A french urban planning consultancy recently launched their vision to turn the eiffel tower into an immense body of biomass by covering it with 600.000 plants which, according to the consultants, would symbolize the reconciliation of nature and mankind as the world's population heads for nine billion, seven billion of whom would live in urban areas. Why not? Via Reuters.
I like how this thin path winds about among the beech trees supported only by the trunks. Installation performed between may and october this year in Kadriorg Park, Tallinn, Estonia. By Tetsuo Kondo Architects. Via Landezine.
A few days ago there was a second-hand market at Placa de la Virreina where you could only buy things in exchange for food and beverages. It was initiated by an organization whose idea is cooking for homeless people with left over food given to them from markets at closing time.
Today I walked by this group of Sillargas designed by Gonzalo Milá and Juan Carlos Inés for Escofet. Situated at Platja de la Barceloneta in Barcelona they are being well used also in december.
Today I read in the outdoor life magazine 365 about the Duisberg-Nord landscape park in the german Ruhr area which has been created around an old ironworks. Apparently you can climb a 70 m tall platform and dive in an old gasometer. If you want to. This whole place is a good example of incorporating the old into the new.
Oh, now I realize I've been to this site. On a field trip a long time ago. I thought I recognized that chimney!
This winter's conference arranged by Movium will go by the name of Livet i staden 2012 (Life in the city 2012). This time the conference will address the idea of the city as an association of people who have gathered in a number of communities and the landscapes surrounding these people.
There will be a number of inspiring lecturers including the following:
Pattern of the labyrinth at Grace Cathedral. Image: Labyrinthos
Some years ago I walked the terrazzo stone labyrinth at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. The idea of labyrinths always fascinated me and I think their shape and function transform perfectly into the created outdoor environments, with or without the spiritual meaning.
"The labyrinth is an archetype, a divine imprint, found in all religious traditions in various forms around the world. By walking a replica of the Chartres labyrinth, laid in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France around 1220, we are rediscovering a long-forgotten mystical tradition.
The labyrinth has only one path so there are no tricks to it and no dead ends. The path winds throughout and becomes a mirror for where we are in our lives. It touches our sorrows and releases our joys. Walk it with an open mind and an open heart."
I so appreciate projects like this where you only need to see one picture to know what it's all about. The award winningRed Ribbon Tanghe River Park in Qinhuangdao City, China is an explicit and very functional answer to questions of preserving natural habitats as well as creating new recreational values in this quickly developing area. The ribbon structure is 500 meters long and combines functions as seating, lighting and orientation. By Turenscape and Peking University Graduate School of Landscape Architecture in Beijing, China.
Ten months from now the next IFLA world congress called LANDSCAPES IN TRANSITION will take place in Cape Town, South Africa. The subject up for discourse is the social and environmental challenges facing us while moving towards a sustainable future. September is springtime in South Africa!
British designer Tom Price exhibited a lovely cherry grove, created by plastic tubing and cable ties, at the Industry Gallery in Washingtin D.C. last month. Via Dezeen.
Right this moment the Serbian Association of Landscape Architecture is hosting the 4th Landscape Architecture Exhibition at the Gallery of Science and Technology of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, in Belgrade. Professionals as well as students have been invited to submit plans, designs, studies and publications proposed or realized during the last three years, to be evaluated by a commission and selected for the exhibition.
As a tribute to genius architect Antoní Gaudí the city of Barcelona has paved the street of Passeig de Gràcia with a paver regenerated from an original hexagonal mosaic tile designed by Gaudí in 1904.
Screen printed on organic cotton by swedish design duo jollygoodfellow, Kotten (the pine cone) is looking good! Availabe at swedish webshop Signerat and international webshop Supermarket.
At Lindholmen Science Park in Gothenburg, Sweden there is a very graphic pattern in the main square created with the S:t Eriks product Superplattan in color Super White.
In a not very fancy part of Chicago there is the Gary Comer Youth Centre designed by John Ronan Architects and on top of the building is a garden producing organic fruits and vegetables and providing the center's café with fresh produce.
Places like this make me happy! I think we need to grow our food closer to where we live given the post peak oil times facing us.
This last weekend I went to Sätila and Smedjan preeschool. In 2008, working for a former employer, I got the very exciting assignment of creating an entirely new outdoor environment for a new built preschool called Smedjan. The building, which is great by the way, with creative indoor spaces and solar panels on the roof, was made by Wahlström & Steijner Architects. As the outdoor area was quite limited I wanted to create many different environments and spaces inspired by the surrounding landscape in concentrated form. I really do hope the children spending their days at this place are happy and inspired, I think it turned out pretty well. I'm not going to put sand next to blue rubber asphalt any time soon again though. I see now that nobody is ever going to come out and sweep of the sand!
In september the movie Urbanized had its world premier at Toronto Film Festival. The movie has been produced and directed by Gary Hustwit as part of a triology including Helvetica, discussing graphic design and visual culture, and Objectified about industrial design. Urbanized is now on a screening tour through the US but a few stops in the UK and one in Copenhagen are also on the agenda.
"Who is allowed to shape our cities, and how do they do it? Unlike many
other fields of design, cities aren’t created by any one specialist or
expert. There are many contributors to urban change, including ordinary
citizens who can have a great impact improving the cities in which they
live. By exploring a diverse range of urban design projects around the
world, Urbanized frames a global discussion on the future of cities. "
The quote above is from the Urbanizedfilm blog, where you can find reviews of the movie, screenings and more. Below is the trailer.
I like this painted contour lines detail from the project Südlische Lohmühleninsel by Rehwaldt Landscape Architects. The park which this project is part of is located along the border between East and West Berlin in Germany. Read more about the project here.
In today's Svenska Dagbladet, a Stockholm based daily newspaper, there is an article on mountaintop removal mining in the Appalachians, West Virginia, US. In short this is a cheaper faster way to extract coal than traditional mining and it involves blowing up mountaintops, buying off house owners in the area to be able to legally dump the waste down the slopes of the mountains and into the valleys, burying water streams and disturbing or destroying wildlife in vast areas.
This seems to be a very undignified way to treat a 480 million years old mountain.
Why I read it: Because the idea of an architect (Vanja Larberg) spending one day per week just painting and making art, and now the illustrations for this book, inspired me a lot.
What I loved about it: That it's a very poetic book for children taking place in an urban setting and how the watercolor illustrations come to live as they swirl over the pages. And the postman's letters!
What I learned: That art in its many forms bring a lot of joy to the ones performing it as well as the ones experiencing it. I want to paint things!
Here you can read a review of this book if you want to. And here is another one. Both in swedish.
On the numerologically important day of 11-11-11 (november 11, 2011) the occasion of the year allegedly will take place on and around the street of Kungsgatan in central Gothenburg. For example at 11:11 am 11 couples will get married in nearby church of Domkyrkan, there will be music, fashion shows, exhibitions and a very long (600 m) cake.
Somewhere in this there will be a reopening of the very central street of Kungsgatan which recently has gone through a total makeover. This is part of a project including the inner city streets and aiming to reinforce the street life and making the city centre more vivid and walkable. The company I work for has been responsible for the detail planning of most of these streets, including Kungsgatan.