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Could city parklands be used to house endangered fauna? UNSW students have proposed to create research and veterinary labs for native bats, birds and eels. Restored patches of habitat in Sydney’s Centennial Parklands could become sanctuaries for threatened species, they say. The proposal come from a two-week Sydney Urban Lab studio in January, overseen by US-based landscape architect Professor Richard Weller and Hassell. “In the case of Sydney, we decided to get a list of the species endangered both in the city and its region and the broader hotspot, which is really the eastern portion of Australia, and ask the question: could we take a piece of land in Sydney and use that as an incubator for these species, and from there the species could be relocated over time back …

Greta Thunberg Named Time Person of the Year 2019: The 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl who inspired a global movement to fight climate change is the youngest person to be chosen by the magazine, in a tradition that began in 1927. “Thunberg began a global movement by skipping school: starting in August 2018, she spent her days camped out in front of the Swedish Parliament, holding a sign painted in black letters on a white background that read Skolstrejk för klimatet: ‘School Strike for Climate’,” Charlotte Alter, Suyin Haynes and Justin Worland write for Time. “In the 16 months since, she has addressed heads of state at the U.N., met with the Pope, sparred with the President of the United States and inspired 4 million people to join the global climate strike …

What is the Future of Concrete in Architecture? According to Lucy Rodgers at BBC News, “if the cement industry were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter in the world – behind China and the US. It contributes more CO2 than aviation fuel (2.5%), and is not far behind the global agriculture business (12%).” At the UN 2018 COP24 Climate Change Conference in Poland, it was highlighted that in order to meet the requirements of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, annual cement emissions must fall by 16% by 2030. Experts and activists at the Architecture of Emergency climate summit in London in September called upon architects to fight climate change by ditching concrete. Niall Patrick Walsh writes in ArchDaily that designers may not need to avoid concrete altogether – but support innovations to …

Prioritising human experience through ‘soft’ cities: In his new book, called Soft City, Gehl creative director and partner David Sim considers how urban design can help a city feel more accessible and connected – that is, ‘softer.’ “For decades, so much urban planning has been focused on devising ways to reorganize human activity into distinct silos, to separate people and things, and, by doing so, reduce the risk of conflict,” Sim writes. “I would like, instead, to focus on how potentially conflicting aspects of everyday existence can be brought together and connected to deliver quality of life.” In a soft city, grocery stores and cafes are within walkable distance from your front door. The street is filled with people walking, biking and catching transit – not only cars. There are places …

Planting A Forest in a Football Stadium: Swiss curator Klaus Littmann and Enea Landscape Architecture hope to focus public attention on the crisis of deforestation with their public art installation, For Forest: The Unending Attraction of Nature. The project has converted the Wörthersee stadium in Klagenfurt, Austria, into a temporary native European forest. Some 300 trees, many of which are fully grown and some of which weigh nearly 13,227 pounds alone, occupy the stadium’s Astroturf and, together, form the country’s largest public art installation ever. Tree species include silver birch, alder, aspen, white willow, field maple, and common oak, sourced from three nurseries in Italy, Germany and Belgium. It took the team 22 days to ‘plant’ once the trees arrived in Austria. The work is inspired by The Unending Attraction …

Joy Through The Wall – Pink Seesaws Connect US-Mexico Communities: Architectural studio Rael San Fratello has installed three pink seesaws, or teetertotters, between the metal slats of the US-Mexico border wall, so people on either side can play together. Ronald Rael, who runs Rael San Fratello with architect Virginia San Fratello, posted images and videos of the installation on Instagram. The equipment was installed between El Paso in Texas and Ciudad Juárez in Mexico, in an opening event of “joy, excitement, and togetherness” says Rael. It has been one of the “most incredible experiences” of the duo’s careers, he writes in the post. “The wall became a literal fulcrum for US-Mexico relations and children and adults were connected in meaningful ways on both sides with the recognition that the actions …