Landezine is calling all offices practicing landscape architecture to submit entries for the third edition of LILA – Landezine International Landscape Award by March 31st, 2018. This year, we have 4 categories and 7 awards.
Urban Planning: The Latest Architecture and News
This Medieval Town is Built Inside a Crater and Composed of Millions of Diamonds
From the greystone of Montreal to the limestone of Jerusalem, every city has its own iconic identity read through the city’s urban fabric. Scanning the architecture of the 1,110-year-old German town of Nördlingen, the timber frame homes, red pitched roofs, and winding streets appear identical in almost every regard to many quaint medieval communities populating the European countryside.
While the town’s appearance in the 1971 classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory may seem like its most notable claim, there is something entirely unique about the architecture of this south German locale. Nördlingen is literally made of diamonds—millions of microscopic diamonds to be exact—with the town itself constructed within an ancient impact crater.
https://www.archdaily.com/889130/this-medieval-town-is-built-inside-a-crater-and-composed-of-millions-of-diamondsEvan Pavka
20 Finalists Announced in International Housing Competition for Russia
20 finalists have been announced for the Open International Competition for Standard Housing in Russia. With the plan to provide 30 million Russian residents with new homes by 2025, the competition aims to discover new innovative solutions to improve residential design and planning for the new developments. The competition was organized by the Government of Russian Federation, the National Institute for Housing Development Foundation, and the Russian Ministry of Construction working together to create a new standard for affordable housing.
https://www.archdaily.com/888576/20-finalists-announced-in-international-housing-competition-for-russiaYiling Shen
Sharing the City: 5 Takes on How We Should Create and Use Public Space
On December 1st 2017, reSITE invited a handful of intellectuals to Berlin for the My City / Your City salon held in partnership with Airbnb, spending a day and night with them brainstorming about public space, sharing, and inclusiveness. To close the event, we served them a cocktail of simple questions that were not always easy to answer.
In the following text, artist Charlie Koolhaas, the architect and founding partner of Topotek 1 Martin Rein-Cano, the curator and writer Lukas Feireiss, the curator and architect Anna Scheuermann, and the professor Ivan Kucina, share their various opinions on issues ranging from how best to create public space to their thoughts on the very principle of sharing.
https://www.archdaily.com/887157/sharing-the-city-5-takes-on-how-we-should-create-and-use-public-spaceMartin Barry with the contribution of Radka Ondrackova
Playful Animation Tells the Story of Humankind’s Quest for a Perfect City
Cities are universes in themselves; furiously spawning, spewing, hissing through time and space. They are cudgeled, raked, plastered, worshipped, fought over, set on fire; they are slippery wombs that cradle wars, victories, blood and brilliant storms. The built environment has always been indicative of its inhabitants’ fears, desires, and ideals. As such, it is one of the earliest, most powerful forms of human expression. For World Cities Day 2017, the new BBC Designed section of the BBC Culture website commissioned motion graphics designer Al Boardman to create The Perfect City, an animated video covering a brief history of humankind’s quest for the "ideal" and the "perfect" in urban design. With a voiceover and script by renowned architecture critic and writer Jonathan Glancey, the video is a remarkable 2-minute overview of some prominent examples in city planning, both old and new, successful and unsuccessful.
https://www.archdaily.com/882688/playful-animation-tells-the-story-of-humankinds-quest-for-a-perfect-cityZoya Gul Hasan
New, Innovation-Driven, "Smart City" Will be Built Just South of Boston
“Smart cities” are the latest urban phenomenon popping up across the globe. Among the newest being realized will be Union Point, a masterplan with a commitment to innovation located just south of Boston, USA.
What is a “smart city?” It is a city in which embeds multiple data collection technologies within the city in hopes of providing a supportive and competitive advantage to the city’s residents and business. Officials then use this data to make their cities safer, healthier, and more efficient. Cities are not geniuses quite yet, but the “smart city” is rethinking the way cities are run.
https://www.archdaily.com/883426/new-innovation-driven-smart-city-will-be-built-just-south-of-bostonAlya Abourezk
Bill Gates Purchases 25,000 Acres of Land for Smart City in Arizona
An investment firm run by Microsoft founder Bill Gates has paid $80 million for 25,000 acres of Arizona desert to serve as the site of a new “smart city.” To be known as Belmont, the city will be made up of 80,000 residences, as well offices, retail spaces and civic amenities such as schools and police stations. The city will serve as a test ground for the latest in logistical and infrastructural technologies.
https://www.archdaily.com/883693/bill-gates-purchases-25000-acres-of-land-for-smart-city-in-arizonaPatrick Lynch
World Urbanism Day: A Selection of Texts About Cities and Urban Planning
Today, November 8, we celebrate World Urbanism Day. Created in 1949 by Carlos Maria della Paolera, a professor at the University of Buenos Aires, the day was meant to increase professional and public interest in planning, both locally and internationally. Paolera is also responsible for designing the symbol of World Urbanism Day, representing the trilogy of natural elements essential to life: the sun (in yellow), vegetation (in green) and air (in blue), referring to the balance between the natural environment and humans. Currently, the event is celebrated in thirty countries on four continents.
https://www.archdaily.com/883285/world-urbanism-day-a-selection-of-texts-about-cities-and-urban-planningEduardo Souza
Reimagine the New York State Canal System
The New York Power Authority and the New York State Canal Corporation launched a competition seeking ideas to shape the future of the New York State Canal System, a 524-mile network composed of the Erie Canal, the Oswego Canal, the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, and the Champlain Canal. Selected ideas will be awarded a total of $2.5 million toward their implementation.
https://www.archdaily.com/881475/reimagine-the-canalsRene Submissions
Jan Gehl: “In The Last 50 Years, Architects Have Forgotten What a Good Human Scale Is”
This interview was initially published in Spanish by City Manager as “Jan Gehl, ciudades para la gente.”
Jah Gehl is recognized as a follower of Jane Jacobs, the “grandmother” of urbanism and humanist planning. He has been a professor at the Danish Real Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and visiting professor in Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Mexico, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Poland, and Norway. In 2000, he created his own consultancy along with Helle Søholt, Gehl Architects, in Denmark, where he completed diverse urban projects from around the world using data and strategic analysis.
The below text comes from an interview with the Danish architect, theorist and world leader in urban development, and promoter, following Jane Jacobs, of the human scale in the design of public spaces.
https://www.archdaily.com/877602/jan-gehl-in-the-last-50-years-architects-have-forgotten-what-a-good-human-scale-isRodrigo Alonso
Warsaw Selects WXCA as Winner for Riverfront Masterplan
In Warsaw, Poland architecture firm WXCA wins the masterplan proposal for a stretch of riverfront along the Vistula River. The Vistula River Boulevards are among the most frequented public spaces in the city, and gaining popularity as entertainment and cultural offerings become available. WXCA’s winning design for Kahla Square aims to resolve the disconnect between the river banks and to provide amenities to support waterfront activities.
https://www.archdaily.com/882063/warsaw-selects-wxca-as-winner-for-riverfront-masterplanSamantha Buckley
Against All Odds, Photos Show Qatar's Determination to Construct World-Class City
The history of the Qatar Peninsula—or Catara, as first labeled on an ancient map drawn by the Greco-Roman polymath Claudius Ptolemaeus—dates back to the Paleolithic Age. By the 1930s, the tiny Gulf state was struggling to maintain its position as the center of the pearl trade, but soon after, in the 1940s, it found itself at the forefront of economic growth and progress after the discovery of its vast oil reserves. Today, Qatar is the world’s richest country per capita; its capital Doha an ever-growing crop of shiny high-rises, with occasional buildings by the world's most sought-after architects thrown in for effect, its skyline flecked with tireless cranes, and its suburbs strewn with bulldozers, machinery, and endless mounds of displaced sand.
Seen in these photographs by Manuel Alvarez Diestro is a record of the country's impatient race towards an extravagant desert dream—but perhaps it can also be read as a subtle nod towards Qatar’s sheer determination to forge ahead, despite being steeped in controversies and crises during recent years.
https://www.archdaily.com/881561/against-all-odds-photos-show-qatar-determination-construct-world-class-cityZoya Gul Hasan
2018 Better Philadelphia Challenge: The Next Parkway
The 2018 Better Philadelphia Challenge | $5,000 First Prize
This international urban design competition for university students is now open for registration. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Philadelphia's iconic Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Center / Architecture + Design seeks creative concepts for what a new 'Parkway' could be in a dense and developed 21st-century city, connecting neighborhoods with nearby natural and cultural resources.
https://www.archdaily.com/878256/2018-better-philadelphia-challenge-the-next-parkwayRene Submissions
Rereading Jane Jacobs: 10 Lessons for the 21st Century from "The Death and Life of Great American Cities"
This article was originally published by Common Edge as "10 Lessons Learned by Rereading Jane Jacobs."
Last week I was in the middle of packing and came across a well-thumbed copy of The Death and Life of Great American Cities. I don’t remember when I read the book, but it was way more than twenty years ago (and predates my professional involvement with cities). As a very belated tribute to the anniversary of her 100th birthday, I decided to dip back into that remarkable book. Here’s ten takeaways from the godmother of the American city.
https://www.archdaily.com/878317/rereading-jane-jacobs-10-lessons-for-the-21st-century-from-the-death-and-life-of-great-american-citiesMartin Pedersen
7 Annual Competitions Every Architecture Student Should Try at Least Once
When you’re used to the grind of architecture school, breaks can hit you like rain on a warm day—cool at first, but terribly annoying soon enough. While the first few days breeze past as you catch-up on lost sleep and binge-watch Game of Thrones, you realize before long that you’re going insane with nothing to absorb all your new-found energy.
This is where architectural competitions come in handy. They provide a constructive outlet while being deeply engrossing, thus keeping you from hopelessly refreshing Youtube to see if Buzzfeed uploaded a new video. Also, the fact that you’re no longer constrained by the direction of your studio-leader or school program enables you to experiment creatively. With diverse international competitions running at any given time, you can take your pick, depending on your individual interests and the amount of time you want to devote. However, the sheer number of available competitions can be deeply confusing as well. Here we shortlist seven of the most prestigious annual architectural competitions open to students:
https://www.archdaily.com/877018/7-annual-competitions-every-architecture-student-should-try-at-least-onceSuneet Zishan Langar