Smart optics bring natural light and flourishing plants to the Lowline experiment, a foray into subterranean parks.
“It is lit by soft, bright rays that bounce off an aluminium canopy. When a cloud passes by, it gets dimmer; you look up almost expecting to see a skylight. Ferns, palms and Spanish moss hang from the ceiling. Funnelled from three solar panels on the roof, the light is refracted but still natural, so it contains the full spectrum of colours that plants need to flourish …”
The problem is not that overworked professionals are all miserable. The problem is that they are not, writes Ryan Avent.
“I could anticipate with perfect clarity how the rhythm of life would slow as we left the city, how the external pressure to keep moving would diminish. I didn’t want more time to myself; I wanted to feel pushed to be better and achieve more. It wasn’t the stress of being on the fast track that caused my chest to tighten and my heart rate to rise, but the thought of being left behind by those still on it.”
If we have to have a wall, let’s make it a socially responsible, sensitive feat of engineering and design, asks the Third Mind Foundation.
“What the magazine Slate has called ‘The Great Wall of Trump’ may or may not be a better answer. But if, as polls indicate, it is an idea that is gaining some traction among a significant amount of Americans, we believe it should be considered as a serious architectural question.
“Can the idea of a wall be combined with architectural activism?
“This is the competition’s challenge: To bring bold humanitarian solutions, creativity and innovation to bear on alternative ideas of a border wall.”
Street Furniture Australia’s entire product range and manufacturing operation has received carbon neutral certification through Climate Active™. Achieving carbon neutral certification marks a significant milestone in our operation and the culmination of a four year long process of detailed measurement and analysis. Climate Active™ is the only Australian government-backed carbon neutral certification programme for businesses to measure, reduce, and offsets their carbon emissions. It is one of the most rigorous carbon-neutral programs in the world. An approved Emissions Reduction Strategy (ERS) is central to achieving certification through Climate Active. Street Furniture Australia has elected to use SBTi validated science-based targets to ensure their ERS is meaningful and aligns with the 2015 Paris Agreement – to limit global temperature rises to 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels. For those emissions that can’t be …
Linea Bin is the newest addition to Street Furniture Australia’s minimalist Linea range. Built from stainless steel for strength, durability and a refined aesthetic, it has been thoughtfully designed with input from landscape architects and waste managers to deliver hygiene, accessibility and sustainability in the public realm. Built to LastA robust stainless steel frame and panel system ensures Linea Bin performs in high-traffic environments. A full-height stainless steel 316 piano hinge and splash tray provide exceptional strength, hygiene and corrosion resistance, withstanding daily impacts from trolleys and cleaning equipment. “Durability was paramount,” says Pearson Bulmer, Senior Industrial Designer at Street Furniture Australia. “Every detail needed to perform in the public realm for years to come – but also be designed for disassembly so parts can be repaired, replaced or recycled …
With the look and feel of natural timber, backed by 12 months of performance testing for the public realm, engineered wood joins Street Furniture Australia’s selection of batten materials. Designers and place custodians can now choose from three batten options to achieve a timber look: natural Spotted Gum hardwood, low maintenance aluminium Wood Without Worry, and engineered wood known as Onewood HRT. See our Engineered Wood: Onewood HRT brochure or book a presentation. What is engineered wood?Onewood HRT (Homogeneous Reconstituted Timber) is a solid engineered timber, made from fast-growing FSC certified poplar and eucalyptus fibres that are compressed under heat and pressure with a resin binder. It is solid throughout with an organic grain and, like real hardwood, can be sanded to refresh. Street Furniture Australia partners with a Singapore-based …
Director of light, Anthony Bastic Vivid light curator and international event designer Anthony Bastic activates public spaces, often after dark, with light projections and art installations for massive audiences. About to bathe Sydney in colour with Vivid, StreetChat asks how the places landscape architects design inform his work. What drew you to a career in events, particularly outdoor events? I have always had a passion for attending outdoor events, whether it be a music concert, parade, fireworks display or theatre performance in a park. My parents would take my siblings, cousins and I along to see everything free that was on offer: Sydney Festival concerts in the Domain, Hyde Park events, NYE Fireworks and so on. It became the norm in my family to experience all these wonderful events that were outside of …
Marrickville Public School is the winner of the $100,000 My Park Rules competition playground transformation. The contest, hosted by AILA and 202020 Vision, encouraged schools to submit ideas on how to reinvigorate their outdoor spaces. Jury Chair Kylie Legge, from Place Partners, says the winning New South Wales school’s community spirit inspired the jury of landscape and greening experts, which included Lucy Turnbull. “The community of students, staff and parents illustrates how the creation of a shared vision can also be a call to arms to be the change you want to see in the world,” she says. Expanses of hard asphalt will be lifted to make way for green space, including an orchard zone to grow food with the local community. Tract Consultants designed the new space in collaboration with the school. Proud sponsor …
Superblocks to the rescue: Barcelona’s radical new strategy will restrict traffic to a number of big roads, drastically reducing pollution and turning secondary streets into citizen spaces for culture, leisure and the community. “In a city as dense as ours, it’s all the more necessary to re-conquer spaces.” Visit the Guardian article. Photo by Kaspars Upmanis on Unsplash. 7 placemaking tips: The Project for Public Spaces is a wealth of knowledge and research on how to create vibrant places rather than just useable spaces. Vox Urban highlights seven pearls of wisdom. In three words, these are: Engage with community Place, not space Collaborate with partners Prepare to push Observe local users Triangulate related elements Value, not cost. Read the full story. Photo: Sydney Living Museums. 104 year old street artist yarn bombs town Grace Brett might be …
