North America « World Landscape Architecture – landscape architecture webzine

STUDENT PROJECT | Natural Water as Cultural Water | Zhicheng Xu

Time, space and culture have tremendous impacts on landscape. The power of them is so impressive that people would be amazed by things they can do to nature. In the meantime, it raises the question, in the field of contemporary landscape architecture, what is the balancing point between culture and nature? What gives a place its identity? How can we provide programs that fulfil pubic desires with minimum disturbance to existing natural system?
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University of Pennsylvania celebrates 100 years of landscape architecture

The University of Pennyslvania celebrated 100 years of its landscape architecture program with a gathering of past alumni and friends in Boston last Friday night. The celebration not only looked to the past but providing a look into the future. The display included a graphic timeline that began with the current landscape program and then reached back into the past when the program begun. Continue reading University of Pennsylvania celebrates 100 years of landscape architecture

YMCA Sand Beach Park | Austin USA | dwg. urban landscape architecture

YMCA 8

Austin has seen dramatic growth and change within its central core. Urban developing stresses continue to press against the network of preserved parkland and water systems. Compounding this, city parks are experiencing over-popularity on decreased operating and maintenance budgets, creating crisis situations for parkland. Sand Beach Park addresses these issues and re-imagines a new benchmark for sustainable planning, design, operations and funding of urban parks.

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Native Child and Family Services of Toronto Roof Garden | Toronto Canada | Scott Torrance Landscape Architect

The project converted a 1980s office building into a centre offering social and cultural support services for the aboriginal community in downtown Toronto. A green roof was conceived as cultural and ceremonial grounds to charge unused space with vitality; to provide urban aboriginals with access to nature, rituals and customs; and to crown the building with greenery and the sounds of drumming and song to project a healthy aboriginal presence to the city.

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LANDinc in partnership with West 8 selected for Ontario Place

Ontario Place | Image Credit – Flickr User Danielle Scott

Back in September, WLA published the RFP for Ontario Place “seeking landscape architects with the expertise and capacity to design an urban park and waterfront trail along the east island of Ontario Place. Infrastructure Ontario, on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and the Ministry of Infrastructure”. Today, it was announced that LANDinc and West 8, working in partnership, have been chosen as the successful firm to design the new urban park and waterfront trail at Ontario Place.

Once complete, the new urban park and waterfront trail will link to the existing 780 kilometre waterfront trail system — stretching from Niagara-on-the-Lake to east of Cornwall. It will also give residents and visitors access to part of the waterfront that has been closed to the public for more than 40 years.

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