Blog

Last week, London designer Thomas Heatherwick revealed an extraordinary design vision for a new urban park in Abu Dhabi, United Emirates. Located on the site of a former city park, the new design has been almost three years in the making. Called “Al Fayah”, the shaded and almost entirely covered greenway was commissioned by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, a local non-profit group.    Confronted with the challenge of constructing a green, oasis-like park in a desert climate, Heatherwick decided to embrace the vernacular topology of a cracked desert floor, setting the park’s green space 20 meters (65 feet) underneath a series of fractal-shaped roof structures supported by large columns.  “The project evolved as a series of cracked pieces of the desert sur...Read More

The City-County Building (CCB) Plaza Design Competition is accepting stage one submissions until May 28, 2014. Please follow this link to download the complete briefing booklet. Opportunity The Central Indiana Community Foundation (sponsor), Indianapolis-Marion County Building Authority (facilitator), and the City of Indianapolis (advisor) are proud to announce the CCB Plaza Design Competition. In the wake of this tremendous opportunity, the CCB Plaza Design Competition invites interdisciplinary teams from around the globe to submit their ideas, which if selected, would be implemented on an existing 1.94 acre (0.79 hectare) open space on the City-County Building property in downtown Indianapolis (200 East Washington Street). Prize money The design team whose winning design is selected will...Read More

With the advent of digital cameras, photography has quickly become one of the ways that designers record their work and have fun. Most people are afraid of making the switch to manual mode, though. The following six tips are for those who are interested in gaining more from photography and understanding how it is done. 1. Understanding the exposure triangle Whether you are a beginning photographer or a seasoned pro, having an accurate understanding of the ins and outs of exposure will either make or break your photograph. The exposure triangle is composed of three main elements that you can adjust or simply leave for the auto-shooting mode to handle. ISO is the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor to light. Landscape photographers can use a range of ISO levels, from 100 to 3200. It all depen...Read More

This weeks Sketchy Saturday sees a few surprises as we break away from conventional methods and scenes and break into new realms of creativity and awareness of public space, displaying not just in how it’s built but in how people use it to. Congratulations to everyone who took part in this weeks Sketchy Saturday, there was so many sensational entries however not everyone can get published on the website. We’re very excited to reveal this weeks Top 10, here they are: 10. by  Zanyar Feizi, M.A.student of Landscape Architecture, Iran “This sketch which has been drawn using colored pencil,indicates the identity of old Iranian Architecture that was created in particular after Islam in Iran. Dome is one of the remarkable elements of this architectural style”. 9. by Elvis ...Read More

A review of The professional designer’s guide to garden furnishings by Vanessa Gardner Nagel It is often forgotten or overlooked by the garden designers and landscape architects, that the furniture in the garden is just as important as plants. It helps to create a welcoming space for relaxation, play or socialising, enhances the garden’s style and character, and brings out the plants’ natural beauty. Without it the garden is unfinished, sorely lacking in style and usability. With the current accessibility of the wide range of garden furniture and accessories, there is no excuse for a designer to omit this essential part of the project. “The professional designer’s guide to garden furnishings” is an excellent manual for anyone involved in designing outdoo...Read More

Happy (pre) Birthday Frederick Law Olmsted! Tomorrow (April 26) marks what would have been the father of landscape architecture’s 192nd birthday. Although landscape architecture has come a long way in evolving beyond his pastoral and picturesque styles, Olmsted’s lasting legacy is still influential to our field. Our Filmtastic Friday this week features his best known work, Central Park, captured in a gorgeous fall time-lapse. From the description: “One of the most striking things about New York City is the fall colors and there’s no better place to view this then Central Park. I chose 15 locations in the park and revisited them 2 days a week for six months, recording all camera positions and lens information to create consistency in the images. All shots were taken ...Read More

Alan Reisman’s gripping book “The World Without Us” details what would occur after a sudden vanishing of human life from the Earth. Nature would reclaim the built environment through processes that would begin within hours of the end of human intervention. But what if there were a world without “us,” as in those of us who guide change in the landscape, both throughout history and going forward? Here we will explore how things would have been different, as well as potential consequences going forward if the world was without landscape architects! Urban Design The idea of a “central park” is not unique to New York City. Many other cities of all shapes and sizes have developed around a communal green space that provides people with an area of respite away from the hustle and bustle of city li...Read More

One word sums up present-day China: Speed! China is forging ahead at a rapid pace, with little regard for the many negative consequences piling up in its wake. Landscape Architecture in China happens extremely quickly and is under great pressure. At times, designs are installed even before construction details are complete. There are positive side effects of this rapid pace, such as construction advancements that are paving the way to transform the industry. However, after installation, sites are often all but forgotten. Building and park maintenance is rare, and these installations often fall into a state of decay, becoming hazardous to the people who use them. The Open Door Policy of 1978 initiated by Deng Xiaoping opened China up to the outside world and paved the way for major change. ...Read More

Crown Sky Garden by Mikyoung Kim When you think about a hospital, can you imagine a terrace full of color, with bamboo 6 meters tall, wooden benches that can reproduce natural sounds, and interactive screens made of resin panels with a minimum of 40 percent recycled content? The Crown Sky Garden, designed by Mikyoung Kim design studio, uses four elements to transform a space that could have been seen as rigid because of its institutional setting. Based on this, we can say that the main concept of this project is the word “interaction”. Sight, sound, water, and wood elements — all varnished with colors and vegetation — create a unique artificial park insidethe 11th floor of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. The common perception of every space i...Read More

Nemetschek’s Vectorworks Landmark is one of the few standalone BIM-enabling software packages targeted specifically towards landscape architects. In addition to the landscape-specific BIM capabilities that Vectorworks Landmark offers, it also incorporates mapping and GIS functionality as well as interoperability with a variety of building design applications such as Revit and ArchiCAD. (SEE ALSO: Digitising Landscape Architecture: Revit for Landscape Architects) Vectorworks Landmark includes a substantial collection of built-in BIM-enabling intelligent tools such as terrain, plants (in a +8,000 plant database), hardscapes and retaining walls. For example, 2D tree symbols correspond to 3D tree ‘objects’ with all the information pertaining to that tree documented in a database for scheduling...Read More