Park it here
After three years of planning, and extensive community input, Market Street Park in Victoria opened in November. With all new developments, Baw Baw Shire Council tries to incorporate environmentally sustainable designs and the park is a great example of what can be achieved. “It’s evident to see that people are pretty happy with the result. Replas is, of course,...
Rootstock 2014
While Woodstock had some great music, it’s got nothing on Sydney’s Rootstock Festival – a celebration of music, wine, food and art, based on the philosophies of artisan, sustainable, authentic, natural, organic and biodynamic. A range of workshops will be on offer, including: the benefits of growing food at home, how to make a successful...
Greenwalls the new billboards
With the green wall and green roof trend ever growing, it’s no surprise that the concept of green wall billboards has taken root. The Greenwall Company are locating their first ever green wall billboard in the Green Square precinct in Sydney, an area renowned for its community projects and environmentally friendly spaces. Mark Paul, founder...
London skyscraper design not too bright
While skyscrapers are often criticised for negatively impacting the environment, this has never been more true than for the “Walkie Talkie” skyscraper, which is copping a significant amount of flak for melting parked cars. The “Walkie Talkie” is a 525 foot tall, 37-storey building currently under construction in London. Due to its distinctive concave design...
Fake mountain atop apartment block deemed unacceptable
A rooftop garden can make for a peaceful and relaxing sanctuary when living in a high-rise apartment in the centre of Beijing. However, this one Chinese businessman went a little over the top with his rooftop landscaping project, and by over the top, I mean covering a 26-storey apartment block in an artificial mountain. Local...
Tips for gorgeous, long-lasting pots
Words by - Anne Worsley Con·tain·er·o·lo·gy: It’s the art and science of container gardening – or how to grow a good-looking plot in a pot. But a “containerology” degree doesn’t have to be hard to earn,” joked Anthony Tesselaar of Anthony Tesselaar Plants, “All you have to do is take fellow gardeners’ advice about what works...
Designing accessible paths for all
When designing or constructing a path in a garden, be it private or public, we should always try our best to make it so that it provides a continuous accessible path of travel for the less able – people in wheel chairs and the visually impaired. The Australian Human Rights Commission defines a continuous accessible...
Blurring the boundaries between architecture and art
April 1st is the last day to visit the MCA and admire the impressive work of internationally renowned artist, Anish Kapoor. Anish Kapoor (British, born 1954) is a Turner Prize winning sculptor, born Mumbai, India. His Indian heritage and western philosophy has led him to create some of the world’s most ambitious and recognisable contemporary...
Kraftwerk to headline Sydney’s VIVID Festival
German music pioneers Kraftwerk have just been announced as a headlining act for Sydney’s VIVID Live program at the Opera House, as part of Sydney’s acclaimed light, music and ideas festival. NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Trade and Investment, Andrew Stoner says “Vivid Sydney continues to attract the world’s most outstanding talent, with German...
Nundle cleans up at the Tidy Town Sustainable Community Awards 2012
The very small village of Nundle has recently set a very big example to all surrounding towns and cities. Nundle is located in the New England region of New South Wales, 60km from Tamworth. The area has a rich history as a once prosperous gold mining town in the late 19th century. However, after the nearby hills...
Ryde’s Spring Garden Festival flourishes again
Ryde has a long history of gardening which can be traced back to early European settlement. To celebrate this tradition and to showcase the local green thumbs in the community, the City of Ryde holds an inaugural Spring Garden Competition. This competition is open to local residents, community groups, schools and businesses who wish to promote beautiful,...
The Stirling Prize winner 2012
After a highly anticipated wait, the Stirling Prize, one of the UK’s biggest architecture prizes, was announced in Manchester last Saturday. From the judges’ perspective, the project that has made the “greatest contribution to the evolution of architecture in the past year” was the Sainsbury Laboratory – an 82 million pound science facility by Stanton...
