How the Award-Winning Kardinaal Mercier Square Has Transformed the Image of a City

Kardinaal Mercier Square, by OMGEVING landscape architecture urbanism, Jette, Brussels, Belgium. It is necessary to consider function and aesthetics equally when looking at a well-designed project in landscape architecture. Take the city square: The square has always been the apple of its city’s eye. So many activities happen around a square — people hanging out, enjoying, relaxing; a square portrays the vibe of the city. Designing a square involves many challenges. Some sites might focus on a vibrant and playful space or on a new outlook. Others might demand functionality in order to revive urban networks and uplift the city’s image. One such example is Kardinaal Mercier Square, in which the designers stressed the square’s functionality to strengthen the adjacent urban connections. ...Read More

Where the River Runs, by Penda, inside the 10th China International Garden Expo, Wuhan, Beijing, China Have you noticed that “Sustainability” seems to have become the word of the day everywhere? Clearly, this situation is going to ruin its true meaning, if not stopped. Luckily, there are practices and measures capable of recalling back its deep meaning, as our writer Tania Ramos Gianone reminds us in her article “10 Practices Showing That “Sustainability” is More Than Just a Buzzword!”. In the recent years, China has gained more and more attention, thanks to some interventions that have shown a growing interest on sustainability, as our writer Michelle Biggs reports in her article “Is China Transforming its Relationship with Water? A Look at the Aiyi River Landscape Park”. Unfortunately, n...Read More

Sätra Centre, by Nivå Landskapsarkitektur, Stockholm, Sweden. Perhaps most of you have heard of Thomas Church, the celebrated 20th-century American landscape architect who believed that the garden is an extra living room. Church’s modernistic design philosophy developed into the so-called Californian style, which is most often applied in regions with mild climates. The project you are about to explore, however, is located 5,371 miles away from California — in the cold but sunny city of Stockholm. How did the landscape architects from Nivå Landskapsarkitektur reinterpret the design approach of bringing the inside outside in Sweden’s capital city? What was their aim and what was the final result? Take an inviting voyage to the Nordic world with us. Sätra Centre In order to comprehend t...Read More

The Goods Line, by ASPECT Studios, in Ultimo, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Since 2009, when the iconic High Line in New York City opened its rails to the public, there has been a trend in landscape architecture that focuses on rail line design. Projects centered on former tracks have sprung up in Germany, the Netherlands, and San Francisco. Now the latest; the Goods Line, in Ultimo, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is making headlines for how it is changing the community it runs through. The Goods Line, a New South Wales Government initiative delivered by Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, is quickly becoming an important green space for this developing part of the city and has provided a vital connection for more than 80,000 tertiary students, locals, and visitors between the Devonshire Tu...Read More

With the current and ongoing bee crisis that is hitting the world, we take a look at some of the design measures that can use to enable the bees in our environment.  The media, including our website, is full of articles about bees and their endangered status. We reported the problem last year, in the article by Fergus McCarthy – The Global Collapse in Bee Populations – What You Need to Know! Unfortunately, the situation hasn’t improved. Scientists are reporting alarming statistics – honey bee colony declines in recent years have reached 10 to 30 percent in Europe, 30 percent in the United States, and up to 85 percent in the Middle East, according to research conducted by the UN. What are the reasons behind extermination on such a massive scale? The researchers are blaming dange...Read More

We take a look at 7 common mistakes people make when selecting trees how to avoid them at all costs. “Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky.” This is how Lebanese-American poet, artist and writer Khalil Gibran outlines his eloquent definition of trees, one of the most wondrous life forms on Earth. With more than 23,000 different species and a record for being the oldest living organisms in the world, trees fascinate us with their majesty, immensity, and glamor. Aren’t landscape architects blessed for having the opportunity to work with that living matter? If you are one of those fortunate people who gets to create pieces of art using trees, you have arrived at the right place. Here we will help you answer these questions: How do you reach the best design solution when specifying tr...Read More

Sail Boxes, by Virginia Melnyk, in The Lawn on D, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Stories, movies, and books about time travel have fascinated us and sparked our curiosity ever since we were children. Not a few scientists, physicists, authors, and dreamers have devoted their work to the mission of finding or creating a time machine. Think of Ray Bradbury and his novel “Dandelion Wine”. The main characters in the book — both adults and children — try to capture all of the joyful and pleasant moments from summer in a bottle of wine — a bottle that could take them back to summer once the cold, unfriendly winter comes. Don’t play installations do the same thing? Don’t they transport adults back to their childhood and whisk children off to dreamlands and fairytale worlds...Read More

We explore the future of cities with the OAS1S Community by OAS1S. Within this century itself, growing population and urbanization have become an increasing issue for cities all over the world. Landscape architects have been working tirelessly to come up with ideas to solve these issues. However, solutions are needed now, which is what led OAS1S founder Raimond de Hullu to come up with an alternative architectural concept that aims at improving the global urban environment. The concept is not exactly new. Green buildings have strongly grown in the global market, however, many are held up and pre-occupied with the technicalities. OAS1S founder Raimond de Hullu, a Dutch designer and manager in architecture, recognized the urgent call for sustainable urbanization worldwide, and focused on an ...Read More

This week’s Sketchy Saturday Top 10. Sketchy Saturday is back in town for another week of fabulous Sketchy Saturday talent, showcasing the best handy work of the growing LAN community (Currently 1,164,731 fans on Facebook). What can I say, this week was as tight as ever, at least four if not five of the sketches could have been featured in the number one spot. The winning sketch was chosen because of its honesty, usefulness in the design process and a great use of mixed media to achieve the desired result. It really was a case of function over art, it was a sketch people could rely on to understand the overall design from a conceptual point of view. It did not flatter to deceive but instead told the story of the designer’s intention. Have a look at our choice for number spot this wee...Read More

Navy Yard Central Green, by James Corner Field Operations, Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Towards the end of June, the Navy Yard in Philadelphia unveiled its sixth park addition to its expanding office campus. James Corner Field Operations has debuted a strong addition to Philly’s expanding simple but effective public spaces. If you didn’t know already, the 1200-acre Navy Yard is a dynamic urban development promoting business growth and smart energy innovation. The vision for the campus is concerned with creating environmentally friendly workplaces, industrial development, public spaces, residential development, and remarkable architecture. Navy Yard Central Green What was once a closed military facility is now becoming the region’s most progressive and vibrant business loc...Read More

New Ludgate, by Gustafson Porter, in London, UK. Can you think of a landscape architecture project which impressed you so much that without any doubts you can say, “This is the best project I’ve ever seen.”? Or, if there isn’t one coming to your mind straight away, is there a landscape architect or a firm which you admire the most? Perhaps, every one of us has their respect for certain professionals and that is absolutely normal and understandable. In this article, however, we will provoke you with the challenge to debate with us, what makes a project or a firm someone’s favorite. Why do we choose to follow some designers’ example and how can that help us develop our own style and philosophy in design? To answer all these questions, we will introduce you to Gustafson Porter, the awar...Read More