Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes.Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, Susan Jellicoe, The Landscape of Man: Shaping the Environment from Prehistory to the Present Day It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for construction and human use, investigation of existing social, ecological, and soil conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of other interventions that will produce desired outcomes.
The scope of the profession is broad and can be subdivided into several sub-categories including professional or licensed landscape architects who are regulated by governmental agencies and possess the expertise to design a wide range of structures and landforms for human use; landscape design which is not a licensed profession; site planning; stormwater management; erosion control; environmental restoration; public realm, parks, recreation and urban planning; visual resource management; green infrastructure planning and provision; and private estate and residence landscape master planning and design; all at varying scales of design, planning and management. A practitioner in the profession of landscape architecture may be called a landscape architect; however, in jurisdictions where professional licenses are required it is often only those who possess a landscape architect license who can be called a landscape architect.
Definition of landscape architecture
Modern landscape architecture is a multi-disciplinary field, incorporating aspects of urban design, architecture, geography, ecology, civil engineering, structural engineering, horticulture, environmental psychology, industrial design, soil sciences, botany, and fine arts. The activities of a landscape architect can range from the creation of public parks and parkways to site planning for campuses and corporate office parks; from the design of residential estates to the design of civil infrastructure; and from the management of large wilderness areas to reclamation of degraded landscapes such as mines or landfills. Landscape architects work on structures and external spaces in the landscape aspect of the design – large or small, urban, suburban and rural, and with "hard" (built) and "soft" (planted) materials, while integrating ecological sustainability.
The most valuable contribution can be made at the first stage of a project to generate ideas with technical understanding and creative flair for the design, organization, and use of spaces. The landscape architect can conceive the overall concept and prepare the master plan, from which detailed design drawings and technical specifications are prepared. They can also review proposals to authorize and supervise contracts for the construction work. Other skills include preparing design impact assessments, conducting environmental assessments and audits, and serving as an expert witness at inquiries on land use issues. The majority of their time will most likely be spent inside an office building designing and preparing models for clients.
History
For the period before 1800, the history of landscape gardening (later called landscape architecture) is largely that of master planning and garden design for manor houses, palaces and royal properties. An example is the extensive work by André Le Nôtre for King Louis XIV of France on the Gardens of Versailles. The first person to write of making a landscape was Joseph Addison in 1712. The term landscape architecture was invented by Gilbert Laing Meason in 1828, and John Claudius Loudon (1783–1843) was instrumental in the adoption of the term landscape architecture by the modern profession. He took up the term from Meason and gave it publicity in his Encyclopedias and in his 1840 book on the Landscape Gardening and Landscape Architecture of the Late Humphry Repton.
John Claudius Loudon was an established and influential horticultural journalist and Scottish landscape architect whose writings were instrumental in shaping Victorian taste in gardens, public parks, and architecture. In the Landscape Gardening and Landscape Architecture of the Late Humphry Repton, Loudon describes two distinct styles of landscape gardening existing at the beginning of the 19th century: geometric and natural. Loudon wrote that each style reflected a different stage of society. The geometric style was “most striking and pleasing,” displaying wealth and taste in an “early state of society” and in “countries where the general scenery was wild, irregular, and natural, and man, comparatively, uncultivated and unrefined.” The natural style was used in “modern times” and in countries where “society is in a higher state of cultivation," displaying wealth and taste through the sacrifice of profitable lands to make room for such designs.
The prominent English landscape designer Humphry Repton (1752-1818) echoed similar ideas in his work and design ideas. In his writings on the use of delineated spaces (e.g. courtyards, terrace walls, fences), Repton states that while the motive for defense no longer exists, the features are still useful in separating "the gardens, which belong to man, and the forest, or desert, which belongs to the wild denizens." Repton refers to Indigenous peoples as "uncivilized human beings, against whom some decided line of defense was absolutely necessary."
The practice of landscape architecture spread from the Old to the New World. The term "landscape architect" was used as a professional title by Frederick Law Olmsted in the United States in 1863 and Andrew Jackson Downing, another early American landscape designer, was editor of The Horticulturist magazine (1846–52). In 1841 his first book, A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, Adapted to North America, was published to a great success; it was the first book of its kind published in the United States. During the latter 19th century, the term landscape architect began to be used by professional landscapes designers, and was firmly established after Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and Beatrix Jones (later Farrand) with others founded the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) in 1899. IFLA was founded at Cambridge, England, in 1948 with Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe as its first president, representing 15 countries from Europe and North America. Later, in 1978, IFLA's Headquarters were established in Versailles.IFLA Past, Present, Future - A publication about the history of IFLA. UNCESCO Documents and Publications
Fields of activity
The variety of the professional tasks that landscape architects collaborate on is very wide, but some examples of project types include: Parks of general design and public infrastructure Sustainable development Stormwater management including rain gardens, green roofs, groundwater recharge, green infrastructure, and constructed wetlands. Landscape design for educational function and site design for public institutions and government facilities Parks, botanical gardens, arboretums, greenways, and nature preserves Recreation facilities, such as playgrounds, golf courses, theme parks and sports facilities Housing areas, industrial parks and commercial developments Estate and residence landscape planning and design Landscaping and accents on highways, transportation structures, bridges, and transit corridors Contributions to urban design, town and city squares, waterfronts, pedestrian schemes Natural park, tourist destination, and recreating historical landscapes, and historic garden appraisal and conservation studies Reservoirs, dams, power stations, reclamation of extractive industry applications or major industrial projects and mitigation Environmental assessment and landscape assessment, planning advice and land management proposals. Coastal and offshore developments and mitigation Ecological design (any aspect of design that minimizes environmentally destructive impacts by integrating itself with natural processes and sustainability)
Landscape managers use their knowledge of landscape processes to advise on the long-term care and development of the landscape. They often work in forestry, nature conservation and agriculture.
Landscape scientists have specialist skills such as soil science, hydrology, geomorphology or botany that they relate to the practical problems of landscape work. Their projects can range from site surveys to the ecological assessment of broad areas for planning or management purposes. They may also report on the impact of development or the importance of particular species in a given area.
Landscape planners are concerned with landscape planning for the location, scenic, ecological and recreational aspects of urban, rural, and coastal land use. Their work is embodied in written statements of policy and strategy, and their remit includes master planning for new developments, landscape evaluations and assessments, and preparing countryside management or policy plans. Some may also apply an additional specialism such as landscape archaeology or law to the process of landscape planning.
Green roof (or more specifically, vegetative roof) designers design extensive and intensive roof gardens for stormwater management, evapotranspirative cooling, sustainable architecture, aesthetics, and habitat creation.
Relation to urban planning
Through the 19th century, urban planning became a focal point and central issue in cities. The combination of the tradition of landscape gardening and the emerging field of urban planning offered landscape architecture an opportunity to serve these needs.Van Assche, K., Beunen, R., Duineveld, M., & de Jong, H. (2013). Co-evolutions of planning and design: Risks and benefits of design perspectives in planning systems. Planning Theory, 12(2), 177–198. In the second half of the century, Frederick Law Olmsted completed a series of parks that continue to have a significant influence on the practices of landscape architecture today. Among these were Central Park in New York City, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York and Boston's Emerald Necklace park system. Jens Jensen designed sophisticated and naturalistic urban and regional parks for Chicago, Illinois, and private estates for the Ford family including Fair Lane and Gaukler Point. One of the original eleven founding members of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and the only woman, was Beatrix Farrand. She was a design consultant for over a dozen universities including: Princeton in Princeton, New Jersey; Yale in New Haven, Connecticut; and the Arnold Arboretum for Harvard in Boston, Massachusetts. Her numerous private estate projects include the landmark Dumbarton Oaks in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Since that time, other architects – most notably Ruth Havey and Alden Hopkins – changed certain elements of the Farrand design.
Since this period urban planning has developed into a separate independent profession that has incorporated important contributions from other fields such as civil engineering, architecture and public administration. Urban Planners are qualified to perform tasks independent of landscape architects, and in general, the curriculum of landscape architecture programs does not prepare students to become urban planners.
Landscape architecture continues to develop as a design discipline and to respond to the various movements in architecture and design throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Thomas Church was a pioneering mid-century landscape architect known for shaping modern American garden design. Roberto Burle Marx in Brazil combined the International style and native Brazilian plants and culture for a new aesthetic. Innovation continues today solving challenging problems with contemporary design solutions for master planning, landscapes, and gardens.