Park Pavillion Design | Berrinba Wetlands | Australia | AR:2

An environmentally sensitive and significant project within a newly created recreation and wildlife reserve. Cameras placed in the landscape feed interactive technology in the Interpretive Centre. A timber skin unfolds to reveal its contents on the Kiosk. Kitchen and storage facilities form a wall in the Hire Structure; while amenities blocks and picnic shelters hover above and within the burgeoning landscape........more

Park Design | ‘New Icon of Iskandar Development Region | Johor | Malaysia | Mecanoo

A gift to the citizens of Johor, the new pedestrian park on a former Palm tree plantation will give the public a library and a mosque carved out of the natural topography in the surroundings of a beautiful park landscape. Iconic towers with waterfalls symbolize the fountain that gives life to its surroundings. Buildings will nestle comfortably in their surrounding landscape with little impact on nature. The new park is composed of rhythmic, metric patterns, an arabesque, that is centred around the symbols and motifs of Islam, with radiating geometric patterns throughout the landscape, on walkways and inside and outside of buildings.....more

Architectural Competition | Science and Art Park | Santa Fe | New Mexico | I+GC Arquitectura

Science and Art Park project presents numerous challenges of great magnitude, as seen from different perspectives.
On the one hand, the land is located in a strong commitment to urban sector, key to the future development and growth of the city of Santa Fe, In addition, a landscape level the game is through dialogue between the building program required to existing natural resources in the area, led by the Laguna Setúbal and the Ecological Reserve. Finally, it also highlights the fact the program content to hold in the park for education and training of people traveling through it.....more

Silent City -Tangshan Earthquake Memorial | Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture

Landscapes and cities contain information layers. These layers can exist physically, they can be visible or invisible, they can be abstract like cartographic grids, or remembrances. For Tangshan the layer of the 1976 earthquake will always be present, in the collective memory of its inhabitants and through its physical remains. For the memorial park we propose a monument that is omnipresent throughout the whole park constituting one of its many layers. Juxtaposed to greenery, paths and daily life remembrance becomes a natural part of the park. The dichotomized relationship between grief and hope, black and white, past and future reoccurs throughout the project materialized in the relationship between the message stones, the lanterns and the two parts of the ruin......more

Plasma Studio | Flowing Gardens | Xi'an,China

Flowing Gardens begins from a single line -- an axis extends from the Gate to the Greenhouse, travelling through the East and West Hills and over the lake, while extending into many sinuous paths, creating a network of intermingling circulation, landscape and water. Much like the legendary Silk Road, Flowing Gardens is connectivity, circulation, rejuvenation, and elegance.

The project proposes a hybrid of both natural and artificial systems. These two opposing systems are brought together in a synergy of waterscapes. Considering the amount of water needed for irrigation, the project seeks to introduce various technologies and designs found in nature, yet customised by man to suit his specific needs. Rainwater is collected and channelled into wetland areas; there, natural plants and reed beds are used to clean and store the water to be dispersed and used as irrigation water. These natural systems are integrated into the landscape as wetlands and ponds, which can also be enjoyed by the visitors as points of tranquillity and oasis......more

Urban Park | Lansdowne Park | Proposals By Five Architects

The long-awaited proposals for a new urban park at Lansdowne were unveiled at city hall Thursday.

Five designs by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates of Massachusetts, Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg of Vancouver, the SWA Group of California, West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture of Toronto and Williams, Asselin, Ackaoui & Associates of Montreal were presented anonymously, so they can be judged on the merit of the designs.

Design A includes an inlet for the Rideau Canal under an eastern stretch of Queen Elizabeth Drive. Under this proposal, the farmers’ market would be directly west of the Aberdeen Pavilion and the Horticulture building would not be relocated. It would also have a toboggan hill and footbridge at Fifth Avenue.

The most striking element of Design B is a large pedestrian bridge spanning the Rideau Canal and connected to Avenue Road, Riverdale Avenue and Echo Drive. The proposal includes a tall public art tower. The farmers’ market would be directly south of the Aberdeen Pavilion and the Horticulture Building would remain in place.

Design C creates a star-like design with its pathways and the Aberdeen Pavilion at the centre. Immediately east of the pavilion, which houses the farmers’ market, is a fountain. The Horticulture Building would be removed and its façade would be added to the covered plaza area.

Design D features a ribbon-like pathway leading from the pavilion to a pedestrian bridge over the Rideau Canal to Riverdale Avenue. The pond is bound by an esplanade. The farmers’ market would be inside the Horticulture Building, which would be shifted directly east to the other end of the Aberdeen Pavilion.

Design E features water running from the northeast corner of the current parking lot all the way to Brown’s Inlet. Under this plan, the Aberdeen Pavilion would have a telescopic, retractable inner skin, so the event space inside could be doubled if...more here

Dalki Theme Park + Shop, Heyri, South Korea | Slade Architecture

SLADE ARCHITECTURE
in collaboration with Ga.A Architects and MASS STUDIES
12,000 SF new construction (retail, entertainment)

The Ssamzie Corporation of Korea hired Cho Slade Architecture to design a flagship building for their Dalki product line. Dalki is a brand developed around a cartoon character created specifically as a marketing tool. It is similar to the Hello Kitty brand in Japan. The main character is Dalki, which means strawberry in Korean. She lives in a fruit patch with her friends; all of whom are also characterized by vegetable and fruit qualities.
Via

The Freedom Park, Salvokop, Pretoria, South Africa | GAPP Architects/ Urban Designers, MMA Architects, MRA Architects

A Key Presidential Legacy Project
One of the key Presidential Legacy Project, The Freedom Park was officially launched on 1 June 2000 as a response to the need identified by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for symbolic reparation of past conflicts in the history of South Africa. It is the product of the many processes engaged in by Government since 1994 to create and foster a new national consciousness of the common legacy that binds the people of South Africa. The foundation of The Freedom Park is thus based on the South African nation's reconciliation process as well as the advancement of the various rights entrenched in the constitution from a heritage perspective.

Bridges Parque Lineal de Manzanares 2007, Madrid, Spain | West 8

West 8, working together with MRIO, designed the master plan for the reclaimed riverbanks and the new urban area above the tunnels of the M30 highway in Madrid. The different parks that are part of the plan are connected by pedestrian bridges.

The bridges are designed as heavy concrete domes with a rough structure. One hundred cables carry the delicate steel deck as if they were whalebone.

On entering, the fine details of the bridge become clear. There is a fresco painted on the domed ceiling and lighting will be incorporated in the edges of the ceiling to light out the art work.
Text and images:West 8