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Vanke-Shoukai Retail and Leisure Centre, By SPARK and BAM Landscape, Daxing in Beijing, China   Vanke-Shoukai is a new leisure and business center that combines a shopping mall, offices, and apartments. The center is a project of the SPARK office, in collaboration with the BAM landscape office. This is a new urban development center in the city of Daxing in Beijing. Its main priority is functional diversity, but with prime concern for business, given its proximity and connection to the new airport south of Daxing. It was necessary to create a park welcoming these activities within the same space. An interrelationship between interior and exterior The building is innovative and focuses on the interrelationships between interior and exterior spaces. The architects broke with conventional con...Read More

LAN writer Win Phyo reviews Planetizen Courses and reviews their “Healthy Urban Food Systems: Planning Retail Facilities” course. Last week, I had the privilege of trying out one of the online courses from Planetizen. These days, there are many online resources available that allow you to take classes at your own leisure to further expand your skills and your mind. As indecisive as I can be, I do often spend time trailing around multiple websites, getting excited about topics that may not even be related to landscape architecture or design, but more on the idea of getting the chance to learn something new. Online Learning At a time of transition from being a student to joining the workforce, I would much rather benefit from expanding my knowledge about topics that relate to des...Read More

Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture: Contemporary Techniques and Tools for Digital Representation in Site Design second edition – Bradley Cantrell and Wes Michaels, published by John Wiley & Sons, 2005. Paperback, 317pgs. In today’s technological society computer programs and design seem to go hand in hand, but in a profession that once revered the art of hand drawing, or analog design, new technology can be hard to embrace, much less learn. Authors Bradley Cantrell and Wes Michaels, both working landscape architects, realize this and in Digital Drawing for Landscape Architects attempt to bring readers up to date with some of the latest and greatest computer-aided drafting software. Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture The book relies on examples for each of the traditiona...Read More

10 Outstanding Landscape Architecture Projects of 2014. Every year, the world becomes home to new, innovative projects in landscape architecture. And every year, the designers behind these projects eagerly await recognition for their hard work. Looking at new technology, public attitudes toward the space, and awards received, the following list is a showcase of some of the best of 2014. Landscape Architecture Projects of 2014 10. Segment 5, Hudson River Park, A Resourceful and Resilient Space for a Park-Starved Neighborhood, New York, NY – Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Segment 5 is quickly becoming the most popular spot in the former “parkless” New York City neighborhood of Chelsea. This was no mistake: Designers worked closely with neighborhood residents to develop a plan that met th...Read More

The Red Ribbon Park, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, China, designed by Turenscape At the beginning of the 21st century, the eastern area of Qinhuangdao city, along the Tanghe River, was engulfed by an intensive urban expansion, being quickly surrounded by new developments. Despite its difficult access and unhealthy conditions, the river area was one of the few options for outdoor leisure for residents of nearby communities. The place was an important green area, since it maintained the vegetation supporting wildlife habitats, but there wasn’t any effective structure for the people who came to swim or fish. The landscape featured native plants and animals sharing the space with a garbage dump, challenging the professionals to create a solution to meet residents’ needs while revitalizing ...Read More

A useful AutoCAD tutorial to help you with topography lines in AutoCAD. Computer aided design (CAD) software doesn’t come up with great concepts, as pointed out well by Barry Lupton. However in pretty much every project you reach a point where you want to digitalise sketches. Amongst others AutoCAD is probably the most used CAD program in landscape architecture and many other professions. As it is an extremely extensive program, only a few use it to it’s full potential. Even though you create drawings with it, it’s nothing like a box of pencils from which you pick the color you want just by looking at the box. You need to find your way. And it doesn’t stop there. AutoCAD can be customized and extended in virtually endless ways. So some pointers may come in handy! Lisa Tierney showed us 10 ...Read More

The New Tel Aviv Port, by Mayslits Kassif Architects, Tel Aviv, Israel. Reading the title of this article, you might already be wondering how Tel Aviv happened to get known for an urban redevelopment project? My reaction was similar, as was that of the 1,000-person audience at the issuing of the most prestigious award in Europe for landscape architecture — the Rosa Barbara European Landscape Prize in 2010. People were telling the architects of the port transformation: “We didn’t know that there are things like that in Tel Aviv.” Tel Aviv Port The project won out of more than 420 entrants, being selected both by the official jury and the audience. It was the first time Israel has been awarded a prize for landscape architecture, putting it on the global scene for remarkable projects. T...Read More

The Forest and Pool at Pyne, by TROP Terrains + Open Space, Bangkok, Thailand Some projects are simply impossible to forget, blurring the lines between art and design and mixing old with new. Unique in their design and conception, they create a lasting impression. The Forest and Pool at Pyne in Bangkok was commissioned in 2010 as part of a high-end condominium building by Thai real-estate developer Sansiri. The selected designer, TROP Terrains + Open Space, is an award-winning firm that previously received global attention for its design of The Garden of Hilton Pattaya and is among our Top Ten Names in Landscape Architecture. Whimsical and almost dreamscape-like, TROP’s design for the Forest and Pool at Pyne can perhaps best be described as enchanted forest meets Zen garden design. It mixe...Read More

Escale Numérique, by JCDecaux and Mathieu Lehanneur, Paris, France. The city of Paris aimed to increase the function of its urban infrastructure in 2012 when city officials held a competition to design intelligent street furniture. The need to integrate technology into the urban context is imminent for many cities, and this has led to a variety of design solutions. The winner of this competition was the world-leading outdoor advertising company JCDecaux, in collaboration with designer Mathieu Lehanneur. Their project, Escale Numérique (Digital Break), creates a series of WiFi stations where people can access information about the city and connect to the Internet. Smart Urban Furniture This urban development project is designed to create a space for people to use the Internet. A shade struc...Read More

Promenade Plantee, Jacques Vergely and Philippe Mathieu, Paris, France. Can you commute to your city and enjoy the experience like a tourist would? This isn’t the case in every city, but Parisiennes can get a glimpse of what visitors might see – and not just because of the fabulous monuments Paris obviously has to offer. In East Paris, in the XXI arrondissement, an abandoned, old-fashioned brick viaduct is the starting point for an inspired requalification that has created a significant change for the city, its citizens, tourists, and for landscape architecture at large. The Promenade Plantée, also known as Coulée Vert, is the inspiration for New York City’s famous High Line Park. An Historical Setting The viaduct was built in 1859, dismissed in 1969, and eventually restored in 1988 thanks...Read More