How Landscape Architects Are Leading the way in Sustainable Cities

With sustainable cities being one of the key terms in the 21st century, we take a closer look at the role that the landscape architect has to play in it all.  When we think of sustainability we think of living in a remote natural area with solar panels, on-site sewage treatment, a large vegetable garden and maybe even some livestock. Pretty sustainable hey? Maybe not. In fact, one of the leading causes of climate change is due to people seeking escaping the city in search of nature. By living on the outskirts of the city, we increase our carbon footprint through commuting and encroach further and further into the natural environment. Thus, in order to think sustainably we need to realise that our dense inner cities are not the problem, but, in fact, the solution! With this in mind, one wou...Read More

A book review of Representing Landscapes: Digital by Nadia Amoroso. Landscape architecture has benefitted a lot from advancements in technology, with digital media techniques allowing specialists from the field to show both their talent and imagination. ‘Representing Landscapes: Digital’ is the kind of book that you instantly fall in love with, presenting the digital media techniques used in the field of landscape architecture, from the point of view from different experts in the field. Edited by Nadia Amoroso (link to interview), a renowned name in the field of landscape architecture and with a foreword from James Corner, professor of Landscape Architecture, this book is useful for both students and specialists alike. In the foreword, Professor James Corner talks about the way this amazin...Read More

Capitol Singapore redevelopment, by Grant Associates, in Singapore. What would you do if you had $1.1 billion? I guess every one of us could come up with thousands of ideas and wishes to answer that question. When the government of Singapore faced this question, they decided to do something for the people of their capital city. They invested the money in the redevelopment of the Capitol, a very important and interesting heritage site in the city’s downtown civic district. According to Keith French, director at Grant Associates, the new design will have respect for the existing elements of the Capitol: “The Capitol landscape and public realm strategy have been developed with a respectful approach to the civic and heritage setting (with) consideration of the vistas and views through to the C...Read More

Good hand drawing skills are an excellent tool for any landscape architect to have. But here’s a little secret, you don’t have to be born with it, you can learn. On our way to becoming skilled artists, we have to learn lots of lessons and often fight inner voices that tell us to give up because we are “just not good enough”. However, we don’t have to master this challenging process on our own! On the one hand, there are countless beginners who struggle the same as we do; but on the other hand, there is this huge YouTube artist community trying to motivate and support us as we improve our drawing skills. These great Samaritans post thousands of free videos to help us continue practicing our drawings and give useful advice. In this article, I found and summed up the best seven vi...Read More

Solar City, by Atelier Dreiseitl, in Linz-Pichling, Austria. Debates on the subject of sustainability arose in the 1970s and reached their peak in the 1990s. Nevertheless, this debate remained on a theoretical level. Thus, a question emerged: How can sustainability be applied in practice? The Solar City project in Linz-Pichling, Austria, is an attempt to unite different perspectives – social, environmental, and economic — and has the goal of becoming a European example of sustainable urban development. Atelier Dreiseitl, the landscape designers, has the ambition to promote sustainable projects with a high aesthetic and social value. As one of the leading landscape architects of Germany, they are a specialist in ecological landscape design and water concepts. Solar City As in other ci...Read More

Sherbourne Common Park, by PFS Studio in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Creating a space that will be functional, innovative, beautiful, and artistic is not easy. Nor is merging the work of professionals from a variety of disciplines, such as architecture, landscape design, civil engineering, and public art. One project where all of this comes together is Sherbourne Common Park in Toronto. This waterfront park in Ontario represents a kind of living room or courtyard for its neighbors. It is a place that is both private and public, with a variety of amenities and something for everyone. It is the first park in Canada to incorporate a neighborhood storm-water management system, and also the first with LEED Gold certification. Sherbourne Common Park The main sections of the park are the open plaza...Read More

Walk of the Town, by T.R.O.P: terrains+open space in Bangkok, Thailand.  Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand, and it is inhabited by 6.5 million people. The population density of Bangkok is 6,450 people per square kilometer. Around 10 percent of the country’s population lives in Bangkok. According to a study, Bangkok has one of the highest motorization rates in Asia, with 388 cars and 220 motorcycles per 1,000 people. Emissions from cars and motorcycles affect the air quality in the city and increase the average temperature, which among other things makes the risk of flood higher. The Walk of the Town project was designed to address these issues. It is located in the Pathum Wan district of Bangkok, an important business district in the city. The project site is between two main station...Read More

Tanner Springs Park by Atelier Dreiseitl, by  Portland, Oregon, USA.  Located in the heart of the Pearl District in Portland, Oregon, Tanner Springs park is an oasis in the city providing an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. This 1-acre park, completed in 2010 by a team of landscape architects and consultants is a model of embracing local ecology and demonstrating sustainable practices. Three of the sides of the sunken park are lined with steps allowing a terraced, permeable edge for visitors to enter, exit, and sit. The east side of the park is lined with an art installation and a boardwalk spanning two blocks which connect Tanner Springs to Jamison Square. Tanner Springs Park The programming of the park is a mix of active and passive spaces layered on top of the functional ...Read More

A book review of Gardening For The Birds by George Adams. “How do you turn your yard into an inviting sanctuary, where birds will come to nest, raise their families, and seek shelter for the winter?”- George asks in the first pages of his book “Gardening For The Birds”. From the introduction of this book is a noticeable George Adams’ pedagogical approach. Written with clarity, style, and passion, this book gives us the necessary tools to design and build our own garden that will be able to attract fascinating birds. The book’s content is divided in four parts. In the first two parts, Adams explains the first steps to create or transform your garden into a paradise for birds. Be aware that most of the plants and especially the birds’ species are found in North America. Thus, if you design a...Read More

Hornsbergs Strandpark, by Nyréns Architects, in Kungsholmen, Stockholm, Sweden. People from all over the world still speak about the wonders of the ancient world, appreciating the talent and skills of those who made them possible. However, as we return to the present, it is impossible not to notice how landscape architecture, through its amazing creativity and vision, leads to the appearance of modern wonders. One such project is Hornsbergs Strandpark, a project that was commissioned by Stockholms stad Exploateringskontoret. Completed between 2008 and 2012, this one-of-a-kind park had an approximate cost of construction of 107 million SEK (approx 127 million USD) and covers an area of over 700m long, being organized into four different parts. However, it was worth it in the end and the tal...Read More

Porsche Pavilion, HENN Architects in Wolfsburg, Germany. “In the beginning I looked around but couldn’t find the car I dreamt of, so I decided to build it myself,” this is how Ferry Porsche’s well-known quotation welcomes and engages visitors to the spectacular world of Porsche – right at the entrance of Porsche Pavilion. Perhaps in this particular sentence Ferry has injected the whole-hearted philosophy of the brand Porsche. “It realizes dreams. Builds legacies. Shakes up established norms and sublimely violates conventions,” as the world’s most successful brand in sports car racing reveals on their official website, “To this day, nothing can replicate the feeling of driving a Porsche. No other combination of sound, feel, sight and soul connects in quite the same way. Nothing else i...Read More

The storry of Jadav Payeng, the Forest Man who dedicates his life to growing and nurturing an entire forest by himself.  Majuli or Majoli is a large river island in the Brahmaputra River, in the Indian state of Assam. It is the largest river island in India. Majuli had a total area of 1,250 square kilometers (483sq mi), but having lost significantly to erosion it has an area of only 421.65 square kilometers (163 sq. mi) in 2001. Here is where our story starts, in 1979 a young man called Jadav Payeng, decided to work with the Social Forestry Division of Golachat District that launched a scheme of tree plantations on 200 hectares at Aruna sapori. After 5 years, this project was completed, but Jadav decided to stay and keep up the maintenance of the place, adding more trees and making this pl...Read More