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Have you ever asked yourself why is it important to draw? We’ve all learned how to draw in school, but with the rise of digital media, we seldom need to use drawing as a tool later in the career. In this video I will talk about the importance of drawing for landscape architects and designers. I distinguish between three types of architectural drawing: sketching of our environment, design drawing, and presentational drawing. Sketching is mostly observation of our environment; design drawing is a tool for design and recording of our thoughts; and presentational drawing is a tool of communication between an architect and the general public. I believe us landscape architects and designers have to use all three. Now let’s look at why is it so important for us to draw: Firstly, drawi...Read More

Because of global warming and the possibility of energy shortages in the future due to increasing demand, the energy issue is a very important matter nowadays. It has taken on even greater significance since the Kyoto protocol in 1997, when many countries around the world committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We all know we consume a lot more energy than we should. However, countries rely on a high level of energy consumption to create social and economic development – it’s a tricky situation. That’s where efficient use of energy and renewable sources comes in. Technology available today offers a wide variety of eco-solutions: roads and other surfaces powered by solar energy are a very interesting example. Solar Roadways is a modular paving system of solar panels that can be inst...Read More

The Lost Gardens of Heligan, near Mevagissey in Cornwall, are one of the most popular botanical gardens in the UK. The name of the gardens is derived from the Cornish word- helygen meaning ‘willow tree’. The gardens created by members of the Cornish Tremayne family extend to some 80 acres. Today, it is the site of the largest garden restoration in Europe, the extraordinary plant collection together with exotic glasshouses and mild Cornish climate makes it a popular tourist attraction. Heligan manor was first built in the 1200s. With historic planting over 150 years old, the pleasure grounds are also a home to the National collection of Camellias and Rhododendrons introduced to Heligan pre-1920.  In 1914-18, the Heligan house was tenanted as it was used by the American troops as a bas...Read More

Welcome to this week’s Sketchy Saturday, where each week people from all over the globe send in their creative handy work, ranging in style, technique and quality. Making our ongoing gallery one of the most diverse in the world. This week we showcase some real raw etchy techniques as well as the more pristine attempts at artistic representation, creating a fully rounded top 10 that is sure to inspire you into grabbing your sketch pad and creating some of your own works of art. Here is this week’s Top 10: 10. by Marta Simacsek, Master’s Degree in Architecture “I am mesmerized by the progress of Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the last 2 decades. This drawing was made to study the unusual and curly forms of this sky scraper. I used Stabilo fine liner marker pens and fiber pens...Read More

Urbanist William H. Whyte famously quipped: “It is difficult to design a space that will not attract people. What is remarkable is how often this has been accomplished.” And it’s true. Many of our cities suffer from underused spaces. Luckily for those of us who lack the time or Whyte’s skills in urban observation, publicly accessible social media data now provides us with rich insights into public perception and usage of urban civic spaces–if you know how and where to look. Although social media-based analysis is by no means a replacement for traditional methods of analyzing public spaces, it’s a great way to gather massive amounts of recorded, real-time data of individual thoughts and reactions to a space in a specific time frame. I developed and tested...Read More

Congratulations Class of 2014 Graduates! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors, and while you might be flooded up to your eyes in well-meaning advice already, here’s even more advice in the form of an inspiring (short!) film to help send you on your way. In his most famous quote about creative work, American public radio personality and This American Life host Ira Glass talks about the secret of creative success and that initial “gap” and struggle almost all beginners face. Oh, and here’s one more tip: in case you don’t already listen to the This American Life podcast, give it a try–it’ll probably be one of the most rewarding things you can listen to while you crank out those AutoCAD drawings. THE GAP by Ira Glass from frohlocke on Vime...Read More

Grand Canal Square, designed by Martha Schwartz Partners. The Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) was created in 1997, generating a whirlwind of fresh ideas to redeem the look of Dublin’s waterfront. Less than a year later, an old gasworks site was purchased that went on to become the site of the Grand Canal Square. Today, the square is characterized by influential architecture, teeming commerce, and one piece of unforgettable landscape design. Ironically, as this article sees publication, the DDDA exhales its final breath this May, at last dissolved – yet leaving behind a true legacy of growth and prosperity, with a tinge of red color. In the spring of 2005, DDDA instructed Martha Schwartz Partners (MSP) to design the landscape of the square – a piece of work that was to unify t...Read More

Sugar Beach is a public park created as part of the large, multi-stage Toronto Water Front revitalization program. This man made urban beach has transformed an old industrial area into a vital space for residents and tourists. Sugar Beach, designed by Claude Cormier architects paysagistes, was inaugurated in 2010. In an 8,500-square-meter site between Lake Ontario and the Corus Quay building, three areas were created: a triangular beach, a diagonal promenade, and a plaza. The beach has a harmonious design, with two perpendicular sides bordering the water — the largest side marked by wave-shaped boundaries.The promenade runs in the diagonal axis between the beach and the plaza, linking the Queens Quay sidewalk to the waterfront. The plaza features mounds and trees and is located next ...Read More

The urban population is growing by the day, straining cities and causing a series of modifications – changes in the urban climate among them. The demand for more resources can make a city vulnerable to disasters such as floods (due to higher sea levels and excessive rain), heat waves, spread of diseases, etc. These negative consequences can be avoided through the implementation of specific strategies, such as climate-sensitive planning, that compromise thermal comfort and the consequent livability of cities. Copenhagen as role model Denmark is a country seriously committed to promoting awareness of urban resilience – the capacity of a city to recover from a difficulty (in this context, related to climate). St. Kjeld, in Østerbro, will be the first neighborhood in Copenhagen to have its lay...Read More

Maybe you see knitting as an old-fashioned hobby worthy of your grandmother. You would much rather do something cool, something trendy. And anyway, what does knitting have to do with landscape or landscape architecture? The answer is – a lot! The half-forgotten art of knitting has hit the streets with force. People all over the world are grabbing yarn or wool, crochet hooks and needles, and are learning how to knit. The colorful pieces they create are showing up on trees, lamp posts, monuments, benches, and other elements of everyday cityscape. It is anything but boring or old-fashioned! On the contrary — it is funky, inventive, and very, very fashionable! Yarn Bombing Also called guerrilla or urban knitting, yarn bombing is  a new form of art that has been invading our streets with ...Read More

At 28, Sara Zewde is something of an architectural wonder kid: she’s part landscape architect, part urbanist, part sociologist and cultural anthropologist. And as of last month, she’s also the first Harvard GSD recipient of the coveted Landscape Architecture Foundation’s 2014 National Olmsted Scholar award. Sara plans to use the $25,000 LAF award to apply her design experience learned from Walter Hood/Hood Design in Oakland, and Asakura Robinson in Houston, to creating spaces in both New Orleans’ Treme and Rio de Janeiro’s Little Africa. The community spaces that she plans to help design will honor and reflect some of those cities’ most challenged, yet culturally influential communities. I caught Sara in between final exams to talk about her grant work, the re...Read More

The Pool at Pyne by TROP Terrain+Openspace Monotony and lack of inspiration are problems faced by even the greatest of designers. So in 2010, when designer Pok Kobkongsanti of T.R.O.P. Terrain + Openspace was faced with creating another “Sky Pool” in Bangkok, he decided to look up for inspiration. The pool at the Pyne by Sansari is an artistic expression that proves that designers are not limited to the ground plane. Sometimes, the best real estate for design is located above, not below. The Pyne by Sansiri is a high-end condominium in Bangkok, centrally located in a busy urban district within walking distance of the city’s largest shopping centers. Like most other condominiums in Bangkok, the residential tower is constructed on top of the parking garage, which has a larger floor plan than...Read More