Illustrated History of Landscape Design Illustrated History of Landscape Design ELIZABETH BOULTS and CHIP SULLIVAN John Wiley & Sons, Inc. This book is printed on acid-free paper. o Copyright © 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.
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Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Boults, Elizabeth, 1949- Illustrated history of landscape design / by Elizabeth Boults and Chip Sullivan. Landscape design—History.09—dc22 2009041794 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To our parents, George and Florence Boults, and Mary Catherine Sullivan, and the memory of Charles Harvey Sullivan.
xi PREHISTORY–6th CENTURY. 1 Cosmological Landscapes 2 Ancient Gardens 4 Landscape and Architecture 6 Genius Loci 8 6th–15th CENTURIES. 15 Western Europe: Walled Minds, Walled Gardens 20 Moorish Spain: An Indelible Influence 28 China: Nature’s Splendor in a Garden 38 Japan: In the Spirit of Nature 46 15th CENTURY. 57 Japan: Muromachi Era 61 China: Ming Dynasty 65 Central Asia: Timurid Garden Cities 66 Italy: Curious Minds, Broadened Vistas 68 16th CENTURY.
75 Italy: The Rebirth of Rome 79 Renaissance Gardens in France and England 93 The Early Botanic Garden: An Encyclopedia of Plants 99 Early Mughal Gardens: Persian Art Forms Travel East 100 Japan: The Momoyama Era 101 17th CENTURY. 107 Japan: Edo Period 1 11 The Mughal Empire: Sacred Symmetries 119 Persian Gardens of Paradise 124 vii CONTENTS Italian Baroque Styles 127 The Flowering of the Dutch Landscape 133 English Gardens: A Restrained Mix of European Styles 134 French Classical Gardens: The Control of Nature 136 18th CENTURY 147 England: The Development of the Landscape Garden 1 51 The Landscape Garden in France 164 China: Qianlong’s Imprint 165 Early American Gardens: Homeland Traditions 171 19th CENTURY. 177 England: The Victorians and Their Plants 181 France: Republics and Empires 186 Landscape Architecture in America 189 20th CENTURY. 203 The Gilded Age: Extremes of Wealth and Poverty 207 The New Aesthetic of Modernism 21 1 Environmental Art: Nature as Medium 219 Artistic Trends in Landscape Design 220 Environmental and Ecological Design 222 Postmodern Landscapes 223 21st CENTURY.
23 1 A Sustainable Earth: Ten Ideas 232 Endnotes. 255 viii Acknowledgments T his work would not be possible without the significant contributions of Tim Mollette–Parks. His input was critical throughout the entire project. Tim provided invaluable assistance in visualizing a poetic format that married word and image, and offered insightful comments on the text.
His research on current work formed the basis of the final chapter. A residency at the MacDowell Colony was absolutely essential to our completion of the manuscript. We very much appreciated the opportunity to work without distraction in a truly creative and inspir- ing environment. Heartfelt thanks are due to professors Randy Hester, Joe McBride, and Marc Treib for their belief in our approach.
We are indebted to Marc for his comments on the Japanese garden sections. We thank, too, Elizabeth Byrne and her staff at the College of Environmental Design library, who helped direct us to important sources within the extraordinary collection. Elizabeth’s gratitude extends to Professor Heath Schenker, for first giving her the opportunity to teach landscape architecture history at the University of California, Davis; to Gerrie Robinson, whose commitment to teaching is admirable and whose moral support was constant; to her stu- dents, who enthusiastically embraced her approach to the subject; and to Pamela Cunningham, for expert wordsmithing. In addition, Elizabeth would like to acknowledge John Furlong, former director of the Radcliffe Seminars Landscape Design program, whose inspired teaching was instrumental in helping her discover her passion for landscape architecture.
Chip would like to thank the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, for nurturing a place for creative expression; his students, who encourage and enrich his visual experimentations; and James Natalie, who provided valuable assistance at a crucial juncture. Additionally, the Beatrix Farrand Research Fund provided impor- tant research support for this project. Chip is also extremely thankful to Bill Thomson for publishing his comic strips in Landscape Architecture magazine, which set the gears in motion for this work. Finally, he would like to thank all the original artists of Mad magazine, who opened the door to a drawing life.
ix Introduction T he constructed landscape embodies a vision of creative power. The gardens and landscapes of the past serve as an endless source of possibility and inspiration. Discovering how the ele- ments of nature have been recombined in different times and places intrigues us. Our purpose in assembling a visual reference of historic landscapes is to provide to the reader a useful guide that captures our exuberance for landscape design.
We examine landscape history as designers, and through the language of design, which is draw- ing. Plans, sections, elevations, and perspectives are all useful in communicating form and spatial relationships. To this vocabulary we’ve added sequential drawings, to capture the dynamic experience of space. As an art form, a designed landscape is a cultural product, representing the ideals and values of its creator, owner, or patron, and situated within a unique social, economic, and political environment.
Studying landscape history can inspire contemporary designers, and help them position their work in relationship to present circumstances. Precedents can be rejected or translated into current idi- oms. Our experience in leading summer study-abroad programs has taught us the value of firsthand experience of historic sites. Observation and analysis (accomplished through drawing) can inform the design process and elevate the quality of one’s work.
Our approach to the material outlined in this book is unique in its design focus, chronological orga- nization, and visual orientation. Presenting landscape history chronologically enables the reader to make cross-cultural connections and to understand how common themes may manifest themselves at different times, and to appreciate design trends that are truly unique. The idea for the graphic format originated with Chip’s “creative learning” comic series in Landscape Architecture magazine. Visual media dominates culture today.
Images transmit ideas. We hope the pen-and-ink illustra- tions in this book provide an overview of landscape history and encourage people to investigate the landscape through the act of drawing. The content of the book is organized by century. Each section begins with a pictograph—an idea-drawing that illustrates the important concepts of the time period—followed by an illustra- tive timeline of some significant events in world history.
These provide a broad context in which to examine specific works. Representative examples of gardens and designed landscapes are grouped according to geographic region. Spaces are portrayed through the use of storyboards, case stud- ies, and visual narratives. Sections conclude with summaries of design concepts, principles, and vocabularies, as well as lists of “neat stuff”—historic and contemporary works of art that illumi- nate a specific era.
The first and last chapters depart from this format and are designed as visual chronologies—embellished timelines organized thematically. Built landscapes tell stories; a picture is worth a thousand words. Our goal is to take the reader on a visual romp through the great garden spaces of the past. We hope our work inspires the reader to further explore the landscape and discover his or her own story.
xi PREHISTORY TO 6 th CENTURY E arly cultures attempted to re-create or express in their built landscapes the sacred meanings and spiritual significance of natural sites and phenomena. People altered the landscape to try to understand and/or honor the mysteries of nature. Early “landscape design” elaborated on humankind’s intuitive impulse to dig and to mound. Our ancestors constructed earthworks, raised stones, and marked the ground, leaving traces of basic shapes and axial alignments.
The purpose or function of many of these spaces is still conjecture. Cultural values shifted in later antiquity with the advent of philosophical systems based on a human being’s capacity for deductive reasoning. People looked for rational explanations for nature’s mysteries. The ancient Greeks respected nature as the sanctuary of the Gods, but equally valued the human domain.
Their focus on the role of the individual in relationship to the larger community fostered democratic ideals that were revealed in architecture, in urban form, and in the consideration of the landscape as a place of civic responsibility. The illustrative chronology presented in this chapter is organized thematically, as follows: • Cosmological Landscapes characterizes prehistoric earthworks and patterns. • Ancient Gardens describes early parks and villas. • Landscape and Architecture illustrates temple grounds, buildings, and important site plans.
• Genius Loci depicts sacred landscape spaces. 1 COSMOLOGICAL LANDSCAPES 3500 BCE c. 3200 BCE NEW GRANGE, IRELAND The circular passage tomb at New Grange is over 250 feet wide and contains three recessed chambers. On the winter solstice, the sun rises through a clerestory above the entryway, illuminating the central chamber.
A curbstone carved with triple-spiral motifs marks the entryway. 2950 BCE–1600 BCE STONEHENGE, ENGLAND Built by different groups of people at different times, this particular site on the Salisbury plain in southwest England evolved from an earthen embankment, to a wooden structure, to the stone circles we recognize to- day. A circular ditch and bank (or “henge”), about 330 2000 BCE feet in diameter, marked the first phase of construc- tion. Extant postholes within the circle indicate the position of a wooden structure from about 2600 BCE.
The standing stones date from subsequent centuries. All the shapes open to the northeast, framing sunrise on the summer solstice. Woodhenge, located about 2 miles from Stonehenge, was a timber circle of roughly the same diameter that marked a burial site dating from the Neolithic era. Sunrise on the summer solstice aligned with its entryway.
LEY LINES, ENGLAND Some people believe that Great Britain and continental Europe are marked with a network of straight lines that connect geographic features and sacred sites through underlying paths of energy within the earth. 2 COSMOLOGICAL LANDSCAPES SONGLINES, AUSTRALIA Indigenous creation myths relate how ancestral beings walked the continent singing the world into existence. Native peoples were believed to have used these songlines as way- finding mechanisms. Traditional paintings illustrate similar spiritual journeys.