Design / Design Concepts / Drainage / Environmental Management / Garden and Public Art / Landscape / Landscape Architecture / Landscape Construction / Landscape Design / Landscape Structures / Landscaping - Hard / Solar Power / Storm & Waste Water Systems / Water Management
Shaping the Future of Urban Living
In the coming 30 years, Australia’s population is projected to increase by 11.8 million people – the equivalent of adding a city the size of Canberra each year for the next 30 years. As Australia’s largest cities face a watershed moment in their growth and development, many are looking far and wide to the next...
Why are Old Eucalypts Worth Saving?
In urban landscapes, many consider large and old eucalypts a dangerous nuisance that drop limbs, crack footpaths and occupy space that could be used for housing. But when we remove these trees they are effectively lost forever. It takes at least 100-200 years before a eucalypt reaches ecological maturity. As trees mature, their branches become...
Design / Design Concepts / Environmental Management / Erosion Control / Green Walls & Green Roofs / Landscape Structures / Landscaping - Hard / Landscaping - Soft
Are Rooftop Amenities the New Standard Inclusion for Residential Development?
There’s no question that, as Australia’s population grows, high density living will become the way of the future, and with many young Australians looking to own their first home, it’s becoming the only affordable choice. Owning a two-bedroom apartment with sweeping skyline views is fast becoming the new Great Australian Dream and with affordable quarter-acre...
Design / Design Concepts / Environmental Management / Garden and Public Art / Landscape / Landscape Architecture / Landscape Construction / Landscape Design / Landscape Structures / Street and Outdoor Furniture / Water Features
The Public Space Moment
Public spaces are having a moment. People from outside the field of urban planning are beginning to notice the vital contributions they make to our quality of life: inserting nature and cultural memory into the everyday, reminding us of our collective responsibilities, supporting democratic expression. People are also beginning to notice the subtle ways in...
Top Tips for the Perfect Spring Lawn
Overwatering, “scalping” and turf varieties mismatched to the conditions are among the three most common traps for Australian homeowners in search of the perfect lawn, warns Toro Australia. Toro Australia’s Senior Marketing Manager – Equipment, Elise Willemsen, says Australian’s dream of having lush, green lawns, but for many, the reality is a patchy, uneven, brown...
Urban Design With Purpose
Strong urban design offers significant community benefits, better quality of life, safer and more secure cities and a greater ability to function as a society. It also provides each city with a unique sense of identity and establishes the framework for it to be more responsive to differing climatic, economic or social variables. Regardless of...
Grass Pavers – A Sustainable Alternative
Ever since the first asphalt streets were laid in Sydney in the early 1930s, the use of concrete has become the default choice for high pedestrian and vehicular traffic spaces throughout Australia’s urban landscape. Now with an increased focus on sustainability throughout design and the wider community, an attitude shift has occurred with people now...
Sustainability Lighting The Way
More cities are making the switch to smarter lighting solutions for their streets. Solar powered lighting, internet connected LED lighting and remote monitoring/controlling are just some of the latest features that can go into street lighting. But cities are not upgrading because of the novelty factor, these technologies have an important number of benefits that...
Forget Floating Farms or Farm Skyscrapers…
The dilemma caused by the combination of a growing population and the need to feed it from limited farming land has caused alternative agricultural growing methods to become an area of exploration for scientific and agricultural communities. The US city of Louisville, Kentucky, is set to become home to a major vertical farm from company FarmedHere, who...
Cycle Solar Power
It’s been one year since an innovative solar-paneled bike path was laid in Krommenie, Netherlands, and the results have even surprised the designers. Over the past year the path has generated 70 kilowatt-hours per square meter – enough to power about three houses. The people behind SolaRoad – a pioneering innovation in the field of...
Are We Underutilising Our Rooftops?
As our cities increase in density, new thoughts are emerging regarding how we configure our urban spaces and the best way to capitalise on our best resource for space – our rooftops. With the increasing density of our cities, Australians are starting to rethink how our urban space is configured. With space at such a...
Are Floating Farms the Answer?
Available arable land and agricultural space is on the decrease, while demand for food is higher than ever before. With worldwide populations expected to soar to 9.6 billion by 2050, food production will have to increase by 70% worldwide and by 100% in developing countries to keep up. The question is how can we solve this...
