Quad-City families may get their first introduction to Bettendorf's long-awaited Forest Grove Park this fall.

Bettendorf park board members got a detailed look at the project's preliminary phase of work Wednesday night as Scott Crawford, senior partner and landscape architect with RDG Planning & Design of Des Moines, presented the plans.

The $1.4 million first phase of the project will be completed in two stages, and will develop what Crawford referred to as the community corner of the park, that will serve as a neighborhood park for adjacent subdivisions.

It will include 25 parking stalls, an open-air shelter that will seat up to 20 people, a playground for children ages 2-10, a half-court basketball court and a circular path that surrounds the southeast corner of the park and eventually will connect with the rest of the park's trail system.

This will be the gateway into the whole park from the south edge, said Crawford, who began designing the space in 2011.

While Crawford said he does not think the first phase of work will attract regional attention, overall plans for the 100-acre park will create something that the Quad-City community does not yet have.

Ideas for the park include a large greenspace, an adventure course, an amphitheater, a community building, an enclosed shelter, restoration of Spencer Creek and a winter plaza with opportunities for cold-weather sports.

The park, which Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher has referred to as a wow project, will cost up to $20 million and will be completed in stages with the assistance of grant funding, Steve Grimes, the citys parks and recreation director, said.

Between 2016 and 2021, the city plans to borrow $2.1 million in bonds for work on the park.

A future elementary school in the Pleasant Valley Community School District is planned to be built adjacent to the park.

Follow this link:
Initial plans for Forest Grove Park unveiled

Vehicles turn onto West Broadway Boulevard from U.S. Highway 550 in Bloomfield on Monday. (Jon Austria The Daily Times)

BLOOMFIELD City councilors on Monday night unanimously supported plans for a greener look to Bloomfield's main thoroughfare.

At the council meeting, Greg Miller, landscape architect for Albuquerque-based Morrow Reardon Wilkinson Miller, presented his firm's final design plans for two miles of landscaped medians and parkways along U.S. Highway 64 and at the intersection of U.S. Highways 64 and 550.

Miller told councilors the enhancements to the most traveled stretch in the city will be an attractive addition. He has worked on the design of the landscaping project for about a year, an endeavor that has cost the city $50,000.

City officials are also hoping the investment will bring more businesses to Bloomfield, allowing the city to collect more gross receipts taxes.

"It's exciting. We're getting to the point as we move toward construction," Miller said.

Decorative pots were featured in the design plans Milled showed councilors.

Discussion over adding decorative lighting for trees and large pots supported by 10- to 15-foot-tall decorative poles like those in neighboring Aztec dominated discussion of the project.

Miller stressed the economic advantage of having lighting included as part of the project's plans. That, he said, would cost $100,000 to $150,000.

Ultimately, the council shied away from going forward with lighting right away.

Continued here:
Bloomfield City Council approves new landscaping plans

A LITTLE CHAOS Official Trailer
The world #39;s greatest landscape architect Le Notre (Matthias Schoenaerts) designer of the Versailles gardens is unfulfilled in love. Madame Sabine de Ba...

By: Transmission Films

See original here:
A LITTLE CHAOS Official Trailer - Video

Marin Landscape Architect, Designer and Contractor - Mystical Landscapes
http://www.mysticallandscapes.com/ - Mystical Landscapes is a Marin based landscape architect and landscape design company that assists clients with all thei...

By: Dane Rose

Read more from the original source:
Marin Landscape Architect, Designer and Contractor - Mystical Landscapes - Video

Derbyshire Street Pocket Park
Landscape architect: Greysmith Associates.

By: thebuildingcentre

Go here to read the rest:
Derbyshire Street Pocket Park - Video

Grid INTRO | STRUCTURE | Trailsnodes | birdhide | Bird Hide OUTSIDE | Augmented Reality
Landscape architect: Project Studio Park Works.

By: thebuildingcentre

Read the original here:
Grid INTRO | STRUCTURE | Trailsnodes | birdhide | Bird Hide OUTSIDE | Augmented Reality - Video

The University of Chicago is proposing that the Obama presidential library be built on about 20 acres of South Side parkland, either in Washington or Jackson parks, according to the university.

The information, released Tuesday, was privately submitted last month to the president and first lady. Since then, pressure has built from library planners who are hoping to avoid any real estate or legal challenges associated with building a library in a public park.

The two sites are:

21 acres in western Jackson Park, bounded by South Stony Island Avenue to the west, South Cornell Avenue to the east, East 60th Street to the north and East 63rd Street to the south.

22 acres in western Washington Park and 11 acres outside of it, stretching as far west as South Prairie Avenue, and encompassing the Garfield Green Line stop. The park space is bounded by South Martin Luther King Drive to the west, Ellsworth Drive to the east, East Garfield Boulevard to the south and East 51st Street to the north.

The parcels outside of Washington Park are controlled by a combination of owners, including the U. of C., the city of Chicago, the Chicago Transit Authority and private individuals or companies.

The museum is expected to occupy only a fraction of the land. As a comparison, if the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas were to be spread out on one floor, it would take up about 5 acres. The entire campus measures 23 acres.

"In the first place, there's a long tradition of museums in the parks in Chicago," said Susan Sher, who is leading the U. of C.'s library bid, about the use of parkland. "When you look at the possibilities and the criteria of having enough space for the legacy of a major historical figure, you can't just plop it in the middle of a shopping center."

In her discussions, Sher said, residents of neighborhoods surrounding the university have jockeyed for the library. Sher has not found any "not-in-my-backyard" resentment, she said.

Residents will get a chance to publicly weigh in at two community hearings, Jan. 13 and Jan. 14, at Hyde Park Academy High School and the Washington Park Fieldhouse,respectively. The Park District is weighing whether to transfer the parcels to City Hall control. Such control was stipulated by library planners, led by Chicago private equity executive Martin Nesbitt.

Read more from the original source:
U. of C. plans: Obama library in the park

The University of Chicago is proposing that the Obama presidential library be built on about 20 acres of South Side parkland, either in Washington or Jackson parks, according to the university.

The information, released Tuesday, was privately submitted last month to the president and first lady. Since then, pressure has built from library planners who are hoping to avoid any real estate or legal challenges associated with building a library in a public park.

The two sites are:

21 acres in western Jackson Park, bounded by South Stony Island Avenue to the west, South Cornell Avenue to the east, East 60th Street to the north and East 63rd Street to the south.

22 acres in western Washington Park and 11 acres outside of it, stretching as far west as South Prairie Avenue, and encompassing the Garfield Green Line stop. The park acreage is bounded by South Martin Luther King Drive to the west, Ellsworth Drive to the east, East Garfield Boulevard to the south and East 51st Street to the north.

The parcels outside of Washington Park are controlled by a combination of owners, including the U. of C., the city of Chicago, the Chicago Transit Authority and private individuals or companies.

The museum is expected to occupy only a fraction of the land. As a comparison, if the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas were to be spread out on one floor, it would take up about 5 acres. The entire campus measures 23 acres.

"In the first place, there's a long tradition of museums in the parks in Chicago," said Susan Sher, who is leading the U. of C.'s library bid, about the use of parkland. "When you look at the possibilities and the criteria of having enough space for the legacy of a major historical figure, you can't just plop it in the middle of a shopping center."

She said that in her discussions, residents of neighborhoods surrounding the university have jockeyed for the library. Sher has not found any "not-in-my-backyard" resentment, she said.

Residents will get a chance to publicly weigh in at two community hearings, Jan. 13 and Jan. 14, at Hyde Park Academy High School and the Washington Park Fieldhouse, respectively. The Park District is weighing whether to transfer the parcels to City Hall control. Such control was stipulated by library planners, led by Chicago private equity executive Martin Nesbitt.

Read this article:
U. of C. unveils targeted parkland proposed to Obama library officials

Amy Lynch, Star correspondent 7:02 a.m. EST January 3, 2015

Chris Gerrity, an architect with Schmidt Associates, was named the American Institute of Architects Indianas 2014 Young Architect of the Year.(Photo: Amy Lynch/For The Star)

Chris Gerrity isnt just designing structures, hes building relationships.

The American Institute of Architects Indianas 2014 Young Architect of the Year has found a home at Schmidt Associates, where he designs buildings with an aim toward improving local communities.

Case in point, Gerrity has spent the past several years working with Indianapolis Public Schools, leading the project management team for a $700 million capital improvement plan, pursuing LEED certifications for a number of schools and developing online training modules to educate teachers about their new energy-efficient buildings.

Gerrity discovered a love of building early in his own school days.

When I was in third grade, our class project was for each student to build a house out of plastic straws, he said. It was my first memory of learning how I could use simple materials to create an interesting space. I was amazed at how everyone had a different idea about how a house would look, even though we were all using the same materials.

A Chicago native, Gerrity knew he wanted to focus his job search in Indianapolis after graduating from college.

I had met a lot of people in Indianapolis and liked the city, he said. Schmidt Associates was a good fit for me because of its culture and design philosophy. I like that the work we do here is community-based. I also like that there isnt just one design style. Every project we do looks different, because every client is different.

Additionally, Gerrity finds time to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and to mentor young people who are interested in architecture.

More here:
5 questions with Chris Gerrity

Potters Fields London by Gross Max Landscape Architects
Eelco Hooftman of GROSS.MAX was the landscape architect for Potters Fields Park in London. The site was once a pottery in which English Delftware was made. I...

By: Gardenvisit.com

Go here to see the original:
Potters Fields London by Gross Max Landscape Architects - Video