UNIT-5: Landscaping of Functional Areas

 Landscaping for various types of Housing Areas,

 Landscape Design for Waterfront Areas & Functional Areas in Urban Centers ,
 Principles of Urban Landscape
 Urban Design & Architectural control.

Landscaping for various types of Housing Areas

Soft Landscape
a. The integral aspect of unifying any given housing layout by ways of texture
similarity or color, size or type of foliage.
b. An identity is instantly formed & relative aspects are bound to enhance the
essence of the dwelling
c. An attempt in large scale is Chandigarh, where the entire city has specific
tree type regulations to define motor ways, similar colors to unify the
residential layouts and green burns for shopping & commercial spaces.
d. E.g. being Garden City N.Y where the landscape defines the area.
e. The visual continuity maintained by restrictions on the height of the hedges.
Applying the Principles of Art to Landscape Design
Form & Mass
a. The mature landscape should be in scale with its surroundings.
b. Plants give the garden form, so mass plantings will be more effective that
mixed groupings.
c. A planting of the same variety will look much better than a mixed planting as
the garden matures since the plants will have grown together to look like one
large specimen plant.

Line
a. Graceful & irregular curves are more interesting that straight lines & sharp
angles.
Color & Harmony
a. Choose colors & varying leaf textures that go well together.
b. Color schemes should be harmonious & compliment each other and any
existing architecture.
Form & Mass
a. Everything should go together.
b. The garden should enhance the home architecture & the community.
c. Simplicity is desirous, but often difficult to achieve.
Form & Mass
a. Place light colors against dark ones for emphasis.
b. Include plenty of white & neutral colors to blend or provide transitions.
c. For gardens with colorful shrubs, it is wise to allow the other plants to be
white or other soft tones to allow the eye to have a visual retreat form the
more intense colors.
d. In addition to white, pale pinks & yellows are good blending colors.
e. The use of soft blue as can be seen in the native wildflower, Phlox divaricata
is seen below.

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Balance & Repetition
a. Informal, asymmetrical balance is preferred to symmetry since formal
designs with shrubs become a liability over time.
b. A large planting on one side of the yard can be balance with a small but
similar grouping on the other.
c. Repeat colors & forms.

Waterfront Development
a. People are inherently drawn to water, hence the importance of Waterfront
Development.
b. Great Waterfront Development
Sydney Australia Opera house located on the water with boats in the
harbor & the sun setting in the background Waterfronts provide an excellent
opportunity place live, enjoy art, recreate, shop or relax by the water.
c. Waterfront areas provide multiuse activities; improve social interaction & a
sense of community.

Ingredients for successful Waterfront Development

“It has become apparent that urban water fronts, whether natural or artificial,
are now prime pieces of real estate essential ingredients in forming a community
image, valuable stages for architectural display & great places for public recreation”

Basic Human Needs

1. Safety, lighting & clear sight lines
2. Rest rooms
3. Water & Food: drinking fountains, food vendors at mealtimes & weekends
4. Seating: views, peoples watching, sense of safety, moveable seating & tables
5. Trash receptacles
6. Views emphasizing waterfront form all vantage points
7. Signage: way-finding/interpretive/educational
8. All season use preferable
9. Access, Transportation to park/with park
10. Parking structure preferable to parking lot saves space, central location, and
low maintenance. Separate access for people & automobiles.

Recreation Opportunities
1. Play fields
2. Playgrounds
3. Multipurpose lawns
4. Interactive water feature
5. Athletic space
6. Concert space
7. Skateboard Park
8. Picnic

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 9. Food vendors
10. Views
11. Public gardens
12. Fishing pier
13. Swimming/Wading pools
14. Interactive water features (i.e. fountains)
15. Performance/events space

Paths & Promenades

1. Separate trails for wheels and legs
2. Connect to existing community pathways
3. Sense of security
4. Sense of Place/Uniqueness
5. Environmental preservation/conservation
6. Historical preservation/emphasis/celebration
7. Place making details: ground, vertical. Etc.
8. Interesting art & architecture
9. Catering to all senses : see, hear, touch, smell, taste

Principles of Urban Landscape

Essentials
a) Public space & Public life go hand in hand.
b) They are shaped & modified by one another.
c) Without the Public space there would be no public life & without the Public
life the space would be worthless.
d) The streets, squares & parks give a city the flow of human exchange.
e) Urban Landscape designs needs to be created by the study of the people that
would use them.
List of Factors for a Successful Urban Landscape Design
Function
a) Through history, communities have developed public spaces that met their
needs, whether these were markets, places for sacred celebrations, or sites
for local rituals.
b) Public spaces often come to symbolize the community, society or culture.
c) Specific places acquire meaning through their functions, further deepening
their roles in people’s lives.

Basic Active functions for Urban Landscape

o Concerts
o Farmer’s markets
o Political rallies
o Art shows
o Drama performances

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 o Town meetings
o Festivals
o Auctions
Basic Passive functions for Urban Landscape
o Sitting
o Reading
o People watching
o Eating
o Sleeping
o Walking
o Relaxing

Character
a) Every Urban Setting has unique features that make it like no other place.
b) Historical artifacts, information & educational markers, landmarks & artwork
express the unique characteristics exclusive to that place alone.
c) Authentic places derive character & meaning form local history, local materials,
local climate & local culture.
d) Authentic Urban Landscape never deceive the user about where they are
e) Artifacts: Memorials & Historic markers lend particular significance to a space
f) Information & Education: Readily available facts, form history & neighboring
buildings, to the whereabouts or restrooms or the types of trees
overhead & plants, underfoot, ensure that places are easy to use.
g) Landmarks: Serve as meeting places or directional indicators within the urban
framework.
h) Art: Whether steeped in social commentary or as expression of beauty,
approachable public art lends solemnity, joy, wonder, or to debate to
any space.
Ideal Layout
a) Urban Landscape need clear boundaries that create limits & include
attributes that make them unique & give them focus.
b) Spaces need to be enclosed, provide a sense of arrival, have scale
appropriate to the environment, and have character enhanced with
stairways, vantage points, and repeating patterns-all while being flexible
enough to allow a variety of functions to occur within.
c) Portals: Create a sense of arrival when entering a plaza
d) Enclosures: Buildings, landforms, landscape & water bodies define space &
create boundaries.
e) Vistas: People like to be able to examine their surroundings in order to feel
comfortable with where they are
f) Scale: Create a scale that doesn’t overwhelm people.
g) Flexibility: Keep the center area open; multi-use areas without fixed features
near the middle allow them to function like outdoor conference rooms.
h) Patterns: The repetitious patterns in paving, in the landscape & buildings
create soothing visual frames.

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Sitting Space
a) A successful plaza design provides ample seating.
b) Seating allows users to rest, converse & observe the world.
c) Movable chairs or benches are best as they allow people to assemble seating
groups as needed.
d) Ideally, sitting should be physically comfortable; benches with back rests &
well-contoured chairs make this feasible.
e) It is a just as important: that the seating be socially comfortable.
f) Gives a choice of seating: sitting up front, in back to the side, in the sun, in
the shade, in group, and off alone.
g) Other design factors to consider in Urban Plazas
h) One linear foot of seating space for every 30 Sq.ft of plaza.
i) For the benefit of the handicapped, 5% of seating spaces should have
backrests.
j) Seating should have a minimum depth of 16”.
k) Seating with backrests at lest 12” high, should have minimum depth of 14”
l) Picnic, play & games areas need to have tables or furniture that can be used
by people in wheelchairs.

Environmental Factors
Sun
o Development should provide southern exposure where possible & maximum
sunlight in primary space.
o Where there is shade, people will sit where there isn’t a person wont.
Wind
o The absence of winds & drafts are just as important to people as sun.
o Wood or glass canopies, pavilions, semi outdoor spaces can be used in all but
the worst weather.
Shade
o Trees should be planted in groves & should be combined with sitting spaces.
o If trees are planted close together, the overlapping foliage can provide a
shade & sunlight that can be very pleasing.
o Other features may be implemented to replace the canopy of a tree.
Other design factors of trees:
o For Urban Plazas of 1500 sq.ft or more in area – 4 trees are required.
o For Urban Plazas of 5000 sq.ft or more in area – 6 trees are required.
o For Urban Plazas of 12000 sq.ft or more in area – 1 trees are required every
2000 sq.ft

Access & Circulation

a) Well-designed plazas, especially those intended for public use,
accommodate everyone.

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 b) All of us in our lifetime, form strollers, crutchers, canesm to walkers &
wheelchairs are at a disadvantage to some degree in terms of mobility or
congnizance.
c) Public agencies & physical planners have come to recognize the needs &
possibilities & have taken positive action.
d) Most of building codes & regulations in corporate requirements designed to
make life safer, more comfortable, & more convenient.
Major Design Factors to consider for a successful plaza design:
a) A minimum clear width of walk space must be 36”
b) Accessible routes of circulation should allow a disabled person to arrive at &
enter, an open space form a public transportation stop or form an accessible
parking area or passenger loading zone.
c) Where route crosses a curb, a curb ramp must be provided with a slope that
is not steeper than a 1’ rise in 12’, unless a steeper ramp is unavoidable
because of space limitations.
d) The route of circulation ought to be free of obstruction objects that might
reduce the maneuvering space for persons in wheelchairs.
Food
a) Food attracts people, who attract more people.
b) The smell of food creates an inviting atmosphere for pedestrians walking by
food allows for conversation.
c) Common ways of providing food in a Plaza:
o Buildings that border the plaza provide small outdoor cafes.
o Food venders with umbrella carts.
o A basic snack bar strategically placed to not only attract the people in
the plaza but also attract

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