I lived in China for over 10 years and saw the transformation of cities through the building high-speed rail connections. The first weekend of my time in China in 2005, I took a K-Train to Suzhou(about 100kms from Shanghai) to see the gardens, and it took about 55-60 minutes on the train and we passed through […]
Heading towards Day Zero what can landscape architects do to reduce water stressed cities?
I recently posted a post on WLA (my landscape architecture blog) which aim to raise awareness of cities heading towards Day Zero such as Cape Town in South Africa who may have to progressively turn off taps in July throughout the city. Excerpt The city of Cape Town known as the hosting of the 2010 […]
Popups – fast food design or catalyst design
I recently published Pop ups – the fast food of landscape architecture or the catalyst for regeneration?  on WLA about popups with my main point that popups are a simple idea that has been co-opted by designers, cities, and organisations as a fashionable easy fix for bigger problems and also a “look we are doing […]
Alternative locations for Apple’s Federation Square Global Flagship Store
Recently the Victorian Government announced that the Yarra Building in Federation Square which currently accommodates the Koorie Heritage Trust is set to be demolished to make way for an Apple Global Flagship Store. The public backlash from the community was swift as there was no public consultation or Expression of Interest or due process. The […]
Australia`s Parliament House is about to get ring fenced
Just before the Houses of Parliament broke for the Christmas holiday they approved to increase security (or perimeter security enhancements as its known security jargon) at Parliament House by surrounding the roof and their lawns with 2.6 metre, 1.5 metre and 1.2 metre high fences at various intervals [pdf] which has drawn great ire from […]