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Recently, I happened to be flipping through the channels and I happened upon an old episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, one that originally aired on April 16, 1999, and yet it looked so very old. I would’ve kept going but it had just started and I saw the title of this particular episode “Mr. Rogers Talks About the Enivornment”. And it was in fact one episode out of a whole weeks theme on caring for the environment and taking a look at how children can work together with their parents to help care for our planet. The episode started out by Mr. Rogers receiving a greeting card and talking about how to convert a used greeting card into a new greeting card that you can send it to someone else. You simply tear carefully along the fold of the card to remove the top, thus makin...Read More

I often see people painstakingly cutting out backgrounds that don’t need to be cut simply because they don’t fully understand the power of Blend Modes. I remember the day that I starting fully using these crazy things and it was a lot like the day I discovered Photoshop and the whole concept of layers…the amazing possibilities just blew me away. If you have never used Blend Modes or you’ve played around with them and thought that they were interesting but you didn’t really how to control them, this one’s for you. I’ll try to break it down into some simple terms and point out the most useful ones in our type of rendering work with some examples. First, here are the Blend Modes, grouped into their blending categories: Normal (default setting, no blen...Read More

via Nemetschek Columbia, Maryland (December 22, 2008) – Nemetschek North America today announced the release of their Spanish-language version of Vectorworks(r) 2009 design software, including: Designer, Architect, Landmark, Fundamentals, and Renderworks. The Vectorworks 2009 product line features a robust new engine that gives users superior 2D and 3D capabilities, at speeds that are up to 4-5 times faster for modeling operations. In addition, new features and enhancements were developed with direct input from Vectorworks users, resulting in a new version with enhanced usability, improved 3D modeling, and optimized workflows that will turbo-boost productivity and facilitate collaboration. The Vectorworks 2009 product line is powered by Parasolid(r), the industry-leading CAD/CAM/CAE ...Read More

Modernist landscapes with boomerang curves, reservoirs inspired by Joan Miro paintings, animated fountains, soaring roof gardens, geometric earthworks, futuristic fair grounds, and sunken and expansive plazas all became celebrated design elements during the nation’s massive post-World War II development. These experimental and innovative expressions became a catalyst for inserting Modern design sensibilities into newly minted public and private spaces. During this period, designers, their clients, and patrons utilized revolutionary and experimental materials and subdued transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces to infuse Modern forms into classic sensibilities. However, until recently, many of these designs have been misunderstood and under appreciated. Landslide is a yearly designatio...Read More

The Daewoo Consortium and the municipality of Gwanggyo announced the MVRDV concept design for a dense city centre winner of the developer’s competition for the future new town of Gwanggyo, located 35km south of the Korean capital Seoul. The plan consists of a series of overgrown hill shaped buildings with great programmatic diversity, aiming for high urban density and encouragement of further developments around this so-called ‘Power Centre’, one of the envisioned two centre’s of the future new town. Since the beginning of the millennium local nodes with a high density concentration of mixed program are used in Korean town planning. These nodes consist of a mix of public, retail, culture, housing, offices and leisure generating life in new metropolitan areas and encouraging further develop...Read More

MARTHA CECILIA FAJARDO, Immediate Past-President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), received her Colombian Landscape Architect Master degree on Landscape Design at Sheffield University, England. She is also an architect-planner and obtained her title in Bogotá. Martha is principal of the company Grupo Verde Ltd. a firm dedicated to the professional practice of Landscape Architecture and Environmental planning, with emphasis on Urban Design and Landscape Planning. See her full biography on her FOLIO THE INTERVIEW: Below is an interview conducted with Martha Fajardo. All of the questions were originally asked in Spanish. Martha has responded in both Spanish and [English]. Translations for the Spanish occur below the original responses. I hope you enjoy this inter...Read More