Living landscapes breathe new life into centers
Landscape architects play a crucial role in conceptualizing spaces that “create and enable life between buildings.”
Their expertise is evident in a wide range of settings, from urban streets and housing estates to shopping malls, parks, gardens, schools, transport networks, and waterways.
It can also range from large-scale endeavors like urban design and landscape ecological design, to medium and smaller-scale projects that include residential landscapes, recreational parks, and landscape reclamation.
Let’s explore some of the remarkable landscape architecture projects abroad that have garnered acclaim in recent years.
Gardens By The Bay
Singapore
Landscape architecture firm Grant Associates designed and built what is now known as the award winning Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. This 54-ha masterplanned garden has become a famous destination that attracts over 12 million visitors a year to experience the unique indoor and outdoor horticultural attractions.
The main design of this leisure space was inspired by the orchid, the national flower of Singapore. According to the website of Grant Associates, the city garden “expresses the beauty of the orchid flowers through the exotic gardens and the physiology of the orchid through the sophisticated infrastructure for managing energy, water and waste.”
Gardens by the Bay has 18 distinctive Supertrees and two cooled Conservatories with futuristic features that made them recognizable landmarks of Singapore. At night, the gardens transform into a spectacular sound and light show at the Supertree Grove.
The Flower Dome provides an indoor environment for plants from the Mediterranean climate, while the Cloud Forest is home to endangered species from tropical montane cloud forest.
One Hive
India
StudioPOD Design revitalized a neglected space in Mumbai’s financial district and turned it into a vibrant public oasis for over 2,000 professionals.
One Hive is a multifunctional amphitheater with versatile, recycled concrete pods serving as seating and greenery modules. This distinctive pocket plaza features a raised deck and tensile canopies that become a bustling hub with food trucks and social activities.
According to StudioPOD, they utilized local stonecrete flooring that supports local businesses and withstands monsoon seasons. Native plants enhance biodiversity and mitigate the urban heat island effect. Sustainable practices, including rainwater harvesting and recycled materials, highlight One Hive’s commitment to environmental health and community well-being.
This project also won the Award of Excellence—Small Landscape Design in the 2024 World Landscape Architecture Professional Awards.
Cloud Song
United States
Cloud Song is an 8-acre development designed by Colwell Shelor Landscape Architecture. It is located in the Sonoran Desert and was built to house the Indigenous Scholars Institute and Cultural Center, and Business School on the Scottsdale Community College (SCC) campus in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Last year, it won the Honor Award—General Design from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).
According to ASLA, Cloud Song’s design is distinctly contemporary, “reflecting forms and shapes of Native American basketry, rugs, and pottery with a modern twist.”
A highlight of the development is the condensate “weeping wall” which is located contiguous to the Cultural Center’s main entry and is integrated into the building facade. The design was inspired by the streaking, patinated patterns on the Salt River Canyon walls after monsoon rains. Seven copper triangles surrounding condensate outlets in the wall are derived from Native American basket patterns.
The space also has an edible garden that produces native herbs, fruits and vegetables harvested by the Culinary College to educate students on indigenous foods, creating cross-cultural empathy, awareness, and open-mindedness.
Phase Shifts Park
Taiwan
Phase Shifts Park–a project by French landscape architects Mosbach Paysagistes, who partnered with Philippe Rahm Architectes to develop the lighting design–is an innovative and sustainable park. It won the Landscape Architecture of the Year in the 2023 BLT Built Design Awards.
This development combined technology and nature to transform a former airport ground into a 230-ha park that enhances the dialogue between soil and air, culture and nature, ecology, and urban life.
The park layout uses the original topography of the airport to create numerous installations, fields, and vantage points. The different fields of the park are designated to a sense. For example, there’s a “speech” field by a lake designed to create echoes, as well as a “smell” field, where you can find a plantation of highly perfumed flowers. The park is all about connecting with the surrounding biodiversity.
Sources: worldlandscapearchitect.com, design.asu.edu, bltawards.com, d5mag.com, asla.org, studiopoddesign.com, grant-associates.uk.com, architecturaldigest.com
