Landscape Architecture & Architecture Associations:
the past, present and future
00 Introduction
The following study discusses the importance of critically considering the relationship between the fields and approach of Landscape Architecture and Architecture over time; the past, present and future of both. Evaluating the history of each and where each may or may not have been considered more important in comparison to the other is significant in understanding where the two fields are headed in the future. Throughout history, Architecture and Landscape Architecture methods have evolved in relation to one another in response to critical thinkers of the time and key projects signify this complex evolutionary relationship.
01 Thinking Critically
“There is certainly much in
contemporary culture and
landscape that we ought to be skeptical about…”
- James Corner
. Modern criticism has become removed from real life. Rather than being imposed, skepticism should emerge from discontent and unfulfillment, and involves reflection with the formulation of alternatives and possibilities.
. Critical thinking in Landscape Architecture projects a richness of associations and previously unforseen relationships.
. Landscape Architecture is a strategic phenomenon where we critically cultivate our relationship to landscape; searching for itself and its future.
02 Scenic
/
17th Century
The scenic approach to Landscape Architecture characterized the conception of picturesque settings; where Landscape and Architecture existed together in a cultural context and human interaction.
Claude
Lorrain, one of the prominent French landscape painters never ceased to include
castles, towns, and inhabited places in his panoramic paintings; where,if the ocean horizon
is represented, it is from the setting of a busy port.
Village Fete
/ Claude Lorrain / 1639
The Versailles Gardens of the French Renaissance emphasize the significance of Landscape as a powerful scenic element. Architectural elements are included within the Landscape as subsequent components.
Versailles Gardens
/ 1660-70s
03 Industrial
/ 19th Century
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Crystal Palace / 1850s
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With the Industrial Revolution and breakthrough in engineering technology, Architects' main approach was to utilize new technology with materials such as steel and glass. Although the vast greenhouses popular at the time contained thousands of plants, the glory of the Architecture was predominant.
As can be seen from the picture, landscapes became secondary to the overshadowing building. Using plants as ornaments popularized the garden design approach beginning during this period.
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Tadao Ando / 4x4 square / 2003
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Tadao Ando's 4x4 square buildings stand out in the landscape as forms with no context.
The trend of venerating Architecture and its forms developed and continued into modern times. Modernistic Architecture common in the 19th and 20th Century became a field that treats compositions spatially, works from the abstract to the real, and thus introduces built elements regardless of the context. While landscape is all about evolving systems, the best way to treat such systems is to work from the real to the abstract.
The understanding of Landscape began to drift away from what is scenic, being used with more freedom during
the 1800s by connecting it to its settings and functions (time, place, and mood); thus, the
terms townscape, cityscape, roadscape arose. Using the “scape” to signify a system of spaces helped explain how “landscapes” are spaces being synthesized according to the surrounding social attitudes.
Contradiction in Architecture and Landscape consequently urged the need to find a unified methodology that treats spaces holistically was raised; resulting in the emergence of field of Landscape Architecture.
04 Skeptic /
20th Century
The word
landscape architecture emerged with contributions from Gilbert Laing Meason and Frederick Law Olmstead in 1863, followed by the establishment of American Society of Landscape Architects in 1899.
As can be seen in projects throughout the 20th century, Landscape Architecture began evolving in its theories and slowly gained
popularity. The field generally remained disconnected from Architecture, and was viewed as an added decorative layer to architectural features; complementing or emphasizing them. The undermining of Landscape Architecture disregarded the field's fundamental principles of connecting people to their land; expressing culture and history in every context. Since the establishment of the profession, paradoxical approaches have been adapted, each understanding the function of Landscape Architecture from a different perspective.
‘’Landscape
architecture today embraces a diversity of schools and approaches, with the
ecological approach at one end and the strictly formalistic one at the other.’’
- Jala Makhzoumi
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Central Park / Frederick Law Olmstead / 1857
"Nature, too, shall live its own life. We
must beware not to disrupt it with the color of our houses and interior
fittings. Yet we should attempt to bring nature, houses, and human beings
together into a higher unity. If you view nature through the glass walls of the
Farnsworth House, it gains a more profound significance than if viewed from
outside. That way more is said about nature–it becomes a part of a larger
whole."
05 Holistic /
21st Century
With environmental awareness popularization in the 1960s-70s, the methodology of Landscape Ecology was developed in consistence with a holistic approach to Landscape Architecture. Landscape ecology and the holistic approach necessitate viewing the landscape as a system with interconnected layers; the environment, the people, the culture and the context. Designing projects where all elements including Architecture contributing to the greater fabric of the landscape in a sustainable conscious outlook has taken the front line in today's design approach.
Giant Interactive Group Headquarters / 2011
The building
has a low pleated roof which acts as a connector between the river and the
wetland. With several functions from industrial, residential and a public park, the building employs multifaceted layers. The blend of Architecture and Landscape renders it indistinguishable from
the its surroundings. The entire
roof is planted with “prairie blend” species giving it a natural ambiance right
in the middle of the urban environment; taking into consideration both “the corporate environment and the local ecology”
California Academy of Science / 2008
The California Academy of Science complex
is a living system, built to make use of its environment. Its “Living
Roof” has several domes of different sizes at the center. Photo-voltaic cells
are contained between the two glass panels that form the transparent canopy around the perimeter of the roof. Theses
panels open and close automatically for ventilation. The moisture
of the soil creates a micro-climate reducing the need of air-conditioning at the
ground floor, is open to the public and facades where offices are
located. The design takes into account natural lighting
and positioned the spaces accordingly. This approach utilizes both Architecture and Landscape Architecture to create an environmentally synthesized and self sustainable system.
06 The Future
Will the lines between Landscape Architecture and Landscape Architecture continue to be blurred in an effort to create holistic systems? How will the relationship between Architecture and Landscape Architecture evolve from here?
"Critical thinking is simply that which acknowledges such difficulties and keeps the questions alive..."
References
Corner, James, and Alison Bick Hirsch. The Landscape Imagination: Collected Essays of James Corner, 1990-2010. Web.
Makhzoumi, Jaleh. Landscape in the Middle East: an inquiry. Landscape Research, Vol. 27, No. 3, 213–228, 2002. Web.
Swaffield, Simon R. Theory in Landscape Architecture: A Reader. Philadelpia: U of Pennsylvania, 2002. Print.
Contemporary Issues in Landscape Architecture
Rim Hazimeh
Raya Rizk
Joanna Sabra
21 / 9 / 2015
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