Contemporary Issues in Landscape Architecture: To what degree can permaculture practice overlap or be integrated with landscape architecture?

Permaculture is the conscious design of “cultivated” ecosystems that have the diversity, stability & resilience of ecosystems. It is a harmonious integration of the people with the landscape in such a way that the land grows in richness, productivity & aesthetic beauty.

Permaculture started in the 80s. It is the design of “cultivated” ecosystems that have the diversity stability and resilience of natural ecosystems.

Permaculture is based on three principles:

Earth Care (care of the Earth):

àIncludes animals plants air water land (living and non living)

àProvides for all things (to be able to multiply)

Care of People:

Ensures that people have access to those resources (need of an equitable sustainable society).

Tyrant Farms, Sout Carolina

PERMANENT + AGRICULTURE ------------ PERMANENT + C U LTU R E

principles

Principles of Ecology Design Permaculture Principles

permaculture & sustainability

According to Bill Mollison:

_The systems we construct should last as long as possible, and take least maintenance.

_The systems should produce not only for their own needs, but the needs of the people creating or controlling them.

_The systems should store or conserve more energy than that used to construct or maintain them.

At a certain point, the total energy yielded from the site exceeds the total amount invested and the system goes ‘into profit’.

design patterns: Fractal Geometry

_repetition of patterns across different scales

_underlying order

_language of nature

Concept of fractal geometry: repetition of the patterns of nature on different scales

This idea of repetition of patterns affected the design field, permaculture included

Patterns:

The branch: gathers, distributes, increases exchange of water, energy and materials
The lobe: presence of edgesàmost productive part of a system where most interesting things happen (ex: including rocks in water treatment, vegetation will grow between the rocks)
The spiral: speeding up or slow down / concentrate or disperse (ex: branches from stems grow in a spiral to maximize sun exposure)
The net: used to strengthen or reinforce (ex: straw mulch stacked at different angles will be more wind resistant)
The wave: provides pulsation and timing
The scatter: introduces the element of chance, break things up

case study_ecological design

The Floating Gardens By Turenscape, China

_Location: Taizhou City, China

_Size: 21.3 hectares

_Date of Completion: March 2004

_Client: Government of Huangyan District

_Awards: ASLA Design Honor Award, 2006; Human Habitat Award, 2005, Ministry of Construction, China

This project developed in Taizhou City by the Chinese firm Turenscape acts as an ecological solution to the canalization of rivers that the Chinese government has so gotten used to treating its river with. The firm aimed to design a project that would not only cater to the ecological aspect of the site, but also to include and integrate the human and social aspects. Therefore, its name 'The Floating Gardens' indicates the two layers that constitute the project. The human layer is "floating" on top of the ecological layer via bridges and platforms which respect the natural cycle of the river by allowing to flood seasonally.

The Chikukwa Permaculture Project in Zimbabwe started as a small backyard project by one of the families in the village, as instructed by a couple of German teachers. Soon, the project made a ripple effect and was adopted by the neighborhood, the village, and finally the surrounding 5 villages, to encompass a total of 6 villages. The area had been suffering from dry springs, barren hills, and poor harvests, which the adoption of this design technique changed over time. The villages now have more prosperous terraces, and the water management scheme proved to be successful.

case study_permaculture design

The Chikukwa Permaculture Project, Zimbabwe