Scale describes the relative size and extent of things, from body to building, landscape to planet. It is not only measure but also relation: how small gestures resonate within larger systems. Design often slips into one scale at a time, but scale is always nested, always layered. To think across scales—what some call transcalar thinking—is to refuse the split between detail and system, between a bench and a watershed. Scale is not only a technical matter but an attitude: to design small with the big in mind, to let local actions register at larger scales, and to see how global forces bear down on intimate sites. Thinking transcalar spreads focus, raises awareness and invites the sublime.
On a mild evening last April, Room 304 in Pratt Institute’s architecture school, Higgins Hall—an oddly grandiose double-height classroom space with a view of the Manhattan skyline—is packed. The Landscape Seminar Series—launched in 2022 in conjunction with Pratt’s Master of Landscape Architecture program—has invited the iconic land artist and activist Mary Miss to speak as […]
BASE is a France-based studio known for its out-of-the-box thinking and unexpected design choices, often introducing challenges that can be overcome through play. Encountering an obstacle in a public space—one that invites engagement and risk-taking—creates a tension that can lead to moments of joyful liberation. A key aspect of BASE’s approach is putting trust in […]
The Dutch Landscape, The Ultimate Guide for Study, Professional and Personal Use by Alexandra Tišma[1] and Han Lörzing[2] is a “text-book” and a thorough yet very accessible guide on landscapes in the Netherlands – described from many angles and scales, historical, geographical, geological and biotic layers, cultural landscapes, from development, and planning to conservation – […]
Planet City is a worldbuilding project by Liam Young, envisioned as a multilayered city, occupying as little as 0,02 percent of Earth’s surface yet hosting all of the human population. Planet City is testing the Half-Earth idea by Edward O. Wilson, where we put aside half of the planet, to keep biodiversity. We spoke with Liam Young about the idea and the exhibition he curates, Visions of Planet City.
Sara Eichner is a visual artist and designer with a keen interest in data visualisations and cartography. She works with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and programming languages like Python and uses design software to translate data into comprehensible visual stories. Her work is people-centred and she often uses data to represent less-heard voices. Eichner is […]
Gary Hilderbrand has been teaching at Harvard Graduate School of Design since 1990 and is currently the Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor in Practice and Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture. He is also the founding principal of Reed Hilderbrand, a leading landscape architecture firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The firm was established in the […]
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