Blog

Orquideorama, by Plan B Architects + JPRCR Arquitectos , in Medellin, Colombia. One of the most important aspects of good design is the understanding of context. Context involves an understanding of the surrounding scale, aesthetics, and climate, but can extend beyond to include the essential character of a place or the processes that are inherent to that specific environment. Without this understanding, designers cannot create good design solutions. An understanding of context also allows designers to look at the relationship between the artificial and the natural environment, providing an essential link between man and nature. Orquideorama by Plan B Architects has taken the understanding of context and has re-interpreted it in a manner that transcends design boundaries in an organic yet ...Read More

New Road by Landscape Projects and Gehl Architects, Brighton, England. For all you landscape architects out there who don’t think site analysis and local context are a crucial first step in designing, this project is about to prove you wrong. New Road is a perfect example of how a landscape architect should assess a site and its surroundings. When Landscape Projects and Gehl Architects were commissioned by the Brighton and Hove City Council, pedestrian and user experience areas within the city were suffering from contained access. As a result, they were relatively inaccessible and ignored, with other areas drowning in traffic congestion. What they called the Public Space/Public Life Survey analyzed the urban structure, movement patterns, and open-air activities, both in the winter and the ...Read More

Place de la République, by Trévelo & Viger-Kohler
, in Paris, France. Most people know that Paris is often called “The City of Love”. Fewer have heard that Paris is also known as “The City of Light”. The first alias needs no explanation; the second one certainly does. Paris has been called “The City of Light” because of its leading role in the Age of Enlightenment, but also because France’s capital was one of the first European cities to adopt gas street lighting. Another interesting fact about the city is that — unlike the majority of other world capitals — Paris has never been destroyed by war or catastrophe. And despite modernizing the urban scape, architecture, and infrastructure, the city zealously guards its earliest historical tracks on its street map. IN THIS ARTIC...Read More

Pause Court and The Lawn Hill Garden for Sales Gallery, by TROP Terrains + Open Spaces, Pattaya, Thailand. Pause Court and Lawn Hill were designed by TROP as part of the sales gallery for a new residential development in Thailand’s beach resort city of Pattaya. Pattaya is a popular tourist destination, especially for those looking for a low-budget, tropical getaway. However, the city has lost some of its prestige in recent years. A victim of unbridled and unregulated development and expansion, as well as its growing reputation as a hotbed for the sex and drug trades, has led to declining popularity among upper- and middle-class vacationers. But today, many developers are trying to turn this image around — rebuilding Pattaya into the vibrant, high-class destination it once was. Pause ...Read More

An overview of details and ideas to take into consideration when designing your own private garden. Adding a private garden to any home always brings a feeling of warmth and comfort to any home. There are a number of reasons why someone would want to transform their yard into a private garden. The two main reasons for most people are aesthetics and privacy. Homes with an untouched and open yard can leave an empty and cold feeling to the home. A beautiful garden goes a long way towards improving your mood. A garden adds another dimension to your house giving it not only character but another living area in your own abode. A garden can also be used to entertain guests as well as provide a personal sanctuary to recharge after a stressful day. In terms of privacy, a private garden can provide ...Read More

Beekman Plazas, by James Corner Field Operations and Piet Oudolf, in Manhattan, New York City. Striking architecture can have an impact on the design of the landscape that surrounds it. The controversial Frank Gehry, who is changing the language of architecture as we speak, designed Forest City Ratner Residential Tower. At its base are the Beekman Street Plazas, designed by James Corner Field Operations in collaboration with Piet Oudolf. The building footprint was reduced by about 30 percent to allow for urban plazas to be created on the western and eastern sides of the building. From above, the dramatic steel folds of the residential tower create an inspired addition to the Lower Manhattan skyline. Below, the public space reflects the dynamism and movement to create an inviting space for ...Read More

This week’s Sketchy Saturday top 10. Sketchy Saturday is back after a long break, way too long, and we have a big back log of sketches to get out. As we sort through them, however, the top ones are rising to the top for your viewing pleasure. This week’s selection offers a range of styles and abilities making it another difficult week for judging as it is, of course, challenging to compare vastly different styles and so we have to look at each sketch from an overall point of view and rate them based on how they stand alone and not necessarily when compared to one another. We hope you are inspired by our selection of top sketches by top people. Enjoy this week’s Sketchy Saturday top 10! 10. by Kristýna Haisová from the Czech Republic. Landscape Architecture student at the Czech Univer...Read More

A book review of the Walls: Elements of Garden and Landscape Architecture by Günter Mader and Elke Zimmerman. Everyone knows Pink Floyd’s hit song “Another Brick in the Wall”, and perhaps every person finds something true in the lyrics. Who wants to be just another brick in the wall? Don’t we all try to seek the different, the undiscovered, the unheard of and the untold? We chase singularity, individuality, and differentiation in our everyday lives. Artists and architects strive to make names for themselves, to develop their recognizable signatures, and, yes, to stand out among the other “bricks”. If you are a designer in pursuit of distinction, we offer you one intriguing matter that hasn’t been discussed profoundly yet, but is full of design potential. The book “Walls: Elements of Garden...Read More

Quzhou Luming Park by Turenscape, in Quzhou, Zhejiang, China. A sea of color greets visitors when they enter the new Quzhou Luming Park, and it is a color palette that changes with the seasons. Located along the west bank of Shiliang Creek west of the new district of Quzhou, the 31.3-hectare park is a place where agriculture meets healthy living. and the two combine to produce a spot that attracts people from all walks of life. Home to more than 2.5 million people, Quzhou features picturesque landscapes and abundant natural resources, both of which helped the city to be named a National Eco-Model City, National Garden City and to receive the title of Excellent National Tourism City. It was with this in mind that first-level design institute Turenscape set out to design the district’s newes...Read More

An AutoCAD tutorial on How to Create the Perfect Flow in Your Drawings from our resident AutoCAD expert UrbanLISP. Whether you are designing a path for a small garden or developing a master plan, chances are strong that you will draw a few lines that are curved. Creating these curves can be fairly easy, but there is more behind it than you might initially think. It’s good to know what to pay attention to, because it also easily can go wrong. And then things can get really awkward — if not disastrous. To prevent these situations, we are going to have a look at the science behind the curve. Before we talk about flows, we are going to have a quick look at two straight lines. When one straight line approaches another, both lines make an angle with each other. When this angle is exactly 9...Read More

Cemetery de Laroque des Albères, by Marti Franch (EMF), in Laroque des Albères, France. As a landscape architect, when you are working on a new project, you get the sense that you are molding the respective space with its distinct personality. The challenge is often related to finding the right angle in order come up with a final result that is as meaningful as it is possible. The project presented in this article demonstrates that cemetery architecture has changed tremendously in the past few years, with more and more designers focusing on blending elements of nature with the more abstract ones. The Laroque des Albères Cemetery Project was commissioned by the commune officials, and was completed by Marti Franch (EMF). Cemetery Architecture and Landscaping: A Vision into Tomorrow The class...Read More