Landscape Architecture
Landscape Architecture
Landscape architecture u profession only a little orer a century old an art as old as buman existence Norman T Newt esign on the lun, 1971 he ant of landscape architecture predates the Despite its welldocumented his profession by thousands of years. Ancient cultures veneral. tory, Landseape architecture isn t ed the garden as one of the highest achievements of a civi an easy profession to detine lized society Descriptions of the magnificent gardens of Even members of the profession ancient Babylon and Egypt have survived. even though the Land have difficulty rendering a marks themselves have not. Subsequent Greek and Romn civiliza- description that captures all of tions contributed the arts of urban design and space planning But it its nuances and possibilities. was ne until the last half of the nineteenth century that the title Today there are many more con- landscape design. Invented by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law and built environment than ever Olmsted. it was intended to suggest an approach to a Landscape thl, existed in the past disappearing as Nornun Newton writes would refleet the same relation that an habitats and environmental architect bears towand a building with the essential cmphasis on degradation on a global scale. overcrowding in urhan areas, a loss of privacy due to populatin density and the intrusion of coinmercial enterprise n ever aspect of life, blurring and changing cultural identities and demographic balances, and the apparent triumph of profit over public benefit, to name a few The abundance of ideas about how to deal with these concerns makes the possibility of a simple description of Landscape archi tecture more remote every day This book offers a broad defini tion of landscape architecure by example. presenting the current work of thirty one offices and individuals Some writers have suggested that Landscape architecture cannot be defined
many kinds of prob- lens In this book we present the work on an oftice-by-oftice rather than a projecI-by-pro ject basis, so that a method of approach is more apparent. Also, while some of the offices presented here dwell in specific areas of the profession (such as public spaces, pri vate gardens, or restorations), others are more general. Accordingly. we have not tried to classity the offices or the work by project type as simply what Landscape architects do-i lazy explanation, they sy. This gives the advantage of viewing a Landscape solution in more that does little more than heg the question, We disagree, and have than one way The restoration of a natural hahitat may also serve as a taken the postion that there is, in fact, no better way to define it. publie park: a public park may also be an entertainment acility Rather than trying to decide beforehand what constitutes landscape The resulting product may defy categorization entirely architecture and then selecting work that reflects this precon ceived ideal we have instead selected offices whose work is exciting. challenging, and current We present this work as our broad definition of landscape architee ture in its many conligurations at the end of the twentieth cent Landscape architecTure constitutes an approach to solving problems- a method as well as a product. In the course of their training Land scape architects acquire a variet of skills that may be applied to
型遭山 We inche in thie bmat catron cxample of wort hy landcape architects that has nareh, a ever appeare in bos on the subnet got cire deign kenure an entertainmen iram, ndo landlseaning, and Ih wurk af punta ncie The rarity of this work In pri i in cnn trant to is incr asnt importance i our but nvansment. (atf counes lur cxample. epre wnt an ideale yersin of landscape, and are beoming more and more imnrtanl in ih omr of the war shown on these pages may fit neatly into ever Middle and Far Eas, Iriure aml mteraimen seln has legume a one. idea e normal nnatesslatal at ry otef eames art tar powerful force in ernational derrlrmment an its hew example rm the noun In trvina to achieve as brad a definiton of the employ the talent of many Landscape an steet lester landscaping prlrwkitm as pustule. we Itae included an equally boil range of has become increaamuly important as a calt of otir modem u fakes from bsal to internat nal from theoretic al to practical, from technical ahy t create fully climate ontrolled, wnetetrainl woke practitsaers tu multioffice corporations All of our contributor spaces that are larwe nough Is apemmsxlate artifical Lakes, mvers are Landscape architeCts and consider themselves ta te practicing and mountains ruble agencies suus as the Cir af New Yur tndleape arthiteenrr in a signifleant wak and in every case. we Deparment of Parks and liccreanon. and the (ty and canny of sa think w tom Ie areu ad the pression that is Irewuenth wvrlonaed and umkerreprewnied is what maht he elled evry utay landcare atthateunre not the kan you have t es up lot or real an anik ahut in oner to ul stand If Mime twhs on the subiect nf landscape archiecture crr in thr drection bf tne mich theory. we hope to compensate by erring perhaps on the sadc of tt much paucal
Francisco Department of Public Works perform miracles of accessible landscape architecture, but have no marketing budget, so if you dont visit their handiwork, you may never know of it This brings us back to Frederick Law olmsted and the origins of our profession. Central Park is today one of the many parks under the are of the New York Department of Parks and Recreation, but it was on that project. in 1863, that landscape architect became an honest designation. In the years since, much has changed in the demands placed on the design of an urban park, and on the demands of landscape architecture in general, but the ideal remains the same: to create environments of quality and delight In the pages of this book. you will find examples of many forms that may help you to understand and appreciate this ancient art and recent profession Steven Moorhead. FCSLA ASLA