The Amazing Zhangjiagang Town River Reconstruction

Zhangjiagang Town River Reconstruction, by Botao Landscape (Australia), in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. Zhangjiagang Town River stretches 2,200 meters along busy commercial streets in Jiangsu, China. It begins at Gudu Harbor and extends to Gangcheng Boulevard, with an average width of almost 12 meters. Despite its large size, as the city began to expand around the river in the early 1990s, pollution started to overtake the water as raw sewage was drained from the surrounding houses directly into the river. The city didn’t have the means to clean it up due to the proximity of the houses, and the water quality began to suffer. This pollution began to have a huge impact on the city as a whole. The people soon became so overwhelmed by the dirty river, traffic congestion, and a failing...Read More

Ecocapsule, by Nice Architects, Bratislava, Slovakia. As humans, we have been incredibly lucky to be given the right to live on planet Earth, with its amazingly diverse resources. Unfortunately, a lot of Earth’s inhabitants have taken these resources for granted, wasting them and not thinking about the future. Concerned about future generations and wanting the human spirit to thrive for as long as possible on this planet, the talented team at Nice Architects has created the most amazing micro-home you have ever seen. The Ecocapsule is a more than suitable choice for the modern dwelling needs of Earth’s inhabitants, given the fact that it functions solely on the energy provided by the sun and the wind. Let’s find out more information about it. How Did The Ecocapsule All Start? In 2008, Nice...Read More

Getting an education as landscape architecture students is tough, enjoyable but tough. So make the most of it and get the rewards most students will miss out on, even the top ones. Getting a degree in Landscape Architecture is rewarding, challenging and at times frustrating beyond belief. The years at university are so packed with academic work that it is easy to forget to take advantage of all the opportunities granted to you. Here are the top 10 things landscape architecture students should make sure they do before graduating. Landscape Architecture Students, Listen up! 1. Get Away from Your University Once you have a feel for design culture and style in your area, get out. Go away, preferably far, far away and see how it’s done somewhere else. Studying abroad is a great way to do ...Read More

This week’s Sketchy Saturday top 10. We don’t run the Sketchy Saturday every week because we have to wait until the right sketches come in. We take pride in posting a rich diversity of hand drawing talent as we want to celebrate the many different styles that are sent into us. We don’t just want generic sketches, we want sketches that are unmistakably yours and an extension of who you are and what you can offer the world. Student, professional or hobbyist, everyone gets treated the same when it comes to Sketchy Saturday, making it a unique melting pot of passion, creativity and skills. Enjoy this week’s Sketchy Saturday top 10! 1o. by Elisabeth Lindman garden designer / architect at Lustgård Trädgårdsdesign, founder and chairman of the Swedish Society for Garden designers, Swed...Read More

Eden Project, in Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners, Tim Smit, Arup Engineering, in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Once an open clay pit, the Eden project in Cornwall, United Kingdom, today represents one of the most beautiful examples of a recultivated surface mine. The pit was mined for more than 160 years; in 1995, the original idea for the Eden project was born. The once desolate area is now home to attractions such as the Malaysian House, Rainforest Aerial Walkway, Pollination (and the Giant Bee), Grapevines (with Dionysus), Olives (gold path with doves), Biomass Fuels, Myth and Folklore, Wild Cornwall, and The Core with The Seed. It is not surprising that in its first few months after opening in 2001, Eden was visited by more than a million people! The number of visitors has increased each ye...Read More

Sea Park, by Substance, in Saulkrasti, Latvia. Did you know that waterfront locations are highly coveted for private investment? They are main points of city development. Prominent for their fantastic view and for livability, waterfronts often fall into private hands. Consequently, they are not open to the public at large. This is not the case for Sea Park. Saulkrasti County Council in Latvia was looking for a development where added value could be shared not only with residents and tourists but also take into account the economic benefits for the city. Looking for a niche among the seaside towns, the council decided to focus on recreation, tourism, and entertainment. Sea Park The park was designed to link the central part of Saulkrasti with the beach. Thus, the livability of the whole cit...Read More

Queens Botanical Garden, by Atelier Dreiseitl and Conservation Design Forum, in Flushing, New York, USA. The field of landscape architecture puts a lot of focus on urban areas. The dense stratification of people and buildings screams for a new perspective that can breathe life into the built environment and offer a different experience. Queens, New York, is a dense urban environment that has a unique public space that gives the community a nature-based experience. The Queens Botanical Garden has served as a cultural and educational connection for the diverse population of Queens and provided a space for people to interact with nature and each other. The Queens Botanical Garden Master Plan, developed by Atelier Dreiseitl and Conservation Design Forum, is being used to encourage sustainabili...Read More

Workplace Ergonomics for Landscape Architects: The Best Equipment for Your Office. Are you worried about the time you spend sitting and working? Have you started to complain of backaches? Are you already wearing glasses? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, keep on reading. This article is dedicated to all of you landscape architects out there who are putting in a lot of hours at the office and risking your health while doing so. But don’t worry: You can stay healthy by choosing the right ergonomic equipment for your office. Workplace Ergonomics First of all, you need to understand that technology has made us sedentary. We are no longer forced to hunt for food, and that has changed our bodies. It has made them less resistant and more prone to adopting postures that are quite ha...Read More

Chenshan Botanical Garden, by Design Group Valentien, in Shanghai, China. Shanghai is the largest Chinese city by population, with more than 24 million residents as of 2013. It is a global financial center, but also a city that works and understands agriculture, cultivates fruits and vegetables, and has an intensive fish farming industry. The city rests in a flat landscape surrounded by nine hills that rise up about 100 meters. The Chenshan Botanical Garden is located in the Songjiang District, one of the largest in Shanghai, covering 605 square kilometers and housing more than a million inhabitants. It is a growing district, known as the cultural root of Shanghai. Chenshan Botanical Garden The Chenshan Botanical Garden is one of Shanghai’s largest parks and the largest municipal botanical...Read More

With urban agriculture popping up everywhere, we take a step back and look at some unresolved issues that need to be addressed before we can consider urban agriculture as a permanent solution to our food needs. Urban agriculture — also known as urban farming, guerilla farming, foodscaping, and by many other terms relating to agricultural practices in the middle of the city — is becoming all the rage in societies all over the world. Urban agriculture provides many benefits, including food security for people in the city, a reduction of energy used in conventional agricultural practices and food service, a reduction of carbon footprints, and environmental services for cities in terms of providing open green space. All over the world, people are turning unused lots, back yards, an...Read More

Avoid making these common mistakes when starting a project and get yourself off to the best start possible. The time has finally come — the moment when everything is possible. The new Versailles or the new High Line is about to be born. You get to start your new project. Photos, plans, and all the relative data are here; you have already been on site — or maybe not. Nevertheless, you are about to think, conceive, make decisions, design. What could possibly go wrong? Well, almost everything if you do not pay attention to the following traps! There are certain mistakes you should definitely avoid at the beginning of a project, in order for things to run smoothly. So, try to avoid the following: 1. The Void — The “Blank Paper” Fear I cannot think of anything worse than to st...Read More

Novo Nordisk Nature Park, by SLA Architects, Bagsværd, Denmark. Nature has always been close to man. As Albert Einstein once said, “if you look deeper into nature, everything else will be better understood”. Novo Nordisk Nature Park is a clear demonstration that the touch of nature is still essential for the modern world. This park bears the trademark signature of SLA Architects (Copenhagen), being created for the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. Located in Bagsværd, Denmark, Novo Nordisk Nature Park was completed in 2014, occupying an area of 31,000 square meters. Novo Nordisk Nature Park A leading pharmaceutical company such as Novo Nordisk required a green space that would be just as innovative as the company itself. In designing the park, the talented team at SLA Archit...Read More