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Archive for August, 2011

Programming the Moon’s Cycle

Posted in Land Art, Public Spaces, Technology on 08/31/2011 | 1 Comment »

Tidal Radiance, a new large-scale interactive sculpture by light artist and designer Leni Schwendinger, created for the new Port Pavilion on the pier along San Diego’s waterfront, is designed to be seen both by boaters on the water and strollers moving along the Embarcadero promenade. At night, this installation will be hard to miss given its lighting is programmed to follow the lunar cycle, [...]

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Documenting Beijing’s Real and Imagined Urban Landscape

Posted in Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization on 08/31/2011 | Leave a Comment »

Architect and artist Li Han from Atelier 11 | China documents China’s rapid urbanization in intricate, elegant renderings, part architectural drawing, part anime still. According to Alison Furuto at ArchDaily, Li presents the ”spontaneous interaction between the urban environment and human activities.” The drawings not only document current conditions but also offer bold environmental visions for neighborhoods in China’s capital. [...]

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The Rediscovery of Wonder

Posted in Land Art, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization on 08/30/2011 | Leave a Comment »

In a recent TED talk about taking imagination seriously, Janet Echelman, creator of billowing, voluptuous fabric installations the size of buildings, described the unexpected trajectory of her fascinating career. Echelman’s work has evolved from large-scale fishnet sculptures created from traditional craft methods to engineered installations designed with software and made from high-tech materials. This is [...]

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A Ray of Light in Utrecht

Posted in Land Art, Landscape Architecture, Public Spaces, Urban Design on 08/26/2011 | Leave a Comment »

According to Landezine, Dutch landscape architecture firm Okra just completed a project that creates a line of light to elegantly highlight an archeological treasure at the heart of Utrecht, a city in the Netherlands. Utrecht is actually built on top of a castellum, a Roman fort once used as a watchtower or signal station. In this project, the castellum wall, which lies [...]

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Harnessing the Power of Social Media

Posted in Climate Change, Education, Environment, Technology on 08/25/2011 | Leave a Comment »

In Yale University’s Environment 360, environmental journalist Caroline Fraser argues that social media, like many technologies, may alienate people from nature and be a major time-waster, but also has the capacity to connect scientists with the public and empower a “green army” to act on their behalf. This decentralized army of naturalist volunteers can do some [...]

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Interview with Neil Chambers, Author of Urban Green: Architecture for the Future

Posted in Ecosystem Restoration, Ecosystem Services, Environment, Green Buildings, Landscape Architecture, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Design, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization, Water Management, Wildlife on 08/25/2011 | Leave a Comment »

Neil B. Chambers, founder of Chambers Design, Inc. and Green Ground Zero, is an award-winning green designer with nearly 20 years of experience in the field of green building and infrastructure. He is the author of Urban Green: Architecture for the Future, and a contributing author to Treehugger. He is a national fellow with the [...]

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Against Local Community, Trump Protests Offshore Wind Farm

Posted in Environment, Water Management, Wildlife on 08/23/2011 | 2 Comments »

A new $2 billion set of golf courses being built by Donald Trump on 500 acres in Aberdeenshire, Scotland is set to open in 2012, despite the protests of local conservationists and environmental groups that the courses will wreck environmental havoc in a “site of special scientific interest” not to mention an example of pristine North sea coast landscape. Now, Trump is threatening action against [...]

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The Future is Here: Sherbourne Common

Posted in Landscape Architecture, Public Spaces, Sustainable Design, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization, Water Management on 08/17/2011 | 1 Comment »

From here on, all major urban parks need to be like Sherbourne Common in Toronto, which not only provides a remarkable public space but also doubles as water treatment infrastructure. In a marvel of thoughtful design and engineering, the new 3.6-acre, $30 million park commissioned by Waterfront Toronto and designed by a team led by landscape architecture firm Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg uses [...]

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New Forms of Public Space: Parkmobiles

Posted in Landscape Architecture, Public Spaces, Urban Design, Urban Revitalization on 08/17/2011 | 6 Comments »

With the exception of maybe New York and Philadelphia, San Francisco may be the most innovative city in the U.S. when it comes to creating new forms of public space. In contrast with those east coast cities, though, San Francisco is also remodelling its public space at very low cost, with lots of support from [...]

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Student Design Competition: Parks for the People

Posted in Historic Preservation, Landscape Architecture, Opportunities, Public Spaces, Sustainable Design on 08/17/2011 | 1 Comment »

Parks for the People, a student design competition organized by the U.S. Park Service, Van Alen Institute, National Parks Conservation Association, and financed by the National Endowment for the Arts and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, aims to “reimagine America’s most spectacular public places — its national parks — by using design as a catalyst to creatively rethink their connections to people [...]

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