Main Street Square | Rapid City USA | Rundell Ernstberger Associates

Main Street Square | Rapid City USA | Rundell Ernstberger Associates

Image Credit | Robert Specht

Main Street Square is a vibrant year-round destination for outdoor concerts, festivals, and markets located at the corner of 6th and Main Streets in downtown Rapid City, South Dakota. Formerly a one-acre impervious asphalt parking lot, this professionally-managed urban plaza showcases, through art, the natural and cultural history of the Black Hills region. The heavily programmed square fulfills a critical function as an outdoor gathering place, which the city previously lacked, and provides an activity, event and entertainment venue for local residents as well as the four million tourists who travel through the region annually.
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Albion Place | Sydney Australia | McGregor Coxall

Image Credit | McGregor Coxall

Building upon the existing vibrancy of Sydney’s southern entertainment precinct Albion Place has been regenerated through the installation of finely detailed stainless steel seating terraces fronting the heritage brick facades of adjacent offices, galleries and restaurants. Planter boxes integrated with the seating terraces break down the longitudinal space of the lane providing well proportioned separated dining places alongside the cinema wall.
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Sydney’s newest master planned suburb

The Ponds is the newest 320 hectare development in Sydney master planned by CLOUSTON.  Touted as ‘A showcase for sustainable living’ with Community Facilities, Water Sustainable Urban Design, Open Spaces, Built form guidelines for housing that has features that is flexible and can accommodate young families, older residents and/or those with mobility impairment.

The landscape is an important part of development – Justine Kinch from Clouston Associates said: “The design intent was to maintain consistency across the entire parklands project with unique elements strategically placed to create a sense of place and assist with orientation.

Read more at Architecture & Design and Landcom

Interview with Benjamin H Bratton by The Guardian

The Guardian has published an Interview with Benjamin H Bratton, director of the Center for Design and Geopolitics, Calit2 and University of California, San Diego as part of their Activate New York event to be held in late April. Bratton gives interesting insights into design, technology and urbanism including

……..Only if we assume that architects and designers are responsible for the architecture and design of cities. They are and they aren’t. Cities as almost living things unto themselves, which we can certainly effect in particular ways, but which evolve according patterns in migratory networks, logistical networks, financial networks, informational networks, and so on.

Read the full interview at The Guardian: Interview with Benjamin H Bratton

Kaid Benfield @ the Atlantic: What Does a ‘Sustainable Community’ Actually Look Like?

Kaid Benfield recently wrote What Does a ‘Sustainable Community’ Actually Look Like? for the  Atlantic. Benfield uses a narrative to create Sustainaville - a sustainable community. He goes on to ‘journey’ into downtown Sustainaville and along the way gives examples of what creates a sustainable community. Although he brushes lightly on each aspect of a sustainable and admits at the end that there is more than what he has described its an interesting way of educating about ‘What Does a ‘Sustainable Community’ Actually Look Like?”

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