Parks were created to serve the people—to give them a place to appreciate nature, exercise, socialize and have fun. This mission lives on and will continue to intensify into the future. This month celebrate National Park & Recreation month by visiting your local parks and learn why parks are a vital part of your community by watching this video.
Central Park in Mishawaka draws thousands in opening weekend
WSBT TV Report: After three years and $5 million, Mishawaka officials and hundreds of families are checking out the new Central Park. The park opened this past weekend and since then, thousands have checked it out. City officials say the park represents more than just a place to play; it’s also a new quality of life.
City of Mishawaka Central Park Renovation Completed
MISHAWAKA CENTRAL PARK RENOVATION COMPLETED, COMMUNITY RIBBON CUTTING PLANNED
The City plans to reopen a renovated Central Park to the public on Friday July 3rd at 9:15 pm. Sunset was chosen as the time to show off some of the new lighting including color changing LED lights located on the pedestrian bridge by the dam and the new programmable fountain in the park.
The public is invited! We encourage everyone to come and participate. Our hope is that we have hundreds of people cutting the ribbon. The ribbon cutting will take place in the middle of the Park just west of the large rope climbing structure.
In working with my staff and the Park Board, the goal of the park was to create a “city-wide destination family park”. We were fortunate to have a talented design team led by Mishawaka Landscape Architects Lehman and Lehman, architects from DLZ of South Bend, and civil engineers from Lawson Fisher Associates of South Bend working on the project. Ziolkowski Construction of South Bend was the General Contractor on the 5 million dollar renovation project. The park has been closed for renovation since September of 2014.
Landscape Architects: Make Your Voices Heard
We work in a small, but timely profession. Our potential to impact the neighborhoods, communities, and cities where we work is huge. Though landscape architecture professionals make up just a small fraction of the design field, ours is the work that is the first to be seen. Ours is the work that brings function and beauty to parks, plazas, campuses, institutions, and transportation corridors. Ours is a profession that blends the power of design with ecological principals and environmental justice. And because we are few and far between, we have to advocate for what we know.
The responsibility is on us to make our voices heard, not for our own betterment, but for the sake of our communities.
How Responsive Urban Design Should Take a “Landscape First” Approach
The Cultural Landscape Foundation’s (TCLF) Leading with Landscape symposium offered a deep examination of the landscape of Toronto, which was described as a complex ecological system. The presence of Toronto mayor John Tory at the conference showed the importance local policymakers place on the landscape architecture community in shaping the future of this city, the fourth largest in North America. Mayor Tory spoke of balancing growth with social and environmental responsibilities, and the integral role landscape architects play in creating a sustainable city.
Landscape architects explored aspects of Toronto’s history before delving into specific contemporary projects. Here, landscape architects explain the forces that have shaped the landscape of Toronto, the cultural and ecological context.
Leading with Landscape was a success in bringing together a community around the common mission of improving Toronto through landscape. And, more broadly, it brought landscape architecture to the forefront of the conversation in city building.
Urban Planning and Quality of Life - As Viewed By The Pope
In an interesting article published by The Washington Post we learn the Pope's views on Urban Planning and how it affects Quality of Life.
“The Pope, it turns out, is an urban planner. In a few paragraphs embedded in the middle of his epic environmental encyclical published this week, he managed to tie together affordable housing, mass transit, parking, inequality, architecture, public space and segregation (perhaps no surprising feat given his startling facility in this same document connecting fossil fuels, solar panels, animal rights and recycling).”
Vertical Gardening
Landscape Architecture Options
For a look at alternative career options for landscape architects or to explore the diversity of disciplines that overlap into landscape architecture take a look at this link.
Designed by a Landscape Architect
New life for an old space...
By adding a soccer field, surrounded by a walking/running track, this empty field becomes more useful and inviting. An adjacent children's garden and butterfly garden delight the senses of all ages with their vibrant colors and aroma. Throw in a playground, picnic area and restroom and visitors are able to enjoy the outdoors all day.
That's what we call "Transforming Horizons"!
April is Landscape Architecture Month
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Signs of Spring
What's the first sign of Spring that you look for? For us it's looking out the window and seeing the neighbor's magnolia tree blossom. For others it might be the sighting of the first robin, or the crocus popping its head up. Unfortunately, it seems we may have to wait a while to see any of these signs - at least here, in northern Indiana.