Reality TV-Style Competition Meets Landscape Architecture

Three teams of landscape architects were given 24 hrs. to develop a master plan for the growing Michigan town of New Buffalo.

1 minute read

September 17, 2008, 5:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

"On Friday morning, after only a few hours of sleep, the teams presented their recommendations to a room of New Buffalo civic leaders. While the plans vary, there were two similar concepts running through each: One, let nature be your guide. Two, don't squander your potential.

Team A was led by Minneapolis-based Tom Oslund who opened for his group by saying that their plan was grounded in the history of New Buffalo and its unique natural systems, but that they took the words of architect Daniel Burnham to heart: "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood." Or, as Oslund put it, 'Go big or go home.'"

"The team led by architect Alexander Lamis and landscape architect Kendra Taylor of Robert A.M. Stern Architects was inspired, in part, by Frank Lloyd Wright's 1932 Broadacre City concept, where agriculture was integrated into the city."

FULL STORY: A Tale of Two Cities: Part Two

Monday, September 15, 2008 in Metropolis Magazine

Landscape Architecture Michigan

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Start Learning

Advertise with us

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.