Transforming the area into a public arena for scientific exploration:

Charles Jencks
T he Statement
“To see the world in a Grain of Sand, the poetic insight of William Blake, is to
find relationships between the big and small, science and spirituality, the
universe and the landscape.
This cosmic setting provides the narrative for my content-driven work, the
writing and design. I explore metaphors that underlie both growing nature and
the laws of nature, parallels that root us personally in the cosmos as firmly as a
plant, even while our mind escapes this home”

Charles Jencks is a master at designing whimsical, intriguing outdoor spaces

that hold a much deeper meaning than just an interesting view
T he Introduction
An Architecture Theorist & Critic, Landscape Architect & Designer
o Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Jencks spent his childhood in New England.
oBachelor of Arts degree in English literature at Harvard University in 1961
oMaster of Arts degree in architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in
1965.
oPh.D. in Architectural History.
oStudied under architectural historians Sigfried Giedon & Rayner Banham.
oAn American, Scotland based eminent.
oSpousal: Maggie Keswick Jencks, an eminent scientist.
oSynonymous with his writings on postmodernism in architecture.
oDiscusses the paradigm shift from modern to postmodern architecture.
oModern architecture concentrates on univalent forms such as right angles and square
buildings often resembling office buildings.
oPostmodern architecture focuses on forms derived from the mind, body, city context,
and nature.
T he Introduction
o With his late wife, Maggie Keswick Jencks, he was the co-founder of Maggie's Cancer
Caring Centres.
oJencks argues that postmodernism is a critical reaction to modernism that comes from
within modernism itself: Critical Modernism - Where is Post-Modernism Going?
oThe Iconic Building: reason that our culture seeks the "iconic building" is because it has
the possibility of reversing the economic trend of a flagging “conurbation”.
oHe says that “enigmatic signifiers” can be used in an effective way to support the
deeper meaning of the building.
o Has lectured at over forty universities throughout the globe.
T he Intentions and Ideologies
Jencks' goal was to celebrate nature, but he also incorporated
elements from the modern sciences into the design.
o Jencks believes that contemporary science is potentially a great moving force for
creativity, because it tells us the truth about the way the universe is and shows us the
patterns of beauty.
oHis many landforms are based on the idea that land forming is a radical hybrid activity
combining gardens, landscape, urbanism, architecture, sculpture, and epigraphy.
oLandforms often include enigmatic writing and complex symbolism.
oHis landscape work is inspired by fractals, genetics, chaos theory, waves
and solitons.
oBoth Charles Jencks and Maggie also believed that the design of a building and its
environment can have a positive impact on health and experience.
oHe felt it was important to commission inspirational architecture that is sympathetic to
the needs of the people who will use the buildings.
oCreate spaces that are both uplifting and protective.
 IUCAA, Pune

Charles Jencks, Peter Higgs,

Rolf Heuer in the
garden of cosmic speculation. Tea & Coffee Piazza, 1983
T
he Projects
T he Thematic House
London: 1979-84
Charles Jencks' townhouse embraces postmodernism, kitsch and
theory of "cosmic time“
&
Semiology
T he Thematic House
London: 1979-84, An Alteration to 1840 House
"A sign to me is a one-liner, a symbol is very complex and my
house is a series of symbols."
o Everything outside and in has a symbolic meaning.

oThe buildings all have sympathetic and sensitive interiors.

oDid more than a 1,000 drawings in the process.
o Windows and doors are abstracted human forms.

oThe rear windows can be read as a man, a woman, a dog and the sun and moon.
oThe house is entered through a "Cosmic Oval" a hall panelled with mirrored doors over
which images of many of the subsequent recurring themes of the house are stencilled.
oThe two principal ideas expressed in the house are cosmic time (the seasons, passage
of the moon and the sun) and cultural time (the creating and passing of civilisations).
oThe ground floor is organised around a central spiral staircase and from each room at
least three others are visible, emphasising the cycle of seasons.

oThe "winter" room is dark, "spring" room is in gentle cream, Adjacent is the "sundial
arcade", a stepped-down window seat that overlooks the garden, The "summer" room is
in a gloriously sunny yellow, The seasons are completed with "autumn", a room decorated
in burnt red.
oThe "solar" staircase, which leads to Jencks's office and bedroom are an abstract
representation of the solar year.
oIt is minimalist with maximalist stuff.
T he Cells of Life
Jupiter Art land, Kirknewton, Scotland : 2003-2010
T he Cells of Life
Jupiter Art land, Kirknewton, Scotland : 2003-2010
o A private sculptural park featuring a magical collection of outdoor land art and more.
oNicky and Robert Wilson created Jupiter Artland on the grounds of their 80 acre home, Bonnington
House in West Lothian. It is what they call, "their life's work."
oThe marvels they feature include a Charles Jencks earth sculpture called Life Mounds.

oEight landforms and a connecting causeway surround four lakes and a flat parterre
for sculpture exhibits.
oThe theme is the life of the cell, cells as the basic units of life, and the way one cell
divides into two in stages called mitosis (presented in a red sandstone rill).
oCurving concrete seats have cell models surrounded by Liesegang rocks.
oTheir red iron concentric circles bear an uncanny relationship to the many organelles
inside the units of life.
oFrom above, the layout presents their early division into membranes and nuclei, a
landform celebration of the cell as the basis of life."
T he Garden of Cosmic Speculation
Dumfries, Scotland: 1989+
T he Garden of Cosmic Speculation
Dumfries, Scotland: 1989+
oForty major areas, gardens, bridges, landforms, sculptures, terraces, fences & arch work
oThe garden uses Nature to celebrate Nature, both intellectually and through senses:
Including sense of humor.
oA water cascade of steps recounts the story of the universe.
oA terrace shows the “distortion of space & time caused by a “Black Hole”.
oA “Quark Walk” takes the visitor on a journey to the smallest building blocks of matter,
oA series of landforms and lakes recall fractal geometry.
T he Fife Earth landform
St Ninians surface mine :Scotland
oScottish Diaspora – the migration of
Scottish people around the world.

oThe plan shows the story of

immigration, emigration and influence.
oTwo representations of Scotland –
one is made by cutting the shape of
Scotland to create a water feature and
the other is a small Scotland-shaped
island in the middle of water.

oJencks has designed walkways from

one continent to the next.
oThe places where the Scots also had a
strong influence, Japan, India, China
and Africa are also illustrated through
symbols on the remaining mounds.
T he Cosmic Rings of CERN
Geneva, Switzerland: 2008+
T he Cosmic Rings of CERN
Geneva, Switzerland: 2008+
oGreen oasis and underground building for CERN.
oSurrounds the Globe and protects it from high speed traffic to its south, providing buffer.
oCircular walk of mounds around periphery based on Cosmic Uroburos.
oDepicts the units of the universe from minutest to the whole.
oRings relates to the 27 KM underground accelerator.
oSecond set of symbols represent the everyday collision of the accelerator of the striking
icon.
“A new EYECONOLOGY”
T he Star of Caledonia
“The Star of Caledonia is a Welcome; its kinetic form
and light paths a constant trace of Scotland's power
of invention.”
The Star of Caledonia is Cecil Balmond’s
response to the “The Great Unknown”. It is a
project of form and landscape, and is the result
of a fully integrated collaborative effort
between Cecil Balmond and Charles Jencks.
T
he Metaphysical Landscapes
T
he Metaphysical Landscapes
G racious