June 2023

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Our cover story this month features Tangram architects showcase their latest nature inspired therapeutic landscape in North Africa — the new Women and Children’s Cancer Care facility located on the outskirts of the forest of Zeralda at the foot of the Atlas Mountains in Algeria is designed to promote a healing environment. Nature is integrated within the building and provides calming and relaxing spaces for patients and staff to rest. See page 14

On page 10 Mark Laurence, a consulting arborist and landscape designer with over four decades of experience explains why the region must adopt their own good practices for tree works. He also urges his industry peers to place more inportance on the profession of Aboriculture in order to protect and preserve trees properly.

In our projects section, Campus Eemsdelta is a new school campus located in Appingedam with three secondary education levels, a practical study programme and a sports cluster, all merged into a single facility consisting of several buildings totaling 16.600m2. Together with the surrounding outdoor space of 3.5ha, the buildings form an integral learning landscape that enables students to have a natural interaction with the environment. Read more on page 20.

We also feature another inspiring project designed for children called the Jungle Tribe: A Children’s Space created from the natural earth in Chengdu, China. Described as a park that creates a sheltered and natural space for children to grow and belong amidst nature’s terrain, while adults can also enjoy a sense of relaxation and simplicity here making it the ideal place to escape the stresses of modern life. See page 36 And read on for much more!

Enjoy the issue!

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Contributors: Mark Laurence, Sandra Woodall, Walid Abdeldayem, Arafat Azeez, Amy Peng, Leiyah Magay, Mohamed Omar El Sharkawy

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Forms+Surfaces driving a greener design

F+S Site Furniture is recognized worldwide for distinctive designs and high-performance green materials and finishes. This adaptable group represents a variety of aesthetics, blurs the lines between indoors and out, and beautifully performs in today’s public spaces.

Spanning a range of applications not typically associated with a single company, our portfolio of products is unified by a central theme: enhancing life in public. You’ll find our products in office buildings, airports, restaurants and hotels, and in universities, healthcare facilities, parks, and city centers.

F+S Outdoor Lighting blends precision craftsmanship, LED technologies, and durable, highperformance green materials and finishes. The line includes a wide range of aesthetics and versatile standard designs, as well as impressive customization potential.

Products, however, tell only part of our story. What makes Forms+Surfaces truly unique requires a look beyond our product line, to the creative processes that define our company and shape our ability to help our customers transform their designs into installed reality.

Some of our Projects in UAE include Dubai Hills, Golf Gardens Residential in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari Theme Park in Abu Dhabi, Al Ghadeer Residential Development in Abu Dhabi, Beeah Headquarters, Dubai Creek Harbor, Intercontinental Hotels.

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Fresh New Look for Dubai Parks

Dubai Municipality completes beautification of playgrounds

Four popular parks in Dubai have been given a makeover by Dubai municipality in collaboration with international sports and entertainment companies. Two playgrounds in Al Barsha Pond Park and Al Warqa Park were renovated, while beautification works were also completed on the two basketball courts in Al Jafiliya Square and Satwa Park, where the Red Bull Half Court Championship final was held.

The project to renovate and develop the playgrounds in Dubai’s parks is one of the unique beautification projects that reflects the modern spirit of the emirate, its attractiveness, aesthetics, and the diversity of its recreational infrastructure in a creative manner. It also reflects Dubai Municipality’s keenness to strengthen relations in cooperation with prominent local and international private sector companies to beautify facilities in the Emirate of Dubai, by providing an attractive environment for investment and forging partnerships with the best municipal service providers in the world, in order to ensure that all residents and visitors are given an ideal experience in the best city in the world.

The Mulch Effect

Transform Your Landscape Design with a Simple Solution

By: Desert Group

In the world of landscape design, the devil is often in the details. It’s the subtle elements that can make or break a successful project. One such underappreciated element is mulch. Mulch, a simple layer of organic or inorganic material placed atop soil, plays a surprisingly vital role in creating thriving, aesthetically pleasing landscapes. But how exactly does this unassuming landscaping solution deliver its magic? Let’s explore.

Mulch’s effectiveness isn’t merely anecdotal. It’s backed by a wealth of scientific evidence showcasing a range of benefits. To start with, mulch acts as a fantastic moisture regulator. According to a study published in the Journal of Environmental Horticulture, mulched soils can retain up to twice as much water as bare soils. This function is particularly beneficial in arid regions or during dry seasons, helping landscape plants stay hydrated and robust.

Next, consider temperature control. A report by the University of California Cooperative Extension revealed that mulch can modulate soil temperature, reducing fluctuations that can stress plants. By keeping soils cooler in summer and warmer in winter, mulch promotes yearround plant health.

And let’s not forget the quintessential role of mulch in weed control. Mulch acts as a physical barrier, preventing weed seeds from accessing the light they need to germinate. Consequently, landscapes with a healthy layer of mulch tend to have fewer issues with unsightly and resourcehogging weeds.

Finally, organic mulches can enrich soil health by decomposing and adding nutrients, fostering beneficial soil organisms, and improving soil structure—a process well-documented in the horticulture literature.

To see these benefits in action, consider the case of an urban park in Dubai. Faced with challenging weather conditions and poor soil quality, landscapers turned to a rich organic mulch provided by Garden Mulch a Desert Group company. The result? The previously lackluster green spaces transformed, with plants displaying more vitality, fewer weeds, and improved resistance to the harsh weather.

Choosing the right mulch is key to unlocking these benefits. Different mulches come with their own strengths. Organic mulches, like the

recycled colored wood and pine bark chips offered by Garden Mulch, nourish soil health over time and provide an attractive, natural look. In contrast, inorganic mulches like the stunning glass mulch offer longevity and are often used in more architecturally styled landscapes. Speaking of glass mulch, it’s an innovative landscaping solution that marries functionality with an unmatched aesthetic appeal. Garden

Mulch’s glass mulch is a sustainable product made from recycled glass, tumbled to remove sharp edges, and then colored. They help brighten up the landscape by reflecting sunlight onto plants and add a visually striking element to any landscape design.

Desert Groups garden mulch division offers a wide range of high-quality mulches suitable

for different scenarios. Their eco-friendly organic compost, made from locally sourced plant material, is perfect for promoting soil fertility. Their aesthetically pleasing wood chips, available in different colors and sizes, offer a decorative solution that also keeps weeds at bay and regulates soil

Mulch is far more than just a decorative afterthought—it’s a landscape design powerhouse. If you want your projects to thrive and withstand the test of time, consider making

mulch a cornerstone of your strategy. Harnessing the “Mulch Effect” can revolutionize your landscape design, transforming it from merely good to outstanding.

And when it comes to sourcing high-quality mulch, look no further than Garden Mulch by Desert Group. Their commitment to quality and variety ensures that, whatever your project, there’s a mulch solution that can help it shine. Isn’t it time you let the power of mulch transform your landscape designs? temperature.

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Why Arboriculture Matters

By Mark Laurence

Trees are an essential part of life in the Gulf region, they make living more bearable, streets cooler, hold back the shifting sands, and provide essential ecosystem services. Currently there is no practice, and very little awareness of arboriculture as a profession in the region. So, what is it exactly? The UK Arboricultural Association defines the word as: “..the science and practice of the cultivation, establishment and management of amenity trees for the benefit of society.”

Looking after trees, sounds simple, right? Well, not always. There is an art, as well as a science, to caring for trees and this manifests itself in different ways. It starts with the quality of nursery stock, a good root system and a healthy, wellformed structure, followed by correct planting, staking and irrigation. The most obvious and visual sign of incorrect care is when trees are pruned. Badly pruned trees not only look hideous, they create problematic future growth,

Mark Laurence is a consulting arborist (ISA certified), horticulturalist (MCIHort) and landscape designer (MSGD), with over forty years’ experience. www.treecareUAE.com www.marklaurence.com

A beautiful street tree, the native Sidr, Zizyphus spina-christi

altering the tree’s physiology (manner of growth) and can create entry points for disease.

Most of the above requirements for good tree provision is missing in the Gulf region. This is not unique to the region, there are low-quality trees everywhere in the world, but the combination of cheap supply quotes, tight timescales, poor planting and high temperature make this an especial problem and can create high mortality rates across the region.

Trees should be understood and used as ecosystem generators, even in urban situations. The shade and evapotranspiration that occurs from

a tree can reduce street temperature and the effects of Urban Heat Island (UHI), where the urban fabric retains heat and is hotter by some 4-5°C than the surrounding land. Insects and birds use trees as wildlife passages and people use them as shade corridors. Even fungi and decay are a valuable part of the ecosystem and should be understood as such, within the context of human safety.

There has been a big increase in the number of large trees being transplanted in the region but again, much of the methodology and techniques need improving. Dug rootballs are generally too small for the stem diameter, and excessive crown

Flowers of the beautiful exotic tree, Delonix regia. They flower less if over-watered.

A beautiful and under-used native, Tecomella undulata

Major crown reduction of a retrenched Eucalyptus in Abu Dhabi, using a professional UK trained arborist.

Trees arrive from abroad, badly pruned, as this olive is (Olea europaea)

reduction is thought essential, whereas it simply removes the tree’s ability to photosynthesize, meaning it must replace both root and bough from (limited) stored energy.

On development sites, there needs to be adequate measures taken to protect retained trees from damage, not just the structure but the roots also. A Critical Root Area or Zone needs establishing around trees and fencing off for the duration of works, with no materials or vehicles allowed underneath. This simple act can mean the difference between a new building with healthy established trees, or ones that slowly die due to damage such as root cutting or soil compaction. An Arborist should be brought in to consult at the planning stage to set out the requirements for the site, and working practices adapted around this.

Aboriculture takes two professional forms: trained climbers who know how to carry out operations safely and correctly within a tree, such as pruning with chainsaws, and consultants, who survey and specify works. The latter will often have a background in climbing (as I do) and I believe, make better consultants for it. It is the consultant who can work with architects and developers, but he needs to call on a competent arborist team to carry out the works as specified.

The climbing arborist also needs a highly trained ground crew, who know how to communicate, work safely with lowering ropes within the allocated drop zone, etc. One should also be a climbing arborist able to carry out aerial rescue in the event of an accident. This is a high-risk profession; accidents do occur even with the best training.

Working within the reach of power lines requires additional training and extreme care. On large or restricted sites, there may be a need to use cranes to lift away sections of a

Street shade provided by a Fig, Ficus benghalensis

A broad-spreading mango tree (Mangifera indica)

tree. Unfortunately, the skills and qualifications required for these jobs are in short order (in fact, hardly exist at all) in the Gulf region and this presents both problems and opportunity for the growth of a new industry.

The region must adopt their own good practices in relation to tree works. In the UK for example, we have British Standards BS 3998 Tree Work – Recommendations and BS5837 Trees in Relation to Design, Demolition and Construction. In the US they have similar ANSI standards. While I understand there is attempts being made to write a tree works standard for the UAE, which I support, it’s only in the nascent stages. However, when completed, this will be something that all architects and developers can refer and will hopefully signal the beginning of higher standards in tree care.

A badly transplanted Ghaf tree – how NOT to do it

Lopsided pruning of these Moringa peregrina, Al Ittihad park.

Badly pruned buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus)

Surveying from a MEWP, a retrenched Eucalyptus prior to specifying crown reduction work in this confined historic site, Abu Dhabi.

A severely hacked tree in a private garden

The Power of Therapeutic EnvironmentsHealing

Bringing the benefits of nature to those who need it the most

By: Sandra Woodall, FRIBA, FRSA, AoU Design Director: tangramMENA

With an ecophilosophy approach to design, tangram architects and designers have long been advocates of treating buildings as living organisms, and of creating spaces that flow seamlessly from inside to out.

While the biophilic design movement continues to expand globally and the positive effectives on our health are becoming well known, there remains an urgent need to rebalance the damaging effects that our current way of living has brought upon our natural environment. Nowhere is this more critical than in the design of

hospitals and healthcare facilities, the environments that are tasked with improving people’s health and wellbeing.

Green House Gas emissions from hospital facilities are 2.5 times more than any similar sized commercial building, according to studies. 6% of which is made up of nitrous oxide, a toxic gas 300 times more destructive to the environment than carbon dioxide and determined to be at a critical level by the World Health Organisation, as a major factor creating poor air quality and one which increases cardiovascular and

respiratory disease which can reduce quality of life and can lower life expectancy. Ironically, the buildings that we visit as patients to make us better, are the very ones that are unintentionally contributing more than any other to many of our own actual health issues.

Research shows that well designed healthcare environments can reduce patients stress and anxiety, accelerate recovery, reduce lengths of inpatient stays and medication use, along with promoting an improved sense of well-being, and an improved patient outcome. Staff and visitor experiences are enriched, satisfaction and productivity rates increase, and staff recruitment and retention is also enhanced.

Tangram and its founders have over five decades of experience in creating healing environments that embed nurturing and therapeutic effects across the world, and nowhere more critical than this latest hospital scheme to hit site in North Africa, through their locally based studio tangramSARL. The use of natural light was paramount in the design to create a calming interior design, improve internal air quality and comfort levels that include noise reduction were all combined with the psychology of colour, textures and the inclusion of the building at one with nature, both internally and externally. Making hospitals healthier places to stay, visit and work in.

This project forms the first facility in the newly established, nationwide cancer care programme. It provides the Government’s first medical cyclotron facility for a new nuclear medicine network, and the first stem cell transplant unit in the country, and despite the complexities involved in designing notoriously energy and water demanding building typologies such as this, we were able to demonstrate the possibilities for the future in both healthcare delivery and environmental sustainability.

Our new Women and Children’s Cancer Care facility is designed to promote a healing environment. Nature is integrated within the building and forms an essential extension to the patient and staff spaces. The hospital is located on the outskirts of the forest of Zeralda at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, which inspired and gave guidance for landscaping and natural materials usage throughout.

Colours, textures, and interior design supports ease of wayfinding to the departments for patients and visitors, and infection control solutions incorporate UV management systems and advanced air filtration technology. All within an internal environment designed to reflect contemporary healthcare delivery models.

An atrium is carved out of the main entrance hall to bring in natural light to the public waiting spaces below, this is supplemented internally by a circadian lighting system in the depths of the nuclear medicine department, that delivers “cool” blue light during the day and transitions to “warm,” low-intensity light in the evening that reinforces natural healthy rhythms, keeping staff in tune with necessary natural rhythms of light wavelengths throughout the day or night, speeding up patient recovery time.

A winter garden with embedded paediatric isolation pods was incorporated with live plantings from the nearby forests of evergreen oak, Aleppo pine and cedar, which maximise the therapeutic healing environment. Patients could access the garden if well enough or enjoy views of the forest from the calming and uplifting environment of their pod. The areas is covered with forest vegetation, including Algerian Fir, Saharan Cypress, Algerian Peony and Desert Rose stone, sourced from the east of the country and typical of the vernacular was bonded with gypsum mortar joints, prepared from the locally sourced Tafza stone.

By providing patients with authentic connections to nature by opting for more natural building materials, installing plant life, visual and auditory connections to moving water, and other sensory stimuli we can provide direct environmental links for patients, visitors, and staff members, thereby contributing to the healing process.

Parameterize walkable urban forms considering perceptual qualities

The increase of walkability as performance is considered an essential aspect in reaching livability, sustainability, health, and economic benefits. Much recent research has focused on shaping walkable areas and healthy communities. The built environment, particularly urban design aspects, has appeared as a top significance for improving walkability. Identifying the link between urban design and walkability, on the other hand, necessitates a thorough understanding of the principles and main components that determine urban form elements. Furthermore, two main frameworks can be divided into two groups based on the sort of data collection used in each. The first, and most common, are perceptual frameworks, which focus on capturing human perceptions of the built environment through qualitative data collection methods, then analyzing and using this data to assess the street design to identify issues and propose solutions. On the other hand, objective frameworks are emerging in which researchers are attempting to quantify walkability; to deconstruct the walkability of a street into the built environment parameters that impact it so that objective measurements for these parameters can be used as metrics to determine how walkable an urban form is for its users. Focusing on the quantities approach, and according to, there is not enough specification to design parameters that could help generate walkable urban forms considering perceptual qualities.

By reviewing the pioneering literature in urban design, it could be noticed that after the rejection presented by users and inhabitants to the planned cities after the industrial revolution, designers and planners had concluded that the design they produce is not as perceived by the users’ experience. Hence, theories began to raise to explicate the way people perceive the surrounding environment. Lynch, Cullen, and Spreiregen presented the primate foundation in people’s perception and cognition in an urban environment. Mainly, they tried to present the relationship between the city’s physical structure and people’s perceptions. After that, it got more solid through the work of Cristopher Alexander, and Jane Jacobs where it was possible to find more precise patterns that articulate the physical city elements and the people’s perceptual qualities, as it began to identify missing concepts and aspects that are related more to the design process. Furthermore, the work of Gane Gel and lastly Ried Ewing were more specified in the mean correlation between urban design qualities and physical elements in terms of measurements. Around all that, designers and planners are trying to learn more about their users, and the best design practice needed for successful urban design quality. However, as people’s perceptions and cognition are more subjective and harder to identify and measure, it is hard for designers and planners to achieve a milestone in the design process. A more specified relationship is

much more recommended, where more solid tools could be easily presented to and used by urban designers and planners to identify and specify the perceptual qualities in urban design. With an overlooking view of the progress of visual perception and cognition as a concept in urban design, it looks at it the right way for specificity.

Theoretical development of urban design and perceptual qualities

As so, the research argues that more specified parameters that describe urban form will guide designers and architects in generating well-perceived walkable urban areas. Hence the research has a main question to answer: what are the design parameters that could generate a walkable urban form that considers perceptual qualities? And its goal is to reach several design guidelines that describe certain urban form elements. These guidelines represent the statistical average – ranges – ratios to several areas that are already distinguished in walkability from the Egyptian context. Furth more, it could be more practical to generate new urban areas in the development process that consider perpetual qualities for more walkable, hence livable and attractive places. The research also considers a limitation for measuring and deducting these design guidelines. First, it took the traditional/existing urban areas in the Egyptian context not the new as case studies. Second, the selection of urban form elements/ indicators were selected with the consideration of their ability to be used in further stages in parametric software. Finally, the selected perceptual qualities were the ones related to walkability based on the pioneer study of Ewing.

Parameters used in

urban form indicators, illustrated by the author based on various sources

The study investigated the relationship between urban form and perceptual qualities. As there are various attempts to design new cities and communities that have not yet attracted the target population and activities from the existing ones. Traditional areas are always considered more walkable, which is an essential aspect of attracting people as well as activities. Literature has reverted to the subjectivity between what designers see and what people perceive; therefore they act and perform. The research has gone through urban design theories and it was concluded that it all trying to identify and specify more the relationship between urban form/ physical features and what people perceive as urban qualities. The research aimed to add to this topic by identifying and quantifying design parameters that are willing to inherit perceptual qualities. Six urban areas were selected among ten areas to deduct the design parameters. Those areas represent the most well-perceived walkable areas in Greater Cairo. Five to six streets were selected in each area to address its design parameters, which were related to certain urban form indicators based on the literature. Furthermore, two mathematical averages were taken to the deducted values; the first was among the streets in a single area – to represent the areas -, however, the second was the average of all areas to represent a value for an urban indicator.

By analyzing more than 30 walkable streets from 6 different areas in Greater Cairo, it was possible to reach averages, ranges, and ratios for certain urban form

I URBAN SPACES

elements. Through the analysis of these areas, we found a differentiation among their typologies regarding urban tissue as well as the street network, some of these typologies/street networks help in inherent certain perceptual qualities and weaken others. Regarding the design parameters, it was able to reach solid values such as the ratio between the street widths and building height the 1:1 was proven to have the highest rank with a street width of 20 meters for best practice, as it gives a high sense of Imageability, enclosure, and human scale. The street network was to be orthogonal gird and axial, as it has given a high sense of legibility, and coherence. However, the linear urban tissue was ranked at the top, with the use of non-rectangular silhouette buildings and approximate building heights. Furthermore, it was to define values for urban form indicators that were not yet had a quantity to describe such as angular position, change in angle, orientation, number of intersections, etc.

The generated values for design parameters could be considered an added value to urban design codes and guidelines in the field of practice (especially in Egypt) to create a walkable urban form considering perceptual qualities. In addition, these proposed values contribute to a more specific relationship between urban design elements and perceptual qualities. Despite the limitation that all the selected areas were in the Egyptian context, and the selection of urban form indicators was based on its ability to be used and draw in a parametric software, this methodology could be used to deduct more design parameters for more urban form indicators as well as more contexts worldwide. In further stages, the research aims to use the generated values to be coded/used in parametric software to support urban designers with a tool that would help in generating various walkable urban forms with a reference to these values that is considering perceptual qualities in its core to ensure the livability of newly established cities and urban areas.

Perceptual matrix for a walkable urban form

Reference: Abdeldayem, W.S., Morgan, S., Bakr, S. et al. Parameterize walkable urban forms considering perceptual qualities. J. Eng. Appl. Sci. 70, 52 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s44147-023-00221-9

Walid S. Abdeldayem

PhD Candidate at Cairo University, specialized in urban design and community development. Has a 10 years’ experience in academia and practicing urban design.

Campus Eemsdelta is a green lung in the North of the Netherlands

Innovative new educational campus doubles as a landscape

Campus Eemsdelta is a self-sufficient new school campus recently opened in the North of the Netherlands, near the city of Groningen. Three levels of secondary education, practical training and a sports cluster have been merged into a single facility consisting of several buildings with a total area of 16,600m2. Together with the surrounding 4-hectares of outdoor space, the buildings form an integral learning landscape that meets the educational needs of all schools and

ensures a natural interaction with the environment.

Felixx Landscape Architects and Planners designed the new campus that opened on June 3rd, together with De Unie Architecten and commissioned by the Foundation for Secondary Education Eemsdelta, ROC Noorderpoort and the municipality of Appingedam. The sleek new building accomodates 1,700 students and self-generates 100 per cent of its own energy, as well as being earthquake-resilient.

INTEGRAL LEARNING LANDSCAPE

The spatial layout of the campus was inspired by the historic ‘wierden’ in the Groningen landscape. These small artificial mounds provided protection during floods. The edges are inhabited, the buildings are oriented around a central elevated dry area. Campus Eemsdelta adopts the radial arrangement of these historic villages. Each school has its own ‘house’, with an individual organization, identity and appearance. In addition to the three different secondary schools, the

campus also accommodates a large number of regional sports and cultural functions: these are as well clustered and spatially organized in separate ‘houses’, so that both the schools and the neighborhood can use them independently from each other. All buildings are situated around a central heart, which functions as a hub, main entrance, and area for shared activities. The surrounding landscape flows in between the buildings, and turns the Eemsdelta Campus into a transparent and inviting complex.

I INSTITUTIONAL LANDSCAPE

THE CENTRAL HEART

The enclosed patio is the meeting place for all students. The tree of knowledge stands on an elevated island, as the heart of the campus. On the ground floor, this space functions as a dynamic schoolyard that connects to the entrances and public functions of the individual schools. A quiet garden is created on the roof as a study area and outdoor classroom. Its seating elements facilitate different types of social interaction among students; quiet seclusion, conversing together, or relaxing as a group. Both levels of the patio are linked by a big round staircase, creating a grand amphitheater towards the central podium.

LANDSCAPE-THEMED ROOMS

The surrounding landscape is organized into different landscape-themed rooms. They can be used for outdoor study and research, offering space for both practical and scientific lessons. The rooms connect to the various subjects in school with thematic designs. The garden nursery is used for maintenance and pruning classes, to grow and harvest fresh vegetables for the on-site restaurant, and allows for education on plant species during science classes. The workshop square offers space to tinker with cars and students can practice construction methods for paving. An existing pond is turned into a lush water area with ecological

banks and a bird island, to study underwater life and amphibian biodiversity. Sports fields are embedded in a beach landscape around the pond, combined with a large wooden tribune. An amphitheater and seating areas in the Tiny Forest function as outdoor classrooms to monitor the simulated conditions of an actual forest.

ACTIVATOR IN THE REGION

The campus is not just a school, but a catalyst for community life. New social functions are added and facilities from the schools are shared with nearby residents in a public park. Connecting the park to cycling and walking networks gives an impulse to sports and culture in the surrounding area.

The vision of Eemsdelta Campus has been developed jointly. During a participatory process, education, sustainability, nature inclusiveness and integration of social needs and functions in the Eemsdelta region were constantly considered. The design team has held more than 40 workshops with future users, incorporating the results into the design. Reflecting on this process, the original ambition of Eemsdelta has been realized: a campus that honors the individual identity of each form of education, while opening up a great wealth of facilities for them to share.

THE VALUE OF A NATURAL, HEALTHY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

The realization of a climate-adaptive world with more space for nature is not only a technical but also a social task. A green learning environment brings future generations closer to nature and strengthens

I INSTITUTIONAL LANDSCAPE

their relationship with it. Numerous studies prove the positive impact on the development of children and the overall quality of education. Scientific insights show what a green schoolyard and its use can mean for the social challenges we face.* We hope that Campus Eemsdelta will inspire and put the design and use of schoolyards higher on the agenda of everyone involved in education and educational accommodation.

Credits

Location: Appingedam, Groningen

Client: Stichting Voortgezet Onderwijs

Eemsdelta, Gemeente Appingedam

Year: 2018 – 2023

Status: Complete

Images: ©Egbertdeboer.com, Reyer Boxem (fotografie), © PLOMP (renders), ©Felixx Landscape Architects and Planners, ©De Unie Architecten (AXO’s, diagrams and drawings)

Size: 16.600 M2

1700 Students

Program: Education, cultural amenities, public space, sports cluster

Team: De Unie Architecten, Felixx Landscape Architects & Planners, Innax, Alferink van Schieveen, DG Groep b.v., built by BAM Bouw en Techniek

3D visualization, is it important for landscape presentation?

by Leiyah Mendoza Magay Landscape Architect - Fiona Environs

3D visualization has a significant impact on the landscape presentation trend by providing a more immersive and interactive way of presenting designs. It allows designers to create realistic representations of landscapes, complete with lighting, textures, and vegetation, giving clients and contractors a more accurate depiction of the final product. Here are some ways 3D visualization has changed the landscape presentation trend:

Realism:

3D visualization offers a level of realism that 2D drawings and physical models cannot match. Clients can see how the landscape will look in real-life conditions, including lighting, shadows, and materials, before any work is done on site.

Flexibility:

3D visualization provides designers with greater flexibility in making changes and adjustments to the landscape design. This means that clients and contractors can provide feedback in real- time, allowing for a more collaborative design process.

Efficiency:

3D visualization streamlines the design process by reducing the time and resources required to create presentations. Designers can create multiple iterations of a design in a matter of hours, rather than days or weeks.

Better communication:

3D visualization offers a common language for designers, clients, and contractors, making it easier to communicate design concepts and ideas. This means that everyone involved in the project can have a better understanding of the design, leading to more accurate decision- making.

Marketing:

3D visualization has also impacted the marketing of landscape design services. By showcasing stunning 3D visualizations, designers can attract new clients and differentiate themselves from competitors.

There are many software that can be utilized by the designers to create outstanding and realistic visualization. Sketchup to Lumion tandem is my personal favorite and enhancing it thru photoshop can produce stunning rendering.

Overall, 3D visualization has changed the landscape presentation trend by providing a more realistic, flexible, efficient, and effective way of presenting landscape designs. It has become an essential tool for designers, clients, and stakeholders in the landscape design industry.

Pavilion Erbil designed by VX Studio

A showcase of the modern face of Iraq

Project Design and Consultancy: VX Studio

Owner Lalav Group

Article by: Mohamed Omar, Landscape Architect

Pavilion Erbil transforms more than 170 hectares of land into a luxurious residential and commercial district with one of the largest artificial lagoons and shopping malls in the Middle East. The project intertwines villas, apartments, islands, canals and generous open green spaces with commercial and community amenities such as world-class sports facilities, an international school, 5-star hotels, restaurants, and much more.

The island escape presents a radically new offering to contemporary luxury living in Erbil, Iraq. As apartment buildings ribbon across the green edge of the masterplan and luxury villas line the canal-side around the lagoon, residents can unwind and soak up the cooler climes in summer with views across the lagoon fountains.

Location

Pavilion Erbil is strategically located right next to Erbil International Airport and witin easy reach to the city’s most prominent landmarks. Direct access to the 120m and 100m ring roads allows residents and visitors to reach anywhere in Erbil within minutes, including the routes that link to other cities in Iraq.

Located within the city’s golden zone, Pavilion Erbil also neighbors the Ankawa district —both are considered the most ethnically diverse areas within the province. The renowned Sami Abdul Rahman Park is a mere 5-minute drive to the southern edges of Pavilion Erbil, while the city center which houses Erbil’s historic citadel can be easily accessed within minutes. Whether it is in the bustle of high-end shopping, playing sports in an outdoor court or a relaxing afternoon in one of the lagoon islands, there is a place to accommodate every degree of social interchange at Pavilion Erbil.

BLUE LAGOON AND CANALS

A fresh and cool atmosphere is created by the water’s gentle glittering on the 320,000 m2 of the large lagoon and canals.

ELITE SPORTS FACILITIES

Keep fit with the 20,000 m2 of top-notch sporting venues, which include a football stadium, a volleyball court, a basketball court, and more.

OPEN GREEN SPACES

Unwind with fountains and air music, a promenade of 300,000 m2 green islands linked across the water, and public parks and green spaces.

EXCELLENT SHOPPING EXPERIENCE

One of the largest malls in the Middle East, the Pavilion Mall brings the highest quality goods and services to the area covering 570,000 m2 of ground.

IMITED HOUSEHOLD AREA

Only 30% of the land is allocated to housing, leaving a sizable amount for the lagoon, canals, and green spaces.

The villas are designed to create a coherent streetscape where the architecture follows one serene contemporary style to establish a distinguishable identity for the area. Through a world-class approach to planning and execution, the streets leading to the villas promise walkable promenades lined with greenery, all impeccably maintained with an in-built irrigation system. The villa is a premium ten-bedroom residence offering lagoon views and international standards of luxury living, equipped with smart home technologies to minimise energy consumption and deliver optimum energy savings. This relaxed three-floor residence has the space and ambience for family living, with considered spaces for your lifestyle, all kept at the perfect temperature with smart system temperature controls.

Masterplan components

The Pavilion Mall

Pavilion Islands

International School

Sales Complex

International chain 5-star hotels

Sport Facilities

Residential Towers

Business Towers

The 400m2 Collection Villas

The 500m2 Collection Villas

The 700m2 (2 Storey) Villas

The 700m2 (3 Storey) Villas

THE 1000m2 (2 Storey) Villas

THE 1000m2 (3 Storey) Villas

Projects trending in the landscape and urban design world

The Suzhou Long for Paradise Walk, Suzhou, China

Cultural Relationship with the Moon

In the pursuit of creating animated public life, the design imagines a series of moonthemed narrative spaces that are integrated with the configuration of theater typologies, reconceptualizing multiplicity of public realm that elevates human participation and experiences.

The retail development is divided by a waterway, with a larger west block and a central courtyard plaza facing towards it. The east block is long and narrow, serving as a children’s activity center

Yangcheng Lake is famous for its long-standing culture of crab-eating during Chinese Mid-autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival. It is a time of year in Chinese culture for appreciating the moon and for celebrating family, with families and friends gathering together during the midautumn festival to observe the moon. The fast-paced

The Suzhou Longfor Paradise Walk won the 2022 AMP Award in the Commercial Landscape category for its innovative take on moon-themed narrative spaces placed within a communitybased commercial complex located on the banks of Yangcheng Lake in China.

world of Chinese development calls for a modern interpretation of the reminiscence of traditions, which inspired the design team to articulate the landscape that focuses on a re-interpretation of the moon.

Stage-Audience Relationship

Appreciation of the moon is fundamentally a stage-audience relationship, just like the essence in every successful public realm that encourages interaction and participation in its celebration of public life. Through spatial studies, the design team found an intriguing correlation with theater typology and the commercial public realm, where both seek to celebrate formal and informal interactions through the design of spatial configurations and carefully articulated sightlines and views.

The celebration of public life is built upon ensuring inclusion and diversity, and the design hopes to contribute to that by acknowledging shared experiences of local traditions, while also integrating a series of multi-functional and inter-relational spaces that encourage people to socialize, play, observe, and rest.

Repertoire of the Moon in Theaterism Approach

The moon becomes the theme which the design team begins to cultivate onto the canvas. Through spatial abstractions of theater studies, moon-themed typologies are incorporated into appropriate locations suited to the characteristics of the program, weaving unique and culturally relevant inter-relationships together.

The iteration of the moon concept seeks to express a dynamic landscape that appears to be constantly changing, just like the amount of moon that we see over the course of the month during different lunar phases. The changes of lunar phases becomes an integral design of the moon plaza stage, which is the focal theater at the center of the project. The dry fountain is programmed to have multiple scenarios of interaction according to different lunar phases - full moon, crescents, and eclipses create a highly participatory stage that is popular among children and families during weekends. At different times of the month, it can also be transformed into other flexible uses for temporary pop-up stores or stage performances.

Due to the attraction of the moon, tides of the earth come and go consistently with the lunar cycle. The design team incorporates the tidal language into the design of the waterfront, activating uses of the outdoor landscape and forming a series of unique theatrical mini-stages along the waterway. While visitors stroll along the bankside, they are always actively engaged with these pocket mini-stages. Close to the heart of the project, a stepping theater provides informal performance stage along the bankside. Seating steps integrated with planting also become a popular recreation area for local residents. There are also a series of other narrow stages along the rest of the waterfront. The tides are articulated into dynamic landscape furnishings with an undulating composition. The spatiality of the composition allows multiplicity of unprescribed opportunities

for leaning, sitting, observing, and informal play. Next to the children’s activity center, there is also a designated area for child activities. The design takes advantage of the grading change to create topographical mounds for staged play, where children can climb, run, slide, and interact freely within the integrated playscape.

Manifestation of Theaterism

Through cultivation of the moon concept, and the theaterism place-making approach, the project hopes to re-envisage commercial public realm practices through out-of-the-box thinking. The public realm is a series of stages for the city, and the public life of the Yangcheng Lake community becomes the repertoire staged within it. The project showcases the possibility that commercial landscape can be more than just a center for gathering, but also a highly activated public realm that combines cultural relevance and civic life in the contemporary age.

Technical sheet

Official Project Name: Suzhou Longfor Paradise Walk

Commercial Landscape

Location: Suzhou, China

Client: Longfor

Project sector: Commercial Landscape

Landscape Design Firm: FLO

Landscape Design Team: Lei Guo, Kai Fu, Lihui Yang, Bingyan Wang, Yayun Ni, Luhui Xiong, Yihao Ou

Water Consultant: Shanghai Yize Design

Playground Consultant: Jegoplay

Art Consultant: Shanghai Puyi Design

Project Completion Date: Dec 2021

Photographer: Nancy Studio

Credit to: v2com

Jungle T ribe Jungle T ribe

A Children’s Space That Returns To Natural Earth

By XISUI Design

Starting from the natural terrain of undulating caves, the project’s design deliberately conceals a variety of children’s facilities amidst the earth and vegetation in Chengdu, China. The park creates a sheltered

and natural space for children to grow and belong, while adults can also enjoy a sense of relaxation and simplicity here as it’s the ideal place for a solo walk or family get together.

Design elements

To ensure the durability of outdoor materials and the natural texture experience, high-durable bamboo and wood panels were used for all device surface layers that came into contact with human skin. However, the compactness and hardness of bamboo and wood determine that they are not easy to bend freely on curves. Therefore, all hyperbolic surface devices have

I URBAN DEVELOPMENT

been divided into sections in the design, ensuring smooth construction and convenient precision processing. Structural optimization algorithms were used for the three-layer wooden tile roof treehousestyle device to obtain the most space-saving tree branch support method.

The spatial design from a child’s perspective needs to pay attention to both the expression of a child’s nature and the creation of a visual landscape. A variety of interesting play facilities can meet the play preferences of different children, encourage children to create their own play patterns; the natural landscape wrapped in terrain can provide children with a sense of security and shelter, healing the natural deficiency syndrome of children under the high-rise buildings in the city; orderly space design provides parents with a comfortable and relaxed environment for parent-child companionship, improving the atmosphere of family communication and happiness index.

Project Name: Jungle Tribe: A Children’s Space Returning to the Natural Earth

Landscape Design: XISUI Design

Construction: XISUI Design

Completion Year: December 1, 2022

Website: http://xisuidesign.com/

Email: info@xisui.design

Construction Area: 1150m2

Project Location: No. 136, Jindong Road, Jinjiang District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China

Photo Credits: Guochang Liu, PrismImage Studio

Clients: Chengdu New Hope Real Estate Co., Ltd.

Structural Design: LuAnLu Partner Structure Consulting

Celebrating the World’s Best Architectural Achievements

Call for Entries: Architecture MasterPrize 2023 is Now Open for Global Submissions

Architecture MasterPrize (AMP) enters its illustrious 8th year of celebrating the world’s best architectural and design achievements, as the 2023 edition of the architecture awards officially opens for submissions from around the world.

Guided by its unwavering commitment the Architecture MasterPrize (AMP) continues to honor the visionaries who propel the built environment forward, crafting timeless designs and creating extraordinary spaces that enhance communities worldwide.

Over the course of eight years, the AMP has celebrated innovative designs put forward by leading architects who work tirelessly in shaping spaces and buildings that will lead the world into a future defined by sustainability, address the challenges of the built environment, and forge connections between nature and humanity.

The esteemed laureates of the AMP bear the names of architectural visionaries, including Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid Architects, Elora Hardy (IBUKU), Michael Green, Sou Fujimoto, Sir David Chipperfield, and

countless others. These luminaries have not only received recognition but have also become pioneers, elevating their respective disciplines and leading global trends to achieve the highest standards of buildings.

Now, for the 2023 edition, the AMP once again welcomes entries from around the world, embracing the diversity of creative visions and honoring remarkable talents that shape our architectural landscape. The awards will continue to offer their four annual programs:

• Design of the Year Award

• Firm of the Year Award

• Product Design of the Year Award

• Architecture Photography Award

‘The AMP increases the inclusivity of our field by amplifying unheard voices. With rigor, it aims to publicize works and thought leaders who envision a more just and joyful world through our built environment. As AI infiltrates the creative realm, platforms like the AMP become increasingly important: they highlight the spark of the individual and collective that cannot be generated by machines

alone,’ stated Valerie Schweitzer, the Head of Jury for the AMP, emphasizing the mission to provide a platform for celebrating the transformative power of architecture and design. The prominent AMP jury panel, composed of experienced experts from different specialist fields, has come together to select the year’s finest designs. Without exception, the 2023 AMP awards proudly welcome new jurors from distinguished academic institutions around the world, ensuring a diverse and meticulous evaluation process.

Registration phases for the 2023 Architecture MasterPrize:

Regular deadline: June 30, 2023

Final deadline: August 31, 2023

About the Architecture MasterPrize (AMP)

The mission of the architecture awards, AMP, is to advance the appreciation and exposure of quality architectural design globally. The AMP celebrates creativity and innovation in the fields of architecture, landscape, interior, architectural products and photography. Submissions are open to architects, designers and photographers.

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