10 Must do’s to Become a Professional AutoCAD User

10 top tips from our resident AutoCAD expert UrbanLISP to make your work in AutoCAD more efficient.  When drawing by hand, we use a box of pencils, crayons, a ruler, and maybe a compass. Whatever we use, it’s all on our desk, in sight and ready to grab. AutoCAD is stuffed with functionalities hidden in menus, on palettes, and behind shortkeys. In order to get the most out of AutoCAD, we list the 10 must do’s to become a professional AutoCAD user: 1. Layers, layers, layers Without a doubt, one of the most important aspects in a drawing is the use of layers. An empty drawing by default only has one layer, named “0” in AutoCAD. Don’t use this layer unless you know what you are doing; it behaves in a particular way. It’s hard to create too many layers, but to prevent getting lost, it’s wise to...Read More

 The New St. Petersburg Zoo by TN Plus & Beckmann N’Thépé Architects in St. Petersburg, Russia.  Located in the heart of Alexander Park in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Leningrad Zoo was founded on Aug. 1, 1865. According to the Saint Petersburg Commune, the Leningrad Zoo is the oldest zoo in Russia and the second-largest zoo, after the Moscow Zoo. Currently, the zoo holds approximately 600 species of mammals, birds, fish, and invertebrates from various parts of the world, according to the Leningrad Zoo, and, like most others zoos around the globe, suffers from lack of space. In 2010, the city decided to relocate the zoo and organized an international competition for the new Primorskiy Zoological Park. The winning project was designed by a team formed by Bruno Tanant and Jean Christophe ...Read More

The conservatory has become a very popular choice for many home owners in the last few years. They are a great addition to the traditional landscape of almost every suburban house. They look perfect as an entryway to the general parts of the house, or as a nice threshold to your backyard. The conservatory is a great option for warmer countries, like Australia. The fact, that the whole space is surrounded by windows opens up the place and brings lots of light inside. But cleaning these windows can be a very unpleasant and tiring job, which can take hours without any visible results. At least this is what most home owners say when I ask them how they deal with the cleaning of their conservatory windows. But when you know what you’ll need and what to do, everything should be a lot easie...Read More

Bus Stop by mmmm… in Baltimore, S. East Avenue in Highlandtown, USA.  Awhile ago, I watched an artistic installation made by the collaborative mmmm… for a bus stop in the city of Baltimore. It is undoubtedly outstanding because of its minimal and clean style, high functionality, identification, and as a positive feature in an otherwise anonymous place, but I found myself wondering, why is it beautiful? What is beauty? Is the Latin phrase “de gustibus non disputandum est” true? Is there no accounting for taste? Is beauty really only in the eye of the beholder? The question is, why do we like something? Why do we surround ourselves with nice things, live in a nice place, buy nice stuff? Bus Stop by mmmm… But let’s start from the beginning: The city of Baltimore opened a col...Read More

We take a look at the water sculptures of artist Giles Rayner. For Giles Rayner, it all started at the age of 16 when he fell in love with the sculpting of ceramics. Years later, he felt an attraction for metalwork. Since then, he has built up an incredibly varied portfolio of water sculptures. He has the ability to create sculptures that not only work in terms of scale and design, but are also timeless. Because of this, his work can be placed almost anywhere, from a country yard to a modern garden to a public space. His works intrigue; they have a simple aesthetic beauty but radiate energy in combination with the water. As Rayner puts it, the water not only has an aesthetic purpose, it is “the element that embodies designs with real life, binding order and chaos and achieving — some...Read More

A Toddlers Playground, by Espace Libre, in Alfortville, France. When children play in the open air, they experience life to the fullest, all of their senses being stimulated in the most amazing ways. “A Toddlers Playground” is the kind of project that you understand from the start, being designed and realized for children. Thanks to the talented team of architects from Espace Libre, the town of Alfortville, France, now has an incredible playground, a perfect environment in which toddlers can develop their broad and fine motor skills. The project was completed in 2014, covering an area of 2,500 square meters and having a budget of 400,000 euro. What resulted was a playground filled with color and elements of creativity. A Toddlers Playground One cannot design a space intended for children w...Read More

Thessaloniki New Waterfront Landscape Design by Nikiforidis-Cuomo Architects in Thessaloniki, Greece. Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece, with more than a million inhabitants. Developed along the coast of Thermaikos Gulf, the city’s proximity to the sea has defined its character to a great degree. The “in-between” of sea and city became the object of an architectural competition held by the Municipality of Thessaloniki in 2000. The architectural firm Nikiforidis-Cuomo Architects won the top prize. The project was completed in 2014 and has already become well known and enjoyed by the citizens of Thessaloniki, as well as by city visitors. Thessaloniki New Waterfront The three kilometers-long promenade starts from the White Tower of Thessaloniki, an emblematic city landmark, an...Read More

To be a successful landscape architect, one has to possess multiple qualities. The way to success is always pursued by three basic factors – the ideas we have, the persistence to realize them, and the way we present (or sell) them. Those three things go hand in hand. It’s not enough just to have good ideas. Almost every person has good ideas. But the difference between the good professional and the average one, is that the good landscape architect has the full package. He has ideas, knows how to present them, and is persistent. In this article, we will focus on the third part of the design process – how we illustrate our design concepts and why is the way we do it so crucial? If a designer generates original ideas but doesn’t display them in an attractive way, he will be wasting efforts, t...Read More

A book review on Designing With Succulents by Debra Lee Baldwin.  Having a landscape with succulents might be easier than it seems. Succulents offer plentiful colors, textures and shapes that provide stunning project possibilities for any landscape designer and gardeners. Moreover, succulents are very resistant to drought due to their water storage in their leaves, stems, and/or roots. Due to this fact, many landscape designers have been using theses species to create a xeriscape, reducing the need for supplemental water from irrigation. Debra Lee Baldwin, who is completely in love with succulents, share with us in her book “Designing With Succulents” some of hers and other people experiences of working with succulents over the years. Following her tips, advice and thorough explanations ab...Read More

Yi Zhong De Sheng Secondary School, Foshan, China, by Gravity Green. Is it possible to create an educational environment that integrates play and learning? Most people have been brought up in a traditional educational structure based on determination of rules, obedience, homogenization, collective thinking, and memorization of tedious knowledge. This is often accompanied by dull environments and rigid schedules. China’s state education system is often considered to be both rigorous and traditional, based on the philosophy of one-sidedly passing on knowledge from generation to generation. In reality, the quality of education China’s students receive varies greatly. Parents often invest a lot, depending on where they live and how ambitious their choice of school, making decent education a pr...Read More

Presqu’île Rollet Park, by Atelier Jacqueline Osty & associés, Petit-Quévilly and Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France. As the industry of coal storage begun to lose importance in the past years previous port sites turned into wastelands, but they did not lose their importance or dynamism. Cities became denser so that these sites along rivers and ports became focal points for development and investment. As part of the project, Seine Ouest-Rive Gauche and being in direct relationship with two major elements – the Seine river and the eco-district – Presqu’île Rollet Park designed by Atelier Jacqueline Osty & associés draws the tableau of restoration of nature in the city. Furthermore beyond the park’s function, it shows the reconciliation of the city of Rouen and of the Flaubert distr...Read More

This week’s Sketchy Saturday top 10. This week’s Sketchy Saturday top 10 is as electrifying as ever. However with such a diverse range, one does have to question – “How do we put the various styles up against each other and choose a top 10? It’s not easy, mind you, but let’s start by looking at the name “Sketchy Saturday“, the key word is “Sketchy” and preference will always be given to work with a high sketchlike presence and raw style as opposed to the more refined rendered types. However with such a diversity of style and no control over who enters on what week, keeping a level of consistency in the judging process is a challenge in itself, and sometimes the sketchy entries are swamped by the more refined styles. This week we achieve...Read More