Landscape Design and the Experience of Motion
... Walking is an everyday practice that shapes urban space and is shaped by the space in which it occurs. It can create new subjects, new forms of public space and provide alternate readings of the city (Conan 2003, Rosenberg 2016. ...
Introduction to a Special Issue of Geographic Research Forum, volume 38
"Im/mobilities in the 21st Century"
... Among some important issues related to it are: ways of supporting and suppressing movement in gardens, diff erent forms of movement implicit in a design, functions of movement as a basic mode of experiencing a garden as well as a form of aestheticizing the experience. For the analysis of those issues, together with the problems of methodologies suitable for investigating them, see Conan 2007 andKaczmarczyk 2013a. meaning must be uncovered bodily, through the experience of getting lost and finding one's way again. ...
Despite their obvious functional and stylistic differences, hedge mazes and English landscape gardens have salient symbolic and structural similarities which make them fruitful objects of comparative analysis. Both invert the norms expected of interior and exterior spaces, of human cultivation and “wilderness”, creating landscapes of semiotic uncertainty. Being at once natural and cultural, both types of space present a “problem to be solved” either by reaching a centre or understanding a layout. Both “play” with the notion of boundary by constructing uncrossable and at times oppressive walls from seemingly fragile plant matter or by hiding their boundaries. At the same time there are important differences which make this comparison of boundary spaces even more interesting: hedge mazes and landscape gardens are distinguishable by their respective structural levels, the presence or absence of a centre, their relation to other parts of gardens and connected human habitations.
Using Juri Lotman’s notion of hybrid and transitional objects characteristic of boundary mechanisms, this paper explores the semiotically dense nature-culture boundary which these mazes and gardens both inhabit and create. The objects of our analysis are 17th-century English mazes and early English gardens dating from the beginning of the 18th century: mazes at Longleat and Hampton Court, and landscape gardens such as Rousham and Stowe.
... Landscape architectonic compositions stimulate, or at least permit, certain kinds of movement with different modalities, and manage speed and direction. So movement takes place partly in response to or in accordance with the designer's intentions (Conan, 2003; Hunt, 2004 ). Yet together with spaces, paths are considered to be paramount structural components of (designed) landscapes because they play a crucial role in mediating or facilitating the experience and use of these compositions (Dee, 2001; Bell, 1993). ...
A core activity of landscape architecture is designing and construction of outdoor space. In addition to that landscape architecture can be considered a matter of epistemology, a way of looking, with the architectonic composition as core of landscape architectonic research and design. An architectural composition can be comprehended by addressing four layers of interest: basic form, corporeal form, visible form and purposive intention. This article argues that GISc offers researchers new possibilities for representing, analysing and modelling landscape architectonic compositions to study its visible form. The visible form derives from the act of perceiving, which is linked with the sequential unfolding of information as our bodies pass through space. We can understand the visible form from the vertical perspective, its conceptual order, and from the horizontal perspective, its perceptual order.
GISc in relation to the conceptual order deals with geometric properties such as shape, symmetry, rhythm, alignment, congruence, and repetition. GISc in relation to the perceptual order considers landscape architectonic compositions as it is encountered by an individual within it, moving through it, making use of GIS-based isovists and viewsheds. This article focuses on the analysis of the relationship between the conceptual and perceptual order of a landscape architectonic composition by measuring visible space, using GIS-based methods and techniques and link the outcomes to the geometric properties of the design. Piazza San Marco (Venice, IT) and Stourhead landscape garden (Wiltshire, UK) are used as examples to showcase some applications.
... Accordingly, designed environment from landscape architecture should be efficient, beautiful, safe and enjoyable [4]. Indeed, landscape design makes meaningful contributions to culture [5] (Figure 1). ...
Numerous studies have been carried out related to landscape, landscape architecture and urban landscape and it indicates the significance of this issue among designers and scholars. These studies have been dealt with different aspects of landscape and investigated the reciprocal effects between landscape and human. In fact, landscape is recognized as a part of environment; thus as environment and human has a dynamic and reciprocal relationship, landscape has such an affordances. According to this view, the following research investigates the significance of landscape in designing library and clarifies the different aspects of its influence on the library space. Therefore, the out comings of this research present a conceptual model from the integration of landscape and library space with the purpose of enhancing learning process. The research method is qualitative and it is based on descriptiveinterpretative approach. This study investigates initially the concept of landscape and landscape architecture; then, it deals with the analysis of the relation between landscape and environment. After studying the affordances of environment and landscape from different perspectives, the environment of the library and the circumstances in which users study are analyzed. Finally, the findings of the research are presented based on the investigation and analysis.
... According to Conan, Bom Jesus do Monte is of special interest, because of its theatrical design, among the many 17 th and 18 th century gardens that offered a vicarious pilgrimage experience [16]. In the case of Bom Jesus do Monte this "experience begins at the bottom with an entrance gate (portico) and two small chapels housing depictions of the Last Supper and the Prayer of Agony with Jesus at the Mount of Olives. ...
Designers are interested in the generation of form to guide the development of a particular design. With the advent of the modern design era in the 20th Century, the design "concept" became a driving force for most architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design schools, teaching students how to employ the design concept to guide the generation of form and details. Although, the design concept was employed in some designs before the 20th century, discussions concerning the design concept for historic landscapes has been limited. To illustrate examples of historic landscapes with design concepts, we chose seven projects to be revisited: Bom Jesus do Monte (Portugal), Xiaoling Tomb (China), Vaux le Vicomte (France), Villa Lante (Italy), Stourhead (United Kingdom), Stowe (United Kingdom), and Tapada das Necessidades (Portugal).
... According to Conan (2003) Bom Jesus do Monte is of special interest, because of its theatrical design, among the many 17 th and 18 th century gardens that offered a vicarious pilgrimage experience. In the case of Bom Jesus do Monte this "experience begins at the bottom with an entrance gate (portico) and two small chapels housing depictions of the Last Supper and the Prayer of Agony with Jesus at the Mount of Olives. ...
Designers are interested in the generation of form to guide the development of a particular design. With the advent of the modern design era in the 20th Century, the design "concept" became a driving force for most architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design schools, teaching students how to employ the design concept to guide the generation of form and details. Although, the design concept was employed in some designs before the 20th century, discussions concerning the design concept for historic landscapes has been limited. To illustrate examples of historic landscapes with design concepts, we chose four projects to be revisited: Bom Jesus do Monte (Portugal), Xiaoling Tomb (China), Vaux le Vicomte (France), and Villa Lante (Italy).
... With regard to the importance of walking to experience landscape architecture, see Conan (2003). ...
The shaping of the transitional zones between town and country is an area for landscape architecture which is gaining in importance. Three landscape competitions for such areas took place and have been partly implemented in the ‘Berliner Barnim’ on the north-eastern border of Berlin. Agricultural use will have to continue because otherwise the open character of the ‘Berliner Barnim’ (approx. 1,400 hectares) cannot be maintained economically. The question of how deliberately designed nature (third nature) can be made to blend in with agrarian areas (second nature) ran right through the process. Designing within an agrarian landscape is a relatively new task facing landscape architects. The conceptional and design problems are exemplified by showing design schemes and partly realized areas. The demand for new images for peripheral landscapes is discussed, as well as the contemporary concept of the picturesque in art theory which is applied to some of the projects shown.
Nature was and remains an eternal companion of man, but at the same time, it is also a constant enigma. Man’s connection with nature is ancestral, and the need for this connection is constantly proven. Landscape design is the field where art (human creation) and nature meet, creating a field of endless possibilities in the development of outdoor spaces, but while the artistic side of the field is constantly improved and developed, sometimes the exploration of the natural side is left behind. The present study aims to identify and analyse the types of compositional lines that can be found in natural landscapes. For this, different photos from natural parks or Romanian reserves were selected and subjected to visual analysis. In the examined scenes, vertical, horizontal, diagonal, straight or sinuous lines (the most dominant) were identified, being suggested by tree trunks or logs, water beds or streams, paths, the topography of the land or the contour of the crown. Their properties, such as thickness or repetition, can provide diversity, animate a scene, and generate visual movement or invite further exploration. This work can serve as a basis for a more thorough study of natural landscapes and is relevant to landscape architects who support the use of natural style in their work or are interested in integrative landscape design for a better understanding of natural features, as well as researchers who want to explore the aesthetics of natural landscapes.
The article conceptualises the notion of the landscape syncope: a political landscape performance generated by desire, which affects landscape perception. The syncopal mode involves a core of absence that pertains to a topographical gap mediated by suspension, movement and revelation. The article explores three case studies that address designed and seemingly natural landscapes – the ‘ha-ha’ in the English landscape garden, the Baroque gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte, and the landscape of Israel’s eastern border. These case studies point to the scope of the landscape syncope, which operates as a counterpoint in the landscape. The analysis builds on an interdisciplinary inquiry that addresses the critical discourse on landscape, garden and art history, as well as critical psychoanalysis and cultural discourse. The discussion links the Lacanian notion of objet (petit) a and the structure of (partially satisfied) desire with the ambiguity and elusiveness of landscape, and its ontology of lack and absence. The article suggests the syncopal mode as an interpretation of landscape, as a manifestation of power and a political performance of desire.
My thesis explores and develops an understanding of how the elements of a landscape operate on the aesthetic sense. Jay Appleton notes that while human beings are spontaneously aware of their environment, its objects have associational properties, which are not inherent in the objects themselves. He asserts that there is no detailed analysis of an actual landscape in terms, which can precisely relate biological and psychological experiences with the aesthetic satisfaction derived from the observation of natural and man-made objects distributed in a particular fashion.1 To challenge this assertion, I propose that the structure and confined landscape of certain gardens may be analysed to reveal their metaphysical properties and through them, the creative possibilities that can arise. Three specific locations are discussed, namely: The Leasowes, W. Midlands – the home of William Shenstone; Olney, Bucks – the home of William Cowper together with the associated Throckmorton Estate; and Dove Cottage, Grasmere, Cumbria – the home of William and Dorothy Wordsworth. Those individualistic gardens produced a focused spatial concept of sensory experience: a place to ‘be lived in’, where their owners were able to wander freely, experience freedom of thought, and find depths of poetic expression in response to powerful aesthetic conditions that arose. Their imaginations were able to experience fresh nuances, as they dwelled within places that required their active physical, emotional and intellectual participation. My proposition addresses the possibilities of articulating this spatial temporal phenomenon, in a relationship between psychological experience and aesthetic satisfaction. Examples of these poets’ work illustrate artistic response to the inspirational spaces of their gardens, which became sources of imagination and creativity in the second half of the eighteenth century.
In Ausbildung und Praxis der Landschaftsarchitektur werden theoretische Kenntnisse und Überlegungen häufig als überflüssig und abgehoben bezeichnet. Anhand der Entwicklung von Aufgabenstellungen für und der Interpretation von Entwürfen sowie des Verstehens von Akteuren soll gezeigt werden, dass Theorie durchaus praktischen Nutzen haben kann.
Este artigo apresenta a experiência do workshop “Restauro de Jardins Históricos”, ocorrida em 2012 na cidade do Recife, no Nordeste do Brasil, tendo como objeto o jardim do aeroporto dos Guararapes, denominado de praça Ministro Salgado Filho, projetado pelo paisagista Roberto Burle Marx em 1957 e que faz parte de um conjunto de jardins concebidos pelo paisagista em Recife entre 1935 e 1958. O estudo desse jardim, que obteve recentemente o título de patrimônio cultural nacional, pretende ser uma referência para futuras ações de restauro no âmbito da conservação urbana no Brasil.
Bernard Lassus' approach to landscape design confronts issues of cultural diversity and institutional domination in a public space. It sten1s from an awareness of cultural differences that are brought into play by the creation of a motorway in contemporary France. Its presentation calls upon a few preliminary remarks about cultural differences and about public space. We need not map cultural differences onto demographic descriptions of a society: one person may belong to several cultures, and may shuttle between them, renegotiating self-identity within each. Thus cultural differences need not necessarily pit one group of people against another. Moreover, we can see that some places imply a culture of their own: institutional settings such as schools, churches and hospitals are well known in this respect. They foster the acquisition of a special culture among their members; and, very often a significantly different one for people who occupy different positions in the institutional setting: teachers and pupils, priests and parishioners, doctors and nurses, for instance. So we can see places as much as social groups as the breeding grounds of cultural differences.
The shaping of the transitional zones between town and country is a field for landscape architecture which has gained more and more importance. "Zwischenstädte"-periphery – edge city – these areas are shaped as much by open spaces as by built up ones. On the north-eastern border of Berlin three landscape competitions for such areas have taken place and have been partly implemented already. The predominating agricultural use will continue to be important because otherwise the open character of the "Berliner Barnim" (approx. 1400 hectares) cannot be maintained economically. The question of how deliberately designed nature (third nature) can be made to blend in with agrarian areas (second nature) ran right through all the procedures. The aim was to turn cleared out landscapes into attractive recreational spaces for the neighbouring large-scale and suburban developments in the north-east of Berlin. Designing within agrarian landscape is a relatively new task facing landscape architects although there are historical precedents like Wörlitz or Muskau. The urban peripheral landscapes we are dealing with here and now are, in contrast to the classical ones, rather heterogeneous. They include implants of the city for whose functioning they are of course necessary, but which have been relegated to the outskirts. The conceptional and design problems will be exemplified by showing design schemes and partly realised areas. A demand for new images, a new "Leitbild", for peripheral landscapes is discussed. While historic landscape gardens and traditional cultural landscapes can't be aimed at anymore because of changes in agriculture and economy the underlying principles can still be helpful. A new concept of the picturesque has been discussed in the art sciences and this concept can be applied to some of the projects shown. The foundations for landscape design in the Barnim area on the outskirts of Berlin were laid as early as the end of the nineteenth century. Although, at the time, the Berlin city area was much smaller than it is today, it was recognised that open spaces in the catchment area of a growing city could be threatened. To safeguard the options for nearby recreation and sewage disposal, woods and estates outside the city limits of that time were bought up. The forests were given a special protection and in this way they were secured until today. At this time the understanding grew that there is a connection between hygiene and epidemics. Reformists like the medic Rudolf Virchow and the civil engineer James Hobrecht developed a new sewage canal system and got its realisation through parliament. Open sewage disposal was abolished. Sewage was now transported in canals to the outskirts where it was cleaned by seepage in so-called "Rieselfelder". At first, these sewage fields were also used for agricultural purposes; later on, this was no longer possible. The fields were divided up by dams into rectangular polders, into which the sewage was directed in order to allow the water to seep away. The cleaned water was then returned to the water system by means of artificial ditches. These sewage farms were gradually replaced by sewage processing plants. Some, however, survived until the 1970s, mainly in the eastern half of the city.
The main objective of this thesis is to contribute to a widening of knowledge on spas, on garden design in the late 19th century and on the constituents of landscape heritage. A purpose is to broaden the discussion on landscape heritage, using Ron-neby Spa as an example. The main research questions are how the experience of Ronneby Spa can be studied and described and how the medical spa philosophy and ideas on garden design interplayed when it came to designing the landscape of Ronneby Spa.
The discussion focuses on different factors affecting the spa visitor’s experience; sensory experience, garden design and medical spa philosophy. It also focuses on ac-tors affecting the design of the spa landscape; the doctor, the landscape architect and the gardener. The empirical material in this case study has been reflected upon through other researcher’s writings on for example garden design through history, walking, senses, heritage, and history of ideas. The multidisciplinary approach is used to construct an imaginary weave of experience, illustrated by an imaginary spa visitor walking around.
The case study reveals interplay between garden design ideas, sensory experience and medical spa philosophy in the design and the experience of Ronneby Spa in the late 19th century. It also reveals interplay between actors; doctor, landscape ar-chitect and gardener. The doctors’ role and way of writing indicate that they had knowledge of landscape ideals. The doctors argued that the design of the landscape affected the health of the patients and that a ‘moderate mental agitation’, i. e. sensory aspects, and movement were crucial for the cure. Those arguments interplayed with garden design ideas at that time which endorsed sensory experience and walking as part of the design and argued the importance of a varied experience.
The case study of Ronneby Spa broadens the discussion on landscape heritage by including the role of the senses and the walking, the health perspective, several dimensions of garden design through different actors and new dimensions of landscape experience through an imaginary weave. It contributes to the notion of landscape as being dependant on people’s experience and perception, an approach to landscape now being fostered by the European Landscape Convention.
Mobility and materiality are pervasive and revealing features of professional vision. In this paper I examine how landscape architects assess visual and landscape effects of proposed urban or rural developments. A focus on mobility and materiality reveals a struggle for objectivity and transparency, and the lived reality of Latour’s observation that “we have never been modern”. But it also highlights the emergence of new forms of perception and epistemic practice. Based on work with landscape architects and computer scientists in participatory technology research and design projects, I present an analysis of current practices and some observations on emerging future practices of appreciating and shaping places.
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