Category Archives: Landscape

Amsterdam Sugar Warehouse

Not that original sugar warehouses are a dime a dozen, but this open plan space might be easy to replicate given a few splurges. The owners of this particular loft have used beige (or natural?) linen curtains throughout to separate areas and, surprisingly, it seems to work well with the original beams and floors. Curtains can look a little fussy at times, but given that the fabric and color is consistent in this case, they look functional and appropriate to the decor.
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Hanging Bamboo Gardens Make Beautiful Biofilters

If you were at West Coast Green this past weekend you would have surely noticed the elegant bamboo structures along the waterfront surrounded by beautiful native landscaping. What you may not have realized unless you looked closely is that the structure was actually supporting hanging gardens of marsh grass and was a way of preventing and remediating pollution from water runoff. A collaboration of The Natural Builders , Design Ecology , Floating Islands and Bertotti Landscaping , the installation was the talk of the trade show and highlight for us at Inhabitat. Read the rest of Hanging Bamboo Gardens Make Beautiful Biofilters Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: bamboo sculpture , Bertotti Landscaping , Bioremediation , Design Ecology , Floating Islands International , storm water , The Natural Builder , waste water treatment , west coast green
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Floating Green: A Grassy Bench

A lush lawn can be a wonderful thing to stretch out on. Unfortunately, the high-maintenance needs , which include frequent seeding and fertilizing, of grass can make it more of a pain than a joy, leaving would-be loungers disappointed. Fortunately, grassy seating can put back some of the fun. The idea of creating seating out of grass is no new concept, as you may find with the lawnge chairs or living lawn chaise
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West Loop Park Infuses Chicago With Green Urban Space

As the construction process for Hudson Yards drags on in New York, we’re glad to see green urban design is alive and well in Chicago. The windy city is no stranger to sustainable building , and this urban park, located on the fringe of the city’s downtown, will certainly give Chicago even more green cred . Perkins + Will , the architects behind the design, developed the park to create more open space for the city, but the greenway also proves to be a pedestrian-friendly gateway that connects the existing downtown to any future development across the Kennedy Expressway . Read the rest of West Loop Park Infuses Chicago With Green Urban Space Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: chicago city planning , Landscape Architecture , sustainable urban planning , Urban design , urban expansion , urban park , urban planning , urban restoration , urban revitalization
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The Brooks Ave House: A Californian Study in Green

Vancouver-based architecture firm Bricault Design ’s vegetation-clad house in Venice, California is a sexy study in green. The mod abode incorporates sustainable design in a new residential addition that features a lush living wall on three sides of the house and a breezy roof garden perfect for relaxing in the sun. Read on to see the other eco-conscious touches that make other homes green with envy. Read the rest of The Brooks Ave House: A Californian Study in Green Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: Bricault Design , Brooks Avenue House , California , canada , green additions , green finishes and fixtures , green roofs , Living Walls , Los Angeles , Marc Bricault , sustainable design , Venice
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Telok Blangah Hill Park’s Flying Infrastructure in the Sky

If you enjoyed our coverage of New York City’s High Line raised park , we think Telok Blangah Hill Park ’s dizzying infrastructure will “elevate” you to an ever higher level. Located in Singapore, the park’s fly-over style “walkways” are reminiscent of those ancient rope bridges you see suspended over caverns in movies, giving you the very rare experience of viewing towering treetops from a monkey’s perspective. The pathways and suspension bridges are anything but rickety though. In fact, many of them are elegant works of art and architectural precision. But at 120 feet above the forest floor at their highest points, they aren’t for the faint of heart! Read the rest of Telok Blangah Hill Park’s Flying Infrastructure in the Sky Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: elevated parks , elevated pathways , flying architecture , green spaces , high line , hsbc tree top walk , raised parks , Singapore , suspensions bridges , Telok Blangah Hill Park , Urban design
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Making Public Places: Forum on Placemaking in Cities

On Monday, July 13, 2009, Diana Balmori and her NYC-based landscape and urban design firm hosted a forum that was part-academic discussion, part-social media experiment. The forum, called Making Public Places , was hosted in the Meatpacking District (MPD) while it streamed live online via Twitter and Ustream . The design firm was joined by 40 landscape architecture and urban design students from the Netherlands. Photos and tweets were updated throughout the event and yours truly was there to see it in action and provide you with highlights. But for more in-depth information, you can check out Balmori Associates ‘ recently launched blog focused on public places .
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The Swimming City: A Water World for Future Generations

Much like a floating Club Med, “ The Swimming City ” by Andras Gyorfi could be the perfect solution for ocean-bound adventure seekers. As most of us have daydreamed about abandoning our complex land-ridden existence for the simple life at sea, Gyorfi – the winner of Seastead’s first design contest – has brought this idea to new heights. His design is playfully inviting, with many recreational facilities including a large swimming pool, outdoor amphitheater, helicopter landing pad, and shaded marina. Read the rest of The Swimming City: A Water World for Future Generations Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: Andras Gyorfi , floating city , future architecture , Recreational resort , Seasteading Institute , swimming city
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US Government May Bulldoze 50 Cities; Create More Green Space

It seems virtually everyone—from Wall Street bankers to small business owners—has been affected by the economic downturn. Now, the recession’s latest victims may be American cities. The Obama administration is reportedly considering plans to raze sections of 50 economically depressed US cities, condensing these towns’ shrinking populations and city services to smaller areas. The plan, dubbed “ shrink to survive ,” may seem kooky, but it could be big news for environmentalists: In many cases, bulldozed districts would be returned to nature via forests or meadows.
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Holey Concrete: Pervious Paving Reduces Stormwater Run-off

Let’s be clear – paving a surface does not reduce storm water run-off, but if you must create a street, parking lot, driveway, or any other form of this detriment, an apples-to-apples comparison between pervious concrete and asphalt paving will show many exciting benefits from this innovative form of paving. First of all, those little air pockets mean less material overall, and with the cost of oil as unstable as the resource itself, petroleum-based asphalt is no longer the cheapest form of paving. For the first time in history, the cost of concrete and asphalt have reached comparable dollar values. Add in the cost of additional storm water management devices – grids of piping directed towards drains and retention ponds, and suddenly permeable concrete starts making a lot more sense
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