The annoucement of three winners for the Re:Vision Dallas Competition on Bustler was telling in some of the interesting forms, and the consistency of veg.itecture as a vital building element - particularly the use of roof and walls faces for environmental, aesthetic, and productive means. Check out the full array of info and pics on Bustler's excellent site... and as a teaser, here's a few pics of the winners:
Forwarding Dallas
Atelier Data & MOOV (Lisbon, Portugal)
:: images via Bustler
Entangled Bank
Little (Charlotte, North Carolina) 
David Baker and Partners Architects and Fletcher Studio (San Francisco, California) 
:: images via
It's interesting to see the different ways that a competition will push boundaries, particularly when you apply these to a specific site and/or program. Again, these are all visions (or re:visions) so there are some practicalities as play, but that's the key difference between competition and project - the lines are less distinct and the urge to color outside them is part of the fun.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Re:Vision Dallas = Vertical Green
Hadid, Green?
I'm somewhat ambivalent about the architecture of Zaha Hadid - as it is predominately removed from context and placed, like sculpture, in the landscape. The new 850,000 sf design museum, library and educational facility in Seoul, South Korea offers a glimpse of green surfacing over the typical organic blobs, in an attempt at innovation connection to social context.
:: image via Treehugger
Hadid is quoted in Treehugger (via Archinnovations): "A fundamental aim of the scheme is to bring delight and inspiration to the people of Seoul by establishing a cultural hub in the centre of one of the busiest and most historic districts of the city” says Zaha Hadid. “The design has been governed by the belief that architecture must enable people to think beyond existing boundaries to reach innovative design solutions. This combined investment in education and research, together with the city’s public cultural programmes will inspire new generations of designers, helping to maintain Korean industry’s reputation as a leader in innovation.”
:: image via Treehugger
The issue with schemes like this, which has been discussed many times, is the 'landscape' consists of complete inert and ambiguous green shades - denoting nothing specific about the material or its nature. Again the idea of painting on green (in this case with three lusty shades) misses the point of the idea of Veg.itecture to transcend mere decoration. The fact that the spaces are usable and accessible makes for a move in the right directions - but is this a range of grassy or sedum fields, or something akin to a real landscape? It'll be interesting to see this move forward and more to interpret more detail on the future iterations and eventual final project.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Dwell Does Landscape
Recently there was a cadre of posts from the Dwell blog focused on the landscape - as part of the 101 Landscape. The content was mostly passable, with some information on this history of the profession, and an interesting article on lawn reduction... amongst some others.
:: image via Dwell
I was particularly interested in the quotes from a trio of noted landscape architects on the Future of Landscape Architect. The throwaway of these is Kathryn Gustafson's quote on the urbanist tendencies and the style that follows - with this gem: "I think the idea of the American home is being redefined,” explains Kathryn Gustafson. “Landscape is becoming more integrated into our cities and our [domestic spaces].” 
:: image via Dwell
Diana Balmori, one of the L+U favs, offers some wisdom on the idea of design for a residential scale beyond the typical garden plot. “Many wish to have usable space for play, exercise, games, or for the feeling of openness. It’s the creation of many options that is interesting... Landscape architecture is not a correcting or mitigating agent for architecture. When engaged simultaneously with the architecture, it transforms it and makes possible connectivity between inside and outside.”
:: image via Dwell
The final quote, from Michael Van Valkenburgh, offers an interesting twist on the value of residential design. “Although it may not be for everybody, [residential] design is by no means less important than the bigger commissions. Small projects, be they residential or not, are an important way for designers to explore new ideas, whether you are a newcomer or an experienced designer. Also, big projects sometimes take over a decade to design and complete. When you love the art of construction and planting as much as we do, you need some side projects that keep you in that atmosphere even while you are pursuing more long-term projects.”
He adds some info on the future from an educational perspective: “...one of the crucial elements I would like to see our program address better is the intersection between environmental science and design. How can landscape architects benefit from the most current research being done, and how can we push or lead research in ways that will help us to build landscapes that are both experientially rich and environmentally sound?” 
:: image via Dwell
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