West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture

Longwood Gardens marks a major milestone this month with the achievement of the mid-point of a 2-year, $90 million investment into its renowned Main Fountain Garden. A collaboration between Longwood Gardens, Beyer Blinder Belle, West 8, Fluidity and other specialists, the project is on-schedule to open in spring of 2017.

'BLIND SPOT' is new publication that documents research by Deltametropolis Association, West 8, Wageningen University, in collaboration with the National Office of Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Staatsbosbeheer (Forestry Commission).  Launched on April 19, 2016, the book proposes an integrated view of the metropolitan landscape in the global battle for talent.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has announced the winners of its 2016 Awards program for their Pennsylvania-Delaware chapter. BIG + West 8 + Atelier Ten’s vision for redevelopment of Pittsburgh's Lower Hill district won an Honor Award in the Analysis and Planning category, with a ''beautifully crafted plan that integrates the person, infrastructure, nature, the built environment, and the city” said the Jury.

The Giving Delta Proposal by West 8, Moffatt & Nichol and LSU-CSS is one 18 projects to be recognised in the American Society of Landscape Architects, New York Chapter Design Awards for 2016.  

During the week of 18th - 24th of April 2016, Architecture Week Leiden organized by RAP Leiden together with a number of program partners will take place. Adriaan Geuze, co-founder of West 8 is invited as a keynote speaker at the opening of this event, which is being held in the city of Leiden for the first time.

West 8 is invited by the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Politecnico Di Milano (dasta), to give a lecture in Milan on 1st of April. West 8 will present an overview of the firm's techniques and approaches with a lecture entitled 'Towards Resilient Landscapes'.

The 53rd IFLA World Congress in Turin, Italy will bring together internationally renowned speakers to investigate some emerging questions in the practice of landscape architecture. On April 22nd West 8’s senior project manager Christian Dobrick will deliver a keynote address under the theme of Connected Landscapes.

West 8's Jelle Therry is invited as keynote speaker on a special forum commenced on 24th March with the theme “Eco City Eko Landscape” organised by the Association of Landscape Architects of Ukraine ALAU.

Madrid RIO has been selected as one of the award projects in the XIII edition of Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism. Amongst the 449 presented works of architecture and urban design, 22 proposals were selected as award projects.

Plans for Philadelphia’s new Schuylkill Yards, a 14-acre master planned community have been unveiled. West 8 together with SHoP Architects have been engaged in designing this mixed-use development situated next to Drexel’s main campus, and adjacent to Amtrak’s 30th Street Station and the Brandywine’s Cira Centre. 

West 8's Claire Agre together with The Van Alen Institute, present innovative approaches to dealing with sea level rise, climate change, and resilience at UNESCO organized Sustainable Urban Quality and Urban Culture workshops held in New York and Miami this March.

The 12th Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design has been awarded to Madrid RÍO, a new linear park in Madrid designed by Burgos & Garrido, Porras & La Casta, Rubio & Álvarez-Sala and West 8. The award ceremony took place on 2nd of Feburary 2016 at Harvard GSD in Cambridge, US.

After extensive public feedback and consultation with the city of Bruges, the final plans for the redevelopment of 't Zand and Vrijdagmarkt designed by West 8 + Snoeck & Partners have been made public. Construction of the square, one of Bruges largest public space projects, is due to commence this year.

Opening to the public nearly a year ahead of schedule, the Hills on Governors Island designed by West 8 will offer unforgettable views, slides, art and ten acres of new park. 

25,000 saplings of oak, beech, lime and cherry trees need to be planted at the southern end of the Binnenhof in Máximapark. The Vrienden van Máximapark is calling for volunteers to help with planting, and complete the last phase of the Binnenhof, which has been 10 years in the making.

The approval of West 8’s Master Plan for the new Houston Botanic Garden is a major milestone toward creating a premier botanic garden for Houston.

The renovated Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe has recently been recognized in some of Germany’s top architectural awards. Including the 2015 German Architecture Award, The Baden-Württemberg State Architecture Prize and the BNB Silver Sustainability Certificate.

On the 11th of March, West 8 New York Principal-in-Charge, Jamie Maslyn Larson will present at the Leading with Landscape II: The Houston Transformation Conference organized by The Cultural Landscape Foundation. Featuring leaders from multiple disciplines, the event will examine how the city of Houston is reshaping its identity through landscape architecture. A summary of the event can be found here

This year West 8 completed five projects, has fourteen new projects, six projects under construction, participated in two exhibitions and received eleven awards.

On the 14th of January 2016, West 8 Director Adriaan Geuze will give a lecture at the Oskar von Miller Forum in Munich, Germany. The Oskar von Miller Forum is an educational initiative of the Bavarian construction industry.