The OLIN Studio - Desert Shield & the colourful La La Land.

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The OLIN Studio have a distinctive attitude towards landscape design, one that is traditional in a sense and unconventional in others. Many other landscape practises today, rightly place emphasis on climate mitigation measures and put them at the core of their company values and strategy, whereas OLIN takes it back to the basics. That landscapes are intended to look beautiful and are paramount to the recreation and interaction of human beings, with craft as the seminal component to that delivery.  

There are a few projects in their portfolio that display a wonderful array of colourful, curiously all located in the City of Dreams!! The City Market of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Convention Center and the West LA Courthouse are all renovation projects, giving new life to the surrounding neighbourhoods. Bright colours, mixed patterns and vibrant planting schemes inspire excitement and fun in all three projects, something I intend for the eco and creative quarter at North Place.

West LA Courthouse

City Market 
    
Convention Center

Contrastingly, The Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial displays a sculptural elegance and justifies OLIN’s commitment to craft and beauty. The neutral material and plant palette evoke peace, healing and calmness supported by the soldierly trees. The difference between the design approaches is significant, yet bright and bold doesn’t always leave the greatest impact. The shield is bar far my favourite from their portfolio, though gentle and minimal it is striking and most certainly beautiful.


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