Landscape+Urbanism

Category: sustainability

  • Daily Drawdown 1: Lessons for Landscape Architects

    As you delve into the various publications related to climate change, you find it runs the gamut from impenetrable to porous. I personally find much of design writing on the subject a bit toothless, and as far as scientific writings, the NCA4 pretty readable and compelling, whereas the IPCC reports require a bit of a…

  • Climate in Oregon

    The scientists at the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute (OCCRI) issued some state-specific information that augments other national climate reports. Their Fourth Oregon Climate Assessment Report was issued at the end of January 2019, focusing specifically on the “state of knowledge of climate science as it pertains to Oregon” The concise report outlines key issues…

  • It’s kind of a big deal

    Yeah, I mean that deal – the Green New Deal, put forth today by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (aka AOC), the newly elected Democrat from New York, and Ed Markey, Democratic Senator from Massachusettes. And yes, it was the big news of the day. There’s plenty of coverage about it, and lots of stories and opinions…

  • Climate Change & Landscape Architecture

    Following up on the foundations of climate change, I want to dive into the specific context of landscape architecture, and lay some foundations on applicability to the profession. For these initial posts I am aiming for breadth and summation rather than detail at this point, to sketch out a broader research agenda, map out where…

  • The Shape of Water

    An amazing resource posted on ASLA’s The Dirt (here) focuses on Design Guidelines for Urban Wetlands, specifically what shapes are optimal for performance. Using simulations and physical testing to investigate hydraulic performance the team from the Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU) at MIT.  Led by Heidi Nepf, Alan Berger and Celina Balderas Guzman along with a team…

  • Living Nature

    I seem to be attracted to compelling pavilion installations this month, as this interesting proposal (via  Archinect)for a project ‘Living Nature’ by Carlo Ratti Associati definitely caught my eye with it’s interesting take on climate and seasons. A short description from the CRA site: “International design and innovation office CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati has unveiled “Living Nature. La Natura…

  • Plants as Plants

    One of my favorite desk elements for years was a simple Lego tree, a plastic deciduous nondescript, species neutral, tree form.  Now, in a modern twist, those plants are actually made of plants.  See video below:

  • Connecting Green

    Although not a new idea, the concept of connected green roofs that emerge from the ground on to structure is a persist, compelling idea, essentially blending building and site and maximizing green space, habitat, and square footage through layering of uses. A trio of projects show the variations on that theme.  First, via Designboom, the…

  • Resilience Matters

    Fans of Island Press (myself included) know of that, beyond their publication of a great diversity of books, the non-profit has a mission, to “provide the best ideas and information to those seeking to understand and protect the environment and create solutions to its complex problems”.  In this regard, beyond publication around these themes, they have…

  • Ecologists on Urban Ecology

    A great roundtable going on right now from The Nature of Cites asking ecologists “What is one thing every ecologist should know about urban ecology?”  Consisting of a range of voices from all over the globe, the conversation discusses the larger contributions of ecology, as well as some of the challenges, as mentioned by David Maddox in…