Archinect - News

Snøhetta launches national park regeneration project in Japan

2024-04-26T11:57:00-04:00

Snøhetta has announced a new regeneration project with the Japanese private environmental agency BOND. The scheme for a yet-unnamed national park has several planned outcomes aimed a different social and environmental issues in Japan, which is experiencing a crisis of aging and still recovering from damages caused by seismic events in January and throughout the course of the last decade.

In a social media post, Snøhetta says: “Our masterplan will strengthen the relationship between earth, people, and nature, while beginning to heal and restore the scarred landscape to its original state of biodiversity and natural richness. Eco-concepts for health, wellness, and educational facilities are woven together with active public spaces spread across the park. This ecotourism development is the first step in furthering BOND’s vision of linking top stakeholders, government agencies, and locals to offer sustainable solutions for some of the long-term challenges facing the country.”

The firm h...

Billions could flow toward addressing National Park Service maintenance backlog

2020-07-14T15:18:00-04:00

Progress is being made toward enacting the Great American Outdoors Act, a legislative effort recently passed by the United States Senate and due to be taken up by the US House of Representatives next week that could begin to address the $11 billion backlog of road, building, and facilities maintenance that has plagued the National Park Service (NPS) for years.

President Donald Trump has indicated that he would sign the rare bipartisan bill once it reaches his desk, The Los Angeles Times reports.

The bill aims to bring $1.9 billion in funding per year for the next five years to the NPS to help meet these deferred maintenance needs, which include building improvements, bathroom facilities, accessibility upgrades, and other infrastructural building programs.

Cahokia Mounds outside St. Louis could become a National Park

2019-07-11T11:48:00-04:00

Federal legislation to make Cahokia Mounds part of a new national park could soon be introduced in Congress, according to proponents of the plan. The Cahokia Mounds and Mississippian Culture National Historic Park would also include ancient mounds in St. Clair and Madison counties and Sugarloaf Mound in St. Louis, the last remaining mound in the city.

If the proposed Cahokia Mounds and Mississippian Culture National Historic Park is approved, the thousand-year-old pre-Columbian Native American historical site, which includes mounds in southern Illinois and outside St. Louis, would be the second new national park created in Missouri in two years.

Last year, according to St. Louis Public Radio, Congress created the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park, an urban historic district that consists of a series of colonial era timber and heavy truss structures built by French settlers in the area during the 1700s.

Cahokia Mounds was named as a World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1982; The site is currently listed as a National Historic Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.

The master plan for Australia's Shipwreck Coast begins with McGregor Coxall

2018-03-05T19:19:00-05:00

McGregor Coxall will participate in developing phase one of the master plan for the Shipwreck Coast site in Victoria, Australia. Drawing millions of visitors per year, Shipwreck Coast is home to monumental limestone formations where approximately 638 shipwrecks are believed to have occurred.

12 Apostles lookout rendering by McGregor Coxall.

The $9.8m project aims to protect the region's natural landscape while providing an enhanced visitor experience.

Shipwreck Coast master plan map.

The master plan will extend approximately 17 miles along the coastline following the Great Ocean Road including the Port Campbell National Park and Bay of Islands Coastal Park.

Shipwreck Coast master plan by McGregor Coxall. Image: McGregor Coxall.

Lookout facilities will be built at the iconic 12 Apostles and Loch Ard precincts locations in addition to a pedestrian bridge over Port Campbell Creek. Working with the natural environment, each site is considered for its unique characteristics.

Shipwreck C...

FAA restricts drones over ten major U.S. landmarks, including St. Louis Gateway Arch, Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore

2017-10-02T14:14:00-04:00

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a new regulation restricting unauthorized drone operations over 10 Department of Interior sites, including the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore. [...] The announcement says the action comes at "the request of U.S. national security and law enforcement agencies."

These new FAA restrictions will be effective as of October 5 so make sure to keep your drones at least 400 feet away from these ten National Landmarks:

Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York, NY
Boston National Historical Park (U.S.S. Constitution), Boston, MA
Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, PA
Folsom Dam; Folsom, CA
Glen Canyon Dam; Lake Powell, AZ
Grand Coulee Dam; Grand Coulee, WA
Hoover Dam; Boulder City, NV
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial; St. Louis, MO
Mount Rushmore National Memorial; Keystone, SD
Shasta Dam; Shasta Lake, CA

Take a VR tour of Yosemite National Park with President Obama

2016-08-25T18:45:00-04:00

Among the several tributes to the U.S. National Park Service's centennial birthday today, The White House, National Geographic, Felix & Paul Studios, and Oculus released “Through the Ages: President Obama Celebrates America’s National Parks”, a 360-degree VR video featuring stunning views of Yosemite National Park — narrated by special tour guide President Obama. Captured during the First Family's visit to the park earlier this summer, the nearly 11-minute video shows off popular spots like El Capitan, Mariposa Grove, Glacier Point, and a canoe ride through Merced River.

All images via whitehouse.gov.

Watch the full video below. The video is also available on the Oculus Store and on Facebook.

If you're planning for the weekend, visit any of the 413 National Parks IRL for free starting today until August 28. Go find a park near you and show your appreciation to the original landscape architect: Mother Nature.

Van der Rohe's Lafayette Park and three other sites named National Historic Landmark

2015-08-11T14:15:00-04:00

Lafayette Park, the neighborhood northeast of downtown dotted with high-rises and townhouses, and known for its modern architecture, has attained the status of national historic landmark. [...] The neighborhood consists of a 78-acre housing development designed and realized by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, considered a master of modern architecture. It was founded by developer Herb Greenwald to help keep the middle class in the city.

The three other sites that also recently gained landmark status are:

George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia
Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp in Jefferson County, Colorado
First Peoples Buffalo Jump in Cascade County, Montana

MvdR-related in Archinect's Features section: Completing Mies van der Rohe's Brick Country House

Plans for 'Mother Canada' statue face harsh opposition

2015-06-30T12:50:00-04:00

A plan to erect a 10-storey statue in a national park on one of Canada’s most scenic shorelines has prompted outrage and sparked a growing political row [...]. The statue of Mother Canada – a cloaked female figure with her arms outstretched towards the Atlantic Ocean – is intended to honour the country’s soldiers who died overseas. But growing anger over the plan has made it a new focus of opposition to the increasingly unpopular government of Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.

Primary school kids could design Australia's next national park via Minecraft

2015-04-24T20:50:00-04:00

Australia’s next national park could be designed on the video game Minecraft – and by primary school children – if a new venture by the [NRAMLR] goes to plan. In a move worthy of Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation, pupils from the Adelaide Hills area have been invited to design their 'perfect national park' using the block-building game, with $8.9m allotted to bring the winning student’s design to life.

National Park Service calls development plans a threat to Grand Canyon

2014-07-09T13:38:00-04:00

Looking eastward from the canyon's popular South Rim, visitors could soon see a hive of construction as workers build restaurants, hotels and shops on a distant mesa on the Navajo Indian reservation. The developers also plan a gondola ride from those attractions to whisk tourists to the canyon floor, where they would stroll along an elevated riverside walkway to a restaurant at the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers.