Ira Keller Fountain in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Cultural Landscape Foundation.
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 make it more climate-friendly. This includes:
Reducing the amount of cement in concrete mixtures.
Integrating bio-based materials.
Layering structural concrete with materials to encourage the growth of CO2-absorbing moss and lichen (‘bioreceptive concrete’).
Glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRC).
3D concrete printing, to minimise material use while maximising surface area.
Cheonggyecheon is a 10.9-kilometre-long public park in downtown Seoul, South Korea, built on the former site of an elevated highway that had cut through the city.
This transformation in Seoul represents a drive to reorient cities toward people, says Marshall.
“As depicted in the recent and excellent documentary film The Human Scale, it’s a movement that now stretches from Melbourne to New York City, from Copenhagen to Chongqing,” he writes.
The “new changes can be seen as a course-correction to what cities did to themselves in the 20th century to accommodate cars.”
Marshall suggests three flaws with the idea that there are no alternatives to urban highways:
If highways are not there, people may take public transport or bicycle to work, they may work from home or move to the city.
Big highways can decrease mobility – removing them may improve the circulation of traffic.
The US, he says, is in the midst of a cultural shift away from the love of cars – with Americans driving fewer and fewer miles per capita each year.
Cheonggyecheon before, during construction and after.
Long Beach Designers Swap Hardscape for ‘All-Water’ Courtyard:
How do you activate apartment units buried under an imposing seven-story structure surrounded by a concrete jungle?
Californian landscape architect Urban Arena has designed a resort-inspired central space for residential and mixed-use development Oceanaire, in the coastal city of Long Beach.
Units looking onto this space now sell for more than ocean view units on the seventh floor, the designers say.
“Instead of laying out an array of podium planters only to be enjoyed through visual appearance at different points of the site, [we designed] one large, equally imposing space to be seen, felt, or heard no matter where you are,” they write.
“The crazy thing – it really wasn’t that much more cost to do all water versus all the raised planters and typical courtyard amenities.”
Timber decks constructed in the middle of the water aim to create a relaxing gathering experience. The fountain and pool is accessible to all residents.
The development also includes a dog park and outdoor fitness area.
To celebrate the unveiling of the Piatto Chair at our annual product launch party with AILA NSW in Sydney, Jazz at The Mint, clients were invited to enter this quirky contest. The competition called for teams to incorporate Piatto Chairs into an ‘Awkward Family Photo’ portrait, for a chance to win Piatto Chairs of their very own. Congratulations to the creative crew from Yerrabingin, who delivered the strongest awkward family vibes on the night. Highly commended goes to the entrants below, and the full photo gallery from the event is available for viewing. Please contact marketing@streetfurniture.com if you would like to request a high res file to print and frame for your best room.
Clients from Sydney, Adelaide, California and Texas joined Street Furniture Australia and AILA NSW to celebrate the unveiling of new products on March 14, 2024, with margaritas and live music. Jazz at The Mint is an annual product launch held at The Mint, an iconic site in the heart of the Sydney CBD. It is an elegant affair and a unique opportunity to connect with landscape architects and built environment professionals at a global scale. This year’s party featured the new Linea Planter System and upcoming Piatto Chair, a single-seater hybrid between cafe and robust public space furniture – available now for specifications. The gathering was opened by Uncle Allan Murray, representing the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council, with speeches from: Ben Stockwin, AILA CEO, acknowledged the 10 year relationship with …
The Street Furniture Australia factory, in Regents Park, Western Sydney, is both a manufacturing hub and R&D studio for our Australian-designed and made street furniture products. We run fun and informative group events for customers throughout the year, to share how products are designed, tested and built, and the latest products and projects. This tour is open to design specifiers such as landscape architects and architects, and place custodians including Councils, government agencies, developers and other place managers. Director of Tract Julie Lee said: “It was a great opportunity for our team to look behind the scenes and understand the innovation, research and climate positive outcomes Street Furniture Australia is focusing on. Thank you for having us!” Place Design Group Associate, Liam Isaksen, said: “The factory tour is a fun …
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 …
