Lanscape Architecture Awards

 

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AWARDS

Whilst looking through the Landscape Architecture awards gallery's, from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture (AILA), American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and Landscape Institute (LI), I came across several projects that took my interest and inspired me. I feel that it is important to develop my own likes and dislikes, in regards to landscape architecture, in order to develop my personal style. This exercise encouraged me to explore not only what I did and did not like, but also to evaluate why, and what aspects of a design draw, and hold, my attention. Understanding these allow me to be a more conscientious designer.

DRY GARDEN POETRY, ARTERRA LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS.

The first project that pulled my attention was the Dry Garden Poetry Project, by Arterra Landscape Architects. This project was given the Honor Award in Residential Design. What pleased me about this project was the sympathetic planting scheme and materiality, that complimented the local vernacular. Naturalistic planting and natural building materials, such as the boulders used in the winter terrace, as shown by the image below, allow the design to blend into the natural landscape, which is not only soothing to be in, but also holds a higher ecological value. The design supersedes being environmentally sympathetic in a general sense, through incorporating seasonal-specific zones, with the inclusion of a winter and summer terrace. This creates a more usable landscape, throughout the entirety of the year. I feel that the often assumed mono-climate of many designed landscapes is something that I will actively seek to combat, as a designer. 

I also loved the idea of creating outdoor rooms, as was done in this project. This reframes outdoor spaces as holding equal importance to indoor spaces, which is a fact that I feel needs to be more widely embraced! This technique invites the user to explore the entirety of the space, using corridors and doorways to draw the users intrigue into the next "room", as shown by the following image. 

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ENVIRONMENT + NATURAL RESOURCE II, COLWELL SHELOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.

The University of Arizona Environment + Natural Resource II project was a very complex brief, given the extreme dualistic climate of Arizona, with both harsh heat/drought conditions and heavy monsoon rainfall. The response is super in-depth and thoughtful. I was impressed by the longitudinal preliminary research approach that was used to provide the basis for the design. This shows the commitment to providing a sustainable, longevous landscape. Being the University's base for environmental research and studies, its unsurprising that this brief had to hit a very high environmental specification.  The outcome was the construction of a designed microclimate, that is so meticulously thought-through that it accommodates an entire, functioning ecosystem, as shown below.

The space uses principles of biophilic design, that acknowledges the needs of both people and nature, creating a symbiotic environment. For example, it uses climate-resilient methods such as its 5-story water harvesting system to promote cooling through evaporisation, whilst also dealing with the sites rainfall and run-off. This allows humidity-loving plants to thrive within the micro-climate, which further intensifies the cooling effect, creating a comfortable and inviting environment for both people and nature. 

The space is also visually very pleasing, as a result of its planting scheme and materiality, which appears to create a calming, oasis-like environment - what lucky students!

Links to project pages:

Dry Garden Poetry - https://www.asla.org/2023awards/7742.html 

University of Arizona - https://www.asla.org/2023awards/7755.html