DAYANANDA SAGAR SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

ODD SEMESTER: AUG-NOV 2017

09 ARC 7.7 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

NOTES

LECTURE 01:

INTRODUCTION TO LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

What do you mean by the word landscape?
• The dictionary meaning of landscape is inland scenery.
• Anything natural above the ground may be termed as landscape.
A simple example of landscape is a river or lake, rocks, vegetation, etc.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE IS A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY FIELD

What constitutes Landscape Architecture?

• Elements of Botany
• Horticulture
• Fine arts
• Architecture
• Industrial design
• Geology and the earth sciences
• Environmental psychology
• Geography
• Ecology

Landscape Architecture:
1. Natural Process:
a. Geology and Geomorphology
b. Climate
c. Soils
d. Hydrology
e. Vegetation
f. Ecology
g. Animals

2. Culture:
a. Historical and Cultural context
b. Landscape and Humans

What does a Landscape Architect do?

The activities of a landscape architect can range from:
• Creation of Public Parks and Parkways
• Site planning for campuses, corporate office parks
• Design of residential layouts
• Private home gardens
• Terrace gardens
• Management of large Country-sides, natural lands
• Reclamation of degraded landscapes such as mines, Ravines or landfills.
• Works with "Hardscape" (Built) and "Softscape" (Planting), while integrating ecological sustainability.
• Recreating historical landscapes, Historic Garden Appraisal and Conservation
• Storm water management including rain gardens, green roofs, groundwater recharge, and treatment
wetlands
• Parks, Botanical Gardens, Arboretums, Greenways, and Nature Preserves

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 • Recreation facilities; i.e. Playgrounds, Golf Courses, Theme Parks and Sports Facilities
• Highways, Transportation Structures, Bridges, And Transit Corridors
• Urban design, Town and City Squares, Waterfronts, Pedestrian Schemes, and Parking Lots
• Reservoirs, Dams, Power Stations, Reclamation Of Extractive Industry Applications or major industrial projects
and mitigation
• Storm water management including rain gardens, green roofs, groundwater recharge, and treatment
wetlands
• Parks, Botanical Gardens, Arboretums, Greenways, and Nature Preserves
• Recreation facilities; i.e. Playgrounds, Golf Courses, Theme Parks and Sports Facilities
• Highways, Transportation Structures, Bridges, And Transit Corridors
• Urban design, Town and City Squares, Waterfronts, Pedestrian Schemes, and Parking Lots
• Reservoirs, Dams, Power Stations, Reclamation Of Extractive Industry Applications or major industrial projects
and mitigation

WHAT IS LANDSCAPE DESIGN

Landscape design helps us to make the best use of our environment. A landscape that is truly functional is one
that provides for breadth of use and human involvement, rather than narrow exploitation or segregation
Planting Design (Softscape)
Planting design is an essential element in making and managing this kind of people-place.
• Liveliness, Complexity, Subtlety, Resilience, Flexibility and sustainability: All of these can be achieved by
Intelligent Planting.
• Planting design helps us to restore and maintain a sustainable relationship between people and their
environment
• It also offers aesthetic delights. Its aesthetic impact can be Thought-provoking, Soothing, Exciting and so on.
• The senses: Sights, Scents and Sensations of plants, even the Sound made by wind and rain in leaves and
branches – all these add to the quality of daily life.

ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPE

• Architecture and Landscape has a co-relation to each other, both are complimentary to each other.
• Landscape apart from serving its basic architectural needs, also caters to psychological needs.
• Because of environmental degradation, Landscape design is getting more and more importance today.

What is the need for landscaping?

• Humanizing the atmosphere.
• To impart scale to the resultant environment.
• Function-Provide shade and shadow
• Aesthetically pleasing.
• Color contrast with respect to built mass.
• Textural Contrast.
• Absorbs noise ,dust,pollutants,vibrations,CO2.
• Conservation.
• Ecology- To evolve a balanced ecosystem in the long run.

LANDSCAPING INVOLVES TWO ELEMENTS:

Design elements: Process of Design/ Concept/ Design Philosophies

• Form
• Functional
• Aesthetical
• Scale
• Texture
• Massing
• Space

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Landscape elements -Resources and Technology
• Land
• Water
• Botanical
• Circulation
• Construction
• Recreational

HOW DOES LANDSCAPE DESIGN AND PLANNING WORK?

First stage of a project:
• Generate ideas with technical understanding
• Creative flair for the design
• Organization and use of spaces
Second stage of a project:
• Conceive the overall concept
• Prepare the master plan
• Co-ordination with services and structures
Third stage of a project:
• Prepare Detailed design drawings and technical specifications
• Review proposals to authorize and supervise contracts for the construction work.
Other skills include:
• Preparing design impact assessments
• Conducting environmental assessments and audits
• Serve as an expert witness at inquiries on land use issues
• Support and prepare applications for capital and revenue funding grants

FACTORS THAT DETERMINE A LANDSCAPE DESIGN:

Natural factors
• Geological base-soil
• Climate-hot and dry
- hot and humid
- upland cool
• Climatology-rainfall, temperature, humidity, wind direction
• Topography-terrain
• Natural vegetation-existing flora.

Artificial factors
• Skyline- Skyscape
• Civil Engineering works-Structures
• Existing Open Spaces
• Roads, Streets, Parking, Circulation
• Contours and Gradient
• Existing Focal Points

LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS
Elements of Landscape design:
• Conceptualization and theme
• Design requirements (Clients, Architects, Climate etc)
• Design and Planning
• Planting strategy
• Water features (Fountains, lakes, ponds etc)
• Civil Works (Hardscape)
• Structural loading (For gardens on terraces, podiums, slabs etc)
• Services and drainage

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• Irrigation
• Landscape Lighting

Softscape
Botanical features: Plant Materials and their Maintenance. Planting Classification
• Trees
• Shrubs
• Herbs
• Groundcovers
• Climbers and creepers
• Bamboo and Grasses
• Bulbous plants
• Palms
• Ferns and Moss
• Cacti and Succulents

Hardscape
• Circulation elements: Roads,street,pathway,parking area, meandering path,walkway,paved plaza.
• Construction elements: Fences, retaining walls, park furniture, plant containers, light fixtures.
• Recreational elements: Swimming pool, fishing piers, boating docks, children parks, outdoor games.
• Water Features , Swimming Pools , Pond, Lake, Fountain, Cascades, Falls, Streams, Paving , Pergolas and
pavilions , Murals, Feature Walls , Gazebos , Sculptures , Outdoor Furniture , Planters , Screens , Compound
Wall , Mounds and Berms

Other elements
• Statues, sculptures, monuments, symbolic elements.

LECTURE 02

HISTORY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

History of Landscape Architecture can be traced to civilizations which had high productivity and could afford
for spaces to spend in leisure.
• Hebrew word for ‘GAN EDEN’ which means Garden of Eden
• Gan : Protect or defend and Eden: Pleasure or delight
• Garden in Contemporary English: Enclosure of a land for pleasure and delight

BABYLON : HANGING GARDENS

• Around 3500 BC in Euphrates valley, Gardens were made for pleasure using irrigation channels and ponds
for aesthetic reasons and for climatic reasons (Use of water in Hot climate)
• Occupied 4 acres and to have risen in a series of planted and irrigated roof terraces to a height of 91.5m
• Views of the river valley and surrounding desert could be seen
• Ancient ruins can be traced to present day Iraq

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EGYPT: GARDEN AT THEBES
• In Nile Valley, religious and symbolic significance were associated with lotus, papyrus and date palm and
were used as ornamentation.
• Rich built residences and walled gardens.
• A garden at Thebes consists of a rectangular and axial arrangements of flowerbeds, ponds, enclosures and
a vine trellis.
• Fruits trees were planted for shade.
• The gardens were surrounded by high walls with irrigation channels and garden pavillions

PERSIA
• In 500 BC, Kings of Persia built lavish formal gardens for delight, representing joy, health, love and luxury
• A typical palace garden would consist of irrigation channels running across the area.
• It was surrounded by high lookout towers and walls
• It consisted of fruit trees and scented flowers including roses and violets cultivated around the water
channels arising out of a central fountain.
• This was symbolic of the cosmic cross or four branches of a river rising in Eden.

SPAIN : ALHAMBRA GARDEN, GRANADA

• Islamic garden concept travelled from Middle-East through north African Moors and reached Spain in 13th
Century.
• Courtyard design, use of water, open pavilions to permit free flow of air, water as a cooling agent are
specific to Spanish gardens
• Earliest example of Moorish Gardens is Gardens of Alhambra at Granada, Spain
• Alhambra was a fortified palace built on high ground. The outside was hostile, hot and dusty while the
fortifications allowed the inside to ne shaded, cool as it was protected by thick walls
• Windows also allowed breeze to blow in along with providing view to the outside.
• Channels of water ran in courtyards and sometimes through the buildings lowering the temperatures along
with sound

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GREEK AND ROMAN GARDENS
• A typical Greek House would consist of living rooms facing the inner court with statues and plants in pots
• But the social places such as agora, gymnasiums, theatres and sacred grooves were large scale
landscaped areas
• Palaces were said to have elaborate gardens inspired by Persian and Egyptian gardens.
• A Roman garden were created along the lines of Greek ones. It consisted of social sanctuaries, enclosed
shelters. Since porticos gave shelter, trees were not needed
• Planting was in pots and had stone water basins and small statues

ITALIAN GARDENS
• During Renaissance, Garden design was as important as fine arts. They acted as places resembling the
countryside.
• Some of the famous examples include: Villa Medici, Villa d’estate, Belvedre garden of the Vatican etc.
• Italian gardens mainly used the terrain of the land and designing garden in terraces, houses were
connected to garden through archades or loggia
• The is extensive use of water, use of avenues of tall cypresses, cascades of water, fountains, use of
sculptures, axial arrangement of spaces and use of stairs and steps.

FRENCH GARDENS
• In 17th century, France was at its peak in wealth and power and the gardens displayed the same.
• Parterres are formal garden constructed on a level surface, consisting of planting beds, typically in
symmetrical patterns, separated and connected by gravel pathways.
• Climate and the topography played an important role. Northern French gardens looked a cleared forest
lands while other looked like Italian gardens with difference.
• Use of still water was preferred, strong axial layout, symmetry, mathematical proportions and infinite
perspective was few elements.
• Some examples include garden of versailles, Vaux-Le-Vicomte designed by Landscape designer Andre Le
Notre.

ENGLISH GARDENS
• They were influenced by French gardens. They superimposed the rigid French gardens on the rolling
undulating natural landscapes of England.

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 • Slowly the Parterre and terraces of the formal gardens were replaced by the rolling grasslands, clumps of
trees, lakes, meandering rivers and serpentine drives,
• They avoided visual breaks between garden n landscapes by providing sunken fence.
• A natural cascade and serpentine stream was preferred.
• Some of the famous designers in this stle were William Kent, Lancelot Brown, Humphry Repton

CENTRAL PARK
• Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux developed a design for already existing land to provide a park to
the New York city.
• It contains several natural-looking lakes and ponds that have been created artificially.
• Walking tracks, bridle paths, two ice-skating rinks also are included.
• A Central Park Zoo, Central Park Conservatory Garden, a wildlife sanctuary, a large area of natural woods,
an reservoir with an encircling running track are located in the park. An outdoor amphitheater, the
Delacorte Theater hosts many events.
• There are seven major lawns, the "meadows", and many minor grassy areas; some of them are used for
informal or team sports and some set aside as quiet areas; there are a number of enclosed playgrounds for
children.

JAPANESE GARDENS
• Gardens were influenced mainly by Zen, Buddhism, Taoism and Shintoism.
• All of the gardens are representations of nature, to express ideas of heaven.
• The Buddhist influence makes the garden a quiet place, allowing people to look back and reflect upon
themselves, or meditate.
• Use of Bonsai trees.
• The essential elements to a Japanese garden--water, garden plants, stones, lanterns, fences, waterfalls,
trees, wood, sand and bridges.
• It features gently sloped hills, low sculptured bushes, carefully placed rocks,
• Stepping stones, no hard lines and abrupt angles to create an atmosphere of stillness and repose.

MUGHAL GARDENS
• The Islamic notion of paradise included water channels, paths, borders, shade, flowers and fruit trees and
originated from Persia
• It was an enclosed garden, shutting out the harshness of the surrounding landscape.

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 • Gardens finally had a tomb or mosque as its focal point
• There were no representational sculptures.
• Shade was provided by canopies and pavilions.
• ChaharBagh or FOUR SQUARE GARDENS with Fractal geometry has been a key utility, especially for mosques
and palaces.
• Examples included Nishat Bagh at Srinagar, Shalimar Garden , Pinjore garden in Punjab etc

CHINESE GARDEN
• The Chinese (Scholar's) Garden is a place for solitary or social contemplation of nature.
• To be considered authentic, a garden must be built and planned around seventeen essential elements.
• The design of Chinese gardens was to provide a spiritual utopia for one to connect with nature, to come
back to one's inner heart, to come back to ancient idealism.
• They used plants as symbols.
• Bamboo was used in every traditional Chinese garden.
• This is because bamboo represents a strong but resilient character.
• It often used "borrowed" scenery; where unexpected views of scenery outside the garden, such as
mountain peaks, seemed to be an extension of the garden itself.

NEO NUSANTARA/ MALAYSIAN GARDEN

• Malaysian Garden (Neo Nusantara) is its outdoor living designs concept, which is based primarily on
Malaysian culture and craft.
• Tropical garden concept which is rich in cultures and diverse traditions for your garden for home.
• It is a sanctuary and a place where you can rejuvenate your sense of sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste.

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