By: Desi Isaacson May 10, 2020

Course routing is the architecture behind your Sunday stroll.

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As you wander through a golf course, its easy to forget about the importance of routing. Routing is the layout of (and connection between) golf holes on a property. Its a lot like a puzzle, and its up to the architect to find the best way to arrange the pieces.

A great golf course tells a story. The round has peaks and valleys, easier and harder holes. The routing is the basis for all of itthe bones of a course. Without good routing, a course is likely doomed. Its hard to make a great course out of a poor routing.

Of course, these decisions depend on the landscape and on the intentions of the owner or architect. If theres an interesting spot on the property, you might see three or four different holes end up using that same landscape, or circling back to it. The best courses have routing strategies that encourage variation. They take attention-grabbing twists and turns.

Golf course architect Bill Coore says a well-routed course should feel like a Sunday stroll. How would you walk around the property if there wasnt a golf course there? You would likely be drawn to dramatic points on the property, odd land shapes or high points with beautiful views. The sense of the property is the first step in finding a routing that feels natural.

The importance of routing becomes much more obvious when walking a course. One important element is the distance from one green to the next holes tee box. In the Golden Age of golf course architecture, it was imperative to avoid long walks between holes. At classic Raynor, Mackenzie, or Ross courses, the next tee is often only steps away from the green youre exiting. Another factor that has made routing more difficult is how far the ball travels. Older courses are now forced to add tee boxes further back than was imagined when they were originally built. A sign of great routing is rarely having to walk back to a tee box. The entire routing process is aided by the use of topographical maps, which show different land formations and allow architects to see the entire property at once.

A vital aspect of course routing is making sure holes dont all play in the same direction. Courses that have several holes playing in the exact same direction simplify the round, making it less of a challenge. One great strategy for this is the triangulation of holes. When three holes form a triangle, it means that the wind will affect each hole differently. Some of the worlds best courses use this method, including William Flynns Shinnecock Hills.

Most golf courses start with a clubhouse or central point that the first hole leaves from and the last hole to returns to. Many courses want smaller loops of holes that return to the beginning in case players dont have time for all 18 holes.

An architect must also consider what type of golf course he is building. For a public course, traffic, walks and holes need to be far enough apart to keep people safe. The holes also need to be designed so there wont be large buildups of groups waiting to play.

For years, golf courses strove to build toward a traditional par-72 design. But now, architects are given the leeway to build what the land gives them, regardless of par or other standards. Some owners or architects dont want their course to have oddities like consecutive par-3s, while others are willing to break these conventions in the name of great and creative golf.

There are also some practical concerns that must be considered in the routing process, like drainage. Technology has made drainage easier to tackle, but the best courses are designed to drain a lot of water naturally.

At the end of the day, good routing is all about variety, in every sense of the word. The course should ask the player to answer many different questions. Can you hit every club in your bag? Can you play with the wind behind you, or with a crosswind? As long as every hole asks new and exciting questions, the routing is a success.

The puzzle pieces dont always come together perfectly. Sometimes an architect has to make sacrifices for the greater good of a course. Walking the land before beginning the routing is another important step in the process because it gives the architect an idea of what landforms he has to work with. If natural topography can be utilized, the course will feel natural and less dirt will have to be moved. This is the great challenge of course routing: matching holes to the land.

It can be frustrating when it feels like you have to walk up steep hills or over tough terrain when getting from one hole to the next. One trick of great routing is to integrate these spots into holes rather than in between them. If you have to climb a big hill to see where your ball landed on the green, it wont feel as intrusive.

Here is the original post:
What is course routing and how does it affect your round? - Golf.com

The merry month of May usually brings beautiful spring flowers and warmer weather but the recent cold snap could hurt those azaleas and roses.

Jeff Hershberger is a landscape architect with David J. Frank, one of the largest landscape contractors in the nation, headquartered in Germantown.

Working in Wisconsin, Jeff has seen it all when it comes to the weather.

Mothers Day can be a tough one because it can be 70 degrees on one Mothers Day and then the next it could be 30s, said Hershberger.

Cooler temperatures can bring uncertainty for the life of flowers and plants and according to Hershberger. The roses seem to be one hardest hit so far.

From his decades of experience, Hershberger believes that southeast Wisconsin is behind 2 to 3 weeks from seeing the beautiful blooms this season because of some of the impacts of last year rainfall.

We received a tremendous amount of rainfall, probably about a foot above average last year, said Hershberger. He is expecting to see root rot or fungal damage to plants due to the excessive rain.

Many flowers are just starting to break bud right now but there are ways for you to save or protect them even if you cant bring them inside.

The best thing to do on those is to cut them way back and fertilize them and see what comes back, said Hershberger.

He recommends being patient and not trying to get all those colorful blooms at one time. Hershberger suggests planning on have a progression of color through out the whole season- from late spring to summer and summer to fall.

If we do get a late season freeze or frost in the area, he recommends continuing to make sure plants and flowers get plenty of water to help insulate them from a freeze. One final tip is to cover your perennials with blankets instead of plastic to protect them from the cooler nights ahead.

Even if its a couple of degrees it might make a difference, said Hershberger.

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Continued here:
Protecting flowers, plants from the late season cold snap - WTMJ-TV

The renovation of the Mirror Pond, perhaps better known as the Duck Pond, in Manito Park went on hiatus last month and people noticed.

Spokane Parks Department landscape architect Nick Hamad said he got several emails from residents asking about the project. The shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that some needed supplies werent available for the project to keep going.

While our contractors were authorized to continue to work, some of their suppliers were not, he said.

The project to clean up the murky pond started last fall and was originally planned to be finished by now. But work resumed this week and the project is on track to be done by early June, Hamad said.

The old pond had many years of nutrient buildup, some of which came from duck feces and some from leaves that fell in the pond every autumn. Weve been able to reset that, Hamad said.

The first order of business was to drain the pond and dig out accumulated sediment. We actually deepened it a couple of feet to give us more volume, he said.

The Friends of Manito, a group of citizens that raises money from two annual plant sales, contributed $75,000 toward the project, Hamad said. Theyve been fundraising quite a while, he said. Without them, I dont know that we could have done it.

The heavy construction work on the project is finished. What remains is the construction of a treatment wetland that will help keep the pond water clean. Its about half full right now, Hamad said. Its been naturally refilling.

When work on the pond started last year, several turtles and ducks living there were relocated to the Cannon Hill pond. Now that the heavy construction has finished, wildlife has started to return. We have noticed some ducks taking up residence now that the pond is refilling, he said. Its good to see the ducks come back. It will be interesting to see what moves back in.

The Parks Department only wants native wildlife in the pond. When it was drained, goldfish and catfish were found in the water. The goldfish were likely dumped by people who no longer wanted them and Hamad said hes puzzled about the presence of the catfish. I couldnt tell you how they got there, he said.

The pond will have educational signs around the edge that ask people not to dump their unwanted fish in the water, he said.

Though the water will be cleaner, people shouldnt expect crystal clear water in the pond. We are looking to construct a native looking, healthy pond, Hamad said. The treatment wetland will really help us keep the nutrients in check. Our goal is to keep it as natural as possible.

The pond will remain fenced off until the work is finished. Hamad said he knows people are eager to visit it again. We see a tremendous amount of walkers around the pond, he said. Its a really great aesthetic.

Original plans called for a rededication ceremony when the pond was finished, but Hamad said there are no plans for that right now. Its likely that the fencing will simply come down so the people and ducks can come back to enjoy the water.

Were excited to deliver a pond, he said.

Link:
Manito Park Mirror Pond renovation expected to complete in June - The Spokesman-Review

Courtesy of Emily Baker

These steel Spin-Valence space frame prototypes by professor Emily Baker show the potential of an integrated facade enclosure.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. The American Institute of Steel Construction has recognized a University of Arkansas architecture professor for her work in structural steel research and teaching.

Emily Baker, an assistant professor of architecture in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, is one of 13 leaders across the structural steel design, construction and academic communities to be honored in this year's awards program. The awards were set to be presented during 2020 NASCC: The Steel Conference, planned for April 22-24 in Atlanta, but the conference was canceled due to concerns over COVID-19.

Baker was selected to receive the Early Career Faculty Award, which recognizes faculty who demonstrate promise in the areas of structural steel research, teaching and other contributions to the structural steel industry. She is the first architecture professor to be recognized with this award.

"It's wonderful to be recognized for work that is an offshoot of my own fascination," Baker said.

Baker, a Fay Jones School alumna, Bodenhamer Fellow and Arkansas native, was first introduced to steel fabrication when she took a welding class at Batesville High School. She used those skills again during design-build projects as an undergraduate in the architecture program at the U of A.

Baker first started exploring the digital side of steel fabrication when she attended Cranbrook Academy of Art for graduate school, as the school had a CNC (computer numerically controlled) plasma cutter. Visiting construction sites got her thinking about the process of constructing a building.

"I was imagining new ways that the same act could happen in the face of emerging technologies," she said. "That really set me on the path that I'm on."

While in grad school, Baker also developed Spin-Valence, which is a flat pack space frame system. She said she starts with a sheet of material, often steel, then cuts a pattern into it and then folds it into a structural system. She's used the Spin-Valence system in a variety of projects, including a permanent installation at Wilson Springs Preserve in Fayetteville.

In addition to experimental projects, Baker said she also likes projects that are "a little more grounded, where we can take a slightly different approach but also do something that's immediately usable."

Baker recently completed a steel stair with a folded structure for a residence designed by Bradley Edwards Architect. She is working on a sculpture for the Honors College along with Edmund Harriss, a U of A math professor in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences that was a product of a class taught by Harriss and Carl Smith, U of A landscape architecture professor in the Fay Jones School.

Many times, Baker's design process starts with just a piece of paper. With her emphasis on folding steel, it helps to start with something physical.

"Paper serves as a good simulation of folding at a larger scale," she said.

Baker said her process of starting with making physical objects helps her work stand out. She said that digital tools today are so powerful that many researchers who engage in digital fabrication start with an idea on the computer.

"I decided to come from the physical and then translate what I found into something that's computational," she said. "You end up with a different result when you start digitally than when you start with something physical."

For Baker, one of the most valuable parts of the design-build experience is learning how materials work together. She said that engaging with design in this way grabs people's focus and attention in a different way than just reading, writing or drawing.

"We have built-in intelligence in our sense of touch," she explained.

Baker said she tries to use the act of making in her teaching as much as possible. In spring 2019, Baker led a studio focused on designing play structures in collaboration with the Scott Family Amazeum.

"It was a fun way to get students involved in that kind of thinking, while allowing them to experiment and design with emerging technologies, particularly in steel, but all kinds of materials as well."

The other valuable lesson students learn when experimenting with materials is how to use failure as an asset. She said students can learn more from a failure than they can when something works out the first time.

"I think it's a really good thing for your imagination to get thwarted," Baker said. "One of the things I like to talk to students about is to fail early and often. Failure is useful."

Baker said the Fay Jones School has been supportive of her work with steel fabrication. She leads the digital steel lab in the Government Avenue Build Lab, which provides space and equipment where she can manipulate steel both digitally and physically.

"It's wonderful to have that dedicated space where I can do my own work that can support teaching, too," she said.

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Architecture Professor Emily Baker Receives American Institute of Steel Construction Award - University of Arkansas Newswire

The current coronavirus catastrophe has necessitated government aid on a massive scale. The CARES Act was the largest economic relief package in American history at over $2 trillion.

But this was not the first time the United States government intervened on a massive scale to help keep America afloat in the wake of disaster.

During the Great Depression, president Franklin D. Roosevelt rolled out a series of large-scale relief efforts and began to weave the fabric of a social safety net, some of which still exists today, such as Social Security and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Roosevelt called it the New Deal. At the time, unemployment had reached 25 percentthe highest in US history so far. Federal programs like the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) were created to give people jobs, and to simultaneously build up the countrys infrastructurenew roads, dams, parks, public buildings and more were built.

The WPA alone gave over 8 million unemployed Americans jobs in its 8-year existence.

These government programs were not just for laborers. Artists, writers, actors, and musicians were also employed by the WPA to give folks not just jobs, but also hope and beauty in difficult times.

Today, nearly a century later, Roosevelts New Deal is primarily remembered in history textbooks and school curricula. But there is another way to remember its legacyby recognizing the New Deal projects that still exist right where we live.

The city of Fullerton was a major recipient of New Deal funding and projects, many of which still exist today and have become some of the most iconic features of our local landscape.

A few years back, a book came out called The New Deal in Orange County California by Charles Epting. This well-researched and comprehensive book was the first of its kind to document all the New Deal projects in Orange County, city-by-city, including Fullerton. I present here what I learned from Eptings helpful guide, which has deepened my understanding of my hometown and the programs that helped build it up in the worst of times.

As if the Great Depression wasnt bad enough to endure, Orange Countians also faced three major natural disasters during the 1930s.

First came the devastating Long Beach Earthquake of 1933, which caused over $50 million in damage and killed 120 people throughout the region.

In some cities every brick building was completely destroyedcity halls, libraries, police stations, post offices, etc, Epting writes.

Then came the 1937 Santa Ana Flood, followed by the 1938 Los Angeles Floodcausing millions more in damage and killing 113 people.

During this flood, the Santa Ana River swelled to half the flow of the Mississippi River, 317 cubic feet per second, and cities like Anaheim and Santa Ana were flooded with six feet of water.

These floods not only destroyed buildings, they also destroyed acres of crops, which were the economic backbone of the region.

The following year, 1939, another disaster strucka tropical storm (the only one of its kind to hit OC in the 20th century), which destroyed several piers and coastal buildings.

The 1930s were pretty rough.

Because of these disasters, nearly every single community in Orange County was profoundly impacted by the New Deal, Epting writes. Dozens of schools, city halls, post offices, parks, libraries, and fire stations were built; roadways were improved, and thousands were given jobs.

Heres how the New Deal benefitted Fullerton.

With a population of just over 10,000 in 1930, Fullerton was one of the largest cities in Orange County at the time of the Great Depression. Relief projects were numerous. It is probable that Fullerton received more aid than any other Orange County city, Epting writes. What is also unique about Fullerton is that nearly all of its New Deal buildings are still standing and preserved as local landmarks.

Maple School (244 E Valencia Dr): This school was retrofitted and expanded following the 1933 earthquake. It was partially funded by the Public Works Administration (PWA). Its an example of Art Deco architecture. Plans were drawn by architect Everett E. Parks.

Wilshire Junior High School (315 E Wilshire Ave): Originally constructed in 1921, it was reconstructed and expanded during the 1930s with PWA funds. The style is Deco/Greco. Now its the School of Continuing Education.

Pastoral California mural on Plummer Auditorium (201 E Chapman Ave): Giant fresco painted by Charles Kassler under the Public Works of Art Project in 1934. Spanning 75 feet by 15 feet, the mural is unmatched in size and scope. One of the two largest frescoes commissioned during the New Deal.

Fullerton College (321 E Chapman Ave): In 1935, Fullerton architect Harry K. Vaughn teamed up with landscape architect Ralph D. Cornell to create a general plan for the new campus, to be partially funded by the WPA and the PWA. The first building was the Commerce Building, next was the Administration and Social Sciences building, then the Technical Trades building.

Fullerton Museum Center (301 N Pomona Ave): Fullertons first public library was an Andrew Carnegie-funded library built in 1907. Years of wear (and the 1933 earthquake) necessitated a re-building. In 1941, the Carnegie Library was demolished, and a new library was re-built by WPA workers. The building was dedicated in 1942. A new library (on Commonwealth) was built in 1973, and the Fullerton Museum Center has occupied the building since 1974.

Post Office (202 E Commonwealth Ave): The first federally-owned building in Fullerton, it was built in 1939 and funded by the Department of the Treasury, and built by crews of local workers. This post office also contains the mural Orange Pickers by Paul Julian, funded by the Treasury Department Section of Fine Arts. Paul Julian went on to have a very successful career at the Warner Bros. studios animating Looney Tunes shorts.

Police Station/Former City Hall (237 W Commonwealth Ave): The impressive Spanish Colonial Revival building is now home to Fullertons police department. Designed by architect George Stanley Wilson, the building was completed in 1942. One of the most distinctive features of the building is its extensive tile work.

The History of Southern California Mural in the Police Station: A three-part mural for which the WPAs Federal Art Project commissioned artist Helen Lundeberg to paint in 1941. The mural depicts everything from the landing of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in San Diego in 1542 to the birth of the aircraft and movie industries in Los Angeles in roughly chronological order.

Hillcrest Park (1200 N Harbor Blvd): The amount of work done in Hillcrest Park during the New Deal was staggering, with projects being funded and constructed by the CWA, WPA, RFC, and SERA. Much of Hillcrest Parks landscaping was done during this era, like the excavation of the Big Bowl. Perhaps the most iconic feature of Hillcrest Park is the Depression-era stonework that runs throughout the Park. Today, Hillcrest Park represents the finest example of a WPA-era park in Orange County and has enjoyed federal recognition since 2004, so the structures are safe.

Amerige Park (300 W Commonwealth Ave): A wooden grandstand and stone pilasters were built at the baseball field in 1934. The grandstand was destroyed by a fire in the 1980s, but the flagstone pilasters remain.

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How Fullerton Benefitted from the New Deal - Fullerton Observer

A view of the Old Course at St. Andrews.

Courtesy Photo

GOLFs Top 100 course panelists are among the most respected and well-traveled course evaluators in the game. Theyre also keen to share their opinions. In this GOLF.com series, well unlock their unvarnished views on all questions course-related. The goal is not only to entertain you but also to give you a better understanding of how to understand and appreciate golf course architecture. You can see GOLFs latest Top 100 Courses in the World ranking here, and meet all of our Top 100 panelists here.

What is the most underappreciated feature of golf-course design and why? And whats an example of a course where this feature is put to especially fine use?

David McLay-Kidd (panelist since 2004; has played 60-plus of the World Top 100): Golf at its best is an exploration of a landscape. If everything is seen at first glance, then there is no adventure, no exploration, no mystery, no intrigue. The best golf courses offer that exploration most golfers are likely unaware of the journey a great course takes them on. The skill to weave that path through a landscape is an underappreciated feature of golf design.

The best course layouts wander somewhat unpredictably across the landscape. My favorite layouts include Kingsbarns, Swinley Forest and Royal Melbourne. Another subtlety of golf design is the use of light in design. Every golf course architect I know loves to play with shadows. Low light can cast long shadows over the most subtle features while a midday sun can still throw shadow on a deep north-faced bunker. These shadows are key to the visual appreciation of a golf course. Think of all the photos youve seen of the fairways at St. Andrews on a late summer evening. Without the shadows its a different look altogether.

Steve Lapper (panelist since 2009; has played 84 of the Top 100): Smart routing is the least-noticed by the large majority of golfers, and often the most critical task for a golf architect: How to find the best holes, best green sites, how to make the highest use of the land forms, how to make use of natural dunes, how to navigate geological or geographical restrictions. Can it be a walking course, with proximate green-to-tee walks? Does the layout flow across the compass of wind? Will it return to the clubhouse after nine holes? All of these questions, and more, create a puzzle an architect must solve. It is even more so for a bland site that needs vision to transform into something interesting.

Sand Hills is a perfect example of balancing the use of natural land features with its large sandy blowout styled bunkering and innate green sites. Cabot Cliffs, Pacific Dunes and Ohoopee Match Club are also wonderful modern examples. Fishers Island may be the very best example of a routing that maximizes a water aesthetic. Classics like the Old Course at St. Andrews and Royal Melbourne West are both routed across the wind compass keenly and yield 18 wonderful holes in an intimate setting perfect for walking. The list could go on, but almost all the greatest courses have very solid routings. It is the core of their existence.

A look at Pacific Dunes at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

Evan Schiller

Brian Curley (panelist since 2011, has played 65 of the Top 100): As far as the required skills of a golf architect, I would offer the ability to transform a difficult site. This has been a modern-day phenomenon as equipment available today makes it feasible. This can vary from a dead flat site with no features or vegetation where everything must be created, to the extreme terrain of rugged properties where severe slope and soil conditions must be overcome. I do not want to sound as if all great properties can be handled by anyone with a good team, but there are very few architects with the experience of dealing with extreme terrain and very few that have managed to produce world-class courses on these sites.

I think there is a misconception that most sites offered to architects start out looking like Sand Hills or Bandon Dunes and that holes are merely found and bunkers added here and there. The reality is that most sites require some manipulation/rough grading, etc., to create playable terrain, long before there is discussion of features. On a few occasions the site bears no resemblance to natural golf terrain. For instance, I did Mission Hills in China, where I guarantee over 95 percent of the site was not even walkable, covered in severe rocky slopes. After massive cuts and fills and the coordination of thousands of pieces of equipment and labor, sites like this begin to resemble playable golf terrain. At that point, the detailed design process begins and is followed by a massive re-vegetation effort. In the case of Mission Hills, world-class golf was created and world-class events are held (such as the WGC-HSBC Championship, The World Cup of Golf and more).

I have also seen courses that attempted this but failed for lack of proper design and construction, usually for a lack of enough rough grading, and the result is a lost-ball fiasco. Designers lacking the vision, skills or experience can produce woeful courses. A great example of transforming a flat, nondescript site into a stunning, creative masterpiece would be Tom Fazios Shadow Creek in Las Vegas.

For those who argue that these sites should not be transformed to begin with, the reality is that in many countries, the only properties available are these extreme sites. The good, well-located sites are protected for farmland or other purposes. Unfortunately, this also adds to the extreme cost of construction and deters many beginning golfers in new markets.

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What is the most underappreciated feature of golf-course design? - Golf.com

The Alpha Link spans 1.75 miles, crossing Haynes Bridge Road and following Georgia 400 west to Encore Parkway. From Encore, Alpha Link will head south to North Point Parkway and cross to the Big Creek Greenway trails. (Screenshot via Zoom Meetings)

This is part of the North Point Area and Alpha Loop Feasibility Study, said Donny Zellefrow, a designer for MKSK Studios, during the May 4 Alpharetta City Council meeting. MKSK is a landscape architecture, urban design and planning firm that is working with the city on designs for Alpha Link.

Alpha Link will offer direct access to the North Point area, which the city is working on redeveloping, and to a future proposed MARTA bus rapid transit station as well as to other destinations and neighborhoods along the Alpha Loop and Big Creek Greenway, said Darren Meyer, principal landscape architect for MKSK Studios.

The Alpha Link alignment begins at the intersection of Haynes Bridge Road and the Georgia 400 southbound ramp, continues parallel to GA 400 to Encore Parkway, crosses to North Point Parkway and routes to the Big Creek Greenway trails from there.

"There's been a really interesting demand for our parks and public spaces during this time [while the coronavirus pandemic continues]," Meyer said during the meeting.

The virtual public meeting is the first step in the project's second phase out of four, total, with the goal of wrapping up the feasibility study this fall, Zellefrow said. Participants can answer questions about what types of bike paths, road crossings, art, seating and other aspects of the project they would like to see implemented.

To participate in the survey, visit http://www.visionalphalink.com.

"The current environment ... has really brought home to a lot of folks how important our walking trails, parks and greenway are to our city and how lucky we are to have the various options that we have," Council Member Karen Richard said during the meeting. "I think that's going to make this feasibility study a major priority for all of us going forward."

See the original post:
Virtual public meeting open through May 25 for community input on trail connection between Alpha Loop, Big Creek Greenway - Community Impact Newspaper

Architect Richard Leplastrier's house in Lovett Bay.Credit:Leigh Woolley

"Sophisticated camping," Lambert calls it in a new documentary on the gold-medal-winning architect, Framing the View.

A series of four modest corrugated iron roof buildings set on large wooden decks, Leplastrier's home has no "flash carpets", no pull-down blinds, no TV. And, most noticeably, no glass windows.

"Glass would be nice occasionally," Lambert says wistfully to camera.

"It's better with wine in it," the architect retorts. "Glass sucks the colour out of things," Leplastrier explains. "You can't hear the birds. It's better to be able to remove walls and have them open and clear to the outside. I learnt that from the Japanese."

But the Japanese don't have to contend with two-metre pythons falling on their bed an incident Leplastrier laughs off.

Instead of glass windows, his Lovett Bay house has large portholes and hatches reflecting not just a Japanese influence, but his lifelong pursuit of sailing. Walls lift up, enveloping the interior in nature. The main plywood building has just one room (4.8 x 9.6m), doubling as bedroom and office where he draws. The documentary captures the rich familial bonding that such intimate living provides. As the children grew, Leplastrier enclosed one side of the veranda. Outside on the deck, underneath three-metre eaves, is a Japanese style wooden bath and the exposed kitchen.

"We tend to live on the floor a lot," says Leplastrier. "We sleep on the floor. We eat on the floor. And that's a lesson learned not only from Japan, but most Pacific Islanders live like that. It makes a lot of sense. You can do with a house half the size. It's good fun to live like that. Our real room is the whole bay and our real walls are the cliffs on the other side."

Leplastrier, who turns 81 in November, has built more than 30 houses and a handful of public buildings, including the Birabahn Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Centre at the University of Newcastle (with Peter Stutchbury and Sue Harper). Currently, he's collaborating with Architectus and landscape architect Craig Burton on the National Herbarium of NSW at Mt Annan.

One of Australia's most respected architects and teachers, Leplastrier received the Australian Institute of Architects' highest accolade, the gold medal, in 1999. Intensely curious and generous with his knowledge, the softly spoken architect eschews publicity and rarely appears in the architectural press. So why agree to a film?

"You value your own work, but you shouldn't have any pretences about it," he says. "Work shouldn't be judged for 20 years and see how it fared over time. But if it has any value, it's good that it's recorded properly at least once."

Framing The View director Anna Cater, who spent15 years filming Leplastrier.Credit:Mark Rogers

Aside from Leplastrier's modesty, director Anna Cater says the architect wanted a record for his three sons as he started his family late in life.

Cater spent some 15 years filming Leplastrier. One hundred hours had to be edited. At the centre of the observational documentary, she records the two-year process of building a house in Blackheath. The architect describes his houses as "pure theatre" or a "film set" stages for living. Yet one of the most striking aspects of Leplastrier's process is the flexible, collaborative approach he applies on site. He adjusts ideas and details as he goes, based on the input from builders and clients. If there's one regret with the film, it doesn't feature enough of his builders and makers, Leplastrier says.

He shares this love of craftsmanship and working in small teams with his early mentor Jorn Utzon. Just 25 when Utzon hired him in the late stages of his Sydney Opera House commission, Leplastrier and the great Dane bonded over sailing. After working a couple of weeks on the Opera House, Utzon asked his young acolyte if he'd like to work on his house at his Palm Beach studio.

Leplastrier's Palm Garden House (1974) in Bilgola.Credit:Michael Wee

After Utzon was forced off the Opera House, Leplastrier spent five years studying in Japan and travelling. From the Japanese he learnt the value not just of the flexible space, but anticipation and timing. "The framed view was part of Japanese culture," he says.

These influences coalesce in the Palm Garden House, Bilgola (1974) his most important work, according to Pritzker prizewinner Glenn Murcutt. "It's probably one of this country's finest works of any architect in this country," Murcutt asserts.

Set among a grove of palms, the building's high semi-circular roof rolls back and opens to the elements. When required a drape folds up in origami-like pleats to fill the arch and form a wall.

"[The house] demonstrates a way of falling in love with landscape actually disappearing into it," says Adrian Carter, professor of architecture at Bond University and author of a forthcoming monograph on Leplastrier. "It's much closer to an Indigenous way of living in this environment."

Among Leplastrier's high-profile clients are filmmaker George Miller and his editor partner Margaret Sixel, politician Tom Uren and novelist Peter Carey.

"He won't work with people unless he has a rapport with them," says Carter. "And they all become his friends."

Carey has known the architect for some 30 years and had "years of pleasurable conversations that informed Illywhacker and Oscar and Lucinda". The novelist says he "paid tribute" to the architect in his 1988 Booker-prize-winning novel, naming his heroine Lucinda Leplastrier.

Leplastrier says Carey "was having a go at me [because] I'd never build a glass church in a million years", he laughs. "I was always telling him how crook glass was."

Framing the View may be the documentary's title, but how should one frame a view? Floor-to-ceiling glass windows or a row of window frames capturing vistas like cinematic film aren't the only solutions. Subscribing to the Japanese concept of ma', Leplastrier creates anticipation by glimpsing views through slits in walls, oculi, and small windows. The part tells the whole.

"Implicitness is far more alive and rich and experiential than explicitness where everything is on the table," he says. "Select what it is you want to refer to outside."

But what if you live in a more urban environment than the Blue Mountains or Lovett Bay? "The sky is the free faade in the city," Leplastrier reassured Miller and Sixel. The roof of their Watson's Bay house (1997) is, like the Palm Garden house, a convertible'. This time a hydraulic roof lifts and opens to the trees and sky.

"His buildings make you feel happy," says Sixel. "It makes you feel connected that's really what he's about. It's incredibly elemental."

Richard Leplastrier: Framing the View, screens on the ABC, Tuesday, May 12, 9.30pm.

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Falling in love with landscape - The Age

The National Capital Commission (NCC) is telling Ottawa tulip admirers not to stop and take photos of flowers this year over fears it could cause crowds to form and put people at risk of spreadingCOVID-19.

No stopping and no photography signs have sprouted upat theNCC's flower beds, just in time for the start of the Canadian Tulip Festival Friday.

Corey Larocque, a spokesperson for the NCC which owns and maintains the tulips said it's neitherthe stopping nor the photography that poses a risk in terms of COVID-19,but the gathering of people.

"The small signs are part of our effort to limit crowding or gathering around the tulip beds and to ensure that people getting to the park on foot or by bike can do so safely, with enough space for physical distancing," Larocque said in an email to CBC.

The signs appeared asboth the City of Ottawa and the NCC announced they would resume allowing people to linger in greenspaces to play catch or have a picnic, for instance.

Park amenities are still off limits, like benches and basketball courts, and Ontario bars groups of more than five people but, aside from around tulip beds owned and maintained by the NCC,it's OK to stop and take photos. Health officials are still urging Canadians keep a two-metre distance between themselves and others they do not live with.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said he disagrees with the no-photo policy and hopes the NCC will reconsider.

"The whole purpose of going and seeing the tulips is not only to see the beauty in person but also to snap a quick picture," said Watson.

For its part, the Canadian Tulip Festival which celebrates a gift of tulips given by theDutchafter the Second World War, honouring Canada's role in the liberation of the Netherlandsis also trying to encourage people to stay away from the flowers.

"What we have done is come up with every possible way of bringing the tulips to you," Jo Riding, the festival's general manager,told Ottawa Morning's Robyn Bresnahan Thursday.

"We're asking folks to stay home and stay safe and help us save lives."

The Canadian Tulip Festival is offering a range of virtual experiences this year, including aerial photography, musical performances, virtual gardens and a behind-the-scenes look at the festival with NCC's landscape architectTina Liu.

Riding said people who live near thefestival grounds at Commissioners Park and other NCC tulip gardensare welcome to walk through, butNCC conservation officers will be on hand to encourage people keep moving and keep their distance.

"There is signage basically everywhere, saying please do not stop, don't take photos, keep walking and join us online to celebrate," she said.

In Japan, authorities mowed down tens of thousands of tulips near Tokyo to ensure crowds stayed away. That's something Riding said the officials here don't want to do.

That being said, Riding said people also need to exercise some discretion.

"If you're there bright and early and if it is your local park, and you want to take a photo, and you're all by yourself, you know, use common sense," she said.

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No photos allowed at this year's Canadian Tulip Festival - CBC.ca

Daniel Tabone is an architect by education, graduating in 2018 with a master's degree in architecture and urban design from the University of Malta

Architects arent of much use during a pandemic. Internationally, some firms have been redesigning face masks or entering competitions for hospital or open market concepts mainly boosting their websites or creating a false sense of essential service vibe to justify years of study and sacrifice when what is required is the continuous manufacture of that which has been tried and tested ages ago.

Locally, weve been even less useful to the public just look at the news. There are, however, some problems which could be tackled or at least observed at this point, namely the issue of open or buffer enclaves within the spaces we design.

These spaces not only serve as a point of contact with the outside, but if designed with some sense, they can offer so much to the dwelling. Such as the integration of services like waterpoints at dwelling entrances or hallways and porches, where it is more practical to sanitize oneself prior to entering ones own sanctuary: essentially, its useless entering directly through the living area and washing hands in the bathroom at the end of the corridor, as with common apartment layouts these days. Typical of older dwellings, entrance halls were commonplace and even though not primarily designed as such, they could offer this amenity and separate the heart of the dwelling from the street.

Present policies and laws on internal and back-yard size give minimum open space allowances for light and ventilation, but cannot always promise adequacy. They are also very restrictive, not allowing designers to get truly creative. Lets face it, in a rogue free market, these minimums have become a rule of thumb. In a society facing calls to stay inside, any architect should be studying these spaces and others like balconies, terraces, front gardens, roof airspaces and even solar rights.

On an urban scale, we should kindle solutions for the distribution, and creation, of pavements and other public routes that integrate public services, re-thought to suit the human scale beyond the sardine-like hoarding of people. Internationally, traditionally congested cities are finding it necessary to open roads for pedestrians on major thoroughfares, allowing for actual social distancing while not necessarily closing shop. In Malta, where healthcare has been so far more successful in COVID-control, this might be even more effective.

Rather than seeing the empty roads solely as an opportunity for more road construction, now would be the time to test the waters on tactical alternatives, and who knows, we might like it.

Its not only architects who are at fault. If youre selling you should be responsible for a good product and if youre buying, youd know your priorities and what youre investing in. If a garage is more important than the size of your terrace, theres always the promenade to visit when not in lockdown. However, pandemic or not, a building which falls short of providing adequate buffer and contact with the outside, can just as well be classified as a container with a nice gypsum soffit ceiling.

Even when outside, the car is an excellent capsule to sit comfortably in, but youd have to get out eventually. Think about all this whenever you feel stuck at home or when you try to understand why there are still people on the streets. Remember, these thoughts will come in very handy as we next tackle climate change.

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An open letter to architects: how shall we plan the post-COVID landscape? - MaltaToday