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Archive for August, 2010

New Cultural District Takes Shape in Hong Kong

Posted in Landscape Architecture, Real Estate Development, Sustainable Design, Sustainable Transportation, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization on 08/26/2010 | Leave a Comment »

The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) in Hong Kong has released three conceptual plans for a new 40-acre, US$2.7 billion harborfront cultural district by famed architecture firms Office of Metropolitan Architecture (Rem Koolhaus’ firm), Foster + Partners, and Rocco Design Architects. The plans present three distinct visions for how this new development on reclaimed land can become a [...]

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Preserving Traditional Approaches to Sustainability

Posted in Green Buildings on 08/25/2010 | Leave a Comment »

In India, indigenous building traditions are still relevant despite the increased availability of modern sustainable building materials and technologies, writes The Hindu. In fact, “vernacular” or native architectural techniques may be just as efficient (and even more cost-effective) than “state-of-the-art” systems. Local sustainable architecture practices in India evolved over time, and so the highly functional approaches to climate and culture can also be easily adapted. While there was [...]

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New Ways of Deriving Environmental Benefits

Posted in Green Roofs, Landscape Architecture, Sustainable Design, Water Management on 08/25/2010 | Leave a Comment »

Popular Mechanics magazine featured 18 of the world’s “strangest” landscapes. For us, these don’t seem that odd, but the magazine seeks to highlight landscapes deemed particularly noteworthy around the world. Many of the man-made projects selected seem to exemplify sustainable design practices, and echo surrounding natural environments. According to the magazine, as “eco-friendly design prospers,” landscape architects are now using a [...]

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Designing Our Future: Sustainable Landscapes

Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Green Roofs, Landscape Architecture, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Design, Sustainable Materials, Sustainable Transportation, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization, Water Management on 08/25/2010 | 1 Comment »

A new expanded version of ASLA’s “Designing Our Future: Sustainable Landscapes” online exhibition highlights real-life examples of sustainable landscape design and its positive effects on the environment and quality of life. These spaces use natural systems to clean the air and water, restore habitats, create healthy communities, and ultimately provide significant economic, social, and environmental value. [...]

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Pakistan’s Monsoon Floods Not Over

Posted in Policy and Regulation, Water Management on 08/24/2010 | 1 Comment »

Pakistan’s ongoing battle with the monsoon-caused floods continues even though the government has not received adequate foreign aid. To date, more than 1,600 have been killed, over four million displaced, and 16.8 million affected, writes BBC News. About one million displaced Pakistanis (from one million destroyed homes) have been moved into temporary tent facilities, but five million more need these emergency facilities and [...]

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Interview with Kristina Hill on Managing the Effects of Climate Change

Posted in Climate Change, Landscape Architecture, Sustainable Design, Urban Design, Water Management, Wildlife on 08/24/2010 | 1 Comment »

Kristina Hill, PhD, Affiliate ASLA, is Chair of the Landscape Architecture department at the University of Virginia. At a recent conference on designing wildlife habitats, you said cities are always warmer than surrounding areas because of the urban heat island effect. Cities are then precursors to climate change. In fact, “cities are at the edge [...]

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Living Near Public Transportation May Extend Your Life

Posted in Policy and Regulation, Smart Growth, Sustainable Transportation on 08/18/2010 | Leave a Comment »

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released “Evaluating Public Transportation Health Benefits,” a comprehensive survey of recent research on smart growth communities, that argues people who live near high-quality public transportation ”drive less, exercise more, and live longer, and are generally healthier than residents of communities without high-quality public transportation.” The Victoria Transport Policy Institute conducted the APTA-commissioned survey of existing research studies and concluded that [...]

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Drawing the History of Landscape Design

Posted in Education, Landscape Architecture on 08/18/2010 | Leave a Comment »

Elizabeth Boults and Chip Sullivan’s “Illustrated History of Landscape Design,” leads the reader through a visual study of the pivotal themes and works of landscape design. Beginning with prehistoric constructed landscapes and concluding with a projection for sustainable design in the 21st century, this 260-page visual analysis roots design first in its chronological context and [...]

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St. Louis Arch Landscape Design Competition Down to Five Teams

Posted in Landscape Architecture, Public Spaces, Smart Growth, Sustainable Design, Sustainable Transportation, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization on 08/18/2010 | Leave a Comment »

The City, The Arch, The River, the international design competition that will generate a new design for the park and riverfront around the world-famous St. Louis Arch, has announced five finalists. The winning design team will go on to create extensive new parks, facilities, and transportation networks for the grounds of the Saarinen-design monument. CityArchRiver2015, the non-profit organization sponsoring the competition, says the new landscape must be as [...]

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Interview with Jeb Brugmann, Author of “Welcome to the Urban Revolution”

Posted in Climate Change, Sustainable Design, Sustainable Transportation, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization on 08/17/2010 | 2 Comments »

Jeb Brugmann is author of “Welcome to the Urban Revolution: How Cities are Changing the World,” a book Planetizen called “important and immensely engaging.” Brugmann is a strategy consultant to leaders and international organizations and a professor at Cambridge University’s Program for Industry. In “Welcome to the Urban Revolution: How Cities are Changing the World,” you point [...]

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