Expo 2025 Osaka, which opened on April 13, 2025, on Yumeshima Island, is a global event themed "Designing Future Society for Our Lives," focusing on sustainability, cultural identity, mobility, and technological innovation. The expo's centerpiece is a monumental 60,000m2 architectural timber ring designed by Sou Fujimoto, constructed from local sugi cedar and hinoki cypress, serving as a circulation path, observation deck, and public space (refer image above: Š Osaka Expo 2025). Surrounding this structure are various national pavilions, each reflecting unique cultural narratives and sustainable design principles. Highlights include Hungary's haystack-like dome theater, Portugal's ethereal wave of suspended ropes, and Saudi Arabia's multi-sensory pavilion blending computational design with traditional cooling techniques. These pavilions underscore the expo's commitment to addressing global environmental challenges through innovative and culturally resonant design.
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The âArchitecture for Landscapeâ course in Bologna, Italy, is a 10-week advanced training program designed for architects eager to explore the intersection of architecture and the natural environment. Taught by renowned professionals such as Snøhetta, Stefano Boeri Architetti, and Agence Ter, the program combines theoretical lectures with practical workshops, a real design project, and site visits to iconic landscapes. Participants benefit from direct mentorship, networking with top firms, and hands-on design experience. The application process is competitive, involving a portfolio and motivational statement. Successful applicants can also access scholarships and internships through the program.
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In this year's awards the âPresidio Tunnel Topsâ in San Francisco received the prestigious Award of Excellence. Designed by Field Operations, the 14-acre park atop the Presidio Parkway tunnels reimagines infrastructure as public space, connecting historic parklands to the San Francisco Bay with trails, meadows, and gathering areas. Additionally, the inaugural Biodiversity and Climate Action Award was presented to two projects: SWA Groupâs âBuilding Resilience: Implementing a Practical Climate Action Plan,â which is a guide promoting decarbonisation in landscape architecture practices, and Carducci xAssociatesâ âGilead Park: From Gray to Gold,â which transformed a parking lot into a park focused on employee wellness and environmental sustainability.
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ChangeNOW 2025 is a major global climate event held in Paris, convening 1000 innovative solutions to accelerate progress toward sustainability. The theme of the event was the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreementâs signing and its 2030 climate goals. Highly relevant to landscape architecture, the expo showcases practical and scalable innovations that align with green infrastructure, regenerative urbanism, biodiversity, and circular materials. Highlights include Demet Air - a lightweight and water-retentive green roof/vertical garden substrate, Over Easy Solar - vertical solar panels allowing for better integration with rooftop gardens, and Pure Ocean - cork-based floating reefs that assist with restoring marine biodiversity. Other standouts include mushroom-based surfboards, building materials made from coal waste, a polystyrene alternative made from corn stalks, and bioplastic made from walnut shells and olive pits.
Also see this article.
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âQingdao Mixc Connection Area Skateparkâ is a striking rooftop skatepark in Qinhuangdao, China designed by Yitian Zhao and Yutian Wang from Within Beyond Studio. The project transforms the roof of a former soap factory into a vibrant public space that blends sport, culture, and adaptive reuse. The design concept revolves around creating a âfluid terrainâ where skating, walking, and gathering coexist. What makes the project unique is its layered function: itâs not just a skatepark, but also an elevated urban plaza, community hub, and piece of architectural storytelling that reflects the site's industrial past.
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Researchers from Swansea University and King's College London have developed a self-healing asphalt that could revolutionise road maintenance by preventing cracks and potholes before they form. The material incorporates plant-based spores filled with recycled oils. When cracks begin to develop, these spores release the oil, softening the surrounding material and allowing the asphalt to "heal" itself. Laboratory tests have demonstrated that this process can repair microcracks in under an hour, potentially extending road lifespans by up to 30%. This advancement promises reductions in maintenance costs and also aligns with environmental goals by utilising recycled materials and reducing the need for further asphalt production.
Also see this article.
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Writer Billy Fleming, a landscape architect and director of the McHarg Center, argues that as climate change intensifies and cities adapt their waterfronts, justice must become central to design. He critiques the prevailing approach to urban waterfront development, which often prioritises real estate and climate defenses while neglecting the displacement of marginalised communities and important public space. Fleming writes, âweâre designing climate adaptation for the wealthy and retreat for the poor,â highlighting how many redevelopment projects protect affluent areas while pushing vulnerable populations away. Drawing from examples in cities like New York and New Orleans, the article emphasises that equitable waterfronts require community-led planning, historical reckoning, and resisting the privatisation of public land. Fleming calls for using landscape architecture as a tool for redistributing power.
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In this episode of the APA's Trend Talk series, Joe DeAngelis discusses the latest trends in transportation with Beneeta Mary Jose, a recent graduate and transportation planner. They explore the rise of micro mobility, especially e-bikes and e-scooters, driven by the shift away from car dependency. A major barrier to the rise of micro mobility is equity: many neighborhoods lack safe, accessible walking and cycling infrastructure, leading to higher rates of accidents involving bikes and scooters. They highlight the importance of inclusive and accessible infrastructure for underserved populations. Young planners, the future leaders of the field, are focusing on accessibility, community-building, and collaboration, envisioning transportation as an integrated system that also reduces environmental footprints.
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Dr. Phil Fernberg, a landscape architect and academic with a PhD in Building Information Modelling (BIM), brings years of experience bridging digital innovation and ecological design. He argues that the profession is still playing catch-up with tools like BIM, GIS, parametric modeling, and virtual reality - already commonplace in architecture and engineering. These technologies can support more sustainable design and better collaboration, but adoption remains slow due to limited training, resources, and industry standards. While digital tools don't replace creative or ecological thinking, Fernberg notes theyâre essential for improving accuracy, visual communication, and gaining early involvement in complex projects - enabling landscape architects to âspeak the same languageâ as other disciplines.
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Denis Delbaere, a landscape architect and professor in Lille, argues that landscape architects need to engage more seriously with large-scale infrastructure - highways, pipelines, and industrial zones - which he calls âinfrascapes.â Rather than treating these massive systems as ugly or outside the scope of design, he says they should be seen as landscapes in their own right, since they shape how people live and how the environment functions. Delbaere believes landscape architecture shouldn't just be about beautifying spaces or adding greenery, but about questioning and influencing the systems and decisions that shape our cities and regions. Delbaere emphasizes a need for âa landscape architecture that can read, interpret, and act on the real material and political conditions of the world,â framing critique itself as a new, necessary form of design intervention.
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Shez Mussa of FORGE discusses how the 2032 Brisbane Olympics present an opportunity to transform the city's infrastructure into a more walkable and connected urban environment. Mussa emphasises that pedestrian pathways, bridges, and boardwalks should not merely serve as transportation routes but as vibrant public spaces that encourage community interaction and placemaking. He highlights the Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade as a successful example, where wide pedestrian and cycleways, shaded lookouts, and art installations have revitalised the area. Mussa advocates for similar projects, such as a pedestrian bridge connecting South Bank to Woolloongabba, to enhance connectivity and create lasting public spaces that benefit the community long after the Olympics.
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Ankitha Gattupalli examines how concrete, once a symbol of colonial power, now shapes the skylines of cities across Asia and Africa. Concrete, once a tool of colonial expansion, symbolised power and control as it was used to build infrastructure that served colonial interests, often exploiting local resources and labor. After independence, many countries continued to rely on concrete for their urban development, a choice influenced by colonial legacies and global trade systems that favored European materials and methods. The article argues that this reliance on concrete reflects an ongoing economic and cultural dominance, as local, sustainable materials are often overlooked. Gattupalli suggests that moving away from concrete involves not just material innovation but a decolonisation of design practices, encouraging solutions that are locally sourced, culturally relevant, and environmentally conscious.
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