The International Biennial of Landscape Architecture is an international event, that takes place every two years in Barcelona, gathering architects, professionals, students and professors from all over the world.
Landscape Architecture: The Latest Architecture and News
Roberto Burle Marx: A Master of Much More than Just Modernist Landscape
This article was originally published by Metropolis Magazine as "Green Thumb."
At any given moment when walking through Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist at the Jewish Museum in New York, one may hear a soft rushing of waves, mixed with the murmur of an open-air crowd. A narration in Portuguese, both spoken and sung, will drift breezily in and out. This is the soundscape of Plages, a 2001 video by artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster. Shot from an aerial perspective above Copacabana Beach, the film shows the popular Rio de Janeiro waterfront not in its usual sunlit splendor but in the artificially lit nocturne of New Year’s Eve 2000. Celebrators teem in the space between city and ocean, in the moment between one year and the next, moving in dynamic patterns amid the immense designs laid out by Roberto Burle Marx.
.jpg?1470233009 "An untitled work in collage, made in 1967, illustrates Burle Marx’s diverse artistic pursuits. Image Courtesy of Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, Rio de Janeiro")
https://www.archdaily.com/792639/roberto-burle-marx-a-master-of-much-more-than-just-modernist-landscapeKelly Chan
NYC Lowline Receives First Official City Approval
Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen and NYCEDC President Maria Torres-Springer have announced New York City’s first official approval of the Lowline project in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. As the first major step in making the project a reality, the approval will help to create the world’s first underground park, a community-oriented public and cultural space that will become both a local resource and an attraction for worldwide visitors.
Although the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) did express interest in the space last fall, the Lowline team was awarded conditional use due its high community potential.
https://www.archdaily.com/791658/nyc-lowline-receives-first-official-city-approvalSabrina Santos
"The Hills" by West 8 Set to Open on Governors Island
The latest stage of the Governors Island Park project, “The Hills,” is set to officially open to the public on this Tuesday July 19th – nearly a year ahead of schedule. Designed by internationally acclaimed urban design and landscape firm West 8, the park will feature ten acres of sloping landscapes that will provide residents and visitors with slides, art and unparalleled views of the New York Harbor.
https://www.archdaily.com/791454/the-hills-by-west-8-set-to-open-on-governors-islandPatrick Lynch
Inside Las Pozas, Edward James' Surrealist Garden in the Mexican Jungle
Edward James, one of the most eccentric and interesting twentieth-century collectors of surrealist art, arrived in Xilitla, Mexico at the end of the 1940's. The British writer was captivated by the splendor of the landscape of "Las Pozas" (The Wells), where he created a fantastic home, which includes a unique sculptural space unlike any other in the world.
Surrealism, whose sources of creation are found in dreams and the subconscious, in theory, could never be used to build things in real life. Edward James - described by Salvador Dalí as "crazier than all the Surrealists together" - designed a sculpture garden that defies any architectural label and allows a glimpse of something new, moving between fantasy and reality.
Columns with capitals that look like giant flowers, gothic arches, dramatic gates, pavilions with undetermined levels and spiral staircases that end abruptly in mid-air, as if they were an invitation to the horizon. In short, Edward James made concrete flourish along the lush flora and fauna of Xilitla, making surrealist architecture possible.
Learn more below.
https://www.archdaily.com/790389/inside-las-pozas-edward-james-surrealist-garden-in-the-mexican-jungleVictor Delaqua
Masterplan by SLA and Ramboll Aims to Alleviate Flooding in Copenhagen
Planning and landscape firm SLA Architects and engineering office Ramboll have won an international competition to redesign Hans Tavsens Park and its surrounding area in the central Copenhagen borough of Nørrebro. The competition tasked architects with envisioning a park and streetscape that would benefit the hydrological, biological and social ecosystems of the neighborhood. The winning proposal, titled The Soul of Nørrebro, tackles the challenge by creating a system of drainage areas and an adaptable park designed to redirect runoff and contain and purify water during flood conditions.
https://www.archdaily.com/790331/masterplan-by-sla-and-saunders-aims-to-alleviate-flooding-in-copenhagenPatrick Lynch
OMA, MLA, and IDEO Selected to Design New Park for Downtown Los Angeles
The City of Los Angeles has selected landscape architects Mia Lehrer + Associates (MLA) with partners OMA and IDEO to design a new public park at First and Broadway in downtown LA. Located across from Los Angeles City Hall, the new development, to be known as “FAB Park,” will connect into the existing Grand Park, turning the area into one of the city’s most important civic spaces.
https://www.archdaily.com/789161/oma-mla-and-ideo-selected-to-design-new-park-for-downtown-los-angelesPatrick Lynch
Are Tree-Covered Skyscrapers Really All They Set Out to Be?
Are tree covered buildings really in tune with ecological and sustainable principles, or are they just a form of greenwashing? This is the question posed by Kurt Kohlstedt in his essay, Renderings vs. Reality: The Improbable Rise of Tree-Covered Skyscrapers, for 99% Invisible. The author notes that vegetated designs come about for myriad reasons – the appearance of sustainability, better air and views, investment intrigue – but that most of these concepts will never leave the realm of paper or virtual architecture. For as many reasons that these buildings have become popular, there are detractors for why they simply cannot be built, including daunting construction hurdles (extra concrete and steel), vast irrigation systems, added wind load complexities, and the trees themselves having difficulty adapting to their vertiginous conditions.
https://www.archdaily.com/788584/are-tree-covered-skyscrapers-really-all-they-set-out-to-beVladimir Gintoff
Charles Renfro Discusses DS+R's Winning Proposal for Zaryadye Park in Moscow
At last year's Moscow Urban Forum, Charles Renfro discussed Diller Scofidio + Renfro's design for Zaryadye Park in Moscow. Located in the heart of the city, the park employs Wild Urbanist principles, which seek to emulate Russia's diverse landscapes – tundra, steppe, forest, and wetland – against a backdrop of architectural landmarks that includes the Kremlin, Red Square, and St. Basil’s Cathedral.
https://www.archdaily.com/785913/charles-renfro-discusses-ds-plus-rs-winning-proposal-for-zaryadye-park-in-moscowVladimir Gintoff