22 Feb 2009

West 8 is an international company for urban design and landscape architecture, founded in 1987 by Adriaan Geuze. Over the last 20 years West 8 has established itself as a world renowned, leading practice with an international team of 75 architects, urban designers, landscape architects and industrial engineers. West 8 work mainly in Northern and Eastern Europe, however have projects all across the world such as New York, London, Madrid and Moscow. Many of their projects are the result of entries into international competitions. West 8 are very aware of the local context, history, ecology and lanscape of their given sites, incorporating these factors strongly in their designs. http://www.west8.nl/

Here are some examples of their groundbreaking designs across the world:

Brandende Stad, Rotterdam
The formation of red flowers is to commemorate the Rotterdam Blitz on 14th May 1940, during World War II.

Governor's Island, New York
A huge public park (69ha) that embraces the cities culture, ecology, history and beauty. It is surrounded by water in the Upper New York Bay. The island is car-free but invites people to visit to enjoy views of the city, long walks, picnics, concerts and much more.

Chiswick Park, London
A public space surrounded by office buildings near the centre of London. West 8 tried to create two different zones: an "inner" area - elevated area in the centre of the site fronted by the buildings, and an "outer" area - corridors between buildings, peripheral car parking and site boundaries.

Cow - Horizon Project, The Netherlands
Three 8 metre high inflatable cows were placed near to the main highways in Randstad, to form reminders of the horizon to passers by.

Pine Cone Garden, Italy
An inner garden of the Carthusian Monastery of Padula. Thousands of pine cones were collected by the children of the local village and strewen across the area. At night the pine cones glow red from lighting hidden beneath.


Jubilee Gardens, London (design to be commenced)
The aim is to create a spectacular public green space in the heart of London with the best view across the city. The park will be elevated and seperated from the London Eye. The natural green landscape edged with white stone is to represent the appearance of the English coastline.