The Aesthetics of Contemporary Planting Design

Planting design is, rather obviously, a complex topic, spanning as it does art, science, social need, and morality--especially during these days of increasing planetary environmental threat. Although certainly not denying the importance of scientifically appropriate practices, the symposium "The Aesthetics of [Contemporary] Planting Design" addressed planting design today, proposing a renewed concern for the cultural and aesthetic aspects of the landscapes that result.

This book, which has been developed from the original presentations at the symposium, presents the thoughts of a select international group of landscape architects and historians who discuss the subject of planting design through the lens of their own work as well as the work of others, both contemporary and historical. They suggest that, as in real estate, the most important factor in selecting plants is "location, location, location." Certainly the Californian situation is far more forgiving than the aridity and other restrictive environmental conditions endemic to the Sonoran desert, or the frost and short growing seasons of Nordic lands that direct Scandinavian landscape architects to rely on native birches, pines, rowan, and moss. Most of us would agree that there are plants sensible for each climatic zone.

Addressing environmental conditions is but the first step in the equation, however. There are also the issues of combination and composition.

With contributions by Laurie Olin, Tim Richardson, Cristina Castel-Branco, Erik Dhont, Andrea Cochran, Christine Ten Eyck, Mario Schjetnan, Thorbjörn Andersson, Kate Cullity, Richard L. Hindle, Alexandre Chemetoff, and Peter Walker

Author: Marc Treib
Publisher: Oro Editions
Published: 10/27/2021
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 4.05lbs
Size: 10.30h x 10.30w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9781954081154

About the Author
Treib, Marc: - Marc Treib is Professor of Architecture Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, and a historian and critic of landscape and architecture who has published widely on modern and historical subjects in the United States, Japan, and Scandinavia. Recent books include Pietro Porcinai and the Landscape of Modern Italy (co-editor, 2016); Landscapes of Modern Architecture: Wright, Mies, Neutra, Aalto, Barragán (2017); The Landscapes of Georges Descombes: Doing Almost Nothing (2019); and Thinking a Modern Landscape Architecture, West & East: Christopher Tunnard, Sutemi Horiguchi (2020).Olin, Laurie: - Laurie Olin, Professor of Practice Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, is a landscape architect, urban designer, and prolific author, who has practiced for half a century in the United States and abroad. Among his many signature projects, are the redesign of Bryant Park in New York City, the Washington Monument Grounds in Washington, DC, and more recently, the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and the new Apple campus in Cupertino. In addition to numerous articles and critical essays, he is also the author of Across the Open Field: Essays Drawn from English Landscapes and Please Be Seated.Walker, Peter: - Over six decades of practice Peter Walker has designed hundreds of landscapes, chaired the landscape architecture departments at the University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard University, lectured widely, written, and served as advisor to numerous public agencies. The scope of his concerns ranges from the small garden to the planning of cities--with a particular emphasis on corporate headquarters, plazas, cultural gardens, academic campuses, and urban-regeneration projects. Recepient of the Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Medal for lifetime achievement in landscape architecture, he initiated the founding of the CEO Roundtable and the journal LandForum.
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