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Richard James MacCowan is a co-founder of Biomimicry UK. He recently completed his master’s degree in urban design at Leeds Metropolitan University, where he is now a Ph.D. researcher and part-time lecturer. His research focuses on using biomimicry as a  tool in ecological design. Hi, Richard. Thanks very much for talking to us here at LAN. Let’s dive right in. Perhaps you could begin by telling us what biomimicry is? To borrow from notable academics, I would say biomimicry is the conscious emulation of nature’s genius. It’s looking at how we can mimic the form, processes of systems of nature to provide us with more resilient solutions. I say solutions instead of design, as using nature as inspiration is being used across many fields, ranging from landscape architecture through to economic...Read More

Vanke Chongqing Xijiu Plaza, Chongqing by ASPECT Studios As landscape architects, we are always striving to create successful places for all living things. In many urban places, designing successful places for large quantities of people to linger is a powerful tool for making cities more vibrant and livable. Hence urban squares and plazas can play a big role in shaping cities. When you look at designs like Lawrence Halprin’s Ira Keller Fountain Park, which was inspired by Columbia River Gorge, its success was tremendous in bringing people together amidst the busy city. Here is a design that proudly sits in the perfect context of its own city with the same aspirations of bringing about social interactions. The Plaza and Hope For The Future For this project, we travel all the way to Southwes...Read More

Gridshell, a timber structure, built for Naples School of Architecture courtyard, University of Naples”Federico II” by Gridshell.it What happens when the spaces we visit the most, or the spaces where we spend the most time always look the same? We get bored because nothing changes-neither the architecture, nor the furniture. When there’s nothing new to appreciate or discover we tend to see the area as an empty and boring place; and turn it into the last place we would like to linger. But when we find a way to innovate (even with a small change such as adding new furniture, color, textures or new lighting), that empty space could turn into an iconic place. Something fresh and new can make all the difference in bringing life and comfort to any space. The possibilities are endless, given the ...Read More

This week’s Sketchy Saturday top 10. Welcome to what is becoming one of the world’s biggest databases of sketches online. Featuring hand drawn talent from the all over the globe. Every day you guys send us in your sketches, showing your latest creations and in some cases forgotten work which you have blown the dust of to submit to us, something we are really grateful for. This week we seen an array of fabulous work that is sure to inspire as it reminds us all why hand skills are still an integral part of being a designer, especially when it comes to designing outdoor spaces. 10. by Shamsul Johari B. Shaari, UPM-MLA “This drawing is part of my proposal for my urban design subject in MLA in University Putra, Malaysia. I tried to imagine the space, elements and functions of ...Read More

Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright’s celebrated masterpiece located a little over an hour outside of Pittsburgh, is one of the most famous houses in the world. Over five million people have visited the property since it was opened to the public in 1963. I added my name to that list once again when I visited recently for the first time in nearly 20 years. As before, I was not disappointed. If you haven’t been there, you need to go.  Architects have long considered Wright one of their biggest heroes, and Fallingwater one of their most revered places. We landscape architects have our own list of hallowed sites, including Prospect Park, the Miller Garden, Sea Ranch, Bryant Park, Gas Works Park, and many others. While we typically like to see places designed by other landscape architects, Falling...Read More

Establishing Yourself as an Independent Landscape Architect You’ve been working for a landscape architecture firm long enough to get your license and now you’re thinking about going out on your own. It can be scary to leave the security of a group environment and decide that you’re capable and talented enough to do it all alone, but don’t worry, with the following tips your firm will be up and running before you know it. 8. Build a nest egg Don’t quit the job you have until you’ve saved enough money to get you through the next year. The worst thing you can do is try to start a business without any assets, you’re going to need cash for the latest printers and computer software if you want to be a true competitor, not mention money for food and housing. So, don&...Read More

Growing urban populations are placing pressure on local governments to provide solutions to the challenges that this migration creates. One of these main challenges is: ‘where do these additional people live, work and recreate?’ Many modern cities grew on the back of industry but in modern times these industries have become obsolete or unable to compete with global competition. As such, many industrial areas within our towns and cities are not the central, thriving areas they once were. To make better use of the prime, inner-city real estate that these areas occupy, brownfield sites are being identified for redevelopment into new inner city mixed use suburbs as one way to accommodate growing population demands. Examples of this approach can be seen in Neu Oerlikon, Zurich, Canary Wharf and...Read More

Artistic wire sculptures from Fantasywire. Outdoor sculptures cannot be viewed as a separate entity from its surrounding environment. They are powerful in a sense that they have the power to change the way you read your surrounding, depending on their scale and design. Placing a sculpture within a landscape design means it can either enhance the space or give emphasis to design and planting throughout the year, or it can make the design look distasteful. For this reason, making and siting a sculpture involves all of the creative, intuitive and rational skills. Every so often, we manage to find talented artists who can make sculptural artwork blend beautifully well with the environment. Robin Wight from Fantasywire is one of those examples. He can transform our childhood fantasy into realit...Read More

Via Botani Sukhmvit 47 by OpenBox Architects. In the midst of one of the commercial districts of Bangkok (Wathana), comprising a cluster of Condominiums, the Via Botani development stands out as remarkable. The contemporary design preserves a 70 year old tree utilizing a minimal impact design that improves the ambiance of the scheme, while providing a link to nature within the hi-tech urban environment. Via Botani is a blissful residential condominium project developed by Sansiri. The site is situated at Soi 49, Sukhumvit Rd., Khlong Tan Nuea Sukhumvit, Wathana, Bangkok. The boundaries of the site are delineated by smaller trees, providing fresh oxygen while filtering dust from the urban environment, and providing shade and mitigating the urban heat island effect within the site. It could ...Read More

Informative infographic on bike lanes. We were so happy to come across this infographic on bike lanes for the Green Lane Project, outlining innovative ways to highlight bike lane development and ensure safe journeys for riders; we felt we had to share it with the LAN community. As landscape architects one thing is sure in order to encourage more people to adopt the environmentally friendly practice of riding their bikes we must do whatever we can in the design process to ensure their safety and implement design measures to the best of our ability. “Feel free to share or republish this image in any way you’d like. It’s based primarily on research by Austin engineer Nathan Wilkes, whose work on this issue we published in March in the form of a less web-friendly (but much mo...Read More

Have you ever walked in a park between old industrial buildings getting a scent of the industrial era, while having a thousand things to explore? The park area, located in the northern part of Duisburg, was abandoned by the steel industry, Thyssen AG, in 1985 and began decaying before 1989.  It became a part of the International Building exhibition, “IBA EmscherPark“, and was converted to what it is now. It was a segment of a ten-year transformation process combining more than one hundred projects, revitalizing a former industrial stretch of more than 300 km along the Emscher River. The Duisburg-Nord innovative landscape masterpiece took about ten years to complete and is constantly changing. The first part opened in 1994. Industrial Landscapes The aim of IBA Emscherpark project was to set...Read More

Vancouver land bridge, designed by Jones & Jones Architecture. The biggest of the six installations of Confluence Project, the Vancouver Land Bridge reconnects the Columbia River with Fort Vancouver in the most natural way. A serpentine pedestrian walk full of native vegetation with a strong concept that commemorates the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition, a journey made from the Mississippi River to the Pacific coast in the beginning of the 19th century. Jones & Jones Architecture and a Landscape Architecture team from Seattle proposed a smooth, elegant and sustainably conscious bridge. The project has been awarded several times, including 2009 Engineering Excellence Grand Award, 2009 Excellence in Concrete Award, among many others. History and Site Overview It all sta...Read More