8 Reasons Why You’re Going to Drop out of College and How to Avoid Them

8 insights into common reasons why students drop out of college and how they can be avoided.  Every college student at some point in time has doubts about their education and every student at some point in time will threaten to drop out for every reason imaginable. Landscape architecture students are no different. In fact, their list of reasons for wanting to drop out can be quite long and creative. But in the end, for every reason you come up with for dropping out there is a more powerful argument for sticking with it. Here are the 8 reasons you’re going to drop out and how to avoid them. 8. Your computer keeps crashing (and autosave didn’t save everything in time) That perfectly rendered design that you worked on all semester just disappeared and your computer isn’t willing t...Read More

Netherlands Army Museum and Netherlands Air Force Museum Landscape Design, by H+N+S Landscape Architects in the Former Airbase Soesterberg, the Netherlands. War is a painful, devastating, and dynamic situation. Maintaining the memory of such events is hard, yet necessary in order to protect the next generations from repeating the mistakes of the past. This should be the purpose of a war museum nowadays. The landscape design for the Netherlands Army Museum and the Netherlands Air Force Museum sheds a new light on the concept of memory and provides a new perception regarding our notions of war, history, and the armed forces. Netherlands Army Museum and Netherlands Air Force Museum The complex that houses both museums is located in the facilities of a former military airbase called Soesterber...Read More

Atlantic Park by Battle I Roig Arquitectes, Santander, Spain. Atlantic Park is a recently constructed urban park in the city of Santander, on Spain’s northern coast. The design, by Batlle I Roig, combines elements of ecological restoration and urban community parks. Batlle I Roig Arquitectes is a multidisciplinary architecture, planning, and landscape design firm based in Barcelona, Spain. The firm’s portfolio boasts a huge variety of projects, ranging from large-scale environmental restorations to the design of schools and social housing. Atlantic Park When it comes to landscape, the firm combines its philosophy of ecologically sustainable design with its signature clean and contemporary aesthetic. Its work often includes unique architectural elements integrated seamlessly into the landsc...Read More

We take a closer look at the highly controversial topic of fracking. This is a great chance to delve into a truly hot topic that leaves nobody indifferent. You have probably heard about the controversial energy technique known as “fracking”, which is being used more and more often around the world. What exactly is fracking? Hydraulic fracturing allows us to access shale gas, which is mainly methane locked in a deeper rock stage beneath the Earth’s surface. The process consists of drilling vertical wells that turn horizontal underground, opening tiny fractures in deep rocks into which high-pressure chemical fluids are injected. The gas then escapes through the fractures and is collected to be used as an energy source. Fracking WATCH ME: Fracking explained: opportunity or danger Here we have...Read More

Chicago City Hall Green Roof by Atelier Dreiseitl and Conservation Design Forum. The typical image we all have of a city is of towering high-rise blocks, densely packed tarred streets and a generally hard urban environment. Nature is isolated in manicured green parks or in linear rows of gray-looking trees. The city is perhaps the furthest thing from a natural environment and the closest thing to an urban desert. But what if we begin to green this concrete jungle? Projects such as the High Line in New York have shown this can be done, and the wave of vertical green walls has created a new ecological fashion statement. There is, however, one method that trumps all of this in terms of long-term benefits: green roofs. Chicago City Hall Green Roof Urban Heat Island Effect The city of Chicago w...Read More

This week’s Sketchy Saturday top 10. Here we go with 10 enthusiastic, talented Sketch-Stars that have submitted their handy work to the office for this week’s Sketchy Saturday. In this week’s top 10 we see a range of styles, and levels of creativity which show that risk-taking is involved in getting your message across. Each sketch is as unique as a fingerprint and is almost like the artist’s signature. This is work that not only embodies their skills and creativity, but their experience, passion and thought process. To appreciate a creative piece of work is to open a doorway to understanding the person who created it. A gift that inspires us and connects us to one another. Enjoy this week’s Sketchy Saturday top 10! 10. by Anastasia B. Uli, Master of Sustainable Design UF...Read More

Borås Textile Fashion Center, Simonsland, Skaraborgsvägen, Borås, Sweden by Thorbjorn Andersson with Sweco Architects.  This remodeled factory building from the 1870s — now the new headquarters for textiles history, research, and higher education — weaves notions from Sweden’s rich textiles tradition into details both large and small. Landscape architect Thorbjorn Andersson with Sweco Architects worked alongside a team of consultants to create the Boras Textile Fashion Center, which opened in September 2013. The Fashion Center merges many major institutions in Sweden’s textiles industry to form a destination, center of activity, and natural meeting place. This mecca of knowledge and business also houses the University of Textile and Fashion, offering a world-class location and ...Read More

Place d’Youville in Montreal, Quebec, Canada design by Claude Cormier + Associés. What is landscape architecture, really? Perhaps one of the most difficult and frustrating parts of the landscape architecture profession is the fact that very few people understand what it is that we really do. No, we are not landscapers or gardeners, and while we do also work in small gardens, our scope and understanding is far greater. Landscape architecture is the understanding of the complex nature of a site: the dynamic relationship between the natural and the built environment and the overlaying of the cultural context. “artificial, not fake” Canadian landscape architect Claude Cormier has begun to challenge this notion by embracing the constructed landscape and celebrating the artificial. H...Read More

Strijp-S, by Piet Oudolf, Carve, Deltavormgroep and Har Hollands, Eindhoven, Netherlands. Eindhoven, for those who’ve never been there, may seem to be just a tranquil, sleepy town somewhere in the Netherlands. But in fact it is home to many unconventional landscape architecture projects, including the tulip chairs and the fabulous glowing bike path “Starry Night” that one of my inspiring colleagues wrote about. Also among these projects is Strijp-S, which has helped to turn the city’s image upside down: from a boring factory village to a modern design metropolis. The collaboration behind this fantastic project in southern Holland comes from the design and engineering office of Carve, landscape architect Piet Oudolf, Har Hollands (lighting design) and Deltavormgroep (designers of public spa...Read More

Urban Freeway Removal is seen by many as the next logical step following a failed experiment in urban planning. The construction of urban freeways in cities was an untested idea when it was developed around the world in the late 1950s. In the past 50 years, tens of thousands of miles of highways have been built around the globe. However, there is strong evidence that urban highways are a failed experiment! This has led many cities to question the placement of freeways and whether they merit further investment or whether urban freeway removal should be considered. What can be done when a highway no longer makes sense? To answer this question, we have to take a closer look to understand the intention behind building urban freeways. While in the United States, the construction of major freewa...Read More

Leisure Centre of Madine, by Urbicus, Versailles, France Finding a balance point for a project located in a natural place involves listening carefully to the environment in order to preserve its essence. The Madine Lake — or Lac de Madine — in The River Meuse, France, is located in the heart of the Regional Natural Park of Lorraine, which is home to a great variety of local flora and fauna. It is one of the largest lakes in the country, with an 11,000-hectare stretch of water, 250 hectares of forest, and 42 kilometers of banks and shores. This beautiful setting has always been an attraction for European tourists and sport lovers, laying the groundwork for a perfect opportunity to develop a project that responds to the exigencies for responsible tourism. Planning and Designing t...Read More