In mid-2015, the future of the Smithson’s design for Robin Hood Gardens in East London remains uncertain. The current proposal is demolition followed by re-building to a masterplan by Aedas. Richard Rogers and the Smithsons’ son (Simon, an architect) are …
Robin Hood Gardens landscape architecture London Read more »
No. Most of the cyclist deaths in London are caused by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) being unaware of cyclists. Due to HGVs being so much bigger than cyclists, a lot of drivers don’t tend to see the cyclist. Unfortunately, this …
London has much to learn about planning for cycling from other cities. But London does not, I suggest, have much to learn from Moscow. Nor do I think many landscape architects were involved with planning the cycle path, unless they were …
Like all Londoners, I expect to have to pay £80/year for the rest of my life for the Thames Tideway Tunnel. The ‘supersewer’ will run under the north shore of the river in Central London. Is this a good deal for Londoners? No. …
Thames Tideway Tunnel London: a landscape architect’s view Read more »
The London Branch of the UK Landscape Institute made these London_2050_green_infrastructure_2014_landscape_comment.pdf recommendations: SUMMARY of LI London Branch Recommendations 1. Make it clear that the principles of green infrastructure planning apply to the whole of London, not only to vegetated ‘greenspace’. …
Simon Jenkis argues that ‘London today has the only skyline in the western world that is unzoned and unplanned. I once asked Johnson’s deputy mayor for planning (yes, there is one), Sir Edward Lister, how many towers he thought appropriate …
Simon Jenkins on London’s skyline landscape and architecture Read more »
Garden streets are a very special type of green street. They are effectively traffic calmed by local residents extending their gardening activities into the public realm. Such initiatives tend to come from individual activist gardeners who show what can be …
Ian McHarg included a chapter ‘On Values’ in Design with nature. It sets out his views on the beliefs and historical ideas which guided his approach to landscape architecture. His discussion is short and unsatisfactory, but many important issues are …
Landscape architecture, Ian McHarg and green environmental ethics Read more »
When the Walkie Talkie (20 Fenchurch Street) was nearing completion it attracted publicity for its capacity to fry eggs on the pavement. Rafael Viñoly’s great facade behaved like a solar mirror, as shown in the below video. The sun shade …
The landscape architecture of tall buildings in London Read more »
