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Waterfront Landscapes

DESIGN MEDIA PUBLISHING LIMITED

DESIGN MEDIA PUBLISHING

LIMITED

Waterfronts continually evolve, moving through phases and meanings. Today, the landscape urbanism and waterfront reclamation movements are inextricably linked and are now as inevitable as the rising sun. More than seams between city and water, waterfronts are metaphorical l inks between our past, present and future. The book selects and showcases 46 latest projects of waterfront landscape designs all over the world. These projects respond to different design challenges with a commitment to providing responsible and innovative solutions. With lavishly illustrated images, professional design drawings and limpid texts, the book offers readers a large variety of methods and visions for approaching waterfront landscape design.

Waterfront Landscapes

DESIGN MEDIA PUBLISHING LIMITED

Promenades

Preface

Promenade Samuel-De Champlain Dover Esplanade

Surfers Paradise Foreshore Redevelopment

Mooloolaba Foreshore Stage 2

Vinaròs Promenade

Schloss Promenade on Lake Burgsee

Waterfront Squares

National Harbour

Tjuvholmen, Oslo

Urban Dock LaLaport Toyosu

Old/New Harbour Bremerhaven

Riva Split Waterfront

Elwood Foreshore

Storaa Stream

The Blue Square

Erie Street Plaza

The CityDeck Phase I

Sjövik Square

Mendelssohnufer River Bank

New White Tower Square

Rheinauhafen Cologne

Aalborg Waterfront

Sonnenbrücke Nord

Stadthafen Schleswig

Wasserplatz Kiel

Tel Aviv Port Public Space Regeneration

Waterfront Toronto

Waterfront Parks

Southeast False Creek

Ballast Point Park

Erie Basin Park

Mangfallpark Rosenheim

Sydney Pirrama Park

East Side Park

General Maister Memorial Park

Sam Fiszman Park

Rhine Park, Duisburg

Barcelos Fluvial Park

Appel Park

Sandgrund Park

Volmepark Hagen

Clinton Cove Park, Segment 7, Hudson River Park

Riverside Park South

Sugar Beach

HtO

Southport Broadwater Parklands

Los Angeles Waterfront

Ipswich River Heart Parklands

Index

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12

18

24

30

34

38

44

50

56

62

68

72

76

82

86

90

96

102

108

116

122

128

132

138

144

150

156

162

168

174

182

188

192

198

204

208

214

220

228

234

240

246

252

258

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270

CONTENTS

PREFACE

Washed Ashore – Infinite Opportunities

Having arrived in New York City to launch my studio in 1970, I was appalled with the state of the “world's greatest” city's waterfront; rotting piers and inaccessible post-industrial sites were severed from the city by ribbons of highway. Sound familiar？Countless cities across the globe have suffered a similar state of neglect. Recent public demand for waterfront accessibility, coupled with development pressure, has led to a rediscovery, reclamation and revitalisation movement. In some cases, with minimal regulations, environmental controls or publ ic approvals, some government sponsored development plans have brought about extraordinary waterfront parks seemingly overnight. Other waterfronts, however, have moved at what seemed to be a glacial pace. After many failed attempts to redevelop an extraordinary 65-acre Manhattan rail yard site on the Hudson River, our team proposed a plan for Riverside Park South in which a 26-acre park would be the site’s centerpiece. The park plan was approved in 1991 yet only had its first water edge phases completed in 2008! Unbelievably, a core element of the plan, the relocation of an elevated highway that visually divides the community and upland park from the river, is still mired in a bureaucratic morass and likely to be years away from completion. Across town, Brooklyn Bridge Park, first conceived nearly 20 years ago, only had its first phase completed in 2010. It’s clear, designing waterfronts is not for the faint-hearted or impatient, but the payoff is spectacular! Today, the landscape urbanism and water front reclamation movements are inextricably linked and are now as inevitable as the rising sun. Signifying shared values and cultural ambition, waterfronts provide a unique lens by which the viewer, depending on their position, is able to see across a seemingly intimate expanse. Perhaps it’s the dialogue between oppositional environs, or simply the feeling of being against a great precipice constantly in motion, that brings a magical attraction to waterfronts. Whether it’s the offer of land or water, refuge or prospect, here or there; it stirs the emotions. These aqueous edges create one-of-a-kind experiences, which in turn provide transactions that can be both innate and otherworldly.As the waterfront movement has gained momentum, expectations have risen. Whereas 25 years ago, we might have been satisfied with simply staking a claim at the water’s edge and forging a few informal trails, today’s educated public demands truly remarkable civic gestures that strike dramatic poses on the edges of our cities and define our future aspirations as a society. The design of contemporary public landscapes requires both sensitivity to context and the ability to convey, often with clarity and restraint, qualities that are most special. Indexing a site, and specifically the ways in which recreation, art, architecture, and culture interact with the natural world within both near and broader geographic contexts, allows one to create a new alchemy of space.

As plural environments, the design of waterfront parks requires a dynamic process involving collision and collaboration. This rich plurality presents the greatest opportunity to form singular, large-scale transformations where landscape, infrastructure, and urbanism are woven into a unified whole. More than seams between city and water, these sites are metaphorical links between our past, present and future. In order to avoid monotony these linear landscapes most often require the definition of distinct zones that have the ability to treat individual areas like episodes in a narrative while providing breathing room for the in-between. Encoded in these delightfully episodic waterfront systems are the collective ambitions of the local communities through which they pass as is evident in the design for the Promenade Samuel-de Champlain. Recounting the coastal environs and the local timber industry, this highly expressive park repurposes a waterfront site and conveys a history unique of place through a contemporary design language, much in the same way that Riverside Park South takes on a rich narrative about the co-existence of rail systems and waterfronts in the industrialised city.To change the paradigm of what a waterfront should be often involves moving constituents away from their initial ideas of a single purpose site and into a dialogue about the contemporary culture of public open spaces. The choice need not be “past or future”, “active or passive”; it can be all, a richly layered space, regenerative and resilient, springing to life by inviting human and natural processes to co-exist. Registering deeply in the psyche of the visitors, these types of landscape typologies enrich the visitor experience, forging stewards of the resilient ecological systems where land meets water. Southport Broadwater Parklands is a project that features an extensive co-mingling of ecology and social systems, evoking both native ecosystems and regional cultural landscapes. The site gives vast acreage to natural processes while maximising its value to the visitor and community.While many waterfronts are fast becoming large scale sculptures that often appear as no more than one-liners, the question deserves asking; “Will these landscape sculptures have enough public input to be the truly democratic spaces that endure the test of time？” Having chaired the competition jury that selected HtO Park, I offer an unequivocal “yes”. Urban waterfronts need not feel as if they are obligated to recreate a “Garden of Eden” detached from natural history; instead the new waterfront can design with nature, allowing natural processes to melded with cultural expressiveness, and remain relevant and accessible while also preserving the transcendent quality of the open space. These expressive spaces draw crowds, add iconography to cities desperate for character, and capture the public imagination by remixing the famil iar in new and unexpected ways. To sustain this success, contemporary designers have embraced a process in which outreach, stakeholders and collaboration are valued as vital components of this design process, along with art and innovation.

Education:Bachelor of Landscape Architecture SUNY SyracuseBachelor of Science at Syracuse University

Registration:Registered Landscape ArchitectNational CLARB Certification

Affiliations:ASLA–FellowAIA–Honorary MemberGSA–National Register of Peer ProfessionalsInstitute of Urban DesignUrban Land InstituteLandscape Architecture Foundation

Thomas Balsley

Water fronts continually evolve, moving through phases and meanings. Whereas many waterfronts were originally developed as industrial zones that drove urban growth, their purpose is changing. The financing of this transformation is also moving away from private or public entities into public/private partnerships where their motivations and end-goals are more varied than ever before. A complicated weave (and sometimes conflict) of natural ecology, tourism, culture, leisure, transport, security, and politics is taking hold and their boundaries are becoming more obscure. Notions of global sustainability are manifesting themselves on the shores of every coast. The opportunities are infinite. It’s clear from this book’s extraordinary curation of waterfronts of all shapes and sizes that the door of design opportunity opened wide for these designers and they have stormed in! What designers, sponsors and advocates do with this newfound public trust and artistic freedom should be of collective concern to the design community. Will we overextend our design muscles again at the expense of public benefit and urbanism goals, similar to the mid-century modernist architecture movement that lost public support, or will we fuse our design passions with the 21st century principles of environmental and social sustainability？

Thomas Balsley, FASLANew York, July 2011

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Promenade Samuel-De Champlain

The project reclaims a neglected infrastructural fringe into a generous public, leisure oriented naturalised environment, thus reactivating the city’s access to St. Lawrence River and revitalising its shoreline. Drawing on the site’s unique past and genius loci, the project uncovers and showcases vestiges of natural and coastal heritage, while balancing the soft, luscious coastline greenery with the evocative artificial landscape. The sinuous 2.5 kilometres course of the Promenade consists of a continuous leisurely river boardwalk and a rythmed sequence of four diverse thematic gardens. Each of these singular, dense landscape attractors captures and magnifies the material and poetic qualities of local coastal environment. They celebrate the mist, the wind and the sensory pleasures of water, as well as the memory of docklands' archetypes. The rich, sublime atmospheres and textures are materialised as much with stone boulders, timber assemblies and corten steel thresholds, as with native plants and trees, and as with vapour haze, thick shade, mellow light glows and water reflections.Immersed into an all-encompassing green tide, the gardens are linked by a pedestrian and bicycle path, acting as the project’s connecting spine.The urban furniture, specifically designed for this project, maintains the robust simplicity of maritime, harbour heritage, paramount to this site’s genius loci. The linear rhythm of benches and lights is complemented by freely disposed furniture, dotting the landscape as rafts in the sea of greenery.The project’s underlying, yet seamless achievement is its strong contribution to the restoration of the uniquely rich and diverse, albeit fragile coastal eco-system, and to the renewed accessibility of the river.

1. Quai des Cageux/Pavilion/Tower2. Coastal Promenade/Marsh/Bridge3. Boisé Tequenonday/Stair Way/Pavilion4. Quai No.5/Rest Area5. Intersection/Rest Area6. Soccer Field/Pavilion7. Intersection/Rest Area8. Quai No.109. Quai de Brumes10. Quai des Flots11. Quai des Hommes12. Quai de Vents13. Relocated Champlain Boulevard

Location : Quebec, Canada Designer : Daoust Lestage Inc., Williams Asselin Ackaoui, Option Aménagement Photographer: Marc Cramer Length: 2.5 km linear Completion date: 2008

Right: Quai des Hommes

Award description: 2010 Médaille du Gouverneur Général en Architecture2009 Award of Excellence – l’Ordre des Architectes du Québec – Category Urban Design2009 Urban Leadership Award, Canadian Urban Institute – Category City Renewal2009 National Honorable Mention, CSLA Awards – Category Design2009 Best of Jury of Project Management Institute – PMI Montreal2008 Best of Category Award – National Post Design Exchange Awards – Category Urban Design and Landscapes Architecture

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Upper left: Promenade – layered texturesLower left: Shelter in wood claddingUpper right: Quai des vents – wind structureLower right: Quai des flots – water wall

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Left: Quai des Flots – Ice-brake patternsUpper right: Quai des Flots – water walls, waves and ice-brake patternsLower right: Quai des Flots – wood raft

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Dover EsplanadeLocation: Kent, Great Britain Designer: Tonkin Liu Photographer: Robert Polley and Mike Tonkin Completion date: 2010 Site area: 6,000 sqm

The Dover Esplanade harnesses the architectural language of Dover's identity; the gentle nature of waves on the sheltered beach, the rhythmical sweep of the Georgian Seafront Terrace and the undulating topography of the White Cliffs of Dover. The creation of three new waves brings a new interactive dynamism to esplanade.The Lifting Wave is a repeated formation of sculptural ramps and staircases made of pre-cast white concrete that rise and fall to connect the Esplanade to the lower shingle beach. The Lifting Wave combines ramps formed of miniature steps that create a light-catching textured surface. The gentle ramps both allow access for all and the sinuous line brings dynamic forms to the beach. The Resting Wave is a sculptural retaining wall that runs the length of the Esplanade, providing bay spaces with seating sheltered from the south-westerly wind and orientated towards the sun. The Resting Wave’s form tilts back and forth in a system of convex and concave forms. Undulating raised lawns follow the curving line of the wall providing a setting for picnics. The Lighting Wave is a sculptural line of white columns with artwork that complements the sweeping form of the sea wall and terrace, bringing improved amenity lighting and programmed lighting sequences to the Esplanade. Along the length of the Esplanade the columns rise and fall like the froth on the bubbling crest of a wave. The interactive low-energy LED lights have been specifically programmed to create a dynamic wave movement, bringing a sense of delight to the seafront.

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1. Lifting Wave 2. Resting Wave3. Lighting Wave4. Oak Weathered Benches5. Sculpted Grass Mounds 6. Shingle Garden with Indigenous Plants7. Existing Pavilion Retained8. Sea Sports Centre

Right: Resting Wave and Lighting Wave

Award description: 2011 Royal Institute of British Architects Award

14~15

Upper left: Panoramic view of Dover Esplanade Lower left: The interactive low-energy LED lights have been specifically programmed to create a dynamic wave movementUpper right: The Lifting Wave is a repeated formation of sculptural ramps and staircases Lower right: The Lifting Wave combines ramps that create a light-catching textured surface

1�~1�

Left: The Lighting Wave complements the sweeping form of the sea wall and terraceUpper right: Benches along sculptural retaining wall providing bay spaces with seatingLower right: Undulating raised lawns follow the curving line of the wall

1�~1�

Surfers Paradise Foreshore Redevelopment

Location: Queensland, Australia Designer: PLACE Design Group Photographer: Gold Coast City Council Completion date: 2011 Site area: 27,000 sqm

Surfers Paradise has iconic status in Australia as a playground for vast numbers of locals and tourists of all different ages, interests, cultures and backgrounds. It is a place for fun in the sun, splashing in the surf or simply relaxing in the shade and watching the world go by. The design intent for Surfers Foreshore is to create a dynamic and vibrant public promenade beachfront experience that befits its iconic status. The site incorporates three distinct zones – an urban plaza, urban beach and urban park. The urban plaza is the central area, consisting of a 20m wide pedestrian promenade and bikeway, with seating and a shared vehicular and pedestrian zone. The urban plaza zone includes terraces, ramps and stairs leading to the beach. The beach volleyball courts include broad terraced beachfront spectator seating. The urban park zones incorporate grassed areas, large quantities of existing retained trees, picnic tables, barbecues, beach shelters, beachfront markets and on street parking.A key principle of the overall design is about access to the beach – it is what it is all about. At each street end node beach goers are provided with a clear view and outlooks over the beach, shelter towers, toilets, showers and wide staircases and ramps providing direct access to the beach destination. Beach towers and viewing build outs have been positioned along the entire frontage of the Esplanade. All of the beach towers and toilet blocks contain large super graphic images depicting the changing scenes of Surfers through history.

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1. Soft Green Edge to Park Zones2. Toilet3. Beach Shelter, BBQ & Art Element4. Dune Area Low Planting & Existing Trees5. Lifeguard Tower6. First Aid Room7. SLSC Equipment Storage

Upper right: Access to the beach - the genius loci of the place is paramount

Lowe right: Picnic furniture and BBQs are the essential part of the infrastructure

20~21

Upper: Clearly identifiable nodes at the adjacent street ends assist with user legibility and interface with the beach.Lower left: The area affords a significant vista to the beach, as well as being available for public events and celebrationsLower right: Beachfront showers have been placed in strategic locations so the experience of showering is part of the animation: on a platform with a view of the beach

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Left: A key principal of the design was accessibility for all, with extensive ramps for variety of accessUpper right: Super-graphic imagery of historical surfers paradise photos on shade structures and public amenities have been used to animate the structures and provide a lively sense of cultural heritage for this iconic placeLower right: A key emphasis of the design is about a clear interface with the beach and the provision of facilities for the enjoyment of all

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Mooloolaba Foreshore Stage 2Location: Queensland, Australia Designer: PLACE Design Group Photographer: Aperture Photography Completion date: 2007 Site area: 2,800 sqm

PLACE Design Group was engaged by the client Sunshine Coast Counci l to provide des ign development and const ruct ion documentation, landscape architectural services for the beachfront park adjacent to the popular Mooloolaba Sur f Club on the Esplanade. The park is a compact foreshore park which experiences concentrated and focused use and demand by residents and visitors alike. The brief was to provide an innovative, creative and functional design in keeping with the established strategic direction and vision for the area.The design needed to capture the essence of the Mooloolaba style which required sensitive manipulation of existing levels and integration of established trees. Coastal She-Oak, Pandanus and Nor folk Pines were retained as essential character and shade elements throughout the parkland. Community and visitor expectations and the demand for a balance between different uses and their space requirements including pathways, BBQ areas, lawns, tables, a playground, beach showers and seating were considered in detail.Several design options were investigated during the design development phase, based upon multiple-use principles to maximise the potential of the limited space. To protect the existing trees, decks were designed over the existing root zones ensuring a continuity of character and protection of these important assets. The resulting space is heavily utilised by the public and has been a very successful project.

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1. Central Beach Stairs2. Equitable Access Ramps3. Upgraded Barbeque Terrace with Tables and Shelters4. Lower Picnic Terrace with Tables5. Toddler Playground

Right: Pedestrian and cycle pathway with water fountains along the way

2�~2�

Left: Beach access and pedestrian pathwayUpper right: Roodside pedestrian and pathway with beach viewsLower right: Etched artwork panel by Sunshine Coast Council on stair railings

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Upper left: Bar style seating looks out to the oceanLower left: Equitable access rampUpper right: Picnic tables amongst green space, elevated to see the beach belowLower right: Pedestrian and cycle pathway

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Vinaròs PromenadeLocation: Vinaròs, Castellón, Spain Designer: Guallart Architects Photographer: Guallart Architects Completion date: 2009 Site area: 3,400 sqm

Reform of the seafront promenade, as the interface between the centre of the town and the sea, offered a great opportunity for a public initiative to define the desired standards of urban quality for future growth. The main decision here was to transform the entire promenade into an area for pedestrian use, in order to take full advantage of the place’s latent tourist and civic potential, restricting vehicle access for loading and unloading to certain times of the day, and allowing freer access out of season, when this is compatible with the reduced level of pedestrian activity. The structure of the town’s road system is such that traffic in the part closest to the port could be routed behind the buildings on the streets parallel to the promenade. However, the absence of any such parallel streets in the central and northern sectors prompted the decision to construct a tunnel between the end of the promenade and the 250-place car park to be laid out beneath the central plaza.It was also decided to eliminate the concrete wall separating the beach from the promenade to enable the whole area to be perceived as a continuous space composed of a variety of materials. Another significant decision was that the promenade, which at present has an irregular topography, should have a constant level that would set off its eight-hundred metre horizontal line against the natural line of the sea’s horizon. This serves to resolve the difference in level between the beach and the promenade by means of a system of tiers that can be occupied in a variety of ways.

1. Trees2. Buildings3. Street Lamps4. Car Parking Entrance

Right: General view of the promenade

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Upper left: Aerial view of the promenadeLower left: Playing area for the childrenUpper right: Paving details on the promenadeLower right: Sculpture, trees and street lamps

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Schloss Promenade on Lake Burgsee

Location: Schwerin, Germany Designer: HÄFNER/JIMENEZ Büro für Landschaftsarchitektur Photographer: Hanns Joosten Completion date: 2008 Site area: 5,400 sqm

The Graf-Schack-Allee and the Schloss-promenade on Lake Burgsee form one of the most prominent entryways to the inner city of Schwerin. A new concept for the Schlosspromenade has been called for in the context of the National Landscape Exhibition, the Bundesgartenschau, to be held in 2009. HÄFNER / JIMENEZ Büro für Landschaftsarchitektur designed for this 992,195 Euro project.The street and the promenade are a spatial unit and the completion of the historic old town to the Lake Burgsee towards. Similar to a mediterranean beach promenade, allee and promenade are able to absorb the resulting traffic flows, but to also serve as place to stay. Areas of fear can be avoided by the openness of the promenade and increased its attractiveness.The promenade is underlined as the balcony of the city by a wall ledge from which Lake Burgsee, the gardens of the 21th Century and of course the Palace can be observed in all their splendor. At this level, the effect of the views to the water surface and to the opposite shore, are reflected in a calm, reserved fashion. All in all it is a timeless, unpretentious landscape with low up-keep requirements and future value.The wall edge is on account of the difficult foundation soil at the lakeshore, both constructive and creative element. The balcony on the promenade provides the quality of stay. The clear edge of the promenade stages the Schwerin Castle. The planting between the promenade and the Graf-Schack-Allee has been adapted to this place.

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1. Palace2. Historic Gardens3. Gardens of the 21 Century4. Burgsee 5. Schloss Promenade6. Graf-Schack-Allee

Right: Planting along the promenade

3�~3�

Upper left: View to the castleLower left: Wall edgeUpper right: Promenade and the lake viewLower right: Cycling on the promenade

3�~3�

National HarbourLocation: Maryland, USA Designer: Sasaki Associates Photographer: Craig Kuhner, Ed Wonsek Completion date: 2008 Site area: 1,214,057 sqm

National Harbour is a mixed-use complex located along the Potomac River just south of Washington, DC. While convenient to key tourist sites, National Harbour is a resort and convention destination that offers an alternative to the urban experience of Washington proper.The project is evocative of the region’s great urban places such as Georgetown, Annapolis, Maryland and the Baltimore Inner Harbour. The vehicular entrance to National Harbour – called the National Gateway – is designed to provide a sense of transition and arrival. Motorists pass through a monumental gateway portal featuring a site-specific sculpture by Albert Paley, across a series of cobblestone paving bands and under the dappled light of a densely planted birch grove before arriving at the project’s urban street grid.A major pedestrian thoroughfare called Grand Avenue, inspired by Barcelona’s famed Las Ramblas, establishes the primary spine for the project. Defined by an allee of majestic plane trees, Grand Avenue showcases multiple iconic fountains, numerous pieces of public art, and a series of small-scale vendor kiosks. The colour and texture of the avenue’s paving set the stage for its terminus – a waterfront plaza which steps down to a natural sandy beach along the Potomac. Both this avenue and the waterfront plaza are designed as flexible spaces – capable of hosting the activities of daily life while also accommodating major festivals. These key urban spaces are framed by retail storefronts and restaurants, promoting both street activity and urban interaction.

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1. Marina2. National Plaza3. The Balcony4. American Way5. National Gateway

Right: Rising from the banks of the Potomac River in Prince George’s County, Maryland, National Harbor is a mixed-used

development

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Upper left: A granite staircase - lined with public art and flags - steps down to the National Plaza, the beach, and the RiverLower left: Granite furnishings and paving signal pedestrian priority at key intersectionsUpper right: A stream of visitors arrives at National Harbour from the water taxi service from AlexandriaLower right: A dining terrace along the plaza overlooks the River

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Upper left: American Way, the project’s unifying spine, takes inspiration from the great streets of the world like the Ramblas in BarcelonaLower left: Visitors arriving by water enter the project’s signature plaza, lined with diverse entertainment and retail usesUpper right: Public art - here two eagles atop poles and a terrazzo map of the Chesapeake Bay - provide a gateway between American Way and the Potomac RiverLower right: Lined with retail, seating, lush planting, custom furnishings and a series of fountains, the American Way provides a shady place to shop, watch and relax

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Tjuvholmen, OsloLocation: Oslo, Norway Designer: Bjørbekk & Lindheim AS Photographer: Bjørbekk & Lindheim AS Completion date: 2010 Site area: 1,785 sqm

Oslo's waterfront, now called the Fjord City, is under transformation with the implementation of a comprehensive plan under the auspices of the local government of Oslo. The harbour and waterfront area have been released to open up the city to the waterfront and free the area for the development of a future-oriented urban environment.The essence of urban planning for Tjuvholmen is defined by the promenade along the water front from City Hall and from the neighbouring district of Aker Brygge, which was transformed from a shipping wharf into a dynamic commercial and residential area between 1980 and 1990. Tjuvholmen is the end point of urban development along the waterfront to the southwest.The street network of the district is laid out in a fan shape creating changing patterns of sunshine throughout the day. The terrain on Odden has deliberately been created with the highest point at the central square, Olav Selvaag Place. Three water features and a central tree create character with water features representing water’s different characteristics: a still pond in massive dark granite, a fountain with six water jets and a third feature of rippling, splashing water inside a hollow pillar of rhomb porphyry. Water runs from the fountains in channels through the streets towards the fjord.Street furnishing, lighting, planters for trees and edge stones offset height difference and are consciously designed so that they provide positive aesthetic touches and offer seating and places to dwell. The goal of the project, to create a varied and rich urban experience reflected in buildings and the urban structure, lies at the core of the wish to create a peaceful and cohesive street and floor plan. A solid floor in light tones was designed. The final floor materials consist of granite and concrete with steel elements moulded in. The use of these materials was chosen to reflect the history of the area with elements from the original pier and industrial communities.

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1. Traffic Area 2. Arrival Area and a Water Fountain3. Wooden Wharf and Outdoor Restaurants and Cafés4. Wharf along the Canal5. Small Park with Undulated Lawn and Trees6. Open Area with a View towards the Oslo Fortress and the Sea7. Central Square 8. Central Pedestrian Street

Right: Water features in the square

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Upper left: Olav Selvaag’s squareLower left: Granite stair and wooden deckUpper right: Wooden wharf and outdoor restaurants and cafésLower right: Details of the water feature

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Upper left: Small park with undulated lawn and treesUpper right: Wharf along the canalUpper right: Concrete stairsLower right: Little beach

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Urban Dock LaLaport ToyosuLocation: Tokyo, Japan Designer: EARTHSCAPE Photographer: Koji Okumura/Forward Stroke, Shigeki Asanuma Completion date: 2006 Site area: 67,499 sqm

In the early 16th century, when people still didn't have a complete understanding of world geography, European global expansion and the Age of Exploration began. Subsequent discoveries of new seaways and new continents played a large role in Europe's development after that. Skip to the 21st century, Tokyo Bay Area, Toyosu, the shipyards once in this area also provided "discoveries" to the people of the world through the ships they produced. Now, this location will be reborn as new landscape that provides new “discoveries.”The plan for this project considers the entire landscape as an ocean, and the people who travel through the area as voyagers. This site was previously a shipyard, and this project will be constructed by reclaiming two old docks. Three waves of "green," "water," and "earth" are layered over the reclaimed land, with a cafe, radio station, and museum scattered throughout to resemble several "islands," and white benches with foam and coral motifs floating above the waves. Voyagers travel freely through the space, experiencing new discoveries and encounters, sometimes letting their bodies be swept in the current, and sometimes navigating through with purpose. The overall vision of the landscape in this project was to create opportunities for a wide array of discoveries and encounters – including new lifestyle discoveries, a rediscovery of Tokyo, and a discovery of new places of interest – while working within the parametres of a symbolic background of the old shipyards, from which the entirety of Tokyo Bay can be seen, as well as a contemporary city setting and Toyosu.

Award description: 2007 Good Design Award

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1. Wave Garden2. Memorial Dock3. Kids Wave4. Dock5. Dog Run6. View Terrace Seat7. Industrial Heritage

Right: Industrial heritage

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Upper left: Memorial dockLower left: Wave garden and waterscapeUpper right: Wave gardenLower right: Industrial heritage where people can take a seat

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Left: Island stage at memorial dockUpper right: View terrace seat where people can see the sunsetLower right: Island stage

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Old/New Harbour BremerhavenLocation: Bremerhaven, Germany Designer: Latz + Partner Photographer: Christa Panick, Markus Tollhopf, Latz + Partner Completion date: 2009 Site area: 200,000 sqm

The spatial, ecological and technical renewal of the harbour site becomes the core of a new town quarter – with residential and recreation areas, with public squares and promenades. The project follows the strategy of a metamorphosis out of traditional elements and refers to the existing urban pattern. It works with surface materials common in the place, thus characterising it with a continuous carpet of natural stone. Metamorphosis and new development reveal historical links reaching out from the city to the port and from the port to the city, making it possible to experience and grasp them both spatially and visually. Historical and new landmarks such as the Simon Loschen tower and the radar tower are presented via visual links in terms of both axis and perspective. The long quays, the rows of tall masts for flags and lights, enhance the effect of the port’s characteristic north-south orientation, drawing the eye out towards the gigantic gantry cranes and the new commercial port. The old street lamps have been replaced by new multifunctional masts. An energy-efficient lighting system allows the streets to be lit in an economically and ecologically sound way, and improves the urban environment. In illumination terms, the light’s colour and brightness and vertical and horizontal arrangement come together with the dark sky and the reflections in the water of the river to create three levels.Natural stone paving covers the quays and squares with a continuous carpet that conveys a sense of calm and lavishness in relation to existing and future heterogeneous development.

Award description: 2010 IULA International Urban Landscape Award, Special Commendation2009 National Award for Integrated Urban Development and Urban Culture2008 The International Architecture Award2007 International City. People. Light Award, Special Mention2006 IIDA International Illumination Design Award of Merit

1. Entry2. Old Harbour3. New Harbour4. Lloyd Dock5. Lock Garden6. Bank Weser7. Zoo at the Sea8. Building Plot9. Hotel

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Right: The Lloyd Square is situated like an inlay within the stone carpet and represents the entrance to the harbour

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Upper left: Developed especially for this site, the Flow Bench is both, seat and sculptureLower left: The surface material consists almost only of recycled natural paving stones which by use get more and more attractiveUpper right: The structure follows a consistent layout in west-east direction from the town centre to the River Weser, thus creating orientation and a strong appearanceLower right: Sawn paving stones with smooth surfaces cover the main walking areas whereas the rough surfaces of cobbled zones along the edges of the quays signal “attention” and caution for pedestrian traffic

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Upper left: A new wooden bridge crosses the historic entrance to the Lloyd dockyard, thus creating a continuous pedestrian connection and a new landmark within the urban contextLower left: The deck of the Lloyd Square rises nearly 20centimetres above the stone carpetUpper right: The “Lock Garden“, shaped by the wind and facing the sea, has been formerly and still today an intimate meeting placeLower right: Timelessness has been the goal: materials are primarily durable and show regional expression

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Riva Split WaterfrontLocation: Split, Croatia Designer: 3HLD Photographer: Damir Fabijanic Completion date: 2007 Site area: 24,707 sqm

The city of Split and its waterfront, the Riva, as the paradigm of its history and character, are among the most interesting and most specific sites in the Mediterranean. Split waterfront is an urbanised, public, open and accessible space, 1,700 years old. It stands in front of Diocletian’s Palace, once the home of the Roman emperor. The modular Roman form of the palace in the latter phase became the framework that shaped the city and directed its expansion; in the same way, the dimensions, materials and form of the modular network of concrete elements laid on Riva directed the arrangement and positions of all the other elements of the public space. The waterfront is the focal point where the city meets the sea. 250 metres long and 55 metres wide, it is also the main public square, the space for all kinds of social events, promenade by day, parade by night, the site of sport events, religious processions, festivals and celebrations. The project rearticulates the space for all the mentioned events and harmonises them on a new integrated surface. The solution uses not only architectural design, but also materials, to respond to all the challenges of utilisation set before the Riva. All urban elements and equipment was specially designed for this project and they try to meet local spirit and atmosphere.

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1. Trees2. Shading Support3. Benches

Right: Aerial view of Riva Split

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Upper left: Exterior façadeLower left: Palm treesUpper right: Overall viewLower right: Bench detail

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Upper Left: Resting area with benchesLower Left: Shading supportRight: Close view of benches

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Elwood ForeshoreLocation: Elwood, Australia Designer: ASPECT Studios Photographer: Andrew Lloyd Completion date: 2009 Site area: 10,000 sqm

The Elwood Foreshore is the focus of the beach activity for residents of the Elwood area and beyond. The project includes a new regional cycle way, beach plaza, indigenous plantings, and a new car park with water sensitive urban design (WSUD). The design created shared pathways and surfaces, introducing a continuous and safe cycle path. The roadway and car parking systems were rationalised to minimise conflict between bicycles, pedestrians and motor vehicles. The City of Port Phill ip and ASPECT Studios keenly pursued an integrated approach to water, with planning and installation of water tanks for the various clubs and restaurants in the foreshore and full WSUD for the renovated car park.The design provides elegance and sustainability within the limits of its scale and budget. Recycled ashalt was used for pavements to car parks, existing subgrades were used for pavements where possible. Existing furniture such as BBQ’s and site furniture were served and reused to minimise material wastage.This project demonstrates that a seamless connection can be made between functional design (ie cars, bikes, walkers, boats, cleaners) and design elegance. The design has provided back to the community an open and inviting foreshore place, that can be used from causal to large scale, surf life saving and sailing club festivals.

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1. Elwood Sea Scouts2. Elwood Angling Club3. Elwood Sailing Club4. Elwood Life Saving Club5. Sails on the Bay (Restaurant)6. Loading Zone7. Access Road

Right: Overall view of Elwood Foreshore

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Upper left: PedestriansLower left: Water facilityUpper right: Safe cycle pathLower right: Bench with lighting effect

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Storaa StreamLocation: Holstebro, Denmark Designer: OKRA and Schul Photographer: OKRA Completion date: 2009 Site area: 23,000 sqm

The project makes a major difference in the city and a connection between the two parts of the centre. The north part and the south part of the centre of Holstebro will be linked by a new focal point. The public spaces around the cultural buildings, like cinema and dance theatre, provide new élan to the city by transforming them into an outdoor stage. The project is the catalyst of changing the riverside from a backside with functional connections into a "place to be". Previously, the riverside was neglected and the city had turned its back towards the water. Even just after the opening one can notice that the riverside is already attractive that the quality of public space will be a catalyst for further development. On the north side of the project, new developments in the next years will create frontages towards the riverside, where it is now just the backside of commercial activities and parking places. In the further future, it can be envisioned that more private owners want to turn their faces towards the river scenery. It can be envisioned that some extension of the buildings combined with underground parking supplies in a future second phase, where parks, playgrounds and small planted squares will form an extension of the beautiful riverside area.

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1. Cycle and Pedestrian Bridge2. Quay Side Seating3. Storaa Stream4. Water Podium5. Planting Area6. New Dance Theatre7. Movable Planting and Seating on Rails8. Water Floor and Fountain9. Dance Theatre Square10. Dance Theatre Park11. Cycle Path12. Parking Area

Right: A view to the theatre and bridge at night

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Upper left: A view at night to the bridgeLower left: The bridge is a link, yet there is also room for informal seatsUpper right: The river, now separating two parts of the centre, will become a public stageLower right: The water floor confines the square and the bleachers along the high lawn

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The Blue SquareLocation: Drammen, Norway Designer: Arkitekt Kristine Jensens Tegnestue Photographer: Arkitekt Kristine Jensens Tegnestue Completion date: 2007 Site area: 12,900 sqm

In the new park of knowledge in Drammen will be framing an adult education centre and a library. The connections between the new main building and the existing heritage buildings is created by a continuous city floor, called the Blue Square. The floor surface and materiality is developed as a metaphor on an enlightened surface of water, so the unity of the plaza is perceived as a long, flowing course towards the river. The surface is made in different shades of grey granite, in which the blue tint is accentuated by narrow stripes of glass and aluminium in blue nuances. Outdoor zones are created on each side of the main building, so that one can always find a lovely place for a break in the sun. Adjacent to the river a big stair is build, and on the south bank there is created a big activity zone with furniture placed in the lee of cherry trees. All furniture is specially designed for the project. The overall placement of the furniture was initiated by the idea of note lines organising, specifying and keeping the different elements into place. The continuous course is even accentuated by the repetition of steel, as a paper chain bended and turned creating various spaces. Light poles with coloured light underlines the blue shade in the evening hours.

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1. Waterfront Deck2. Chairs on the Square 3. Furniture4. The Square

Right: The wooden waterfront deck allows people to enjoy the beautiful view

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Left: The blue tint is accentuated by narrow stripes of glass and aluminium in blue nuancesUpper right: Light poles with coloured light underlines the blue shade in the evening hoursLower right: Light details

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Upper left: The surface is made in different shades of grey graniteLower left: The continuous course is even accentuated by the repetition of steelUpper right: The specially designed furniture allow parking bicyclesLower right: Bench details

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Erie Street PlazaLocation: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Designer: Stoss Landscape Urbanism Photographer: Stoss Landscape Urbanism, Vetter Denk, James Dallman Completion date: 2010 Site area: 1,208 sqm

The project grows from three hybrid ecologies that step down across the site towards the water: radiant grove, flexible field, and steel marsh.The radiant grove occupies the upper end of the vegetal gradient, at the plaza’s urban edge. The poplar grove is positioned to shelter the rest of the plaza from cold winter winds yet are deliberately transparent to allow for views and safety. The grove maintains a dense straight line parallel to street edge but opens up toward the river. The primary element – the flexible field – is a hybridised plaza-green, with pavers and lawn surfaces that allow for both intense activity and more passive use. The plaza is articulated as an eroded field of custom pre-cast pavers distributed to maximise variability and flexibility. The plaza’s indeterminacy is accentuated by the erratic scattering of seatwalls and luminous fiberglass benches, which capture and reflect ambient light and project light from within. Their irregular placement allows for multiple and diverse social groupings or solitary retreats, in shade or full sun, protected or exposed. The luminous qualities of the fiberglass are accentuated as night falls, projecting light from within and reflecting the passing headlights of automobiles. The glowing benches have become a signature element of the project. The variegated surface extends into the steel marsh, which occupies the lower end of the plaza gradient at the river’s edge. Capturing and cleaning site stormwater, the steel marsh is key to the site's stormwater management strategy. Lowering the grade behind the bulkhead wall allowed for the collection of site stormwater in a perched position above the river, newly protected from industrial activities and barge wakes.

1. Federal Channel to Lake Michigan2. Concrete Pavers3. Poplar Grove4. Seating5. Restaurant and Condominiums6. Erie Street

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Right: The variegated surface extends into the steel marsh, which collects and cleans stormwater from the site

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Upper left: Along the boardwalk the grove opens up intermittently, allowing passage through to the heart of the plaza. The benches glow at night and have become a signature of the projectLower left: The grove is positioned to protect the site from cold lake winds, yet it is deliberately transparent to allow for views and safetyUpper right: View from the upland terrace across the plaza to the lower wetland and the river beyond. Heavy rainfall collects in the steel marsh, making environmental cycles legible to plaza visitorsLower right: View from Erie Street towards the river. The poplar grove holds a straight line parallel with the street edge, opening up into a looser configuration toward the river

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The CityDeck Phase ILocation: Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA Designer: Stoss Landscape Urbanism Photographer: Stoss Landscape Urbanism Completion date: 2010 Site area: 10,117 sqm

The project starts as a simple boardwalk deployed at the edge of city and river. The highly articulated wooden boardwalk undulates, folding in response to technical, code, and programmatic issues. At the scale of the human body, these folds create diverse seats, benches, and chaise lounges that allow for choice and flexibility. The idea was to give people many choices about where to sit, depending on their own desires, their body type, their mood, and their attraction to various ambient light, heat, or weather conditions. The wood surface folds up and over the existing bulkhead wall at the north end of the site, rising to form a dramatic overlook perched above the river on piles – a great place to watch passing lake barges and small recreational boats. At the city edge, the surface folds up again, affording adjacent buildings required protection from flooding and creating retail and dining terraces, seating, and communal chaise lounges looking out to the water. A flexible upland plaza floats atop fill between the perched terraces and the undulating boardwalk, creating a free-zone to be inhabited by festivals, vendors, and spontaneous activity; it doubles as an informal amphitheatre for performances and is marked at its southern end by an interactive play fountain.Lawns are located at both north and south ends of the project, allowing for casual play and picnicking. Groves and scatterings of gingkos, elms, and coffee trees offer shade in the hot summer sun and reduce adjacent buildings’ cooling loads. During football season, the trees turn bright yellow, half of the green and gold color scheme of the city’s beloved Green Bay Packers football team. The green is manifested in custom-designed concrete pavers (with a green aggregate), shaped to resemble fish scales and perforated to allow for stormwater infiltration.

1. Transient Docks2. Pine Street Steps + Stage3. Interactive Water Feature4. Lawn5. Cherry Street Landing 6. Grove

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Right: View looking south along The CityDeck from the Main Street Bridge

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Upper left: Larger and longer bench forms allow for gathering and group sun-bathingLower left: The wooden surface expands at the Shopko Landing, rising up as a dramatic overlook and fishing pierUpper right: In the fall, the gingkos, Kentucky coffeetrees, and Liberty elms all turn bright yellowLower right: Overview of the southern end of The CityDeck, near the Walnut Street Bridge

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Sjövik SquareLocation: Stockholm, Sweden Designer: Thorbjörn Andersson Landscape Architect Photographer: Åke E:son Lindman, Patrik Lindell Completion date: 2010 Site area: 12,000 sqm

Sjövik square is situated right on the quay of Årstadal. It opens up towards the water and thus includes the larger landscape in its design. To underscore this basic idea, the square is laid out as a flat plane which has then been tilted towards the view. Two recreational lawns furnish the upper part, outlined with a broad granite edge for seating. The lawns are horizontal and rise gradually from the ground plane, clarifying the plaza slope.Two 100-metre-long wooden boardwalk promenades frame the plaza and direct the view. They have a Y-shaped configuration, where the western leg steps down towards the water in series of sun terraces. The eastern leg is a pier which passes the quay edge by 40 metres, hovering over the water.To balance the openness of the triangular square, an equally triangular grove of semi-transparent Gleditsia trees has been added at the western perimeter of the plaza. The trees stand in a gravel surface, which also hosts a small playground and lanes for bouclé games. The grove transcends into a sunken garden with horticultural content, shadowed by cherry trees.Included in the design is also a 35 metres wide water feature, with a thin layer of water rushing over a shingled surface of Norwegian slate, as well as an environmental sculpture by artist Jan Svenungsson. This artwork consists of three very large boulders, one of them engraved with headlines fetched from the daily newspapers of the day the square was opened to the public.

1. The Square2. The Benches3. The Grass Garden4. Grove

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Right: The square is tilted 3 % towards the water in order to give focus on the view

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Upper left: The square has an edge definition by two long wooden decks, laid out in a “V”-configurationLower left: A site-specific artwork by artist Jan Svenungsson consists of three very large boulders with inscriptions from daily newspapersUpper right: Terraced sun decks at western side of the squareLower right: The lawns are accessible for the disabled at their upper side

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Upper left: The east wooden deck is planted with Gold Rain/ LaburnumLower left: The surface of the square has a pattern composition as a textile fabric with granite imported from China, complemented by lines of steelUpper right: One of the boulders is placed in a wide water feature with streaming water occurring as a thin layerLower right: At dusk, the lake surface reflects last rays of the sun

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Mendelssohnufer River BankLocation: Leipzig, Germany Designer: GFSL Clausen+Scheil Landscape Architects Photographer: Gunter Binsack Completion date: 2007 Site area: 7,500 sqm

The redesign of the green space known as the "Mendelssohnufer" commemorated the former Gewandhaus choirmaster and founder of the first German music conservatory with a bust and the expression of the access down to the waterway as musical staves with the theme of the E-minor violin concerto. The old Gewandhaus, which was destroyed in the war, stood on the same spot as the music academy that today bears his name. Before the redesign, the square in front of the former Reichsgericht and the old Gewandhaus sites was a triangular lawned area surrounded by traffic and was generally unused or just treated as somewhere to walk the dog by the local population. The construction of the new Humanities centre has transformed the area where the destroyed Gewandhaus once stood. The introduction of the underground car park and the repositioned entry and exit routes reduced the impact of traffic in this residential district. By redesignating road space as green space, the location becomes a much a more pleasant place to sit or linger.More details:-By rearranging the traffic flows using traffic calming measures on the residential area.- The creation of a landscaped park to form areas for relaxing and communication - Opening of a further length of the Pleiße, which had been culverted in 1950s - Formation of a wide planted bank zone with access to the water by appropriately shaping the buried structure of the underground car park. - Commemoration of the old Gewandhaus destroyed during the war by the inclusion of the Mendelssohn bust.

1. Grass2. Planting Area3. Seating Area4. Concrete Paving Stones5. Recommended Location of Mendelssohn-memorial6. Column Lights

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Right: The open space includes the watercourse bank with its step seating as musical staves and cubes as notes in its design

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Upper left: PanoramaLower left: The defining features of the watercourse bank are its wide, grassy step seating, which can be occupied for walking or relaxing right down to the water’s edgeUpper right: By redesignating road space as green space, the location becomes a much a more pleasant place to sit or lingerLower right: Path leading to the the Bundesverwaltungsgericht

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Left: The park is primarily used by students from the neighbouring colleges but also by walkers, tourists and officials from the courtUpper right: The open space makes reference to the generous gable front of the BundesverwaltungsgerichtLower right: Commemoration of the old Gewandhaus destroyed during the war by the inclusion of the Mendelssohn bust, who is the first director of the orchestra

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New White Tower SquareLocation: Thessaloniki, Greece Designer: Katerina Tsigarida Architects Photographer: Yorgis Yerolumpos Completion date: 2008 Site area: 24,000 sqm

The project’s main objective is the reconstitution of public space around the White Tower – important historical monument and landmark at the waterfront of the city of Thessaloniki. The new square required the partial deviation of the waterfront avenue in order to provide adequate space in front of the monument. The restoration of the surrounding space on its initial foundations’ level was additionally proposed.The synthetic design procedure explores the principles of centrality, monumentality, strict plane geometry, axis continuity, while refraining to a minimal intervention. The architectural discipline and the design austerity focus more on their long-lasting effect in the city, rather than on the implementation of ephemeral design styles. Special care was taken so as to provide a realistic and viable result.A trapezoid square is ultimately generated, perspectively opening towards the sea, materialising a system of multiple geometry originating whether from the monument itself, the water front pedestrian zone or the tangential East Cultural Axis. Level height difference creates coherent sub-areas at selected locations and of clear and legible shape.The architectural elements that organise the square constitute of green plots that at the same time operate as zones for sitting. In remembrance of the East City Wall – part of the old city’s fortification- a series of limestone pillars function as a linear kinetic sculpture that seems to move as one walks along. An alley with big trees runs parallel to the pillars as a symbolic exit towards the sea at the point where the old city meets the new.

Award description: 2008 Architectural Awards of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture

1. Entrance to the White Tower2. Remaining of Byzantine Fortification3. Alley of Trees4. Limestone Pillars Tracing the Old City Wall5. Public Toilets6. Limestone Carpet7. Green Carpet8. Pebble Dash Carpet9. N. Votsi Statue10. Old City Waterfront11. New City Waterfront

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Right: View of the White Tower from the west

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Upper left: Aerial view to the east side of the squareLower left: Walking through the alley of treesUpper right: View of the White Tower from northwestLower right: View from the entrance towards the city

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Left: Stairs to the entrance of the White TowerUpper right: View towards the seaLower right: Ramp to the entrance of the White Tower

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Rheinauhafen CologneLocation: Cologne,Germany Designer: FSWLA Landschaftsarchitektur GmbH Photographer: Manuel Kubitza Completion date: 2011 Site area: 118,500 sqm

Award description: 2010 Germany Urban Planning Award

When port activities were transferred to other areas of Cologne, a new urban design challenge arose for Rheinauhafen. The area that once served as the river port is to acquire new functions. As part of the restructuring process, a competition for the open spaces was held in 1999. FSWLA Landschaftsarchitektur GmbH emerged as the winner and was commissioned with planning the open spaces. Rheinauhafen is very close to the town centre of Cologne, with a direct link to the Rheingarten redesigned in the 1980s, and stretches for about 2 kilometres down to the popular southern district of the city. This much favoured location within the urban context is to be reinforced by an attractive, structured design of the open space. The interplay of historical and modern architecture sets up a tension echoed in the outdoor terrain. The historical significance of the port area is linked into the modern architecture by combining historical materials such as natural stone paving, old rail track and restored cranes with large concrete slabs, glass, steel and a sophisticated lighting design. This will enable Rheinauhafen to present a new face to the world while retaining its original character as a port.

1. Boardwalk2. Central Axis3. Urban Space4. Play and Recreation

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Right: The Rhine promenade viewed from Southern Kranhaus to the southern cape

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Upper left: Modern design and historical materials create a unique atmosphereLower left: The new Elisabeth-Treskow-SquareUpper right: Large scaled concrete slabs and natural stone pavement define a corporate design for the open spaceLower right: Hedges sculptured as blocks and large scaled slabs structure at the “Siebengebirge”

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Left: The central passage in the southern partUpper right: Spacious seating sculptures invite to stayLower right: Generously proportioned steps

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Left: The new Elisabeth-Treskow-Square with a piece of art in the centre and the “Rhine bastion”Upper right: The “Wohnwerft” in the middle of the RheinauhafenLower right: The so called “sail-lamp” provides indirect light to avoid blinding

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Aalborg WaterfrontLocation: Aalborg, Denmark Designer: C. F. Møller Architects and Vibeke Rønnow Landscape Architects Photographer: Helene Hoyer Mikkelsen Completion date: 2010 Site area: 170,000 sqm

The master plan for Aalborg Waterfront links the city’s medieval centre with the adjacent fjord, which has previously been difficult for citizens to access due to the industrial harbour and the associated heavy traffic. By tying in with the openings in the urban fabric, a new relationship between city and fjord is created.The qualities of the approximately one-kilometre stretch of quayside are emphasised with a tree-lined and unusually detailed boulevard to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians. The medieval Aalborg Castle once again becomes the harbour’s centrepiece through the establishment of an extensive green area to frame the historic embankments. At the same time, Aalborg receives a harbour promenade with steps and recessed terraces, allowing people to get close to the water. Various kinds of urban gardens facilitate activities such as markets, ball games and sun-bathing. The aim is to create robust and attractive spaces to benefit many different users. The central activities field is designed to accommodate various games and sports, from beach-volley in the summer to ice skating rink in winter, surrounded by dramatically angled netting and lighting masts. The adjacent gardens are a calm, slightly sunken green space with a dense planting of trees and flowers.The materials chosen are as raw as the fjord itself, including asphalt, rubber, cor-ten steel, concrete and wood, while at the same time containing subtle references to the sea through wavy pavement patterns - an architectural quote of the famous Copacabana beach promenades by Roberto Burle Marx.

1. Football Court2. Pedestrian Path3. Ramp

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Right: The gardens are situated along the city's new harbour promenade. They are divided by wide tali-wood

decking areas

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Upper left: Various kinds of urban gardens facilitate activities such as markets, ball games and sun-bathing. The aim is to create robust and attractive spaces to benefit many different usersLower left: Special attention has been given to a mix of functional and ambient lighting of different colour temperatures using efficient low-energy fixturesUpper right: The flower garden is a lush, colourful oasis for all ages - primarily designed for quiet pursuits and as a recreational space for Aalborg's new harbour poolLower right: Wavy pavement patterns along the boulevard create subtle references

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Upper left: Concrete is used throughout, most notably in the new quay, featuring wide in-situ cast sitting steps. Cast into the concrete steps are a multitude of fiber-optic "star-spangles", the intensity of which is regulated by an anemometerLower left: Materials chosen are as raw as the fjord itself, including asphalt, rubber, cor-ten steel, concrete and woodUpper right: Outlook posts provide tourists with great opportunities to overlook the fjordLower right: The sunken gardens are framed in concrete "bastions", incorporating stairs and ramps for full accessibility

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Sonnenbrücke NordLocation: Berlin, Germany Designer: Henningsen Landschaftsarchitekten BDLA Berlin Photographer: Christo Libuda Completion date: 2010 Site area: 1,300 sqm

In the context of the German urban development programme "Stadtumbau West", the area beside the bridge "Sonnenbrücke" in Berlin-Neuköln was turned over to the public after one year construction period as a new attractive plaza with fountain and an open stair complex at the waterfront.Henningsen Landscape Architects planned these previously run-down waterside area as an urban public open space for residents and visitors. Beside the waterfront, the grand scaled stair complex made of light grey Portuguese granite stone with its numerous wooden decks invites the visitors to stay and relax. The wide staircase resolves and stages the huge level difference between the street and water channel.Some extant robinia trees, a row of apple trees at the stair head as well as lavender and roses planted at the slopes frame the otherwise stony setting of the stair complex. In addition to the nearby water channel, the topic "water" can also be found at the plaza as a water play, which is installed even to the ground in a covering of dark grey German slates.Close to the water play lies a big open sand surface, which can serve the neighbouring beer garden with beach chairs and deck chairs as comfortable living zone. Light orchestrations of the water play and the wooden decks with built-in lights as well as light-bands underneath the hand rails and stairs set a course during the evening hours.

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1. Entrance2. Granite Stair Complex3. Fountain Covered with Slates4. Wooden Decks5. Waterfront Promenade6. Lawn Slope7. Apple Trees8. Lavender and Roses9. Beer Garden

Right: Water feature

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Left: Stairs with wooden deckUpper right: Side view of the squareLower right: Fountain at night

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Upper Left: Whole scene of the squareLowe left: Wooden deck Right: Wooden deck as a planter

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Stadthafen SchleswigLocation: Schleswig, Germany Designer: BHF-Landscape Architects Photographer: BHF-Landscape Architects Completion date: 2007 Site area: 10,000 sqm

The office BHF-Landscape Architects received the direct contract for the re-designing of the promenade (approx. 200 metres long), the area around the harbour gastronomy, the parking area for mobile homes, and a central square at the harbour head. The town harbour is the central home-port for luxurious yachts of the brand “Comfortina”. The promenade along the town harbour in Schleswig was completely redesigned following a renovation of the quay wall. The quay wall received a broad flat head of in-situ concrete. In addition lies a double band of granite paving stonesThe existing shed has been converted into a fish snack with numerous outdoor seats. To protect the shed against floods, the built-in under the shed roof containers were placed on a pedestal, which was enclosed with large size ashlars of fair-faced concrete. Here people can wind-protected sit and look at the fjord.The shipping buoy in the harbour apron was installed on the top of a small grass hill. Despite the small difference in height of one metre, can be seen from here even better the bustle of the harbour. Here to the waterside fair-faced concrete ashlars were also built as the seat blocks. In the appropriate steps flat LED lights are integrated. 1. Lawn

2. Bench3. Car Parking4. New Pavement 5. Parking Area for Mobile Homes

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Right: The shipping buoy on the square

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Upper left: Seating area and lookoutLower left: Yachts and craneUpper right: Aerial viewLower right: Promenade pavement

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Wasserplatz KielLocation: Kiel, Germany Designer: BHF-Landscape Architects Photographer: BHF-Landscape Architects Completion date: 2008 Site area: 3,500 sqm

The waterside square is a new development at the “Germaniahafen”. This square is directly adjacent to the “Norwegen-Terminal” on the east side of the “Kieler Förde”, and forms, together with the 3-segment bascule bridge over the “Hörn”, an important connection between the city, with the main station on the west side, and the district “Kiel Gaarden” on the east side. The square negotiates a height difference of approx 6 metres and connects the promenade with “Gaardener Ring” and the following pedestrian bridge over the “Ostring”, a heavily frequented main road in Kiel. A generously designed stepway, with two flights and an integrated slow-rising ramp, enable pedestrians to negotiate this height difference. The “lower deck” offers opportunities to sit, the open-air gastronomy and freenet-centre offer time to linger. “Seefarers” can watch the bright life of the harbour in the shade of trees. The sculpture “Adam and Eve” by Björn Norgaard stands in the centre of the square.

1. Square North2. Barrier-free Way3. Square Centre4. Square South5. Sculpture6. Steps7. Seating Element8. Bicycle Way9. Bicycle Stand

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Upper right: View to the historical fishing boats in the Germania-Hafen

Lower right: City life on two levels

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Upper left: The Wasserplatz in the spring sunshineLower left: Corten steel sheet as reminiscence at the former shipyardUpper right: Biking, rest in front of the sculpture “Adam & Eva” by Bjørn NorgaardLower right: The retaining walls are planted with parthenocissus tricuspidata “Veitchii”

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Upper left: Evening atmosphere at stairsLower left: Corten steel with integrated turtle lightUpper right: Night view of the WasserplatzLower right: Detail of Corten steel sheet with integrated turtle light

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Tel Aviv Port Public Space Regeneration

Location: Tel Aviv, Israel Designer: Mayslits Kassif Architects Photographer: Daniela Orvin, Adi Branda, Galia Kronfeld, Albi Serfaty Completion date: 2008 Site area: 55,000 sqm

Award description: 2011 Winner of Domus Russia ARCHIP Prize 2010 The Rosa Barba European Landscape Prize – Nomination as One of the 9 Finalists of the 6th European Biennial of Landscape Architecture 2008 Israel 'Rechter Award' for an Outstanding Architectural Achievement by the Israeli Ministry of Culture2007 Israel 'Ot Haitzuv Award' for the Best Urban Architectural Project in Israel

Situated on one of Israel's most breathtaking waterfronts, the Tel Aviv Port was plagued with neglect since 1965, when its primary use as an operational docking port was abandoned. The recently completed public space development project by Mayslits Kassif Architects, managed to restore this unique part of the city, and turn it into a prominent, vivacious urban landmark. Remarkably, despite city planning being dominated by market forces, and because of its immense popularity among the public, the project has been able to circumvent massive development schemes intended for the port's 50,000 square metres area. The suspension of all the area's rezoning plans set a precedent for creating an urban transformation not propelled by building rights, but by an alternative design strategy gearing towards the public space.The design introduces an extensive undulating, non-hierarchical surface, that acts both as a reflection of the mythological dunes on which the port was built; and as an open invitation to free interpretations and unstructured activities. Various public, political and social initiatives – from spontaneous rallies to artistic endeavors and public acts of solidarity – are now drawn to this unique urban platform, indicating the project's success in reinventing the port as a vibrant public sphere.

1. Existing Hangers2. Parking Park3. Undulating Deck Surfaces

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Right: Wooden deck ©Adi Branda

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Upper left: Close view of GRC elements © Adi BrandaLower left: Parasols © Daniela OrvinUpper right: Multipurpose surfaces for parking and events © Adi BrandaLower right: The hybrid ipen space that combines the qualities of the informal beach environment with the city fabric © Daniela Orvin

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Upper left: Paving pattern defining the traffic areas © Adi BrandaLowe left: The GRC elements designed for a variety of sitting positions © Galia KronfeldUpper right: The port as a vibrant public sphere © Albi SerfatyLower right: Paving pattern defining the traffic areas © Daniela Orvin

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Waterfront TorontoLocation: Toronto, Canada Designer: West 8 and DTAH Photographer: West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture Completion date: 2009 Site area: 650 sqm + 630 sqm

The Toronto Central Waterfront, a 3.5 kilometres length of Lake Ontario in direct proximity to the downtown business district, is one of Toronto's most valuable assets. Yet despite decades of planning and patchwork development projects, there is no coherent vision for linking the pieces into a greater whole – visually or physically. In this context, the fundamental objective of the project is to address this deficiency by creating a consistent and legible image for the Central Waterfront, in both architectural and functional terms. West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture, in joint venture with DTAH, prepared a comprehensive vision for the Central Waterfront that produced a powerful design language with the strength and simplicity to overcome the existing visual noise and create a sense of interconnectedness and identity. Connectivity between the vitality of the city and the lake and a continuous, publicly accessible waterfront are the plan’s priorities. The plan expresses a vision for the Central Waterfront that brings a sustainable, ecologically productive “green foot” to the rich culture of the metropolis.West 8 + DTAH are currently implementing the first phase of the strategic masterplan. Spadina WaveDeck and recently Simcoe Wavedeck and Rees Wavedeck have been completed. A series of timber pedestrian bridges, new streetscapes, public realm and water’s edge promenades will follow or construction already started.

Award description: 2010 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada National Urban Design Awards – Spadina WaveDeck 2009 Canadian Society of Landscape Architecture National Merit Award for Spadina WaveDeck2009 American Society of Landscape Architects Honour Award for General Design, Spadina WaveDeck

1. Portland Wavedeck2. Spadina Wavedeck3. Rees Wavedeck4. Simcoe Wavedeck5. York Wavedeck6. Yonge Wavedeck7. Jarvis Wavedeck8. Spadina Bridge9. Peter Bridge10. Rees Bridge11. Simcoe Bridge

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Left: The design of the WaveDeck is inspired by the shorelines of Ontario’s great lakes and the Canadian cottage experienceUpper right: The WaveDeck is an urban dock that is both a piece of art and a functional gathering spaceLower right: The large swell features slender stainless steel railings that follow the undulations of the waves in the deck

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Upper left: The backless bench acts as an elegant barrier to the water while also providing seating for users of the spaceLower left: The four WaveDecks explore variations of a simple articulation in the change in level between Queens Quay Boulevard and Lake Ontario Upper right: In-water LED lights have been installed to create a surreal experience by nightLower right: A curving 57-metre-long bench along the edge highlights the experience at Spadina

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Southeast False Creek

Waterfront Park Phase 1 represents the first phase of Southeast False Creek’s primary park and open space system and a 650-metre extension of Vancouver’s iconic seawall. Through walkways, bicycle paths, diverse seating and gathering areas the park provides a variety of vital green spaces that will reconnect people with the heritage-rich waterfront and offer unique experiences unlike any other in Vancouver.Social opportunities and cultural heritage were carefully integrated with the project’s ecological design features. The site’s past life as a shipyard, rail yard, and industrial centre are reflected in the design narrative, material selection, and construction detailing. People have been reintroduced to False Creek through a series of stone terraces and a tidal amphitheatre that lead to the water; all were constructed with locally-sourced granite. Naturally, an important part of this public space’s ecology is its ability to engage people and impart a sense of discovery and fun. Distinctive lounge chairs inspired by the wings of a seagull are enjoyed by people of all ages and have become one of the most recognisable features of the new Waterfront Park. Metal swivel chairs allow 360º views of the neighbourhood, downtown peninsula, and mountains. To complement the industrial materials in the park, native plantings punctuated by strips of ornamental grasses provide movement and texture to the landscape while reintroducing long-absent living materials to the site.Water front Park – Phase 1 completes the existing water front promenade and bike lanes found throughout the False Creek and Downtown Vancouver areas. This innovative project demonstrates that environmentally sensitive design is completely at home in a dense residential and commercial neighbourhood and shines even brighter when layered with historical references, social spaces, and recreational opportunities.

Location: Vancouver, Canada Designer: PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc Photographer: PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc Completion date: 2008 Size: 320,000 sqm

Award description: 2010 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – Lovable Communities Awards 2010 Canadian Institute of Planners – Award of Excellence in Neighbourhood Planning2010 Canadian Urban Institute Brownie Award 2009 The Waterfront Centre – Honour Award2009 CSLA Professional Awards – National Merit2008 Design Exchange Awards – Award of Merit2006 Royal Architecture Institute of Canada Urban Design Award – Honour Award

1. Community Gardens2. West Pedestrian Promenade3. Timber Boardwalk4. Wetland Bridge

Right: Bridge to science world

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Left: Aerial viewUpper right: BoardwalkLower right: Swivel chair detail

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Left: Rainwater runnelUpper right: Boardwalk with bikesLower right: Bench and paving detail

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Ballast Point ParkLocation: Sydney, Australia Designer: Mcgregor Coxall Photographer: Christian Borchert, Landscape Solutions Completion date: 2009 Site area: 25,000 sqm

Award description: 2010 International Waterfront Design Honour Award 2010 NSW National Trust Heritage Awards2009 Australian Institute of Landscape Architects NSW Award2009 BPN National Sustainability Award – Landscape Design2009 Landscape Contractors Association Awards of Excellence

The design uses world leading sustainability principles to minimise the project’s carbon footprint and ecologically rehabilitate the site. The design reconciles the layers of history with forward looking new technologies to create a regionally significant urban park. The environmental approach is further underpinned by site-wide stormwater biofiltration, recycled materials, and wind turbines for on-site energy production.This design brings to life the principles established in the original master plan where there is a fine balance between what is removed and what is retained. The end product is a park that proudly communicates all the site’s past layers and human interventions in both, an innovative and informative manner.The design challenges our perception of materials and their use. Dominant new terrace walls sit atop the sandstone cliffs but these walls are not made of precious sandstone excavated from another site, rather from the rubble of our past. What once was called rubbish is now called beautiful. It is the new ballast. But it is more than this at play: it is the total composition of these recycled rubber filled cages, off set with concrete coping panels topped with fine grain railing, that allow these walls to sit confidently at the portal to the inner harbour. 8 vertical axis wind turbines and an extract from a Les Murray poem, carved into recycled tank panels, forms a sculptural re-interpretation of the site’s former largest storage tank. The wind turbines symbolise the future, a step away from our fossil fuelled past towards more sustainable renewable energy forms. 1. Wharf Road Amenities

2. Yeend Street Amenities3. Belvedere4. Tank 1015. Menevia6. Amphi Theatre7. Grass Rings8. Grass Ring Bund Wall Stair9. Walkway below Grass Rings10. Grasslands on Ridge11. Ridge Terraces12. The Point13. Lower Grass Terraces14. Grasslands Bund Wall Stair

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Right: The Point

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Left: Grass rings bund wall stairUpper right: Aerial viewLower right: Rubble filled wall detail

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Upper left: The lube ring-wind turbinesLower left: Boules play area and seating Upper right: Grasslands bund wall stairLower right: The entry gate at Wharf Road

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Erie Basin ParkLocation: New York, USA Designer: Lee Weintraub Landscape Architecture LLC Photographer: Collin Cooke Studio Completion date: 2008 Site area: 26,305 sqm

Award description: 2010 The Waterfront Centre: Annual Honour Award

Lee Weintraub first came to Red Hook in 1987, and led a community design process that resulted in the design of the Coffey Street Pier and the development of Valentino Park. In 2003 they returned to Red Hook; an incredibly compelling place, filled with the memory of the waterfront as a place of commerce and production. Invited by the Ikea Corporation to design a new waterfront park, Erie Basin Park comprises approximately a mile of green park, esplanade and plaza spaces. Incorporated into the fabric of the park are remains of the site's former occupancy - the New York Ship Yard. Four inactive cranes will be stabilised and will serve as heroic markers and powerful reminders; remains of a dry dock are expressed in planting and in pavement. The park language interprets the industrial archeology of the ship yard into a series of linked moments that use landscape to tell a powerful story.The Client of Erie Basin Park was the Ikea Corporation. LWLA's responsibility was to help Ikea overcome the contentious relationships that they had encountered in attempting to build in the New York/Westchester Region. With the client's counsel, the open space improvements including a 26,305-square-metre park and streetscape improvements were proposed. As the process developed, these were the lynchpin for the project's approval by the City and the adjacent community. LWLA used both it's design skills and it's community design skills to help facilitate the review and approvals process.

1. Entry Pergola2. West Facing Lawn3. The Mound4. Picnic Lawn5. Blue Light Bridge/Columbia Street Allee6. Pier 47. South Esplanade8. Bosque9. Ferry Arrival Plaza10. Salvage Gardens11. Chock Garden12. Dwight Street Allee13. Graving Dock Ghost14. West Esplanade

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Right: Sculptural kiosk and crane

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Left: Night shot of sculptural kiosk.Upper right: Bird’s eye view of bosque with honey locust trees.Lower right: View from esplanade looking toward Pier 4

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Upper left: Night view of ferry plazaLower left: Winch and wave bench at Pier 2Right: Seating cove along south esplanade

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Mangfallpark RosenheimLocation: Rosenheim, Germany Designer: A24 Landschaft Robel Swillus und Partner Photographer: Hanns Joosten Completion date: 2009 Site area: 130,000 sqm

The new Mangfallpark connects Rosenheim with its rivers. The landscape boardwalk concept reinforces the unique character of the existing river landscapes and makes nature come alive for the visitors in a variety of ways. The 500 metres long system is made up of landscape boardwalks and eight bridges that connect the city with the Inn, Mangfall, Hammerbach and Mühlbach waterways. The boardwalk forms the backbone of the new park and is multifunctional as an architecture – hybrid – it’s a ramp, bridge, promenade, viewpoint, seat and lounger all in one.Along the landscape boardwalk, broad steps can be sat on and luscious stream-side gardens invite you closer – to play in and linger by the water. The northernmost part of the boardwalk ends in an eight-metre-long protruding platform, which offers a wide view from the waterways all the way to the Chiemgau Alps. The Mühlbach Creek, which was previously built-over, has been uncovered and devised as an attractive green corridor from the city centre to the Inn. Between the future residential area and an existing power station, embankments confine the stream, whereby inlets create space for urban gardens along the waterside.In the form of a graceful bridge, the Nicklwiesen boardwalk crosses the Hammerbach, which has been transformed into a kayak route. The large Kiesinseln (gravel islands) affect the river flow while at the same time offering the visitors a place to sit and lie down. The recreational offerings are complemented by extensive playgrounds and sports areas.

1. Nicklwiesen Boardwalk2. Mangfall Boardwalk3. Promenade Board4. Mühlbach Creek5. Old Town Rosenheim

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Left: Top view of the Mangfall BridgeUpper right: Terraced lawn elements at the lookout pointLower right: Entry area to the kayaking route at the Hammerbach creek

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Upper left: The uncovered Mühlbach designed as a city creekLower left: Silhouette of the MangfallbridgeUpper right: Giant garden at the Hammerbach CreekLower right: Gravel island at the Hammerbach Creek

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Sydney Pirrama ParkLocation: Sydney, Australia Designer: ASPECT Studios in collaboration with Hill Thalis Architecture+Urban Projects and CAB Consulting Photographer: Florian Groehn, Adrian Boddy Completion date: 2009 Site area: 18,000 sqm

Award description: 2010 AILA NSW Awards – The Medal2010 Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design (Australian National Architecture Awards)2010 Kidsafe National Public Playspaces Winner 2009 The Best Overall Project National Award, CCAA Bi-annual Public Domain Awards 2009 The Winner of the Precincts Category, CCAA Bi-annual Public Domain Awards 2007 AILA NSW Award for Excellence in Planning

ASPECT Studios was commissioned by the City of Sydney to design a new waterfront park on the former water police site in Pyrmont. The brief was to develop a master plan for an 18,000 square metres parcel of land on the Pyrmont peninsula into public parkland incorporating a significant children’s play environment.The New Park on the Former Water Police site required significant marine engineering at the harbour edge to create a sheltered bay and interpret the former shoreline. The public realm includes wharfs, promenades, squares, laneways, rain gardens and a cycle way which forms significant public fabric, linking the City to the Docklands.The bay creates passive recreation opportunities at the water’s edge and strengthens the site’s historic relationship to Sydney Harbour. A range of other “park rooms” are created which celebrate this unique location.World’s best practice initiatives were embedded into the master plan and rain gardens and bio-filtration trenches in the park capture and clean the water from the surrounding park storm water catchment. Street tree pits along Pirrama Road collect street runoff and 200,000 kilolitre water tanks have been proposed to ensure irrigation is maintained sustainably throughout the year. Add to that, the proposal of solar panels on the shade canopies to power park lighting and the master plan is an exemplar of best practice ESD. Social sustainability is promoted through the creation of a significant public space at the end of Harris Street which provides an opportunity for social interaction and public gathering.

1. The Community Square2. The Pole Garden3. The Green and the Point4. The Shoreline Promenade5. The Grove

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Right: The playground shade canopy provides shelter to parents and children. Low walls andplanting form informal

buffers and help contain the playground space

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Left: The central spine contains a boardwalk and existing concrete wall which formed part of the existing site. A planted swale captures and filters rain water for reuseUpper right: An aerial view showing the park’s context within Pyrmont and the cityLower right: A suite of custom furniture using concrete and recycled timber is featured throughout the site

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Left: The pole garden and existing concrete wharf structures have been retained which reflect upon the site’s post industrial historyUpper right: An existing “whale bone” structure has been recited and reworked into an existing and playful entry elementLower right: Crossing points have been designed to allow access across the central swale

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Upper left: The Sheltered Bay changes the existing Harbour shoreline and allows unimpeded access to the waterLower left: The shoreline promenade reflects the pre-development shore edge and creates a strong foreshore link between Harris Street and Pirrama Park Upper right: An elegant kiosk structure and canopy/belvedere provide opportunities for gathering and reflectionLower right: Precast concrete steps from transitions through the planted swale from the shoreline promenade

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East Side ParkLocat ion: Ber l in , Ger many Designer : HÄFNER / J IMENEZ Büro fü r Landschaftsarchitektur Photographer: Hanns Joosten, HÄFNER / JIMENEZ Büro für Landschaftsarchitektur Completion date: 2009 Site area: 39,720 sqm

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 ushered in one of the busiest moments in the history of modern, urban architecture as innumerable buildings and open spaces became available for development throughout the former Communist East. One of the most famous of these spaces in Berlin is the East Side Gallery, a strip of the original wall that has been left as a monument to the division of the city where artists began painting a mural in the 1990s. As a meaningful and multilayered historical document, along with its impressive constructed appearance and artistic design, the East Side Gallery follows the entire length of open space along the Spree from the Mühlenspeicher at the Oberbaum Bridge to Stralau Square. It makes this strip of the Spree’s bank unique and momentous for both tourists and Berliners. The promenade on the south bank of the Spree creates an attractive open space for residents of the two boroughs bordering the site and visitors to the wall monument.The park is conceived in two parts with the East Side Gallery and the patrol path forming the historical monument while the new park opens toward the water. The expanse of the Spree, the liveliness of the water and the traffic of the ships offer important potential for a rich and multi-faceted downtown Berlin experience. The prominence of the water in the area surrounding the East Side Gallery is an important measure in creating quality city development.

1. Park along Spree2. Brommy Bridge3. East Side Park4. Plaza5. Spree River6. Oberbaum Bridge7. Mühlen Street

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Right: Park an der Spree – Promenade

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Upper: Park an der Spree – PanoramaLower left: View to the Oberbaum BridgeLower right: Ramp

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Left: Overall view at duskUpper right: Retaining wall as reating areaLower right: Sand playground

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General Maister Memorial ParkLocation: Ljubno ob Savinji, Slovenia Designer: Bruto Landscape Architecture & Design Photographer: Miran Kambic Completion date: 2007 Site area: 1,500 sqm

The memorial park is designed as abstract three-dimensional space, where the paths lead around geometrically cut grass ridges. It is a very abstract illustration of the mountain ridges of the northern border, for which Maister's soldiers fought in the year 1918. The main elements of the space articulation are the reinforced prefabricates of concrete, which are separating single triangular sur faces and f raming the ter ra in l i ke reta in ing wal l s . The multifunctional elevated retaining walls are also resting places view points, which include benches, litter bins and light elements. The whole embankment is secured against inundation and erosion with solid stone blocks, which protect the park like a stone shield. AB prefabricates divide rigid surfaces of the rock embankments. The grass terrain along the road ends in the retaining wall, which from the side view presents the abstract form of a mountain ridge and functions as part of the memorial place, as near by stands a sculpture which is composed of several stylised soldiers, and the statue of general Maister with a horse. The sculptures are made from welded metal rods. The abstract wire frame sculpture has the appearance of a sketch, at the same time it forms with the subtle accentuation of key lines of the torso real volume and fullness of the soldiers’ bodiesThe abstract design suggests strength of the existing value and sense of place in a highly artistic mode. The design makes use of art and sculpture to tell the story of the past. The materials and scale of the design gives a harmonious linkage to the landscape.

1. Benches2. Event Area3. Sculptures4. Grass Terrains5. Rack Embankment6. Access to the Water

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Right: The park is designed as abstract three-dimensional space

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Upper left: Panoramic viewLower left: Illuminated sculpture by nightUpper right: Night view from the bankLower right: Elevated retaining walls as resting places

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Sam Fiszman ParkLocation: Sydney, Australia Designer: 360° Landscape Architects, McGregor Westlake Architecture Photographer: Dianna Snape, Kyal Sheehan Completion date: 2007 Site area: 1,100 sqm

Award description: 2010 The AILA NSW Award for Excellence in Landscape Architecture 2008 Civil Contractors NSW Earth Award

The programme required that an existing above ground carpark be replaced with a pedestrian space that also linked to the beach and the coastal cliff walk. Focussing on edges and views, the design strategy was to work as much as possible with the topography and the layout of the existing rock shelves and floaters. The level changes were to be met by a series of terraces, steps, seats and walls to afford passage down the site and to create a range of interlocking spaces from which to enjoy the panoramic views. Each of the terraces contains planting beds that are designed as bio-retention basins, capturing diverted stormwater that would otherwise cascade off the cliffs into the ocean. The terraces are planted with endemic plants that create a soft compliment to the hardscape of concrete and sandstone.At the top of the site, 2 room-like lookouts crown the rock floaters, like concrete tiaras, one orientated towards the horizon, the other to the southern headland of Bondi Beach and the coastline beyond. Each is richly lined with glazed bricks, which capture and condense the blue of the view. The two lookouts, accompanied by a circular, raised lawn are little monuments to the view recalling the military architectures scattered along Sydney’s ocean edges. The entry to the park is marked by a long walled element, containing the park title. On the lee side is a long seat that provides a pointer back to Bondi Beach and the city. Together, the lookouts and seat are organised as a triptych of tighter spaces, providing shelter from the ocean winds.

1. Raised Lawn and Seating Edge2. Look-out Point/Standstone Wall3. Look-out Point4. Native Ground Cover

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Upper: View across Sam Fiszman Park at duskLower left: Outlook to Southern HeadlandLower right: Terraced planters in simple material palette

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Upper left: Concrete to sandstone outcropLower left: Seating Wall and lookout pointUpper right: Outlook to Pacific OceanLower right: Park name imprinted in concrete wall

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Rhine Park, DuisburgLocation: Duisburg, Germany Designer: Atelier Loidl Photographer: Phillipp Obkircher Completion date: 2009 Site area: 400,000 sqm

The subsequent use of the Thyssen-Krupp steel mill in Duisburg-Hochfeld created the opportunity to turn the property into a lively leisure park on the river, thus strengthening Duisburg’s profile as a city on the Rhine. The “Rhine Park” leads the city to the river and also closes an important gap in the city planning concept of a “Green Ring”. The topography of the park landscape supports the orientation of the main paths to the future site of the promenade along the Rhine. The meadows of the park are designed as an open, lightly contoured landscape. The meadows rise from the level of the park as "floes" that ascend gently up to the station and that continue beyond the tracks. As a result, the tracks dive into the new terrain model. If the topographic relationships (incisions, prominences) between the park and the Rhine are examined, a type of folded landscape can be seen in which the tracks (which were intrusive until now) can be viewed as the comforting link in the search for the horizontal line. The folds, i.e. the interplay of varying high and low places, let a number of different spaces and utilisations develop. All the design approaches serve to strengthen the perceptibility and experience of the river landscape.

1. New District2. River Meadows3. Bird Pine Groves4. Former Sintering Walls5. Skate Park6. Old Water Tower7. Conference Centre8. Beach Balcony9. River Café10. River Rhine11. Marina12. Hotel

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Upper left: Topography as means of orientationLower left: Fragments of the old steel mill are integrated as play – and sports areas into the new parkUpper right: Orienting the city towards the waterfront of the RhineLower right: The Rhine park is part of the "green ring" of Duisburg

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Upper left: "Floes" ascending from the ground level of the park creating various spaces and connecting to the Rhine riverLower left: Integrating playgrounds into the parkUpper right: Synthesis of old and newLower right: Visual relationships are created through axes

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Barcelos Fluvial ParkLocation: Barcelos, Portugal Designer: PROAP Landscape Architecture Photographer: Diogo Bento Completion date: 2009 Site area: 73,380 sqm

The proposal is characterised by the redefinition of the main connection routes with the city, through the integration of adjacent buildings and the definition of a cycle/pedestrian path along the River. Due to the land’s major level variation, the proposal design is based on the definition of platforms and stairs that adjoin, in a smooth and natural, the land’s slope while defining visual directions and paths of gradual approach to the water level. The limited range of materials used, concrete that defines benches and paths edges, highlights the green element and unifies the entire space while enabling the continuity of the design system and of a low maintenance regime. The intervention area is a nuclear area, very important for the implementation of a new and desired relation between the city and the river. The construction of a boardwalk along the river will generate extensions upstream and downstream and enunciates the resumption of the connection to the opposite shore and to the fluvial beach on the south. The proposal sets a number of essential goals, in search of a complete answer to the questions posed by the intervention objectives: to establish the necessary formal and function unification of the space, and its unity with the city and the river, to recover the pre-existent valuable elements by dignifying them, to implement the correct management of the vegetative cover through the clarification of the covering typologies related to certain situations-type and precise objectives, simplifying the maintenance processes, thus enabling the continuity of the projected system.1. Amphitheatre

2. Grassed Platforms3. River4. Water Canal

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Upper left: Access to the amphitheatreLower left: Overview of the topographical elementsUpper right: Overview of the amphitheatreLower right: Topographical elements as an amphitheatre

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Appel ParkLocation: Queensland, Australia Designer: PLACE Design Group Photographer: Aperture Photography Completion date: 2007 Site area: 5,750 sqm

Just across the road from Circle on Cavill apartment, one will find the Appel Park overlooking the Nerang River. This park is frequented by tour boats taking people onto the Gold Coast waterways for the day or venturing out into open waters in winter/spring for the annual whale migration. It is also the perfect place to relax and soak up the sun's warm rays.A key objective in the design was to provide a strong visual and pedestrian link from the Nerang River through to Surfers Paradise Boulevard. To support this connection to Circle on Cavill, the designers have re-designed and landscaped Appel Park on the riverfront.As part of the Circle on Cavill development, our client rejuvenated Appel Park creating a strong physical and visual connection between the river and the city centre. The resulting urban space incorporates giant public artwork that represents the timber logs that were floated down the river from Nerang and upstream areas in the early days of settlement.

1. River Link Access Path2. Toilet Block3. River Lookouts4. Bus Shelter5. Lawn6. Cedar Cutter Memorial

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Right: Giant public artwork represents the timber logs

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Left: Featured lighting continues the public space lighting from Circle on Cavill and highlights the public art elementsUpper right: Elevated seating decks reinforce the park geometryLower right: Public artwork detail

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Left: Lighting has been incorporated as a key design consideration in this 24 hour public spaceUpper right: A pavement and lawn channel aligns with the Broadwater boating channelLower right: Custom designed public space lighting links Appel Park to Circle on Cavill

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Sandgrund ParkLocation: Karlstad, Sweden Designer: Thorbjörn Andersson Landscape Architect Photographer: Åke E:son Lindman, Kasper Dudzik, Johan Krikström Completion date: 2010 Site area: 40,000 sqm

Award description: Best Park of 2010 by Associates of Architects of Sweden

The Sandgrund Park in Karlstad, Sweden, has undergone a major change from being an unused peninsula of sand, transforming into an attractive park in the middle of the city. The aim of the project has been to create a certain place from which to enjoy the grandeur of the surrounding landscape. The new park now offers lush valleys, viewpoints and extensive boardwalks by the river.At the point where the Klar river splits, a 400-metre long peninsula forms what from the air looks like a bird’s pointed beak. The presence of water, the dramatic end point and the urban setting were the most obvious features here. The designers’ concept became to amplify those same qualities for the future park. Along the river's edge, the proximity to the water was further stressed through a system of boardwalks on the western shore, facing the sunset. The very end was given a sharper profile by adding a 40-metre long viewing platform. The grounds were shaped as undulating terrain with five parallel ridges, about 100 metres long. The ridges were designed to offer green viewpoints along their crests, and contained valleys in between. Each other valley was designed to be a distinct plant habitat, a beech forest, a magnolia grove, a fern valley. The others were made into activity areas for rest and play, formed by grass and low granite steps marking the contour lines.

1. Viewing Platform2. Jetties with Boat Mooring3. Riverside Walk, East4. Riverside Walk, West5. The Ridges with Granite Steps 6. Reedbed Park7. Event Location8. Activity Space9. Sandy Beach10. Sunset Boardwalk

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Right: On the west side, a series of boardwalks form a sunset promenade at the parks edge

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Left: High attention has been put on details in planting and construction designUpper right: The park is designed as a series of five valleys. The so-called activity valley has seating of granite curbsLower right: The park is centrally located in the city of Karlstad, Sweden

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Upper left: The valleys lead the visitor to the edges of the peninsula with their wooden decksLower left: The sun decks create terraces stepping down to the waterUpper right: Trees of Silver Willow planted in one of the decks to give shade and characterLower right: Three of the valleys are plant habitats, as for instance this Firn valley

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Volmepark HagenLocation: Hagen, Germany Designer: Büro Drecker, Architect E.Stückemann Photographer: Peter Drecker Completion date: 2008 Site area: 11,000 sqm

The River Volme is the main body of flowing water that crosses the City of Hagen. The development of a continuous green corridor along the River Volme is essential to the town-planning. The associated park “Volmepark” is part of this green corridor and is located between two existing bridge constructions in north-south alignment. Concerning the green corridor structure, the final project design aims at a longitudinal alignment according to the river’s form. A so-called “sur-terrain” gives the opportunity to linger above the surface of the river Volme. The construction almost levitates and corresponds to the planned perron placed on the opposite bank. The archaic character of the structures in combination with the invisibility of the supporting constructions transforms the ordinary waterfront into a poetic stage over water. The esplanades and the removal of groves close to the wall allow the visitor a direct contact to the brink of the river. The “sur-terrain” as well as the perron in combination with the esplanades unite different elements of the area and give people opportunities to interact with the river. In the southern sunbathing area steps are formed in the grass in a longitudinal alignment to sustain the topography of the river ashore and even the difference in altitude between the river and the street. The playing area north of the River Volme will be rearranged. Several elements and amply sandpit areas will offer playing opportunities to children of different stages of life.

1. Skate Park2. Playing Field3. Esplanade4. Perron5. Playground with Rope Garden6. Volme River7. Sur-terrain8. Playground9. Sunbathing Area with Concrete Steps10. Floristic Plant Association

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Right: Sur-terrain

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Left: EsplanadeUpper right: Aerial viewLower right: Rope garden

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Left: StatueUpper right: Top view of the sur-terrainLower right: Band of perennials

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Upper left: Sunbathing area with concrete stairsLower left: Sur-terrain detailsUpper right: Long esplanadeLower right: Playground in rope garden

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Clinton Cove Park, Segment 7, Hudson River Park

Location: New York, USA Designer: Dattner Architects, MKW + Associates, LLC. Photographer: Bruce Katz, Jonnu Singleton, Luca Vignelli, MKW + Associates, LLC. Completion date: 2005 Site area: 10,522 sqm

Clinton Cove Park represents the first constructed phase of Hudson River Park Segment 7 and is the northern terminus of the overall park. The "cove" between existing Piers 94 and 97 provides fairly calm water, so the incorporation of a public boathouse and launching ramp was ideally sited at the former Pier 96 location. It has been designed to incorporate kayak storage and launching and its east and west facades feature roll-up doors that provide open views to the Hudson along the view corridor of the 56th Street. The large lawn bowl was created by building a planted berm along Route 9A, shielding the park from the sights and sounds of the road and orienting the view towards the Hudson. This raised earthwork also allowed plantings to easily occur over the concrete remains of a former concrete manufacturing facility, without those remnants having to be removed. Historic granite bulkhead coping stones salvaged from other areas of the park provide informal seating elements within the lawn. Broad, sweeping steps connect the raised berm pathway to the esplanade and the Pier 96 Boathouse Plaza, the setting for the public art piece developed for this park, Private Passage by Malcolm Cochran. Canopy trees provide shade and ornamental trees provide seasonal colours and scale as shrubs and perennials. Mounds of ornamental grasses retain steeper portions of the berm and add movement to the park experience as breezes blow along the Hudson.

1. South Entry2. Sloped Lawn Bowl3. Pier 95 Get-Down & Shade Structures4. Shaded Seating Areas5. Esplanade6. Public Art7. Pier 96 Boat House8. Kayak Launching Platform9. Bow Notch

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Right: A public art piece occupies the broadened esplanade near the Pier 96 boathouse © MKW Associates

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Left: The pier and “get-down” at Pier 95 allow the park visitor to shift from the esplanade to a vantage point above and closer to the river. Both steps and a serpentine ramp provide access © Bruce Katz 2007Upper right: Aerial view of the park and esplanade and public art piece © Luca VignelliLower right: The esplanade repeats the park-wide material of granite and bluestone pavement and stainless steel bulkhead railings © Jonnu Singleton

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Upper left: Aerial view of Pier 95, looking southwest © Luca VignelliLower left: Pier 95 engages park visitors on multiple levels © Luca VignelliUpper right: Aerial view of the park looking southwest, just after completion © Luca VignelliLower right: The open lawn bowl provides numerous opportunities for relaxing and enjoying views to the water © Jonnu Singleton

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Riverside Park SouthLocation: New York, USA Designer: Thomas Balsley Associates Photographer: Thomas Balsley Associates, David Quinones, Betsy Pinover Schiff Completion date: 2010 Site area: 93,078 sqm

The master plan called for the relocation of an overhead highway into a tunnel beneath the new park and extended from the 59th Street to the 73rd Street at the Olmsted Riverside Park. The process involved working with local and state government agencies, community groups, stakeholders and the client to create a vibrant new public space that reintroduced the community to the water’s edge and responded to the unique industrial history and riparian ecology of the site.The new park, called Riverside Park South, features a series of special architectural park structures and landscape spaces that vary in scale and highlight the experiential qualities of the park. Terraces, expansive lawns, architectural shade structures, recreation areas, lawn mounds, and intimate tree groves create viewing areas, spaces for play, that draw one to the river’s edge. A circulation system of esplanades, boardwalks, footpaths, and bike paths tie the individual places together. Overlooks at each historic pier piling field, terraced walls and a two hundred and fifty metre long pier take visitors out to and across the water. A new serpentine pedestrian bridge sweeps out across the water and encircles a reconstructed wetland planted with native grasses. The design is guided by site remediation and social and environmental sustainability principles.

Award description: NYASLA – Honour Award

1. Pedestrian Entry Plaza2. Pedestrian Path3. Bicycle Path4. Existing Transfer Bridge5. Amphitheatre6. Terraced Park Overlooks and Promenades7. Earth Promontory and Hudson River Prospect8. NYCDPR Maintenance & Storage Facility9. Natural Landscape Area10. Boardwalk Through Natural Landscape Area11. Gardens12. Northern Children’s Play Area13. Southern Children’s Play Area14. Restaurant Concession

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Right: Grasslands, cove, and the southern lawn plaza are punctuated with interpretive overlooks at the historic pier

landings

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Upper left: Terrace with "train shed" shelters that overlook the historic pier pilingsLower left: A train shed inspired structure shelters and custom lounge chairs on the grassland terraceUpper right: Removed from the main esplanade, a row of shade shelters provide comfortable and intimate moments of river viewsLower right: Off the beaten path, timber seats offer extraordinary intimacy with the river and its environment

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Upper left: Pedestrian walkway crosses cove heading southLower left: Custom deck chairs overlook the river just past the tot play lawnUpper right: Double-width high-backed timber lounge chairs designed to capture the breathtaking views in a comfortable inclineLower right: Distinctive seating defines spaces

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Sugar BeachLocation: Toronto, Canada Designer: Claude Cormier Associates Photographer: Waterfront Toronto & Claude Cormier Associates Completion date: 2010 Site area: 8,500 sqm

Sugar Beach takes its queue from adjacent Redpath Sugar Factory, source of the noteworthy sugar spray frequently carried by westerly breezes onto the site. Sweetness is here manifested through candy-coloured umbrellas across a sandy wedge of beach, and bedrock outcrops patterned after rock candy. Intergrating the future Waterfront Promenade and a plaza for programmed and unprogrammed events, the design for Sugar Beach playfully adopts some of the most enduring elements from Toronto's emerging landscape identity - its beaches, tree and water - embedding them into the urban horizon with a trace mood of the city's industrial past.Canada’s Sugar Beach, whose design includes a plaza, urban beach and tree-lined promenade, is like three parks in one. The park’s engaging plaza space offers a dynamic space for public events. A large candy-striped granite rock outcropping and three grass mounds create a colourful amphitheatre-style space with unique vantage points for larger events. The spaces between the mounds result in a natural performance space for smaller events. At the beach, white Muskoka-style chairs under playful pink umbrellas line the water’s edge giving people a place to while away the afternoon. A dynamic water feature embedded in a granite maple leaf beside the beach makes cooling off fun for adults and children. Between the plaza and the beach, people will stroll through the park along a promenade with granite and tumbled concrete cobblestones in a maple leaf mosaic pattern. Lined with mature maple trees, the promenade offers a shaded route to the water's edge giving the public ample opportunity along the way to sit and enjoy views to the lake, beach or plaza. At the lake, the park's promenade connects seamlessly to East Bayfront’s continuous kilometre-long water’s edge promenade and boardwalk.

1. Urban Beach2. Promenade3. Plaza Concert Space4. Chorus Concert Stage5. Interactive Fountain6. Candy-Striped Bedrock7. Temporary Berm over Future Development Parcel8. North Plaza (Proposed)

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Left: Tree-lined promenadeUpper right: Interactive water featuresLower right: Candy-coloured umbrellas

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Upper left: White Muskoka-style chairs under playful pink umbrellas line the water’s edge giving people a place to while away the afternoonLower left: A dynamic water feature embedded in a granite maple leafUpper right: A large candy-striped granite rock outcropping and three grass mounds create a colourful amphitheatre-style spaceLower right: white Muskoka-style chairs under playful pink umbrellas

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HtOLocation: Toronto, Canada Designer: Janet Rosenberg + Associates, Claude Cormier Associates, Hariri Pontarini Architects Photographer: Jan Becker, Neil Fox Completion date: 2007 Site area: 24,281 sqm

HtO, an urban beach along Toronto’s waterfront, is not only an adored, seasonally adaptive public space where people of all ages can spend extended time by the water away from downtown commotion, but it is also a catalyst for the city’s future waterfront development, having set high design standards. Transformed from an abandoned industrial site, the park is a welcoming, branded destination that effectively draws visitors to the waterfront and animates it with colour and activity.As a flexible public space that allows for passive and active uses and as a one-of-a-kind, iconic destination, HtO, as soon as it opened, became highly popular. Nearby residents spend the day sun tanning on the beach; strolling tourists admire the site, which offers majestic views of the Toronto skyline and the lake. The topography of HtO allows visitors to go uphill through a series of green berms as they enter the park and then they descend down towards the beach and the lake, feeling as though the city and the elevated expressway are left behind.But the design of the park had many challenges, the biggest of all being environmental concerns. HtO sits on a site with history and a legacy of environmental damage. The design had to address issues of soil contamination and other remnants of industrial progress. Contaminated soils were capped and on-site storm water management systems were put in place such as pervious surfaces that infiltrate water and gradually dispersing infiltration pits. In addition, all the water that is used for irrigation is lake water. To revive some of the natural ecologies in the lake, fish habitats were built along the edge of the park and in the slip using recycled concrete from the site and rip-rap.

Award description: 2009 ASLA Honour Award2008 CSLA Regional Honour Award2007 Gold Award, Design Exchange

1. Metropolitan Toronto Condominium2. HtO Park West3. Queens Quay West4. HtO Park East5. Lake Ontario6. Fire Station7. Urban Beach8. Urban Dunes

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Right: A boardwalk extends along the edge of the park

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Upper left: HtO is dramatically lit up at nightLower left: Aerial view of HtOUpper right: The name HtO is a branding tactic, created to give identity to the parkLower right: HtO offers panoramic views of Lake Ontario

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Upper: Panoramic view of HtOLower left: Night view of the entrance Lower right: Families spend time together at HtO, picnicking

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Southport Broadwater Parklands

Location: Queensland, Australia Designer: Mark Fuller, Aecom Photographer: Christopher Frederick Jones Completion date: 2009 Site area: 3,486 sqm

Award description: 2010 Australian Institute of Architects, State Commendation, Urban Design2010 Australian Institute of Architects, Regional Commendation, Urban Design2009 Planning Award in Landscape Architecture, Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture (AILA) Queensland

The Southport Broadwater Parklands has realised its vision of becoming an iconic gateway for the Gold Coast and a popular destination, where events, history and water combine to create an active green waterfront. The design draws on natural and urban cues, creating a place that is both legible and functional, while being layered in the sculptural and poetic. Bold geometric forms frame up major gathering spaces and circulation routes, while dunal landforms and planting enclose more intimate spaces. The re-introduction of long forgotten historical functions and structured community activity spaces, including pier, memorial, stage and bathing boxes now provide an adaptable framework to encourage new uses. A strong desire to reflect the distinct "Gold Coast Lifestyle" and emotive experience of the beach is referenced through striped beach towel paving patterns, fun, colourful beach-style furniture, and "the Rockpools" children’s water play precinct.However, the key underlying initiative that binds together these social, cultural, historical and physical aspects of the site is clearly the projects’ bold and visionary response to the natural environment and the preservation of the Broadwater. By layering green technologies such as water cleansing and harvesting, solar energy production, recycled mater ials , use of non-potable water sources and preservation of sand dunes, AECOM has created a truly integrated open space that has set a new benchmark for the design of public open spaces and will be a legacy for generations to come.

1. Southern Park Entry2. BBQ Shelter and Play Equipment3. Central Events Lawn4. Secondary Central Event Lawn5. Event Deck6. Outdoor Cinema Structure 7. Water Garden8. Solar Array9. Nerang Street Pier10. Water Play Area

Right: The parklands provide opportunities for shaded seating with open water views

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Upper left: Water sensitive urban design – wetlands design to capture and filter storm water runoff from roads and urban surfaces before it enters the BroadwaterLower left: Natural materials has been used where possible such as timber for the cross wetland boardwalkUpper right: Expansive parkland paths have been designed to accommodate a mix of usesLower right: The use of solar panels reflect the parklands’ commitment to sustainability

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Upper left: Bio-filtration garden beds have been integrated into the main entrance path making sustainable processes visible to all parkland usersLower left: Water play provides opportunity for passive and active recreation for age groupsUpper right: Public access water play is a key element to the parkland designLower right: Water invigorates children’s play

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Los Angeles WaterfrontLocation: San Pedro, USA Designer: AECOM Photographer: AECOM Completion date: Ongoing Site area: 1,618,743 sqm

Award description: 2010 Honor Award, American Society of Landscape Architects, Northern California Chapter2010 Los Angeles Architectural Award, Los Angeles Business Council2009 Honor Award, Waterfront Centre

The Los Angeles Waterfront project is a long-term plan to transform the industrial Port of Los Angeles property along a 7-mile stretch of waterfront to include promenades, parks, retail and commercial spaces. Designed to reconnect the community with its waterfront, improve environmental quality, create new economic opportunities, and triple the amount of San Pedro’s existing open space, the development has already dramatically changed the appearance of the Port’s working waterfront and spawned new development. Built portions of the San Pedro Waterfront Gateway Project include the Cruise Ship Promenade, Gateway Plaza, the Harbour Boulevard Parkway and the Fanfare Fountain. The one-mile promenade is dotted with plazas, event spaces, fountains and art, and represents the first phase of realisation of a long-awaited community vision to recapture an industrial waterfront for public access and use. It has been a catalyst for urban revitalisation and created momentum for on-going phases of redevelopment. Connecting the promenade with the Gateway Plaza, the 21-metre-wide Harbour Boulevard Parkway is designed to accommodate pedestrians and bike riders, and includes seating and gathering spaces with historic interpretive elements. The Gateway Plaza is located at the entrance of the Los Angeles World Cruise Centre and the welcoming station of the Waterfront Red Car Line. The Fanfare Fountain, located in the heart of the Plaza, is a choreographed exhibit of water and lights. The Plaza creates a civic gathering place, surrounded by significant icons such as the Vincent Thomas Bridge and the visual attractions of Cruise Ships and cranes.

1. Cruise Ship Promenade2. Gateway Fountain3. Harbour Boulevard4. Cabrillo Beach

Right: The promenade creates a shady link to downtown San Pedro. A coloured asphalt Class 1 bike trail, custom lighting and

furniture were designed in collaboration with the community

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Upper left: This catalyst project will remake seven miles of industrial Port of Los Angeles property, photographed here prior to development. Acres of asphalt will be replaced with public amenities, tripling the amount of open space on the siteLower left: An iconic arc of Canary Island Palms frames a new gateway to San Pedro’s waterfrontUpper right: A granite band Story Rope extends the length of the promenade. Thirteen stories of San Pedro’s history are engraved in gold granite medallions with illuminated blue terrazzo compass-rose medallions that serve as trail markers and give directional referenceLower right: The promenade provides a venue for new community attractions and events, creating a spectacular new context for experiencing the working harbour

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Upper left: LED lighting effect is meant to create a festive contrast with the industrial backgroundLower left: The outward focus of the design accentuates the richness of experience without competing with the majesty of scale of the surrounding port, and provides the community’s number one preferred activity on the promenade: “viewing the working harbour”Upper right: A major water feature anchors the Gateway Plaza, celebrating the revitalisation of San PedroLower right: Wooden deck overlooks have moveable “deck chairs” to create a new context for viewing the working harbour through ornamental grasses that allude to the site’s natural history as a tidal marshland

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Ipswich River Heart ParklandsLocation: Queensland, Australia Designer: Mark Fuller, Aecom Photographer: Christopher Frederick Jones Completion date: 2007 Site area: 18,000 sqm

Award description: 2008 AILA National Landscape Architecture Awards, Award for Design2008 Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia and New Zealand National Awards, Award of Excellence2007 AILA Queensland State Awards Commendation Award for Design in Landscape Architecture

Sensitivity and understanding of the Bremer River’s significance to Ipswich and its residents enabled the design team to transform a once neglected river edge into the heart of the city. As lead design consultants for the project, Aecom recognised and harnessed the social and geographic importance of the Bremer River to revitalise it from an underutilised and unsightly urban river precinct into a vibrant, multi-use public space.Key features of the parklands include:• Terraces, boardwalks, jetties and walkways through a replanted and rejuvenated river’s edge;• Collapsible and removable handrails for sections of boardwalk to reduce damage to structures caused in the event of flooding;• New shelters, picnic facilities, toilets and seating;• A 180 square metres water feature, which operates on recycled water;• A small-scale wetland to encourage localised opportunities, such as fauna access to freshwater;• Simple, robust and cost effective historical interpretative panels and directional signage; and• Open and legible landscape design, thoughtful design lighting and the inclusion of video surveillance to improve access and safety.The true test of public domain is the public’s enjoyment of a space, and since its opening in 2007, the Parkland has been enthusiastically embraced by all sections of the community for its richness, quality and sense of place. The resurrection of this portion of the river has reinvigorated people’s use and expectations of their public domain as a place where they can feel safe, comfortable, accessible to everyone and therefore highly valued.

1. Park Entry Signage2. Reconfigured Carpark3. Vehicle Drop Off and Toilets4. Informal Grassed Terraces5. Ramp to Water Edge6. Water Plaza7. Jetty8. Interactive Cascading Water Feature9. Wetland Water Feature10. Boardwalk along River Edge

Right: Site contours are the inspiration to the design of the waterfall

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Upper left: Creative interpretive and wayfinding signage is a key design element of the parklandLower left: Elevated boardwalks provide greater site wide usage and views of surrounding landscapesUpper right: Filtered river water feeds the waterfall as a sustainable element of the parklands designLower right: Shade structure provide rest and gathering areas of a more intimate scale within the parkland

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Upper left: Entry signage for parkland was designed to activate creative play and investigation throughout the parkLower left: Strong creative design has led to many successful outcomes for structures throughout the parklandUpper right: Local artist were engaged to install site specific artworks throughout the parklandLower right: A strong focus of the design was to bring people closer to the waters of the Bremer River

DAOUST LESTAGE Inc.Email: info@daoustlestage.com

Tonkin LiuEmail: mail@tonkinliu.co.uk

PLACE Design Group Email: brisbane@placedesigngroup.com

Guallart ArchitectsEmail: infoguallart@gmail.com HÄFNER / JIMENEZ Büro für LandschaftsarchitekturEmail: info@haefner-jimenez.de

Sasaki AssociatesEmail: info@sasaki.com

Bjørbekk & LindheimEmail: post@blark.no

EARTHSCAPEEmail: info@earthscape.co.jp

Latz + PartnerEmail: post@latzundpartner.de

3LHDEmail: info@3lhd.com

ASPECT StudiosEmail: aspectsydney@aspect.net.au

OKRAEmail: mail@okra.nl

Arkitekt Kristine Jensens TegnestueEmail: kj@kristinejensen.dk

Stoss Landscape UrbanismEmail: admin@stoss.net

Thorbjörn AnderssonEmail: thorbjorn.andersson@sweco.se

GFSL Clausen+Scheil, Landscape ArchitectsEmail: info@gfsl.de

Katerina Tsigarida ArchitectsEmail: contact@tsigarida.gr

C. F. Møller ArchitectsEmail: cfmoller@cfmoller.com

Henningsen Landschaftsarchitekten BDLA BerlinEmail: info@henningsen-berlin.de

BHF-LandscapeArchitectsEmail: Bendfeldt@bhf-ki.de

Mayslits Kassif ArchitectsEmail: mk@mkarchitects.com

West 8 Email: pr@west8.com

PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc.Email: bchan@pwlpartnership.com

McGregor CoxallEmail: christian.borchert@mcgregorcoxall.com

Lee Weintraub Landscape Architecture LLCEmail: l.weintraub@lwlallc.com

A24 Landschaft Robel Swillus und PartnerEmail: post@a24-landschaft.de

Bruto Landscape ArchitectureEmail: info@bruto.si

360° Landscape ArchitectsEmail: Kajsa@360.net.au

McGregor Westlake ArchitectureEmail: peter@mwarchitects.com.au

Atelier LoidlEmail: office@atelier-loidl.de

PROAP Landscape ArchitectureEmail: proap@proap.pt

Büro DreckerEmail: markus.schmidt@drecker.de

MKW + Associates, LLC.Email: info@mkwla.com

Thomas Balsley AssociatesEmail: info@tbany.com

Claude Cormier AssociatesEmail: info@claudecormier.com

Janet Rosenberg + AssociatesEmail: office@jrala.ca

AecomEmail: info@aecom.com

INDEX