ADVANCED LANDSCAPE DESIGN

SASAKI ASSOCIATES | KISHORE PRADHAN

INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECT:-

SASAKI ASSOCIATES

Hideo Sasaki, an American landscape architect whose firm operates under his own name Sasaki
Associates. He has led the firm in developing many noted commercial areas and corporate parks.

PHILOSOPHY
Sasaki helped to modernize the concepts of Landscape
Architecture.

● He created a practical approach to designing a

landscape.
● In his works, several characteristics are taken into
account, such as the historical, cultural,
environmental, and social use of the land.
● Sasaki became famous for developing this concept of
interdisciplinary planning. In all of the sites that he
developed, a balance is implemented into the design.
One aspect that Sasaki Associates pays particular
attention to is the environmental aspect of the land.
● They have taken part in creating several "green
designs." These designs are created to enhance or
maintain the health of the environment.

“The firm also designed college campuses that fit the geology of their sites, mounding the land
around Foothill College in Los Altos, Calif., to echo the foothills for which it is named and expanding
the campus of the University of Colorado with bold modern architecture that blended with the
smaller Italianate buildings of the school's early days”

''As a planner he understood demographics; he knew colleges were going to grow and that people
would be moving out of the city,'' said Gary Hildebrand, an associate professor of landscape

It was a unique moment in time, a "coalescing of different forces and ideas," Sasaki recalled.

There was pent-up demand for revitalization and new construction after World War II. The
environmental movement was gaining strength.

New tools, such as aerial photo interpretation, computer graphics, and computer modeling, were
being developed. A focus on research and regional planning opened up new opportunities for
collaboration.
His project XUHUI RUNWAY PARK will be discussed below.
LOCATION: SHANGHAI, CHINA

CLIENT: SHANGHAI XUHUI WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT CONSTRUCTION CO. LTD.

SIZE: 14.63 HECTARES

SERVICES: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

BRIEF: Xuhui Runway Park is an innovative urban revitalization project that traces the history of the
urban development of Shanghai.

Formerly a runway for Longhua Airport, the park's design scheme mimics the motion of a
runway, creating diverse linear spaces for vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians by organizing
the park and the street into one integrated runway system. While all the spaces are linear in
shape, diverse spatial experiences are created by applying different materials, scales, topography,
and programs.

GOAL: It intends
to remain the
runway of
modern life.
Image source:
Archdaily

Old vs New

Rain garden
(image right)

Conceptual design of the entire park-

Image below
 5760 sq. m Rain garden
(above)

Landscape Design :
takes into account
many ecological factors
as shown below in the
diagram

Surface runoff from

both the street and
park are collected and
treated in rain gardens

-Portions of treated
runoff serves as stored
water for later use and
for supply to the Water Fountain.

USERS: The park is diverse and all age groups are included. Universally accessible
-Active lifestyles can be found in multiple forms of runways, such as the bike and pedestrian
runways through the park, a runway playground, a runway fountain, and the multipurpose lawn with
a capacity for holding 3,500-people events or 5 soccer games in five-a-side size fields.

-Cultural events and performances can be accommodated at the sunken garden with a maximum of
900 audiences, and various restaurant and public service facilities scattered throughout the park are
designed to allow for small social gatherings like office parties, serving the developments around.

- Private conversations and reflection can take place at multiple gardens, riverfront overlooks, and
the birdwatching grove, which offers a respite from busy urban life.

Heritage Values: Abundant wildlife habitats are integrated with landscape programs, with 100% of
plant species native to the Yangtze River Delta. These habitats include both land and marine
typologies.

The birdwatching grove, butterfly garden, fragrance garden, and various garden types define the
land, while the wetland edge, bioengineered riparian edge, and floating wetland module make up
the marine forms.

Over 68% of the hardscape is shaded by deciduous trees, providing outdoor comfort while reducing
the heat island effect at this post-industrial site.

LANDSCAPE FEATURES:

HARDSCAPE:Most construction materials were sourced locally and environmentally friendly to

reduce emission during transportation, protect rainforests, and support the local economy.

For example, fused bamboo lumber was used as a sustainable substitute of tropical hardwood on
benches, boardwalks, and riverfront overlooks, due to its fast-growing nature, comparable strength,
and longevity in outdoors environments.

Lighting poles recall the illumination of the

Airport.
-Light poles that recall the wings of the airport
 Linear spaces of diverse scales,
materials, typography, and
programs compose an
interconnected sequence of
runways for vehicles, bicycles,
pedestrians, and water, a runway
of modern life, to reflect the site’s
previous history

Spaces inside the park are

demarcated- Limiting the number
of vehicular travel lanes and
promoting public transit over
personal cars.

-six rows of deciduous trees are

planted along the sidewalks,
bicycle lanes, and road median,
creating a comfortable
microclimate, seasonal effects, and
a human-scaled boulevard.

- A sunken garden

-All site lighting is LED sourced,

reducing annual electricity use by
167,000 kilowatts compared with metal-halide lighting.

-The profile of the site furniture is designed to recall the elements of the aircraft.

-The design team identified a row of 3.6-meter (11-feet and 10-inch) wide structurally-sound runway
panels to serve as the main pedestrian path of the park, with its original direction markings
preserved.The demolished concrete pieces are reused in a randomized paving pattern next to the
main pedestrian path for people to rest on and seek shelter from the sun.

Preservation and conservation of the runway pieces saved construction costs as well as greenhouse
gas emissions from manufacturing new concrete.

Softscape:

-4 rows of Sapindus mukorossi and 2 rows of Ginkgo biloba shade the boulevard, creating
human-scaled spaces, seasonal effects, and a pleasant driving, riding, and walking experience

-A total of 82 plant species, including 2,227 trees, are planted on site, with Trident Maple as the
character tree species along the preserved runway to complement its unique history.
- A total of 82 plant species, including 2,227 trees, are planted on site, with Trident Maple as
the character tree species along the preserved runway to complement its unique history.

CONCLUSION:Sasaki utilized a wide range of talents, regularly giving credit to

others. Projects showing Sasaki’s propensity for collaboration included Sea Pines
Plantation on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, for the developer Charles Fraser
in 1958; Upjohn Corporation World Headquarters in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with
SOM from 1957 to 1961; Deere and Company Headquarters with architects Eero
Saarinen and Associates in 1963; and projects in New England and elsewhere with
architects Pietro Belluschi, J.L. Sert, I.M. Pei, Paul Rudolph, and Edward Larrabee
Barnes - leading figures in the Modernist movement.

UNDERSTANDING HIDEO SASAKI’S WORK:

● Sasaki changed how work was done in this field after he joined. Sasaki's team built
some of America's first corporate parks, as companies like Upjohn and John Deere
moved their headquarters from city to country. As whole neighborhoods were
demolished in the urban renewal fever of the 1960's -- a movement much criticized
now for erasing cultural history.
● The designs played with earth shapes, using hard materials, and juxtaposed what
Sasaki called biomorphic shapes against geometric ones, celebratory yet modern.
● ''As a planner he understood demographics; he knew colleges were going to grow and
that people would be moving out of the city,'' said Gary Hildebrand, an associate
professor of landscape architecture at Harvard. He organised his firm to match the
corporate culture and had an efficient outcome.
● Projects included Urban renewal, revitalization etc
● He called for the need for more contemporary design while landscape architecture
was still stuck with beaux-arts. He had no particular aesthetic but instead understood”
human needs and natural forces that were working on landscape”

● In the Xuihui Runway Park- This site traces the record of urban development in
Shanghai. It transcends time and space, bringing a piece of the memorable past
to the present and into the modern comfort of urban public spaces. He was
devoted to building spaces for the public and for a better environment.

Image 1:MMC Plaza (formally International Paper Plaza) - Photo by

Charles Birnbaum, 2012 (Left)

Image 2: Lehigh University Bridge West Student

housing (left bottom)

Image 3: Chicago riverwalk ( right)

Image 4: Dell Medical district Landscape (centre

below)
INDIAN ARCHITECT:
KISHORE PRADHAN
Renowned and senior architect, credited to be one
of the pillars of Indian landscape architecture.

He studied in France and during his time there he

was greatly inspired by French culture. Apart from
his professional work, he's on the advisory board of
various committees and institutes and also gives
many lectures and as a jury member in many
institutions.

PHILOSOPHY:
His practice is known for its astute approach to each
project irrespective of it’s scale. Their projects are not only about the beautification and aesthetics as
well as the efficiency as well as functionality. They’ve mostly done commercial projects.

The Leela Palace, Bangalore

CLIENT: M/S LEELAVENTURE LTD.

LOCATION: KODIALLI, BANGALORE

PROJECT AREA: 6 ACRES

COMPLETION: 2001

TYPE: HOSPITALITY

ARCHITECTS: WATG, USA AND THOMAS AND

ASSOCIATES, BANGALORE

PROJECT IN BRIEF:
The Leela palace is inspired from the Mysore Palace. It has landscaped open spaces.

The property is situated along the airport road and its royal aura is further modified by the
arrival court and the central courtyard gracing the ‘C’ shaped footprint of the building.
CONCEPT AND SITE: Site slope rising from south to North by 5 meters was a challenge
for them, the landscape development had to go with the site levels to the
surrounding properties.

CHARACTER: The architectural grandeur with its palatial character dictated the
evolution of the basic formal layout in the landscape design.
LANDSCAPE PLAN OF THE LEELA PALACE

SOURCE: Journal of Landscape Architecture, 2005

HARDSCAPE ELEMENT:

FLOORSCAPE-

● Grand granite
medallions, enhancing
the entry points.
● The poolside has
outdoor furniture
around it for guests to
swim and relax. Inclined
pool chairs as well as
dinner table wooden
furniture.

SOFTSCAPE: The area was embellished with the formal planting of trees, shrubs and flower beds
with a combination of indegenous and exotic varieties.

● Flowering trees- Spathodia, Bauhinia, Tabebuia share space with evergreen species such as
pisonia alba, Swietenia mahogany. Ficus benjamina etc. Palm trees lend vertical landscape to
the landscape.
● Flower beds- Oleanders, hibiscus, ixora, caesalpinia, tecoma varieties etc.
● Foliage plants- Acalypha, Eranthemum, crotons etc. Plumeria varieties provide added colour
to the softscape

All of the above add colour, mild fragrance and calm environment.

The weather of Bangalore and soil also add on to the landscape allowing it to thrive by itself.

Images below source- Journal of Landscape Architecture

CONCLUSION:
 ● The Indian landscape architecture is very different from what is practiced abroad.
● He has taken inspiration from historic monuments and places to create diverse
landscape environments
● Kishore Pradhan has worked on a variety of projects and redefined Landscape
architecture in india.
● To create a user friendly and functional environment
● He’s also taken inspiration from the French style
● He deals effectively with Horticulture hence the range of flora and fauna in his
projects.
● Designers must be aware of site constraints, budgetary limitations and design
sustainability, believes Kishore Pradhan

Below are few views of the Leela Palace, Bangalore

Image 1: Landscaping with a stream, Image 2: Swimming pool area, Image 3: Entrance of the hotel
with Granite flooring, Image 4: Sculptures on site
Comparison and Analysis:
Both architects have made remarkable differences in their field- Hideo Sasaki
made an impact and changed how landscape was perceived post WWII and
Kishore Pradhan made a huge impact on the Indian Landscape.

References:
https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/25/arts/hideo-sasaki-80-influential-landscape-architect-dies.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hideo_Sasaki#:~:text=Sasaki%20became%20famous%20for%20developing
,environmental%20aspect%20of%20the%20land.

https://www.slideshare.net/nitinboppanna/hideo-sasaki

http://ladprofile.weebly.com/hideo-sasaki-1919-2000.html

https://www.kishorepradhan.com/component/phocagallery/category/227-2005-jla?layout=publicationdeta
ilnew&Itemid=150&&cat=all&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kishorepradhan.com%2Fpublications

https://www.sasaki.com/projects/xuhui-runway-park/

THANK YOU