7th European landscape biennial

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Merten

Semptember 27-29th, the 7th European Landscape Biennial will take place in Barcelona. The theme of this year’s event is ‘Biennal versus Biennal’, focused on discovering new ways of action, while exploring inhospitable areas and guiding discussion towards rethinking old certainties.

The Biennial has been consolidated on a European scale in its six previous editions:
“Remaking Landscapes” (1999)
“Gardens in Arms” (2001)
“Only with Nature” (2003)
“Landscape: a Product / a Production” (2006)
“Storm & Stress” (2008) and
“Liquid Landscape” (2010).

Furthermore, the Biennial approaches the international scale in lasts edition through our invited countries (as we have focused on the contemporary landscapes of USA and China) and this edition as a wider overview.

Download the program

Lemonopoly

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Merten

The online game Lemonopoly was launched in the San Fransisco bay area, a region traditionally rich in citrus fruit. Unfortunately, lots of fruit goes to waste. The game challenges tree owners and residents to make better use of the fruit, sharing it and making things from lemons, limes and oranges, such as lemonade or marmalade. As such, scoring in the online game promotes a new social citrus culture in the real city. In July this year, the game will be fully functioning, providing a point system for sharing lemons, adding trees to the map and making things with citrus fruit.

Metropoolforum 2012

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Merten

Tuesday May 29th, the Deltametropolis Association organizes Metropoolforum 2012, at the Louis Hartlooper Complex in Utrecht.

In this forum, everyone can participate in the metropolitan debate, and discuss ideas of how the Dutch metropolis should be developed. There will be short presentations by experts, stakeholders and association members. Three main themes will be addressed:

1. New metropolitan strategies

2. How big is the metropolis?

3. Bottom-up urban integration

Supermart

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Merten

Last autumn, the Breda Museum of the Image featured an exhibition called Supermart.

The exhibition, made up off selected products from the supermarket, is a certain homage to the typical marketing of everyday products by colorful packaging. Some aspects of grocery marketing have changed a lot since supermarkets exist, especially the shape of bottles and use of typography. Other ideas remain rather constant: current tomato soup cans are very similar to the 1962 design for Campbell’s soup by New York artist Andy Warhol. And for some reason, lemon juice bottle designers have always been inspired by the shape and texture of lemons.

At the same time, the all too familiar groceries give a strange feel to the space, because they are not ordered according to product categories or supermarket departments. Instead, they are arranged graphically, by color.

Leuven CS

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Merten

In central Leuven, two major areas are in the process of urban transformation: the surroundings of Leuven Central Station and the fluvial port area, called Vaartkom.

open large map of Leuven CS and Vaartkom

The construction of the new station square and bus terminal, by Spanish architect Manuel de Solá-Morales, has changed the entrance of the city for who arrives by public transport. The urban plan by Marcel Smets (professor at Leuven University) has intensified land use on the center side of the railway zone, and has connected the center of Leuven with the town of Kessel-Lo through a passageway underneath the station. The station itself was improved by a new canopy and parking garage. The old station building is being renovated at the moment. In the design, optimal use was made of the existing levels around the station, to separate pedestrian traffic from road traffic and create attractive public space. At the Kessel-Lo side, development continues. Nearby, at a former locomotive manufacturing site, a large urban void waits for redevelopment. The Vaartkom area is starting transformation of historic warehouse buildings along the dock.

Development of hotels and offices at the Kessel-Lo side of Leuven CS