WESTERN CIVILISATION

LANDSCAPE STYLE EVOLUTION

EUROPE
EUROPE

• In the area of landscape design, numerous transfer processes

occurred in the 18th century that not only affected the landscape
garden. These processes occurred primarily
between Italy, England, France and Germany, though influences
from outside Europe also played a role (the Anglo-Chinese garden).
• The discussion below cannot give a complete picture of the variants
and development of the landscape garden. Instead, it picks out a
number of aspects and examples of cultural and knowledge transfer
in the area of landscape design in the 18th century.
• The stylistic term “landscape garden” and the occupational title
“landscape gardener” were only introduced and discussed at the end
of the 18th century in the writings of the English landscape designer
and theoretician Humphry Repton (1752–1818) 
• If one looks at depictions of early landscape gardens as found in the second series of
the Vitruvius Britannicus published from 1739 onward, then a mode of representation stands out
that was not adopted from painting, but from early-modern urban planning. Arranged around the
plan of the garden are small pictures that draw attention to the individual garden structures. This
does not communicate the space continuum of an ideal landscape painting, but instead shows the
individual structures pictorially.

• Increasing world trade and travel brought to late 18th-century Europe a flood of exotic plants
whose period of flowering greatly extended the potential season of the flower garden. In
most gardens flowers were grown, sometimes in great numbers and variety, but flower
gardens in the modern sense were limited to cottages, to small town gardens, and to relatively
small enclosures within larger gardens.
SITTING
European aesthetic to your Colorado landscape, here are elements to
consider.

The European Patio

• Alfresco dining is quintessentially European, and one part of a
patio should be designed with meals in mind.
• The primary elements to include are table and chairs, an awning
or other feature to protect the area from the sun, and decorative
accents that reflect a European country’s style.
• If your area is large enough, consider creating several dining and
entertainment areas suitable for different occasions. 
• This patio has a casual sitting area, a bar and a more comfortable
areas that is semi-enclosed.
Water Features

• Fountains are found in village squares and residential patios and

gardens throughout Europe.
• Large or small, fountains and other water features provide romantic old world
charm to any European style landscape.
• Along with a traditional fountain and a spa, this landscape’s water features
include a pool with flowing water.
Showy Blossoms and Romantic Lush Greenery

• Most European countries boast climates which, at least in spring and

summer, encourage lush, green gardens and greenery along with showy
flowers and shrubs featured strongly in the European garden.
• Despite the often overly dry conditions in our state, we can achieve this
lush look by choosing Colorado native plants and adding colorful
container arrangements like those used for this amazing landscape.
 ON SITE
 On Site, refers to attitudes to place or locus. In Europe, it is the specific site and the landscape
architect’s sensitivity to its intrinsic geographical and historical characteristics and processes that
inspire new functions and forms. European landscape architecture is not about inflicting pre-
determined patterns on nowhere sites. The European landscape is a small, diverse, densely built, and
domesticated space that is rich in landscape architectural genius. This genius aims to deeply
experience a site, to develop it and produce technically intelligent and sensually rich open spaces.
Climate change, economic changes and an increased mobility in the extended urban agglomerations
of today require new landscapes and urban open spaces. 
 
Tiers and Slopes
Like gardens in parts of our state, many European gardens are
built on sloping landscapes. Your garden design can be adapted
to enhance and protect slopes while offering European aesthetic
to the land. The stone walls and strategically placed
plants shown here reduce soil erosion while adding lush color
and texture to the landscape.
PHILOSOPHY
• The origin of the term landscape is relatively recent
and it separates the European attitude in two periods
of time: pre and post-landscape.
• The concept of landscape, as it is understood
nowadays, did not exist.
• Society was more oriented towards the interior,
almost exclusively extending the observation of
nature to the cloister or vegetable garden, since the
external landscape was only a background for other
scenes.
• The gaze on the world has been externalized over the
centuries, as long as man exercised a growing
dominion over the environment that surrounded him.
 • The first occurrences of this term are found in the
second half of the 15th century with the introduction
of the landscape element in painting, one of the
innovative topics of the Renaissance
• Between the end of the 14th and the beginning of the
15th century, during the spread of the “late Gothic”
style, the landscape representation began to change
with the introduction of the detailed and meticulous
illustration of every single natural element.
• The circulation of manuals, which is called “Tacuina
Sanitatis”, containing studies and drawings of plants
and animals, reinforced the interest in the landscape
• In this same period, even arts began
to take landscape into consideration,
as we will further observe in the
development of contemporary
artistic movement that dealt with
the landscape in a new and
unconventional way.
 SPATIAL ORGANISATION
• The aim of the research was to identify the role of landscape
architecture means in the creation of urban public spaces as
well as the possible ways they can be  used in.
• We have specified basic types of urban public spaces as streets,
squares, parks, roof terraces and gardens, waterfronts, and
“spaces between houses”.
• The basic means of landscape architecture used in urban public
spaces are relief and paving, water,  artwork,  vegetation,
furniture,  minor constructions and light and time.
• Spatial and functional performance of the particular
components was explored within the particular public spaces.
As the functions of compositional principles are universal, their
exploration can lead to  some generalization. 
• The study has proven that  these exist among the three selected European cities and they can serve
as a guideline for further designs of public urban spaces., landscape architecture means, urban
landscape, square, street, park,  roof terraces, roof gardens and parks, waterfronts, spaces between
houses, relief and paving, water,  artwork,  furniture,  minor constructions, vegetation, light and
time.

• The selection of the spaces explored within the research  was

nearly totally limited to  the historical centres of the cities.
• Although one can argue that these areas have been stabilized as
regards the landscape architecture means and issues arising in
relation to  new urban developments are more topical, the
spaces of historical centres are currently under a lot of pressure
that  has to  be  responded to. Moreover, these spaces are
limited in space and for historical reasons.
• Thus the tension between the forms and functions imposes high
demands on sensible, efficient  and  knowledgeable use of
landscape architecture means.
 BUILT AND UNBUILT RELATIONSHIP
• Today  we  need  to  examine  and  understand  the possibilities with which
the  unbuilt open  spaces can  be handled  for  the  health  benefits  of  the 
community.
• “Integrated  landscape led  design  has  the  power  to transform  a  place 
into  somewhere  which  is  highly functional and  has strong  character and
beauty.”
• The landscape  profession can  bring  vision, imagination  and technical 
rigor to  a  project, regardless  of scale.  At the highest level, landscape
architects have direct influence on planning  reform  and environmental 
policy,  where  they have promoted new ways to make best use of the land. 
• The unbuilt spaces in a city can be categorized into  Public realm projects
that include the public plaza and parks, infrastructures like streetscapes,
highways, green belts, water bodies and large forested areas or
environmentally sensitive zones like wetlands. 
• Semi Private use areas like developer parks and residential park,
community gardens  and park lets   Private gardens.
• Landscaped  spaces  or  “Unbuilt  Environment”  in  an urban land provide lot of benefits to the
citizens of  the community. 
• Man has always been in awe of built forms where he can prove his
creativity. He rarely realizes the impact the unbuilt spaces create on him.
• The built forms take shape as  skyscrapers while the unbuilt spaces are
either left as natural  forested lands  or  are  shaped up  to cater  to the
infrastructure  and  entertainment  needs. 
• The  trends  to design and develop these unbuilt spaces has been changing
over a period of time.  

• These gardens were rectangular, with the traditional division into four parts by paths, the quarters again
subdivided according to the amount of ground available and the convenience of cultivation. At the point of
principal intersection was a well, which, when elaborated, became the vertical feature of the garden.

• The peristyle gardens of Roman villas became the cloisters of Christian basilicas. Security and leisure existed only in the
monastic system, which also preserved some of the traditional skills of cultivation.
• For some time the only type of garden was the cloister, with its well, herbs, potted plants, and shaded walk.  
FUNCTION
Cloister gardens were essencially utilitarian.
• They consisted of :
1. Floral gardens – for growing herbs and medicinal plants.
2. Kitchen gardens-for growing vegetables.
3. Orchards-for growing fruits.
• People grew vegetables and herbs for food and medicine.
• People were tied to the landscape socially, politically and economically in a feudal system where
entitlement to land equalled power.
• The garden became laden with allegorican symbolism both sacred and profane, and was the locus for
literary tales of chivalry and courtly love.
• Gardens made for plessure [hunting gardens].
• Show the power and wealthy of empire.
ELEMENTS AND PRINCLES OF DESIGN
• Principles of designing Landscape spaces were ordered in service to human desires :
1. REDUCTION
2. ABSTRACTION
3. HIERARCHY
4. SYMMETRY
5. PROPORTION
6. AXIAL SYMMETRY
7. OCCUPYING SPACE
8. BOUNDARY
9. TRANSITION
10. HARMONY
Elements of design
EXAMPLE:
THE WALLED KITCHEN GARDEN
• THE WALLED KITCHEN GARDEN at Croome Court, Worcestershire is
reputedly the largest 18th-century walled kitchen garden in Europe.
• In about 1806, a 13 ft (4.0 m) high free-standing east–west hot wall was built,
slightly off-centre, serviced by five furnaces;
• this is historically significant as it is one of the first such structures to be built.

• The traditional design of a walled garden, split into four quarters separated by
paths, and a wellhead or pool at the centre, dates back to the very earliest
gardens of Persia.
• The hortus conclusus or "enclosed garden" of High Medieval Europe was more
typically enclosed by hedges or fencing, or the arcades of a cloister;
• Though some protection from weather and effective protection from straying
animals was afforded, these were not specifically walled gardens.
• In the United Kingdom, many country houses had walled kitchen gardens which were distinct from
decorative gardens.
• One acre of a kitchen garden was expected to provide enough produce to feed twelve people, and these
gardens ranged in size from one acre up to twenty or thirty acres depending on the size of the household.
• The largest gardens served extremely large households, for example, the royal kitchen garden at Windsor was
built for Queen Victoria in 1844 and initially occupied twenty two acres, but was enlarged to thirty one acres
to supply the growing household.
• Kitchen gardens received their greatest elaboration in the second half of the nineteenth century.
• Many of these labor intensive gardens fell into disuse in the twentieth century, but some have been revived as
decorative gardens, and others used to produce fruits, vegetables or flowers.