commentary
Although they’re occasionally the focus of media attention in North America, green roofs and their potential benefits are still relatively unknown quantities unless you happen to be a landscape architect or architect. In this commentary, Steven Peck and Damon van der Linde of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities aim to expand that base to include all watershapers – professionals, they say, who can play key roles in spreading the influence of these systems. Just think of it: There’s a design approach that improves energy efficiency, reduces the urban “heat island” effect and provides much-needed green space in places where opportunities for natural stress relief are
The Harvard Business Review recently published results of an interesting survey: Overall, they said, some 75 percent of those contacted reported diminishing trust in U.S. business managers and their companies; moreover, their faith in educational institutions, product suppliers and government is on the decline as well – but not to quite such an extent. It all seems gloomy and pessimistic, but I couldn’t be surprised by the findings. In fact, I can
Just recently, I spent some time looking through an issue of WaterShapes published in 2003. I won’t name names, but one of the articles was about a custom installation that was labeled as “luxurious” – and I was struck by the fact that, by today’s standards, it wasn’t really anything very special. Make no mistake: This magazine has had a great deal to do with advancing our industry, and I have no doubt that, six years ago, the project that caught my eye was at or near
I have my opinions – some of them quite strong – but I’m also what I would consider to be a tolerant, open-minded guy: I weigh a broad spectrum of ideas in forming my perspectives, and I try my best to judge people by their thoughts, actions and merits. Every once in a while, however, my reserves of patience get pressed to the limit. When that happens, I believe it’s valid and useful to stand up and call things as I see them. Let me cut to the chase: On February 25, 2009, The New York Times ran a piece in the paper’s Home & Garden section by
There was a time not long ago when most of my clients wanted swimming pool environments that were designed to suit a design theme of some sort that was separate and distinct from the house. It wasn’t unusual, for example, for clients here in Texas to ask for outdoor areas that replicated Rocky Mountain settings or tropical lagoons. Those projects still come along from time to time, but in the past few years, increasing numbers of my clients want exterior designs that clearly relate to the architecture of their homes. In part, this has to do with the trend toward
When I was a landscape architecture student, my coursework on residential landscape design wasn’t much to speak of – just one project in a single course. In those days, in fact, expressing any interest in residential spaces made you something of an outcast who really should have been thinking of loftier pursuits in civic, public and commercial design. Happily, I’ve been hearing from some younger landscape architects that the situation is now different – but that there’s still no real focus on residential design and a tremendous void when it comes to
2010/12.1, December 1 — Durable Plaster, Leaking Fountain, Kelly Klein’s Pools and more