5 Ways to Avoid Technical Drawing Becoming Your Worst Nightmare

Apply these 5 tips to get your head around technical drawing. We all at one point dread the day when our social lives will turn into weekend parties with T-squares and inking pens. Those of us who studied technical drawing look back and cringe at the thought of having to go through that one day-long exam again. But I will quit being so apocalyptic now and tell those who are going to take this course soon that, fortunately, there are several steps you can take to make the best out of your technical drawing class — and even enjoy it! 5 Technical Drawing Tips 1. Ditch the comfort of home for the studio group dynamic Back in high school, I didn’t very much like the idea of studying in a group. It seemed too distracting and like an easy ticket for procrastination. But as soon as you get i...Read More

A useful AutoCAD tutorial to help you with detailing your sections in AutoCAD. Plan drawings could be considered the most important graphic of a landscape architecture project. Sections and elevations, however, also explain a lot and are important during the design process. Drawing natural elements in elevation requires a different approach than drawing them in plan. Take grass, for instance. In a plan drawing, grass can be represented as a dotted hatch or maybe even a green solid hatch. This doesn’t work in section. In this article, you’ll see some cool and quick ways to draw nature in no time. The problem of the traditional method A lot of AutoCAD users draw grass in sections with a block. Of course, this is an option, but it has some downsides. A block always has a particular size. Let’...Read More

Nouvelle at Natick, by  Martha Schwartz Partners, Natick (MA), USA. The concept of modern urban living is based on the idea of comfort wrapped up in luxury. Nouvelle at Natick is the best proof that urban living has evolved to a point where it can offer luxury, privacy, and breathtaking views. The project was started by General Growth Properties, and it involved the creation of Parc Nouvelle, a splendid roof garden. The designer was Martha Schwartz, one of the top names in the field of landscape architecture. Nouvelle at Natick extends over a surface of 34,850 square feet and was completed in 2008. When looking at how the roof garden turned out in the end, it should come as no surprise that the project received the BSLA Award (Boston Society of Landscape Architects) in 2012. Nouvelle at Na...Read More

Are your professors really telling you everything they know? When I first stepped into the university, I was convinced that I would learn almost everything I would need for my professional career there. I quickly realized I was wrong, and that the university is just the starting point for a lifelong learning process — and that the most valuable learning comes from experience. Every time you do something for the first time and every mistake you make will make you a better person and professional. However, university professors are there to open your mind — not only to provide theory and practice, but to a whole professional world, as well. Here are nine ways to get the best out of the time you spend in the university and get the best out of your professors. 1. Attend classes Fir...Read More

Greenhouse, CF Moller Architects, Aarhus, Denmark. Did you know that the world’s first ministry for the environment was established in Denmark in 1972? Since then, Denmark has achieved several environmentally sustainable goals and has been well known for creating a green and a sustainable society. So it is not a surprise that nowadays this country has the greenest city in the world — Copenhagen — and that it is among the top five “greenest” countries according to the 4th Edition of the Global Green Economy Index. Other Danish cities also innovate in creating and implementing new sustainable initiatives. The city of Aarhus – the second most populous city in Denmark, after Copenhagen – has 134 parks, and its Botanical Garden is the oldest and one of its largest, as reported by Aa...Read More

A list of the trends that are hitting the profession of landscape architecture. Typically a trend is something that is considered a passing craze, but the actual definition according to Oxford Dictionaries is “a general direction in which something is developing or changing.” Such is the case with landscape architecture and some of the “trends” of the 21st century. Below are the top 7 landscape architecture trends of the 21st century, listed in alphabetical order. Landscape Architecture Trends 1. 3D Modeling While 3D Modeling Software has been around since the 1980s, these programs have really started to shine in the last decade. AutoCAD and SketchUp are seen as must know programs in almost every design office and many also require Vectorworks and Revit. And now, with 3D printers, these 3D...Read More

Gebran Tueni Memorial, Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture, Beirut, Lebanon A memorial to an outspoken politician and journalist The Gebran Tueni Memorial, opened in December 2011, is located in Beirut, Lebanon, a city once ravaged by civil war, but now being rebuilt and undergoing a social and economic transformation. The award-winning memorial (including a 2014 ASLA award) was designed by Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architects. Djurovic, whose mother is from Lebanon, grew up in the city and calls it his home. The memorial celebrates the life and times of Gebran Tueni, a former journalist and politician who was killed by a car bomb in 2005. Tueni was passionate about independence from foreign interference, freedom, cooperation, and unity for his country. In addition to being a physic...Read More

LABash 2015 – An Interview with the 2015 Host – Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Whether you’re an underclassman or a soon-to-be graduate, there’s one event that landscape architecture students won’t want to miss. In 1970, three landscape architecture students at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, founded what’s known today as LABash. Fast-forward 45 years and it still continues to be a destination for curious landscape architecture students. While it’s known as a three-day student-run conference consisting of speakers, workshops, design charettes, expos, and social events, it’s the sense of unity that makes it such a special tradition. LABash 2015 runs March 19-21, 2015, at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (SLO). Situated roughly midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, on t...Read More

One of the world’s most important historic gardens, known for its magnificent sculptures and mystical atmosphere, is the Park of Monsters in Bomarzo, situated in the center of Italy. Today, we could say that the park was one of the first examples of land art, in which the design of the soil and the creatures that inhabit it fully reflect the Mannerist character, building a veritable museum of sculptures with hidden meanings. The History of Monsters Park The garden was created at a time when alchemy, astrology, and magic were banned. However, at the same time, this heretic and hermetic world attracted the minds of intellectuals as enlightened as Prince Pier Francesco Orsini. The ongoing debate of who created it The duke of Bomarzo, called also Vicino Orsini, created the park in 1552 as the ...Read More

Square of the Liberation and the banks of the Seine Chanel,  by TN PLUS, in Troyes, France. The old district of Troyes, France, has received a complete makeover, and it all started with an underground parking project that was going to be built in the Square of the Liberation. The project, developed by Bruno Tanant and managed by Agathe Turmel and Stéphanie Henry, soon developed into more. It led to changes in the entire city center, with the Troyes Canal serving as the main element of attraction. The city commissioned the project and it was successfully completed in 2012. When the underground parking was ready to be built, the project managers noticed that the city center had a lot to offer in terms of visual appeal. They took into consideration the buildings and the gardens, and turned th...Read More