Hilliers Nursary

I was fortunate to be able to visit Hilliers Nursery in Liss, Hampshire to view their collection of trees and see how they are grown and managed.

During the day the group was introduced to a range of key trees which are of importance to Landscape Architects. We were also shown a selection of trees in different stages of growth and introduced to the process by which the trees are bred. The selection of trees available at the nursery is massive- their site in Liss alone covers more than 500 acres with all trees from seedlings up to mature specimens which have been growing for more than 20 years.

As well as normal stemmed trees there is also a range of multi-stemmed trees, shaped trees and instant hedging which is growing in popularity.

Finally we were shown examples of how the trees can be delivered- either bare root, root balled or container grown. This was followed by an impressive demonstration of their large root baller- effortlessly lifting a very large tree specimen!

Thanks must go to Hilliers, Caroline Swann and Jim for a very informative and enjoyable day out. Thanks also to Ed Wall at Kingston for organising the day.

Street Painting

Manfrad Stadar is a street artist who paints amazing designs into streets across the world. Graduating in Frankfurt Stadar specialises in 3D rather than more commonplace 2D works.An added feature of some of his designs is the ability to pose people as part of the scene creating a truly dynamic piece.This piece was commissioned in Seoul to advertise a Korean drink.

http://www.3d-street-art.com/

Kings Cross Square Development

As well as looking at current or built projects it is also important to look into the future.


One forthcoming project is that to re-develop the front of Kings Cross Station. The new square will act as a new forecourt for the refurbished station and will allow users to appreciate the design of the building which will have it's frontage revealed for the first time since 1972.

Six companies have been shortlisted by Network Rail to design the square with the winner due to be announced in June.

The six companies are:

• Field Operations
• Gehl Architects and Landscape Projects
• Gross.Max.
• Gustafson Porter
• Marther Schwartz Partners
• Stanton Williams

This should be an interesting project to follow over the next few years.

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=11003