LA 1201 Chapter : Historical Overview 1201
Document Summary
Egypt: contrast of land, desert and rich soil, low humidity, dryness, blowing sand. Cool and damp climate, perfect for green grass and flowers. Early gardens were imitations of the italian style. There was much literary discussion of the landscape. English landscape school attacked the old renaissance ideas. Romantic painting of wild landscapes influenced design ideas. Park-like landscape replaced the old formal garden ideas. Influenced by early chinese heritage of paradise gardens. Miniature gardens as compared to the much larger early chinese gardens. Public parks were observed in china 1000 years before the development of western parks. Parks originally were country estates for the wealthy. Technology and social consciousness combined to create public parks. Concern for health and safety of workers and urban dwellers. Repton proposed a scientific approach to planning the landscape (knowledge of surveying, mechanics, hydraulics, agriculture, botany and architecture) Birkenhead park in liverpool, england was the first planned public park. Olmsted wrote about his observations of the park.
