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Chenshan Botanical Garden, by Design Group Valentien, in Shanghai, China. Shanghai is the largest Chinese city by population, with more than 24 million residents as of 2013. It is a global financial center, but also a city that works and understands agriculture, cultivates fruits and vegetables, and has an intensive fish farming industry. The city rests in a flat landscape surrounded by nine hills that rise up about 100 meters. The Chenshan Botanical Garden is located in the Songjiang District, one of the largest in Shanghai, covering 605 square kilometers and housing more than a million inhabitants. It is a growing district, known as the cultural root of Shanghai. Chenshan Botanical Garden The Chenshan Botanical Garden is one of Shanghai’s largest parks and the largest municipal botanical...Read More

With urban agriculture popping up everywhere, we take a step back and look at some unresolved issues that need to be addressed before we can consider urban agriculture as a permanent solution to our food needs. Urban agriculture — also known as urban farming, guerilla farming, foodscaping, and by many other terms relating to agricultural practices in the middle of the city — is becoming all the rage in societies all over the world. Urban agriculture provides many benefits, including food security for people in the city, a reduction of energy used in conventional agricultural practices and food service, a reduction of carbon footprints, and environmental services for cities in terms of providing open green space. All over the world, people are turning unused lots, back yards, an...Read More

Avoid making these common mistakes when starting a project and get yourself off to the best start possible. The time has finally come — the moment when everything is possible. The new Versailles or the new High Line is about to be born. You get to start your new project. Photos, plans, and all the relative data are here; you have already been on site — or maybe not. Nevertheless, you are about to think, conceive, make decisions, design. What could possibly go wrong? Well, almost everything if you do not pay attention to the following traps! There are certain mistakes you should definitely avoid at the beginning of a project, in order for things to run smoothly. So, try to avoid the following: 1. The Void — The “Blank Paper” Fear I cannot think of anything worse than to st...Read More

Novo Nordisk Nature Park, by SLA Architects, Bagsværd, Denmark. Nature has always been close to man. As Albert Einstein once said, “if you look deeper into nature, everything else will be better understood”. Novo Nordisk Nature Park is a clear demonstration that the touch of nature is still essential for the modern world. This park bears the trademark signature of SLA Architects (Copenhagen), being created for the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. Located in Bagsværd, Denmark, Novo Nordisk Nature Park was completed in 2014, occupying an area of 31,000 square meters. Novo Nordisk Nature Park A leading pharmaceutical company such as Novo Nordisk required a green space that would be just as innovative as the company itself. In designing the park, the talented team at SLA Archit...Read More

Heavenly Water Service Center of International Horticultural Exposition 2014 Qingdao, Shandong, by HHD_FUN, in Qingdao, Shandong, China. A Relationship Between Terrain and Design Terrain — as one of the most important factors — is normally taken into account in both architecture and landscape architectural design. A good design is always based on the original terrain and emphasizes the unique features of that terrain as well. In other words, a good design fits the existing ground naturally, as it grows naturally out of the terrain. Contour lines are the key to helping a designer understand the original terrain. By using contour lines, we can easily understand a trend of terrain and define a plan, which takes advantage of the terrain for drainage and creates harmony between arch...Read More

717 Bourke Street Plaza. by ASPECT Studios in 717 Bourke Street, Docklands, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 717 Bourke Street is a collaboration between architects at Metier3, real estate developers of PDS Group, and with landscape designers at ASPECT Studios. The design includes a 17-level office building set in an urban plaza. The site, which includes the plaza and adjacent streetscape is especially interesting, as it represents the gateway into Melbourne’s newly redeveloped Docklands neighbourhood. Previously an industrial area, the docklands precinct was an important shipping harbour up until the 1950s when it fell into disuse. With the city of Melbourne growing, it became evident that the redevelopment of these lands would be necessary to accommodate commercial and residential growth....Read More

One of the greatest things about landscape architecture is you can take your skills and travel with them, opening up a whole new world for living and working abroad. If you are planning on making a change in your life, there is no better time than the present to take action. In this article, you will have the opportunity to discover ten of the best countries for living and working abroad. Read the information presented for each of them and decide on your own on the most suitable destination. Remember that we are no longer tied to an individual job or country of residence; globalization has allowed us to move freely to other countries, discovering their culture and meeting new people. If you are up to the challenge, pack your bags and go! Living and Working Abroad 1. Austria In a recent sur...Read More

With lawns going out of fashion and urban agriculture making a big impression, more and more people are looking at what they can grow. Some are even looking at how to grow your own drugs. To understand the study of ethnobotany, one must first understand the meaning of the word. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word ethno means “race: people: cultural group” and the word botany is a “branch of science that deals with plant life.”  So, with this in mind, one could assume that ethnobotany is the study of plants and their relationships with certain cultures. In fact, Merriam-Webster defines it as “the plant lore of indigenous cultures or the systematic study of such lore.” But how does ethnobotany relate to growing drugs? Simply put, one of the subcategories of ethnobotany is e...Read More

Plaza Euskadi, by Balmori Associates and Lantec, in Bilbao, Spain. Not so long ago, the name “Bilbao” would have had little meaning to most people. But if you mention the name now, the response will be something like “oh that’s where the shiny curvy building is”. Yes, the city has been put on the cultural and tourist map by an extremely extroverted building, the Guggenheim Bilbao, by Frank Gehry. But before you landscape architects stop reading you should know that architecture is not the only outrageous and exciting aspect of Bilbao – its landscape architecture is pretty fantastic too! In fact, landscape design is the key element that has enabled the old city to connect to the new in a manner which is fun, beautiful and very green. There are three parts to the new landscape interven...Read More

With so many software design programs on the market that claim to be the best, it may seem like mission impossible to choose one. If you are searching for some of the best free design software trials to download, look no further than this handy list that we have composed for you. There is an age-old adage that says, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. This is a sure fact, especially when you are a landscape architect and you want to illustrate an idea for your project. Indeed, with software design programs revolutionizing the landscape architectural world, you now have the ability to present a model of what your project might possibly look like, using some impressive conceptual 3D modeling landscape design and 2D graphic drawing software. Whatever happened to the old pen a paper? Of cou...Read More

Zollhallen Plaza, Atelier Dreiseitl, Freiburg, Germany. It is undeniable that the relationship between water and our urban areas needs to be given a higher priority to provide integrated solutions for flood risk management, sustainable water use and supply, and the improvement of water quality in our treasured watercourses. Planners and designers should take more account of what we call “water-sensitive urban design”. But what exactly is water-sensitive urban design? A water-sensitive urban design is a land planning and engineering design approach. It takes the urban water cycle, including storm water, groundwater and wastewater management and water supply into urban design. Mitigating on environmental degradation and improving aesthetic and recreational appeal. Zollhallen Plaza The proof ...Read More

LAN’s Erin Tharp interviewed landscape photographer, Erica Thum, gaining insights and expert tips on the topic of landscape photography. Once a design is installed, the next step is getting the right photos of the project to show off all its best features. This can sometimes be a challenge, especially if your photography skills are limited to the latest app on a smartphone. Landscape designer and freelance photographer Erica Thum is here to share her insights into how to really sell a project with amazing photos — with a real camera, not just a phone. Landscape Photographer Erica Thum LAN: Where do you find your inspiration for your photographs? Thum: I’ve been a photographer since I was about 10 years old, so photography has always just been part of who I am. Photography is ho...Read More