Seven years ago on a cold January night, landscape architect Charles Birnbaum urged local leaders to restore Mellon Square, the modernist jewel of a park that opened in 1955 in Downtown Pittsburgh.

As president and founder of The Cultural Landscape Foundation in Washington, D.C., Mr. Birnbaum championed the project because he knew of other significant landscapes that had already disappeared from cities and parks.

Six months later, in June 2007, Meg Cheever, president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, took Susan Rademacher on a tour of the citys historic parks Frick, Schenley, Riverview and Highland plus the Hill District.

It was not my first visit to Pittsburgh, said Ms. Rademacher, who had visited as a consultant to the parks conservancy. But until then, I didnt have a sense of the rich landscape, history and opportunities.

On Thursday night at Carnegie Museum of Art, Mr. Birnbaum spoke about the creation and recent $10 million renovation of the park. Ms. Rademacher then signed copies of her book, Mellon Square: Discovering a Modern Masterpiece.An initiative of Mr. Birnbaums foundation, the book was published by Princeton Architectural Press.

Key players in the projects history were financier Richard King Mellon and Mayor David Lawrence, who seized the chance to remake smoky Downtown Pittsburgh after World War II by spending $4 million to buildMellon Square on top of a parking garage. The architects were James Mitchell and Dahlen Ritchey; the landscape architects were John Ormsbee Simonds and his brother, Philip.

Mr. Mellons sister, Sarah Mellon Scaife, played an unexpected role in the parks final design. Shehad just returned from Italy when she saw preliminary design documents for the square.

She questioned the paving pattern. It was a rectilinear concrete pavement, Ms. Rademacher said.She thought it was boring, and she had just been dazzled in Venice in St. Marks Square, which has a very elaborate pavement pattern. She challenged them.

John [Simonds] rose to the challenge and developed the amazing harlequin pattern, which his partner, Phil, detailed, Ms. Rademacher said.

Phil Simonds created paving made from unpolished marble chips, calling itrustic Venetian terrazzo. Narrow bronze strips between the pavment form interlocking triangles.

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Restoration of Mellon Square inspires book about the modernist landmark

Landscape architect John Tikotsky

Hermosa Beach cut the ribbon on a new Community Center garden last week, just a few days after a city backhoe removed a privately maintained garden across the street on the city Greenbelt.

The Community Center garden replaces 2,000 square feet of the block long lawn that covers the north and east grounds of the former junior high school.

Celebrating the completion of the Hermosa Beach Community Centers new native plant garden last Wednesday are Surfriders Craig Cadwalder, councilman Hany Fangary, West Basins Ron Wildermuth, California Water Services Rob Olsen and Susan Cordone, Surfriders Beth Crosse, West Basin trustee Carol Kwan, mayor Pete Tucker and landscape architect John Tikotsky . Photo by Kevin Cody

The garden the city removed was planted with city permission 13 years ago by Karen Bruns, who lives in the Marine Mobile Home Park, across from the Greenbelt.

All of the Community Centers new plants are drought tolerant, California natives. Rainwater collected from the Community Center roof and gray water from the citys purple water main provide the irrigation.

Hermosa Beach Mayor Pete Tucker and West Basin Water District board member Carol Kwan.

The garden is a model for residents and represents Hermosas leadership in environmental sustainability, Mayor Pete Tucker said at last Wednesdays ribbon cutting.

The $30,000 garden was largely funded by the West Basin Water District, whose board member Michelle Kwan noted that she has reduced her water bill to $35 a month by replacing the lawns at her Manhattan Beach home with California native plants.

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Greenbelt garden removed

Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku, Azerbaijan, designed by Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher with Saffet Kaya Bekiroglu.

I hate to stereotype, says architect Fiona Scott. Male architects are often quite sensitive, artistic people and any suggestion that buildings designed by women are more curvy, tactile or colourful is wrong. But I dont think there are many women who think, Oh, my ideal project would be a massive tower.

Scott, one half of the award-winning practice Gort Scott, is currently on maternity leave but has agreed to meet me in an east London cafe to talk about whether gender influences her work. She describes a generational divide between female architects working now and those who have retired or are close to it, some of whom rightly feel hard done by. Last year a petition tried and failed to get Denise Scott Brown made retrospective joint winner, with her husband and business partner Robert Venturi, of the 1991 Pritzker prize, which was awarded to him alone.

I would go to networking events that were full of guys who had a way of talking I found exhausting

Scott says it is not uncommon to learn of women who have not been properly credited, but these days there are advantages to being female: Ive always thought there was a benefit to being a woman [in this field], because you dont have to do so much to get noticed, and if your ideas are any good then people want to hear what youve got to say.

Its a mistake to think women arent capable of having grand ideas, she adds even if such ideas are often associated with big egos. She mentions Lina Bo Bardi, whose centenary is celebrated this year in Brazil and Italy, and multiple-prize-winner Shelley McNamara.

But for all her positivity, Scott admits that earlier in her career she struggled. I would go to networking events that were full of guys who had a way of talking I found exhausting, she says. Quite bullish, lots about sport. You find yourself feeling you have nothing to say. Its a vicious circle where your confidence gets diminished if people dont listen to you. I really wanted a female mentor, I knew I needed to sort it out and I spent a couple of years thinking about that a lot.

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The first thing to observe when discussing how cities would differ if women built them (or at least had more of a say in how they are built or rebuilt) is that surprise! at the moment and across and the world, and even in countries where women hold powerful positions, the biggest decisions about urban development are mainly made by men. There are and have been inspirational women architects, planners and city politicians, and Jane Jacobs book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) is perhaps the most famous single piece of writing about urban design. But all over the world, the built-environment professions and particular their uppermost echelons - remain heavily male-dominated, more so than other spheres such as education or health.

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If women built cities, what would our urban landscape look like?

Dalhousie is well known for its Architecture program. Now the universitys architectural expertise is expanding in new ways thanks to the development of an undergraduate program in Landscape Architecture in the Faculty of Agriculture.

Dalhousie will soon become the only Atlantic Canadian university to offer an undergraduate program in Landscape Architecture, and only one of three to do so across Canada.

What exactly is landscape architecture? As the Canadian Society of Landscape Architecture explains, it involves, combining art and science in the creation and preservation of built environments, taking a holistic approach that recognizes that the needs and activities of people can be complementary parts of larger environmental services.

The new Dalhousie program will include areas of study that explore site and ecosystem analysis, engage in collaborative design exercises, apply concepts of sustainability and efficiency, create construction details and specifications, and enhance our environment both aesthetically and ecologically. Students will receive training to develop technical skills in design, communication, installations and management.

Tracey MacKenzie, professor in the Department of Environment Sciences, is excited for the program to begin and believes it will fill a niche within the industry.

This program is about making connections between the landscape contracting industry and landscape architecture, she says. It will focus on designing functional spaces, using an interdisciplinary approach that includes horticultural and engineering skills and applying environmental knowledge to create site solutions. This program will encourage students to be in tune with natural ecosystems and apply a creative mindset to tackle various environmental and design challenges.

From a Dal perspective, Prof.MacKenzie explains that this new program will complete a trio of related programming at the university: architecture, planning and now landscape architecture.

Students will have the opportunity to pursue a career where you can definitely make a difference in the environment, says Prof. MacKenzie. The foundation of the program will be the idea of sustainability being a key part of landscape development. This will be a multi-disciplinary education which includes engineering, horticulture, design and the environment.

The Landscape Architecture program is scheduled to begin in September 2015. Students will be able to complete a Bachelor of Technology degree on the Agricultural Campus in Truro, which can be followed by further study of a masters degree.

This new program has recently gained the attention of the president of the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU), Dr. Siren Lan, who himself is an internationally renowned landscape architect.

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Faculty of Agriculture launches new program in Landscape Architecture

Shreveport police seek woman wanted for forgery Shreveport police seek woman wanted for forgery

Updated: Wednesday, December 3 2014 11:56 AM EST2014-12-03 16:56:46 GMT

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Updated: Tuesday, December 2 2014 11:19 PM EST2014-12-03 04:19:45 GMT

A traffic stop near the Marthaville community in Natchitoches Parish led to the arrests of two men on felony drug and weapon charges.

It happened around 11:50 p.m. on Monday on LA Highway 120 near LA Highway 487. Deputies stopped a 1992 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by 38-year-old Andrew Cobb of Robeline, for a traffic violation.

Deputies say that during the traffic stop, Cobb and his passenger 30-year-old Christopher Scott Van Hook, were acting suspicious. After getting permission to search the vehicle, deputies reportedly seized a small amount of suspected methamphetamines, drug paraphernalia and a Remington .270 semi-automatic rifle. Deputies also reportedly found ammunition on Van Hook.

Cobb and Van Hook were both arrested and charged with possession of CDS schedule II methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal possession of a firearm during a narcotics offense and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Both were booked into the Natchitoches Parish Detention Center.

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Traffic stop leads to drug arrest in Natchitoches Parish

Monday, December 1, 2014, by Rachel B. Doyle

Italy carpet. Photo courtesy of Florian Pucher

The intricate "landcarpets" designed by Austrian architect Florian Pucher use shape and color to depict various terrains around the world. "I have always been inspired by watching the landscape go by when I fly," says Pucher. The Netherlands-themed carpet renders the country's flower farms as squares of pink ensconced within a sea of green and blue plots meant to resemble fields and canals. The carpets dedicated to the Bahamas and Hong Kong have harbors and singular coastlines. "I browse through large areas of various countries via satellite image services to find a typical landscape, then trace the main features, abstracting and simplifying in the process to finally expose the essence of the landscape," says Pucher. Looking at his carpets is like going up in a hot air balloon, and staring down at the grids of color below, all without leaving your living room.

Netherlands carpet. Photo courtesy of Florian Pucher

Bahamas carpet. Photo courtesy of Florian Pucher

Italy carpet. Photo courtesy of Florian Pucher

Africa carpet. Photo courtesy of Florian Pucher

Hong Kong carpet. Photo courtesy of Florian Pucher

Netherlands carpet. Photo courtesy of Florian Pucher

USA carpet. Photo courtesy of Florian Pucher

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Art of Mapping: Topographic Rugs Bring the Best Part of Flying Into Your House

RIVINGTONS historic terraced gardens were featured on a national television show.

BBC flagship magazine programme Countryfile broadcasted three separate segments on the famous gardens on Sunday night, with presenter John Craven exploring the history, landscape and social impact of the gardens.

The former newsround host spent a day at the site, which lies on the border of Horwich and Chorley, speaking to different people involved with the much-loved gardens.

The terraced gardens were the brainchild of Bolton-born soap magnate Lord Leverhulme, who owned the land, and designed by internationally renowned landscape architect Thomas Mawson.

The gardens require preserving and protecting and after previously securing 64,000 of initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, a bid is currently being put together to apply for a 3.3 million grant, which is due to be submitted in February.

Rivington Heritage Trust Chairman Bryan Homan said:The fact that BBC Countryfile has come to the Terraced Gardens, and that the Gardens speaks volumes for their importance as a national historic and landscape treasure.

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Historic terraced gardens featured on prime time BBC show

N. Gilsoul (MIAW 2014)
Intervento tenuto in occasione di MIAW 2014 http://www.miawpolimi.it In lingua inglese Nicolas Gilsoul is Grand Prix de Rome, architect, graduate in natural science...

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NEW YORK On Manhattans Far West Side, they built an elevated railroad in the 1930s because freight trains and pedestrians kept colliding down on 10th Avenue. The trains won.

On the High Line today, the locomotives are long gone, and the pedestrians have emerged the victors. Seven days a week, a shifting throng simultaneously observes and forms its own pageant. By 10 a.m., the early joggers, commuters and yoga students have melted away before the arrival of the walkers, heading up through Chelsea or down to the Meatpacking District. They stop like currents in an eddy for a while, or they find a grassy backwater, but mostly they go with the flow. The polyglot visitors find a trendy destination, the natives a transcendental sidewalk that stretches a mile and a half, now that the third and last segment opened this fall.

The path narrows to just a few feet for much of its course, yet almost 5 million visitors pass one another every year in relaxed good cheer. Just five years after opening, the High Line has become one of the top visitor attractions in New York more popular even than the Statue of Liberty and an emblem of the reversal in the historical decline of the American city in general and Gotham in particular.

It has become an archetype for cities everywhere craving their own High Line mojo. In Washington, it is the inspiration for a proposed elevated park where the old 11th Street Bridge crossed the Anacostia River and, separately, for a component in the long-range redevelopment of Union Station.

The reasons for its broad appeal are both tangible and elusive but reduce to this: The High Line serves up the Big Apple on a platter 30 feet high. Look eastward, and you can savor the view of Midtowns iconic skyscrapers. Look west, and the Hudson River lolls by, black and sparkling in the autumn light. The High Line takes you, voyeuristically, past the windows of high-rise offices and apartments and, increasingly, close to the swanky condos rising around it. You can look down to the bistros of the once-gritty Meatpacking District, or the leafy cross streets of West Chelsea, or the ribbons of silver commuter cars in the Hudson Rail Yards.

For all the attention-grabbing vistas, the focus eventually settles on the parks interior character. It is a runway where people go to see and to be seen, like a return to the 19th-century promenade synonymously a place and an act, where generations past put on their Sunday best and headed to the park, not to walk but to strut.

And while the High Line propels movement, that doesnt necessarily mean getting from here to there, said Chris Reed, a landscape architect who teaches at Harvards Graduate School of Design and who takes students to the High Line. The act of the promenade is something we lost in the 20th century, and a project like this allows us to focus on just that, the experience of movement.

The idea of reusing old transportation corridors is not new in Washington, the C&O Canal, and the Capital Crescent and W&OD trails, are obvious examples of such reincarnations. But the High Lines success has been so swift that its success appears in hindsight to have been preordained. This would be a misread.

From rail cars to wildflowers

After the last train squealed its way along the tracks in 1980, the High Line became just another peeling grave marker to old, working New York. In time, the rails took on a mantle of rust, and the rotting ties and track ballast turned into a growing medium for weeds. Some of the weeds took the form of pretty wildflowers goldenrod, milkweed and Queen Annes lace; some were thuggish trees and vines. Together, though, they imprinted the idea of vegetation turning the High Line into a garden, however feral, apart from the city.

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New Yorks High Line: Why the floating promenade is so popular

Landscape Architect in Delray Beach, FL
A landscape architect can offer several office construction solutions to improve the look of your property. The presentation of your property makes a big imp...

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Landscape Architect in Delray Beach, FL - Video