by Associated Press

Published: January 10,2014

Tags: bridge, Bridge of Sighs, city government, city of Natchez, community development, David Gardner, engeinner, engineering, infrastructure, Jared Acy, landscape archtiecture, landscape atrchitect, Natchez Preservation Commission

NATCHEZ The City of Natchezs Bridge of Sighs project has been approved by a local preservation commission.

The Natchez Preservation Commission on Tuesday approved a conceptual design by landscape architect Jared Acy.

The Natchez Democrat reports that the project had been delayed for past couple of months after the commission asked the City of Natchez for more detailed plans for the bridge.

The Bridge of Sighs will replicate a now-gone pedestrian bridge at the top of Silver Street. It will allow pedestrians to use the Natchez Trails to cross the street rather than fight traffic. The project has received two $100,000 grants, one from the Federal Highway Administration and another from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

City Engineer David Gardner has said the project involves using a prefabricated bridge, meaning it will be built off-site by a manufacturer and assembled on location.

Now that the projects preliminary design has been approved, Gardner said the city can create bid guidelines that include the approved design. The commissions input, Gardner said, will also be included in further design details once a builder is selected.

This project is worth of a lot of critiquing because I mean, obviously, weve got to get it right the first time, Gardner said. Its a project that is going to last generations from now, and its just critical that we make it perfect.

Continued here:
Commission approves design of new bridge

KUALA LUMPUR: THE National Landscape Department (JLN) has resumed the construction of a 3.5m high fence along a 4.7km stretch in Bukit Kiara Park, after receiving the go-ahead from the cabinet last August.

JLN director-general Esa Ahmad said the fence was necessary to curb illegal rubber tree tapping and tree felling by illegal immigrants to build settlements, both of which have long been rampant in the park.

The fence was also important to demarcate the park borders, he said.

Esa said the fence was designed according to specifications provided by the Peninsular Malaysia Forestry Department and was wildlife-friendly as it would allow animals to pass underneath.

He also refuted claims by some conservation groups that 3,000 trees were felled to make way for the fence.

"Only about 100 trees, mostly rubber trees, were cut down for the fence project," he said.

The fence is expected to be completed in March.

The slope repair and soil erosion control works at the park, which started on Oct 17 last year, is expected to be completed on Feb 5.

JLN architect Hamzah Hashim, who was also at the site, assured the public that they did not have to worry about another landslide occurring.

"We decided that the best solution was to reduce the steepness of the slope from 60 to 35, followed by the installation of nets and planting of grass along the slope to control soil erosion.

Read more here:
Fence design is wildlife-friendly

Longtime Kula resident Warren McCord, 79, wears many hats. He and his family have owned and run the Kula Botanical Garden since 1968. McCord, a retired Air Force officer and landscape architect, has participated in environmental activities here for decades and is president emeritus of Maui Outdoor Circle. But since 2001, the project closest to his heart has been the establishment of a Baldwin Avenue bike path.

A less persistent person might have given up long ago.

McCord said he first became interested in the project beginning in 2001, when a bike path from Pa'ia to Makawao was prepared for the county by a Honolulu engineering firm.

Longtime Kula resident Warren McCord, president emeritus of Maui Outdoor Circle, has been an advocate for the Baldwin Avenue bike path since it was first proposed in 2001. Thirteen years later, he believes the project has a broad base of support, and would like to know what is causing the delay.

He said that plan was presented to public in July of same year and reviewed by a group of interested citizen and members of the Outdoor Circle.

"The plan," he said, "proposed widening Baldwin Avenue six feet on the north side and five feet on south side. This design eliminated all the landscaping for houses on the north side and removed every shower tree on south side."

"Needless to say, this design was unacceptable," he recalled. "What came next was a proposal by the Outdoor Circle to modify the original plan. In this version, it would run from the Makawao Cemetery to the Pa'ia Gym totally off the roadway and just below the shower trees. It called for a two-way, ten-foot-wide bicycle and recreation path and would not need to remove any trees or landscape features."

The modified plan was accepted by the county soon after.

"In order to project the shower trees planted by Ethel Baldwin around 1900 and later planting by Mayor Hannibal Tavares," McCord said, "an ordinance was drafted and passed by the council, placing all the shower trees on the exceptional tree list, which gave them legal protection."

McCord said "a second plan was prepared by the same engineering firm and presented in August 2003. This plan was based on the concept of the ten-foot-wide, two-way path below the shower trees. However, it had some grading issues, and both the county and the Outdoor Circle agreed that further thought would need to be given to the area near Rainbow Park. In order to improve the design, the Maui Outdoor Circle proposed a community design review."

See the original post:
It's Been a Long Road for Baldwin Avenue Bike Path

News Firm Projects Contact keywords Aleatoric Landscape Insectaries Amphitheater Farm Woggle Venice Biennale Libraries LEED Sculpture Garden PRESIDIO EXCHANGE PROPOSAL // GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY TEAM (Rendering: Steelblue) PRESIDIO EXCHANGE PROPOSAL // GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVANCY TEAM (Rendering: Steelblue) MARIN COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL WALLER CREEK COMPETITION | Austin, TX TRANSBAY TERMINAL | Streetscape + Open Space Concept Design SOCIAL NETWORKING COMPANY CAMPUS PACIFIC OVERLOOK BETTER MARKET STREET PLAN: STREET LIFE ZONE | for illustrative purposes only UCSF CENTER FOR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE | Site Design MINT PLAZA YERBA BUENA STREET LIFE PLAN | Annie Street Redesign SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART | Rooftop Sculpture Garden SCRIBE WINERY + VINEYARD ARCHSTONE POTRERO | Interior Courtyard PARKMOBILES | Movable Garden Parklet THE ANNENBERG ESTATE AT SUNNYLANDS | Cultural Landscape TAUBE-KORET CAMPUS FOR JEWISH LIFE TREASURE ISLAND REDEVELOPMENT MASTER PLAN CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES | West Garden Plan PACIFIC OVERLOOK SERRAMONTE STORMWATER DEMONSTRATION GARDEN CLEVELAND FLATS CONNECTIONS PLAN SF MOMA ROOFTOP SCULPTURE GARDEN PALO ALTO RESIDENCE MARIN COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL CLEVELAND FLATS CONNECTIONS PLAN YERBA BUENA: A COMMUNITY DESIGN INITIATIVE | Exhibit at SPUR + Parkmobiles HERCULES LIBRARY PACIFIC COMMONS | A Woggle-Inflected Ecological Mosaic PLANT RECORDING STUDIO LICK WILMERDING HIGH SCHOOL PACIFIC OVERLOOK SUNNYLANDS ANNENBERG ESTATE DUBOCE PARK YOUTH PLAY AREA CRISSY FIELD ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER MISSION CREEK PARK CSU FULLERTON | Student Housing Phase II PANHANDLE BANDSHELL WALLER CREEK COMPETITION Facebook Twitter

Read more from the original source:
CMG:Landscape Architecture

If you worked on a house for five years, you'd call it a labor of love, right? What if that process took 25 years? Is there a name for that?

This is the story behind architect Paul Zajfen's epic quest in Laguna Beach.

Zajfen, a design principal at the Los Angeles firm CO Architects, bought an ocean-view site on the steep, winding bluffs of Laguna in 1989. His dream was to create a modern oasis, hugging the landscape and opening to the elements. Then things got messy.

First, a lawsuit by locals to ensure that lots on Zajfens street were buildable held up the project for about five years. Next came changes to the neighborhoods specific plan, which delayed construction for several more years. Around 2000, the architect began the painful slog through the local design review committee, a process that lasted until 2007.

Zajfen still grimaces at the thought of neighbors fighting his contemporary structure because it didnt fit into the local guidelines calling for rustic architecture. In Laguna, that means re-creations of New England, Italian or Spanish Colonial designs.

PHOTO GALLERY: Paul Zafjen's Laguna Beach house

Even though Ive done this stuff a ton of times for big clients, the process was physically affecting me more than anything Id ever experienced, Zajfen said. I thought I was going to die.

The review committee reacts to neighbors concerns, and there were plenty: the homes size, its openness, its lighting, the large amount of glass.

After half a dozen trips to the board, Zajfen finally got the citys blessing. He started construction in 2010 and recently completed the house. It displays some of the compromises necessary to get approval, including a lower profile and a discordant brown stucco entryway on the top floor that does indeed look almost rustic.

But his dream has been realized, somehow. Visiting the house can be nothing short of magical.

Originally posted here:
25 years in the making, a dream house rises in Laguna Beach

Visitors to the renovated McClatchy Park later this year could see hints of a roller coaster, carousel and zoo in new playground structures all reminiscent of the sites past as an amusement park.

It will attract parents to bring kids from all over the city, said Dennis Day, associate landscape architect with the Sacramento Department of Parks and Recreation. There is so much history in this park.

Sacramento City Council members tonight will consider granting a $2.4 million contract to Goodland Landscape Construction of Tracy to renovate a portion of the 15.2-acre site in Oak Park. If approved this month, work can start as early as April and finish in the fall.

This is the largest investment in McClatchy Parks history, said Day, adding that the park will be 125 years old this year.

The city plans to spend just under $3 million on the park makeover. The proposal calls for a new, greatly expanded playground with a water spray area for hot summer days, a butterfly garden and a picnic pavilion. A new adventure area will have play structures that will resemble a roller coaster, trolley cars and concession stand items, while a new tot area will have concrete animals, a mini train and fun house elements.

A skate park and jogging trail also will be built in response to resident demand. A basketball court will be replaced by a half-size court and a drop shot game court for younger children.

Funding for the project will come mainly from a Proposition 84 state grant and developer fees. Proposition 84, which voters approved in 2006, funds projects related to water quality, natural resource protection and state and local park improvements.

More than a century ago, the site at 3500 Fifth Avenue was an 8-acre amusement park known as Oak Park. In 1913, it was renamed Joyland, which had a three-story wooden roller coaster, a small zoo and a carousel, among other attractions. Fire destroyed most of the rides in 1920, but the park was partially reconstructed.

When Joyland closed in 1927, Valentine McClatchy bought the site. He donated the property to the city for a park on the condition that it be named after his father, James McClatchy, a founding editor of The Sacramento Bee.

The renovation will require that the playground, tennis and basketball courts be relocated, but the other existing facilities the amphitheater, swimming pool and softball field, as well as the farmers market will stay where they are and remain open during the park makeover.

See the original post:
Sacramento considers McClatchy Park makeover

Landscape Architect Tampa - Call: (813) 448-6059
http://landscapingprostampa.com/landscape-architect-tampa AAP Lawncare 4216 S Manhattan Ave, Apt 201, Tampa FL 33611 (813) 448-6059 0 http://landscapingprost...

By: AAP Lawncare

Read the original here:
Landscape Architect Tampa - Call: (813) 448-6059 - Video

It was a single tree a fairly average-size cedar elm that in any other Central Texas landscape wouldnt have seemed remarkable.

But leafless, painted white, seemingly hovering over the middle of Lady Bird Lake and accompanied by 14,000 prayer flags that lined the nearby lakeshore path, that tree became arguably the most-seen work of art in Austin in 2013.

A project sponsored and funded entirely by the nonprofit arts organization Women & Their Work, Thirst was a collaboration between artist Beili Liu, architects Emily Little and Norma Yancey and landscape architect Cassie Bergstrom. Conceived as a symbol of the more than 300 million Texas trees lost to the recent drought, Thirst withstood two floods and drew enormous attention and chatter, with images of it ricocheting around social media.

And in combination with other progressive public arts projects that debuted last year, Thirst also suggested a turning point for art in Austins public realm. In the past year, significant public art projects have been launched at the University of Texas, in East Austin and at the Contemporary-Laguna Gloria.

I think Austin is beginning to get to the point where perhaps we realize we dont have to resort to the standard conventions of public art, says Doug Dempster, dean of UTs College of Fine Arts. Perhaps were beyond the bronze age of considering heroic bronze statues as the only kind of public art.

Just a couple of weeks after Thirst debuted in late September, James Turrells The Color Inside opened on the University of Texas campus. The curvilinear chamber on top of the Student Activity Center is one of Turrells skyspaces, a roofless structure designed to capture a view of the sky.

The structures aperture is surrounded by computer-controlled LED lights that illuminate the walls with changing color during an hourlong program every sunset and sunrise and radically yet subtly alter a persons view of the heavens.

A pioneer in the use of light as an artistic medium, Turrell is one of the most important living American artists today, and the October opening of The Color Inside a $2.1 million project by UTs public art program, Landmarks garnered national attention. And the buzz continues.

Demand to view The Color Inside has been so strong, in fact, that UT officials have had to extend the reservation system to see the piece even though original plans had been to dispense with reservations a month after the piece premiered. (Viewing The Color Inside is free, and the work is available for viewing any time the Student Activity Center is open. Reservations to see a sunset light sequence are needed and can be made online at turrell.utexas.edu.)

Meanwhile, during the wildly popular East Austin Studio Tour in November, the citys Art in Public Places program launched Tempo, the citys first temporary public art initiative.

Go here to read the rest:
Public art takes a leap forward

Posted: 12:41 am

This rendering shows what the southwest view of the intersection of Avenida Bernalillo and the access road to Interstate 25 will look like when a planned landscaping project is complete. (Courtesy of the town of Bernalillo)

Bernalillos southern entry point from Interstate 25 is about to get a makeover that will replace mounds of earth with natural landscaping.

Town officials awarded a contract to Lee Landscapes on Dec. 23 to redo the corners of Avenida Bernalillo from the I-25 interchange to South Hill Road.

The intersection was reshaped a few years ago as part of a larger project to widen the freeway between the town and Albuquerque. That work left what Mayor Jack Torres calls an ugly berm.

Designed by landscape architect firm Morrow, Reardon, Wilkinson, Miller, the makeover will take advantage of the natural contours of the remnants of arroyos, using traditional building materials and native plants, said Maria Rinaldi, director of community planning and development.

It will include planting dozens of native trees and shrubs, spreading gravel and mulch, and installing lighting and irrigation, monument signs and concrete and adobe retaining walls.

Adobe work will be done by a crew from Bernalillos Youth Conservation Corps, a program that provides vocational and life skills to young people between 14 and 25 years old by teaching them traditional building skills.

Bernalillo received $275,591 in Federal Highway Administration funding toward the makeover and provided $68,898 in matching funds from gasoline tax revenue.

Rinaldi expects landscape work to start within a few weeks and last about three months. It is not expected to disrupt traffic flow, she said.

Read more from the original source:
Makeover to redo Bernalillo-I-25 entry

MARTIN KAY

Martin Kay, who lived in Key West for nearly 20 years, died peacefully at home on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013. He was surrounded by friends and family including husband Jon Allen of Key West and brother Roger Kay of Chelmsford, England. A designer, real estate developer and landscape architect, Martin was a well-known and beloved wit and friend in his adopted hometown.

Martin, 60, was born in London and earned a diploma from the prestigious Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. Gifted with a love of flowers, people and design, Kay opened Arcadia Flowers in West London. The successful shop grew into the stylish boutique VASE Flowers in central London. Adding stationery and gift packaging to his sought-after floral arrangements, the company eventually opened five shops in London.

Working with partner Jon Allen, Martin later helped create Jouralle, a fashion footwear brand for women. Martin developed marketing concepts, branding and designed lines of shoes for the company. Jouralle was sold to British Shoe Corporation, the U. K's largest maker of women's footwear which distributed Martin's designs worldwide.

Martin's heart and his flair for people and design found their truest home in Key West. Martin and Jon bought the languishing Island House guest house in 1999. The couple's combined talents for retailing, marketing, management and design transformed the property into a sophisticated and popular resort for gay men which OUT Traveler, along with a score of other gay publications and websites, call the best gay men's resort in the world. Jon Allen credits Martin's charm and style for much of the resort's early success.

Tangible accomplishments aside, Martin's innate kindness and humor won the hearts of many in Key West. Friends said he made them laugh and made them think. He loved to bring friends together and made visitors lifelong enthusiasts for Key West. "People choose Key West as their home for lots of reasons," said Jon. "One of the top reasons has to be the amazing people who live here: creative, quirky, warm, charismatic. Martin was surely one of those people."

Plans for a memorial for Martin will be announced in the coming weeks.

Editor's Note: A portion of the obituary was deleted from Sunday's newspaper. This is the corrected version.

See original here:
Obituaries