We have recently been pondering in the studio, ways in which Auckland's CBD may offer a landscape and urban environment of greater delight and relief.  While the current programme of streetscapes goes a long way to providing better overall spaces, coherency and safety, their still lacks the addtional interest and open space network to truly bring the city to life. 

A recent competition run by the City of Vienna produced some interesting results to this regard - the competition aimed at finding and developing 'urban oases'.

The winning proposals by Xarchitekten & Henning Grahn provided some unique and exciting methodologies.  The first, titled Bimbaum, where a public tramway wagon is planted with trees and offers a moving green space throughout the city.  The second, titled Flowerflash, where participants are invited to contribute a flower pot to a chosen public space and instantly invigorate the space in a temporal manner.  

If only Auckland still had it's trams!

Images courtesy of World Landscape Architect - click here for the full story.