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Gebran Tueni Memorial, Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture, Beirut, Lebanon A memorial to an outspoken politician and journalist The Gebran Tueni Memorial, opened in December 2011, is located in Beirut, Lebanon, a city once ravaged by civil war, but now being rebuilt and undergoing a social and economic transformation. The award-winning memorial (including a 2014 ASLA award) was designed by Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architects. Djurovic, whose mother is from Lebanon, grew up in the city and calls it his home. The memorial celebrates the life and times of Gebran Tueni, a former journalist and politician who was killed by a car bomb in 2005. Tueni was passionate about independence from foreign interference, freedom, cooperation, and unity for his country. In addition to being a physic...Read More

LABash 2015 – An Interview with the 2015 Host – Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Whether you’re an underclassman or a soon-to-be graduate, there’s one event that landscape architecture students won’t want to miss. In 1970, three landscape architecture students at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, founded what’s known today as LABash. Fast-forward 45 years and it still continues to be a destination for curious landscape architecture students. While it’s known as a three-day student-run conference consisting of speakers, workshops, design charettes, expos, and social events, it’s the sense of unity that makes it such a special tradition. LABash 2015 runs March 19-21, 2015, at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (SLO). Situated roughly midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, on t...Read More

One of the world’s most important historic gardens, known for its magnificent sculptures and mystical atmosphere, is the Park of Monsters in Bomarzo, situated in the center of Italy. Today, we could say that the park was one of the first examples of land art, in which the design of the soil and the creatures that inhabit it fully reflect the Mannerist character, building a veritable museum of sculptures with hidden meanings. The History of Monsters Park The garden was created at a time when alchemy, astrology, and magic were banned. However, at the same time, this heretic and hermetic world attracted the minds of intellectuals as enlightened as Prince Pier Francesco Orsini. The ongoing debate of who created it The duke of Bomarzo, called also Vicino Orsini, created the park in 1552 as the ...Read More

Square of the Liberation and the banks of the Seine Chanel,  by TN PLUS, in Troyes, France. The old district of Troyes, France, has received a complete makeover, and it all started with an underground parking project that was going to be built in the Square of the Liberation. The project, developed by Bruno Tanant and managed by Agathe Turmel and Stéphanie Henry, soon developed into more. It led to changes in the entire city center, with the Troyes Canal serving as the main element of attraction. The city commissioned the project and it was successfully completed in 2012. When the underground parking was ready to be built, the project managers noticed that the city center had a lot to offer in terms of visual appeal. They took into consideration the buildings and the gardens, and turned th...Read More

Marina One, by Gustafson Porter, in Singapore. Marina One is a major project that is the result of collaboration between landscape architects Kathryn Gustasfon and Neil Porter and architectural agency Ingenhoven Architects. The partnership showcases the work of a talented team full of ingenuity in regard to landscape architecture projects. This project will also become one of the key pieces in relation to the landscape technological advances in the city. Indeed, in this project of mixed-use urban development in the heart of a business district in Singapore, the team has been innovative and made a considerable advance in the field by integrating the landscape sensitively to the architecture of four towers. What makes Marina One so diverse? At Marina One, we can discover several spaces arran...Read More

Vanke Research Center, by Z+T Studio, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. Urbanization has always exerted a considerable impact on the environment and the social activities of people. Shenzhen, China, once a hilly region with fertile agrarian lands, is now one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. The bustling city is experiencing an unprecedented boom in the construction of its modern cityscape and, simultaneously, seeing the demise of its green, hilly regions to explosive urban sprawl. With this changing dynamic between land and people, there is an urgency to develop a vernacular system to express that relationship. In this project, landscape architecture emerges as an art of survival. Vanke, one of China’s largest real estate developers, aimed to develop a research center o...Read More

Book review of Urban Design for an Urban Century: Shaping More Livable, Equitable and Resilient Cities, Lance Jay Brown. “Urban Design for an Urban Century” tells us the story of urban design. This book describes not only how the profession came to be, but offers insights into how it has developed and how it is continuing to change and create the cities of the future. The book is perhaps best described as an in-depth summary of the field of urban design. It’s a resource that sheds light on an often misunderstood field of design. Jam-packed with great information, the book focuses on giving readers an understanding of the impact urban design has on the past, present, and future of cities. Urban Design for an Urban Century The first two chapters explain the history of urban design, from the ...Read More

A book review of Living Streets: Strategies for Crafting Public Space, by Lesley Bain, et al. The book “Living Streets: Strategies for Crafting Public Space” addresses themes in urban streets and the public realm. Specifically described in the book are both past and present trends in streetscape design, as well as evaluations of their effectiveness through case studies and first-hand research. Other issues addressed include the clash between designing for vehicles and designing for the pedestrian experience and the conflict between aesthetic and functional design. Three of the eight chapters of the book address three ways to use a space in the public right-of-way: for mobility, for placemaking, and for natural systems. The rest of the chapters outline specific successful elements in creati...Read More

The Physic Garden by Thorbjörn Andersson with Sweco Architects, Novartis Campus, Basel, Switzerland. Have you ever wondered what secrets have been hiding in monastery gardens or at least wanted to experience the mystique that they bring? If your answer is yes, you will probably want to visit The Physic Garden by Thorbjörn Andersson and see the main features of this historically important garden that — even when they were inaccessible — held significance for the community. Located in Basel, Switzerland, this simple but effective garden has a lot to show. It is designed to be part of the Novartis Campus and to describe the work of the company, which discovers, develops, and markets innovative products to prevent and cure diseases, ease suffering, and enhance the quality of life. ...Read More

Metamorphous by Paul Sangha Landscape Architecture in Vancouver, BC, Canada. When you hear the word metamorphosis, you usually associate it with the caterpillar turning into the butterfly. And, even though, the caterpillar and the butterfly don’t apply here, you are about to witness something quite similar — a major change in the appearance and character of a landscape. Let’s continue with the meaning of the adjective metamorphous, which describes things related to or resulting from metamorphosis. The adjective is specially used for rocks that have been altered considerably from their original structure. Metamorphous Clarifying the nature of these terms is perhaps much more relevant than it seems, mainly because of the strong presence of the inspired-by-nature design concept within t...Read More

Floor Works, Agence TER Landscape Architects, Geneva, Switzerland. Geneva is the second most crowded city in Switzerland and is often described as a modern concrete jungle. This urban center is densely populated, and the need for more green spaces is often felt. A project developed by Agence TER Landscape Architects was a finalist for the European Garden Award in 2013. The name of the project is “Floor Works” and it concerned the development of an urban garden. The project was commissioned by a private company, SPG, and it demonstrated that a green space can be perfectly integrated within concrete and other urban elements. Floor Works – The Future of Urban Gardening Brought into the Present In simple terms, Floor Works is an urban garden. Even though it has been created around the main off...Read More