Living Systems-Innovative Materials and Technologies for Landscape Architecture

Book Description

The use of innovative new materials is an important trend in landscape architecture today. These materials include biodegradable geotextiles, super-absorbent polymers, and plants that react to changing soil conditions. Water is a major subject. This book presents the available materials and technologies in the context of practical applications, some of them experimental, some of them mature.

Cooperation with disciplines such as engineering, architecture and art, environmental technology, town planning, biology, and material research often results in spectacular designs. The sample projects are chosen from six European countries, the United States and Canada, Israel, Japan, China, and Australia. They include the High Line urban reconstruction project in New York City by James Corner/Field Operation, the Vertical Garden by GROSS.MAX with Mark Dion in London, and the landscape architecture surrounding Munich¡¯s Allianz Arena by Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten.

About the Author

Liat Margolis is a landscape architect and industrial designer. She trained at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Harvard Graduate School of Design, two of the most prestigious institutions in her field. She acquired practical experience at the firm Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates in Cambridge, MA and as Director of Material Research at the world-famous firm Material ConneXion in New York, whose representatives advise architects, designers, engineers, fashion professionals, and other interested parties on the properties and applications of new materials.

Sampling