Blog

We take a closer look at what you need to think about when designing the landscape for a city center.  Designing the landscape for a huge project like a city center or even park in the middle of the city is a huge accomplishment. Being assigned this design is also a huge responsibility as you will have to think about numerous factors. You will not be able to just design anything as there will be vendors and other issues that might arise. For this type of project you should have a list of requirements that you have to live up to. The following are things you need to think about when designing the landscape for a city center. Landscape For a City Center Factoring In The Sun There are areas of cities in warmer parts of the country that bring in full grown palm trees to plant when redesigning ...Read More

Old Market Square, by Gustafson Porter, in Nottingham, England. In 2004, the Development Department of Nottingham, England, organized an international competition for the re-design of the Old Market Square. The winners were Gustafson Porter and Bowman, and the design was so clever that the Old Market Square of Nottingham became the nerve center of the city’s social and cultural life. The square holds a strategic location within the city and is connected with spacious avenues and streets that create quick routes across the compact center. Those avenues and streets are filled with relevant places for citizens and visitors, such as restaurants, libraries, hotels, banks, department stores, and tram stops. Old Market Square In its new role as social catalyst, the square is now home to many comm...Read More

Article by Moreira Filho – The Afghan Bazaar Cultural Precinct, by HASSELL, Dandenong, Melbourne, Australia. Far from their homelands, immigrants all over the world look for a space they can call their own in their adopted country. And they often have to do this in an atmosphere of struggle and even prejudice in their day-to-day lives. How can landscape architects design projects to help people feel at home and celebrate their culture in an unfamiliar setting? In 2014, HASSELL designed a place for the Afghan community around Thomas Street in Melbourne, Australia, in an area now called The Afghan Bazaar Cultural Precinct. The Landscape of the City A Mirror to the Soul The Afghan Bazaar includes a bunch of shops, cafés, and restaurants designed for Afghan people but open to everybody. ...Read More

Imagine having access to every street tree in your city, essentially having the urban forest at your fingertips. The New York City Street Tree Map does just that, giving users access to information about every street tree in New York City. The map shows the location of every single tree, in all five boroughs, along the city’s sidewalks and streets, with information such as size and ecological benefits of each tree. In the final episode of Remarkable Objects, we learn about the effort that went into building this robust program, and its advantages, from Jennifer Greenfeld, Assistant Commissioner for Forestry, Horticulture, and Natural Resources at the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. New York City recruited over 2,200 of its residents to assist in the census of the city’s...Read More

Article by Farah Afza Jurekh – Joseph Venne Public Plaza by NIPPAYSAGE, Ontario Street, Montreal (Quebec), Canada. Design is a powerful tool. It has the ability to transform and do magic. Landscape architects amaze us by bringing out a whole new outlook, the potential of a place from merely nothing, especially in revitalization projects. Joseph Venne Public Plaza, located in Montreal (Quebec), Canada, is one such intriguing project which has turned an old parking lot – a boring space – into the heart of the neighborhood. The space which was once being ignored by the residents is now the center of attraction, the meeting place of the St. Marie’s neighborhood. Joseph Venne Public Plaza Revitalization of the Neighborhood Joseph Venne Public Plaza, designed by NIPPAYSAGE, is a part of th...Read More

Article by Alexandra-Elena Ciocan – Town Hall Square of Meilen, by Studio Vulkan Landschaftsarchitektur, in Zurich, Switzerland. I think we can all agree upon the fact that landscape architecture is often confused with “gardening”. While it is a compliment that we, nature lovers and landscape professionals, accept with grace, there is so much more that the domain has to offer. One example is the Town Hall Square of Meilen, a project that Studio Vulkan Landschaftsarchitektur has brought to life in the center of Meilen, Switzerland, by changing the directions trending in that domain. The scheme envisioning the square’s design comes to complete the architectural planning of the Village Hall, along with the creation of an underground car park. Town Hall Square of Meilen What was once a b...Read More

Article by Mai Nguyen –  A review of Pier 4 Plaza, by Mikyoung Kim Design in Boston, Mass., USA. Mikyoung Kim Design office (MYKD) has just completed another landscape project in Boston’s Seaport District – Pier 4 Plaza. By using geometric forms following the building’s outline, the designer has established not only a connection with the external area, but also a link between the interior and exterior spaces. The dynamic and creative design of this type of public amenity helps enrich the landscape experience for visitors. Last but not least is the amazing lighting design: The harmonious integration of public amenities and lighting creates an attractive nighttime landscape experience. Pier 4 Plaza Working with only about four acres, Mikyoung Kim Design still managed to turn Pier 4 Pla...Read More

Article by Alexis Alvey – A review of the Limelight during Garden Festival, designed by  Meyer + Silberberg Land Architects in Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, Gloucestershire, England Limelight, by Meyer + Silberberg Land Architects, is a minimalist garden installation that was created at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum of England, for its 2003 International Festival of Gardens. Although the installation was temporary, Limelight demonstrates how innovative design can be successfully incorporated into a traditional public arboretum, leading to new ways of perceiving the natural landscape. Putting a Tree in the Limelight At an arboretum, trees take center stage. The Limelight installation pays homage to the centrality of trees in the landscape by elevating their importance on the scal...Read More

Article by Alexandra-Elena Ciocan– A review of the Sydney Park Water Re-Use Project, designed by Turf Design Studio & Environmental Partnership, in Sydney, Australia. Do you want to know how the innovative Sydney Park Water Re-Use Project manages to deliver answers and solutions to the people and the world, while constructing a better, more feasible future? The translation and reinterpretation of what sustainability means have converged in this Australian park, as the result of the teamwork of landscape architecture firm Turf Design Studio and Environmental Partnership (TDEP), along with other specialists. For most of us, re-use means nothing but recycling plastic bottles or giving new purposes to long-worn household items. We seem to fail to picture the concept on a bigger scale. Can ...Read More

Article by Alexandra-Elena Ciocan – We take a look at the topic of permeable paving and see what advantages it has over standard paving in the world of landscape architecture.  Permeable paving, going by the nickname of “thirsty paving”, is a concept which echoes sustainability and durability. Even though we’ve been familiarized with it by now, this remains a rather new approach to laying the paths through beautiful landscapes. If it’s the first time you meet & greet the idea, learn that what it brings to the business is a clean structure, which is composed of a base and a sub base of different spacing, granulation or porosity. Its main purpose is to enable the stormwater to flow through the surface. As simple as it sounds, this choice stands with multiple benefits for your proje...Read More

Today we take a closer look at durable materials and explore six industrial projects involving wear-resistant products. Wear-resistance is a common desire for most companies. They want their supplies, products, and manufacturing equipment to resist any wear, rust, and corrosion that occurs. With wear-resistant products made by companies like AJ Weller, this desire can be met. There are at least six industrial projects that involve resisting wear and avoiding corrosion. Protective Coating on Pipes Pipes, pulleys, chutes, and all other industrial process pieces easily become corroded over time. This is due to the many chemicals that are put through them on a regular basis. Using a protective coating on these pipes and similar devices ensures they are resistant to wear and will last for much ...Read More

Today we dive into the interesting topic of solar energy and discuss why we need to take solar energy more seriously. We live in an age where we can tap into the abundant energy of the sun, which is 109 times the size of the earth. Using the energy of the sun can free us up from the reliance on fossil fuels, which is a limited source of fuel. If we do not start taking advantage of solar energy and other alternative sources of power, civilization will literally come to a standstill in less than a hundred years at our current rate of global energy consumption. Solar energy works by capturing sunlight and converting this energy into photovoltaic power (PV). It can also be converted into concentrated solar power (CSP) for solar heating. This energy conversion allows the energy of the sun to be...Read More