Sustainable communities or urban sprawl?

Hervey Bay is one of the fastest growing regions outside the capital cities, buoyed by the migration to the sun coast of the elderly, and by the sea-change affecting peoples desire to live with more amenity. Places like Hervey Bay however, do not have the level of planning, design and development sophistication available in the […]

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Networks Not Lines: Toward a long term cultural realm in the landscape architectural project

The public realm is a complex place: a slippery cultural construct. It is shaped over time by many intentions, mostly non-design related. How can landscape architects become meaningful players in this shaping process? How can our public spaces become cultural realms? ‘Projects’ are design and construction vehicles used to solve perceived public realm problems. They […]

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Green Villages – Tooradin as a model for growth

Traditionally, Melbourne’s development has pushed out indiscriminately into the surrounding rural landscape.  As a result, local ecologies have been compromised and natural systems disrupted. Tooradin is a village strategically located at the only place where the South Gippsland Highway meets the waters of Western Port. The Village is located 65 kilometres south east of central […]

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Suburban Entropy and the Death of Difference (Finding a green way through the Greenfields)

The forces of change in our society are increasingly globalised and franchised. Investment, trade and even the way we relate to each other in our living places are being shaped by patterns and pressures which are beyond our view. As we continue with the rapid expansion of our cities, long-term fault-lines are being built into […]

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The plant machine: between entropy and evolution

Designers: John Mongard, Landscape Architect/PoetSeth Remaut, Architecture GraduateBarbara Steiner, Landscape Architect/Environmental Artist Authors: Barbara Steiner, John Mongard Introduction Industrial landscapes are as much part of our cultural landscape as any highly aesthetic sculpture park, agricultural landscape or suburban agglomeration. Through the achievements of industry, science and technology, contemporary Western societies enjoy higher standards of living […]

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What do you mean by this place?

John Mongard Landscape Architects planned and designed public spaces in the seaside town of Mooloolaba over a period of four years. The infamous ‘Loo With A View’ was the first built project in an 18 million dollar masterplan, and this work recently won a BDP Urban Design award and the RAPI National award for Urban […]

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