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Your guide to all the top computer software for landscape architects. There is a plethora of Computer Aided Software or CAD options on the market. All have something to offer for everyone from the budget focused landscape architecture student to the professional wanting a fully comprehensive package. Here we take you through a range of software options to suite all budgets and needs. Software for Landscape Architects Sketchup Sketchup is a FREE 3D drafting package with probably the world’s most intuitive interface. Much maligned for its simplicity, over the years Sketchup has gotten a bit of a bad rap for being ‘blocky’ or ‘too geometric’. However I’ve always found it to be as good as the designer using it. WATCH: Instant Topography with the Toggle Terra...Read More

Viewpoint Ørnesvingen, by 3RW Architects in collaboration with Smedsvig Landskapsarkitekter AS in Geiranger, Norway. One of the most complicated mountain systems in all of Europe belongs to Norway, where the highways and roads follow a serpentine route of curves and bends. Because of this, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration commissioned 3RW Architects to design diverse viewpoints, paths, and outdoor furniture along The Atlantic Road to provide the environment with better tools to absorb rising pressure from the tourist industry. The Ørnesvingen site, located on across the valley from Flydalsjuvet, close to the community of Geiranger, located at the end of the Geiranger Fjord, is the most beautiful viewpoint of all the places along the Eagle Road. The space provides astounding views ...Read More

Effective and sustainable ways to conserve water in landscape architecture. As we all know, water is essential to life, whether for humans or for any other living things. Water is a natural resource necessary but perceived as a limited commodity today. Furthermore, urban development generally leads to soil sealing. This generates disturbances in the water cycle and often causes flooding following the runoff from impervious surfaces that increase water velocity and therefore causes a lot of damage. So, poor management of water can cause damage to water systems and the environment. Therefore, it is imperative to act for better water management to promote its evacuation and the recovery of its natural cycle. Here are 9 Methods we Can Apply to Conserve Water: 1. Meadows and floodplains When we...Read More

The Park at Lakeshore East, Chicago, IL, by The Office of James Burnett. Chicago’s Park at Lakeshore East is making a name for itself as a rival to the city’s famous Millennium Park. Since being dedicated in 2005, The Park at Lakeshore East is now not only a part of the Chicago Park District, but has also been nicknamed the “village in the heart of the city” by local developers. The 5.3-acre park was designed by The Office of James Burnett of Houston, Texas. The firm, founded in 1989, has amassed a vast profile and says that “Landscape design is their passion – it is who they are, not just what they do – and that passion is reflected in the spaces they create.” The firm was hired early in the project to aid the master plan architects, and also helped to produce the open space g...Read More

The Lakewood Garden Mausoleum by HGA Architects. The Lakewood Garden Mausoleum was considered Minnesota’s finest place for the final rest since its founding in the 1870s. Many popular names of the time were engraved on this cemetery. As time passed by, local residents developed an emotional connection with the site, making it a treasured landmark in the neighborhood. HGA Architects and Engineers had the task of leading the master plan for a full renovation. From the beginning, Halvorson’s Design Partnership’s lead architect gave advice for the landscape composition and helped as a highly valued design team member until the renovation was complete. The project has won the ASLA National Award of Excellence for 2013 and the Honor Award by the Boston Society of Landscape Architectu...Read More

The City Dune by SLA and buildings by Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter, Copenhagen, Denmark. Public spaces should be the heart and soul of every city; they might be the meeting places for the citizens, the areas where people gather, spend time, socialize. The potential is endless – however, this is often unfulfilled, leaving the spaces underused, empty, lifeless and forgotten. Fortunately, more and more areas are getting revitalised, invigorated and refurbished for the benefit of local communities. Such great public spaces are always full of life. They are functional, they can be used in a variety of different ways. It takes a team of wonderful landscape architects to design a working urban space – Danish studio SLA managed to succeed with its project, the City Dune, designed and constr...Read More

A look at some of the world’s most outstanding riverbank projects. When it comes to building sustainable cities, discussion often centers on urban rivers and their surroundings. In many cities around the world, rivers have been channelized, transformed into receptacles for waste disposal, or just forgotten when they are no longer needed for industrial and commercial uses. As a consequence, these rivers have lost their innate ability to aid in flood control, seen their aquatic life destroyed, and gone unnoticed due to construction of barriers that blocked their access and hid them from residents’ eyes. But in other cities, once dead spaces along rivers are being brought back to life and transformed into recreational areas, meeting the demand for outdoor spaces from quickly growing pop...Read More

Monuments across the globe. Monuments have been an important part of our landscapes for millennia. Some of them have been accepted by their communities almost immediately, while others raised controversies, complaints, or even protests. Sometimes it takes time for a monument to grow into the landscape and to become part of it or even an icon or a landmark. Who knows, maybe the ancient Egyptians complained about the Sphynx or the pyramids — who can now imagine Egypt without those majestic constructions? Other structures don’t pass the test of time and are either universally hated, or removed and forgotten. We are presenting the list of the monuments that raised the most controversy in their time. Find out which are still doubted, and which became well loved. 10. Obelisco de Buen...Read More

Ben-Gurion University University Entrance Square & Art Gallery, by Chyutin Architects, Beer-Sheva, Israel. Ben-Gurion University, in the Israeli city of Beer-Sheva, is home to the new meditative Deichmann Square that is bringing hope for the future back to a city that is constantly on the verge of losing it. The 3,500 square-meter space incorporates hardscapes and plantings almost seamlessly, while also shining a light on future development, not only on campus, but also in Israel. Located in the western part of the BGU campus, the square is adjacent to existing buildings and the future Negev Gallery, and is meant to serve as a link between the community and the art and social sciences studied in the buildings. This connection is emphasized by a pedestrian path that leads to a city squa...Read More

This week’s Sketchy Saturday top 10. Welcome to this week’s exciting edition of Sketchy Saturday; this week’s sketches show a great diversity in style with some Sketchy Saturday regulars throwing their hat into the ring for another attempt at top spot. Certainly sketching and free style hand techniques are skills that will always be appreciated, regardless of whether you are a student or professional so let yourself be inspired by this week’s top 10 and submit your own sketch for next week’s edition of Sketchy Saturday. 10. by Yingying Tu, Chinese student of Landscape Architecture ” The sketch was made on plain A4 paper with marker pens and colour pencils. It is a picture I imagined: A set of parterre plants as a prospect,wooden boardwalks around the central pool. A...Read More

The advent of the digital age has long been upon us. For most practices, this has created an interesting mix of skill sets within an office. Recent graduates have a great handle on the most current programs while those that have been in the industry for a little longer are finding themselves playing catch up. More often than not, a general amount of knowledge and appreciation is present, but the ability to produce the most striking of visuals is usually not there. Digital Drawing for Landscape Architecture is a comprehensive presentation of easy to follow tutorials and guides to help the digitally aware become the digitally adept.  Digital Drawing is the most recent offering by Bradley Cantrell and Wes Michaels. Bradley has been featured here on Land8 in 2013 as the recent winner of the Ro...Read More

Who’s leading the ecological revolution of landscape architecture? For centuries, humans have chosen to force the natural environment into fitting our needs and desires. This attitude of transformation, rather than working alongside and conforming to nature, has led to a host of problems. The built environment has popped up without consideration of its surroundings, leading to inefficient energy use, pollution, and water shortages. Within the last 10 years, there has been a trend toward more “sustainable,” “ecological” and “resilient” designs that seek to work alongside the environment to improve the quality of our towns and cities. However, how do we tell the difference between a functionally robust design and one that looks good on the board but fails in the field? How do we know w...Read More