Blog

Article by Maria Giovanna Drago We examine how urban parks in the United States have evolved over the last 160 years through a comparison of New York City’s Central Park and Chicago’s Millennium Park. Society has continually changed throughout history, often in reaction to events and novelties. Important time periods, such as industrial revolutions and wars have influenced the way of life and because of these events some people favored living in fast-paced cities while others in the countryside. These progressions can be seen in the layout of cities, particularly the urban parks. Parks allow us to better understand the struggle between nature and the built environment. Even though it seems that more attention is usually given to the expansion of cities, over the centuries urban...Read More

Article by Emily Sinclair Discover why landscape architecture students should embark on a foreign exchange.  There are many clear advantages to participating in an exchange program during your time in university. From learning a new language to experiencing a new culture, becoming a foreign exchange student can change your perspective on the world around you. As landscape architecture students, we all deal with the design of spaces and the surrounding environments in our projects. While we can study theory, and delve into case studies of monumental landscape works, there is no alternative to visiting the space in person. Traveling is always an option, but there are benefits to spending a semester abroad as a landscape architecture student. 10. Exposure to Projects As mentioned above, while...Read More

Article by Radenka Kolarov Jardin des Rives by Studio Basta in Amiens, France. Les Hortillonnages d’Amiens is an area that stretches alongside the Somme River. Since Roman times, the land has been hard and unusable so food was cultivated on small islands in the water. In modern times, the food crops were largely lost, leaving many islands unused and without a purpose. The MCA wanted to change this and with the help of Studio Basta organized a festival for art and gardening in this area. Inspired by the ancient Roman islands, still found on the water, Studio Basta built two wooden terraces that include benches combined with native plants arranged in a perfect order of color and composition. History As an Inspiration? There are projects all around the world that have used the history o...Read More

Article by Gwgw Kalligiannaki Täby Torg Square by Polyform Architects in Täby, Sweden. In the 1960s, the City of Täby joined the Swedish “Million Programme” to help solve the housing problems in the city. The project’s goal was to build one million apartments in a short period of time and to provide a roof for all. Although the speedy rebuild was very successful, the town’s appearance was monotonous and lacked public space. Therefore, in the early 2000s, the Municipality of Täby decided it was time to resolve the issue and transform the public, urban life of their citizens. To do this, they selected the parking lot of the city’s main shopping center and converted it into a space to host public events and activities. Danish firm Polyform Architects was commissioned for the design of the New...Read More

Article by Farah Afza Jurekh In this article we look at the fundamentals of universal design. Universal accessibility is widely considered by landscape architects. However, beyond functional elements such as crosswalks with sound cues, there are very few landscapes that are designed to engage the senses and provide benefits to the visually impaired. Landscape design principles offer an array of opportunities to the people who are visually impaired and physically challenged to ensure their ease in movement and comfort. Visually Impaired People When visually impaired people negotiate with the outside world, their hands and feet become their eyes. They use their feet to acquire surface information and fingers to recognize texture, form, and location. Additionally, the blind rely on other sens...Read More

In this article we examine what knowledge young professionals lack about planting that every landscape architect should know. In the pursuit of a landscape architecture degree, students have the opportunity to acquire a wealth of knowledge on planting, but as with other subjects there are some students who take this issue more seriously than others. Very often creating planting plans is reduced to composing different spatial forms due to size, shape, or aesthetic qualities of vegetation. In theory, designers are always able to make a space more attractive to the user by applying appropriate plantings, mainly because most people enjoy colorful combinations of blooming flowers. However, ornamental plantings aren’t the only situation where plants can be used. Treating vegetation as a vital el...Read More