European landscape architecture : best practice in detailing

289 Pages·2007·19.913 MB·English

by  Ian H Thompson, Torben Dam, Jens Balsby Nielsen

European Landscape Architecture
This is an important new book about landscape con- Jens Balsby Nielsen was Associate Professor at the
struction and good detailed design. It is not a book University of Copenhagen from 1998–2005 where
of standard details in landscape architecture, nor his main subjects were landscape planning, manage-
does it give the reader step-by-step instructions; ment, and landscape architectural detailing and con-
instead it highlights how important it is to consider struction. In 2005 he became a landscape advisor in
detail in the creative process, showing that good the Danish Palaces and Properties Agency.
practice in detailing is as integral to successful
design as an exciting concept or striking site plan. Torben Dam has been an Associate Professor at the
University of Copenhagen since 1993. Torben is the
The book features case studies of recent land- author of books about garden design, quality stand-
scape architectural projects in nine European coun- ards and hard surfaces in landscape architecture. His
tries, including the Peace Garden in Sheffield, the main areas of teaching and research are in detailing
Harbour Park in Copenhagen, a motorway service and construction in landscape architecture.
station in France, a guest house garden in Hungary,
a cemetery in Munich and the new Botanic Gardens Ian T hompson is Reader in Landscape Architecture
in Barcelona. Each project has been chosen for its at Newcastle University. A chartered landscape
exemplary good practice in construction detailing architect and town-planner, he spent thirteen years
and is demonstrative of how a strong overall con- in practice before joining the teaching staff in the
cept can be expressed through well-designed detail School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape in
to create convincing design. 1992. He is editor of the international peer-reviewed
journal Landscape Research and the author of
European Landscape Architecture draws together several books including Ecology, Community and
a team of leading professionals and academics in Delight (Spon Press, 1999) which won a Landscape
the field of landscape architecture. The case stud- Institute Award in 2001 and The Sun King’s Garden
ies are well-illustrated with photographs and many (Bloomsbury, 2006), a narrative history of the crea-
original construction drawings running alongside tion of the gardens of Versailles.
the text. This will be a valuable source book for
students and practitioners alike, as well as being
of interest to researchers with an interest in the
process of design.
First published 2007 by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2007 Jens Balsby Nielsen, Torben Dam and Ian Thompson, selection and editorial matter;
individual chapters, the contributors
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library,2007.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been applied for
ISBN 0–203–62299–5 Mastere-bookISBN
ISBN10 0-415-30736-8 (hbk)
ISBN10 0-415-30737-6 (pbk)
ISBN13 978-0-415-30736-9 (hbk)
ISBN13 978-0-415-30737-6 (pbk)
ISBN13 978-0-203-62299-5 (ebk)
European Landscape Architecture
Best practice in detailing
Edited by
Jens Balsby Nielsen, Torben Dam and Ian Thompson

Contents
vii Foreword
ix Acknowledgements
x Contributors
xi Illustration credits
1 Introduction
Jens Balsby Nielsen, Torben Dam and Ian Thompson
9 Denmark
Torben Dam and Jens Balsby Nielsen
43 Ireland
Sue Jackson
67 France
Emma Jonasson
81 Germany
Ingrid Schegk and Sabrina Wilk
119 Hungary
Kinga Szilágyi
153 The Netherlands
Boudewijn Almekinders and Ad Koolen
183 Spain
Marti Franch
213 Sweden
Ann Bergsjö
237 The United Kingdom
Ian Thompson
263 Notes
267 Index

Foreword
Design proposes ideas but it is through the medium regrettably still not received adequate attention by
of landscape detail that these ideas are projected landscape historians or theorists and still remains
as a material reality on site. The art of this activity, a productive area of the landscape field in need of
and I need to declare immediately that it is a very development. Finally, with this publication focusing
inventive, subtle and robust art-form, lies in the on the European experience of landscape detail and
processes of detail design – the act of detailing by detailing practices, the third area of work takes a
the landscape architect and the subsequent evolu- significant step forward in addressing the issues of
tion and elaboration over time and by others of the landscape detail across national and geographical
resulting constructed landscape detail elements boundaries. In this book and in the cases studies
and forms. If landscape architecture is to continue that are illustrated here, the European landscape
to advance its knowledge base as a series of cul- design community has taken up the task of offering
tural practices and a pragmatic art form of the high- critical commentary on contemporary detail prac-
est level, design practitioners and teachers must tices and projects within their national landscapes.
pay due care and attention to advancing the practice This is both a timely and significant task as the
of landscape detail as the core of contemporary deve lopment and implementation of contemporary
landscape design. landscapes and conversely, it should be noted, the
demolition and eradication of many more recent
Three crucial areas of work need to be carried out by design works, continues with little pause. In addi-
landscape researchers and academics regarding the tion, the geographical and cultural complexities of
broader subject of landscape technology, construc- the national practices demonstrated here present
tion and detail design. These are detail durability, an antidote to globalization, homogeneity and lack
the preparation of a history of landscape technol- of specificity in detail design. This is therefore a
ogy and, finally, regional case studies in landscape benchmark publication by the editors Jens Balsby
design detail. The first area, durability, has become Nielsen, Torben Dam and Ian Thompson in the
of increasing significance to the landscape architec- evolution of landscape architectural practice and
ture profession as issues of sustainability, diminish- scholarship.
ing natural material resources and accountability
required by clients and municipalities for construct- The case studies that occupy the greater part of
ed landscape design projects over time. The second this book illustratate landscape projects as living
area, on the history of landscape technology, has dynamic processes of design, with their resultant
vii
Foreword
dead-ends, backtracking, leaps of imagination and It is also a way of rediscovering what has already
periods of creative design synthesis. been recognized in the landscape design work of
previous historical periods, but today continues
The case studies do not, as the editors point out, to elude our full appreciation. Making landscape
resemble a set of guidelines or rules that will auto- detail form as a design activity requires a lifetime
matically result in successful details in the future investment of energy, resources and patience from
(we may, however, care to measure the notion any designer. The notion of commitment to serious
of 'success'). That is not the nature of landscape detail investigation requires an obsessive mind,
design or that of landscape detail. It still requires while also giving broad attention to the particular
individuals to have developed individual design design challenges of landscape detailing, a clear
talent with the capacity to work productively in intellectual focus, and a deep understanding of
the landscape field in whatever country or coun- design history with as much practical site experi-
tries they are commissioned to work. Nor do they ence in varied cultures and climates as any designer
absolve the designer of having to grasp the total can muster in a professional life time.
range of knowle dge and skills in all other areas of
landscape architecture design, technology and con- In return a built form is produced which is intricate
struction practices. yet strong in its resolution and execution, an art form
combining materials, ideas and meaning, which is
Instead, they provide a way of understanding land- simultaneously poetic and pragmatic. In short, it
scape design through its detail, and, at the same displays the practical dimensions and creative pos-
time, a way of looking at landscape detail through sibilities of landscape design detail. It is hoped that
design. In this, the purpose is to project landscape this publication will be the first of many.
detail beyond its current role as a complement to
other parts of the landscape design and planning
processes, and to establish it as an identifiable Niall Kirkwood
subject on its own. This is a subject deeply con- Professor of Landscape Architecture and
cerned with the intellectual activity of design, both Technology Chair and Program Director,
as a daily form of practice and a personal aesthetic Department of Landscape Architecture Director,
language. Center for Technology and Environment at the
Harvard Graduate School of Design
viii
Acknowledgements
This book has been long in the making and has project to completion. Susan Dunsmore was an
passed through many hands. The editors would like enthusiastic, entertaining and amazingly quick copy-
to thank the authors of the various chapters and editor. Gavin Ambrose came up with a crisp design
all of those practitioners who assisted by agreeing to complement the quality of the work portrayed.
to be interviewed and by supplying drawings and The typesetter Alex Lazarou juggled the text and
images of their work. captions around until it all seemed to work. Last,
but by no means least, we would like to thank
At Routledge we would like to thank Caroline Havekulturfonden, the Danish foundation which
Mallinder for commissioning the book, Michelle made a generous contribution towards the cost of
Green and Jules Mohm for their help along the the colour reproduction. Like a designed landscape,
way and Katherine Morton for bringing a difficult this book is a collaborative effort. Credit to you all.

ix