The 3 Benefits of Play Design Seen in the Spinning Tops of Los Trompos

Los Trompos, by Héctor Esrawe & Ignacio Cadena, High Museum Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. “Should we take the ‘ground’ out of ‘playground?’” That is the question posed by scientist and landscape historian Paige Johnson, so that the idea of play can be extended throughout the city and we can have play opportunities throughout the space we move through. The desire to broaden the playground to include more locations and ages can be seen in the increased focus of museums and public spaces on play. One such space is in Carroll Slater Piazza inside the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, where Los Trompos has been housed since April 2015. Designed by Esrawe and Cadena — two of the leading designers in Mexico today — the “Spinning Tops” are the second-stage project after Mi Casa Su Casa –...Read More

McBurney Lane, by Hapa Collaborative, in Downtown Langley, British Columbia, Canada. Have you ever noticed that while walking through the streets of a town — even your own — you can pass from a beautiful district full of shops and people into a deserted and dirty section without even noticing how that happened? Our cities are filled with such jolting transitions. One moment you are peacefully strolling and the next you find yourself stuck in a dangerous area. You start looking around, just hoping not to run into any unsavory characters. You quickly learn that this part of your city is off limits if you want to feel safe. The sense of safety in our towns’ public spaces is a delicate and at the same time an important topic, as was also reported by our writer Dalia Zein in her int...Read More

Dakparken Anton and Gerard at Strijp S, by Buro Lubbers, in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Buro Lubbers and his multidisciplinary team are beginning to “green” the world by providing opportunities for people to escape the city chaos and relax in idyllic oases. Lubbers applies this principle by approaching each project through analysis, concept, design, and craft, responding to the specific characteristics of a place. The focus is on creating unique landscapes that are both urban and natural, paying considerable attention to details and materials to execute this. One of these landscapes is Dakparken Anton and Gerard in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Dakparken Anton and Gerard at Strijp S Reviving Industrial Buildings Anton and Gerard are named after the Philips brothers. They are two monumental i...Read More

Cape Royale Resort, by TROP: terrains + open space, in Sentosa, Singapore. Have you ever felt like going on a vacation somewhere far away, somewhere where the world couldn’t reach you? Have you ever wanted to just run away from the day to day, the mundane, the rush? If your answer is “yes” then I think I’ve found a place for you. Located in one of the fastest-developing countries in the world, Singapore’s Cape Royale resort becomes an alternative, magically peaceful reality in the middle of the chaos and rush of the modern world. Cape Royale Resort A Peaceful Oasis in the Middle of a Busy City This excellent project is located in one of the most luxurious hotel resorts — Cape Royale on the island of Sentosa in Singapore. It is one of the area’s biggest tourist attractions, with beaut...Read More

This week’s Sketchy Saturday Top 10. Sketchy Saturday is where students, professionals and drawing enthusiasts all come together, not in competition but in unison, not to defeat one another but to inspire one and another. The entrants connect pen to paper, ideas to reality and ability to results. Skill levels, boundaries and language barriers are all broken as we give their talent the stage it deserves, exposing it to a worldwide audience. For these reasons Sketchy Saturday is one of our favourite parts of the week. Content is created to inform, to instruct, to inspire and for many more motives, in the case of Sketchy Saturday, the content is created to celebrate, to celebrate talent, enthusiasm and ideas. Allow yourself to be inspired by our selection of top sketches by top people, who wa...Read More

Märkisches Zentrum, by MAN MADE LAND, Berlin, Germany. Urban designer and architect Gordon Cullen once said that in addition to the art of architecture, a city makes another art possible: the art of relationship. It’s a relationship among buildings, open spaces, and people. This relationship can be seen in Märkisches Viertel, a quarter in Berlin that has experienced an image transformation during the last few decades. The key word in this metamorphosis is “relationship”, which made the change possible and fostered it. Let’s take a look at the master plan for the public space in Märkisches Zentrum made by MAN MADE LAND. Märkisches Viertel – The Context “Walking cities”, “plug-in cities” by Archigram, radical urban design, and dormitory suburbs are just some of the aged urbanistic visions of...Read More

Orquideorama, by Plan B Architects + JPRCR Arquitectos , in Medellin, Colombia. One of the most important aspects of good design is the understanding of context. Context involves an understanding of the surrounding scale, aesthetics, and climate, but can extend beyond to include the essential character of a place or the processes that are inherent to that specific environment. Without this understanding, designers cannot create good design solutions. An understanding of context also allows designers to look at the relationship between the artificial and the natural environment, providing an essential link between man and nature. Orquideorama by Plan B Architects has taken the understanding of context and has re-interpreted it in a manner that transcends design boundaries in an organic yet ...Read More

New Road by Landscape Projects and Gehl Architects, Brighton, England. For all you landscape architects out there who don’t think site analysis and local context are a crucial first step in designing, this project is about to prove you wrong. New Road is a perfect example of how a landscape architect should assess a site and its surroundings. When Landscape Projects and Gehl Architects were commissioned by the Brighton and Hove City Council, pedestrian and user experience areas within the city were suffering from contained access. As a result, they were relatively inaccessible and ignored, with other areas drowning in traffic congestion. What they called the Public Space/Public Life Survey analyzed the urban structure, movement patterns, and open-air activities, both in the winter and the ...Read More

Place de la République, by Trévelo & Viger-Kohler
, in Paris, France. Most people know that Paris is often called “The City of Love”. Fewer have heard that Paris is also known as “The City of Light”. The first alias needs no explanation; the second one certainly does. Paris has been called “The City of Light” because of its leading role in the Age of Enlightenment, but also because France’s capital was one of the first European cities to adopt gas street lighting. Another interesting fact about the city is that — unlike the majority of other world capitals — Paris has never been destroyed by war or catastrophe. And despite modernizing the urban scape, architecture, and infrastructure, the city zealously guards its earliest historical tracks on its street map. IN THIS ARTIC...Read More

Pause Court and The Lawn Hill Garden for Sales Gallery, by TROP Terrains + Open Spaces, Pattaya, Thailand. Pause Court and Lawn Hill were designed by TROP as part of the sales gallery for a new residential development in Thailand’s beach resort city of Pattaya. Pattaya is a popular tourist destination, especially for those looking for a low-budget, tropical getaway. However, the city has lost some of its prestige in recent years. A victim of unbridled and unregulated development and expansion, as well as its growing reputation as a hotbed for the sex and drug trades, has led to declining popularity among upper- and middle-class vacationers. But today, many developers are trying to turn this image around — rebuilding Pattaya into the vibrant, high-class destination it once was. Pause ...Read More