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Urban Ecology Reading List – Updated
Note: This was originally published in late June, with a plan to include specific books that discussed the science of urban ecology. I’ve added a few titles in this realm to the original post on 7/7 and organized them alphabetically with a summary at the beginning. The literature of the somewhat youthful discipline of urban…
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International Urban Wildlife Conference
In early June I was in San Diego for the 2017 International Urban Wildlife Conference. This was my first time at this particular conference, and it was fascinating to experience the breadth of ideas, and the urban focus on wildlife. It’s something that we as designers care about, but struggle with implementation that truly…
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Seeing Nature
A recent exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum compiles a range of works from the Paul G. Allen Family Collection. From the program on the site: “Seeing Nature features 39 historically significant European and American landscape paintings from the past 400 years. These diverse works offer a unique opportunity for visitors to see the natural…
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John Yeon: Modern Architecture and Conservation in the Pacific Northwest
Those not hailing from the Pacific Northwest may be less familiar with John Yeon, one of the influential figures in architecture and conservation and the development of a unique brand of regional modernism. If you don’t know Yeon, or you want to learn more, you will be pleasantly satisfied with the recent volume from Oro…
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Be Like a Tree
Quick snapshot of an interesting immersive technology project Tree from MIT Media Lab, which blends technology and nature to provide a unique experience: “Tree is a virtual experience that transforms you into a rainforest tree. With your arms as branches and body as the trunk, you experience the tree’s growth from a seedling into its…
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Introducing Hidden Hydrology
Regular readers of the blog know of my long-time passions of both Vegitecture and Hidden Hydrology, which both dovetail nicely into the larger themes of Landscape+Urbanism. While the L+U blog has been relatively intermittent, I’ve been hard at work developing a new website and blog for the Hidden Hydrology project. The goal is to culminate…
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LA+ Simulation
The latest issue of LA+ Journal, focuses on the theme of SIMULATION. This edition, guest edited by Karen M’Closkey and Keith VanDerSys. includes “…a diverse list of contributors critically investigates the theme through a myriad of lenses including biology, computer sciences, engineering, environmental science, industrial design, philosophy, planning, among other fields.” The summary from the…
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Map Landscapes by Matthew Rangel
These are some amazing illustrations from Artist Matthew Rangel, that remind me both of old school map/diagrams from the 1800s, and the Taking Measures James Corner’s Map Landscapes. While much of the graphic conventions seem to hover around exploded axonometrics and collage photoshop, the ability of these sketchy images to depict landscapes in map and…
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Snoqualmie Ice Circle
It’s been unseasonably cold this winter (in Pacific Northwest terms at least), and while my friends to the south in Portland dig out of their recent snowstorm, locally, there are some benefits, such as the amazing phenomenon of ice circles. Captured by local photographer Kaylyn Messer, from North Bend, Washington,this one is a short distance…
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Fantasy Island
Excited to see the announcement of a new global design ideas competition from LA+ Journal, entitled Imagination. “Paradisiacal, utopian, dystopian, heterotopian – islands hold an especially enigmatic and beguiling place in our geographical imagination. Existing in juxtaposition to what’s around them, islands are figures of otherness and difference. Differentiated from their contexts and as much…