FRESH!

2011-08-31T23:27:00.003+10:00

AILA National Conference -Transform, Brisbane, 2011

Before attending the 2011 AILA National Conference – Transform in Brisbane, I had great ambitions to summarise all the speakers into a series of nice little compact blurbs. However, as we delved deeper and deeper into the conversations about climate change, and various issues relating to design and social injustice I realised, at an event like this (and my first from start to finish) it’s almost impossible to summarise it all. The following is a summary of a few of the key speakers and some of the questions the discussions had me asking.

The Conference was located at the Brisbane Convention Centre, set in the beautiful Southbank parklands. The Southbank beach and the parklands became one of the topics of discussion over the two days, as well as the setting for one of our evening functions.

Have a look at the some of the photos of the beautiful arbor and the fantastic little urban beach:

http://maps.google.com.au/maps/place?hl=en&gs_upl=2583l8461l0l8680l29l24l0l0l0l0l745l9137l3-6.5.7.1l19l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1437&bih=742&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=southbank+park+lands+brisbane&fb=1&gl=au&hq=southbank+park+lands&hnear=0x6b91579aac93d233:0x402a35af3deaf40,Brisbane+QLD&cid=1081606475369026896&ei=4zFeTtCRLabKiALPmPGzBQ&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=photo-link&cd=1&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQnwIoADAA

At the opening of the conference, Sarah Gaventa - formerly from CABE and author of New Public Spaces (2006) - gave several hints to landscape architects: the best public spaces don’t necessarily use the most expensive materials; do we really know what we are designing for? (to make the people happy of course); we should inspire people so they can engage in public space; use public space to advocate the work landscape architects do; and lastly, why don’t we design spaces where the users can take a level of responsibility for their own self. This led me to my first question - how can we convince local authorities and managers of public space that this stance is acceptable?

Stephen Sheppard suggested that landscape architects are good collaborators; practical and good designers; and instrumental in envisaging how the future might look - we all know a thing or two about producing photomontages and engaging visually with our clients. Stephen emphasised the importance of making climate change visible at the local scale. He used predicted sea level rise data, transformed it into a visual photo model, and showed how residential houses within close proximity to the coast would be affected. Using the same photo model, he showed possible solutions and interventions to demonstrate how residential houses could be protected from sea level rise. The message was clear – the impact of showing climate change visually gives people an understanding about an issue that may not necessarily be clear if it were presented as technical data. This personalised education could be what is needed to make true changes where change is needed.

Darryl Low Choy and Greg Grabash, discussed the importance of planning controls and giving the indigenous community a voice when it comes the design and development of public space. In the context of AILA, Darryl suggested that AILA revise the current principles to acknowledge indigenous communities to ensure involvement in stakeholder consultation; write a policy statement on indigenous landscape values; and establish a set of procedures for indigenous stakeholder engagement.

Greg described his work with the indigenous community as a process of facilitation, rather than consultation, the main difference being that facilitation included the community in the entire design process. This led me to ask some difficult questions (all to which I still don’t know the answer): At what point does the landscape architect guide, rather than lead, the design process? How do you cater for the needs of the community, when you obviously can’t cater for all individual needs? Who takes priority? How do you spend time getting to know the communities you are designing for, while still sustaining a business?

The important message I took from this discussion was the power of empowering people and youth to make strategic and design decisions so they can take ownership of some part of public space. As Greg said “ownership is the right to be asked”.

In subsequent discussions, Christine Ten Eyck suggested that arrogance and ego should be removed from design and we need to let go of power; however, we must guide the process to ensure that people, who are willing to share their stories, will be heard.

In terms of public art, projects such as Richard Tipping’s ‘Flood’ were discussed. The piece was very powerful coming from the context of the recent floods.

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-story-of-the-floods-through-the-brisbane-flood-sculpture

Richard Brennock also showed public artworks, from throughout the Roma street gardens and other various places. Richard discussed how public artworks help to engage people in public space. In subsequent discussions I had with other landscape architects, we debated on what role the landscape architect has in public art; wondered if landscape architecture is an art on its own; and whether or not landscape architects should be designing ‘public artworks or leaving this up to the practical expertise of a professional artist.

Also using the Roma street example, Mark Fuller from AECOM discussed how Roma Street Parklands was designed to embrace the signs of life; by embracing the aging process - where patterns of use help to tell the story of how public space is used, and enjoyed. How often do we design landscapes to possess the ability to remain beautiful as it grows and evolves? As the signs of age begin to emerge, how often do we seek to hide those visible signs of age? What opportunities are missed when we do so?

If you haven’t been to the Roma Street gardens, next time you’re in Brisbane I suggest making the visit.

www.romastreetparkland.com

Perhaps the most powerful imagery of the conference was the beautiful work of Christine Ten Eyck. I didn’t speak with a single person who couldn’t agree more.

Check out her website for examples – you will notice she even uses Acacia species, indigenous to Australia, as a feature in some of her landscapes!

http://www.teneyckla.com/

Christine was a very humble lady, with a passion to make a difference, whose designs demonstrate the word ‘transformative’ perfectly. The spaces she showed were designed with limited budgets, “reusing trash” (as Christine would put it), using plants that survive with little or no care but are still beautiful, and landscapes that evoke the memory of water (or lack thereof). The landscapes were designed to make the best use of water from adjacent buildings and surfaces in ways that are already familiar to us. She said it perfectly – water sensitive design “is not rocket science” and we should be incorporating it into all of our designs.

If I could take one thing from this conference, it is the reminder that when I am sitting at my desk drafting up a design, to stop and ask myself two questions: Why am I designing this? Who is this for? It is a reminder that the landscape architect really does have the power to make a difference. I will take this opportunity to thank AILA and all of the speakers for a great conference. Thank you for continuing to renew my passion. For a more detailed summary of the conference speakers, refer to the AILA website under the Transform Section.

2011-08-26T22:55:00.003+10:00

Design me a city - Brasilia

Brasilia was designed as a modern 'purpose built' city in response to a design competition in 1957 to develop a geographically central capital for Brasil. The winning entry was designed by Lucio Costa + is based on the ideal of a 'functional city'. Oscar Niemeyer designed many of the iconic buildings for the capital centre. The modernist + highly symbolic architecture, coupled with the almost utopian city design delivers a city that appears strangely out of touch with the scale of the human inhabitants. The city as a whole appears as an overt symbol of political + government power + man vs nature - of course the architecture is beautiful, but it seems somehow alien. Is a design such as this really functional in relation to the daily needs inhabitants + the necessities of everyday life in a city?

Obscenely over-scaled + desolate public open spaces, such as The Square of Three Powers only serve to demonstrate the lack of understanding that many modernist designers of the day had of the essential human dimension that is so vital to the success of urban design, buildings + landscapes everywhere.

Perhaps I'm too critical of what what obviously an innovative + unique design that was a product of an age of design + architectural exploration - only time will reveal the problems of this functional + utopian design.

Image of The Supreme Federal Tribunal, Brasilia from Wikipedia.

2011-08-06T22:43:00.007+10:00

Book review: Cities for People

A friend recently leant me a copy of 'Cities for People' an inspiring book written by Danish architect Jan Gehl.

Examining patterns of city life across the world, the book advocates the adoption of intelligent and informed urban design principles - design at the 'human scale' and creating 'life between buildings'. Too often, design professionals seem to live life in the fast lane, designing huge oversized spaces within the urban fabric of our cities in plan view with no thought for the human dimension.

The theory behind this book is extremely insightful and demonstrates Jan Gehl's thoughtful observational approach to urban design and planning. Examples from Copenhagen, Melbourne and Venice are used throughout the book to demonstrate successful city spaces, urban renewal projects and street scape designs. It is a thought provoking read - not only for Urban Designers, but also for Landscape Architects, Architects and Planners.

Earlier this year, Jan Gehl presented some of the ideas from 'Cities for People' as part of The City of Melbourne, Melbourne Conversations lecture series - video of the lecture is available at SlowTV.

Image from Making Cities for People, Gehl Architects blog.

2011-08-06T22:34:00.004+10:00

Spread the word - the AILA Fresh blog is back

After a hiatus of a few months, the AILA Fresh blog is back - bringing you FRESH inspiring thoughts and updates on all things related to Landscape Architecture! We have been gathering some interesting new ideas over our break and will be updating the blog regularly with inspirational articles and information about upcoming local events.

We are also currently working on our new AILA Fresh website, so please stay tuned for more information about our new home over the next few months.

2010-10-06T16:11:00.005+11:00

Tonight: Catherine Mosbach AILA Fresh - Drinks & Discussion

Wednesday October 6th
6:00 - 8:00pm @ The University of Melbourne
Wunderlich Gallery, Ground Floor, Building 133

2010-08-29T20:28:00.005+10:00

How does you garden grow?

There are some amazingly complex reflections of human society & design in nature.

Leaf cutter ants cultivate fungus gardens within their elaborate underground nests like humans cultivate food crops. The ants actively cultivate feed the fungus & encourage it to grow within their insect metropolis by feeding it freshly harvested leaf cuttings. They also have an active waste management system, where debris from the colony is collected, stored & decomposition is assisted by the ants.

This intricate insect society has evolved to design & maintain these fungi gardens for far longer than humans have been actively influencing their surrounding landscapes.

Image from 'This Week in Evolution' blog

2010-08-10T13:39:00.006+10:00

The Highline

The Highline, New York is a successful example of reclaiming disused industrial land for recreational purposes...especially iconic because it reclaims redundant rail tracks formerly used to transport freight above Manhattan's busy streets. Claiming this elevated land for recreational use has provided the surrounding urban area with a green strip of open space, where the development within the high density ground plane below can not be easily achieved.

Designed by Landscape Architects James Corner Field Operations and Architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, The Highline will form a 1 & 1/2 mile linear public park when completed.

Photo from: New York Times Style Magazine

2010-08-03T19:41:00.008+10:00

Tell me a story...

The ability for surfaces to tell a narrative is often used as a strong feature in landscape designs - there are endless effects to be created by inlaying or embedding objects or other materials, etching, honing or sand blasting surfaces or stenciling designs.

I have recently become interested in the potential of typographic pavements to create interpretive landscape experiences - such as Language of the Birds, located in the historical literary district of North Beach San Francisco, where literature and language forms the focus of a site specific narrative through a striking landscape intervention and art installation. Sculpted books (illuminated at night by solar power) hang suspended like a flock of birds above a concrete surface patterned by a jumble of sand blasted words and phrases from local authors. These words and phrases are inscribed and preserved in the fonts used in their original print media and are in a variety of languages.

There is no definitive message that is preached by this installation, but rather a range of thought provoking experiences and a series of clues that the individual can interpret to create their own understanding of the space and its story.

It is this potential to develop the multi-layering of information, symbolism, site narrative and interpretive elements that can create a site specific design, which is anchored to a unique sense of place, history and environment. Such commonly used surfaces as concrete should be experimented with and more often custom designed with added graphic treatments or unique textures - they shouldn't continue to be generic or unimaginative blanket ground plane treatments.

Image: Language of the Birds, San Francisco by Dorka Kheen & Brian Goggin.

See also: A Flock of Words, Morecambe, England by Why Not Associates and artist Gordon Young

2010-07-28T14:06:00.009+10:00

Go Play Competition entries...

We had some great entries submitted to our recent competition - the winners are to be announced shortly! We were impressed by the creativity and range of ideas that everyone came up with!

Thanks to everyone who entered.

Thanks also to Kate Hudson for the playful lego inspired image (above).

Go Play! Playground Design - Philippa Dunstan

Go Play and Beyond!! - Alvin Lin

Lucerne to Play - Fawn Goodall

Willow Playground - Anna Komorowska and Michal Rokita of Krakow, Poland

2010-06-24T22:11:00.006+10:00

Ephemeral landscapes

Some of the most successful elements within landscapes are often found by chance - ephemeral phenomenon such as light and shade. This ephemeral layer was recorded by artist Sophie Whettnall in her landscape installation / intervention 'Recording the Light' in Barcelona in 2002. Ephemeral shadows created by on site pavilions informed the marking of the ground plane to form a record of transient time. The resulting patterns created an intricate dialogue with the built forms on site and informed us of the passage of time and the impermanent elements that impact on landscapes everyday.

I believe there are opportunities for Landscape Architects to draw attention to these transient forces more often in our landscape designs - to develop more sensory and experiential landscape immersion. Can this be achieved without destroying the joy of the chance discovery or fleeting moment in time?

Image from 'Recording the Light' by Sophie Whettnall

2010-06-24T21:59:00.003+10:00

You've got to be in it...to win it

At the last AILA Fresh Event our playground competition was launched and the closing date for entry submissions was extended until 12th July. Please see the new flyer above for more information on entry conditions - including a few extra guidelines to clarify the design brief for you all.

There is a very attractive prize on offer for the winner of the competition - a $150 voucher for Architext bookstore!

We would love to see your ideas, sketches and artistic visions submitted, so start getting creative!

2010-06-18T20:59:00.002+10:00

Playground competition extended!

The submission deadline for our Fresh Like To...Go Play! competition has now been extended until 12th July!

We would love to receive your entries - imaginings, sketches, ideas...further details to follow shortly.

In the meantime take a look at this Picasa photo album by playgroundideas for some inspiration for your entries and some images of example playgrounds featuring recycled materials.

2010-06-15T19:03:00.001+10:00

Competition launch Photos!

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

2010-06-08T09:07:00.004+10:00

Playground entries due today!

Entries for the AILA Fresh 'Fresh Like To...Go Play' competition are due today, so put the finishing touches to your submissions and email them through to fresh.aila@gmail.com

An exhibition of the competition entries will be held this Thursday 10th June. See the flyer above for more information on submitting competition entries and the event details.

2010-05-31T19:44:00.005+10:00

Built by kids for kids

The Kolle 37 adventure playground in Berlin offers an opportunity for children to take a hands-on approach to learning and play, by building their own structures (multi level cubbies, shelters and towers), cooking over campfires, playing with sand, dirt and water as well as tending to their own gardens. There is some limited supervision by staff on-site, but the children are ultimately able to test and explore their own creations - assessing for risks and safety. The children are able to learn valuable skills within an environment that they may not have access to otherwise - teamwork, trust, responsibility and respect for one another.

Kolle 37 is a rare example of a space where children are permitted to construct their own play spaces - constantly adjusting and changing their creations until they feel safe. Not only does this break down the fundamental ideas behind formal playground designs by adult professionals, but it allows the children to develop their own realm of adventure and discovery.

It makes me wonder if we are, as design professionals, 'over designing' children's play spaces and the role that children can potentially play in shaping landscapes - an involvement that I believe would reinforce their ownership of play spaces to create richer and more appropriate opportunities for play and discovery.

Photo from Public Workshop.

2010-05-22T11:07:00.003+10:00

Just a quick update...

The Fresh Like To...Go Play event details have been re-posted due to some 'technical errors' and the links to the flyer are working now.

We hope you're busy designing some innovative playground concepts for the competition! Check back here soon for more playground inspiration.

2010-05-22T10:55:00.009+10:00

Fresh Like To...Go Play!

The next upcoming AILA Fresh Event is an exciting collaboration with[co]design studio and Go Play!

We invite students and professionals to submit entries for a playground design competition focusing on providing play opportunities for children in developing countries. The playground designs should incorporate recycled scrap & junkyard elements and all access play - read the flyer above for more information and entry conditions.

Get creative and submit your playground designs before Tuesday 8th June (revised date) to: fresh.aila@gmail.com

The actual AILA Fresh event is on Thursday 10th June and will be an exhibition of the competition entries with a prize for the winning entry and door prizes on the night.

2010-05-11T16:59:00.006+10:00

Recycled / junkyard playgrounds

Now about a week into the design timeframe for our Fresh Like To...Go Play! playground competition, here's some inspiration and encouragement from a local Melbourne playground.

I was recently lucky to visit Skinners Adventure Playground, a supervised community backyard play-space, specifically created for families living in public housing in South Melbourne. The playground is only open in the afternoons and weekends and has a supervised after-school care program on-site. Skinners Adventure Playground has evolved over the years to become a sprawling and imaginative space. Many of the play elements have been constructed by the local community from recycled or salvaged material - old tractor tyres, slides, gates, fence pailings etc. There is a bounty of challenging equipment, cubbies, boardwalks and tower structures offering opportunities for children to take some risks during play - creating a wonderful learning experience through exploration, trial and error and discovery.

Many modern playground designs seem to be cocooning children with unchallenging and mass produced plastic equipment, so it is refreshing to see a community build haphazard playground with plenty of personality and individuality on offer. The use of recycled materials / equipment throughout the playground adds to the unique environment and the welcoming local backyard atmosphere.

Stay tuned for more playground inspiration to come!

Photo: of a sign at Skinners Adventure Playground in South Melbourne on my site visit, showing photos of the evolution of the playground over the years through community efforts.

2010-05-05T09:14:00.009+10:00

Guerilla Art, using the public.

Berlin as a city is known as one of those places that things happen. Parties in the street, in the U-Bahn, graffiti everywhere, protests. One of the latest things that I found browsing the internet, with my Post Berlin Depression, is this:

This is Rosenthaler Platz in Mitte, Berlin. One of the first chic and designery/artisty areas within Berlin. Those colorful paint tracks aren't normally there, what happened here is one of those guerilla art attacks that happen every now and then. Some people with some bicycles with some large amount of paint poured out said paint when the lights were red. Car drivers had no choice but to drive straight through, painting this work of art. It brings a whole new level to mapping, a 1:1 mapping of an intersection. If they had also done something like this:

This here happened in China. Quite the opposite place to Berlin, not so lenient Gov't, artists having less of a voice. However this was not done by a few people on some bikes, this was done by DBB Group which seems to be a fairly large design house. No matter, it is another great way of playing with street art, mapping, and the idea of greening the world.

Okay, back to work for me.

Some more links for Rosenthaler Platz: Video on archimag.de, Photos on Urbanshit.de, and Article in the Tages Spiegel (in German).

2010-05-04T14:23:00.007+10:00

Designorama, 1st Fresh Event of 2010

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

2010-04-27T19:47:00.010+10:00

Guilfoyle's Volcano

A long dormant reservoir, constructed in 1876 to store water for the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne now forms the focal point of an inspiring new landscape design. The design of the crater-like reservoir was originally undertaken by William Guilfoyle, as a method of irrigating the gardens through a gravity fed system along with the vision of providing a landmark landscape folly for the gardens.

After being hidden from the public for over sixty years, the reservoir has now been resurrected by Landscape Architect, Andrew Laidlaw, as the dramatic centre piece of volcano-themed garden. Rocks and red lava erupt from the crater, created by a mixture of broken terracotta tiles and fluid concrete shapes. The steep sides of the volcano are planted with a unique botanic collection of succulents and cacti species. Within the crater itself are several floating circular islands, which naturally move about the water-filled crater in the breeze. These islands are planted with native and indigenous species to form water filtration systems - an innovative and intriguing idea, which is dissapointingly more successful on functional rather than aesthetic levels.

Guilfoyle's Volcano is dramatic, powerful and symbolically playful - a unique contemporary landscape design with echoes of the original historical concepts envisaged for the landscape at the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Photo taken onsite.

2010-04-20T17:34:00.003+10:00

A message in a bottle

These beautiful living sculptures are the creation of Paula Hayes a New York artist / Landscape designer who creates terrariums within delicate glass vessels. They remind me of specimen jars for rare plants or test tubes where young seedlings might be nurtured into a blossoming life. I'm especially fond of the oversize pendulous terrariums in the image above, where layers of soil and other growing media can be clearly seen by the viewer like a section through the landscape. Not only are these terrariums a living artwork, but they are also an intriguing way of transporting landscapes (although small in size only) to where ever we might want them to be - indoors, inside a courtyard or in a spare nook somewhere. Beautiful and fragile miniature landscapes can be nurtured and appreciated even in a seemingly inhospitable location.

The image above is from Paula Hayes' exhibition 'Excepts from the Story of Planet Thear' at the Marlanne Boesky Gallery, New York.

2010-04-06T12:51:00.005+10:00

Blue Sticks

Following the garden festival theme of my last post: the Blue Stick Garden (Jardin de Batons Bleus) designed by Claude Cormier is intriguing and joyously simple (something which I believe is extremely challenging to 'design'). Blue Sticks was exhibited at the Jardin de Metis International Garden Festival in Quebec in 2000.

I find it refreshing to view designs, such as Blue Sticks, which approach the creation of landscapes from a different perspective. After time spent focusing on the nuances of planting designs and configurations it is uplifting to be presented with a landscape where plant species are not physically dominant, but where they inform the design expression. Blue Sticks evolved as a concept directly related to its site of exhibtion at the Jardin de Metis. The initial concept for the installation arose from the blue poppies adapted to the site's microclimate and featured extensively in the heritage mixed flower borders at the Jardin de Metis. It is wonderful to see a design in direct relation to the site itself - too many modern landscape designs seem to be shallow layered concepts that have no connection with the site they occupy or with the broader urban fabric they are a part of.

What intrigued me most about Blue Sticks however, was the simple visual trick employed by painting the long sticks blue on three sides, leaving one remaining side to be painted a vivid contrasting orange. To vistors surpise, the labyrinth-like layout of the design revealed this dramatic colour change only once they had turned around to view the path they had just walked through the garden. This chameleon-like transformation is deliciously simple and uncomplicated. It is this simplicity (almost child-like in its effortlessness) that is something we need to see alot more of in contemporay (usually over-complex) landscapes.

2010-03-28T15:18:00.003+11:00

Garden festivals

I've recently been reading about garden festivals around the world, where designers and Landscape Architects come together to exhibit innovative design installations and landscape interventions that challenge the traditional and conventional expectations of garden design. The designs often blur the boundaries of landscape design and land art. In particular, I've been researching the Festival International des Jardins held at Chaumont sur Loire in France and the Jardin de Metis held at the Redford Gardens in Quebec. The photo above is from Claude Cormier's Blue Sticks installation at the Jardin de Metis in 2000.

In contrast, a visit to the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show on Friday was, like always, an extreme disappointment. The extremely limited number of designs on show (the number seems to diminish each year) were boring and were overshadowed by the growing crowd of retail focused stalls. The garden designs exhibited the same characteristics and features that appear year after year in residential design - the boring continuing obsession with 'outdoor rooms' (including outdoor fireplaces and bathtubs) and cubic frames that rise like malnourished pergolas from the landscapes below. As a city with a strong design culture, it is disheartening to see a broadening chasm opening up between the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show and the renowned international festivals.

Shouldn't this event be challenging people's perceptions of what gardens are and inspiring people through innovative and unique designs, instead of exhibiting the same stale formula year after year?

Forgive me if I'm ranting, but Melbourne deserves better.

2010-03-22T23:16:00.002+11:00

Pop-up gardening

We have been noticing some pop-up gardening emerging on the streets of Melbourne recently - local communities have been cultivating veggie plots in some delightfully unexpected places within the city.

This example has appropriated part of the streetscape on the corner of King William and Napier Street in Fitzroy. The attached sign encourages people to plant and nurture the garden at will or simply sit by and enjoy its presence.

There are numerous examples of thriving community gardens in Melbourne's suburbs that we have all seen - in St Kilda, Clifton Hill, Collingwood, Brunswick etc. but this is the first example I have seen which has reclaimed actual road space. It has produced a valuable piece of landscape - a landscape which is pioneering the cultivation and 'greening' of the urban asphalt fabric of our city.

Photo and inspiration courtesy of Mark Skiba.

2010-03-07T20:06:00.005+11:00

Paradise in Plasticine

In May 2009 James May embarked on the ambitious task of creating and exhibiting a garden entirely made of plasticine at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the pinnacle annual event of English gardening. Luckily for me I was able to watch the whole process unfold from beginning to end as part of James May's Toy Stories program on SBS. Enlisting the help of many volunteers to create plasticine flowers and other components of the garden, the project gradually took shape to form a whimsical, fairy tale landscape. Predictably the Paradise in Plasticine garden caused a significant stir among the other exhibitors, judges and the public at Chelsea - this was particularly due to the lack of real plants! However, the garden had people enthralled, winning the RHS Peoples Choice award for 'Best Small Garden'.

Paradise in Plasticine had me spellbound with its child-like landscape filled with colour and joyous creativity. Sure, from a Landscape Architecture perspective the design of the garden didn't appear particularly well researched or developed, but it had me asking the question: what truly defines a garden as a garden? When does landscape become sculpture?

Photo taken from The Guardian.

2010-03-05T09:33:00.003+11:00

Today is Friday.

So it's the end of the week, there is a long weekend on the horizon, and I have a design package due today. Whilst on the verge of destroying my computer, and hunting down the creator of vectorworks to have some stern words with how to create a better more functional program, I had to look for 'happy' things to keep me calm.

I came up with:

Now this lovely decked out bus shelter was designed by a Mark Reigelman, he has done lots of nifty little things with urban intervention that will put a smile on any grumpy face.

Check out an interview with him on Inside Out.

Also if you want to read a funny blog by a New Yorker about bikes click here, there was a rant about bike paths and the use of said bike paths for parking, by the local constabulary.

2010-03-03T13:36:00.003+11:00

Design-orama - next AILA Fresh event

The next AILA Fresh event is going to be a good one including team-based design-tastic challenges! Come along and join in the design activities, meet other AILA Fresh people and generally have fun!

2010-02-28T13:10:00.005+11:00

Green eggs and ham

Searching for inspiration recently, I came across the book Avant Gardners by Tim Richardson, former editor of Wallpaper Magazine. The book is focused on conceptualist landscape design, a term used to describe a group of designers whose work is characterised by an idea which informs all aspects of the landscape. This photo is of Nip Pasage's Virage Vert (Green Shift) project in Montreal, a fun and cheeky exploration of the importance of being green - with colour, texture and artificial materials at the forefront of the design. The large green balls function as a play space for children, seating and an art installation.

Avant Gardners details landscape designs from 50 Designers and Landscape Architects from around the world, including essays about the theory of conceptualist landscape design.

Image source: Avant Gardeners photo slideshow by Time Magazine.

2010-02-25T09:00:00.002+11:00

Snake and ladders anyone?

This is a cool space by Cigler Marani Architects.

Link via buzz beast

2010-02-25T08:41:00.002+11:00

Post Garden
A creative mob in the UK have designed this nifty little Post Card Garden, all you need to do is write on it, stick a stamp on, throw it in the post box, and the lucky reciever gets a little fold out postcard with the seeds to grow a little desktop garden.

Link via Postcarden

2010-02-23T13:02:00.003+11:00

Be small to do big.
This here is an interesting article on the microclimate and ecosystem of termite nests, and how architects/designers could learn to produce sustainable dwellings and spaces.

It really is amazing how little bugs can produce such an effective natural system to survive, and yet us with our years of education without the need to fight for survival, cannot produce a similar system.

Link via New Scientist

2009-03-02T13:00:00.001+11:00

CULTIVATING THE YOUNG. EDUCATING THE LAers of the FUTURE!
The next event, it shall be good. Do It!

2009-01-15T15:20:00.002+11:00

Put your hand up if you thinkg light is understated in landscapes.
This is one of many installations Spanish Luzinterruptus has installed. Playing with light, latex gloves, and a frozen pond.

Lots more at their blog.

2009-01-13T11:16:00.002+11:00

Adbusting in Berlin.
via Brainstorm#9 (portugese)
forum ekosystem.org (bit of german)

2009-01-12T14:58:00.003+11:00

Landscape Architecture to the rescue?
Linked is a very interesting article that takes me back to 1st year uni. It talks about the necessity of green spaces within an urban setting or at least the opportunity for the occupants to take some time out and leave the city periodically, to help with the mental health of the occupants. Apparently a fair few studies done in the States as well as here concluded that even with the smallest amount of green space the test subjects were able to achieve better scores on memory tests and the such, in relation to similar test subjects without the same exposure to green or nature.
Read it, on a side note they mention something about drinking Red Bull and designing office spaces...little do they know that Landscape Architects probably drink a lot of Red Bull and design landscapes...as if it's a bad thing!

Link via The Boston Globe.

2009-01-12T12:39:00.002+11:00

New way to analyse site?
Industrial Research Ltd in New Zealand have developed a scanner that can scan a site and build a 3d model to millimetre accuracy. Aimed at forensic investigators and scientists the scanner is based on digital camera's, pulse lasers and a GPS like device that draws its position from the laser pulses. About 20 tripods equipped with the laser pulses are needed, but the more the merrier.

Link via New Scientist

2009-01-08T10:59:00.001+11:00

Lego in real world application. Not Structural.
Jan Vormann has done a collection of work called Dispatchwork. It is a form of architectural graffiti using pieces of lego to fill voids within brickwork or other vertical elements to create intriguing colourful peices of work.

Link via Life without Buildings
Dispatchwork Jan Vormann

2009-01-08T10:46:00.004+11:00

The Opposite to a popup book.
Have you ever tried to build a model that can explain or portray the spatial quality within an enclosed space? Models with parts that can be taken off to show the inside space, and yet it doesn't really show how the space works?

Well maybe you can do what Olafur Eliasson has done for MoMA, a laser cut book with the interior of a building meticulously cut out of each page to create the space.

Link via Origami Tessallations
The laser cutters Kremo

2008-12-11T13:59:00.002+11:00

Before...and After.
This mayor care about the future of their city...now why can't more care?
The first image is a familiar aerial photo of many cities, or outer suburban business centres. Large buildings, lots of roads, no green space, pedestrians non-existant.
The second image is what this particular urban sprawl could become if the mayor gets their way, and if subsequent mayors continue on the same path, densification and peoplisation(word? it is now) of outer burbs business centres could all become their own city, with metro style underground, green spaces and bus networks that work.

If only certain powers to be here had ambition and forward thinking ideas that looked further than re-election.

Link via NPR.org

P.s. Sorry about the lack there of posts, been swamped at work.

2008-11-05T15:59:00.002+11:00

Office fires will be so much more fun now...
Well I highly recommend not smoking in this office, everything is made of cardboard, from cubicles to the meeting room table. Paul Coudamy designed this office for a French advertising agency, they were on a tight budget and wanted flexibility of their 180sqm space. So what better way than to grab some waterproof honeycomb cardboard, glue and tape, spend an all night bender on energy drinks and hope you don't slice a finger off...well they probably spent more time than that. There are some nice little spaces created from the massing of cardboard, and I'm sure the fumes from the glue would make you appreciate the space even more.

Link via Dezeen

2008-11-05T15:27:00.002+11:00

Attention to detail for the bigger image.
I have always enjoyed looking at the finer details of design and how they can make the bigger picture more whole...look at this design by Susie Mendive of SUM. A floral print of fine leaves that creates a silhouette of a figure...

Link via notcot.org
Buy it at Design Public

2008-11-05T15:01:00.002+11:00

Concrete is dull.
Well all those bland grey concrete panels that we see everyday could be more interesting...like artist Yuko Kanemura has exhibited for 100% Design.

Link Via Mocoloco
Other Works by Kanemura

2008-11-05T14:57:00.003+11:00

Snaking Timber bench by Gehry Partners.
Check out this timber bench by Gehry Partners, it was designed and constructed for Design Tide which is a design exhibition running concurrently with the Tokyo Designers Week. More photos and links after the link.

Link via Dezeen

2008-11-05T14:33:00.001+11:00

LAonline is...Online!
AILA's Landscape Architecture online magazine is now easily accessible via the aila.org.au website. You can access all the past magazines through an easy to navigate site.

2008-11-05T14:21:00.001+11:00

Fresh playground images coming up soon...

2008-10-21T12:55:00.002+11:00

Seen these around town?
These haven't really taken off as yet but, with the iPhone (murmur..) and other internet savvy phones, you may well be seeing these around alot more.

2008-10-20T09:05:00.002+11:00

2008-10-20T09:03:00.001+11:00

Good Morning.

2008-10-09T14:57:00.002+11:00

Now this is a Super-stop.
We have nothing on it, our whole public transport system probably won't even compare to this one stop.
I'm not sure if this thing would stop much rain...but I'm sure lots and lots of people would use the tram network because they want to see this awesome stop. Or when they travel past it in their cars they will circle around the round about again and again wishing they had caught the tram. Link below...

Via Dezeen

2008-10-09T14:47:00.002+11:00

Dog tired from boring playspaces?
I don't think your dog would be getting bored in this playspace designed for children, skaters and our fellow canine friends. As part of ExperimentalDesign2008 in Amsterdam, Droog have commissioned this play space designed by Maartje Dros, it is a space that aims to address the ever growing divide between urban centres and dogs, where the dog spaces are pushed out to the fringes and remove the fence that seperates children and dogs...make sense? Need coffee. Links below.

Via Dezeen
ExperimentalDesign2008
Droog

2008-10-07T15:49:00.002+11:00

Be Ready to be Bedazzled!
So BIG as won a competition to do a public space in Denmark, and it seems they propose to have a red square, a green park and a black market made up of 57 objects from 57 cultures forming a "global vernacular". Well actually it is a lot more complicated than that but having wacky ideas and actually doing something with it is pretty cool. Have a read of the project information BIG provided to Dezeen, and then travel to their website to have a squiz at some of the other projects, but be sure to have some sunnies on, or turn down the brightness on your monitor...lots of colour...lots.

2008-10-03T11:07:00.002+10:00

A photo speaks a thousand words. Does this mean I can have a 2 photo essay?
I find that photos have a way of interpreting a scene or a landscape that words cannot describe, they can create emotions and sensations that words cannot convey. So here are a couple photographers that I like...links below.

Corey Arnold
Dan O'day

2008-10-03T11:05:00.002+10:00

Glowing Fields.
Little lights inspired by the campsite oasis in the Australian outback...
More info and pictures after the jump.

Link via Dezeen

2008-10-03T10:54:00.002+10:00

EcoCity by MVRDV and GRAS
It seems that these sustainable ecological happy cities just keep popping up...
I'd like to see in 20 Years time what these cities would be like, spatially and economically...anyway pictures and more info after the jump.

Link Via Dezeen

2008-09-22T16:25:00.002+10:00

Sketch to Documentation, Norwegian Style.
The University of Melbourne and AILA Fresh would like to present Jenny Osuldsen who will be informally presenting and exhibiting her design process, the event will take place after The Ellis Stone Awards.

Venue, Drinks and Food provided by The University of Melbourne.

Date:	Thursday, October 9, 2008
Time:	7:00pm - 10:10pm
Location:	2nd Floor Atrium
	Uni Melb Architecture Building

2008-09-18T10:36:00.004+10:00

Please place green stuff here -->

Ever see a place that was perfect for placing a little garden?
Well you're probably not the first person...and you probably aren't that weird if you want to jump up and down and yell.."PUT SOME GREENESS HERE PLEASE!!!"..well maybe a little weird...

Anyway a certain Eve S Mosher is planning to do little green spaces all over a city with little signs pointing the way...look at the website

2008-09-18T10:36:00.001+10:00

Greenies fight back with knuckle dusters...
Well not really, but what kind of cool fashion accessory that involves live moss and shiny metal won't grow on you...

Link: Via Inhabitat

2008-09-04T08:51:00.002+10:00

Have something to say? Submit an article to kerb 17.

Link: kerb 17

2008-09-01T13:18:00.002+10:00

It's a Dog! No, It's a bike Rack!

Well someone is trying something different, a bike rack that is a wireframe or outline of objects that you may associate with the street character...pretty cool...

Link: Via Wallpaper

2008-08-26T14:35:00.003+10:00

How we design influences.
I'm not one to take a political stance on many things, but have a read of this article that talks about the power of architecture and the way in which it has been and will be used to aggrandize power.

Link: Via TheStar

2008-08-25T12:58:00.001+10:00

Design for Design as Designed.
A little article on the definition of design and how the word is used these days.

Link: Via International Herald Tribune

2008-08-25T11:11:00.002+10:00

Old News but good news...
Well I remember awhile ago there was a post about guerilla gardening on this blog, and I just stumbled across a review of a book which talks about such gardening. So check out the links...

Guerilla Gardening Hompage
Book Review Via Archinect
Sydney Morning Herald article
Video via The Guardian

2008-08-25T10:55:00.002+10:00

1% of water is drinkable. The other 99% just doesn't taste right.
There is an exhibition in Belgium about water, it explores the ways in which we use and abuse this resource...you can also send in samples of you water...so if you are really keen follow the link and find out more details.

Via Dezeen
Official Site

2008-08-25T10:46:00.001+10:00

Sitting At Your Desk? Eating Lunch? Cup of Soup?
Well you could be eating this for lunch...Urban Picnic...but only in London.

Link: Via wallpaper

2008-08-22T08:23:00.001+10:00

Getting a new phone? Add your old one to the pile.
Chris Jordan is a photographer. He takes photos of things. Consumerism.

Link: Chrisjordan.com

2008-08-22T07:37:00.000+10:00

Every morning should be started with bacon and eggs, a coffee and a comic.

2008-08-20T11:15:00.002+10:00

Performing arts on sculptures made of recycled materials that float.
An artist going by Swoon gathered some artists, carpenters, musicians and seafarers to construct and travel down the Hudson River on boats made to the junkyard chic aesthetic.

Link: via New York Times
Link: NYT images

2008-08-18T15:44:00.002+10:00

Did You Know That Aluminium Foil actually protects you from aliens?
Well maybe I'm making things up...But if it did then you would be very safe in this sculpture by Kimihiko Okada. Built from a frame and lots of alfoil, this sculpture or landscape is over 900 sqm and is 6.5m high...check out the link and blurb from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Toyko.

Link: Via Dezeen

2008-08-14T12:28:00.003+10:00

Here are some quick ones...

Eco Ego
I easy flash game that tests your eco credits with options to the life of one little character...that looks like a person in an onion suit.
The game meters the onion dude/dudette's comfort and greeness for the duration of the game, and no I don't think you can kill it.

Link: Eco Ego @ 9mine

Future of suburbia
An article in the opinions section of the New York Times talking about suburbia and why do Americans like it so much...has a link to a few other articles and discussions about suburbia.

Link: New York Times

Beijing Streetscape
An interesting competition for the streetscape of Beijing. This is the winning entry by Site and WaHa Studio.

Link: Bustler

After Prefab
This website/blogspot has a special uncut version of a lecture by Bill Ferehawk. He talks about the psychology, technology, ecology and sociology of such prefab developments. He also branches out to critique other designs and how we design...interesting read.

Link: Elseplace

2008-08-12T16:07:00.002+10:00

Submissions due this Friday the 15th!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-08T10:03:00.001+10:00

Look, Murals on the Security Walls of Baghdad.

Link: Guardian.co.uk

2008-07-29T09:05:00.002+10:00

The Olympics In China, Is Green...Really.
You may have seen this already, but there are a lot of very elaborate hedge trimming happening in China.

Link via inhabitat.

2008-07-28T16:50:00.002+10:00

Mapping Nature With a Pen.
Originally I found this artist, Tim Knowles, from Inhabitat and their little blurb about Tim's work with trees creating drawings. He pretty much sticks some pens on some branches and puts a canvas/paper in front of it and let the tree do the work, but then I went to his webpage and there is a lot of very interesting works that he has done. In particular are the ones in which he used apparatus of some description, looks like a richter scale, to map a journey through the Alps, and also another one where he placed a pen in a homemade drawing box thing that would draw as it was posted from one place to another...have a look...

Link Tim Knowles
Link via Inhabitat

2008-07-25T16:48:00.000+10:00

Environmental Eyesores.

2008-07-25T09:32:00.002+10:00

It's a start to a sunny future.
So here we have a new development in Canada that is supposed to rely solely on solar power as its main source of power. Pretty nifty, and energy efficient ain't it? So all they need now is some bioretention, rainwater storage from the roof and solar panels, dedicated bike paths, porous paving...

Link via inhabitat
Link Drake Landing Solar Community

2008-07-24T09:35:00.002+10:00

Aila Fresh Going For Green.
A call out to all the professionals out there...Would you like to exhibit your projects? Is it leading edge sustainable design?

Submit 2 x A3 landscape pdfs with 100-200 word blurb to fresh.aila@gmail.com by August 15th.

2008-07-23T11:47:00.003+10:00

Please do not place rubbish in skip.
This is pretty cool, a guy in the UK called Oliver Bishop has made these temporary installations all over the place. He has appropriated skips in all kinds of fun and wacky ways...check out the link.

Via Dezeen
Find a skip

2008-07-23T09:52:00.003+10:00

PLEASE GREEN ME!
As part of our next event we will be having a competition for students...the above picture is to be 'greened' as in made pretty with unique and innovative sustainable ideas. Do it through collage, 3d modelling, stick figure men...whatever. Just have some fun!

Entries close August 15th, Entry to comprise of A3 Landscape PDF with 100-200 word blurb. Email entries to fresh.aila@gmail.com. Good Luck!

If you need a better photo...email.

2008-07-21T09:15:00.002+10:00

So who wants to do another street tree planting?
Well actually this looks like an interesting design competition, it's for a New York streetscape, 9th Street and 4th Avenue. Registration for entries has been extended to the end of this month, not too sure if we can enter but...keep an eye on this one.

Via 21stCenturyStreet

2008-07-21T08:49:00.002+10:00

What Happens When We Have Gone?
Nature is an uncontrollable beast, it is beyond the microlimates that we create, it is past the aesthetics that we desire. An exhibition at the New Museum in NY called 'After Nature' explores the future of a world where nature takes control. Since most of us are on this side of the world and can't afford a flight to New York before September the 21st...there is an online exhibition as well at the New Museum website.

Link via Inhabitat
Link NewMuseum.org

2008-07-17T09:43:00.002+10:00

Victoria The Place To Be.
For all those that don't really check out what is happening around the country...including me...the Victorian design festival officially started yesterday...so check out the official website for some up and coming events...There is a lot going on. Some quite big ones and then there are always the nice small ones tucked into small little laneways.

Link: State of Design

2008-07-16T11:06:00.002+10:00

Who Said They Hated Developers?
Bet you don't hate them as much as this guy...
He cut his head off with a chainsaw because his flat was earmarked for demolition...

Link Via Mail Online

2008-07-16T10:58:00.002+10:00

The sweeping curves and segmented pieces represent the...
Ya di ya di ya...This thing looks pretty cool and it was designed and constructed by students as part of the London Festival of Architecture...check it out...

Link: Via Dezeen

2008-07-15T08:36:00.002+10:00

Let's Go to Philly.Right Now.
You know Second-life? That program that you download and register, create your own avatar and then wonder around a virtual city, buying property, flirting with other online peoples...just general everyday life but you are sitting on a computer somewhere in the world.

Well GeoSimPHILLY is very close to that, and probably better, it's like Simcity with a real city. It's the same rules as above but you are interacting within a city modeled on a real city. There are tours and interactive things that reflect the real city. You can learn more about the planning of the city, see some sights that you missed on your last trip there and possibly even buy things that you forgot to get.

Link: GeoSimPHILLY

2008-07-11T08:54:00.002+10:00

Steel Trees holds up concrete canopy.
This aviary designed for a Swiss public park by Group8 uses thin steel structures to hold up an undulating concrete roof. Birds can perch on the steel frame using them as places of rest, and to gawk at passer bys.

Link via Dezeen

2008-07-10T10:36:00.002+10:00

Vertical Elements from Horizontal Elements.
In every landscape project there always has to be a vertical element...I don't know why, but there just has to be...people don't just walk around staring at the ground...So let me introduce you to Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey, artists that used grass as a photographic medium. They grew the grass in a dark room while projecting images onto the grass, creating an effect similar to photographic paper and chemicals used with good old film.

Link Via Inhabitat

2008-07-10T10:25:00.002+10:00

Bit behind on this one, but if you happen to be in London...
The London Festival of Architecture is an interesting one, with many talks and exhibitions around London showing the processes that created the city as we know it today. Now if only our design festival will become something as big as this...give it a few years...

Link: Official Site

2008-07-09T16:05:00.002+10:00

Vertical Walls and Patrick Blanc
Patrick Blanc is presenting for the Design Festival at BMW edge on July 18th, 6pm. For a small fee of $10, which could get you a Veal parma at The Riversdale on a Monday evening, you can watch the french scientist and artist talk about green walls and the applications of such technology.

Link: NDC website
Link: Patrick's Homepage

2008-07-09T15:52:00.002+10:00

7 New Natural Wonders of the World...and a Butterfly.
Click on the links to look at the pretty pictures and to find out more about the new natural wonders.

Link: New Scientist
Link: Guardian.co.uk

2008-06-13T14:50:00.003+10:00

The Billboard of Greenwalls
With all the talk about greenwalls and the possible applications of such walls, you would have never thunk that McDonalds would do something quite unique and interesting with such technology...

Link via Fast Food News

2008-06-13T11:19:00.003+10:00

Spot the Difference.
UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) has been documenting changes to the environment for some time now, and they have recently integrated aerial imagery of areas for comparison...from 1970-2000+. It's called "Atlas of Our Changing Environment".

Check it out...link.

2008-05-26T10:12:00.002+10:00

Lecture Tooosday!
Hanne Bruun from Dutch landscape architectural office SLA will be talking about their projects and approach as part of the RMIT Lecture Series...usual place usual drinks...

Swanston Street, Building 8 Level 11 Room 68, Drinks at 6pm, Lecture start at 6.30pm.

2008-05-26T10:07:00.002+10:00

Draining designs for gutters? Not this one! (enough of the bad puns already!)
This person has done something different to this edge treatment, enough of the boring black plastic or the iron grating...welcome a much prettier albeit possibly less efficient way of removing water...the 'Matrix', kind of a lame name but I didn't choose it, and frankly I can't think of a better name...yet...

Link via Yanko

2008-05-21T12:48:00.003+10:00

(photo: ArcSpace.com)

Skyscape. Since we're on the topic of the sky.
You may know light artist James Turrell, he likes to create pretty nice light projects, and this latest project is at Pomona College Museum of Art. It's interesting stuff...check it out.

Link via ArcSpace

2008-05-21T11:46:00.002+10:00

Sky Not Blue. Bureau of Statistic Wrong.
Taking it a bit further than necessary...BUT in The Age today there is an article on a crazy idea of pumping sulphur into the atmosphere to counteract global warming...thus eventually changing the hue of the sky. I imagine it to be a poo-ey green...yes the image is more a radioactive green, I'm not colourblind.

Link via The Age

2008-05-21T11:39:00.002+10:00

Sky is Blue. Australian Bureau of Statistics conclude.
Well actually they didn't say that, but they may have well said it. If you read the paper on 14th March The Age had an article reporting on the ABS study on agricultural use on water and the reported concluded that Rice was the most water intensive crop per hectare. But anyway...if you're interested in some water stats...

Link via The Age

2008-05-20T10:47:00.002+10:00

Spatial Implications by Maximisation
Imagine a picnic setting that takes up no space, or a bench that disappears into the ground.

Well someone has done it...Sandy Lam has created a picnic table and seat that is recessed into a decking, camouflaging it when not in use but just as easy to pull it up and relax. It's almost like those hidden trapdoors and secret chambers holding archaeological jewels.

Link via Yanko Design

2008-05-19T16:39:00.004+10:00

Interactive Windows, Plays Pong.
Shops will do anything to try get you inside and purchase their wares, from annoying scrolling LED signs to 42" Plasma tvs...well here's another one to top it all off, from what I can deduce from the google translation, the Centre for Advanced Visualisation and Imagery at the University of Aarhus have developed a window based on electrochromatic glass that essentially changes opacity depending on the position of a viewer. They have also integrated the ability for it to animate and entertain...

Link via Engadget
Link via Comon (google translated)

2008-05-19T11:20:00.002+10:00

Some Pretty Wacky Stuff...Milan Design Week 2008
Take a look at some of the stuff that they are doing overseas...in particular the interni: Green energy design.

Via Mocoloco
Images Collection Via Designboom