JOHN Hopkins, the visionary landscape architect and mastermind of Londons Olympic parklands, has died aged 59.

Liverpool-born Mr Hopkins, a top international landscape architect, urban designer, environmental planner and author, was responsible for more than 250 acres of green space in his work at the Olympic DeliveryAuthority (ODA) from 2007 to 2011.

In directing the team who created the vibrant backdrop to last years Olympics and Paralympics in Stratford, east London, Mr Hopkins has also sowed the seeds for the UKs largest new urban park for more than a century.

Mr Hopkins died suddenly last week.

Mr Hopkins fiancee Laura Adams described him as something of an iconoclast a man who knew what he stood for and was unafraid to tell the truth.

She said: He never let us forget the urgency of our responsibility toward our environment, but he was thoughtful, with the patience and humility to plan and design projects whose real benefit can only be truly appreciated by a generation hell never know.

The Olympic Park is set to reopen in phases from this summer as the newly-named Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Mr Hopkins was a Fellow of the Landscape Institute and a Churchill Fellow in urban design, in addition to being a Corporate Member of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

After working on the Olympic project, Mr Hopkins moved to the US, where he was a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania while holding a similar role at the University of Greenwich in London.

He had also been leading a consulting team advising on Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, Tennessee a 4,500-acre green space in addition to completing a study which would form part of landscape management strategy for Network Rail in the UK.

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Liverpool Local News: John Hopkins, the Liverpool-born landscape architect behind London’s Olympic parklands, has died

John Hopkins, the visionary landscape architect and mastermind of Londons Olympic parklands, has died aged 59.

In directing the team who created the vibrant backdrop to last years Olympics and Paralympics in Stratford, east London, Mr Hopkins has also sowed the seeds for the UKs largest new urban park for more than a century.

Mr Hopkins, a top international landscape architect, urban designer, environmental planner and author, was responsible for more than 250 acres of green space in his work at the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) from 2007 to 2011.

Liverpool-born Mr Hopkins died suddenly last week.

We are all shocked by the sad news of John Hopkins passing, ODA chairman Sir John Armitt said.

So many people delighted in seeing the parklands and public open spaces last summer - which will now be an enduring legacy of Johns work.

Our thoughts are with his friends and family at this sad time.

Mr Hopkins fiancee Laura Adams described him as something of an iconoclast - a man who knew what he stood for and was unafraid to tell the truth.

The gardens surrounding the Velodrome at the Olympic Park, which were masterminded by visionary landscape architect John Hopkins

She said: He never let us forget the urgency of our responsibility toward our environment, but he was thoughtful, with the patience and humility to plan and design projects whose real benefit can only be truly appreciated by a generation hell never know.

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Landscape architect behind London’s Olympic parklands dies

Scholarships are beneficial to financially struggling college students, and alumni are common sources of the money needed to create scholarships.

Michael Chu, Cal Poly Pomona alumnus, is one of these alumni. Chu recently made a donation to CPPs landscape architecture program.

As a 1977 Landscape Architect graduate, Chu has achieved great success in his life and is looking to give back to the college that provided his hands on education.

Im grateful to Cal Poly Pomona, said Chu in an article on Polycentric. They accepted me as an out-of-state student, gave me a good education [and] allowed me to become licensed here in Hawaii as a professional landscape architecture.

Chu was surrounded by successful landscape architects who graduated from CPP during his entry-level junior draftsman position at a landscape firm in Honolulu.

In my mind, Cal Poly Pomona was the place to go, said Chu. And it still is.

Chu and his wife Yetta have set up The Michael S. and Yetta L.C. Chu Endowed Scholarship. The scholarships will be given out after Chu and his wifes deaths, resulting in all of their money being given to the University.

CPPs Director of Planned Giving, Daniel Wood explained that endowed scholarships are the best kind because they offer the most money for the students. People who give during their lifetime do not have as much to offer because they have a need for it. Chu realized this when creating his plan for giving back and wanted to give back as much as possible.

When not living anymore, you dont need your funds, said Wood. Like people, for example, who dont have children are a very important subgroup for us. Mr. Chu falls in that category. I have worked here for three and half years and a consistent message that our donors give us is they want to give back for the students best interest. This goes for both the alumnus and non-alumnus.

CPPs Director of Development for the College of Environmental Design Carrie Geurts said she is grateful for alumnus like Chu who realize the importance of giving back.

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Landscape architecture program receives scholarship

the Charles David Keeling Apartments at UC San Diego, designed by Spurlock Poirier Landscape Architects, feature an expansive roof with more than 4,000 plants that capture stormwater and provide thermal insulation. Courtesy

By Pat Sherman

Two projects in north La Jolla were honored last month by the San Diego chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), as part of the groups 2012 design awards.

ASLA recognized landscape architect Laura Burnett and the firm of Wallace, Roberts & Todd in the category of Planning and Analysis for the long-proposed Torrey Pines City Park General Development Plan.

The conceptual master plan for the parks design calls for replacing the existing, rain-rutted dirt parking area north of Torrey Pines Gliderport with clearly marked spaces. A layer of gravel, soil and clay will first be added to smooth the lot, which will be covered by permeable, asphalt-like pavement that allows stormwater to run through it. The vast amount of stormwater running toward the bluff from the UC San Diego campus will be filtered by the underlying layer of soil and gravel, and then channeled to native coastal vegetation that will be planted on the bluff and throughout the park.

Most important, Burnett said, the vegetation will help hold the soil in place, preventing further erosion. According to geotechnical consultants, the bluff could be losing as much as a foot per year from wind and rain, in addition to erosion caused by vehicle traffic, she said.

Nothing is better than native plant materials to keep that soil from washing and blowing away, Burnett said. The roots of the living plant material holds the soil in place.

The plan will retain the same amount of parking, though spaces will be delineated and organized in a way that allows for replacement of native vegetation, while maximizing parking and existing trails.

You gain a huge amount of area for habitat restoration just by putting things in an orderly manner, Burnett said. Its a really simple, sort of obvious design.

The citys Park and Recreation Board approved the plans last summer. An environmental report on the project was finalized last fall and received no appeals by a Dec. 27 deadline.

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La Jolla projects receive landscape architecture design awards

ESSEX >> The Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects has presented two Honor Awards to Anne Penniman Associates LLC Landscape Architects, of Essex.

The Landscape Planning and Analysis Honor Award was presented for A New Park for Madison in Madison and a Landscape Architectural Residential Design Honor Award was presented for A Rowers Landing in Lyme.

A New Park for Madison was a coastal town park adjacent to the lower reach of the Hammonasset River and Hammonasset State Park. The Master Plan converts a 42-acre abandoned coastal airport site into a town park with passive and active recreation, including 20.6 acres protected by a conservation easement. The landscape architect, as the lead consultant, worked closely with the volunteer Town Committee, an ecologist and an architect to develop a Habitat Restoration Plan and a final Master Plan.

This lakeside residential site at Rowers Landing includes the design for a safe access path from a rowers storage barn to a nearby landing at the lakes edge. A 7-foot high grade change along the steep path is negotiated with monolithic granite ramped steps broad enough to manage the beam of the scull. Curving granite retaining walls step down the hillside in rhythm with the treads. A new, locally quarried granite terrace creates a transition to the landing.

Penniman, a Yale College graduate, earned a masters degree in landscape architecture from the University of Virginia and has a landscape architecture firm in Essex.

University of Virginia graduate Tracey Miller, an associate of the firm, was the project manager for the project A New Park for Madison.

Rutgers University graduate April Maly, also an associate of the firm, was the project manager for the project A Rowers Landing.

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Essex landscape architect wins awards

Exterior Images-landscape architect for Dixon residence in Rancho Mirage CA
Exterior Images Rear yard enhancement adding a BBQ Center, Fireplace and extend patio for sunning area around existing pool.

By: Hal Blevins

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DETROIT, MI--(Marketwire - Dec 28, 2012) - SmithGroupJJR, one of the nation's leading architecture, engineering and planning firms, has named three to its Board of Directors.

Heather Chung, Assoc. AIA, EDAC, LEED AP BD+C New SmithGroupJJR Board member Heather Chung is a principal and leader of the Healthcare Planning Studio at the firm's San Francisco, Calif. office. Known for her in-depth expertise in working with complex projects for healthcare organizations, she is a recognized authority in healthcare facilities strategy, systems analysis, and analytic modeling. Among Chung's current master planning work in California is for Huntington Memorial Hospital's 600-bed campus in Pasadena, as well as the Adult and Children's Hospital at Loma Linda University Medical Center. Her team just completed a multi-campus master plan for the VA's Veterans Integrated Service Networks that is a prototype for its upcoming strategic facility master planning. Chung received an MBA from University of California, Los Angeles, preceded by a BA in Architecture and a BA in Economics from University of California, Berkeley. She is a LEED accredited professional by the USGBC and EDAC certified by the Center for Health Design.

Bill Patek, ASLA, LEED AP BD+C New SmithGroupJJR Board member Bill Patek is a vice president and director of the firm's Madison, Wis. office. There, he serves as a studio leader for its award-winning Campus, Community and Waterfronts practice. Patek leads all project phases from master planning, schematic design, and design guideline preparation to construction documentation and administration. Among his most noteworthy projects is the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Education Building, implemented in conjunction with the firm's Washington, DC office. The project is the first implementation phase of SmithGroupJJR's campus master plan for the university. In 2011, Patek led the completion of main entry improvements at Lakeland College, Sheboygan, Wis., that positions the iconic, circa-1888 Old Main Hall as the new focal point to the campus' entrance. Currently, Patek is active with the Memorial Union/Alumni Park project, a historic renovation and urban park located in the heart of University of Wisconsin's Madison's lakefront campus. A registered landscape architect and LEED accredited professional, Patek earned a BS in Landscape Architecture from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Mark Patterson, AIA, ACHA, EDAC, LEED AP BD+C New SmithGroupJJR Board member Mark Patterson, vice president, is the leader for the firm's Health Studio in Phoenix, Ariz. Since joining the firm in 2004, he has led the studio to numerous successful completions that have brought forth innovative, award-winning designs for healing environments. Recently completed projects in Arizona for Patterson include several for longtime client Banner Health, including the Ironwood Medical Center in San Tan Valley and a prototype Banner Health Center outpatient clinic in Maricopa. Among projects currently underway for Patterson are the $90 million Craig Rehabilitation Hospital Expansion in Englewood, Colo., which will create the hospital's new spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation center in 2015; and strategic planning for Capital Health in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Patterson is certified by the American College of Healthcare Architects, and is an EDAC and LEED accredited professional. He graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and is past president of the Arizona and Central Arizona chapters of the American Institute of Architects.

SmithGroupJJR (www.smithgroupjjr.com) is one of the largest architecture, engineering and planning firms in the U.S., ranked #1 for design quality based on design awards won in Architect magazine's 2011 annual best firms ranking. The firm is also the recipient of the 2011 Landscape Architecture Firm Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. A national leader in sustainable design, SmithGroupJJR has 363 LEED professionals and 78 LEED certified projects.

Follow SmithGroupJJR on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SmithGroup.JJR.

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SmithGroupJJR Elects Chung, Patek and Patterson to Board of Directors

$1 Million Mohave Desert Retreat In Joshua Tree, California
Landscape architect Garett Carlson made no compromises designing this romantic and contemporary indoor/outdoor 2 bedroom desert retreat "Boulder House" in Joshua Tree, California, now for sale at $975000. Plum is a lifestyle television network featuring the best of food and wine, home and design, travel and destinations, health and wellness, and art and culture. Subscribe to Plum on YouTube: http://www.bit.ly/subscribe-to-plum-youtube Follow Plum on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/plumtv Follow Plum on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/plumtv Follow Plum on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/plumtv Visit Plum #39;s website: http://www.plumtv.comFrom:plumtvViews:81 6ratingsTime:04:13More inHowto Style

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$1 Million Mohave Desert Retreat In Joshua Tree, California - Video

Landscapers, Landscape Architect in Calgary, AB Canada T2K 4
If you are in need of landscapers in Calgary, AB, Canada, rely on Infinity Gardens. We offer services that are sure to meet your needs. We specialize in Landscape Architect, Landscape Designer and much more! We work hard to make sure our clients are satisfied with the job we have done for them. Our workers are courteous and are very knowledgeable. For a great service in Calgary, AB, Canada, call on Infinity Gardens.From:GumballV5Views:0 0ratingsTime:00:32More inHowto Style

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Landscapers, Landscape Architect in Calgary, AB Canada T2K 4 - Video

Private Japanese Garden in Brussels
This Japanese Garden is in Brussels, and is designed by Ilse Beunen, a Landscape architect specialising in Japanese Gardens. http://www.ikebana.be Photography: Ben HuybrechtsFrom:Ben HuybrechtsViews:1 0ratingsTime:01:17More inTravel Events

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Private Japanese Garden in Brussels - Video