LABash 2011!

Land8 will be there….will you?   It is getting close to that time of the year again when landscape architecture students from across the globe throw down their pencils and eraser shields (do students even know what these are any more?), in complete disregard for the huge deadline looming over their heads, and come together to celebrate their love/hate relationship with this fantastically misunderstood profession!  This year the students of Purdue University will have the honors of hosting this special conference which has been passed from school to school since 1970.   What is in store in 2011: The focus of LABash 2011 will be celebrating cultural landscapes and landscape architecture worldwide. They have a great program lined up which will include lectures and demonstrations from tw...Read More

The first step in picking what components you want in your computer, whether you are building a custom setup, or buying one off the shelf, is looking at what software you expect to use.  I was looking for a rig that would work for Photoshop, AutoCAD, SketchUp, Thea Render (3D-Rendering Engine), and of course, games from time to time.  The next thing is to figure out what each one of these software packages rely on most heavily- Processor, RAM, or Graphics Card.   Photoshop Here are the system requirements: Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor 1GB of RAM 1024×768 display (1280×800 recommended) with qualified hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics card, 16-bit color, and 256MB of VRAM The newer Photoshop versions make use of graphics cards more and more, but in bigger file s...Read More

  Call for Submissions Deadline: Jan 31st. Late Deadline: Feb 15th. SHIFT:process The inaugural issue of SHIFT: infrastructure suggests that the integration of natural systems into the built environment provides for a more sustainable model of landscape architecture in infrastructure design. However, the skillful employment of ecological principles does not necessarily ensure a culturally sensitive design.  In the 21st century, Landscape Architecture faces the challenge of not only creating ecologically regenerative designs, but doing so in a way that engages the public through education, community mobilization, and inspiration. This is important not only for the long-term viability of the design, but also for its economic success.   How can we as students re-imagine the design process tha...Read More

Today’s Therapeutic Landscapes Network Blog guest post is by Amy Lindemuth, author of “Beyond the Bars: Landscapes for Health and Healing in Corrections,” a chapter in the forthcoming Greening in the Red Zone: Disaster, Resilience and Community Greening edited by Keith G. Tidball and Marianne E. Krasny. Amy became interested in corrections after taking a series of undergraduate courses in medical anthropology at the University of Washington that focused on the culture of institutions and cultural constructions of health and mental illness. As a graduate student in landscape architecture, her interest in therapeutic landscapes and corrections led to a thesis project at the Monroe Correctional Complex in Monroe, Washington, designing a large courtyard garden for staff and inmates within a un...Read More

Landscape Architecture Publications you should have or at least check out: High Performance Landscape Guidelines: 21st Century Parks for NYC This is a brand new release (Jan 2011). From Amazon.com: “High Performance Landscape Guidelines: 21st Century Parks for NYC is the first document of its kind in the nation: a comprehensive, municipal primer for sustainable parks and open space. The product of a unique partnership between the New York-based nonprofit Design Trust for Public Space and the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, the Guidelines cover every aspect of creating sustainable parks, from design to construction to maintenance, and feature hundreds of best practices for managing soil, water, and vegetation resources, as well as dozens of full color photos and illustration...Read More

Diana Balmori understands the power of visibility. Her firm, Balmori Associates (which by the way is made up of super talented dedicated designers and amazing design alums), has projects around the globe and is known for highly creative landscapes that urge clients and users to question their idea of a lawn, garden, or park. Whether through 35,000 sq feet of green roofs in Long Island, NY or a stair climbing garden in Bilbao, Spain, Balmori Associates does not let the landscape fall to the background. For some examples, check out their website, http://www.balmori.com/balmoriMain.htm, where projects like the Botanical Research Institute of Texas in Fort Worth, Texas and their proposal for the Highline in NYC show their unflinching dedication to roaring soaring landscapes supported by cultur...Read More

Columbia, Md. (December 9, 2010) – Vectorworks 2011 software was honored at this year’s Construction Computing Awards ceremony as the winner of the Product of the Year 2010 award. In addition to winning the Product of the Year award, Vectorworks 2011 software was also honored as a runner up in two categories: CAD Product of the Year 2010 (Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc. – Vectorworks 2011) and Channel Partner of the Year 2010 (Computers Unlimited). “We are honored to be recognized by the Construction Computing Awards,” says Sean Flaherty, CEO of Nemetschek Vectorworks. “We have worked hard to make Vectorworks 2011 a breakthrough release, strengthening its 3D technology and BIM capabilities, and it’s rewarding to be recognized by members of the AEC industry in this way. We are also very fortun...Read More

In the October 2010 special issue of Fast Company, Masters of Design 2010, Walter Hood was featured in an article titled, This Land is Your Land, for his efforts to “transform run-of-the-mill public spaces – city parks, highway underpasses – into pillars of the communities they serve.” It is an excellent article and terrific for our industry to gain exposure in a mainstream magazine. Read the article… See the full list of Masters of Design 2010, here. (Photo Via Fast Company)

Did you know that LEDs last 50 times longer than incandescent lighting and 10 times longer than fluorescent. Along with their long life, here is a list of benefits to using LED’s in the built environment that I found on the illumivision website. Benefits: Extremely long life highly efficient Compact and low-profile design Breakage resistant Cold temperature operation Instant on Rapid cycling capability Controllability No IR or UV emissions Directional light emission This is an underpass that Walter Hood designed for Splash Pad Park in Oakland. This application can be achieved easily with LEDs. You can see a showcase of projects both indoor and out here. Additional Resources: Using Light-Emitting Diodes – US Department of Energy LED Lighting Technology – LandscapeForms Ple...Read More

I heard the story of the closure of Cabrini-Green housing project this morning on NPR and wanted to pass along the news. (You can take listen to it HERE.) The infamous projects were developed over a period of 20 years reflecting the the urban renewal approach to US city planning in the mid-twentieth century. The 70-acre development was initially hailed as a salvation for the city’s poor but quickly became a war-zone that victimized those it was supposed to save. Here is a time-lapse video I found on TRUE/SLANT of the demolition: Related ArticlesChicago closes Cabrini-Green project – USA TodayCabrini-Green Demolition: Notorious Housing Project Torn Down Slowly – Huffington PostWatch Cabrini-Green disappear right before your eyes – True/SlantLong Goodbye for Infamous ...Read More

THE INTERNATIONAL LAMP LIGHTING SOLUTIONS AWARDS 2011 values the creativity, innovation and sustainability of the lighting projects, regardless of the manufacturer or the brand of lights used in the project. The awards are divided into 4 categories: Architectural Exterior Lighting Interior Lighting Urban and Landscape Lighting Students Proposals: The jury will determine four finalists in each category and four winners, with a total economic reward of 33.000€, higher than 2010: Any lighting designers, architects, urban planners, interior designers, engineers, landscapers or students who are authors of a lighting project can participate. Registration for the awards and the submitting of projects can be made on-line at www.lamp.es/awards from 1 November 2010 until 28 February 2011.

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