since they have a strong visual structure and the potentiality to feed the imagination. Such places can provide you with a wide range of possibilities concerning drawing different natural shapes and forms. This one named Abyaneh is located in Kashan, central part of Iran. The sketch is done in free hand style with a pencil in about 20 minutes.’ No. 6 by Khalil El. Khadiri, Landscape Engineer, Hassan II Agronomy and Veterinary Institute, Morocco  ‘As part of the renovation of a villa in Marrakech, Morocco, the client asked to design two different styles of gardens: a garden with a contemporary style and the other with an Andalusian-Islamic style. The sketch shows the junction between the two gardens initiating entrance to the Andalusian garden.’ No. 5 by Marko Momirov, Belgrade based Landscape architect, MLA Aristotle university of Thessaloniki ‘The sketch was made as a part of my student project based upon the space of the city square. This entire presentation is hand-made, using only some pens and markers. The location in the sketch is the main city square in the town of Sremski Karlovci in Serbia.’ No. 4 by Andy S. Quevada, Architect cum Landscape Architect, Abu Dhabi, UAE ‘This sketch was made digitally and represents the docking and surrounding area of a new proposed building in Abu Dhabi. The docks are of course mainly about tourism but the surrounding area itself is more of a promenade and semi-garden for the people who visit it. The sketch is quite detailed and focuses on the utility and grandeur of the area.’ No. 3 by Amaury Neto, Landscape Architect and Agronomist Engineer, Brazil ‘I did this piece to illustrate the conceptual idea that I have for this garden in a residence in São Paulo, Brazil. It’s all freehand drawing, only using a ruler to guide the straight lines and it was colored with markers and white gel pen for the highlights.’ No. 2 by Emilie Marques Jordao, M.L.A Student, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, U.S.A ‘This is a sketch by my design of a contemplative garden at a Buddhist community in Massachusetts. I am new to L.A. and I didn’t know about my hand drawing abilities until I was faced with my first studio. I only used vellum and pencil! You should give hand drawing a shot even if you have a non-artistic background. Find something that inspires you and your sketching abilities will flourish!’ No.1 by Miguel Lievano, Colombian Architect based in California, USA ‘This drawing was part of a series of sketches commissioned by Drawing Elephants in Switzerland. The project involved sketching a few iconic buildings mainly in Europe and this is one of them. This is a quick ink and watercolor drawing on a 140 lb heavy weight watercolor sheet.’ Seeing this Top 10, I would definitely advise you to take Emilie’s advice and get the sketches flowing towards us and your work might be published for the world to see! And if you want to get inspiration for a start-up, check our full Sketchy Saturday album and send your own work to our address. Good luck! Article written by Oana Anghelache.

So you suck at hand drawings? Your trees look like lollipops and your people seem as though they have stepped from the canvas of a van Gogh painting. Things could be worse though right? You thought so until you saw the look of confusion on your client’s face when you pulled out your life time master piece (which most likely took all night to produce). For centuries, hand drawing with a pen, pencil, or marker has served as the prized and idealized method for communicating by the design community. These works are not simply beautiful images which adorn the walls of many public and private collectors. They serve as a way to communicate form, function, scale, social issues, and more. University students around the world are entrenched deep within the debate of if designers must have excellent representation skills. They are bombarded with the ideal and the famous; not the everyday and common. This is acceptable though because schools are meant to challenge and expand students’ abilities and skill sets.

Don’t be fooled Laurie Olin, Warren Byrd, and Mike Lin are a sampling of individuals who our design community prizes for intriguing and exceptional hand graphics. But don’t be fooled. Not all designers are lauded for their drawing or sketching abilities. Certainly this is not a sign that they lack the skill, desire, or creativity. It is simply not the medium which they choose to get passionate about. Piet Odoulf and Gertrude Jekyl are some of the world’s most renowned designers, but for other reasons. You may also be interested in reading:

• 3D Modeling Software for Landscape Architects
• Sketchy Saturday | 012
• Is Drawing Dead?

A quick assessment of the design world will reveal that hand drawing is not the predominate form of communication in our professions. So if you suck at hand drawing or just don’t enjoy doing it take hope! There are numerous other mediums with which you can express yourself. A large amount of work is being done in visually engaging and rich ways. Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, Autodesk and Vectorworks, Sketchup and Rhino, Kerkythea and Blender, and GIS are a small sampling of other mediums that designers create with. Many designers use montage, photography, and even models to explain their design ideas. The list is never ending. Check out our review of  HDR and Digital Blending Courses It’s what you are saying not how you are saying it ‘So why are some people so caught up in hand graphics,’ you ask? It’s simple. It’s what they prefer. They can use it effectively as a tool. Instead, the debate should really be centered around ‘communication’. This is what clients are looking for when they seek the help of a design professional. Clients want a designer to ‘hear’ what they are saying and have the ability to visualize it so that it can be built. Drawing and sketching are not antiquated forms of communication. They have a pivotal role to play in design. The professional designer cannot approach her work as a child would, spending countless hours creating 3d models or photorealistic imagery. These methods take a lot of time and are not always the best tool for the job. Drawing and sketching allow designers to create numerous iterations in a short amount of time. Certainly it is one of the more powerful tools available to the designer. Hand drawing also provides an appeal to certain clients and can be just as aesthetically attractive. In ‘The Necessity for Drawing’ Michael Graves describes three types of drawing. 1. The referential sketch. 2. The preparatory sketch. 3. The definition drawing. They are not without meaning. Each one has a purpose. Vanessa Quirk of Arch Daily writes about the trap of photorealistic imagery. “It’s a trap…it’s also symptomatic of architectures obsession with the image of architecture, an image completely detached from reality…causing students to spend hours perfecting visuals instead of the design.” Digital design can be just as relevant and effective in communicating though. However, there needs to be a sense of honesty and transparency. So now that the veil has hopefully been lifted from your eyes, you no longer feel the weight to have perfect hand graphics. Whatever your form of communication be sure to do it for a reason and know how to use it effectively as a tool for exploring and communicating. Recommended Reading:

• Sketching from the Imagination: An Insight into Creative Drawing by 3DTotal
• Architectural Drawing Course by Mo Zell

Article written by Cameron R. Rodman Return to Homepage

Designer Amir Schlezinger Creates an exquisite  Japanese Garden This 3,000-square-foot private garden is nestled on the Eastern boundary of a 1.5-acre site in the middle of the Essex countryside, just an hour’s drive north of London. The owner, a software developer, was inspired by a visit to Japan. He wanted to recreate the peace he felt at temple gardens — the plants and rocks, the disciplined raking of gravel, and the sound of water. He had taken his family to Japan during the school holidays, and he wanted his own garden to not only represent the family unit, but to blend with his contemporary ideas and with the soulful tradition of ancient Japanese gardens. The Site The client had acquired the site a few years earlier and had restored an old barn and its outbuildings, using oak beams, black cladding, slate tiles, and flint walls. This is the family’s country home during the weekends; weekdays are spent in a high-rise penthouse apartment in the center of London. Their weekend home is the ideal peaceful family retreat, with all the children could wish for: a place to run around, fresh air, a pool, and a sports barn. The site is close to Stansted Airport, handy for business travel, but now that work is less on the agenda and the children are older, the client wanted to create a Japanese garden in which to indulge peace.

Designing The Japanese Garden

The plan links the four boundaries of the site, all set at different angles, and responds to the existing character of the architecture. The site runs east to west and is surrounded by two building and a perimeter wall and is open on the western side. The orientation of the sun is ideal for growing Japanese woodland plants. Initially, the ground was pretty level and laid to paving, allowing access to the buildings but serving not much of a visual purpose. Lowering a large part of the space as a sunken garden gave it a temple feel and allowed for a better edge definition.

There were no features to retain — it all had to go, except for one mature tree, ideally situated in the corner of the space, giving it a feel of maturity. Most of the plants used are Japanese species such as maple, camellia, holly, ferns, cherry, miniature grasses set in the deck, and bamboo. Two floating hardwood decks feature in the lower temple area, providing platforms to view the countryside beyond over the swimming pool by the main house. The decks are linked by raised paths made of reclaimed York stone, its tone mediating the dark granite with the tone of the wood. Getting it built  Cranes were crucial to lift materials into the garden. Heavy pieces were then lifted by hand with hydraulic handheld lifting gear. The project took three months to build during the wettest English winter. Approximately 50 tons of rubble and clay had to be excavated to make room for 60 new tons of materials: a dozen different kinds of natural stone, aggregates, timber, and rocks. A sequence of six red-green granite rocks is situated diagonally to symbolize the family, decreasing in size and concluding in the foreground with a low granite rock set as a waterfall. Black and gray flamed granite feature in the random paving patterns culminating in the focal point wall, which has a three-dimensional quality where the stones protrude at random. The garden is irrigated automatically to assist and maximize plant growth in a site that is quite exposed to drying winds. A low-voltage LED lighting scheme is programmed to switch on after dusk during the weekend, welcoming the client as he arrives from London and generating dramatic silhouettes through architectural foliage onto the surrounding walls. Legacy Creating this garden in this specific location was a great challenge for the whole team, which was assisted by a supportive and creative client. The process enabled a new blend of old traditions with new techniques and design approaches. Sourcing materials and plants for a Japanese garden in the UK is a difficult task and one that is not without compromise. A few tweaks were made along the way from the initial concept to the finished garden. Yet with the client fully embracing the ongoing care for the space with creative raking, pruning, and general maintenance, the garden will hopefully remain as timeless as the concept behind it. Text and images by Amir Schlezinger Check out his website mylandscapes See more designs and updates from Amir on the mylandscapes Facebook page Recommended reading: Japanese Gardens: Tranquility, Simplicity, Harmony by Kimie Tada Japanese Garden Design by Marc P. Keane  

After spending the past 4 years studying to be a Landscape Architect, LAN writer Joe Clancy divulges on what he picked up during his time studying, with some funny moments and lots a practical notes these 100 lessons learned form studying Landscape Architecture is a list not to be missed. Enjoy!   #100 Drink coffee. #99 Avoid negative people and those who hang around the watercooler. #98 Help those who need help. #97 Don’t waste your time with people who don’t want to work. #96 Always be reading at least 3 books, on different subjects, which are related to landscape architecture. #95 Plan for the “What can go wrong, will go wrong” scenario. #94 Never leave printing to the last minute. #93Question your lecturers. #92 Take breaks. #91 Travel as much as possible. #90 Never use “erm”, “kinda”, “its not great”, “i just” during a presentation or critique.  You might as well shoot yourself in the foot. #89 Drink coffee. #88 Post-design rationalisation is fantastic if you can pull it off, but never rely on it.

#87 Photoshop and AutoCAD do not make you a good designer. #86 Always carry a notebook to write down & sketch ideas. #85 Creativity doesn’t adhere to a 9-5 timetable. #84 Phone home. #83 Go to as many lectures and talks as possible. #82 Google “Gestalt”. #81 Make it multi-functional, make it fun. #80 You will use the word sustainable so much, it will lose all meaning. #79 “To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time”. – Leonard Bernstein #78 Read Edward De Bono. #77 When it comes to planting design and specification, KISS. See also our top names in planting design! #76 Drink Coffee. #75 Your computer will crash.  You will lose all your work.  Backup, backup, backup! #74 Don’t replicate, innovate! #73 Objectives don’t make sense if a SWOT doesn’t identify them. #72 Keep your workspace tidy! #71 “Creative minds are rarely tidy”. – Carl Gustav Jung #70 Engineers are the Oompa Loompas of the planning process. #69 Planners have no souls.  Don’t be fooled. #68 Architects are not as self obsessed as you would think.  They’re much worse. #67 Crocus.co.uk will be your lifesaver if you know nothing about plants. #66 Listen to music. #65 “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”. – Antoine de Saint-Exupery #64 Avoid energy drinks. #63 Drink coffee. #62 Students go to University to make mistakes.  Just make sure you learn from them. #61 Be silly, but never stupid. #60 You will at sometime, spend several nights sleeping in the studio.  They turn the heating off at ten.  Bring a blanket. #59 Read Jan Gehl, Jane Jacobs, Ian McHarg, Piet Oudolf, Nigel Dunnett and Timothy Beatley. #58 Draw on BIG pieces of paper. #57 Limitation inspires creativity. #56 Ask “what the design wants to be”, not “what you want it to be”. #55 Procrastination is a death sentence.  JUST DO SOMETHING. #54 Horizontal rain is a common occurrence in Ireland. #53 No one knows what a landscape architect is or does. But we try to answer is, check out “What is Landscape Architecture?”. #52 When rolling drawing sheets, roll them with the drawing side facing outwards.  It will avoid an unnecessary  struggle on presentation days! #51 Pantones are expensive, but never buy crayola. #50 You cannot design a space without understanding “prospect – refuge” theory. #49 Drink coffee. #48 Pack rain gear for site visits. #47 If you can’t take criticism and use it positively, you’re in the wrong career. #46 Dream out loud. #45 Don’t ever sketch an element literally. #44 Good drawings are drawn hierarchically. #43 If anyone ever suggests Begonias, say no.  In the face.  With a shovel. #42 “Stupid”, “boring” and “pointless” first year studio exercises are the most important lessons in design you will ever learn. #41 Cool colours recede, warm colours advance. #40 Studio is about developing a good design process, not the “perfect” project. #39 Learn the language of design. #38 Learn (and understand) the design principles as well as the back of your hand. #37 A variety of uses, to attract a variety of users. #36 When giving a presentation, start with general information and then move on to specific details. #35 During a presentation, make eye contact. #34 Drink coffee. #33 “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough” – Albert Einstein #32 “Less is more”.  – Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe #33 Less is less is if you don’t understand Modernism. #31 Leaving time for test printing runs will save you a great deal of stress and worry. #30 Presentation boards should be legible from 10ft away. #29 Give areas/elements within your design a name.  It gives them character, identity and a sense of reality.  “Cloud Gate” sounds a lot better than “The Bean”. #28 Mind mapping works. #27 Take up meditation. #26 The journey to a space and its experience, is just as important as the one within the space. #25 The most creative people are critical of their own thought process, constantly assessing their thinking methods, seeking out and testing new ways to think and be creative. #24 Design like you give a damn. #23 Printers break down. #22 An idea is a specific mental structure by which we organize, understand, and give meaning to external experiences and information. #21 Revealing and screening, denial and reward are powerfully strategies for drawing users through a space. #20 A steeper slope will slow a person down and appreciate a framed view for longer. #19 Design firms don’t want a standard CV.  Show off your skills and add a bit of design flair to your portfolio. #18 Know your native species. #17 Don’t be xenophobic in your plant choices. #16 Perspective drawings will sell any project. #15 If you can’t present, it won’t matter how good a designer you are, people won’t understand your ideas. #14 It can take 6 – 9 years to become a chartered landscape architect, from university enrolment to professional exams. #13 Hand drawing is not dead, so don’t pretend like it is. #12 The Planting Design Handbook by Nick Robinson is a must read. #11 Work with community groups for free.  It will pay back in time. #10 Drink coffee. #9 Get out and raise awareness about landscape architecture.  Talk to people on the street, post about it on Facebook, become involved with the ILI. #8 When intimidated by a project, start with the easiest tasks first.  This will help you build momentum and confidence as you progress. #7 Ask for advice and help when you need it. #6 Keep up to date with all the landscape architecture, architecture & design websites for inspiration #5 Design WITH models #4 Making a final presentation model will always take longer than you think it will #3 Landscape architects are design obsessed people.  It will happen to you. #2 Don’t take anything seriously.  Have fun with it. #1 Caffeine withdrawal is terrible.   Like the Article? Check Out the T-Shirt! Article written by Joe Clancy Please check out Joe’s website: Designing The Landscape Image credits: shutterstock.com

Landgrab City – Urban farm challenging the reality of our cities. From the outset, this temporary urban farm, installed in the middle of the Shenzhen/Hong Kong Biennale of Architecture/Urbanism congress is a unique piece of landscape. Not only because it represents an urban farm, but also because it represents one of the most important values of landscape architecture: challenging the reality of our cities. The conception and construction of this project creates an iconic precedent in our search as landscape architects, to motive people to think about solutions for a future that, day by day, seems to be darker.

Is this a solution for ALL big cities? This installation, created by the architects Joseph Grima, Jeffrey Johnson and Jose Esparza, is a clear example of what could be done to solve the farming problem that all big cities in the world face. In this case, the architects exemplify their concern by designing a two part temporal installation: the first is a simple representation, as a map, of the city’s dense downtown area, where 4.5 million people live. The second part of the installation sits on an artificial parcel, divided into small lots according to the plantation of different food groups. These include vegetables, cereals, fruit and pasture (for livestock). All of these are basic foods for Chinese families and most other the countries in the world. A key factor of this installation is the concept of scale. The artificial parcel is a scaled representation of how much land it is necessary to provide enough food to all inhabitants that live in the area represented in the map. This representation is also a future image of the amount of land that would be necessary to feed the population of the same area in 2027. The Goal of the project The intention of the architects, by designing this project in a scaled model, is to create a realistic connection between visitors and the farming problem. It is expected to generate a vision in people, which should show how many green fields are needed now to reach the goal of our modern society: to feed everyone. General awareness should be heightened by the project. As seen in the image, different people have different reactions to the installation. However, a general reaction of analysis and, a sense of shame and concern is seen. By analyzing the size of each artificial parcel and the size of the city, people now have a very good idea of how many agricultural fields are needed to satisfy their own nutritional needs. It is clear that the land required to fulfill the food needs of a nation is two or three times bigger than the geographical size of the same country. You may also like to read the following: How to Provide Easy Access to Urban Agriculture in Over Populated Cities Dublin Urban Farm: Interview with Paddy O’Kearney The knowledge and landscape potential of Grima, Johnson and Esparza is seen throughout the landscape design of the Landgrab City. First, the use of different plants, sunlight, shadow, grasses and vegetables is defined so the visitor can get a real sense of the natural habitat of agricultural fields in China. Secondly, the use of traditional Chinese agricultural elements, such as fences and a regular grid, helps Chinese visitors relate to the process of agriculture and also shows to international visitors how Chinese agriculture works. The truthful use of these two elements is part of the foundation that makes this project an unparalleled accomplishment. We can learn from this project that landscape design is not only about courtyards, urban farms and plant pallets. It is also about how the architect can create an installation without worrying about the scale of the result, as it still represents the key concept of the project. The use of plants, trees, materials, furniture and lighting has to be focused to achieve that which is shown the Landgrab City project. Project: Landgrab City Location: Shenzhen/Hong Kong Biennale of Architecture/Urbanism Team: Joseph Grima, Jeffrey Johnson and Jose Esparza Recommended reading:   Urban Farms Urban Farm Handbook Report written by Luis Eduardo Guísar Benítez Featured image: copyright : Shenzhen Biennale of UrbanismArchitecture Organizing Committee

How to grow a School Garden. A Complete Guide for Parents and Teachers by Arden Bucklin – Sporer and Rachel Kathleen Pringle The children brought up in the big cities are often sadly separated from nature. They often do not even realise where their food comes from, have never seen a vegetable patch, let alone a farm or a field – all they know are the sterile, clean vegetables packed neatly on the supermarket shelves. A school garden can literally change their lives. The children’s contact with living plants, the experience of growing food with their own hands cannot be overestimated. “How to grow a School Garden. A Complete Guide for Parents and Teachers” by Arden Bucklin – Sporer and Rachel Kathleen Pringle is a great tool for all those interested in children’s education and development. Overview

The book, written by two specialists from San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance, an advocacy organisation for school gardens and outdoor classrooms, is a complete and comprehensive manual for everyone involved with gardening as means of children’s education. How do You Start a School Garden? It covers the subjects from the very beginning – how do you start a school garden? How to involve the whole school community in the project? How to get the necessary funding? It describes topics such as designing the area, working with schools, parents and local community, and making the most of the outdoor classroom through all – year – round activities. It also provides the information on the ongoing maintenance and ideas for working with the students. The lesson plans, practical advice, tricks and tips and the garden recipes are a valuable resource for every school, teacher or anyone else interested in that kind of green education. The real – life examples and case studies make this book even more practical by showing the potential problems and realistic solutions. The multiple colorful illustrations are an added value, making this book beautiful as well as practical. Get it Here! Is it for me? If you are a teacher, a parent or anyone else involved in environmental education – this book is for you. If you are a landscape architect or a garden designer, interested in designing school gardens, you will also find it useful. Following the example set by the two authors of “How to grow a School Garden. A Complete Guide for Parents and Teachers” will open a vast range of opportunities, the whole new world for the urban children of XXI century. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who has school children, works with them or even is just interested in the well being of the new generation. Get it Here! About the authors: Arden Bucklin- Sporer: The executive director of the San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance, director of educational gardens for the San Francisco Unified School District, and a founding partner of Bay Tree Design, Inc, a landscape architecture firm. She worked with green schoolyards and school gardens both as a parent and as an activist. Kathleen Pringle: The programs manager for the San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance and the urban school garden liason for Occidental Art & Ecology Center’s School Garden Teacher Training Program in Sonoma County, California. She has experience working in the environmental education field since 2002. She has also taught in a public school garden, and led workshops for garden coordinators, parents and community members. To see more of what’s inside the book,check it out on Amazon! Publisher: Timber Press, Inc. Type: Flexibind Page length: 223 pages Review written by Marta Ratajszczak Featured image: Shutterstock.com

On January 2014, two Rotterdam-based design firms won a competition for the redevelopment of Vogabyggd in Reyjavik, Iceland. The task is part of a municipal long-term master plan for the area and intends to re-invest in the currently neglected potential to link the city to its surrounding Icelandic landscape. The Winning Team Through an invited two-stage competition, teams Felixx and Jvantspijker collaborated their efforts to produce the design that became the first prize winner. Jvantspijker, a planning and architectural firm is mainly intrigued by the diversity in public spaces and integrated sustainable solutions. Felixx, a landscape architecture firm with the motto ‘realizing happy environments’ focuses on new environmental challenges. As the municipality’s all-encompassing plan commits to redevelopment, densification and sustainability, the two firms used the ambition of densification to alter the current relation between the city and landscape which are “acting as the inverse of each other”.

Cityscape and Site Location The proposed design will be an added value to the already magical winter city of Reykjavik. Although an urban settlement of short history, the Icelandic capital is a walkable city of inclusive accessibility and lively coloured rooftops. Moreover, due to its presence around a series of volcanoes, glaciers and geysirs, Iceland’s relation to nature makes up a significant part of its identity, which explains the desire to integrate sustainable solutions in their city development. Surrounding icy scenes, an adjacent nature reserve and an undervalued waterfront are what characterize the selected site located in the world’s northernmost capital. The location is tightly embedded within a port and transshipment area, a residential area and a large nature reserve. The Design: A Renewed Link The plan, approached from the urban vision of “Making City”, consists of 110.000 square meters of mixed use , including four hundred new dwellings. The jury of the competition praised the “ambition and high quality” of the proposal as well as Reykjavik’s “standards of innovation, compact and integrated approach to planning and landscape.” The desired linking of the city to its adjacent landscape is performed in the design through a strong network of connections through the city and neighboring nature reserve. Community making and local identity is at the heart of the project. Since the sea is a vital part of life for the city dwellers, the design can be recognized as a community by the sea. The following vision is translated spatially through the creation of good connectivity, streets, integrated parking solutions and high consideration to diversity and ecology. Among the most important elements of the design is the new central square created along the water. The designers call it the “new place to be”.

We return this Saturday with our favourite selection of your best sketchy works! We’ve had a while to consider this Top 10, so expect only the best. Meanwhile, you can browse through all of our readers submitted works here. No. 10 by Yi dae-young, Studio L, Landscape Design & Garden Construction

‘This sketch was an impression of a proposed public garden in South Korea’s suburban area. It was designed in a way which should not disobey the existing nature, but be at harmony with its surroundings. The sketch shows the open lawn that sits between the magnificent trees. It is drawn in color pencil on 75g white paper.’ No. 9 by Miguel Lievano ‘This sketch represents a streetscape test drawing. The location is nowhere in particular, but can be applied to a small English town, architecturally. I was just playing with scale and proportion, especially with the rows of houses and adjacent trees. The materials seem to be diverse. The landscape is quite typical but it’s a great base for more daring concepts. I made use of massing and transparency in the sketch style. The medium used was pen on paper.’ No. 8 by Isa Eren Akbiyik, Landscape Architect, Nota Design Landscape Architecture Office Owner ‘This is a concept sketch for the five star Nirvana Hotels in Beldibi, Antalya, Turkey. It represents the Main Gate Concept for the building. I made the sketch into a 2 point perspective with 0.3 – 0.5 drawing pen on  A3  paper.’ No. 7 by Juan Gabriel Rosillo Hernandez, Masters Student at the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture in Louisiana State University, USA ‘This sketch arose from a studio project designed to expose and enrich the Mardi Gras Indian culture through street design in New Orleans. The illustration consists of lines made with gray and black fine liner pens, colored with Chartpak markers, the shadows made with gray brush pens, and overlayed with colored pencils on white tracing paper. This sketch was done in 15 to 20 minutes as a schematic visualization.’ No. 6 by Tueilon de Oliveira, Architect and Arbanist in private practice, Brazil ‘This is a sketch of the House of The City, located in the city of Tubarão, Brazil. The sketch was drawn with the intention of representing the historic architecture of  southern Brazil. I drew it in nanquim and painted with colored pencils. After that, the sketch was digitized, vectorized and edited with the aid of drawing software, improving the colors, lines and the general traces of the sketch.’ No. 5 by Ngoc Xuan Doan, MLA at University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA ‘This is a quick watercolor sketch illustrating the fall season of a community green space for Fieldstone Farm Village, a graduate studio design project in Princeton, Massachusetts. The green space is framed by local architecture, gravel walkways, and native vegetation. This was a housing studio project with a focus on designing for a historic dairy farm and local landmark inspired by the beautiful New England landscape.’ No. 4 by Nayeem Asif, Architect, Bangladesh ‘This sketch was made during my final semester. I was designing an institution for challenged children and I needed an idea for an informal outdoor learning space for the kids. I was inspired by the traditional community gathering spaces of my country.The challenge was to create a sense of place in an urban context and the sketch represents my preliminary idea.’ No. 3 by Claudia Caruso, Architect/ Construction Engineer, Italy ‘This sketch represents an ancient alley that crosses the historic center of Adrano, a small town in Sicily. It is very typical of the city developed at the foot of volcano Etna. I made it because I really love the picturesque charm that these street retain, made of narrow passages, small balconies and iron street lamps. The technique used is watercolor on plain paper.’ No. 2 by Maria Rochowiak, Landscape Architecture,Agricultural University of Kraków ‘I have loved painting and drawing since I was little child. The art and natural landscape of my country are the most inspiring things for me. I have gone to extra art classes for seven years. This sketch was made in 2008. It shows a dark autumn landscape at night in a park. I was inspired by a poem by Jan Twardowski (famous Polish poet) and the old park in Kraków. This sketch is made using a scraping technique. I used crayons and black drawing ink. Firstly, I colored the entire sheet of paper with crayons and then I covered the layer of ink evenly with crayons.’ No. 1 by Chhavi Bhatnagar, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India ‘I made this sketch to enter into a competition. The sketch is rendered by Rotringpens and ink on a gateway sheet. The basic style used is stippling with dots and I used a few zigzag patterns for the grass and leaves. The depicted location is part of a historical site called Bijaymandal, Malviyanagar in Delhi, India. The material used for the sketch was black ink and Rotring pen on paper.’ This concludes our 12^th edition of Sketchy Saturday! We hope you enjoyed it and made you motivated enough to send your own work to perhaps be featured in our next Top 10. Tell us which is your favourite sketch by commenting below and don’t forget to join us next time for another selection of great landscape art and sketching! Article written by Oana Anghelache.

Why are some cities happier than others? Is it because some host public art that is beyond imagination and can reach the heart of the audience. Take Bristol, for example, and the 90-meter-long slide along the steepest street in the city. As a part of car-free initiative of the municipality it will be open to the public for a single day in May. The project Park and Slide is a creation of the British artist Luke Jerram. With more than 17 years of experience, he has behind his back numerous sculptures, installations, live arts projects and gifts, many of them extraordinary and recognizable around the globe. One that is an absolute hit on international scale is “Play me, I’m yours” which is composed of pianos put in public spaces, on piazzas, in front of train stations or any place that people pass by and can stop and play for a while.

The project has been in 44 cities and more to go. In a 12 minute long lecture in London, Luke explains about the project: “It is not about my idea, it is about everyone else’s creativity”. The artist creates a bridge between the public and their own creativity. The artwork is the needed mediator between the everyday routine and the more exciting urban live. LAN writer Slavyana, caught up with Luke Jerram for an exclusive interview, here’s what he had to say: 1. What made you start working with live art in the public spaces. Why live art and not only sculptures and installations? It is all about the level of interaction between the art work and the interaction with public, it is a more direct way to reach the public. Instead of putting the art in galleries and museums, the live art gets the attention right away while people are walking on the streets. 2.Who are the main actors that are involved in the realization of a project– public authorities or private companies, what makes each project happen? Different organisations, art companies, music companies. They work very closely with city authorities to make sure it will happen. 3. Which country/city are more interested in public art (if you have noticed such a trend) Canada, America, Europe. They have a long history with art work and public space and it is important that people understand the language of art. Its aim is to be understood anywhere in the world, in any place around the globe. the language and culture 4. Do you have a favorite project Not, really. They are quite different. I like The ring! Slavyana: It is the engagement ring that the artist created for his girlfriend that contains a recorded voice of the artist’s proposal. 5. What is the motivation behind your projects (What is the aim of each project)? Making the people and the authorities to think about the city in a different way, to trigger the creativity to transform a city, to shape the future in a different way. Luke Jerram has a book you can purchase called Art in Mind. It tracks the research and practice of the artist for the last ten years. His research of perception is fueled by the fact that he is colour-blind. “Think of a city as a canvas for creativity, it shouldn’t just be for the planners and authorities, and only they to decide about the city landscape.” Interview conducted by Slavyana Popcheva

Have you seen the great video series “The surroundings”. They are a series of short films looking at Metro Vancouver’s public spaces from the perspective of the landscape architects that created them. It is an opportunity to learn from experienced professionals and their role in the creation of our surroundings.

The first video of the series is dedicated to Don Vaughan and is focused on the public art as an instrument of place making. Don Vaughan is now a retired landscape architect with a work experience of more than 40 years. After exploring landscape architecture he decided to turn his attention towards art. The combination of both disciplines results in his assignment from the authorities for the City’s Public Art Program. The video (see below) captured me because it tells a story about two of my most favorite elements in landscape architecture – water and art. It is absolute luck to work with water in landscape design. Water elements have a powerful and magnetic influence on people. They are usually the focal point of every composition, the most attractive spot on the landscape. It is a pleasure to sit around, to observe, to play in the summer, no matter if it is a small fountain or a magnificent lake, a riverside or the coast line.

In the video you can find the story of three public spaces and their unique process of creation and reinterpretation. Each of them has a challenging task for the landscape architect. In their design the architect aims at recreation of the natural form of the surrounding environment interrupted with urban materials and architectural forms. Playing with the existing natural powers as the ocean tide (see also Sun Salutation and The Sea Organ), he manages to create a unique and interesting place using land art he shows the public the changes that are happening in their own environment. The design successfully incorporates the issue of time making it even more exciting and ever changing, giving it multiple dimensions from which is can be appreciated. The Heart and Soul of the Landscape It shows a refined way to look into places and materials. It suggests a way to make public spaces that we enjoy to inhabit. To convert a place that was holding a negative image into an enjoyable place through the use of public art. Public art can enhance the meaning of a place and encourage interaction. It is the heart and soul of the landscape. Very often, we as landscape architects and students fall into the trap of design frustration, trying to create a masterpiece from a scratch. We overlook the most important – that design is a process. Sometimes the good ideas come out of a lot of time spent on observation of the surroundings, of each element alone and their relationship between each other. As Michelangelo says “Every block of stone has a statue inside”.It is the sculptor who has to show it to the rest of the world. Discover how to turn a neglected place into the most preferable and how to incorporate public art in a meaningful and inspiring way. Enjoy the video and have a creative day!

Surroundings: Episode 1

Article written by Slavyana Popcheva Featured image: Screen shot from Surroundings: Episode 1 via Youtube