LA 1201 Chapter : Historical Overview 1201
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE 1201
Historical Overview
Islamic
Hot and Arid
Oasis - high contrast to surroundings
Walled “paradise” = protection from wind and sand/ privacy
“4 Rivers”; quadrangular layout
Garden ^ - quadrangular layout
Love plants and trees
Irrigation
Interested in astronomy
Arabic numerals – develop 0
Architecture
Greek
Not formal
Irregular
Beautifully fitted to the site
Pompeii
Indoor/outdoor relationships between houses and gardens
Middle Ages
Defense
Inward - introspective
Walled or tops of hills
Cloisters for study (quadrangles)
Related to Parisian garden ideas
Examples: Carcassonne, France
Le Puy, France
Bad Wimpfen, Germany
San Gimignano, Italy
Renaissance - Italy
Cultivated, intellectual lifestyle
Search for order in design
Cleanliness
Well-planned
Luxurious villas
Plants - mainly green
Color from architecture, pots, etc.
Water - extremely important in hot areas
Hills - outwardly expanding views
Gardens terraced with water connecting between levels
Outdoor spaces (rooms) organized along sight lines
Theatrical design
Examples: Villa Dante
Villa D’Este
France
Cooler and greener than Italy
Flatter terrain accentuated
Water in flat sheets
Distant views
Bilateral symmetry
Huge scale
Design teams (collaboration)
Le Notre - Landscape Architect
Le Brun - Painter/Interior Designer
Le Vau - Architect
Examples: Vaux LeVicomte
Versailles
England
Cool and damp climate, perfect for green grass and flowers
Early gardens were imitations of the Italian style
A “Design Revolution” changed all of this
There was much literary discussion of the landscape
English Landscape School attacked the old Renaissance ideas
Romantic painting of wild landscapes influenced design ideas
Picturesque designs developed for gardens
Many old gardens were destroyed
“Park-like” landscape replaced the old formal garden ideas
Japan
Influenced by early Chinese heritage of Paradise Gardens
Imitations of nature
Pleasure Gardens for entertainment
Miniature gardens as compared to the much larger early Chinese Gardens
Reproduction of nature by artificial means
Public Parks were observed in China 1000 years before the development of Western parks
Scenic paintings were translated into garden designs
Not symmetrical
Park Movement
Document Summary
Walled paradise = protection from wind and sand/ privacy. 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.
