'scape 1– 2007 (may)

Theme: Tempting strategies

Revival of a city
Bogota, a city once known as one of the most dangerous and chaotic cities in South America, now sets an inspiring example. The strategies for its remarkable revival included citizen culture, social inclusion, government credibility and public transport. They have transformed the city into a more attractive and enjoyable city to live in.

Decoding the strata
Two major plans for the landscape in South Limburg in the Netherlands show that regional planning is still alive. The strategy of the Landscape Vision for South Limburg is no-nonsense while the Master Plan for a Green Metropolis is more laissez-faire. Landscape architects play an important role in both.

Engaging with the flux
The architects from Bow-Wow experiment with space in a new vision on living in the Japanese post-bubble economy. They research, experiment and test their ideas in a strategy which shows a seductive sensitivity to topical urban life in super dense metropolises.

Soeters’ popular designs
His traditionalist design language speaks the language of ordinary people. His references to history tempt residents, shopkeepers, local councillors and developers but the cultural elite is more critical. We join Soeters for a day, ‘I like to make things people really hold dear.’

Other headings

Essay: a science of density
The problem of the growing consumption of space concerns not only the Netherlands but cities like Phoenix and Vancouver also. The concept of built density can be a useful tool in describing the conditions were this occurs and developing strategies to cope.

News
• Will the Olympics bring London a major new park?
• A new riverfront at Hanzhou
• A Biennal of power and forces
• ISoCaRP’s urban trialogues
• Slum areas and rubbish among the winners at Archiprix
• Richard Rogers ‘Nobel Prize for Architecture’ laureate
• Landscape prize for a ‘visual delight’ by Scottish bureau

Americana
Florida attracts many senior citizens and tourists but urban planning and landscape architecture are often reduced to individual projects. Houses in Tampa Bay are beyond the reach of the man from the newspaper.

Review
The population structure is changing: how will older people live in the future? The concept of Senior Cities has crossed the Atlantic; senior villages and gardens are springing up in Europe. And some old European concepts prove their vitality as well, such as the courtyard houses round a communal garden. This issue of ’scape includes reviews of gardens in Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands. ‘(..) the idea of feeling at home, translated into landscape design. When the mind is confused, sensitivity remains.’

Ground plan
The Russian map of the industrial city of Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, is titled Volgograd and surroundings – Scale 1:100,000, although the word ‘surroundings’ hardly does justice to the breathtaking tracts of land surrounding Volgograd.

Books and more media / columns

‘scape 2 - 2006 (october)

Theme: Remembrance

Landscape and war
Battle lines, battle fields and concentration camps – the landscape of war embodies gruesome memories. How do you give shape to such emotionally charged places? “The horizontal window opens up a view towards the cultural landscape of the Celje basin, bringing hope and reconciliation with everyday life.”

New Towns revisited
Planners and architects designed the new towns with zeal, vision and confidence. But even new towns grow old. What remains of this remarkable time when planners and designers built the towns of their dreams? A journey through this recent past.

Exploring Zoetermeer
Zoetermeer, a former growth centre near The Hague, is a perfect example of Dutch post-war planning. Now, the town is exploring its identity, looking for that new town quality.

Portrait: Michael van Gessel
Gritty but tender, that is the trademark of the Dutch landscape architect Michael van Gessel. His designs show respect for the past; his restraint allows powerful statements to speak for themselves.

Essay: Modern identity
History plays an important role in the design world. But simply conserving objects from the past has had its day. Nowadays the past has to play a part in creating a contemporary identity.

Americana
Spring in Montreal

Review: More than infrastructure
Urban and regional planners like to design transportation infrastructure as a functional system, but most landscape architects and urban designers feel uncomfortable with this, considering their work to be pure decoration. But there is more. A taste of some new projects in Portland, Paris and The Hague.

Ground plan
?Tokyo is a complex metropolis with an apperently chaotic netwerk of subway lines. A much used map of the metro is published by one of the two exploitants, the municipal transport authority of Tokyo. The ground plan is named Tokyo-to Kotsu-kyoku, shortly ‘Toei’.

'scape 1 - 2006 (april)

Theme: Hot spots

Barcelona the example of contemporary urban design and venue of the 'Bienal Europea del paisaja', by Malena Hauxner and Harry Harsema
China higher, bigger and faster. The unprecedented growth of cities on the Western model. A commentary and discussion about the dilemmas, by Peter Paul Witsen and Hank van Tilborg

Potrait
Karres en Brands, unconventional and succesfull landscape architects by Lisa Diedrich

Essay
The future of the European landscape: recreation.

Reviews
Coasts in Holland, Spain and Denmark, by Noël van Dooren, Mark Hednriks and Lodewijk Wiegersma

Groundplan
San Fransisco, by Rob van der Bijl

Books, News, Columns