Blog

The Floating Piers, by Christo And Jeanne-Claude, in Lake Iseo, Italy. For more than 40 years, the artists had this vision of a floating walkway; the project was first conceived by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in 1970 but not actually brought to life until 2016. It was Christo’s first large-scale project since 2005 when he and Jeanne-Claude realized The Gates in N.Y.C., and since Jeanne-Claude died in 2009. In 2014, when Christo and his team explored Northern Italy’s lakes, they found Lake Iseo to be the most inspiring location of them all. Lake Iseo or Lago d’Iseo is located 100 Km east of Milan and 200 Km west of Venice and is the fourth-largest lake in Lombardy, Italy; the lake is fed by the Oglio River. Through the work of Christo and his team, the place was reimagined and transformed and...Read More

We take a look at the exterior of your home, and how to make it eco-friendly in an otherwise non-ecofriendly world.  Our communities have never placed more emphasis on green efforts, and for good reason. With greenhouse gas emissions and constant waste harming our ecosystem, it’s our duty to find ways to make our homes and lives more eco-friendly. While many green efforts focus on the interior of a home, exterior upgrades can make a huge difference in utility bills and home value. Whether you choose to pursue long-term upgrades like cool roofing or make gardening changes that can keep your yard looking its best, these strategies will have you well on your way to an eco-friendly exterior. Make Your Home Eco-Friendly Motion-Sensing Lights It’s common to have lights in your outdoor living spa...Read More

In this article, we discuss the essentials for rural homesteading. The desire to “get away from it all” drives more and more people away from cities and into rural areas each year. The desire to avoid crime, pollution, congestion and a fast-paced lifestyle inspire these city-dwellers to relocate, and the news coverage of those same problems encourages most rural folks to stay put. Of course, there are some sacrifices involved in this escape from civilization. Life is considerably different when you go off the grid, or at least toward the edge of the grid. There are no insurmountable challenges, but if you’re considering a move away from the concrete and asphalt, there are things that you should plan for to make sure that your relocation isn’t a failure. Essentials R...Read More

Article by Galo César Gutiérrez Díaz – A review of Canal Park by OLIN, in Washington, District Of Columbia, USA. In a city where the priority is the automobile, will it be a great advance to recover open public spaces? These improve the quality of life of its inhabitants, giving multiple benefits from social to economic. Recovering an open public space is not easy; it takes a lot of social support to make this happen, but by doing so, it causes a long chain of benefits for the sites where it is possible. In the district of Anacostia, Washington D.C., a project shows us one of the best ways to recover three blocks that were intended for the district’s school parking lot. This beautiful landscape design was achieved by the OLIN studio, who were in charge of capturing a beautiful ...Read More

Calling all emerging professionals: Get your pen out, and bring on the creative ideas. The 2017 National Grant Competition for Emerging Professionals in Landscape Architecture has just been announced! This competition, created by Anova Furnishings, will award 21 winners $2,000 to fund attendance at the 2017 ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO in Los Angeles, CA. The competition, which debuted last year, challenges emerging professionals to come up with and pitch their own idea, preparing them for future client meetings. Receiving over 120 entries in 2016 with the question “What change would you make in your region if money were no object?”, entrants were invited to share their vision along with a quick napkin sketch. The 21 winning entries show a diversity of ideas and the broad depth of interest...Read More

Article by Win Phy0 – A review of Przelomy Centre for Dialogue, by KWK Promes, in Szczecin, Poland. Imagine a place that is deeply rooted in a painful history, a place that hasn’t caught a break in the years since. The potential for reviving that space and making a 360-degree turnaround might seem highly unlikely. For years, a section of Szczecin, Poland, suffered this sorry state. The once vibrant urban quarter was first destroyed by aerial bombings during World War II, then neglected under Soviet regimes. There were times when the people tried to take back the site’s identity, but it wasn’t until the turn of a new century that real progress began to be made. Przelomy Centre for Dialogue Today, the city has taken back this space, now home to the Przelomy Centre for Dialogue. The tur...Read More

Article by Maria Giovanna Drago – A review of Hotel Mar Adentro by Miguel Angel Aragonés – San José del Cabo, México. Mar Adentro is a hotel complex located at the far southern tip of the California peninsula in Mexican territory. It’s separated from the inland by the Sea of Cortez, a geographical area characterized by the prosperity of marine fauna and flora — it is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the category of natural goods. The complex directly overlooks the beach, inviting guests to scan the horizon. It stands out among the succession of hotels along the coastline, not just because it is completely white, but also thanks to its essential and modern design. It is composed of more than 200 rooms, suites, and villas. Mexican architect Miguel Angel Arag...Read More

Article by Ophelia Yuting Ji – A review of the Loop light installation, by Olivier Girouard, Jonathan Villeneuve, and Ottoblix, in Montréal, Québec, Canada. When we think about a city’s landscape, we often picture rivers, parks, neighborhoods, and downtown streets shining beneath the beautiful light of the sun. But what about the city’s nighttime landscape? The nighttime view and the daytime view can be astonishingly different. When the natural landscape fades from view in the night, the infrastructural landscape created by people takes center stage, often providing a charming atmosphere framing the energetic activities going on under the moonlight and artificial lighting. The relationships among infrastructure, public spaces, and people are redefined in the starry night. Ideally, we...Read More

Article by Gwgw Kalligiannaki– A Review for Lizard Log Playground and Park, Designed by McGregor Coxall, Western Sydney, Australia. “Design a park”. This task is a challenge for all architects. Well, it’s not easy, because what, actually, is a park? I am sure that we all think about parks as big green spaces distributed around the city, in order to have some “nature points” between the buildings. However, Lizard Log Playground and Park is not an ordinary park. It is not just a green area. Lizard Log is designed by McGregor Coxall to reflect all the pros and cons of the Australian rural land. The master plan of the park is, in fact, a renewal of the Pimelea parklands, a design that was made prior to the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Coxall’s design includes new toilet blocks, BBQ and picnic area...Read More

Article by Giacomo Guzzon – A review of the Parkstad Rotterdam Project, by DELVA Landscape Architects,  in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Parkstad, a residential project covering three building blocks, is part of a larger master plan for the redevelopment of a derelict area in the southern part of Rotterdam. This project challenges the conventional way people live in the city, and seeks alternative solutions to encourage residents to interact with each other and to use space in a more efficient way. Having lived in the Netherlands, I had the opportunity to become familiar with this country, its inhabitants, and the way they live. The Netherlands is one of the countries with the highest population density in the European Community (396 people/km²) and therefore I am not surprised that, especially ...Read More

LABash 2017 is already just around the corner, with less than 2 months left! If you needed any convincing and haven’t gotten your registration yet, keep on reading! 1. You will learn things outside of your regular curriculum. Get messy in a soils workshop, learn about how travel can change your career, explore how the largest estuary in the nation affects the work of a landscape architect, and learn how employers view millennials in the workplace. This is just a sampling of the topics that will be covered at LABash 2017. Even better, you get to build your own schedule! Attend only the sessions that sound interesting to you – you’ll have a lot to choose from! Session from LABash 2015 at San Luis Obispo. 2. You will discover a new place. College Park is within the DC Metropolitan...Read More

Do current events have you feeling ready to act but not sure what to do? Start by signing the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s (LAF) New Landscape Declaration.  This bold vision is a 21st century call to action for landscape architecture and serves as a potent reminder of the common values that we share.  “As landscape architects we vow to create places that serve the higher purpose of social and ecological justice for all peoples and all species. We vow to create places that nourish our deepest needs for communion with the natural world and with one another. We vow to serve the health and well-being of all communities.”  The Declaration is the synthesis of the ideas from LAF’s historic Summit on Landscape Architecture and the Future, which brought 700 landscape architects from ar...Read More