MultiSit: The 3-in-1 Design Solution for Public Seating

MultiSit is a design solution aiming to change how we observe and engage with our urban environment.  We all know that our world never stops changing. Inevitably, the same goes for us: people. We change the way we live, our environment, our technologies, our surroundings. And through this constant development, our needs alter, as well. To satisfy our needs, design is also changing on a daily basis. A good example of this kind of transformation can be found in the comparison between a conventional, standard park bench and an up-to-date, cutting-edge design of a public seat. To illustrate how a contemporary bench functions and what it looks like, we are about to review MultiSit, the multifunctional product designed by Tri-On. Check out this modern version of public seating, which provides an...Read More

YouTube can deliver many great tutorials on the subject of technical drawing, so feel free to check out this Top 10 and form your own opinion. Landscape architects are required to be familiar with technical drawing because so much of their work is related to space geometry and planning. The success of a landscape architect is often defined by how well his/her skills are developed, with technical drawing standing at the top of the list. Regardless of how familiar you are with technical drawing, there are still many things to be learned. The YouTube tutorials presented in this article are going to reveal essential information related to the field of technical drawing. It is well known that tutorial videos deliver the information faster and in a more efficient manner than other sources, so be...Read More

The news broke late last year: a design team has been picked to handle the exciting Presidio Parklands project along the bay of San Francisco.  Adding to its impressive resume of high profile spaces that includes the High Line, Fresh Kills Park, and Navy Pier, James Corner Field Operations will lead the design team in this uncommon opportunity to enhance the beauty, the culture, and the ecology of San Francisco through  development of this key land. The Presidio Parklands is a 13-acre site being generated by the Presidio Parkway, a project lowering underground large portions of the main highway to the Golden Gate Bridge.  The land is full of potential.  James Corner called the site “a place where the Presidio meets the bay, a place where the city can reflect back upon itself, a place where...Read More

Fish Market Plaza by Thorbjörn Andersson & Sweco Architects in Karlskrona, Sweden.  Does a spatial quality create a place or does it happen the other way around? Perhaps it works both ways. In the case of Fish Market Square, or “Fiskertorget Plaza” in Swedish, the place still exists under the same name, but everything else related to the market function is long gone. The Fish Market Plaza is located in Karlskrona, Sweden. Karlskrona, which means Carolu’s Crown, has always been an important harbor. Nowadays, it is also one of the most picturesque cities in Sweden and is protected as a World UNESCO Heritage Site. The Fish Market Plaza There used to be a Market Hall for selling fish where the square is now, but it was torn down in the 1960s. The only thing left after the demolition was th...Read More

 Zameret Park, by TeMA Urban Landscape Design in Tel Aviv, Israel. Perhaps the first thing to capture your attention from our headline was the unfamiliar word Zameret. That Hebrew word, often used as a girl’s name, literally means tree top. If you are wondering about the relationship between the origin of the word Zameret and the park, you are about to read the riddle within the framework of this project. To tickle your fancy even more, here is the philosophy behind the park, revealed on the website of TeMA Urban Landscape Design: “We develop our projects with an underlying theme. The theme runs like a thread between various parts and layers of each project, thus enabling its comprehension beyond the aesthetic experience. The theme serves the different planning phases, allowing for a fruit...Read More

The Canberra National Arboretum, by TCL, Canberra, Australia. The loss of habitats and the extinction of species are prevalent topics among environmentalists today. We are witnessing the largest extinction crisis since we lost the dinosaurs. According to the World Wildlife Fund, at least 10,000 species disappear every year — forever. At the same time, awareness of the amazing diversity and the imminent danger of its loss are probably higher than ever. Multiple organizations and even whole countries are working against the threat of extinction and habitat loss. Australia is one such notable example. Canberra National Arboretum In January 2003, a wave of fires wreaked havoc on the Australian mainland and its unique forests. Saddened by the loss, the ACT Government decided to act instea...Read More

We search for 10 top examples of land art from around the world. I have written previously about how public art is an essential ingredient in creating a city’s built environment in my article “Incredible Public Art at Highway Underpass!“. The powerful visions of artists often bring cultures and societies into deeper dialogue, ultimately creating more meaningful relationships between people and place — a goal central to the landscape architectural project. Hence, there is much to learn from artistry laid upon the land. Here are 10 examples of incredible land art: Land Art 10. Chevron Cubes Located in Middlesbrough, England, Chevron Cubes is a piece of urban furniture created by design agency United Creatives as part of a Grant Associates mixed-use development public realm ...Read More

A deeper look at the contribution that the Departments of Parks and Recreation have made to the world. In the late 1800s, parks were known as “pleasure grounds.” These large tracts of land were located on the edges of large cities and were meant to simulate the countryside for wealthy urban dwellers. This was the problem with these early parks — they weren’t meant to be used and enjoyed by the working class, who had no easy way to get to them. In 1930, Robert Moses, an early commissioner of New York City’s Parks Department, changed the way parks and recreation departments around the world operated. It was because of his justification for spending money on urban parks that other cities were able to follow his lead, grow their park systems, and create public spaces that are literally c...Read More

Huellas Artes, 100architects, Santiago, Chile. In many cases, people perceive the urban environment as boring. Gray streets and static buildings are part of everyday routes to work and home, turning life’s daily adventure into an urban routine. Cities are full of places that go unnoticed and unappreciated. Dealing with such places is a common task for urban designers — and it is not an easy one. How does one revitalize the image of a monotonous urban space? Urban Artwork The team of 100 Architects solved this problem by taking an unconventional approach. By means of a temporal, non-built, urban art intervention, their project Huellas Artes transformed the urban routine into a special experience for three days. Changing the Landscape Overnight The project took place on the ground leve...Read More

Nelson Mandelapark, by Mecanoo in Bijlmermeer, Amsterdam. With intensification in cities around the globe, more and more people are living in apartments with little access to private green space. As a result, community parks are taking on an increasingly important role in communities, acting as an extension of people’s living spaces. Nelson Mandelapark or Bijlmerpark? Nelson Mandelapark is a large, 32-hectare recreational park complex designed by the multi-disciplinary Dutch firm Mecanoo. The park is located in the Bijlmermeer neighborhood of Zuidoost, Amsterdam. Originally named Bijlmerpark, the park was renamed Nelson Mandelapark in 2014 to honor the former South African president after his death and to recognize his unique connection with Amsterdam. Completed in 2011, the park offers a ...Read More

Here’s what you need to know about Cor-Ten steel.  CORrosion resistance-TENsile strength. Does this sound familiar to you? If it doesn’t, think of the name of one of the most popular materials used in architecture nowadays. That’s right, the name Cor-Ten steel stands for those two properties, which best describe this cutting-edge material. You’ve seen this natural-looking hardscape in buildings, bridges, retaining walls, fences, as edging, or even as sculptural masterpieces of art, everywhere around you. It is frequently used in architecture, construction engineering, and mostly, in landscape architecture. As one of the latest trends in the world of contemporary landscape architecture, Cor-Ten steel has become the novelty every landscape architect should know about. If you are willin...Read More