Landscape Architecture
• Landscape architecture is a multidisciplinary field that involves the planning, design,
and management of outdoor spaces, environments, and landscapes. Landscape
architects work on a variety of projects, ranging from small residential gardens to large
public parks, urban design, and land planning.
• The primary goal of landscape architecture is to create functional, aesthetically
pleasing, and sustainable outdoor spaces that enhance the quality of life for
individuals and communities. Landscape architects consider factors such as
ecological sustainability, cultural and social context, environmental impact, and user
needs when designing outdoor environments.
Key Aspects of Landscape Architecture
• Site Planning: Determining the layout and organization of outdoor spaces, taking into account
topography, existing vegetation, and other site-specific factors.
• Design: Developing plans and drawings that detail the arrangement of elements within a landscape,
such as pathways, water features, plantings, and structures.
• Environmental Considerations: Addressing ecological concerns, including sustainable design
practices, water management, and preservation of natural resources.
• Urban Design: Collaborating with urban planners to create cohesive and well-designed urban
environments that balance human needs with environmental sustainability.
• Planting Design: Selecting and arranging plant species to create functional and visually appealing
landscapes, considering factors such as climate, soil conditions, and maintenance requirements.
• Project Management: Overseeing the implementation of landscape projects, including coordination
with contractors, ensuring compliance with regulations, and managing budgets
What is the Field of Landscape Architecture?
• Landscape architecture is the aesthetic and functional design of
outdoor space to maximize its social, environmental, and economic
value. It is concerned with both the built environment (for example,
manufactured components, such as sidewalks, buildings, and bridges)
and the natural environment (for example, drainage patterns, native
flora and fauna, and soil composition). Landscape architects
collaborate with a number of other professionals, including city
planners, engineers, architects, landscape contractors, geographers,
and ecologists, across all stages of a project, including in the analysis,
planning, design, construction, and ongoing maintenance of a space.
Experts emphasized that landscape architects deal with “everything
outside of a building,” including living (for example, plants and other
vegetation) and nonliving (for example, buildings or other structures)
things.
• Landscape architecture requires cross-disciplinary expertise
in environmental and social sciences, engineering, art, and
design. Because the field of landscape architecture focuses on
the relationships between built and natural environments—such
as how the soil or the water flow in a space will affect anything
built upon it—practitioners need to have expertise in ecological
and environmental sciences as well as structural engineering and
construction. Experts also emphasized the importance of
understanding how people interact with their surroundings and
with each other, which requires expertise in community and social
sciences, human behavior, design, and aesthetic preferences.
• The history of landscape architecture as a distinct discipline can be traced back to various
civilizations and cultures where the design and planning of outdoor spaces played a
significant role. However, the formalization of landscape architecture as a professional
discipline began in the 19th century.
• Ancient Civilizations
• Renaissance Gardens
• 18th Century English Landscape Movement
• Frederick Law Olmsted and the Birth of Modern Landscape Architecture
• Emergence of Academic Programs
• Professional Organizations and Standards
• International Influence
Theoritical and Historical
Background of Landscape
Architecture
Historical Roots : Ancient Gardens
• Gardens in ancient civilizations often held profound symbolic and cultural significance,
reflecting the mythology and theology of the societies that created them. The design and
layout of these gardens were often influenced by religious beliefs, cosmological ideas, and
cultural traditions.
Mesopotamian Gardens (Sumerian and Babylonian)
• Mythological Connection: The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known
works of literature, includes a description of the Garden of the gods. This
divine garden, also known as the Cedar Forest, is a symbol of immortality and
is guarded by Humbaba, the monstrous guardian.
• Theological Significance: Gardens were often associated with deities,
reflecting the belief that cultivating and maintaining lush, well-ordered
spaces mirrored divine creation. Temples in Mesopotamia had enclosed
courtyards or gardens, connecting the earthly and divine realms.
• Egyptian Gardens
• Mythological Connection: The ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife, and their
tombs often included funerary gardens. These gardens were depicted in tomb paintings
and were intended to provide sustenance and pleasure to the deceased in the afterlife.
• Theological Significance: Gardens were associated with rebirth and regeneration,
reflecting the cyclical nature of life and the importance of the afterlife in Egyptian
religious beliefs.
•
Persian Gardens
• Mythological Connection: In Greek mythology, the Garden of the Hesperides was a
heavenly orchard where golden apples of immortality grew. Hercules had to retrieve these
apples as one of his labors.
• Theological Significance: Gardens in ancient Greece and Rome were often associated with
the divine and were used as places for philosophical reflection and contemplation. Temples
were surrounded by sacred groves and gardens dedicated to specific gods.
• the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon, held by tradition to be
the work of Babylon’s mighty
King Nebuchadrezzar II (r. 605-
561 B.C.)
• Philo description:
• laid out on a large platform
of palm beams raised up on
stone columns.
• This trellis of palm beams
was covered with a thick
layer of soil and planted
with all kinds of trees and
flowers
• “labor of cultivation
suspended above the heads
of the spectators.”
• Variety and Irrigation: The gardens were praised for their variety, featuring all kinds of
delightful and pleasant flowers. The irrigation system involved water collected on high
reaching the entire garden.
• Later Accounts: First-century B.C. geographer Strabo and historian Diodorus Siculus provided detailed
descriptions of the gardens, emphasizing the elaborate supporting structures and irrigation methods.
• Elusiveness: Despite various historical accounts, no concrete evidence or ruins of the Hanging
Gardens have been found in Babylon. The term " hanging" and the gardens' existence are still debated
among scholars.
• Their system of irrigation also inspired wonder:
“Water, collected on high in numerous ample containers,
reaches the whole garden.”
Diodorus, a Greek author from Sicily:
he detailed an elaborate system of supporting “beams”:
These consisted of “a layer of reeds laid in great quantities of
bitumen. Over this is laid two courses of baked brick, bonded
by cement and as a third layer a covering of lead, to the end
that the moisture from the soil might not penetrate beneath.”
These layers, according to Diodorus, rose in ascending tiers.
They were “thickly planted with trees of every kind that, by
their great size or other charm, could give pleasure to the
beholder,” and were irrigated “by machines raising the water
in great abundance from the river.”
Ancient gardens of Rome
Renaissance
influence
• The Renaissance period
marked a significant revival of
interest in classical aesthetics.
Gardens during this time were
designed with a strong focus
on symmetry, proportion, and
the integration of art and
nature. Influential figures such
as André Le Nôtre in France
and Giuseppe Castiglione in
Italy contributed to the
formalization of garden design.
Key Ideals:
• classical aesthetics,
• symmetry,
• Proportion
• Emphasize the integration of art
and nature
• reflecting a harmonious
relationship between the built
environment and the
surrounding landscape.
André Le Nôtre
17th Century - Paris, France
André Le Nôtre
and the Gardens
of Versailles
• axial symmetry
• geometric layouts
• water features to create a
grand and formal landscape.
• Versailles reflected the
political and social aspirations
of the French monarchy.
Giacomo Barozzi and
the Gardens of the Villa
Lante
16th Century
Bagnaia, Italy
• Mannerist style
• Terraces
• water cascades
• dynamic and picturesque
landscape.
• Villa Lante exemplifies Mannerist principles, including the integration of
architecture, sculpture, and nature.
Versailles,
Gardens of Versailles André Le Nôtre 1661 -
France
Pirro Ligorio, Alberto Galvani,
Villa d'Este Gardens Tivoli, Italy 1550 1572
and others
Niccolò Tribolo, Bartolomeo Florence,
Boboli Gardens 1550 Ongoing
Ammannati, and others Italy
Bagnaia, Late 16th Late 16th
Villa Lante Gardens Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola
Italy century century
Niccolò Tribolo, Bartolomeo
Villa Medici Gardens Rome, Italy 1540 1568
Ammannati, and others
Bomarzo Park (Parco Bomarzo,
Pirro Ligorio 1552 Ongoing
dei Mostri) Italy
Villa d'Este Gardens
Tivoli, Italy
Tuileries Garden
Paris, France
Andre la Notre
