How Lumion Model Software Can Help Your Design

Article by Moreira Filho We take a closer look at Lumion design software and how it can benefit your design. Lumion is a useful software tool to improve your work in rendering designs and video presentations. Would you like to put some movement into your work? This may be the solution. Check out some of the pros and cons of this remarkable software. Software Is Supposed to Make Life Easier There was a time when mock-ups were used to show professionals and clients how a project or design would work. But in the software age, it has become easy to show the same work by creating drawings on the computer. Software such as that developed by companies like VRay has become very popular. Now Lumion has started a new way to show movement in those models and drawings. WATCH >>> Lumion 6.0 La...Read More

Article by Joanna Łaska Baga Square, by Comas-Pont Arquitectes, Barcelona, Spain. To the unwitting eye, the square at Barcelona’s Baga looks just like any other city square. But there is much more to it than we might expect: Baga Square’s seamless features have something lying underneath them. Literally. The retrofit project’s main aim was to combine a strongly demanded parking space with an unusual recreational space. Would you ever expect a car park to become the neighborhood’s favorite recreational area? That’s exactly what Spanish design firm Comas-Pont Arquitectes slp have achieved. Baga Square Once a forgotten and undeveloped space, Baga’s new underground parking lot has quickly become one of the area’s most popular places to visit. The design excellently adapts to its surroundings a...Read More

Article by Kaila Johnson Caulfield Campus Green, by Taylor Cullity Lethlean (T.C.L), in Monash University, Victoria, Australia. Universities are intellectual powerhouses that promote and foster educational and research excellence. Monash University in Caulfield, Australia, is no exception. But it is exceptional when it comes to how it offers up learning to people. The university has extended its learning environment to the outdoors — and to those who are not necessarily paying students of the institution. Caulfield Campus Green, designed by Taylor Cullity Lethlean (T.C.L), proves that education can be immersive — woven right into the fabric of the local environment — and welcoming to anyone who wants to learn. The design takes the typical central campus hub, or “cam...Read More

Article by Elisa A.M.Varetti Mediterranean Park Countryside, by Atelier Nelumbo Paysage, in the French Riviera. Working in landscape architecture doesn’t mean realizing only public spaces. On the contrary; landscape architects are often called to design private gardens, terraces, and parks, as you can read in Win Phyo’s article Mediterranean Terrace Provides Inspired Living in Italy and in The Best Way to Live in Sunny Spain from our writer, Yang Su. Beware – dealing with this side of the profession can be very tough sometimes and not every professional manages to do it in the right way. Some of them simply choose not to deal with it at all. Luckily that’s not the case with Atelier Nelumbo Paysage, who provides modern landscape solutions with a Mediterranean inspiration. One of his l...Read More

Article by Sophie Thiel Chattanooga Renaissance Park, by Hargreaves Associates, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Abandoned and closed industrial sites are classified as special design projects for landscape architects. These sites often involve specific hazards, such as contaminated soil, which landscape planners have to deal with in a creative way. Renaissance Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was one such troubled site. For nearly a century, it threatened to contaminate the surroundings and the city’s waste water system. However, the planning bureau Hargreaves Associates redesigned the area in detail, turning the hazardous site into an outstanding park that now even partly manages the city’s stormwater runoff. Chattanooga Renaissance Park Completed in 2006, Renaissance Park has been a catalyst for ...Read More

Article by Erin Tharp We take a look at 5 incredible residential designs that enhanced the users living experience. For many landscape architects, designing a residence is viewed as simple, no-brain work. Plop down a few plants around the house, throw in a water feature and a path and you’re done. But is this really the way we should be viewing residential landscapes? After all, most people view their home as a place of refuge or a place to escape the world around them; perhaps if we viewed these residences with more pride and as a path to change the way people live then perhaps we could all change the world a little, one yard at a time. The following projects definitely changed the way their clients live but at the same time they also managed to change the way we will all want to live and...Read More

Written by Elisa García Nieto Starkville Public Library “read” Sculpture by Travis R. Crabtree (MSU Student) with project adviser Cory Gallo (associate professor) at Starkville Public Library, Mississippi (U.S.A.) Landscape architects know how many obstacles a project needs to overcome before jumping from the screen of their laptops. Building in the real world involves a wide range of factors and conditions which students, sometimes, do not have chance to face in the scholastic environment. And this is far away from that beloved haven for even the most restless of them. What can you do when you have plenty of ideas to put into action but you are still an undergraduate? How could you go beyond academic subjects and lead your own proposals? Well, there are alternative ways for students to co...Read More

Article by Elisa A.M. Varetti The Haven Lakeside Residences, by Malik Lip & Associates Sdn Bhd, in Malaysia Have you ever stopped to wonder about living in close contact with nature? Everyone loves to dream about quitting everything, going away, and living on a deserted island or, more simply, far from the daily routine. But we all know most of us will never leave our comfortable houses and the modern conveniences we are used to. Deserted places are not so attractive, after all, and there are always trips and holidays to help us keep our bond with the natural world. But some of us can have the best of both worlds, as this project in Malaysia shows. The Haven Lakeside Residences The Haven is an urban development of almost 13.6 acres, including a natural, four-acre lake, located near the...Read More

Article by Eleonora Fiorin Cockfight Coliseum Garden by 2.8 x arquitectos, in Lima, Perù, turns into a meditation garden. If you visit the city of Lima, you might be surprised to discover a number of cockfighting arenas. The sport is still legal, popular and rife with Peruvian tradition. But one of those folkloric spaces has met an unexpected and original destiny, being transformed from a memory of death to a place for life, becoming a green and quiet public space for a meditation garden. 2.8 x architects found that bold solution when they were asked to renew the disused construction that once was part of a private house. The emotional attachment of the owner led him to be willing to transform the former arena into a spiritual place — a memorial — and to make it available to th...Read More

Article by Terka Acton Open Orchards are urban orchards, by the Open Orchard Project, London, United Kingdom. Urban greening is known to play a role in helping us deal with climate change, pollution, and temperature regulation. But – as this people-powered United Kingdom project is proving – making the most of the green spaces in our cities can also yield social benefits. Improving the local environment by planting urban orchards in public spaces can help to strengthen bonds within communities. The Open Orchard project started in 2014 in West Norwood, south London. With the help of funding from The Open Works, a group of residents came together to plant fruit trees in and around this built-up urban area. Fruit trees are a good choice for cities, since they can be grown on dwarfing rootstoc...Read More

Article by Paul McAtomney We take a closer look at 10 awesome projects from the USA.  For years, the United States of America has remained fertile ground for landscape architecture as not only a profession and academic discipline, but also as a modus operandi of design that engages urbanism, environmentalism, and culture. The replacement of the traditional city with expansive urbanism has lead landscape architects to encompass a myriad of landscape typologies, with the American post-industrial era providing fecund grounds for such projects. We take a look at 10 contemporary projects that are excellent examples of landscape architecture in America. 10 Awesome Projects From The USA 1. Navy Yard Central Green, By Field Operations, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania One of the latest additions from...Read More