The Course of Landscape Architecture

History of our Designs on the
ural World, from Prehistory

the Present
Christophe Girot
Contents
Foreword 6 8. Gravity 200

Between the Human and the Non-Human The Constant of Nature
Rousham, England
Introduction 8
Imagine Landscape 9. Combustion 232
Escape into the Exotic
Pare des Buttes-Chaumont, France
1. Roots 14
On the Origins of Landscapes
England 10. Acceleration 256
Landscapes of the 20th Century
Pare de la Villette, France
2. Hydraulic Civilizations 44
The Geometry of Water in Landscapes 11. Terrain Vague 282
m Oasis, Prospect Cottage, E land
3. From Temenos to Physis 68 12. Topology 304

Sacred Landscapes in Greece Rediscovering Meaning in the Landscape
i, Greece Sigirino ound, Ticino, Switzerland
4. Of Villas and Woods 92 Afterward 334

Roman and Barbarian Landscapes Towards a Cultural Revolution of Nature
ria I
Notes 340
5. The Rule of Faith 114 Bibliography 346
nta aria de n Acknowledgments 347
Sources of Illustrations 348
Index 349
6. Gardens of Perspective 144
Architectural Landscapes in the Renaissance
la
7. The Measure of Reason 172

nee
Foreword
Between the Human and the Non-Human
In his poem 'To Posterity', published in 1939, shortly before Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
the beginning of World War 11, Bertolt Brecht wrote: 'Ah, in Paris in December 2015 who wore pins made of dried
what an age it is I When to speak of trees is almost a crime coconut fronds as a sign of solidarity with the Marshall
/For it is a kind of silence about injustice!'. Brecht's poem Islands threatened by the rising sea level. And there is little
was a call for writers, artists and intellectuals to address the doubt that the change in climate that brought several years
scandalous political change happening in front of their eyes. without rain and also famine to Syria was one of the causes
It was a critique of an artistic tradition that romanticizes for the civil war and thus for one of the biggest refugee
nature and evades political controversies. But it was also a crises in history. 2
sorrow-filled acknowledgment that under the rising pressure On the level of theoretical discourse, the supposition
of the Nazi regime, art could no longer refer to one of its that nature is not a given but that it is formed by humans
oldest and dearest subject matters -landscape. Today, the finds its expression in the concept of the 'Anthropocene',
situation is different. Today, it is almost a crime not to speak in other words the hypothesis that mankind has inscribed
of trees when addressing political issues. I remember when I itself into the history of the Earth. 3 The Anthropocene has
first encountered as a teenager the phenomenon of the forest proved to be a fruitful concept because it provides a common
dieback, the Waldsterben. Suddenly trees started to lose their ground between artists and scientists, architects and writers,
leaves and die. Spectacular scenery such as in the forests of specialists and laymen. It might be too early to decide if
the Swiss Alps or the Black Forest in southern Germany were the Anthropocene, or the more general notion of 'climate
freckled with brown spots as if the entire landscape had been change', is a new paradigm of contemporary societies, a
hit by a mysterious plague. The effects of the environmental conceptual horizon, so to speak. It is still uncertain if this
pollution predicted in books such as Rachel Carson's Silent horizon will have the same impact on our thinking and
Spring (1962) or The Limits to Growth (1972) commissioned acting as the concept of the Cold War and 'mutually
by the Club of Rome were now evident. The vanishing trees assured destruction', which prevailed from the 19 sos to the
in Europe triggered a heated debate about the causes and 198os. But already it is evident that the experience of the
consequences. After a couple of years, the forests recovered, strange behaviour of the weather and the encounter with
but something had changed. To speak of trees was no longer the tragedy of people forced to leave their homes because
a sign of escapism, but of activism. of the changing climate obliges us to think beyond our
When Brecht wrote his poem, nature was considered immediate environment, in larger dimensions, both
as fundamentally different from civilization. Brecht stood in temporally and spatially.
a tradition that conceived nature and culture as binary poles The acknowledgment that man shapes nature has
opposing one another. With the forest dieback, however, this not only heightened our concern about nature turning
view began to alter. It became difficult to distinguish clearly itself against us, it has also moved us closer to nature.
between the natural and the man-made, in other words On the one hand this is in the guise of a growing appetite
between the human and the non-human. And it became for domesticated natural beauty, for retreat and recreation,
more and more evident that man was shaping nature through for the life outdoors. On the other hand it is in the guise
the large-scale interventions of industrialization, and most of the desire to involve the natural in city centres, be it by
obviously in the treatment of forests. The 'Forest Principles' transforming wastelands into new parks, by making cities
published by the United Nations at the Earth Summit in green or by introducing urban gardening. Interestingly, it
Rio, in 1992, considers 'all types of forests, both natural is rarely the 'untouched' landscapes that are popular today.
and planted' as 'essential to economic development and Most attractive are sites where the man-made and the non-
the maintenance of all forms of life' . 1 One generation after human meet and interact, where the present and the past
the Earth Summit in Rio we have certainty that the Earth's interact, be it an industrial ruin or a former religious centre.
climate is changing as a result of industrialization. We know The shift in perspective is the reason, I would argue,
for sure that the rise in temperature, the increasing number why landscape architecture has moved centre stage. Long
of floods, droughts and storms are ultimately man-made. considered an appendix to architecture and urban planning,
Nobody derided as romantics the delegates of the United a rather futile specialization at the margins of 'serious'
6 FOREWORD
design and planning, it is currently finding its place at the remembered images and actual perception, all blending
intersection of various disciplines. Christophe Girot's book into an experience which is different from that of the flaneur
is thus a timely and a much needed contribution to the current in the city centre or the visitor to an individual building.
debate. It unfolds a vast panorama of landscape architecture Girot has travelled a great deal over the years and shares his
in the widest sense and makes accessible examples from discoveries with the reader. The result is an immensely rich
different geographic areas and different historic periods. And source of inspirations, which outlines the terrain of landscape
it presents landscape architecture as a practice of synthesis architecture. The narrative and images of the book imply
and connection, where the tiny scale of a plant and the huge that l,andscape architecture is not so much located at the
scale of the climate relate to each other. Landscapes, Girot margins of the categories of architecture and urban planning,
argues, are interesting namely because of their hybridity, their but rather moves dynamically among these categories and
internal contradictions, their anachronisms and complexities. sets them in motion. It shows landscape architecture as a
They are shaped by geological transformations, the weather, practice that opens up the field for the unexpected, for the
vegetation, but also by hydraulic constructions in the form of experimental and the playful.
irrigation or flood control, by agriculture, by infrastructure
of commerce and trade. Philip Ursprung
Unlike many other publications on landscape Professor for the History of Art and Architecture,
architecture, the focus of this book lies not primarily in Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich
works by specific landscape architects, nor primarily on
authors. In analogy to Bernard Rudofsky's legendary book
Architecture without Architects: A Short Introduction to
Non-Pedigreed Architecture (r964), Girot shows connections
between various artefacts from prehistoric times to the
present, which are traditionally not considered within the
genealogy of landscape architecture. His book is not a survey
of canonical landscape architecture. On the contrary it
suggests that such a canon does not exist, or that if it did then
it ought to be revised. The book demonstrates that the scope
of landscape architecture is broader in space than the scope
of architecture, which concentrates on individual buildings
and their immediate surroundings. Landscape architecture
has a wider horizon and takes into consideration the flow of
waters, the shape of topography, but also the movement of
people and the exchange of commodities. The book further
demonstrates that landscape architecture is broader in time
than urban planning, with its notorious lack of memory
and its chronological horizon of no more than one to two
generations. Landscape architecture deals with the different
hours of the day, the different seasons of the year, but also
with the history of civilization and the history of the Earth.
A crucial element for landscape architecture is the
aesthetic experience. The time it takes to walk through a
garden or over a defunct field, with the smell of the grass,
or rusty metal, the sensation of humidity, the sound of
animals or cars, but also the tactile sensation of the ground
under one's feet, the unforeseen incidents, the mixture of
FOREWORD 7
Introduction
Imagine Landscape
'This is the place where we act with imagination, not so landscape style meets local trees like the Moreton Bay Fig
much by modifying the world, but rather by preparing it.' [o.r]. Our reception of landscapes has changed radically
J. M. G. Le Clezio 1 over time; and one might argue that we have now reached
the point where we can no longer rely on the models of the
Over the course of time, landscapes have been transformed past and must question their relevance to the present. It goes
through the extraordinary workings of the imagination. without saying that climate change, the depletion of the
Places have been converted from their original, natural state environment and demographic trends will dramatically affect
via a gradual process of abstraction. Our manipulation of our future lives, having a direct impact on the way landscapes
space and settled exploitation of the land have created a are shaped, used and regarded. Today, the empirical approach
range of artefacts, each with their own atmosphere: fields, to environmental problem-solving has in many instances
dams, ditches, groves, avenues, sanctuaries, parks, gardens superseded aesthetic concerns, with far-reaching consequences
and terraces like those of the Villa Noailles in Grasse (1950), for our general understanding and conception of nature.
to give but a few examples [o.2]. 2 Taken as a whole, these This paradigm shift towards a more quantitative and
artefacts reveal how nature has been reshaped by human scientifically guided approach to the design of nature is
culture throughout history. Landscape architecture has intrinsically ahistorical, and spells the end of a millennia-
profoundly influenced the way in which society experiences old intricate- not to say intimate- relationship between
and appreciates its natural surroundings, as in the case of humankind and landscape. This development is worrying for,
Albert Park (r88 5) in Auckland, where an imported Victorian if landscape architecture can no longer rise to the challenge
0.1 (opposite) Albert Park, Auckland,

New Zealand.
The native tree (Moreton Bay Fig) is used
here with strong cultural connotations.
This late 19th-century park is a good example
of the way in which an established northern
landscape tradition has been transposed to
the Antipodes, while using local vegetation
to suit the environment.
0.2 The Villa Noailles, Grasse, France.

Some old olive groves set in lawn on stepped
terraces frame a cistern and topiary below. The
garden by Charles de Noailles is a construct of
the 1950s, where productive minimalism meets
the beautiful .intentionally.
0.2
INTRODUCTION 9
0.3
of imagining the next significant bond between humankind early landscape structures, such as the paradise garden and
and its natural environment, it will simply disappear as an palace in Pasargadae, have proven extremely resilient and are
art, to the benefit of science and engineered sustainability. still identifiable on the ground today [o-4].4 Although some
The aim of this book is to present a long-due assessment of doubts prevail as to the proper way to record and depict
this radical shift in knowledge and values. It places the reader these archetypes - owing to the absence of living traces of
in both an introspective and retrospective mode with regard the earliest walled gardens and forest clearings, the scarcity
to the fundamentals of our landscape imagination. of remains and the lack of reliable written records- this does
Landscapes have undergone various stages of not necessarily diminish their importance. More often than
development through history, as human hands changed the not, uncovering layers of meaning in a landscape is a task best
wilderness and cultivated the desert into more structured left to the imagination, which can help decipher the beliefs
and sacred environments. The Cedron Valley and Mount and attitudes behind the making of each place.
of Olives in Jerusalem is the sublime expression of such a Like so many pieces of a secular puzzle, landscapes
convergence [o.3J.3 As landscapes evolved, they unmistakably are tied into their historical, environmental and cultural
reflected an extraordinary power of transformation and contexts. Even the alpine meadows in Davos are structured
charted a changing relationship with the world around us. and drained for the purpose of cattle herding [o. 5]. Thus each
They have always mirrored the religious and political forces transformation not only contributes to a better understanding
in society, and each transition demonstrates a response to the of the genesis of a landscape, but also reveals the deep
sacred beliefs and the technical progress of a given period. economic forces at work, as seen in a fenced-in chalet garden
This is still true today, and the present book will draw little [o.7]. The impact of successive epochs is an indelible part of
distinction between the powerful influence of oracles in our landscape legacy in all parts of the world, substantially
ancient Mesopotamia and the blind faith we currently place affecting the way we perceive, experience and shape our
in scientific predictions. Transformations in the landscape are environment. These many different periods put together
part of an ingenious process of transmission from generation form a landscape reality, a complex mosaic of intentions and
to generation, but with each step forward these attitudes events that have shaped the world we occupy. Intricate societal
become increasingly distanced from their original bond with mechanisms have transformed and instrumentalized nature
nature and the early archetypes. Despite their great age, these over time, making any direct relationship with it less tangible. 5
10 INTRODUCTION
0.3 The Cedron Valley and Mount of Olives, 0.4 Ruins of King Cyrus's palace and gardens,
Jerusalem. Pasargadae, Iran.
This sacred landscape, with its old gnarled Water from the Pasargadae River, visible on
olive and cypress trees, its cemeteries of stone the left, was fed into the rectilinear rills and
and rock-hewn tombs, is one of unfathomable channels of the ancient Achaemenid palace
symbolic significance for three monotheistic and its luxuriant pleasure gardens enclosed
religions. Believed to be the place of the coming within thick adobe walls. This offered pleasing
of the Messiah and the resurrection of the dead, shade in strong contrast to the parched
it is a holy site- a place of passage and absolute landscape of the desert beyond.
natural reduction. lt is our appreciation of a
landscape as a cultural artefact and religious 0.5 Drainage rill across a meadow in Davos,
symbol that is represented here. Switzerland.
Specific drainage structures, such as this rill,
and ancient pastoral practices in the Swiss
Alps create the image of nature that we confer
on these mountains today. Landscape in this
sense is always an artefact that expresses a
balance between the needs of society, seasonal
customs and natural conditions. The Swiss Alps
are heavily grazed, but still contribute to our
understanding of nature.
0. 4
0.5
INTRODUCTION 11
lt is almos t impos sible to imagi ne a return
to a state of natural innocence today , even
thoug h we are being asked to prom ote the
'renat uraliz ation' of devas tated areas for
the wellb eing of society [0.6]. Exactly which
society is being considered here, and on
what symb ols and value s is its appre ciatio n
of natur e ultima tely based?
0.6 Schoneberger Siidgeliinde Park, Berlin,

Germany.
Spontan eous vegetati on growing undistur bed
for decades in the bombed -o ut rubble of this
rail yard in Berlin has paradox ically served as
a model for a new kind of landscap e aesthetic ,
which can also be seen in some of the most
prestigio us projects includin g the High Lin e
in New York. lt is ironic that contemp orary
landscap e architec ture finds more inspirati on
in the ruins of past civilizati ons than in their
purpose fully construc ted achievem ents.
0.7 High altitude alpine garden, Switzerland.

0.7
The word garden derives from garto in Old
German , which literally means 'fenced- in'.
This high altitude alpine garden shows clearly
how a landscap e needs to be fenced in for the
requirem ents of cultivati on . Evidenc e for such
a response to ambient factors ha s led to a
specific genealo gy of landscap e types found
across the world from the earliest times on.
0.8 Oerliker Park, Zurich, Switzerl and, 2001.

This new park of the early 21st century is made
on heavily co ntamina ted industria l ground,
with new housing built around it. Designe d
by the office of Zulauf, Seippel , Schwei ngruber
with the artist Christop h Haerl e, th e park trees
planted in a tight grid are meant to cleanse
the ground naturally over several decades .
lt is a pla ce in transitio n, imbu ed with hopes
of a better landscap e in the future.
0.9 Mauerpark, Berlin, Germany, 1994.

Built on the ruins of a no-man' s-land between
East and West Berlin, the park plays with a
reduced landscape palette akin to the numero us
terrains vagues that were once strewn across the
city before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The park's
success is owed in part to its relative isolation ,
and also to a subdued design stateme nt by
Gustav Lange, consistin g of a large area of grass
which emphasi zes the void. lt is a void that
recalls the past, but also invites large crowds on
hot summer nights for memori es in the future.
12 INTRO DUCTI ON
0.9
This book will reflect on different stages of landscape rail yards of Schoneberger Si.idgeliinde in Berlin -literally,
transformation in light of their contemporary relevance as well as in a broader ecological sense [o.6].7 However, this
and will pave the way towards a more critical approach to conceptual inversion where design is no longer considered
nature and the way we shape it. It is not meant as a nostalgic as significant is something of a contradiction, for landscapes
glance at artefacts from the past; rather, my hope is that the have always resulted from strong formal acts upon nature and
examples from across the centuries will nourish a stronger not just environmental modalities. Landscape architecture
sense of continuity and purpose. It will stress the importance must continue to serve as a cultural beacon despite the current
and significance of cultural specificity and identity over moral imperatives of 'biopolitics' that contradict it. 8 But
systemic thinking. And, perhaps most importantly, it will even as designated 'preparators', it is precisely our ability to
bring valuable insight into the mechanisms that lie behind cultivate a strong poetic response to human needs and beliefs
the poetics of space and creative invention. that will help us find better expressions of nature. Mauerpark
The realities of current climatic and demographic in Berlin (1994) is the direct expression of such a societal
change have undeniably brought us to the threshold of a new conjunction; its success relies not so much on elaborate
period that some scientists have labelled the 'Anthropocene'. aesthetic constructs, as on the possibility of freedom of
Landscape architects are being asked to produce 'responsible' assembly through informal social organizations [o.9J.9
design and to accept their role as 'preparators' in buffering Through a critical understanding of this genealogy,
environmental degradation. Still, we ought to question the landscape architecture can serve as a major force in the
dominant moralistic posture behind the ecological and the definition of our future environment. The aim is to decrypt
sustainable, and allow ourselves to demystify this vision an intelligence of nature that has prevailed for millennia,
of nature critically, while acknowledging the reality of new deeply marking our collective appreciation of landscapes. It
necessities. Oerliker Park in Zurich (20or), by the office promotes a belief in our capacity to reinvent, with confidence,
of Zulauf, Seippel, Schweingruber, planted on a highly a constructive imagination. People have always needed a clear
contaminated site, promises a return to a better environment symbolic expression of nature. May this book be a plea for a
through the remedial action of trees over the next three return to the fundamentals of a culture of landscape true to
decades [o.8].6 Nature is thus being re-created on severely the values of human balance and meaning that have nurtured .
disturbed terrains. The same could be said of the abandoned and enriched countless generations.
I NTRODUCTION 13
6. Gardens of Perspective
Architectural Landscapes in the Renaissance
'How many times, do you think, did I turn back that before they reached Europe, as seen in the General Chart
day, to glance at the summit of the mountain that of the Integrated World [6.3).2 This is also the time when the
seemed scarcely a cubit high compared with the range magnificent landscapes of the Ming tombs were created in
of human contemplation?' China [6. 4]. It is probably only oil painting and the sfumato
Petrarch, 'The Ascent of MountVentoux, technique of painterly representation and storytelling,
culminating in the 16th-century school of Titian, that stand
Traditionally, historians have pinpointed the beginning of out as something particularly original to Europe [6.1].
the Renaissance as the sudden appearance of humanism in ' The most significant changes of the Renaissance were
late 14th-century Italy, with subsequent beautiful gardens, the reduction in the number of feudal wars, the opening up
like the Villa Lame [6.o]. But in fact this development was of fortified cities to the countryside, and the establishment
preceded by visual and conceptual revolutions all over the of the 'three-field' crop-rotation system, which rendered the
civilized world. Much of our understanding of navigation, soil more productive. From the 12th century, the wider use
for instance, comes from China and arrived in Italy via the of the horse-drawn plough and the shoulder harness enabled
Arabic world. Our knowledge of algebra stemmed from farmers to work a greater stretch of field, which in turn
India, was translated in Cairo and then spread via Italy to the brought higher yields. Advances in agricultural technology
rest of Europe. The fact is that some of the most important changed the entire scale and appearance of the landscape.
inventions of the period -paper, printing, map-making and Few stands of original forest remained and overgrazing
mathematical calculation- were known in the East long became a serious problem from the Mediterranean to the
6.0 (opposite) View from the third terrace

of the garden of the Villa Lante, Italy.
A stone table with a trough of still, reflective
water stands on perspectival axis with the
cascade of the river gods, which leads up to
the water chain and then to the Deluge grotto
far beyond .
6.1 The Death of Actaeon by Titian, c.1559-75.

The subject is from Ovid 's Metamorphoses:
while hunting, Actaeon accidentally catches
a glimpse of Diana bathing naked. The outraged
goddess sprays him with water that transforms
him into a stag . His dogs suddenly turn on him
and kill him. lt is a story about the fate of man
when his instincts go astray.
6.1
GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE 145

6.2
6.2 Allegory of Good Government, by Ambrogio

Lorenzetti, 1338-39.
This fresco in the Palazzo Pubblico of Siena
shows a peaceful and prosperousTuscan
landscape in the mid-14th century, one where
any form of original nature has been replaced
by productive agriculture and civic space .
6.3 Chinese 'General Chart of the Integrated

World~
An 18th-century copy of an original thought
to be dated 1418, the chart shows all the
continents though it precedes Columbus's
discovery of America in 1492 by seven decades.
6.4 A landscape of Ming tombs, China.

Standing among persimmon orchards at the
foot of the Huangtu mountains, these Ming
tombs were built mostly in the 15th, 16th and
17th centuries for 13 emperors. Set within a
pleasing agricultural landscape, they represent
a climax in Chinese mortuary architecture.
6.3
6.5 The 1502 Cantino Planisphere.
The Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral
explored the coast of Brazil in 1500. This portolan
map also shows the entire African continent.
Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to round
the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, followed by
Vasco da Gama in 1497. Progress in navigational
triangulation led to improved precision in
cartography.
6.6 The Ideal City, c. 1485.

No one is certain who the artist of this painting
was, but it may have been either Piero del la
Francesca or Leon Battista Alberti. The
combination of a single-point perspective and
the sublime light and illusion of space embody
all the promise of Italian Renaissance humanism.
6.7 Page from the treatise on perspective

by Leon Battista Alberti.
The approach to the design of constructed space
seen here would have a tremendous impact on
the way landscapes are perceived and shaped .
6. 4
146 GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE

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6.7
British Isles. 3 Landscape thus became the necessary expression of Brazil and the Caribbean [6. 5]. Such progress in mapping
of good governance, as illustrated in Lorenzetti's fresco, astronomically observed latitude would gradually be taken
Allegory of Good Government [6.2]. As it progressively up on land, resulting in the first accurately triangulated maps
opened up, the Renaissance landscape organized itself around of the world by the end of the nth century. 5 Following the
existing centres and new settlements occupying prominent discoveries of Copernicus and Galileo, maps and globes of the
sites with panoramic views of fields, roads and orchards. Renaissance were drawn according to geodesic principles. The
Further afield, the old Silk Road of Central Asia and the orthographic projection of cylindrical segments of the world
spice routes that arrived in Venice via the Indian Ocean and was further perfected by cartographers and globe-makers such
the Red Sea were blockaded by the Ottomans in the r 5th and as Gerardus Mercator in the r6th century. 6
r6th centuries, preventing the passage of European ships and In other areas, too, scientific advances were rapidly
trade through the eastern Mediterranean. 4 This encouraged changing society. The mathematician Fibonacci, as we saw
alternative maritime ventures, including routes around Africa previously, introduced Arabic numerals, algebra and the
and new footholds in the Americas, and introduced an era 'golden spiral' to Western culture in his Liber Abaci (1202).
of ocean mapping and navigation on an unprecedented scale. This knowledge, acquired from trading partners in Algeria
The portolan charts that first appeared in Genoa and Venice and Cairo, would prove invaluable for further developments
during the 13th and 14th centuries attest to a new accuracy in in the arts and sciences. The celebrated Fibonacci sequence
map -making. Using compass readings and the North Star to prepared the ground for the golden ratio, which would govern
chart a ship's course in terms of time and distance, the charts, all the rules of proportion and perspective in the Renaissance.
drawn on sheepskin, did not take the curvature of the Earth Artists took time to adopt the basics of perspective in their
into account and were therefore most reliable when used for works. 'Primitive' painters such as Giotto tried to create
short distances in and around the Mediterranean basin: The an illusion of space using various methods, including
one drawn up by Pietro Vesconte in Genoa in 1311 attempts differentiated degrees of shading and converging lines, while
to trace the entire Atlantic coast of Africa and Europe, the system of linear perspective as we recognize it today was
and to note all ports of call at their correct geographical invented by Filippo Brunelleschi in the early 15th century
locations. Two centuries later, the Portuguese Cantino and codified by Leon Battista Alberti in 1435- 36 [6.6, 6.7].7
Planisphere of 1502 shows for the first time part of the coast It was further put to use by the painter Piero della Francesca

and others. The use of the golden ratio and linear perspective the Renaissance garden became an expression of the highest
became axiomatic in architecture, remaining relevant over the artistic, scientific and philosophical meaning. Perspectival
course of four centuries, from Bramante's Belvedere in the projection combined with mythological themes constituted
Vatican (1506) to the Ideal Villa Stein at Garches devised by the core theme of the landscape narrative, with results that
Le Corbusier (1927). Perspective constituted a definite break were precise, directive and effective.
from the centripetal order that had been established during In the same way that artists readjusted their focus,
the Middle Ages, instead describing a dynamic that expanded so the treatment of gardens in the Renaissance triggered
outwards towards the infinite horizon, as can be seen in a change of attitude towards nature. Landscapes began to
Leonardo's landscape scenery of the Annunciation [6.8]. These draw their narrative inspiration from Ovid's Metamorphoses
advances in perspective transformed not only the painter's and other seminal texts. Ancient stories involving satyrs
way of shaping the world: the combination of proportional and fauns, such as Silenus and Pan, muses and goddesses
and geometric structure led to one of humankind's greatest return, once more playing a central role in the meaning and
revolutions in conceptual thinking balancing both space and atmosphere of a garden. The gardens of the Villa d'Este
historical time, as can be seen in Botticelli's Banquet in the (1560-72), designed by Pirro Ligorio for Cardinal Ippolito II
Pine Forest sequence [6.9]. Each 'project' could now map out d'Este, are a prime example of the desire to integrate ancient
its own position, purpose and direction and tell its own story. mythology in'to the landscape narrative. 9 Located in Tivoli,
the gardens feature mythical figures from antiquity such as
Villas and gardens the Fountain .of Diana of Ephesus, designed by the Flemish
Mercantile exchanges with Africa and the Middle East and, sculptor Gillis van de Vliete and placed at the very bottom
eventually, new trade routes to America brought considerable of the garden axis, which offers a chronological perspective
wealth to Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries, leading to the reaching back to remote times [6.10].
emergence of a rich aristocratic merchant caste in such city- The Renaissance garden reflects a conscious
states as Venice, Genoa, Siena and Florence. 8 It was through reawakening of our ancient understanding of nature that,
commerce that the Medici banking family accrued wealth in the West, had been silenced for over a millennium. In the
and power, becoming leading patrons of art, architecture and famous romance known as the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
science in Florence. Within this compelling cultural context, (1499) [6.n], attributed to Francesco Colonna and published
During the Renaissance, perspective was not

only about drawing and architectural design.
Exchanges between Egypt, Syria and the West in
the late medieval period had opened up some of
the most precious texts of the ancient world, most
of which were unknown to European scholars:
works of Classical philosophy, math ematics and
literature that had been either lost or forgotten
during a thousand years of Christianity. The
recovery of Greek mathematics through Euclid,
Aristotle and Plato opened up a treasury of
knowledge. lt is precisely this sense of perspective
- or, rather, a retrospective interest in antiquity-
that is such a hallmark of the period.
6.8

6.8 Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci, with
And rea Verrocchio, c.1475.
Behind the angel Gabriel the landscape extends
to infinity in a perspective of extraordinary
depth and a wealth of fine detail that announces
something beyond biblical significance.
Verrocchio painted the Virgin, while the angel
and background were left to Leonardo, his pupil.
6.9 The Banquet in the Pine Forest by Sandro

Botticelli, 1483.
In this panel depicting a scene from Boccaccio's
Decameron, Nastagio, who has been rejected
by the woman he loves, has cut down trees to
make space for a banquet. He knows the forest
is haunted by an infernal hunt in which a rejected
lover on horseback perpetually chases the naked
object of his love and kills her. Having witnessed
this, Nastagio's beloved changes her mind.
6.9
6.10 The Fountain of Diana of Ephesus,
gardens of the Villa d'Este, Tivoli. by Pirro
Ligorio, 1560-72.
The integration of ancient mythological
references in this garden is unmistakable. Here,
the multi-breasted Diana, goddess of the moon,
can be seen as a Renaissance version of lshtar.
In Ephesus, a city founded by the Amazons ,
she took the form of a sculpted wooden figure .
6.11 Woodcut from the Hypnerotomachia

Poliphili by Francesco Colonna, 1499.
The hero Poliphilo walks though a forest strewn
with ruins and remains of the past. The book
became an important document for landscape
narratives in the Renaissance.
6.10 6.11

6.12
6.12 The Villa Medici at Fiesole, with views

of the River Arno and Florence, Italy.
Built in the mid-15th century, this villa, later
the seat of Lorenzo de' Medici , the Magnificent,
was a place of prestige. Cut into a stony
hillside, small gardens on terraces held exotic
pomegranate, lemon and orange trees in the
shade of cypress trees.
6.13 Lunette of the Villa Poggio a Caiano

by Giusto Utens, 1599.
Commissioned by Lorenzo de' Medici and
designed by Giuliano da Sangallo, work on
the villa began in 1485. it is unusual in looking
outwards, over a productive landscape of fields
and orchards, and became a reference for other
villas in the region .
6.1 3

in Venice, the hero, Poliphilo, tormented by his love for Polia, far beyond the terraces of the villa itself, incorporating a line
dreams he has arrived in a forest on his way to Cythera, the of sight that projects and directs. 11 It is perspective- a device
island of love. In this forest, strewn with ruins and mysterious developed for the purposes of painting and architecture- that
remains from a long-forgotten past, Poliphilo encounters now becomes a powerful tool for ordering and dominating the
gods, goddesses, nymphs and fauns. 10 He then stumbles on landscape, an experience conveyed by the painting by Giusto
the paradise garden belonging to a forgotten castle in the Utens (1 599) of the Villa Poggio (1 485 ) [6.13]. The concept
woods, where Venus and Cupid finally save his love. It is not of the Renaissance veduta, set within the framework of an
so much the story, but rather the staging of historic myths, estate, has its roots in Petrarch's tex t of his ascent of Mont
that really matters in this book. This marks the beginning of Ventoux in Provence, and the expansive prospect he enjoyed at
a long-standing tradition in landscape design of including its summit, but it took on a fuller significance when villas of
mythological personifications and interpretations- an powerful families were constructed with this strong sense of
approach that lasted throughout the Italian Renaissance and proprietary space and visual projection over their dominion,
well into the English Picturesque movement 400 years later. like the Villa Castello in Florence [6. I 5]. Here, as the viewer
Beyond the newly acquired stylistic elements to gazes out across the landscape, nothing is left to chance.
be found in their lavish gardens, the villas of the Italian The earliest gardens of the Renaissance were full-scale
Renaissance were also responsible for transformations in the testing, grounds not only for the science of perspective, but
surrounding landscape. The concept of the villa related not also for the staging of human history and its stories. It is the
only to the house itself: rather, it embodied an entire country period when, more than ever, the garden became a construct,
estate, with its composite parts held in balance by a common requiring a high degree of technical skill and erudition,
topology. The Villa Medici at Fiesole and its estate were where precise modelling, triangulation and mapping of the
bound together visually, rather as scenery unfolding before the terrain were married to the arts of proportional composition,
house for the benefit of its owner [6.12]. The landscaping of illusionism and horticulture, as seen in the elaborate topiaries
an estate became a tool of pictorial experimentation: a device of the Villa La Petraia [6.1 4]. For the first time in history, a
that opened up, and at the same time encompassed, a precise garden like that at the Villa Castello in Florence embodied
piece of territory with infinitesimal precision, extending all a complete chronological narrative within its boundaries,
the way to the horizon. The geometry of the garden reaches moving from the allegoric realm of antediluvian mythology,
6.14 Gardens of the Medici Villa La Petraia,

Florence.
The geometric, labyrinthine layout of the
terraced garden design dates from 1588.
Clipped box hedges and low-growing perennials
preserve the open view out towards Florence.
6.15 The Medici Villa Castello, Florence.

Designed by Niccolo Tribolo in 1538, this is the
first important Medici garden completed in
Florence. The formal garden features clipped
hedges in a labyrinth and fruit trees.
6.14 6.15

6.16 Appennino by BartolomeoAmmannat i,
1563.
The personification of the Apennines sits on a
rock in the midst of a reservoir, hugging himself
as if shivering from cold, with water trickling
down over his head. Set against the backdrop
of a rustic forest at the Villa Castello, it is to
be understood as an allegory of man's place
in the world. Nature is to be fought, wrought
and tamed for the sake of our comfort.
6.17 Diagram from De revolutionibus orbium

coelestium by Nicolaus Copernicus, 1543.
Copernicus's revolutionary theory of a
heliocentric universe stated that the Earth
revolved around the sun like the other planets,
overturning ideas held since antiquity and
questioning over a millennium of Christian
dogma.
6.18 A terrestrial globe.

lt is hard for us to imagine now that Galileo
was put on trial by the Inquisition for claiming
an obvious law of nature- that the Earth is
round and spins on its axis, while tracing an 6 .16
annual orbit around the sun .
6.19 Anonymous painting of the Conquista

of Brazil.
Trade with the Americas was a source of great . • ffr "cot. 'Ai COP'E!\NfC'
wealth for Europe, but also a cause of great ilrt,{rt !WotMam cumorbclunarit;~nquam rpicycfo continn;
dixlmus.Quintoloco.).lmu.snono mc'nfrrrdudrur, &x1um
distress and destruction to the landscapes -drniq~loCum.M.a.w.Wwe:nrt,oduaginca d(rru1n fpaciocircii
curma.lnmcdiour~~·J},e'~~/'GduSol. Q.uiacoiminhot
of the New World and its peoples. The way in
which native peoples were depicted as man-
eating savages left an indelible mark on our
consciousness.
An important break from the medieval

worldview occurred between the invention of
linear perspective in the early 15th century and
the appearance of Italian Renaissance gardens
in the mid-16th century. Columbus's first contact
with the Americas in 1492 [6.19], combined with 6.17
Copernicus's demonstration of a heliocentric
universe in 1543, turned established ideas about
the world upside down [6.17]. 12 At the beginning
of th e 17th century, Galileo's assertion that the
Earth was round and turned on an axis challenged
the geocentric dogma that had lain at the heart
of medieval Christianity [6.18]. 13 These discoveries
had an impact on our understanding of the
universe and proposed a new order of things
in which the conquest of new landscapes would
come to play an essential role.
6.18

By the mid-16th century, maps were being
used for plotting maritime trade routes between
Europe, Equatorial Africa and the West lndies.
With the discovery of new territories came the
beginnings of agricultural and industrial slavery;
allied to these were the birth of modern financing,
commerce, and the spice, sugar and textile trades.
Most of the exquisite gardens produced in 16th-
century Italy were the indirect result of profits
from the so-called 'triangular trade' that grew
up between Europe, Africa and America. 14 The first
6.19
banks, created in Siena and Florence, became rich
through such trading. America was in fact named
after the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci,
who first worked for the Medici and then the king
of Spain. 15 He wrote several influential accounts of
his travels to the new continent, possibly without
ever having set foot there.
through the tales of antiquity, towards humanism and the an archaic mythological wilderness is played against designs
rational regularity of scientific enlightenment. This spatial that symbolize the reason and destiny of humankind. The
and humanist progression through time was drawn from an celebrated bronze fountain of Appennino, by Bartolomeo
established pictorial tradition: it was the work of architects Ammannati (1563), also known as Gennaio, at Castello,
and painters such as Leonardo and Michelangelo in the seen crouching, seemingly frozen, on a pile of rocks in the
previous century that enabled the garden to incorporate this middle of a primitive pool, is set against the backdrop of the
tremendous conceptual leap forward. One is also reminded Apennines in a dense oak woodland above the formal garden
of how Roman frescoes representing idealized idyllic scenes [6. 16]. The uncomfortable naked figure takes on a particular
in their era influenced the later gardens of Pompeii. untamed quality in which the 'wild', mythologically inspired
The first true Renaissance gardens appeared more form of rusticated nature epitomizes this quest for ancient
than a century after the studies of perspective by Lean origins and is typical of artists of the period.
Battista Alberti and Piero della Francesca. Following an Unlike examples in Roman times, the Renaissance
apprenticeship and early career as a sculptor, Niccolo Tribolo garden was not primarily about lust, but rather about the
returned to Florence in 1538 to build a garden for Cosimo I juxtaposition of primeval chaos with orderly gardens shaped
de' Medici's villa at Castello. 16 The garden took the form of by reason. Villa Lante and Villa d'Este were commissioned
a Classical hortus conclusus with golden-section proportions, at a time when the church had reached a peak in terms of
backed by a wild wood or macchia, in which scenes from power. But the willingness of cardinals to demonstrate an
Ovid's Metamorphoses were staged. Thirty years later, openness to advances in the art of landscape and memory did
the architect Jacopo Vignola arrived in Viterbo to build his not extend to marked advances in science. When Copernicus,
famous perspective garden for the Villa Lante at Bagnaia. himself a monk, proposed his heliocentric model of the
The rules of perspective that Vignola put into use at the universe, or Galileo claimed that the Earth was a sphere
Villa Lante had been tes ted out on paper and canvas long turning on its own axis, the church was not so ready to listen
before they were translated onto the landscape. All of these and leap into the unknown [6.17, 6.18]. The discovery of the
gardens use the same narrative in slightly different ways. The New World in 1492 marked also the beginning of the Spanish
grounds of Villa Castello, Villa Lante and Villa Aldobrandini Inquisition which was to leave its indelible mark on the
in Frascati present a similar conceptual structure, in which colonies [6.19].

Villa Lante, Italy
At the Villa Lante, Jacopo Vignola was able to translate two identical square villas or casini; as one looks between
perspectival effects from a two-dimensional plan directly them a series of stacked terraces rises towards the wooded
into a three-dimensional landscape scheme thanks to the hill beyond [6.26]. The impression is of a garden steadily
'Lanci device', as it was called. 17 This mechanism combined retreating in time to its primeval origins. This optical effect
the possibility of panoramic surveying with perspective of chronological historical compression is reinforced by an
drawing. It could trace a view on to a cylindrical surface, ascending path, which becomes narrower and steeper in
and project level sight lines upon a terrain like an advanced the upper reaches of the garden. There is a distinct sense of
groma. These lines were then set to converge on the horizon, progressive enclosure as one steps up between the twin houses
in a perspectival mode. Vignola used this instrument to and passes the so-called 'Fountain of the Lanterns', with its
construct the singular axial perspective of the garden and jets sparkling in the sunlight [6. 37].
to control the views. Depending on whether the garden was On the next terrace, a long stone table filled with still
viewed from above or below, the proportional effects of water reflects a grotesque fountain flanked by two nonchalant
perspective became either compressed or extended as can river gods [6.o ]. Then come the rushing rivulets of the 'water
be seen in plan [6.2r ]. chain', leading to a small terrace at the top of the formal
The garden at the Villa Lante, designed for Cardinal axis flanked by two loggias called the 'Houses of the Muses'
Gambara from rs68, takes the form of a figurative [6.3r, 6.42]. These frame the recessed Fountain of the Deluge,
landscape. 18 The visitor enters the garden from the main gate which surges from a rough but man-made grotto that echoes
facing the town of Bagnaia, and stands before a cruciform the surrounding hills [6.38]. Behind the grotto is an area of
basin and fountain at the centre of large open terrace named planted woodland, at the edge of which is a large tank that
the 'Quadrato', with a central circular basin [6.33]. Although supplies the garden's water features. At its centre four bearded
more regular and compact, it inspired the Isolotto of the heads of gigantic proportions spout water [6.44]. This
Boboli Gardens in Florence, achieved in the early nth century cistern and the garden's entire water system were designed
[6.20]. On the opposite side of the parterre at Lante stand by Tommaso Ghinucci, a hydraulic engineer from Siena.
6.20 The Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy.

Initially designed by Niccolo Tribolo for Cosimo I
de' Medici before 1550, the Boboli Gardens are
typical of the formal Italian style that would
influence projects across Europe. The Iso lotto is
a 17th-century creation by Alfonso Parigi, with
a circular island garden reached by bridges
replicating the microcosmic principles of the
Maritime Theatre at Hadrian's Villa.
6.21 Reconstruction of the Villa Lante and its

park, overlooking Bagnaia, Italy.
Designed by Jacopo Vignola in the second half
of the 16th century, the Mannerist garden and
forest park of the Villa Lante were constructed
around an elaborate water scheme, developed
by the engineerTommaso Ghinucci.
6.21

6.22a, 6.22b Reconstructed before and after
views of the site at Bagnaia, near Viterbo.
By the 16th century the entire landscape around
Viterbo had been deforested and grazed. The
project byVignola inserts a piece of artificial
forest alongside a formal Mannerist garden. For
the Italian Renaissance the creation of a bosco
or wood was just as significant as the garden.
6.23 Aerial view of the Villa Lante.

The square parterre of the Quadrate replicates
the quadrant archetype of the walled garden.
At the centre, water converges on the Fountain
of the Moors, an obvious reference to the
garden's Islamic influences. The artificial
forest that works as a backdrop provides a
'natural' landscape setting that adds historical
perspective to the narrative thread of the
entire project.
The hilltop wood is reminiscent of the forest described The visitor reaches the top of the garden and turns
in Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, the difference being that it around, and is presented with an extraordinary perspective,
was planted and staged entirely for the benefit of the garden exquisitely proportioned through rectangular terraces and
[6.47]. This was probably the first time since the Hanging trimmed hedges. The all-encompassing view from the top
Gardens of Babylon that a newly planted forest formed of the garden is focused, orderly and symmetrical [6.29].
an integral part of the scenography of a garden [6.22a ~ The main axis of the garden falls away within the natural
6.22b ]. Here, there is no expression of Eros of any sort, terrain, which is carefully balanced on both sides for the sake
nor a lingering pastoral ideal, as would have been the of perspective. Flanking the water chain as it makes its way
case in Roman times. What we find instead is a contrast down the hill are terraces, some of which are carved out
between rugged wilderness and a design representing human of bedrock [6.32]. Viewed from above, the rushing waters
order and purpose [6.45] . The garden of the Villa Lante are framed and tamed into horizontal stillness; each step
demonstrates a complete control over nature and time; it is a of the way, water is deviated and slowed down through an
microcosm of precision meant to draw us away from bestiality intricate arrangement of lateral fountains [6. 30 ]. Their basins,
and lust towards the path of structured reason [6.23]. The which are placed on axis, gradually become more rational,
moral premise in which Christian good and pagan evil are geometric and abstract as the water moves down. When it
juxtaposed here reappears; the Renaissance garden harnesses reaches the long stone table on the penultimate terrace, the
the thrust of time, history and perspective to further assert water is finally muted and transformed [6.28].
this Manichaean dogma within the dynamics of an entirely Water as an allegory of nature is a quintessential
new moral and scientific order [6.41] . The artificial wood feature of this garden. The antiquarian Pirro Ligorio with
is an integral part of the garden design, forming a necessary the help of Tommaso Ghinucci worked on its aquatic
rustic counterpoint to the refined clarity of the perfectly scenography. The same can be said of the geometrically
square Quadrato [6.25] .19 Here we see the two landscape constructed garden, levelled to match the terraced pendants
archetypes- the forest and the walled garden- juxtaposed delineated by carefully constructed walls [6. 39]. Together,
with one another but never quite mixing, in an arrangement these stepped terraces bring unity and symmetry to what
that recalls the cultural clash between the barbarian and the would have been an overgrazed hillside with irregular
Classical over a thousand years earlier [6.27]. outcrops of rock.

6. 24
6.24 Diagonal side alleys of clipped boxwood

leading up to the Quadrato casini (villas).
The break in both diagonals at the centre of the
view corresponds to the passage of the central
perspectival axis, left to right.
6.25 View from the second terrace looking

north.
Looking back towards th e Ouadrato, the village
of Bagnaia is today visible beyond the garden .
Originally the village was further down the hill
and did not interrupt the horizon in this way.
6.25

6.26
6.26 Diagonal view across the Quadrato towards

the two casiniwith their roof lanterns.
An elaborate arabesque parterre of clipped box
frames the Fountain of the Moors to the right.
The fountain occupies the centre of the quadrant
on the main perspectival axis due south.
6.27 Fresco of the Villa Lante by Raffaellino

da Reggio, 1575.
The fresco in the Palazzina Gambara, one of
the two casini situated on the Quadrate, gives
a perspective view of the entire Mannerist
garden and its newly planted wood . The
Quadrate in th e foreground reads literally as
a walled chahar bagh, with the strong central
axis moving uphill, southwards.
6.27

6.28 The water chain tumbling north and down
the slope.
The gushing waters come to a halt in the
tranquil water table below, just before reaching
the Fountain of the Lights. In the distance, water
spouts vertically in the Fountain of the Moors,
in an allegory of wild water tamed in the name
of reason, in parallel with the narrative of the
rest of the garden .
6.29 Reconstructed view of the garden, seen

from above.
The garden surrounded by the newly planted
trees represents a clearing in the rustic forest.
The linear perspective can also be understood
as an axis in time, progressing from the ancient
Deluge grotto set among wild trees and ruined
colonnades to the south, with the garden
descending in steps gradually to the Ouadrato,
a symbol of mathematical reason and control
over nature.
6.28
6.29

6.30
6.30 Detail of a stairway balustrade at the

Fountain of the Lights, on the second terrace.
Water is orchestrated with such minute precision
to delight the ears, and with such parsimony
and craft with respect to the precious liquid, that
the inspiration is undoubtedly Oriental.
6.31 View of the water chain looking south

and upwards towards the Deluge grotto.
The clipped box hedges create an architectural
enclosure with narrow paths, enhancing the
physical presence of water and its acoustic
resonance.
6.32 View from the third terrace looking up.

The wall of the fourth terrace on the eastern side
is carved from bedrock. In the background the
forest wraps around the stepped terraces that
stand out as geometric clearings.
6.32

6.33 The Fountain of the Moors, on the main 6.34 Looking down from the third terrace
central axis. balustrade over the grotto of Neptune.
The statues hold aloft the heraldic device of The view encompasses the second terrace
Cardinal Montalto in the shape of a star, set and the first terrace of the Quadrato. As the
between the symmetrical twin casini behind. garden descends, the vegetation becomes more
reduced and controlled, before finally reaching
the parterre.
As the visitor descends again towards the wide, open this point, the winding forest paths - strewn with fragments
parterre, the sense of geometric balance and centripetal order reminiscent of the past- reproduce a place where Poliphilo
becomes predominant [6.34]. Here, nature is consciously might have got lost [6.46] . The first visitors to the villa
pared back, taking the form of low, clipped box hedges and were drenched by a sudden release of water from the Deluge
water mirrors [6.24]. The centre of the parterre contains a fountain, triggered as they approached the Houses of the
circular fountain with four Moorish figures, which was built Muses [6.4o]: not a subtle joke, but one that carried a clear
later. The presence of this circular symbol at the centre of moral message. The way in which the garden design takes the
the Quadrato was perhaps designed to neutralize, albeit for raw force of nature and gradually harnesses it by the power
an instant, the guiding thrust of perspective [6.35]. of reason could be seen as the embodiment of a cultural war
We are reminded of the Arabic heritage in this garden, waged against this force.
and in particular the return of Euclidian geometry, without In what appears to have been a conscious design, the
which perspective would never have occurred in Western 'evil' woodland is mostly to the left of the central axis as one
culture. The Quadrato parterre is a perfect quadrilateral that looks down upon the cruciform garden [6.43]. As we know,
derives from the earlier Persian tradition of the chahar bagh, the word 'left' translates as sinistra in Italian, reflecting old
although the four rivers of life converging at the centre are superstitions about the 'sinister' side of things. The Italian
absent here. Instead we have an explicitly cruciform gravel Renaissance garden thus represents an elaborate construct in
path leading towards the main fountain, in a scheme inherited which nature must be tamed for the purpose of humankind,
directly from medieval cloisters. This archetypal strength paving the way for an attitude that would become a constant
would serve many Baroque gardens to come. in Western culture [6.36].
The garden's axis, which runs from north to south -
from the darkest recesses of woodland to the orderly clarity
of a wide, open square- follows the rule of perspectival
projection. The contrast between the geometric parterre, with
its trimmed hedges and mirror-like basin, and the seemingly
chaotic rock formation of the 'Deluge', with irregular stands
of trees as backdrop, could not be more striking. Beyond

6.35 Reconstruction of the Villa Lante garden
looking south-east.
The entrance portico leads to the terrace of the
Quadrate, fram ing the perspective axis on the
central fountain . The Fountain of Pegasus
to the right opens the way out to the forest.
6.36 The Fountain of Pegasus with the wall

of muses.
The statue of Pegasus stands in the middle of
an elliptical pool. Legend has it that when the
flying horse struck the earth of Mount Helicon
with its hoof,.a spring burst forth .
6.36

6.37
6.37 The Fountain of the Lanterns. 6.39 Section through the Villa Lante, on the'
Located on the second terrace between the twin south to north perspectival axis.
casini, this fountain expresses enlightenment The terraces from the Quadrate upwards
through the mastery of water. become proportionally smaller. The same is true
of the paths, which become gradually narrower
6.38 The Foutain of the Deluge, with recessed as one ascends, receding in time . The backdrop
nymphaeum. of the forest contributes to an overall feeling
The fountain and grotto are set in a narrow of primeval enclosure.
space between two rusticated loggias. The water
can be understood as the origin of time, and
is present throughout the garden . Early visitors
here were drenched by trick water spouts, to
the amusement of the host- hence the Deluge.

6.40 The twin loggias of the Deluge.
These loggias echo the two casini, but in a
diminutive way, as if their ghosts. Cardinal
Montalto would come here with guests to be 6.42 The Fountain of the Dolphins.
refreshed , converse and listen to the sound of Located on the upper terrace of the garden
the muses. before the loggias of the Fountain of the Deluge,
this fountain comprises 16 dolphins paired
6.41 Detail of a balustrade between the forest around an octagonal base . lt is said that visitors
and the Deluge terrace . would get sprayed with water if they sat on the
The subtle play between the organic and benches. This is the fountain of life that feeds
inorganic, the dark and the light, the living and the water chain just below. A ruin ed colonnade
the dead reaches its full expression here, as if stands in the background at the forest edge
in Poliphilo's dream . as a reminder of time passing.
6.41 6. 4 2

6.43
6.43 The dark forest of the Villa Lante with the

water cistern, if conservone, in the foreground .
The cistern was fed by an aqueduct that was
built some time prior to the garden . The terraced
garden can be seen in the ba ckground .
6.44 11 conservone, the main cistern at the

Villa Lante.
The primitive Titan hea ds emerging from th e
ce ntre of the pool are reminiscent of Appennino
at the Villa Castello . This 'capture' of water marks
the first wilful act against nature in the garden.
6.45 A fountain set in a lawn at the Villa Lante.

The ju xtaposition of a formal basin set in
a verdant forest clearing is unique to this
particul ar period, and would strongly influence
both the Baroque and English landscape
gardens.
6.46 A ruined bench on a plinth in a clearing .

As in the dream of Poliphilo, th e visitor
stumbles across inex plicable fragm ents from
a long forgotten pa st. Landscap e becomes
th e melanchol ic receptacl e of unfathomabl e
memories, real and f ictitious, good and bad,
all for the sake of love and humankind.
6.47 A narrow path deep in the woods.

Th e aestheti c of the hunting ground conve rted
into a park becomes an important reference
for subsequent landsca pes.
6.44

6.46
GARDENS 0 F PERSPECTIVE 167

The legacy of the Renaissance garden to Italian Mannerism, but in the meantime attitudes towards
As the Renaissance progressed, the attitude to nature changed . nature underwent a complete reversal. There is an uncanny
The landscape acquired a new sense of purpose through the likeness in plan between the wood and garden axis of the
use of perspective, while the garden defined itself as a human Villa Lante and Ray Wood at Castle Howard, Venus's Vale at
creation working 'against' nature. The Renaissance garden Rousham, and the Temple of British Worthies at Stowe. The
left a humanistic imprint on the world that remains a reference artificial forests in each case stand out like intriguing patches
point to this day. The modern clipped-hedge gardens of Carl of darkness to the left of the main garden axis.
Theodor S0rensen in Denmark would not have happened Renaissance style spread through Europe in the 16th
without reference to the late Renaissance Rosenborg Gardens century, influencing Loire chateaux like Villandry [6.51] and
in Copenhagen (1624)[6.52]. The Renaissance introduced Fontainebleau, and the Jacobean box knots and labyrinths
the idea of the terraced garden with all-encompassing views, at Hampton Court and Chatsworth [6.48, 6-49]. 21 But in
distantly related to the ancient concept of the hanging this period of conflict between Protestants and Catholics,
gardens. The grounds of the Getty Center, Los Angeles (1977), the garden became an emblem of religious and ideological
suspended above the city skyline, show an almost literal allegiance. The Hortus Palatinus in Heidelberg was never
interpretation of this archetype [6.58]. As a counterpoint, completed, but was intended to represent a repository of
Muso Soseki gave birth to a new kind of forest garden at the scientific knowledge under Catholicism. 22 The same applies
Saiho-ji moss garden in Kyoto (1339) that was to become the to the Tuileries gardens in Paris, which became a form of
polar opposite of Renaissance gardens in style [6.57]. scientific laboratory under Bernard Palissy. 23 The riches of
The estate of the Sacro Bosco, 'sacred wood', designed new colonies encouraged powerful families like the Medicis to
by Pier Franceso Orsini with Pirro Ligorio in a late Mannerist project their might across the surrounding landscape. Europe
style in Bomarzo (1552-64), used diminutive buildings was not yet at the point when nations would claim entire
and oversized monster sculptures as part of its woodland continents, as France, Spain, Portugal and England would do
scenery [6.53, 6.54, 6.55]. 20 Both Lante and Bomarzo featured in the Baroque period. During the late Renaissance, following
artificially planted woodland that would inspire the creators villas in Rome, Fiesole and Castello, the next Medici project
of the first English Picturesque gardens two centuries later. would be in Paris, where the Jardin du Luxembourg- first
Unlikely as it might appear, the English garden owes its origins created for Marie de' Medici in 1612- still stands today [6.56].
6.48 Circular pool and Irish yews with clipped

hornbeam hedge, Chatsworth, England.
A more abstract manifestation of clipped topiary
and a play of the informal and the formal add
a note of humour to the incipient Baroque style.
6.49 Herm statue of a devil in a recess of clipped

hornbeam, Chatsworth.
This statue welcomes guests on their way to the
labyrinth. The transfer of a Renaissance narrative
from Italy into the English landscape is very
clear here.

The Renaissance coincided with the great
Ming period in China, where the art of the
garden reached its peak in Suzhou [6.50]. 24 Few
exchanges relating to garden design took place
between Italy and China, and it is interesting to
note how their landscape cultures developed in
different directions. In Suzhou, for instance, the
location of a garden's paths would have been
dictated by the forces of geomancy and not
geometry. The traditional Chinese garden was
understood as an allegory of nature, replete with
strongly coded symbolism, rather than of man's
dominion over it, and its principal archetypes
were the twin notions of 'mountain' and 'water'.
Despite this difference, China would come to exert
an influence on European gardens through the
'Anglo-Chinese' style that flourished in Europe
during the 18th century.
6.51 The Renaissance garden atVillandry

in the Loire Valley, France, designed 1540.
The quadratic parterres and broad terraces are
reminiscent of early Italian gardens of the same
period . The chateau's owner, Jean Le Breton,
was ambassador to Fran ce in Rome and certainly
visited Bramante's Belvedere at the Vatican.
6.50 Entrance to the Vi Pu garden, Suzhou,
China. 6.52 The King's Garden, Rosenborg,
This Ming dynasty garden was first established Copenhagen, Denmark.
in the second half of the 16th century byYuan Dating from the early 17th century, this
Zugeng, and was call ed the ZuiYingTang , Renaissance rose garden influenced countless
'Garden of Inebriated Talent'. lt was then named landscape designers, including the 20th
Yi Pu, 'Angelica Garden' by a subsequent owner. century's Carl Theodor Sj1Jrensen , known for
The garden features elaborate rockwork and tall his clipped elliptical hedges. Today the garden
walls amid a labyrinth of pools, plantations and is still used by sun seekers, who shelter within
small stone bridges. geometrical hornbeam recesses.
6.5 1

6.53, 6.54, 6.55 Three views of the Sacro Bosco,
Bomarzo, Italy, 1552-64.
Phantasmagorical sculptures of monsters
and mythical creatures stage a complex and
sometimes irreverent narrative against a
backdrop of seemingly wild and untouched
nature. The design of th e garden in late
Mannerist style is attributed to Pirro Ligorio,
with sculptures by Simon e Moschino, at the
request of Pier Fran cesco Orsini in memory
of his deceased wife.
6.56 The Medici Fountain in the Jardin

du Luxembourg, Paris, France.
The Palais des M edicis and gardens built
by Marie de' Medici in 1630 were modelled on
the Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens in Florence.
The fountain has been moved and modified
since then.
6.57 The mid-14th-century garden of the

Saiho-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan.
Designed by the Buddhist monk Mu so Soseki,
the garden provides an interesting counterpoint
to the Europea n Rena issance . Its Golden Pond,
with three isl ands originally carpeted with white
sand, evolved naturally into a moss garden over
tim e. The timeless, undisturbed co ntemplation
of nature as opposed to a struggle against it
is of the essence here.
6.58 The Central Garden, Getty Center,

Los Angeles, USA, 1977.
This formal garden comprising mi xed borders,
clipped hedges and lawn was designed by
the California artist Robert lrwin. A sublime
expression of power, the sheer scale of this
elaborate updated parterre reminds us of
precedents including Hadrian's Villa , the Villa
Lante and Vau x- le-Vi co mte.
6.53
6 .54 6.55

6.56 6.57
6.58

7. The Measure of Reason
'For, after all, what is man in nature? He is nothing in Flanders to Holland. Fleeing populations brought centuries
comparison with the infinite, and everything in comparison of accumulated technical, philosophical and mathematical
with nothingness, a central point between all and nothing.' knowledge, inherited from the Arabs of al-Andalus, Egypt
Blaise Pascal, Pensees1 and the Middle East, to these inhospitable, marshy reaches
of north-western Europe. The Dutch had popularized such
To speak of the European Age of Reason without considering technologies as the windmill, the river levee and the water
the vast landscapes at Vaux-le-Vicomte [7.0] or the allegorical pump, inherited from canal-builders of 8th-century Baghdad
paintings of Nicolas Poussin would seem an oversight [7.r], and themselves the result of earlier Persian inventions. 3 These
but not to mention the Dutch Golden Age as an important three technologies were considerably improved, and together
precedent in designed landscape geometry would be to ignore with the new migrants, aided land reclamation, allowing
a revolution in mathematics, philosophy and technology that agricultural and urban development that would ultimately set
brought about considerable advances in modes of production the scene for the Dutch Golden Age. In addition, the arrival
and commerce to Europe. 2 The origins of the Dutch Golden of advanced banking practices from northern Italy helped
Age lie in part in rs th-century political upheaval. In Spain, the Dutch East India Company to become the unchallenged
Ferdinand and lsabella imposed unity through religious leader in world commerce during the 17th century. 4
conformity, establishing the Inquisition and forcing the The Dutch Republic of the early n th century could
conversion of non-Catholic communities. The immediate be likened to a contemporary think tank. It boasted a
result was a massive exodus from Spain, Portugal and concentration of wealth, knowl edge and technical know-how,
7.0 (opposite) Looking south across the third

terrace at Vaux-le-Vicomte, France.
The tall vertical edge of a trimmed wood
at right angles to a reflective pool directs
the view to the horizon. Just beyond, another
pool seems unbalanced as it points to a distant
clearing. Baroque gardens constantly play with
the dichotomy between apparent intention and
physical reality.
7.1 Hymenaios Disguised as a Woman During

an Offering to Priapus (detail) by Nicolas Poussin.
The scene painted in 1638 evokes an ancient
male fertility rite that can be traced back through
Greek and Roman cultures to the Egyptian myth
of Os iris and the Nile. Both Nicolas Poussin and
Claude Lorrain worked in Rome and had a great
influence on the. Baroque and the Picturesque.
7.1
THE MEASURE OF REASON 173

7.2 Illustration of the telescope without a tube.
LA D I O P TRlQ....U£
Devised by the Dutchman Christiaan Huygens
with his brother Constantijn in 1683, the tubeless
or aerial telescope had an eyepiece for the
observer on the ground and a focal objective
on top of a pole aligned by a taut silk thread.
7.3 Diagram from La Dioptrique, Rene Descartes.

Descartes' diagram explains the phenomenon
of image inversion on the retina of the eye.
A preoccupation with measuring and optics was
at the heart of scientific concerns at this time .
7.4 A diagonal view at the Beemster Polder.

When looking diagonally across two squares
of the Beemster polder towards the village of
Middenbeemster, our gaze becomes distorted:
although the roads leading to the church steeple
are at a right angle to each other, they appear
to form a single flat horizon line in the distance.
7.5 Plan of the Beemster Polder, North Holland.

7.2 7.3 Overseen by the architect Jan Leeghwater, a
former inland lake 3 metres (10 feet) below sea
level was drained and the 7,000-ha (17,300-acre)
polder laid out with a regular grid of squares
measuring 900 metres (3,000 feet) each side.
Each was then subdivided into five lots,
following patterns of access and drainage.
and a thriving university at Leiden that attracted people and 1612, this was the first windmill-drained polder. Once
such as the French Philosopher Rene Descartes [7. 3] - it was dry, this large area of reclaimed land was divided
an atmosphere that facilitated a liberal exchange of ideas up geometrically into squares, following a regular grid of
between intellectuals, engineers and traders. 5 Without this drainage canals. This grid is of particular interest for the
rich discourse, involving Sephardic Jews, Italian heretics period, for it shows an unprecedented degree of control as
(Galileo's Discourse was smuggled to Leiden and published well as visual and cartographic abstraction [7.5].7 Baroque
there), French Huguenots and Calvinist Dutchmen, the landscapes were not, therefore, only an invention of the
Dutch Republic would probably never have produced such French, and their triangulated cartography of a hundred years
remarkable scientific figures as the astronomer, timekeeper later could not have developed without this vital precedent
and mathematician Christiaan Huygens [7.2]. 6 [7.11]. Ironically, although most Baroque landscapes were
born out of absolute monarchies in France and Austria,
A question of topography a significant portion of the applied surveying knowledge
Although, at first sight, there is no stylistic link between derived from the liberal culture of the Dutch Republic.
Baroque gardens and the vast, windswept polders of Holland, The Dutch landscape was sustained by an ingenious
both in fact require great topographic precision, geometric engineering system: dykes were protected by wind-powered
rigour and superlative organization and discipline to water pumps drawing excess water from the soil and releasing
maintain. The Dutch accumulated considerable wealth from it into the sea via canals. Wind-powered sawmills produced
what had been ~een as the region's two major drawbacks: by the mid-17th century enough timber for the 15 ,ooo vessels
unusable marshland and too much wind. Through large-scale of the Dutch East India Company. 8 Huygens's invention of a
earthworks and water-management systems, they would reliable pendulum clock made possible the timekeeping for the
finally gain control over the natural floodlands of North collective management of polder lands, keeping track of tidal
Holland and Zeeland. The paintings of the Dutch artist intervals and plotting maritime navigation. The painting The
Jacob van Ruisdael show this new industrious spirit at work Ambassadors by Hans Holbein (1533) encapsulates well the
in the landscape [7. 7]. The most emblematic project of this beginning of this period of great technical and commercial
period is perhaps the Beemster Polder, located near Haarlem expansion [7.6].9 By the end of the 16th century Amsterdam
[7. 4]. Created by the engineer Jan Leeghwater between 1609 had grown into a model of technical urbanity.
174 THE MEASURE OF REASON

The French philosopher Rene Descartes, who
is sometimes known as the 'father of modern
philosophy', spent over twenty years of his adult
life in the Dutch Republic, refining his reflections
on reason, proportional mathematics and dualistic
metaphysics. Between 1628 and 1649, Descartes
profited from the country's extraordinary climate
of intellectual questioning that flourished during
that time. One is tempted to draw a parallel
between the geometric shape of the early Dutch
polders and Cartesian diagrams devised to
express algebraic equations in a two -dimensional
coordinate system. 10 The influx of intellectuals
transformed the Republic and, more particularly,
the new town of Amsterdam into one of the most
lively intellectual environments in Europe.
7.5

Perspective came to play a significant role
in Baroque gardens. In artworks anamorphic
compositions were conceived in such a way that
they would be revealed only as the viewer found
the correct vantage point. The Ambassadors (1533)
by Hans Holbein has an anamorphic skull at the
bottom of the composition [7.6]; and its terrestrial
globe pre-dates Gerhardus Mercator's invention
of orthographic projection allowing for a spherical
map to be flattened into a two-dimensional
chart. 11 These experiments with geometry seen
as examples of 'Baroque play' or the mastery of
changing form created a new type of manipulated
space a~d perception, and thus new works of
the imagination.
7.6
7.6 The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein, 1533.

Two powerful men pose before a collection
of mathematical instruments used to measure
both space and time. But it is the anamorphic
skull that can only be viewed from the bottom
left t~at makes this painting famous.
7. 7 The Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede by

Jacob van Ruisdael, 1670.
The painting encapsulates the Dutch constructed
landscape and its relationship to water: the
banks of the dyke are held in place by bundles
of brushwood, and the windmill towers over
the village under menacing skies.
7.8 Map of Amsterdam by Joan Blaeu, 1649.

7.7 The city is shown at the peak of the Golden Age
when it was still expanding within its concentric
ring of semicircular canals. The new Baroque
defence line is being traced on adjacent polders.
7.9 The graphometre.

First devised at the end of the 16th century,
the graphometre was used to create precise
terrestrial cartography. Surveyors would
triangulate between church steeples and
other prominent features in the landscape
and could then draw accurate maps.
7.10 Design for a parterre de broderie by

Dezallier d'Argenville.
D'Argenville's 1709 book on French garden
aesthetics, entitled La theorie et la pratique
du jardinage, went through thirteen editions
before the French Revolution.
7.11 The Cartes des Chasses drawn by

Jean-Baptiste Berthier from 1764.
The map of the royal hunting grounds in the
greater Versailles region reveals how the process
of triangulation developed by French land
surveyors over the preceding century strongly
influenced the shaping of territory.
7.8

N erla a set
centu
two parts: a g uated
semicircle a compass at centre, a
a 180° ng instrument resting on paper
ng i [7.9]. Invented for
mappi rposes, the graphometre came to be
used extensively a range-finder in
18th-century parks a gardens, like the 1
Carte des Chasses, the tasks of plotti
extended well beyond bou ries of the
rden [7.11 ]. lt left an imprint on triangulated
7.9 d'oie landscapes- a rn typical of rmal
garde~s the 17th centu in ich straig
paths bra off a single point. tool also
al great precision in the mt1on anar
surfaces for ornamental gardens [7.10]. 12
7.11

Amsterdam became a 'Venice of the North', boasting Shaykh Baha' al-Din- also a great master of topography- to
concentric rings of canals flanked by the townhouses of help him conceive a new capital on the Iranian High Plateau
wealthy merchants [7.8]. Politically, it became the symbol of a where it was crossed by the Zaindeh River at the southern '
new liberal, democratic prosperity, embodied in the paintings edge of the Great Salt Desert. In their scale and refinement
of Rembrandt and Vermeer, that was in striking contrast to the gardens and palaces at Isfahan represented an impressive '
the despotic palatial monarchies of neighbouring countries. example of urban planning and landscape design fifty years
The city attracted wealthy Jewish families from Antwerp, before anything comparable was built in Europe [7.r6].
Toledo, Lisbon and elsewhere, who contributed not only Isfahan boasted the Royal Maidan, perhaps the biggest
to its uncontested position as a mercantile and agricultural urban square in the world at that time, which was inspired
leader during the 17th century, but also to its intellectual by the typology of the caravanserai in its vast courtyard
development, with polemic philosophers such as Spinoza. 13 surrounded by shops and monuments [7-I4l· Shah Abbas
received ambassadors from India, China and Europe in the
lsfahan and Europe Music Room of the Ali Qapu royal palace, which overlooks
As trade among seafaring nations expanded, so the world the Maidan and its mosques [7-I?l· Isfahan 's main avenue, the
provided additional sources of inspiration that would influence Chahar Bagh, is planted with trees and slopes gently down to
the development of the formal garden. Historically, Persia was the Zaindeh River; on either side it was flanked by four square
a point of exchange between East and West, lying between gardens, including the Chehel Sotun and the Hasht Bihisht
Venice and China on the Silk Road. But the geopolitics of [?-I3]Y The Chahar Bagh meets the river at the Si-o-seh Pol,
Central Asia changed at the end of the r6th century with or 'Bridge of 33 Arches', and the Khajou Bridge, which both
the Safavid rule of Shah Abbas in Persia [7.!2]. 14 Shah Abbas feature a series of alcoves above the water [7.15]. The scale
maintained diplomatic ties with Mughal India, with the of the urban project at Isfahan was well known in European
Maidan in Isfahan serving in part as model for projects like circles at the turn of the 17th century, as was the absolutist
the Taj Mahallaid out in r632 under the Mughal emperor rule of Shah Abbas. Exchanges that took place between early
Shah Jahan [7.r8]. 15 But Abbas also established links with Safavid Persia and Baroque Europe are well documented.
Europe at the turn of the nth century in order to combat the Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (r6or-2) already contains
Ottoman Empire. 16 He asked the architect and mathematician a reference to the Shah, or 'the Sophy', as he is called.
7.12
7.12 lsfahan, the new Safavid capital of Persia.

Designed for Shah Abbas by the architect
Shaykh Baha' al-Oin in 1598 and completed in
1630, the plan for the capital boasted splendid
avenues, gardens, palaces, mosques and
bridges set around a vast Maidan square.
At that time lsfahan had no rival, and attracted
countless visitors from Europe and China.
7.13 Mid-17th-century Safavid palace,

lsfahan, Iran.
The sumptuous loggia with its twenty slender
columns merges with the garden. A long cooling
pool before the main entrance reflects the
refined structure, hence its name: Chehel Sotun
(Palace of Forty Columns).
7.13

7.15
7.14 7.16
7.14 Aerial view of the Maidan, lsfahan.

The Maidan was complete d in 1629 and
measures 560 metres (1,840 feet) long .
The rooftops of the Bazaar are visible in the
foreground; the Shah Mosque is at the end of
the square, with its axis turned towards Mecca.
7.15 The Khajou bridge, lsfahan.

Built in th e mid-17th ce ntury over the Zaind eh
River, this bridge rivals in beauty the Si-o-seh
Pol upstream. People sit here to meet and listen
to th e rushing sound of the river.
7.16 The Maidan with the Shah Mosque, lsfahan .

7.17
Once a vast caravanserai co urtyard open to
travellers and merchants from distant lands, this
has been transformed into a tourist destination ,
with fountains and clipped trees .
7.17 Music Room of the Ali Qapu palace, lsfahan.

Shah Abbas ente rta ined fo reign guests here
with music, da nce rs and food. Th e extravagant
papier-mache decoration has survived well for
400 years.
7.18 The Taj Mahal garden, Agra, India.

Design ed by Ali M arda n Khan in 1632, th e garden
is subdivid ed into sixteen sunken parterres. Its
scale was unrivall ed at the time; Versailles was
begun four decades later. Acco unts tell of a
paradise with count less fruit trees and flowers;
the British Empire changed all that to lawn.
7.1 8

_ _.__ _)
7.19

Vaux-le-Vicomte, France
The garden at Vaux-le-Vicomte, begun in I653, is a unique reason. 21 Flat gravel terraces retained by stone walls are
achievement, crafted out of the desire to transform a banal framed by straight lines of clipped hornbeam punctuated
stretch of rural countryside into a complex arrangement by topiary- conical yews and spherical box- mingling with
of exquisite geometric illusions [7.20]. The manipulation elaborately embroidered parterres that recede regularly into
of this rolling terrain (vaux means 'vales' in French) into a the distance. Everything appears very orderly and controlled:
series of extensive terraces flanking a central axis divided by a triumphant display of regular geometry and reason against
a low-lying canal recalls the Grand Canal (I6o9) developed the rougher backdrop of newly planted woodlands [7.2Ia,
nearby at Fontainebleau during the reign of Henri IV [7.I9], 7.2Ib]. The garden is conceived as an intellectual playground,
but also the Mughal gardens of India and the Chahar Bagh a vast conceptual plane framed on all sides by tall hedges
of Isfahan completed half a century before. 18 But it is the and woods, hence the clearing. Vaux-le-Vicomte creates the
impression of a wide, almost metaphysical openness at Vaux- illusion of a broad paradise garden framed by a tall hedge
le-Vicomte that makes the garden strikingly different from set within a forest. Only a narrow, open slit on the forested
any other previously invented. This masterwork of landscape hill, on axis with the house, enables the viewer to catch a
scenography designed by Andre Le Notre unfolds to the glimpse in the far distance of the place where earth meets
horizon and was made for Nicolas Fouquet, a rich French sky. Marrying the ancient archetypes of the forest clearing
nobleman. 19 We are no longer experiencing a constrained, and the (hedged) walled garden, Vaux-le-Vicomte is made for
tunnel-like perspective, as at the Villa Lante, but a more metaphysical demonstration and earthly distraction.
open and elemental space that explores the physical limits The great achievement of Vaux-le-Vicomte is the way
of Euclidian geometry and human perception [7.22]. 20 it creates an illusion of distance and warped proportion from
Standing outside the house, one has a sense of ordered the very beginning. Three identical, circular basins, seemingly
immensity facing south towards the horizon. The Cartesian equidistant from each other, as seen from the ballroom steps,
balance and impeccable symmetry across the expanse of the reflect the sky at the centre of the garden terraces [7.23].
grand clearing delivers a powerful message of enlightened The first basin seen from the chateau is indeed large, round
7.19 The Grand Canal, Fontainebleau, France.

Completed in 1609 in the reign of King Henri IV,
the canal, almost 1,200 metres (4,000 feet) long
and 50 metres (165ft) wide, heralds a series of
monumental reservoirs and canals that became
the trademark of French Baroque gardens.
7.20 Plan ofVaux-le-Vicomte, France.

The chateau was commissioned by Nicolas
Fouquet in 1653. The architect Louis Le Vau,
landscape architect And re Le N6tre and artist
Charles Le Brun were asked to reconceive the
estate entirely.
7.20

views of Vaux-le-Vicomte.
The original house and its terrain were much
smaller and set in open farmland. A wood 3 km
(1% miles) long and 1 km (2/3 mile) wide was then
planted and the terrain carefully levelled to meet
the strict optical requirements of perspective.
7.22 Aerial view ofVaux-le-Vicomte.

The chateau is the centrepiece of the project,
where all optical illusions in relation to the
park are focused. lt is therefore set back
proportionally in the garden, in order to
enhance the effects of perspectival illusion.
7.22
and positioned on the central axis, but the two more distant goal on the horizon. It is only when the visitor completes
basins flanking the axis are in fact oblong and several times the promenade at the end of the garden axis that a perfect
longer than they are wide. They result from the precise reflection of the chateau appears in the large Square Basin.
anamorphic study of the garden, as seen from the house Beyond the canal, looking back north above the cascade, a
and are, therefore, quite deliberate and reasoned in their complete view of the grounds is revealed. From this position,
form. 22 This creates an illusion of consistency between the the house towers over a compressed one-point perspective,
three separate bodies of water when viewed in this direction, dominating the garden and sealing the entire horizon to the
compensating for the perspectival compression that naturally north [7.34].
occurs in a vista of this depth. The visitor believes that the Vaux-le-Vicomte plays with our blind faith in
three circular basins are identical but, walking towards them perspective, encouraging us to see what we think rather than
across the first two main terraces, the reality of the illusion to think what we see. Another splendid illusion staged at
becomes apparent [7.25]. This play between physical response Vaux-le-Vicomte involves the first two terraces. Once again,
and intellectual perception and deception is a recurrent theme as seen from the ballroom steps, the terraces appear to be
in Baroque gardens. It relates to the notion of Cartesian square and equally proportioned, but in actual fact the second
dualism, where the garden becomes a life-size laboratory terrace, which is just a few steps lower than the first, is twice
in the service of enlightenment, demonstrating the inherent as wide and as deep as the first in order to compensate for
difference between body and mind as they relate to space. In perspectival compression [7.28]. The garden's metamorphosis
other words, the body's failings are patent, needing constant and its distorted proportions become apparent only when
correction and reinstatement on the path of reason (raison). the visitor is attentive to the illusory tricks at play. On an
The garden has a moral element, where the place of unconscious level, however, this might be one reason why
man is measured against the greater forces of the universe - visitors unfailingly find the walk along the garden axis far
or of 'nature', if you will. The clipped vegetation reduced to longer than expected, as if infinity were unrolling at their feet.
minutiae at the foot of the house and on the central terrace The garden's illusory game becomes obvious once the visitor
is subjected to the will of man in the search of a higher moves away from the house into the depths of the garden,
truth [7.26]. What seems so clear and obvious at first sight which reveals itself as a highly abstract construct, a reflection
becomes more complex as one moves towards the perspectival of geometric rules in all their power and precision [7.35].

7.23 View from the ballroom steps.
lt is from this viewpoint that the effects of
compressed perspective and anamorphic
distortion occur. The grotto at the end of the
main alley appears to be at the same height
as the viewer when in fact it is much lower.
Likewise, three circular basins centred on the
main axis seem to be similar in size and shape,
but this illusion is shattered as one moves
towards them .
7.24 Plan ofVaux-le-Vicomte by Israel Sylvestre,

1660.
The plan, drawn after the garden was laid-
out, shows a strong geometric composition
spiralling out of the chateau into the gardens
and out towards the ·a rtificially planted forest.
The perspective is not centred on the grounds,
conferring a much stronger dynamic thrust
to the project. The idea of landscape as a
learned display of science and reason reaches
a pinnacle here.

7.25 View from the third terrace towards
the grotto.
The sequence here seems to repeat itself from
that on the second terrace, but the intervals
between objects become more expansive
as the basin to the right unrolls its oblong
form, and conical yews replace boxwood
spheres leading the way towards a seemingly
unattainable horizon .
7.26 Arabesque and spherical topiary on the

second terrace, looking towards the woodland .
The clipped arabesque and neat lawn with a
platonic boxwood sphere obey the language of
reason, which requires that nature be thoroughly
tamed . Vau x-le-Vicomte can be understood as
a metaphysical forest clearing of sorts, where
disordered and unkempt nature gets pushed
out to the edges.
7.25
7.26

7.27 Sunken area left of the second terrace.
An elaborate construction of clipped yew,
boxwoo d and hornbeam hedges is designed
to compensate for the difference in height in
this sunken area, where a river once ran, when
viewed from the chateau and main alley. This
maintains the optical balance across the broad
expanse of the garden.
7.28 View of the first three terraces.

Seen in this direction, the differences in size
and width of the terraces, the two oblong basins
and the circular basin are quite noticea ble. The
sunken area is to the far right.
7.29 Main perspective at Vaux le Vicomte by

Israel Sylvestre, 1660.
The engraving is an early perspective of the
garden with visitors. The following year on
17 August 1661 Nicolas Fouquet threw his first
and last grand party, with 6,000 guests in the
presence of King Louis XI V. The sheer scale of
7.27
th e event became a founding reference
for Versailles.
7.30 Engraving by Israel Sylvestre of a party at

the Grotto on the south bank of the canal, 1660.
This is where mythology begins, distant from
Reason left behind on the opposite shore. There
are no terraces , just underworld recesses and a
slope up to the statue of Hercules. lt is difficult
to appreciate how it must have felt, since most
of the fountains , sculptures and trees were
confiscated and taken to Versailles.
7.28

The appropriation of space through -illusion when established rules of government and authority were
Ultimately, the illusionistic devices at play at Vaux-le-Vicomte questioned and conventions overturned. In his manners and
had a concrete purpose, which was the demonstration of taste, Fouquet was inspired more by his mentor, Cardinal
human power through the manipulation of 'natural' space. Mazarin, and Catherine de' Medici than by the premise
In the middle of the nth century an aristocratic rebellion in of absolute monarchy, of which he became one of the first
France, known as 'la Fronde', had actively sought to weaken victims. 24 To say, therefore, that the first French Baroque
the power of the French monarchy. It was during this unstable garden was the product of an enlightened despot is quite
period in French history, when monarchic rule was openly correct; but to say that it is the bare expression of French
challenged, that Vaux-le-Vicomte came into being. absolutism is to miss the essential point of its creation. 25
Nicolas Fouquet, the figure who commissioned This garden is not only a manifestation of financial power,
Vaux-le-Vicomte, was a powerful aristocrat, financier but an elaborate intellectual construct of great force and
and amateur of the arts and science. He was also rich, refinement, inscribed in a very long tradition of geometric
since his forefathers had made a fortune in the highly garden design [7.27].
lucrative triangular slave trade between Africa, America Vaux-le-Vicomte represents a showcase of state-
and Europe. A very educated man, he selected the team for of-the-art n th-century landscape techniques. It was
his project at Vaux-le-Vicomte with great care, choosing measured, terraced, drained and planted according to
Andre Le Notre as landscape architect, Louis Le Vau as the finest technical precepts of the times. Few original
architect, Charles Le Brun as painter of interior decorations, plans of Vaux-le-Vicomte and subsequent gardens by
and many other talents capable of bringing his vision into Le Notre are known, probably because lines were traced,
being, including the writers Jean de la Fontaine and Moliere surveyed and triangulated directly on the terrain using
[7 .29, 7·30]. 23 ropes and chains, and with the help of precision surveying
, It would be mistaken to confuse the refinement invested instruments [7 .24]. The most important thing for the quality
in this first masterpiece of French Baroque garden design of Le Notre's design was the depth and refinement of the
with the advent of the absolute monarchy of Louis XIV illusion at hand , based on the proportional precision of
thereafter. Vaux-le-Vicomte is the product of sublime, liberal the first axial projection that was measured, traced and
landscape invention at a specific moment in French history, topographically adjusted upon the land.
7.29 7.30

7.31
The garden sits in a gently rolling landscape amid canal creates an almost cosmic impression, as if the facade
open agricultural fields and scattered hedgerows. It is located were suspended above all worldly concerns [7.33]. At
50 km (30 miles) to the south-east of Paris, on the road Vaux-le-Vicomte, water becomes as elemental as air, earth
between Vincennes and Fontainebleau, two strongholds and light in its degree of abstraction; repeatedly obstructing
of French royalty. Over the course of eight years from 16 53 our path, forcing us to depart or at least deflect from the
to 1661, first with the architect Daniel Gittard, who laid intended trajectory.
out the terraces, and then with Andre Le Notre (1656), The deceptively open perspective of the central terrace
who completed the garden, three rivers were diverted and contrasts strongly with the complexity of the maze of
channelled underground and the small village of Vaux (1659) hedges set towards the sides [7.44]. The dichotomy between
including the church and cemetery were demolished. 26 Using vision and physical progress is all the more obvious as one
up to 1,8oo labourers, the work was done 'secretively' to avoid approaches the perpendicular canal. Here, the difference
any suspicion from the king. The terrain was significantly between what is seen on axis and what is physically possible
modified into a set of stepped terraces, geometric reflecting becomes evident; the visitor can either make a detour to
ponds and canals [7.32]. A natural, pre-existing declivity to the head of the canal on the left-hand side, where an idyllic
the south-east of the house, due to a stream, was formally pastoral scene awaits, before returning after a long walk
squared out and incorporated into the Baroque framework to the central axis on the other side, or can take an even
of the garden [7.27, 7·45]_27 longer route to the right [7.43]. This delay in space and
The extraordinary water features throughout the time before one reaches the other shore, with its grotto and
garden.- its canal, cascade, basins and grotto - were designed statue of the Farnese Hercules beyond [7.39, 7.40, 7.41], is
for the dual purpose of illusion and perspectival delight, in fact a temporal device quite similar to the chronological
with countless allegorical statues and herms providing a compression expressed at the Villa Lante, reaching back to
strong mythological timeline [7.37]. Water was used in the mythological times. 28
creation of illusionistic effects as a reflective device [7.31].
The celebrated reflection of the house in the square basin at Vaux-le-Vicomte and its moral dimension
the end of the third terrace conveys a sense of mastery and For a very short moment in time, the gardens at Vaux-
extraordinary precision; that in the round basin across the le-Vicomte became a prominent Baroque landmark.

7.31 The moat separating the chateau from
the grounds.
Designed not as a defensive line but rather as
a calm surface to reflect the sky, this moat is
the ultimate metaphysical device, creating the
illusion that the garden is suspended in mid-air.
7.32 Section across the first, second and part

of the third terraces.
The terrain steps down in level terraces as it
approaches the canal towards the right, and
the forest in the background mirrors this scaled
progression. The chateau stands at the highest
point to view the perspective, at the heart of
a rational space and in the midst of a geometric
clearing as distant from the trees and nature
as possible.
7.33 The chateau above a pool.

A small circular pool placed at the end of the
garden axis seems to encompass the entire
garden as the visitor glances back to view the
house. The illusion that the entire garden and
house are suspended above this elliptical form
is short lived . At Vaux, man stands at the centre
of all things, and it is human reason and not
spiritual mystique that is here to guide us.
7.34 Perspective of the garden facade of the

chateau atVaux-le-Vicomte by Israel Sylvestre,
1660.
The engraving frames a broad optical 'pyramid'
that shortens the perspective of the garden
significantly. In this compressed view the house
itself, which appears elevated and prominent,
seems to hover over the world.
7.33
I
7.34

7.35
7.37
7.35, 7.36 Two side views ofVaux-le-Vicomte.

The garden is framed by a tall hornbeam
hedge which appears to be part of the chateau's
architecture, holding back the forest. In another
view the lateral pool articulates the transition
from the first to second terraces and creates a
strong barrier, forcing movement perpendicular
to the main axis.
7.37 A herm at the east entrance to the garden.

This archaic herm figure is positioned off to one
side away from the main axis at the very edge
of the forest clearing . Unlike Villa Lante, where
mythology was aligned chronologically on th e
perspectival axis, here myth is found on all sides
and has to be held on the periphery.
7.38 Reconstructed aerial perspective.

The edge of the forest on the right gradually
encroaches towards the central axis as it
progresses through the garden . This increases
the illusion of depth through a forced
perspective, making th e garden seem deeper
than it actually is, addi ng to the optical effects.
7.38

7.40
7.39, 7.40 The Farnese Hercules.

The statue was part of the original scheme, but
Fouquet's arrest prevented its placement and it
was only added in the late 19th century. Hercules
plays a v ital role in this garden of illusions. Seen
from the chateau, the gigantic figure seems
much like th e people walking along the terraces ,
7.39 and it also punctuates the finale of the story with
a parabolic return to humanism .
7.41 View looking north.

The entire perspective is so compressed in
reverse that the narrow gap in th e woods from
this viewpoint seems to be as wide as the three
terraces beyond the cana l leading back towards
the house.
I
7.41

7.43
7.42
It should be understood as an open labyrinth, a divine, gardens such as Villandry: the embroidered parterre in
geometric fingerprint comprising infinite folds that would front of the ballroom vanishes into the distance, becoming
please both Pascal and Leibnitz in their factorial complexity an almost immaterial expression of structure, texture and
[7.38]. The garden could appear to unfold and multiply, light [7 .46]. Vaux-le-Vicomte provides a strong physical
depending on the visitor's propensity to stray away from counterpoint to its own framework, creating a sense of
the axis of reason. indefinable spatial displacement within an apparently
The Baroque axis running through the garden's centre placid setting. In its intent, it is a divine embodiment of
thus becomes a line of pure intention, gliding over all physical Blaise Pascal's notion of the void, and the complex moral
obstacles, detaching itself completely from the intricate paths play that stands between human rectitude and our
that trap the body. Vaux-le-Vicomte becomes an abstract inclinations [7.42]. 29
theatre of spatial manipulations utterly detached from nature. The gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte went on to inspire
The surface of the garden can be likened to the weave of those designed by Andre le Notre at Chantilly, Sceaux,
a fabric, operating according to a given set of folds, pleats St-Germain and Versailles, with their axes and countless
and patterns that play with the very fibre of the landscape bosquets. All became places of learned explication and
in multiple directions [7.36]. Time becomes elastic and full narration, where higher reason would be revealed. This
of surprises, despite the garden's apparent formal structure. eventually led to the idea of landscape narrative in the
The idea of the early Baroque landscape is that a higher Picturesque, and the avoidance of complete geometric
level of meaning can be attained at each step, where each abstraction. In the French Baroque tradition, nature must
inflection and fold ultimately reveals the greater design be seen as an abstract moral and physical dimension that
of nature. can in no way be understood as 'naturalistic'. According
There is a constant interaction between matter and to Descartes, man continually strives against nature;
form at Vaux-le-Vicomte, expressed in the intrinsic difference unfortunately, our recent evolution fails to contradict this
between the garden's structure and its ornament. This could statement in any way.
be interpreted as a proto-modernist separation of form
and function. The reconciliation of these two elements at
Vaux-le-Vicomte is not as literal as in previous Renaissance

7.45
7.44
7.42 The chateau at Vaux reflected in the moat.

As if floating in space and in time, the chateau
advances on the path of reason. All the' elements
in nature are controlled with the utmost precision
and refinement, and it is only the path taken by
man that is liable to stray, with fatal uncertainty.
7.43 The grand canal at Vaux.

Roughly the same size as that at Fontainebleau,
built 50 years earlier, the canal atVaux runs
perpendicular to the central axis and creates a
fundamental break between the realm of reason
on the chateau side and that of mythology, which
stretches towards the Farnese Hercules. Getting
around it on foot requires time, patience and
faith in some distant history.
7.44, 7.45 Exterior and interior views of the edge

of the second terrace.
A curving hedge encloses the pool at the edge
of the second terrace. Both images show how
differently the same space unfolds relative to
the poiht of view, and invites us to take a second
look from the small balustrade at the forest
edge. This is the essence of Baroque duplicity
and counterpoint in design .
7.46 The vista of illusion.

Behind the apparently simple formal structure
of the garden lie many surprises, folds and
forced detours interwoven with visions and
illusions that contribute to a challenging
experience . lt offers for an instant the illusion
of gliding metaphysically over all obstacles
to escape our corporeal trappings, but we are
soon brought back to reason and to try to find
our way on ea rth.
7.46

Versailles: absolutism by design
Although the park at Versailles appears to be designed in the Triangulated paths laid out in patte d'oie pattern optimized
same formal manner as that at Vaux-le-Vicomte, the difference visibility for hunts, military exercises and surveying. In the
is that it was meant solely as a piece of royal scenography period of Louis XV the wider environment was surveyed
and propaganda as can be seen in the plan made by the Abbe for the king's needs and those of his armies. The notion of
Delagrive in 1746 [7.47]. Versailles is interesting because what territorial management developed by Louis XIV's minister of
it lacks in terms of proportional refinement and exquisite finance, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, was not limited to Versailles:
balance, it compensates for in sheer scale and extravagance. it became a template for the whole territory, as exemplified in
Vaux-le-Vicomte was certainly the inspiration for this his 'humble' domain at Sceaux [7.54, 7·55, 7.56]. New towns,
grandiose project of Louis XIV, which marked an important new roads, new forests, new fields and canals were needed
turning point in the politics and scale of landscape thinking to improve the plight of Europe's most populated country.
in Europe. But Versailles became the instrumental emblem Using the graphometre and level range-finder in the early r8th
of French absolutism and possessed neither the finesse nor century, cartography brought the science of surveying to a
the pristine intimacy of Vaux-le-Vicomte; those were not the new degree of precision [7.48]. Such instruments allowed the
king's objectives. The dominant spatial idea at Versailles was Cassini family, beginning in 1744, to triangulate the French
centrality, since paths leading from the town and the gardens territory for the purposes of cartography. 30 These advances
were designed to converge on the Sun King's apartment [7.sr]. helped in the creation of new waterways, such as the Canal du
Midi (r667) by Pierre Paul Riquet and the Canal de Bourgogne
Projection and control on an intercontinental scale (1775), by Antoine de Chezy. Closer to the centre of
Because of its magnitude, Versailles became a prime testing government, the construction of the elaborate water-collecting
ground for everything from topography to hydrology, with system of the Plateau de Saclay (r679) by Thomas Gobert, and
the Latona Fountain on axis with the Fountain of Apollo and the pumping station on the Seine known as the 'Machine de
infinity, and the Parterre du Midi [7.52, 7·53] sheltering the Marly' (r684) by Rennequin Sualem [7.58], provided water for
Orangerie [7.49, 7.50] with its microclimate and horticulture. Versailles and were made possible by these instruments.
7.48

7.47 Plan of the Chateau of Versailles, France.
Here And re Le N6tre was answerable to
Louis XIV, and the main structure of the park
and town was radial and convergent on the
seat of absolute power. Versailles, with its
vast geometric park of bosquets, alleys and
cruciform canal, must be understood as a grand
experiment in landscape propaganda and design.
7.48 A surveying device with a level range-finder.

This instrument was developed by I'Abbe Picard
in France in the mid-17th century. By the middle
of the 18th century, 1744 to be exact, the accurate
mapping and triangulation of the entire country
of France was begun.
7.49, 7.50 The Orangerie.

The Orangerie at Versailles by Jules Hardouin-
Mansart (1686) could produce ripe citrus and
figs- remarkable at the time. Together with
the Potager du Roy, designed by Jean Baptiste
La Quintinie in 1683, the Orangerie excelled in
advanced horticulture. To conform with royal
'etiquette', straight trunks were considered the
rule, though whether they produced better fruit
is not known.
7.51 Late 17th-century painting ofVersailles.

The Fountain of Apollo is in the foreground, on
axis with the canal and king's quarters, behind
which the planned towri radiates out. The first
bosquet to the right shows the circular peristyle
built in 1685 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart,
replacing Le N6tre's Bosquet des Sources. By the
end of Louis XIV's reign Versailles was a bustling 7.51
place, and the garden, bosquets and chateau
were the location for intrigue and entertainment.
7.52 View of the park at Versailles and the

Latona Fountain.
The unprecedented size of the park at
Versailles dwarfs mere humans and remains
overwhelmingly impressive to this day, when
landscapes and gardens have become much
simpler and less ornate.
7.53 Versailles: Parterre du Midi above the

Orangerie, facing south towards the Piece d'Eau
des Suisses.
Compositionally speaking, this is probably one
of the most successful areas of the park by Le
N6tre. The large pond was dug out of a swamp
and completed by the Swiss Guard in 1678. An
equestrian statue of the king by Bernini stands
at the far end of the perspective.

7.54 A cascade in the park at Sceaux, France.
At Sceaux, the scale and topography is quite
different from other projects by Le N6tre.
He achieves a degree of subdued elegance
and modesty, in keeping with his client, Jean-
Baptiste Colbert, minister of finance under
Louis XIV and rival of Nicolas Fouquet.
7.55 Canal at Sceaux.

The simple arabesque motif used by Le N6tre
on the canal's edge at Sceaux expresses both
strength and minimal simplicity, as do the
Lombardy poplars reflected in the water. The
landscape contributes to the place's deep sense
of serenity.
7.56 Perspective view of Sceaux.

Le N6tre handles the topography of the great
green carpet at Sceaux with the simplest of
means: the slight hollow in the middle allows
an underground spring feeding the canal
to pass through. The single yew is a gentle
reminder of the avowed modesty of Colbert in
relation to his monarch . it is a design beyond
suspicion, as much elegant as banal. 7. 54
7.57 The Great Map of La Nouvelle France and

Louisiana by J. B. Franquelin, 1684.
The East Coast of the USA was initially plotted
by the French emissary Giovanni de Verrazzano
in the early 16th century. Louis XIV of France
claimed a vast territory stretching from the Gulf
of Mexico to the Great Lakes; Franquelin's map
used advanced surveying techniques to chart
this territory.
7.58 'Machine de Marly:

Because of insufficient water at Versailles,
Louis XIV commissioned a monumental pump
to lift the waters of the Seine at Bougival up
to Marly and Versailles. Rennequin Sualem,
a master carpenter, built the extraordinary
contraption in 1684 and it operated for well
over 100 years, providing abundant water to
the fountains ofVersailles.

l
The pressure on natural resources was such in I7th- and methods that were tested in nth-century France formed
century France that nothing was left of its original forest. the basis of modern cartography. The Jeffersonian grid, which I
Other factors exacerbated the problem; the 'Maunder was applied to the entire territory of the USA, through the
Minimum', a period of extremely cold weather, affected all of Land Ordinance of r78 5, was a direct descendant of French
Europe in the late r7th century, leading to a vast consumption land surveying. What has pertained to this day is not the
of wood. Colonial expansion, wars and the slave trade meant geometric style of gardens, but rather the entire engineering
that the shipbuilding industry also required massive amounts system that underlined their purpose. This form of geometric
of timber. The result was a pressure on food supply and land thinking applied to the wider landscape evolved into the
resources. These factors explain the purpose underlying the geodesic triangulated mesh that today serves as the universal
French landscape garden, not only as a token of absolutist basis for the geographic information system (GIS).
exuberance, but also as a symbol of territorial determination Despite attempts to export the Baroque garden to
and organization that could be exported, as seen in this late China, in the 'Western Mansions' at the Old Summer Palace,
r7th-century colonial map of La Nouvelle France [7.57]. Beijing as late as r747, most geometric landscape designs
Le N otre provided advice on a few plans for parks had peaked by the middle of the r8th century [7.62]. 32
in England, such as Hampton Court and Greenwich [7.60]. Germany developed impressive Baroque gardens in Karlsruhe
Another example of a 'French' landscape plan on foreign soil (r7r 5); Kassel (r689) and Herrenhausen (r676) [7 .59]. In St
is the National Mall in Washington, D.C., designed by Pierre Petersburg, the formal gardens of the Peterhof Palace (r7r4)
Charles L'Enfant (179r) [7.63] .31 By this time the English opened onto the boreal forest and the Baltic Sea [7.6r]. It
landscape movement was thriving, but L'Enfant deliberately seems that what started at Vaux and continued at Versailles
chose to import the triangulated motifs of the patte d'oie to has prevailed to this day, supplying the tools to civil engineers,
demonstrate his allegiance to General Lafayette and to mark geographers and developers the world over. Brasilia, designed
out the American capital as free from English influence [7.64]. by Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, and Chandigarh, laid
Could it be that the French garden style was also capable of out by Le Corbusier, are two 2oth-century cities whose plans
expressing liberty, humanism and democracy? The idea would tap directly into the rationality of Descartes and the Dutch
certainly appeal to Fouquet, Descartes, Le Notre and others Golden Age. Whether we realize it or not, we all ultimately
who contributed to its early development. The surveying tools owe our tacit acceptance of modernity to the Beemster Polder.
7.58

7.60
7.59
7.59 View of the Baroque city of Karlsruhe,

Germany.
The circular radial plan designed in 1709 by
the Margrave Karl Wilhelm von Baden-Durlach
differs from other Baroque cities. Th e abso lutist
cast le stands at the hub of 32 avenues radiating
out. The built triangular segment represents
a third of the ideal city, with the remaining
two-thirds dedicated to parks and agriculture.
7.60 Late 17th-century Baroque plan of Hampton

Court, England, underWilliam and Mary, by
ChristopherWren and George London and
Henry Wise.
The absolutist landscape style was in vogue
in England at this time, as at other places such
as Stowe and Blenheim. it is said that Le N6tre
had a hand in drawing up this scheme.
7.61
7.61 Monplaisir Palace, Peterhof, Russia .

Th e summer palace at Peterhof was designed
by Peter the Great and begun in 1714. The Grand
Cascade and cana l lead directly to the Baltic
Sea and it was possible for vis itors to reach the
Baroque gardens by boat from St Petersburg .
7.62 Remains of the Western Mansions (Xiyang

Lou) in the Old Summer Palace (Yuan Ming
Yuan), Beijing, China .
Th e structures were designed by two Jesuits,
Giuseppe Castiglione and Michel Benoist, for
the Qianlong emperor in 1747; the elaborate
fountains took ten years to build. The Old
Summer Palace was looted and burned to the
ground a hundred years later by Franco-British
troops in 1860, during the Second Opium War.
7.62

. -<>- /
Lat: Cavitol .~8, s.~, N.
I ,Ql~~=-· ---- ------- 0: o.
7.63
7.63 Plan of Washington, D.C., USA, by Pierre

Charles I'Enfant, dated 1791.
This can be seen as a hybrid of two systems,
where Le N6tre meets Hippodamus, and a
patte d 'oie triangulation so typical of French
absolutism meets the grid of Miletus, Piraeus
and the birth of Greek democracy. The only
question in Washington, D.C. is whether the
grid runs parallel to the Mall or vice versa.
7.64 Aerial view of the Capitol and Mall

in Wash ington, D.C.
The spirit of Le Not re and Versailles is evident in
the central axis and patte d 'oie avenues shooting
out to the horizon. The main difference here
is not so much the scale, but the political and
symbolic significance. Instead of converging on
an absolutist palace, the city and parks converge
on the House qf Representatives.
7. 64

8. Gravity
The Constant of Nature
'Nature and Nature 's laws lay hid in night; God said, exclusive domain of a hedged paradise to an all-inclusive,
Let Newton be! and all was light.' common territorial dominion as with the great slope in
lsaac Newton's epitaph by Alexander Pope 1 Rousham, overlooking the River Cherwell, designed by
William Kent [8.o]. This dominion also harkens back to
We have come to a moment in the evolution of landscape the early model of the forest clearing, which- ironically-
architecture when nature is entirely rethought and redefined came to symbolize a return to nature in its original form.
in terms of perception and style. Conceptual breakthroughs This opening up of the landscape was very much linked
redefining man's place in the world are triggered by a new to the ·philosophical discourse and political climate of late
philosophy of science arising from Isaac Newton's discovery nth-century England. The Glorious Revolution of r688 set
of the gravitational constant. William Blake's opposition England on the path of modern parliamentary democracy,
to enlightenment, epitomized by his monotype of Newton spelling the end of absolute monarchy. 3 Philosophers and
(1795 ), was a plea against a rising scientific materialism learned gentlemen actively sought to mark this schism with
[8.r).2 More than at any other moment in history, landscape texts on individual freedom, redesigning their gardens to
becomes the ideological receptacle of a new concept distinguish them from those of kings and those built in the
in physics, which opens up fresh scientific horizons and French tradition. A great number of landscape experiments
an entirely new aesthetic. One witnesses a shift from the were staged on landed estates throughout Britain during the
specific patterns of the Baroque garden to the more general following century, contributing to the development of what
appearance of a seemingly informal landscape, from the we now know as the English landscape style. The English
8.0 (opposite) The garden at Rousham, England.

Designed by William Kent, the understated
simplicity of the green clearing on a slope,
the low-lying grazing meadow and some
freestanding clumps of trees expresses the
quintessence of the English landscape tradition .
8.1 Newton byWilliam Blake, 1795.

One hundred years after the publication of
Principia, Blake depicted lsaac Newton as
a creature fallen in the dark abyss of gravity
-he is shown naked, head down over a scroll
tracing lifeless geometry. Slake's reticence about
scientific materialism expressed in Newton's
Law of Universal Gravitation was founded in
his view of science as barren. He was opposed
to the Enlightenment and its effects on artistry
and the humal) soul.
8.1
GRAVITY 201
8.2
'natural' style did not, therefore, develop spontaneously ideals and bound by the static, hierarchical order of things.
following Newton's scientific revolution: several generations But the publication of Isaac Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis
of inventive architects, gardeners, politicians and poets Principia Math ematica ('Mathematical Principles of Natural
were needed to process the conceptual consequences of his Philosophy') in r687 revealed an entirely new order, greater
discoveries. Within a century, the formal expression of the than that established by man, which would change our
English Picturesque garden changed radically in favour of perception of universal space, refute the earlier humanist
an archetypal and more banal expression of nature, devoid construct of nature and render it obsolete almost overnight
of mythological artefacts or ornament. This shift from the [8.5].5 This is exemplified by the transformation of the front
specific to the general spelled the end of Baroque humanist lawn at Chatsworth, reduced to a simple bowling green
exclusiveness and paved the way for an entirely new, more played out against the backdrop of a 'natural' landscape park
reduced and scientific interpretation of landscape and nature, designed by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown (1759) [8.4].6
exemplified by the early transformation by John Vanbrugh and Scientific enlightenment marked a conceptual watershed
Nicholas Hawksmoor of the Ray Wood (nro) and gardens with regard to our understanding of invisible forces like
at Castle Howard into an English-style park (1715) [8.2, 8.3]. 4 gravity that ruled the universe. A starry night was described
as the limitless play of celestial spheres, left to unwind in
The Newtonian revolution infinite space in myriad parabolic ellipses and tangents guided
Throughout the Baroque period, the expression of nature by some almighty hidden natural centripetal order, as depicted
in landscape architecture was extremely controlled and in Thomas Wright's concentric drawing of cosmic universes
Cartesian in essence. Clipped plant materials displayed (1750) [8.6].7 This notion ran completely counter to the
on planar terraces were an almost perfect metaphysical perception of infinity still visible in the metaphysical thrust
expression of Lean Battista Alberti's perspectival space. The of the Baroque axis- one that was essentially based on the
Baroque landscape itself was defined by a set of structured, perspectival and optical canvas of man. This breakthrough
self-determined, symmetrical parameters, in which geometry in knowledge helped us to harness nature in a manner that
was crystallized into intricate microenvironments. These were was quite unprecedented in both scale and scope. It was
architectural folds created according to reason, a measured now possible to calculate the effect of natural laws precisely
architecture govemed by the higher expression of humanist and express their constant at all possible scales. The impact
202 GRAVITY
8.2 Ray Wood and the great lawn at Castle
Howard, England.
Begun in 1699, this is considered to be the oldest
English garden. Th e woodland arranged with
serpentine paths, allegorical statues, pavilion s
and water features contrasts with the simple
open lawn . Design ed by John Vanbrugh and
Nicholas Hawksmoor it reaffirms the archetype
of the forest clearing .
8.3 The water reservoir at Castle Howard.

Built at the heart of Ray Wood, the reservoir
reproduces an archetypal circular clearing.
Its setting is strongly reminiscent of the forest
cistern atVilla Lante, 200years earlier, although
if conservone is square.
8.4 The South lawn at Chatsworth, England.

Originally designed in the late 17th century
by Henry Wise and George London as a formal
parterre, this is now simply framed by a doubl e
row of clipped lime trees framing a circular
Sea Horse Fountain. The hillside backdrop
with groups of trees was entirely modelled
and landscaped in a natural English style
by Capability Brown in the late 18th century.
8.5 Newton's manuscript describing his law

of Universal Gravitation.
Later to become the cornerstone of a scientific
and industrial revolution, Newton's Principia
Mathematica proposed a model for the
measurement of forces in the physical universe
that completely transformed the mechanical
world in which we now live.
8.6 A plethora of cosmic universes by Thomas

Wright, 1750.
Wright's vision of the newly found complexity of
the world was inspired by the questions raised
by Newton's discovery. lt was a new era in which
Newtonian physics would indelibly change our
relationship to the natural world. This went hand
in hand with industrial progress, which saw 8 .5
our natural innocence gradually being lost to
scientific materialism .
8.3
GRAVITY 203
of the Newtonian equation was dumbfounding in both its scientific revolution sparked industrial progress, the art of
instrumental power and simplicity, changing the course of landscape gardening in England evolved from a structured,
our world irreversibly. Although Newton had discovered only narrative, Picturesque style that related to Classical painterly
a general law that was inherently natural, its application to aesthetics into a more typical landscape style that represented
society meant that our attitude towards nature, inherited from a 'remake' of what one could understand as nature. 8
the Greeks and held right up to the Baroque period, had The garden was thought of as an ideological laboratory,
to be completely reassessed. designed to elucidate man's evolving sense of the world
Landscape architecture was better suited to expressing and mirror his transient relationship with the universe.
a fundamental shift in the conceptual embodiment of Whereas the Baroque gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte sought to
nature than architecture, as seen in the fantastic naturalistic demonstrate humankind's unquestioned mastery over nature,
thrust of the new park at Castle Howard (nro) [8 .7]. the intention of the English garden can be understood as
Newton's revelations gradually came to inform a new quite the opposite. It tells a story about the hidden truths of
form of landscape, one that was essentially opposed to the nature, and alludes to man's diminutive place within the new
geometrically confining rules of symmetry embraced by the cosmic order. The history of the English garden style most
Baroque. The apparent disorder in the natural landscape likely begins in the private garden of the poet Alexander Pope,
was understood as guided by some hidden natural forces, which he and William Kent designed in 1719 in Twickenham,
far superior to those imposed by man. The Newtonian on the banks of the River Thames [8.8] . This first 'dissident'
revolution ushered in a new worldview and aesthetic, but also garden was inventive, although quite eccentric and clumsy
introduced a double-sided interpretation of nature. On the in its eclectic design. It displayed a variety of esoteric motifs
one hand, landscape could be made to appear as 'na tural' inspired by elements of the Grotesque and Rococo, but the
and untouched, while on the other it could be harnessed as jumbled mix of plantings around a dislocated axis within
an instrumental force for improved productivity. In fact, early vaguely labyrinthine borders represented a bold and irreverent
r8th-century England was far from natural: the land known departure from established perspectival tradition [8.9]. Pope's
as 'countryside' was already depleted, severely overgrazed repute as a celebrated man of letters meant that the published
and deforested, and marked by settlement clusters, with plan of his garden and sketches had a significant influence on
their hedgerows, woods, fields and meadows [8 .rr]. As the a broad public of readers. 9
8.7
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8.8
8.7 The South Lake, with the great lawn and Ray
Wood, Castle Howard, England.
The forest became a place of myth and isolated
retreat, whereas the lawn was the extension of
the castle for large gatherings and celebrations.
This early project begun in 1710 and completed
by John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor
in the 1720s combines the three essential
ingredients of the English garden : lawn, wood
and water.
8.8, 8.9 Alexander Pope's garden, Twickenham,

England, by William Kent.
The garden was begun in 1719 and the crooked
altar in the foreground of the drawing hides
a grotto built in 1725. The plan, with its oblong
shapes and winding paths, is a precursor
to many urban parks to come.
8.10 Pastoral Landscape by Claude Lorrain, 1645.

The French School in Rome in the 17th century
became a source of inspiration for the English
Picturesque style in the following century. Here
landscape realism recalled the idyllic landscapes
of antiquity and their mythology.
8.11 A typical view of English countryside,

with hedgerows, agricultural fields and pasture.
The 18th-century English countryside we have
come to accept as natural was in fact a seriously
altered environment essentially designed
for productive purposes . The great strength
of the English garden movement is to have
incorporated this natural reduction in its style.
8 .11
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8.12 Plan of Chiswick House, London, England,
by Lord Burlington and William Kent, 1729.
Th e experimenta l nature of the plan plays
irreverently with Baroque abso luti st garden
syntax in a humorous way. For instance,
the main axis with a rather flimsy patte d'oie
completely misses the Palladian house and
heads in stead straight for a cu i-de-sac of
convo luted hedges in the other direction.
8.13 The Chiswick House exedra by

William Kent.
Statues and herms instead of being ali gned
obed iently in a row start to play with one
another, al lowing dogs to chase around them
in defiance of proper etiquette . Th e liberty
with which Kent and Burlington experiment
with established taboos finds its roots in t he
Glorious Revolution of 1688 that challenged
despotic order.
8.14 Herms and statues in the exedra of clipped

hedges, Chiswick House.
Th e playfulness with which statues and herms
are interspersed in the exedra is in fact a hidden
statement about the greater order of things,
disrupting established rules of garden geometry
and opening on to the unknown.
8.12
8.15 Statue of a sphinx at Chiswick House, 1729.
Mythology played quite a different role in the
Engli sh Picturesque than i n Renaissance and
Baroque times . Myth became a dynamic part
of everyday life and was not so lely confined to
some histo ric narrative or perspective. lt is the
rather overt p layfulness of such references that
became the seal of this nascent style.
8.16 The great lawn at Chiswick House.

Children p lay on the grass and a majestic cedar
of Lebanon rises above. In the foreground the
stylistic cards have been reshuffled , with urns
on pedestals interspersed with a diminutive
cypress tree.
8.13 8.14
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8.15
8.16
The garden at Chiswick House, in west London, is an The lawn as living carpet
example of early experimentation in the English garden. 10 The lawn at Chiswick House plays a new and interesting
Begun by Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, and the role in this early example of the English landscape garden .
architect William Kent upon their return from Italy and It springs from the Renaissance tradition of box motifs and
completed in 1729 [8.12], it was created on the flat site of parterres, and becomes a living carpet displaying an eclectic
a dried-up meander of the Thames with no horizon or assemblage of artefacts. This lawn can be understood as a
vista and has an atmosphere that is strongly introspective, natural universe of sorts, without any designated paths on
epitomizing an intentional break from the formal garden which visitors can move freely, instead immersing themselves
tradition handed down since the Renaissance. The entrance in the immediate environment [8.16]. Overall the garden's
axis was shifted to the side of the main Palladian villa, where paths are of secondary importance and serve only to link
it culminated, without the use of any kind of perspective, in different sections in a very low-key manner. The rolling
a small temple with trompe-l'oeil decoration placed within a topography of the lawn leading down to the artificial lake on
cul-de-sac of clipped hedges [8.19]. The alignment of statues the west side of the estate creates an interesting asymmetrical
on the great lawn defied the established rules of symmetry in counterpoint to the entrance axis and the ha-ha (sunken
a free arrangement that was quite whimsical [8.13, 8.14]. One ditch) set on the other side of the lawn- a motif that Kent,
gets the strong sense that the narrative structure of this early together with Charles Bridgeman, later developed as a
Picturesque garden, with its collage of diminutive temples, territorial system at Stowe in Buckinghamshire. Both the
statues and sphinxes, is more concerned with dreamlike flat and the undulating surfaces at Chiswick are in fact quite
memories of Roman landscapes and ruins, recently visited artificial, and increased the garden's sense of heterogeneity
by both designers, than with the accurate transliteration and imbalance. An extraordinary maze of small paths set
of Palladian elegance and proportion [8.15]. Whether Lord among tall clipped hedges functions as a backdrop for the
Burlington and William Kent took this course on purpose or larger areas of lawn, recalling the evergreen woodland
were simply inept stylists is quite irrelevant. The fact remains often found in the surroundings of Italian Renaissance
that the new landscape style at Chiswick House shattered the gardens [8.18].
rule of good manners in English garden art and thus opened Chiswick House constituted a truly fresh direction
the way for a more emancipated approach to landscape design. in landscape architecture, amplifying nature's irregularities,
GRAVITY 207
8.17
8.17 The Ionic Temple in the Orange Tree Garden,

Chiswick House.
The diminutive edifice based on the Pantheon
in Rome was designed for two gentlemen to
meet and philosophize. Orange trees in boxes
were brought out in spring and set in rings
around the obelisk pond, set in a concent ric
circular slope of lawn.
8.18 Detail of a convoluted hedge at the end

of the patte d'oie, Chiswick House.
This arrangement introduces a labyrinthine
world behind the scenes, in what was once a
garden of geometric conform ism, in defiance
of predictable order and reason .
8.19 View of the main axis at Chiswick House.

Th e path completely misses the Palladian villa
designed by Lord Burlington and William Kent,
with the green carpet of lawn replac ing it in
front of the house . Note the random interplay
between urns and cypresses on eith er side
of the redundant axis.
208 GRAVITY
undermining the powers of symmetry and proportion, and of papal symbolism inherent in Renaissance and Baroque
playing with statuary as if to jumble up historical references. gardens. Their revolt condemned absolutism in favour of
The new laws of nature discovered by Newton and celebrated Newton's higher laws of nature. Humanity could no longer
by Alexander Pope epitomized a return to an essential truth, keep nature at bay, but instead become part of its universal
one that had been masked and distorted by decades of forces, as embodied in the Temple of the Four Winds by
Classical thinking and geometrically rigid falsehoods. William John Vanbrugh at Castle Howard [8.23]. 12 With the rise of
Kent's architectural experiments, with their characteristically the landed gentry and the decline of royal power, members
awkward and diminutive proportions, like the playful Ionic of the English nobility were eager to rework their estates in
Temple and obelisk in the Orange Tree Garden, represent a a manner that broke with established tradition, memorably
parallel search for 'new' laws in architecture [8.17]. Chiswick illustrated in the film The Draughtsman s Contract (r982)
House may even be regarded as a first attempt to establish by Peter Greenaway [8.24].
a vocabulary in landscape architectu're that reinstated the Inspired by travels to Italy and by the 17th-century
magnitude of nature and diminished the significance of man landscape paintings of Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain
and his architectural creations. these early advocates turned to the romantic leanings of the
Picturesque, in which nature was seen as taking over the ruins
The collective rebellion of the English aesthetic of civilization [8.ro]. 13 It is the invention of a nature without
At the turn of the 19th century, as the Industrial Revolution apparent artifice that forms the subject of this particular
was picking up speed, the transformation of landscape aesthetic revolution, combined with an outright refutation
through infrastructure and industry was a far cry from the of all previous styles of landscape art. It is precisely this
utopian ideal gardens designed roo years earlier. The English getting rid of superstition and ancient culture in favour of
garden had been developed by a handful of learned gentlemen scientific pragmatism that released the potential for the
reacting to the spirit of intellectual liberalism that prevailed style's global development and territorial expansion. In
in England at the time and best exemplified by projects like the face of rapid industrialization, the cultural challenge
Stowe House [8.20, 8.21. 8.22]. 11 Men like Charles Bridgeman for landscape architecture was to make the environment
and William Kent who promoted this new conception of look more 'natural' at the same time as allowing industrial
landscape had little respect for the ideological precepts development to take place.
f
8.19
GRAVITY 209
8.20 A ha-ha at Stowe House, England.
Designed in the 1730s to protect William
Kent's 'Eiysian Fields' from unwanted intrusion,
the su nken ditch keeps out sheep and cattle.
The stone wall with its raised plinth articulates
a sort of temenos between the sacred and the
profane. The ha-ha is a key feature of the English
garden, permitting a visual continuity between
distinct entities.
8.21 View over the great lawn at Stowe House.

Capability Brown partly erased earlier versions
of the park to produce his English style around
1750. What was once an intricate garden became
a vast swathe of axial lawn, effacing decades
of fine work by designers such as Lord Cobham,
Charles Bridgeman and William Kent.
8.22 The Palladian Bridge at Stowe House.

Designed by James Gibbs in 1744 under
the supervision ofWilliam Kent, the bridge
is an Arcadian reference set within a vast
wet m eadow against a wooded backdrop.
lt represents the icon of the English Picturesque
at Stowe.
8.23 The Temple of the Four Winds, 1730,

Castle Howard, England.
Originally known as the Temple of Diana ,
designed by John Vanbrugh , it stands at the
end of a green esplanade on the edge of Ray
Wood. lt commands a dominant view towards
Hawks moor's Mausoleum (1740). The narrative
of this early Picturesque garden is a mi x of
esoteric nostalgia and languor.
8.24 A scene from The Draughtsman's Contract

by Peter Greenaway, 1982.
Here the landscape architect fixes the vistas
at his easel in the garden. This interplay between
8.20 pictorial representation , design and innovation
is a fundamental trait of the Picturesque and
its dedication to landscape narratives.
8.21 8.22
210 GRAVITY
8.24
GRAVIT Y 211
11
8.25
212 GRAVITY
Rousham, England
The garden at Rousham in Oxfordshire shows William Kent's brilliant light contrast with zones of intense darkness, and
approach to garden design, first mapped out at Chiswick, where areas of absolute flatness, like the bevelled Bowling
reaching full maturity. 14 The project was begun in 1738 and Green designed earlier by Charles Bridgeman, are juxtaposed
centred on a series of small clearings staged in a rolling, with significant declivities like the great slope remodelled
wooded topography. Together with the park at Castle Howard by Kent [8.31, 8.321. The garden adapts itself exquisitely
by Nicholas Hawksmoor and John Vanbrugh, it is one of the to the theatrical potential of the terrain, dissolving gently
most interesting examples of early English landscape design into the surrounding farmed countryside and sometimes
[8.251. Rousham demonstrates a rejection of previously allowing a glimpse of a Gothic Seat trompe foeil or the
established geometric landscape traditions, and shows instead Eyecatcher [8.30, 8.351. Despite the tight planting of trees
a tactful handling of the peculiarities of the existing site. to add definition to the clearings, the design intentions
This small property overlooking the River Cherwell, with its remain understated, through a masterfully handled narrative
north-eastern exposure, is far from hospitable, but its unique introducing landscape alterations that allow the garden to
challenges have been skilfully negotiated, giving it a strong look as 'natural' as possible. The entire staging appears both
sense of belonging and orientation [8.26, 8.281. The great purposeful and discreet, as if Kent had wanted to deliver a
bend in the river is not only integrated into the project, but hidden message of nature yet to be decrypted. Kent's design
made the pivotal feature of the entire garden [8.2ya, 8.27b1. follows a winding path through a succession of small clearings
Rousham avoids the overt eccentricity and diminutive replete with suspense and a surprise scenography, in which
scale of Pope's garden at Twickenham. It is more concise and small temples alternate with clusters of sculpted animals,
intent on its message, confirming Kent's emancipated role as Classical nudes and wild fauns [8.34]. The diminutive size
father of an entirely new style. The eccentric frills of Chiswick of the picturesque temples and pyramids strewn around the
House, with its labyrinthine hedges, clumsily scattered statues garden was intended to heighten the sense of power of their
and frustrated axes, are absent here. Rousham is instead a natural surroundings, playing on the nostalgia for a lost past
masterpiece of staged microenvironments, in which zones of that was very much of its time [8.36, 8.371.
8.25 The Mausoleum at Castle Howard, England,

designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, 1740.
The view is from the New River and New River
Bridge, also designed by Hawksmoor around the
same time, demonstrating how the Picturesque
approached landscape design as a totality. The
sheer scale of the setting is not only impressive,
it is also daunting and characterizes a complete
Picturesque experience.
8.26 Plan of Rousham.

The plan reveals a modest estate, with a few
patches of trees framing small clearings along
a bend in the River Cherwell. The power of
Rousham lies in its subtlety, not its size, and
in its topography and small recesses, not its
expanse. lt was designed byWilliam Kent in
1738 following Charles Bridgeman's 1720 project.
Rousham is the quintessence of the early English
Picturesque garden.
8.26
GRAVITY 213
8.27a
8.27b
214 GRAVITY
views of Rousham.
The original Baroque terraces of Charles
Bridgeman designed in 1720 step down to
the river. Kent's scheme retained Bridgeman's
Bowling Green and enlarged the house,
converting the terraces into a single concave
slope. Kent added clearings- or rather he
planted dense woods to create Venus's Vale,
the Pyramid Meadow and Apollo's Glade.
8.28 Aerial photograph of Rousham.

The diminutive scale of the garden is quite
striking, and one would not expect at first sight
that the hi story of English gardens would unfold
in this small piece of designed nature.
8.29 The Bowling Green with an old ha-ha

to the left.
The view is looking towards the great slope,
with the grazing meadow and Eyecatcher in the
far distance. The framing of this levelled lawn by
tall trees creates a striking contrast between the
natural, with a pronounced vertical orientation,
and the cultural, which is flat.
8.30 The Gothic Seat and Palladian Doorway

designed by Kent.
Situated in the distance beyond the Bowling
Green, the ha-ha and grazing field, these were
fabricated as trompe J'oeil theatrical props.
8.30
GRAVITY 215
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8.34
8.32
8.31 Bowling Green and statue.
Standing further back from the statue, the
bevelled edge of the Bowling Green is revealed
as a jewelled plinth in the landscape. Beyond
the slope, the grazing field and the old Heyford
Bridge open out to the countryside beyond.
8.32 The great slope.

Next to the garden seat in the background, a tall
oak guards the dark entrance to the forest. To the
right, a trimmed hedge of yew frames the neat
Bowling Green, while to the left along the slope
nothing appears trimmed . This progression can
be understood as an allegory of gravitational
pull and the freeing of geometric form.
8.33 Statue of a lion attacking a horse.

The dramaturgy with which this piece designed
by Peter Scheemakers (1740) is set at the cusp
of the great slope evokes all the force and
8.33
brutality of nature embodied in gravity. lt also
demonstrates that Kent studied scenography
with Niccolo Tribolo during his stay in Italy.
8.34 Original plan of Rousham, byWilliam White.

Drawn in minute detail, each tree positioned and
accounted for with the greatest attention, the
plan shows a mature handling of the landscape
spaces, circuits and proportions. The most
prominent aspect is the 'Concave Slope to the
River', replicating a ballistic curve in a complete
I break with established landscape tradition.
216 GRAVITY
8.35 The Eyecatcher.
William Kent built this device in a distant
field across the valley, roughly on axis with
the Bowling Green. He probably saw a similar
portico on his tour of Italy at Bomarzo. Its
purpose is to tie the surrounding borrowed
landscape back into his designed project.
8.36 The Pyramid Meadow.

The pyramid, also designed byWilliam Kent,
fits closely in the hillside, framed by woods
that lead to the Bowling Green and house.
lt adds a surreal, esoteric atmosp here to the
whole garden .
8.37 Reconstructed view of the Pyramid

Meadow and the concave slope.
The woods define the edge of the slope in
a strong chiaroscuro and set the stage for 8 .3 5
the pyramid designed by'Kent in the adjacent
meadow. Pl aced in a relatively isolated location ,
the building was used probably as a place
of seduction and initiation.
GRAVITY 217
8.38 The concave slope.
The slope leading down to the river has
something irreversible about its pull, like
entropy- once you reach the river it feels almost
impossible to cli mb back up again . Compared
w ith the time-framed narratives at Villa Lante
and Vau x- le-Vicomte, here the visitor is propelled
down through history and beyond by the force
of gravity.
8.39 The Praeneste terrace.

Perched mid-slope on a narrow ledge offering
an open view of the countryside, the Praeneste
with its seven alcoves, is intended to provide
an 'Augustan' tone to the garden . An urn stands
at eith er end as symbols of antiquity.
8.40 The Dying Gladiator, or The Dying Gaul.

The statue is positioned on top of the
Praeneste terrace, overlooking the river bend.
An atmosphere of deep melancholy pervades
the scene- a presentiment of death just before
8.38
heading down towards Venus's Vale.
8.41 View from the Praeneste terrace looking

down to the river.
The slope is much steeper here and forces
the vis itor to move sideways in the opposite
direction, towards Venus's Vale and the
Octagon Pond.
8.42 Section through Rousham House, the

Bowling Green, the concave slope and the river.
The parabolic curve of the concave slope is
reminiscent of one of Newton's early ballistics
d iagrams in reverse. Across the grazing field
is the Gothic Seat, with a countryside of open
fields and hedgerows beyond.
8.39
8.41
218 GRAVITY
8.42
The sculptures at Rousham are not only fewer and stronger as we reach the edge of Venus's Vale and are greeted
farther between than at Chiswick, they are free of any by full-sized fauns [8.44, 8.471. It is this abstract sensation of
axis whatsoever, and are positioned 'naturally' throughout falling, staged in darkness, down a winding path that connects
the park, as visitors in their own right. This naturalism is us with all the hidden mysteries of the Newtonian universe.
underscored by the fact that human figures, mostly male, are Rousham evokes a strong sense of modesty and
naked and life-size; they were apparently painted pink when innocence. Even the Praeneste arcade overlooked by the statue
the garden was first completed. 15 Take the statue of Apollo of The Dying Caul appears diminutive [8.4o, 8.4r1. But the
in the glade beneath the Temple of Echo, with its melancholic most sublime moment in the garden occurs as one encounters
demeanour reminiscent of Antinous, the Bythnian youth Venus standing awkwardly naked over a fountain in the midst
so cherished by the emperor Hadrian [8.50]. It could be that of a vale [8.45]. A powerful atmosphere of trees, fauns, water
such references to Antique Rome provided Kent with a pretext and natural topography recalls the enchanted primeval realm
for showing the human body in an ideal state, foreshadowing of an archaic forest clearing [8.431. All paths dissolve into the
Rousseau's theory of the 'natural human'. lawn, which becomes a natural carpet blending seamlessly
What works at Rousham is the garden's dramatic all things. Venus's Vale plays on the notion of a 'disorderly'
scenography and the carefully managed transition operated nature becoming the garden's principal feature. The vale itself
by Kent between flat and sloped areas [8.38, 8.42]. The is sloped, and could express the 'bedevilled' fall of man. A
breaking point is located at a cusp in the terrain, where the rill, which spills out in a rather disorderly manner over the
flat Bowling Green reaches towards a natural drop marked edge of a hexagonal basin invaded by lilies and weeds, leads
by the sculpture of a lion violently attacking a horse [8.331. one back via the Cold Bath into the woods to its source, at the
Two benches stand on either side by thresholds planted with foot of the Temple of Echo [8.49, 8.sr]. The gently winding
yews that act as gateways [8.29, 8.46]. That to the left invites rill traces a 'line of beauty' later codified by Hogarth [8.52,
us to Venus's Vale, while the one to the right leads us to the 8.531. The Platonic form of the hexagon pool in Venus's Vale
Pyramid Meadow just below. Passing the Praeneste from the is blurred by nature, its perfect geometry transfigured by
sunlit green into darkness, the visitor is suddenly blinded and natural growth and the surrounding topography, creating a
lost, and feels a strong attraction exerted by the sloping terrain timeless illusion [8.48]. At Rousham Cartesian rules have been
as gravity begins to take effect [8.391. The pull becomes even left to moulder under the sediments of a new natural order.
GRAVITY 219
8.44
220 GRAVITY
8.43 Reconstructed aerial view of Rousham .
In the centre is Venus 's Vale with the upper
and lower cascades, the Octagon Pond and
upper ponds; the Praeneste stands to the left.
The simplicity of the setting with its contained
clearing framed by tall trees is compe lling,
re-enacting as it does a primeval archetype
and staging a story ofVenus, Bacchus and Pan.
8.44 Statue of Pan .

A devilish, hoofed creature, Pan stands at
the entrance of Venus's Vale as one descends
from the Praeneste and Bowling Green . His
rough, dark and inhospitable figure embodies
a universal force of nature with which we have
to contend, and need to tame.
8.45 Statue of Venus overlooking the

Octagon Pond.
The goddess stands awkwardly in her nudity
in the midst of the vale where Pan and
Bacchus tease her. Her discomfort reminds
us of Appennino (p.152), shivering in the cold
in his nakedness.
8.46 View from the forest edge looking west

over the Bowling Green.
Next to the garden seat a secret passage opens
to the Praeneste and Venus's Vale. The uneven,
natural ground in the sequoia tree's dense shade
contrasts w ith the pristine surface of the Bowling
Green in the light.
8.47 The dancing figure of Bacchus.

As if spring ing out of a hedge, Bacchus catches
the visitor by surprise. William Kent was
inspired by picturesque descriptions in Edmund
Spenser's 'The Faerie Queen'.
8.48 Venus's Vale seen from the lower cascade.

The magic at Rousham lies in the staging of
elemental characters at play; it is a place where
life, death and the ultimate transience of things
are made apparent. Kent takes the dark forces
of nature and puts them on a stage.
8.46
8.47
GRAVITY 221
8.49 The Temple of Echo and the forest seat.
Rousham was conceived first and foremost
as a place of tranquil meditation and Augustan
de light.
8.50 The statue of Apollo, with a verdant

tunnel leading back to the Praeneste.
The nonchalant, almost effeminate figure of
Apollo was formerly painted pink. Some think
in fact that it was probably intended as a statue
of Anti no us, Emperor Hadrian's lost lover.
8.51 Reconstructed view of Rousham.

The g lade watched over by the statue of
Apollo leads down to the first bend of the
River Cherwell. A forest path leads back to the
Praeneste arcade, with th e Cold Bath and Rill
situated just above, and the Temple of Echo
stands on the right. In th e distance are the
concave slope and Bowling Green leading
back to the house.
8.52 The Cold Bath and serpentine Rill.

These intriguing features have something
of a rite of init iation about them . Just as one
8.49
leaves Venus 's Vale and heads upstream towards
the Tem ple of Echo, this octagonal pool stands
in the way. lt can be understood as a place for
ablution and lustral purifi cation on one's way
to the origins oftime.
8.53 The Rill end.

The story of Rousham ends en igmatica lly
with the Rill at the foot of the Temp le of Echo.
lt is as though the entire story of our humanity
is tied to this end less slender loop of matter
and memory.
8.50
222 GRAVITY
8.52 8.53
GRAVITY 223
Stourhead and the English landscape style years before Stourhead, the path is also set in a closed circuit
Rousham served as reference and model for man y around th e artificial Yokuryuchi pond, with its islands and
other prestigious gardens, such as those at Stowe in two tea pavilions, that plays against the dramatic topographic
Buckinghamshire (from 1741), Stourhead in Wiltshire (1741- backdrop of the Higashiyama mountains [8 .5 7] . Similarly, the
72) and Woodstock Park at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire emphasis at Stourhead is placed on the timeless picturesque
(1764-74). However, these later projects were notably less views of a series of small Classical buildings like the Temple
concise in their expression of nature. The garden at Stowe of Apollo positioned carefully against a 'natural' backdrop
almost appears like a vastly enlarged version of Rousham, producing a highly theatrical effect [8.56]. Here, the lawn is
repeating Kent's motif by laying out the woodland to the not treated as a 'liberated' carpet as at Chiswick House,
left of the central axis in order that the Elysian Fields stand nor is it motivated by the downward pull of gravity, as at
in strong contrast to a forested backdrop. Rou sham; at Stourhead the visitor must follow an established
The garden at Stourhead achieves an exquisite circuit as bea utiful as it is contrived.
scenography, blending with the surrounding wooded hills and Despite the fact that Stourhead has come to epitomize
meadows. It employs for that purpose picturesque vistas of the English Picturesque style, the garden, designed by the
the Pantheon set against an artificial lake, reminiscent of the banker Henry Hoare, appears quite artificial and calculated.
painting Landscape with Aeneas at Delos (1672) by Claude This did not, however, prevent its landscape forms, including
Lorrain [8. 55 ]. 16 But what Stourhead gains intellectually, its control of space and circulation, from becoming a
in terms of artistic references and picturesque effect, it reference for many later parks in Europe and North America
loses in freedom of movement and physical sensa tion. The [8.58]. The approach to site topography at Stourhead, and to
visitor follows a path in closed circuit around a lake that the garden's immediate environment, is far less sensitive and
is determined by a Picturesque trail which constitutes the respectful than that at Rousham. The dam built across the
garden's main narrative thread [8 .59]. It reminds one strongly valley of the River Stour in order to create the lake feels quite
of the Japanese shakkei principle expressed in the Shugaku- cumbersome today; and the exquisite views of the various
in in Kyoto (r659), where this hermitage garden borrows its temples do not compensate for the overly engineered aspect
views from the surrounding rural landscape to enable serenity of this massive earth structure, which rises some 20 metres
to set in. In this Japanese garden achieved roughly a hundred (66 feet ) above the valley floor [8. 54]. Ironically, the dam
8.54 8.55
224 GRAV ITY

8.56 8.57
8.54 View of the Pantheon, bridge and lake,

Stourhead, England.
Everything in this idyllic setting is artifice and
illusion . Th e small scale of the Pantheon makes it
seem further away than it really is, and the lake,
too, is illusory, held in place by a dyke across
the entire vale. But Stourhead remains th e most
emblematic Picturesque project of its time.
8.55 Landscape with Aeneas at De/os by

Claude Lorrain, 1672.
This painting was clearly a source of inspiration
for the Picturesque garden at Stourhead. Painted
one hundred years earlier, it is ironic that it was
influential in the demise of the French Baroqu e
garden style .
8.58
8.56 View towards the Temple of Apollo,
Stourhead.
The perfect layering of the garden scenery
together with the careful orchestration of
planting yields a sense of depth and perspective.
The scenes are almost all inspired by the
paintings of Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin .
8.57 Shugaku-in, Yokuryuchi pond, Kyoto,

Japan, 1659.
Set against the backdrop of the Higashiyama
mountains, the Shugaku-in adopts the principles
of shakkei, incorporating views from the
surrounding rice fields and setting a promenade
with vistas of pavilions around an artificial lake
one hundred years before Stourhead.
8.58 Path to the Temple of Apollo, Stourhead.

The rusticated stone arch is held together
without cement in perfect stereotomy. The visitor
is invited to ascend and travel back to the roots
of mythology.
8.59 Plan of Rousham by Frederik Magnus Piper,

1779, showing sight lines.
The path makes a circuit around the entire lake,
with scenic spots and narratives like a Japanese
water garden. The visitor must follow this circuit,
and unli ke the unbridled freedom found at
Rousham, it confines one to the path, as in some
contemporary th ~ me parks.
8.59
GRAVITY 225
8.60 The Pagoda, Kew Gardens, London,
England, designed by William Chambers, 1757.
Chambers's design for th e Oriental Garden
brings the role of th e exotic in the landscape
into full focus . After mythology in the
Picturesque, it is now the turn of pragmatism
to take over. Plant curiositi es and collectibles
became an attraction for a much broader public,
and the Pagoda worked as exotic branding
for Kew from the beginning.
8.61 Plate from Methodus plantarum sexualis

in sistemate naturae descripta, Leiden, 1736.
The plate by George Dionysus Ehret follows
Linnaeus's taxonomy divided into 24 classes.
Ta xonomy compl etely changed our perception
and understanding of th e plant world, and
botany became a science.
8.62 The Palm House, Kew Gardens, designed

by Decimus Burton, 1848.
Built to house a collection of rare palms and
tropical plants brought back from the colonies,
the greenhouse of glass and wrought iron
needed to be heated artificially in winter to
keep both temperature and humidity constant.
8.63 The great lawn at Badminton, England,

by Canaletto, 1748.
The Baroque radial structure of the garden
by William Kent was replaced by a single, vast
lawn designed by Capability Brown. The original
radial slits can still be seen between the trees
on the horizon . Unfortunately almost nothing
8. 60
remains from Kent's designs, subsequently
erased by Brown .
8.64 A view of the great lawn and Badminton

House.
Little has changed since Capability Brown's time
C lar isf: LINN :£ l. M . JD. and the tree clumps (mostly oaks) laid out on
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8 .61 8.62
226 GRAVITY
8.64
is adjacent to the miniature Pantheon, which has become Hadrian's Villa . The difference here is that the plant world of
the iconic image of Stourhead. Even if its aesthetic expression colonies takes centre stage in the landscape collage. A tall, red
takes on a more romantic form, the artificiality needed to Chinese pagoda (1757), completely removed from its cultural
create this wide lake in a steep vale is most apparent. In this context, was installed by Williarn Chambers at the heart of an
sense, the instrurnentalization of nature at Stourhead is 'Oriental Garden', where it functioned as a combined symbol
not so different from that at Vaux-le-Vicornte, and far less of adventure and exoticism [8.6o]. 1s
integrated than the darn holding up the Yokuryuchi pond
on the hills of the Shugaku-in in Kyoto. Industrialized landscapes
With the establishment of the Royal Botanic Gardens at The revolution that Newton unleashed in science, offering
Kew (r757), in south-west London, the conservation of species the possibility of extraordinary precision, opened the door
became a central preoccupation in British scientific circles. 17 to mechanization in the landscape. On a wider scale, his laws
The guiding idea behind Kew Gardens was to collect plants of motion became the backbone of classical mechanics and
from all over the world and arrange them in a park-like setting accelerated technical progress in the Industrial Revolution.
according to Linnaeus's taxonomic classification developed in Probably the most remarkable landscape design of that
the Species Plantarum, 'The Species of Plants', (r753 ) [8.6r]. 18 period, reflecting on the law of motion, is the great lawn
The 'natural' style at Kew was for the most part devoid of at Badminton designed first by Henry Wise and Charles
any Picturesque references and was essentially based on the Bridgernan followed by Williarn Kent, with his initial tree
aesthetic qualities suggested by the plants themselves. There is clumps sheltering small huts and hermitages (1746) and
no specific narrative to this garden, simply that of taxonomic depicted by Canaletto (r748)[8.63]. The sheer scale of the
classification. One moves through a sequence of outdoor vacuum produced by this vast semicircular expanse of lawn
plantings and greenhouses such as the huge Palm House, set upon 'invisible' perspective rays in front of the house is
added a century later (r848), to admire the acclimatization of, simply breathtaking. Looking back at the countless clumps
and experimenting with, exotic plants [8.62]. The experience of oaks added later by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown to create
brings together elements from all parts of the globe, glorifying a reverse, receding perspective that dwarfed Badminton House
the position of Britain as a world power by assembling in the distance, one imagines the countless human and animal
a palette of collectable curiosities in a manner similar to events that were staged here [8.64]. 20
GRAVITY 227
Abstraction and reduction framing the Marlborough column that really characterizes the
The speed with which the garden revolution took hold of unique 'English' style of the place [8.66]. Instead of creating
England also affected the development of the style, resulting a clearing surrounded by trees, Brown created an archetypal
in further simplification and reduction in a move towards inversion of sorts by planting huge clumps of copper beech
a more pragmatic abstraction of nature. The large estates trees surrounded by even vaster productive meadows [8.68].
became laboratories for such landscape abstraction by the The art of landscape Capability Brown employed to re-
most fashionable landscape architect of the era, Lancelot create an image of nature took place in an already distorted
'Capability' Brown. world. By the end of the r8th century, the poetry of William
During the latter part of his career, Brown, who Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, from the Lake
succeeded Kent on most notable projects, more or less District in northern England, marked the arrival of English
obliterated all geometric references from the landscape, partly Romanticism. 22 Their lyrical poems express an unequivocal
destroying the creations of his predecessors and replacing love of idyllic nature, but one that is also tinged with
them with vast expanses of lawn strewn with tree clumps, melancholy and a hope that our world can be changed
as at Blenheim and Badminton and to a lesser extent Stowe for the better. The 'Lakists', as they were called, coincided
and Chatsworth. His most exemplary project is the thorough precisely with the birth of the Industrial Revolution, as a
transformation of the Woodstock Gardens at Blenheim result of which the world became circumscribed- a finite
(1764-74), where he overturned the work of predecessors entity in which progress could compete. This is the period
such as John Vanbrugh in favour of a more open landscape when Adam Smith wrote about the international division
style. 21 The sheer scale of the park is just stupendous, and its of labour and the origins of wealth. 23 By the end of the r8th
central Baroque axis, which is now pastoral in feel, still leaves century England had overtaken the Dutch Republic to become
an impression of empty monumentality [8.65]. The Great a world power, burgeoned by the Royal African Company's
Lake was modified and considerably enlarged by Brown, lucrative slave commerce and the exploitation of new
submerging a significant part of the massive Baroque bridge colonies, including India [8.69].
designed by Vanbrugh over the tiny River Glyme (r7ro) [8.67], Humphry Repton began his career in 1788 and
but it is Brown's systematic use of stands of trees to break formed a new dedicated profession, that of the landscape
down the landscape along the edges of the axial perspective gardener and surveyor. The discourse was no longer painterly
8.65 The Column of Victory, Blenheim, England.

The impressive column commemorating the
1st Duke of Marlborough and his victories in
battle stands on axis with the house and sets
the monumental tone of the entire estate.
8.66 A ring of lime trees, Blenheim.

Based on Vanbrugh's original plan, this feature
recreates a semblance of an archetypal clearing
but without a proper sense of scale and
proportion- it simply befits the expression
of immense power.
8.65 8.66
228 GRAVITY
8.67 The Grand Bridge, Blenheim.
Originally designed byVanbrugh, with work
beginning in 1708, it spanned two hillocks and
contained numerous rooms on the ground floor.
When Capability Brown converted the park
and gardens at Blenheim in 1764, destroying
most of its Baroque features, he co nsiderably
enlarged the artificial lake on the River Glyme,
partially flooding the extravagant bridge.
8.68 A monumental group of copper beeches

on a hillside at Blenheim.
Th e tree clump is Capability Brown's landscape
signature, reviv ing an archetypa l quality,
although inverted: now the tree clumps are
themselves surrounded by an even vaster
open clearing.
8.67
GRAVITY 229
8 .69 8 .70b
8.69 The Town of Lanark, by John Cl ark,

1824-25.
With the transformations of the Industrial
Revolution it became harder to find suitable
places for idealized landscapes. The contradiction
between mechanization and nature inherent
in the Newtonian Revolution became all the
more apparen~ .
8.70a, 8.70b The Fort near Bristol, by Humphry

Repton, 1801.
The design for a project from one of Repton's
'Red Books' was published as part of his book
Observations on the Theory and Practice
of Landscape Gardening (1805). Landscape
becomes a screen to disguise unwanted
buildings and restore some semblance of an
original pastoral splendour. lt is ironic that few
of Repton 's proposed projects were ever built,
and he is remembered more for his dioramas
and visual simulations.
8.71 St James's Park, London, England.

Designed by John Nash in 1814, this old royal
garden was remodelled into a public park. lt
displays a mature English pastoral style creating
the complete illusion of a forest clearing just
a stroll away from Piccadilly and Victoria . The
art of masking surroundings would become
the trademark of the English Garden Movement.
8 .72 The English-style Muskauer Park,

Germany-Poland.
The park, crossed by the River Neisse that
defines the border between the two countries,
was designed in 1815-44 by Prince Hermann von
Puckler-Muskau, a close friend of Repton. The
trees serve as markers indicating where paths
meet on the vast expanse of the lawn.
8.71
230 GRAVITY
8.72
but, rather, of an aesthetic that could accommodate the of sorts that took less than a century to spread throughout
upheavals occurring in the British landscape at the time. the Western world. It inspired countless examples from
Repton's 'Red Books'- bound volumes of manuscript text Rem~ Louis de Girardin's humble garden in Ermenonville,
and accompanying watercolours- are full of suggestions France (1766-76), to Hermann von Piickler-Muskau's
that follow a formula: the unsightly must be hidden, and the extensive s6o-hectare (1,384-acre) Muskauer Park, in South
beauty of what is left of nature must be heightened, with no Brandenburg (1815-44) [8.72]. 26
effort spared [8.7oa, 8.7ob]. 24 The fundamental contradiction between a
A new world order came to fruition with the French philosophical understanding of the universal law of gravity,
Revolution (1789), the breaking down of absolute monarchy and its application in mechanical science would become
and democracy. Royal hunting grounds throughout Europe, more significant over time. The natural laws of motion were
such as Hyde Park and St James's Park in London, the the pretext for all kinds of technical experimentation in the
Englischer Garten in Munich and the Bois de Boulogne in environment, including the gradual acceleration of human
Paris, gradually became common spaces for the benefit of all travel. This confirmed that scientific truths were part of the
[8.71] . By that time, the English landscape style had developed constant of nature that governed the universe, and did not
into a finely tuned instrument, capable of being employed fall within the 'arbitrariness' of the cultural sphere. This
on a scale previously unimaginable, which confirmed its was taken as an excuse to treat nature as a mere commodity,
extraordinary versatility. The fact that it essentially replaced devoid of cultural significance, to be shaped by the material
a rich tapestry of indigenous landscapes with a single version necessities of humankind- triggering a fundamental change
of 'nature' itself can be seen as the ultimate stylistic victory. 25 in spirit and attitude towards the world.
The 'naturalistic' expression of the English landscape, in
all its romantic humility, would henceforth be used to cover
up the devastating effects of accelerating industrial progress.
One could even say that this simulacrum of nature, the
so-called English style, served industry more often than the
general interest. It was so robust and simple that it could be
applied to any given context, triggering a cultural revolution
GRAVITY 231
9. Combustion
Escape into the Exotic
'Nature never deceives us; it is always we who by Rene Louis de Girardin, where the 18th-century
deceive ourselves.' philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau looked to nature to
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile: Or, On Education 1 mirror the just and rightful origins of man, became the
model for an idealized form of nature suited to the city [9.2]. 2
At the beginning of the 19th century, the effects of Concerned as he was with social justice, Rousseau entertained
industrialization on the European environment started a certain idealized nostalgia for man's primitive state, seeing
to become noticeable. The harnessing of steam power for a just and equal return to nature, before the existence of
transport, mining and industry had a direct effect on the proprietary rights, as the only possible salvation from the
atmosphere and a lasting impact on the infrastructure of decadence of civilization. As he wrote in his Discourse on
landscapes on both rural and urban scales, as depicted by Inequality (1754): 'Nothing is so gentle as man in his primitive
J. M. W. Turner in Rain, Steam, and Speed (1844) [9.1]. The state, when placed by nature at an equal distance from the
burning of coal polluted the city air, and the quality of rivers stupidity of brutes and the fatal enlightenment of civil man.' 3
deteriorated rapidly to the point that they became massive Many of the motifs used in 19th-century public parks
industrial and urban sewers. This period marks a significant like the Pare des Buttes-Chaumont in Paris (1867) by Adolphe
turning point in the history of landscape architecture, as Alphand were borrowed from the Picturesque tradition of the
the reason and purpose of design lose their traditional, previous century and adapted to the constraints of congested
mythological and aristocratic roots to become essentially urban contexts [9.0]. Some of the early public parks had been
economical and societal. The park at Ermenonville (1770) aristocratic hunting grounds, and whereas formerly they had
9.0 (opposite) The Temple of Sibyl, Pare

des Buttes-Chaumont, Paris, France.
Rather than a temple, this is in fact a park
belvedere designed by Gabriel Davioud in
1866. There are no prophecies and no Sibyl
to be heard here; mythology is used only as
a picturesque device, and if a voice of nature
can be heard it is that of applied horticulture.
9.1 Rain, Steam, and Speed by J. M. W. Turner,

1844.
Turner painted this scene at Maidenhead Bridge
over the Thames near London. The blurred,
gaseous image addresses the radical shift in
landscape perception that steam engines and
speed locomotion brought about by the mid-
19th century. ;
9 .1
COMBUSTION 233
9.2
9.2 The park at Ermenonville, north-east of Paris.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau died and was originally
buried here, on the lie des Peupliers surrounded
by a ring of poplars. Designed by Rene Louis
de Girardin in the 1770s, the park's vistas were
strongly influenced by the writings of Rousseau .
Later parks like theTiergarten in Berlin found 9.5 Crystal Palace, Great Exhibition, 1851,
inspiration in th e spirit of Erm enonvill e. London, England.
Designed by Joseph Paxton , hea d gardener at
9.3 Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar Chatsworth , the glass and iron structure covered
David Friedrich, 1818. 10.5 hectares (26 acres) in Hyde Park. lt housed
The painting epitomizes German Rom anticism : over 100,000 exhibits and specimens, including
a young man stands gazing out above the some full -g rown trees. Over 6 million visitors
fogs of the industrial world . In this improbable came to see the exhibition in th e space of the
terrain he perhaps comes close to an untainted, six months for which it was open .
Rousse au-like communion with nature. The
mounta i ns depict ed are in fa ct a collection 9.6 Over London - By Rail by Gustave Do re,
of peaks from various parts of Germany. 1872.
Dore's engraving shows the squa lor of 19th-
9.4 Regent's Park, London, England. century working-class housing in the British
Designed by John Nash in 1810, it was partially capital, though co nditions were comparab le
opened to the public in 1835. Th e original park in Berlin , Paris and New York. Th e misery of
was part of an exclusive real estate scheme for such housing led the English social reformer
th e we althy, with 56 planned villas of which only Edwin Chadwick to write a Report on the
eight were eve r built. The park wo.rked as a vast Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population
open space in a rapidly growing London , with of Great Britain, which resulted in the Publi c
a primary purpose being benefits to health . Health Act of 1848.
9.3
234 COMBUSTION
9.4
9.6
represented nature, they now performed the role of urban planned by John Nash in r8ro, were designed privately and
social lubricant. The Industrial Revolution was a great period then handed over to the public [9-4]. 6 All these parks had a
for the creation of large parks, which in urban environments strong moralistic purpose, and at the same time were thought
became highly artificial enterprises. It is striking to note to be beneficial to the health of the individual because they
that almost no cultural or stylistic boundaries hindered the provided a symbolic connection with nature. The landscapes
spread of the romanticized image of nature inherited from that appeared in the cities of Europe and the Americas during
the English style developed a century before. Its universal this difficult, crowded period of 19th-century urban history
language had its roots in the scientific revolution that was reflected a particular ideal of nature based on the exotic.
under way, in which the Linnaean system of classification Their invention was timely and quite a feat at a time when
allowed nature to be itemized and classified methodically. 4 public space was more or less completely absent from the city.
The great scientific inventory of the planet had begun. Landscape and horticultural shows offered a type of
Industrialization provoked the mass exodus of people escape from urban squalor, in which various forms of nature
from poorer rural areas towards cities and areas of high became symbols of a relentless and important mastery of the
production served by railways, roads and waterways. Cities plant world, as exemplified in Joseph Paxton and Charles Fox's
and industrial districts were not sufficiently planned and, extraordinary Crystal Palace (r8 sr) in London [9. 5V There
more often than not, improvised settlements turned into had been a tradition of learned plant collection in botanical
squalid, overcrowded living quarters with tremendous gardens since the early Renaissance, but 19th-century public
problems of sanitation [9.6].5 Both cities and factories grew parks displayed collections of imported plants not so much
tremendously fast without much concern for local workers or for scientific reasons as to present an exotic dream of nature
their living environment. By the mid-r9th century, countless that allowed for a temporary escape from the urban grind.
political upheavals and revolutions began to influence the This of course reminds one of the notion of a primal return
actual shaping of cities. The changing status of the citizen, to nature and humankind reverting to its 'original' state,
and more particularly of the growing urban middle class, as contained in the writings of William Wordsworth and
increased concerns relating to health, hygiene and comfort. Jean-Jacques Rousseau. 8 This romantic sentiment is also
Landscape thus became a vital tool of urban planning and epitomized in the painting by the German artist Caspar David
public works. Large parks, such as Regent's Park in London, Friedrich, Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (r8r8 ) [9.3]. This
COMBUSTION 235
highly aesthetic approach towards nature, underpinned by environmental conditions. 10 In some earlier notes dated 1837
a prominent moral aspect, became the dominant trend in Darwin sketches-out the idea of an evolutionary tree [9.8].
landscape thinking of the period. Combined with a strong In its conclusion that man evolved ultimately from primates,
streak in 19th-century enterprise, it yielded some invaluable this work overturned the belief in man's God-given supremacy.
landscape projects that have remained extremely consistent With its concept of causality, evolutionary theory would
up to the present today. Translated into the highly engineered also have an impact on ecological thinking, especially the
urban public park, landscape became the 'natural' palliative notion of cause and effect. Alexander von Humboldt similarly
of its time- a cure intimately linked to Enlightenment mapped entire natural systems, drawn through careful
notions of progress, modernity and social justice. observation, such as his extraordinary phenotype section
of Tenerife Island (1799) [9. 7]. 11 Such scientific advances
Progress in the industrial age tended to overlook human culture while concentrating
During the 19th century science progressed in giant leaps, distinctly on the much broader world of natural phenomena.
particularly following Nicolas Leonard Sadi Carnot's theory Science gradually liberated the relationship that had
of thermodynamics in 1824.9 In what would later form held between city and natural landscape for so long. Rapid
the basis of the second law of thermodynamics, Carnot urban expansion led to a broader definition of landscape
defined the concept of entropy as the inevitable dissolution architecture, i'n which it also came to denote a constructed
of energy towards a state of equilibrium. Entropy came natural environment cut off from its rural background and
to be understood as a constant in physics that could be adapted to the functional and societal constraints of the city.
applied universally. Its impact on our understanding of the This strong relationship between landscape architecture and
environment would also have significant consequences for urban design developed in countries including Germany,
the development of art in that century as depicted in J. M. W. England, France, America and Argentina. Its success attests to
Turner's incredibly abstract vortex painting Snow Storm- the extraordinary coherence of the projects it inspired. There
Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth (1842) [9.10]. were, however, a few shameful shortcomings. The Jardin
In 18 59, Charles Darwin published his revolutionary d'Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris [9 .9] (to take
book On the Origin of Species, which described species one example of many such human zoos across Europe and
as both reactive and adaptive to a variety of specific America at the time), founded by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in
9.7
236 COMBUSTION
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9.8
9.7 Profile section of Tenerife by Alexander

von Humboldt, 1799.
The section labels the natural vegetation
of the island, with lists of biomes and plant
communities at varying altitudes. The natural
sciences displaced the art of landscape 9.10
representation away from the poetic and
sacred and towards the scientific and analytical.
9.8 Charles Darwin's first sketch of the

evolutionary tree, 1837.
The sketch represents Darwin's early theorizing
that he developed in his revolutionary book
On the Origin of Species (1859). In this he
questioned creationist views of the world and
replaced them with a systematic and scientific Scientific discoveries of the 19th century had
understanding of nature. The book provoked an impact on the world of art as well. Under
outrage, but has had a lasting effect on our
appreciation of the natural world .
the influence of J. M. W. Turner, for the first
time painters showed the world dissolved into
9.9 Kalina peoples of Guyana exhibited
at the Jardin d'Acclimatation in Paris, 1892.
a whirlpool of light and motion [9.10]. Turner's
The theory of evolution could be applied in works in particular would pave the way for the
a negative way: in the later 19th century racial
developmen t of Impressioni sm and abstract
theories in physical anthropology claimed
the natural superiority of the white man over Cubism. As Jonathan Crary states, it was in
'primitive' peoples, and the practice of exhibiting
the early 19th century that vision was no longer
them was widespread across Europe.
defined merely in relation to an exterior image:
9.10 Snow Storm -Steam Boat off a Harbour's the eye was no longer what defined the 'real
Mouth by J. M. W. Turner, 1842.
In this painting the forces of nature are pitted world'YThe influence of modern science and
against a small ship dissolving in a tremendous industry on Turner's paintings is recognized,
vortex of wind, steam and water. Turner 's
intuition about man's relentless struggle with particularly in the way form is dispersed into
the elements in 1,mmistakable. speed, light and other atmospheric effects.
COMBUSTION 237
9.12
9.11 Plan of Sanssouci by Peter Joseph Lenne,

1816.
The plan shows a complete hybridization
between French Baroque and English styles,
blending a strong axis with gentle clearings.
Moreover, the articulation of the numerous
meandering lateral paths is a precursor of public
park designs across Europe and America in the
19th century.
9.12 View of the Bornstedt church and

Ruinenberg in Potsdam, 1850.
The painting by Julius Hennicke depicts
the outskirts of Sanssouci in the fashionable
Jtalianate style. The vegetation carefully
recreates a sense of a Mediterranean Arcadia
-the tall Lombardy poplars and oaks could
be mistaken for cypress and olive trees.
r86o, was designed to display exotic plant species, animals a salutary return to nature. Lenne even went so far as to build
-and non-European ethnic groups. 13 Nubians, Eskimos and a 'Rousseau island' in the Tiergarten in Berlin, in memory
Pygmies, to name a few, were all displayed as if they were in a of the spot at Ermenonville where Rousseau had been buried
zoo, for the enjoyment and curiosity of the crowds. Tragically, [9. r 5J•15 Collaborating with the architect Karl Friedrich
some of the 'exhibits' did not survive the experience of a Schinkel, he altered the landscape in Potsdam and Berlin to
Parisian winter. Exoticism was analogous to an empirical fit a highly romanticized, Italianate ideal that had little to do
science, in which progress resulted from a morally with the natural ecology of Brandenburg, as can be seen in an
questionable process of trial and error. The scandalous nature idealized painting by Julius Hennicke [9 .12]. His landscapes
of such an ethnographic venture shows how far removed contributed to an exotic escape from the pressures of urban
European colonial thinking was from Rousseau's recognition development epitomized by Berlin's sordid tenements.
of universal human rights. Lenne drew up parks and gardens, developed new street
It is during this period of rapid industrialization and typologies and, as early as r84o, proposed an urban green belt
unbridled urban and social growth that the first school of system around Berlin called the Grunzug [9.14]. The industrial
landscape architecture was born. The Gardener Academy in city was an integral part of his ideal, as long as it allowed
Potsdam, established by the landscape architect Peter Joseph room for an integrated landscape network. Lenne's first
Lenne in 1823, 14 became the crucible for an entire generation major project was Sanssouci Park (r8r6) in Potsdam, which
of Romantic landscape architects who worked hand in hand presented a rare blend of formal landscape with informal
with Neoclassical architects and urban planners at developing motifs [9.rr]. 16 The stylistic vocabulary that he developed
the image of the modern Prussian capital- Berlin. Stylistically here- clumps of trees in large clearings to signal forks in the
speaking, Lenne had trained as a Romantic. Though his footpaths, for example, or the way he combined the usual
projects did not invent a new style per se, he transferred winding circulation system with a more axial approach-
elements of the Picturesque and the French Romantic into a would be applied to most urban parks across Europe and
'hybridized' landscape vocabulary for the city park. He had America thereafter. This understanding of a need to diversify
trained at Ermenonville, north-east of Paris, in his youth patterns of circulation marks an important initial step in the
under followers of Rene Louis de Girardin, and was deeply creation of the first public parks. Lenne went on to produce a
marked by the social theories of Rousseau and his notion of remarkable plan for the Tiergarten (r8r8 ) [9.13], which linked
238 COMBUSTION
I '
_) )./;"
~'7'""~' .. ,4,-h~
9.13
9.13 Plan of the Tiergarten by Peter Joseph

Lenne, 1818.
This early plan shows clearly how access
and circulation had become important features
of the architecture of the park. No longer a
closed private microcosm for the gentry, the
park is opened on all sides to the city and its
inhabitants. Alphand and Olmsted, who followed
in Lenne's footsteps in Paris and New York,
became masters of circulation .
9.14 Plan of the Schmuck und Griinzug around

Berlin by Peter Joseph Lenne, 1848.
This is the first 'Jewel and Green Belt' plan
ever designed for Berlin, and has remained
incomplete to this day. lt was a precursor
by at least four decades of those that appeared
in Paris and Boston.
9.15 The Rousseau lnsel in the Tiergarten, Berlin,

Germany, by Justus Ehrenreich Sello, 1797.
In the 1830s Lenne integrated the sma ll island
of the previous park in his Tiergarten plan, but
modified the lake into a 'river'. lt is still the most
intimate and successful spot of the Tiergarten . A
wooden urn stands in a ring of alders, in honour
of the man who ,proclaimed a 'return to nature'.
9.15
COMBUSTION 239
9.16
9.16 Naturists in the Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany.

Some customs in theTiergarten, Berlin, and the
Englischer Garten, Munich, have evolved since
they were first opened . So-called Liegewiese
(sunbathing lawns) invite people to commune
with nature on hot summer days.
9.17 A typical star-shaped crossing in the

Tiergarten forest.
Lenne employed asphalt paths here for the first
time. The radical use of materials contrasting
with the natural forest floor is the signature
of this urban park. Little has changed in terms
of approach over the past two centuries.
9.18 A bucolic autumn walk in the Tiergarten,

painting by Johann Heinrich Stiirmer, 1835.
The early part of the 19th century saw the park
become a prominent public space in Berlin .
People would meet there for leisurely strolls
and conversation. Germany was one of the first
countries to experiment with this entirely new
9.18 type of public space.
9.19 Ice skating around the Rousseau Island

in the Tiergarten, Berlin, 1902.
This public park evolved and by the turn of the
20th century became a place where Berliners
could meet and parade around the 'river'
on their skates and on other occasions, thus
escapi ng for a while from the squalid conditions
of the Mietskaserne or workers' tenements.
9.20 The long meadow clearing in the Englischer

Garten, Munich, Germany.
From its opening in 1792, the oldest public park
in Europe was an outstanding amenity for the
city, with its Monopteros temple and Chin ese
Tower. Without Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell 's
perseverance over three decades, the park could
never have reached its present state and form .
240 COMBUSTION
the city centre of Berlin with the district of Charlottenburg three decades, the park would never have been achieved in its
to the west. The layout of paths- consisting of different-sized present form. Today, after over two hundred years, the park,
diagonal paths in patte d'oie formation, appearing at regular which is even larger than Central Park in New York or Hyde
intervals and transecting the main axis, combined with a more Park in London, still offers a tranquil view of the Munich
informal curved path running the length of the park- gave skyline over vast expanses of woods and lawn where people
the plan the appearance of a large urban loom, with countless flock year round [9.20].
threads connecting various parts of the city on both sides The significance and impact of the Englischer Garten
[9. 17]. In this sense Lenne was certainly the first to invent such on other early examples of the genre in Germany and
a landscape style based on functional pragmatism. elsewhere is considerable. Without this precedent Lenne
would have never been asked to work on the Tiergarten
Early urban parks in Berlin, which became an important haven of new leisure
The first recorded example of an urban park being handed activities in winter as in summer [9.18, 9·19]. On hot sunny
over to the public in Europe was the Englischer Garten in days, the Tiergarten in Berlin and the Englischer Garten
Munich. 17 An existing aristocratic hunting ground, covering in Munich attract, among others, a public of dedicated
over 417 hectares (1,030 acres), was gradually transformed naturists of all ages, who take the opportunity to commune
from 1789 in the English Picturesque style and opened to the with nature [9.16], entertaining thus a certain nostalgia for
general public in 1792. The park's designer, Friedrich Ludwig Rousseau's plea for a return to our primitive state.
von Sckell, working under Charles Theodore, Elector of Following the model of the Englischer Garten, public
Bavaria, and supervised by Benjamin Thompson (Reichsgraf gardens sprang up in other parts of Europe and America,
von Romford ), a Massachusetts-born military man, shaped where the public was also given access to vast grounds.
the vast garden according to the archetypal principles of the The scale and location of these projects was important: they
English landscape style with forested areas and picturesque would not have the force they do were they not located at
vistas of monuments alternating within clearings. The the very heart of important cities. Examples include Regent's
grounds had previously been subject to frequent flooding Park (r835) and Hyde Park (r8 so) in London, and the Bois de
by the Isar River, but were now protected by a levee. Without Boulogne (r8 54) and Bois de Vincennes (r863) in Paris, and
the talent, dedication and perseverance of von Sckell over Central Park (r8 58) in New York. 1a
I
9.20
COMBUSTION 241
9.21
242 COMBUSTION
Pare des Buttes-Chaumont, France
Most major industrial cities of the 19th century adopted expertise were required to produce the desired results. One
similar designs for their early public parks. They were drawn notable case in point is the Pare des Buttes-Chaumont in
up in the English Pastoral or Picturesque styles, with an open Paris (1867), which was not the most expansive of projects,
heart comprised of meadows framed by woods and a dense but demonstrated the highly successful adaptation of an
network of interweaving paths fringing the urban edge. extremely challenging site [9.22]. 20 Despite its relatively
Prospect Park (1867) designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and modest scale (25 hectares, or 62 acres), it is one of the most
Calvert Vaux is a good example of such a blend of styles, outstanding examples of adaptive reuse in 19th-century
with an artificially made cascade at Fallkill Falls reproducing landscape architecture, and the degree of technical control
a 'natural' mountain scene at the heart of Brooklyn [9.21]. and topographic integration on display within the small site
The park (237 hectares, or 585 acres) set on an old glacial are impressive. The park is located in a working-class district
moraine with a ravine, works admirably with the natural of north-eastern Paris on the site of an old gypsum quarry,
topography. It is also the site of the Battle of Long Island whose steep cliffs were surrounded by squalid proletarian
(1776) in the American War of Independence. housing and smoke-belching industry. When work began in
It appears as though landscape architecture spoke a 1863, the old quarry had been used as a rubbish dump since
common 'language of nature' across nations and continents, the Revolution and as a gallows hill before that. The park
a language that suited the hygienist theories of the period. 19 took three years to build and was inaugurated during the
The design philosophy behind 19th-century parks, coincided Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867. 21
with a rare moment in history when urban politics, design, The extraordinary skill with which the raw, almost
techniques and the arts succeeded in working together hand Cubistic topography of the old quarry at Buttes-Chaumont
in hand. The completely new parks -that is, those not was transformed into an agreeable, picturesque garden, with
occupying former hunting grounds or estates were often a tightly knit network of winding paths, shows the level of
sited on difficult terrains with slums, abandoned quarries accomplishment that the art of the landscape architect and
and rubbish dumps. Considerable ingenuity and technical civil engineer had achieved. 22 The project required steam
9.21 Fallkill Falls in Prospect Park, Brooklyn,

New York, USA.
The park was designed by Frederick Law
Olmsted and CalvertVaux in 1867. This artificial
piece of natural scenery works as a piece of
the American 'wilderness', reproducing an idea
of nature that is proper to this working-class
district. The project was inspired by prevailing
social concerns about health and hygiene
at the time.
9.22 Plan of the Pare des Buttes-Chaumont,

Paris, France.
Designed by Adolphe Alphand in 1867, the park
is recognizable by its convoluted pathways
resulting from circulation patterns imposed by
the topography of the site. Straight lines through
this extreme terrain were not possible.
COMBUSTION 243
9.23b
244 COMBUSTION
views of the Pare des Buttes-Chaumont.
Originally an abandoned gypsum quarry
with undefined terrain and scattered housing,
it became an elaborate park, with winding
roads and paths, and including an underground
train line and a central water collector. Situated
in a working-class district of Paris, the new
park attracted better quality housing around
its perimeter.
9.24 Aerial view of Buttes-Chaumont.

The park is now set like a green island in the
densely built urban fabric of Paris. Some shaded
avenues radiate from it into neighbouring
districts. The steep topography is visible at the
far end of the park, where the street (rue de
Crimee) reaches down the hill to the left.
engines, dynamite, horses and the manpower of over r,ooo of urban furniture was designed to work within an overall
labourers to be completed on schedule. Since the original concept. The furniture developed by Alphand in Paris and by
gypsum quarry was covered in a layer of infertile clay Olmsted in New York has to some extent come to symbolize
hardpan, the drainage substrate, topsoil and vegetation the cities themselves [9.28].
all had to be brought in from elsewhere [9.23a, 9.23b]. In The Pare des Buttes-Chaumont embodies an entirely
fact, the reason that this space was transformed into a park new form of introverted landscape, in which the surrounding
was that the quarry subsoil was too dangerous and almost neighbourhoods face a single, elegant but much reduced icon
impossible to develop for building. A public park, therefore, of nature [9.24]. Entering the park via a series of shaded,
was one solution that would improve the standing and value winding paths that offer picturesque views of the Temple
of the neighbourhood. The landscape architect Adolphe of Sibyl, built on a spur above both the lake and the Paris
Alphand, the engineer Eugene Belgrand, the architect Gabriel skyline, the visitor catches a glimpse of a towering cascade
Davioud and the gardener Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps and a grotto [9.32]. But they offer no respite from the city:
worked as a team to bring this piece of idealized landscape the grotto is no longer the timeless mythological refuge it
into being, and went on to produce other projects as part would have been in the Renaissance, but rather an attraction.
of Baron Haussmann's transformation of Paris. 23 After passing the kiosk surrounded by a splendid assortment
The idea of placing a public park at the heart of a of exotic trees, one arrives at a single-arched span leaping
run-down district of Paris is of particular interest [9.25, 9.26]. a chasm over to the belvedere. Viewed from here, the Temple
Buttes-Ch'aumont is certainly not the first such landscape of Sibyl, rising above the city, has an almost intimate touch,
implantation: Berlin, London and New York all have good but the rest of the park below our feet seems so small and
examples. But the Pare des Buttes-Chaumont was a somewhat frail against the immense, encroaching city [9.27]. The
experimental field, in which the finest techniques in contour- illusion that one experiences here is not a result of optics so
line surveying, terrain-modelling and road and rail tunnel much as an inversion of scale, in which an insular landscape
construction were used [9.30]. Paths were made of asphalt, a is encapsulated in an idealized and nostalgic microcosm
revolutionary new impermeable elastic material. A system of [9 .38] . As one descends from the belvedere over Gustave
drains and ponds at the park's lower levels collected rainwater Eiffel's suspended footbridge, a broader, more hostile city
[9.29]. In adaition, everything down to the smallest piece environment emerges from under the trees [9.35].
COMBUSTION 245
9.25
9.26
246 COMBUSTION
9.27
9.25 An early photograph of Buttes-Chaumont

by Charles Marville, 1866.
The site of the park is being cleaned up,
dynamited and given form. Note the complete
absence of vegetation: huge quantities of soil
had to be brought in and stabilized before any
planting could take place.
9.28
9.26 Reconstruction view of Buttes-Chaumont

from the same angle.
This shows how the park design was fitted
into the context. We are far from an Elysian
atmosphere of the early English garden
and closer to a harsh urban reality of the
19th century.
9.27 The great lawn at Buttes-Chaumont.

The ground of the quarry had to be entirely
reworked and stabilized with vegetation. The
great lawn was given an incline in certain
parts on a 2:3 ratio with artificial slopes, which
have held without erosion for 150 years. For
this purpose the paths help control runoff and
erosion, with water channelled down to a central
pool at the foot of the promontory.
9.28 Buttes-Chaumont 150 years later.

The park is now an extraordinary urban oasis,
with the enigmatic miniature temple giving
an illusion of distance and depth . The benches
designed by Alphand line the asphalt road
and have become a trademark of Paris. Good
landscape requires time to grow.
9.29 Section across the cascade at Buttes-

Chaumont.
The impressive change of level is mitigated
by lateral paths and roads, parallel to the
height lines. Water on the other hand runs
perpendicularly to the slope and collects at
the low point by the lake. The city has grown
to its full extent in the background and wraps
around the par,k.
9.29
COMBUSTION 247
Buttes-Chaumont can be viewed as the successful trained at the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique; it is only
creation of a landscape that forms a congruous, albeit because he understood the site's topographical constraints
reduced, slice of nature within an industrialized city. It is that he was able to produce this feat of landscape engineering.
nature far removed from the wild and the sacred, replete What lessons can be learned from the Pare des Buttes-
with attractions and distractions, but it is nature pragmatically Chaumont? The park incorporated a variety of circulation
conceived for the benefit of a great number of inhabitants methods- vehicular, pedestrian and rail- without hindering
[9.37]. It was made for the elegant Parisian flaneur as well general use in any way [9.33, 9·34l· Moreover, the site's
as the immigrant worker, and provides a relaxed space where extraordinary discrepancy in levels (the highest point is some
the chance of encountering others matters as much as the 50 metres, or 164 feet, above the lowest) within a narrow band
scenery at hand. of terrain allowed the landscape architect to separate, and
The landscape encapsulated at Buttes-Chaumont is even superimpose, different uses that would otherwise have
of its time. It is not the expression of the French landscape been in conflict. This understanding of how to incorporate
tradition per se, but of a Romantic sentiment that prevailed complex circulation patterns within a park derived from
in industrialized cities during that period [9.36] . The paths of observations Alphand shared with his colleague Frederick
Buttes-Chaumont are strikingly reminiscent of those drawn Law Olmsted, both in New York and in Paris. 24
by Peter Joseph Lenne in Potsdam forty years before, but also Olmsted himself had been inspired by the ingenious
of the much earlier Ming gardens at Souzhou, and the slopes overlay of street and path he had seen in the English
of the Fragrant Hills in Beijing. The main achievement of Picturesque gardens at Birkenhead [9.42], 25 designed by
Buttes-Chaumont, with its ornamented cement handrails, Joseph Paxton, or the earlier garden at Stourhead by Henry
cascades and steps, is how it managed to transpose a Hoare. The precision with which the path network was laid
prevalent style onto the extraordinarily difficult topography out at Buttes-Chaumont is a precursor of 2oth-century theme
of this old quarry [9.31]. The park plan can be understood parks such as Disneyland, which developed highly controlled
as an example of control and engineering for the purpose of landscape environments for the purpose of entertainment,
landscape aesthetics, in which the surface-to-moveme nt ratio augmenting the visitor's spatial experience within a strictly
is maximized and every square metre of space is profitably confined area.
employed [9.39]. After all, Alphand was an engineer who
9.30
248 COMBUSTION
9.31 9. 32
9.30 Topographic plan of the Pare des Buttes-

Chaumont by Adolphe Alphand.
This engraved plan is exquisitely crafted, with
each 1 metre (3 foot) height line inscribed . lt
is both a feat of engineering and a work of art. 9.33 The tip of the park at its west end.
An artificial mound created from dynamited
9.31 Original ferro-cement handrail imitating rubble produced during construction provides
rustic logs. a viewing platform over the city. The absence
Alphand was rad ical both in his topographical of trees in the foreground is to maintain the
plans and use of details. Just as Lenne view. The curving road operates a 180° turn back
introduced the asphalt path to his parks, into the park, definin g the foot of the mound.
Alphand introduced cement features that have
lasted and branded the park. 9.34 The island in the Pare des Buttes-Chaumont.
The suspension bridge was designed by Gustave
9.32 The great cascade. Eiffel, and this mi x of archaic landscape design
The imm ense grotto is a remnant of the quarry, and high-tech engineering marks a shift in the
with water fed from the Canal de I'Ourcq nearby. approach to problem solving. The island cou ld
Though the cascade is artificial , the city noise have remained unattainable and sacred, but by
is lost in its sp lashing sound, inviting us to giving priority to circu lation Alphand paved the
return and imagine archaic times for an instant. way for other considerations and uses.
9. 33 9.3 4
COMBUSTION 249
9.35 View from the pillar of Eiffel's
suspension bridge towards the rock and
the Temple of Sibyl.
Japan w as in vogue in France at the time and
the red bridge is reminiscent of a Japanese
garden . But the spirit is different. The visitor
is suspended too high above the water to find
solace and must move on .
9.36 Flowering plum trees leaning into the

slope over the railway tunnel.
Almost fifty species of trees were planted
at the onset, ranging from cedars of Lebanon
and ginkgos to humble fruit trees like these.
lt is fascinating to observe how each plant has
adapted and survived in this park of extremes
overtime.
9.37 Users of the Pare des Buttes-Chaumont

today.
The slope does not perm it formal sports to
take place, but allows for impromptu games
and gatherings. The visual generosity of the
great lawn was intended by Alphand as the
9.35 centrep iece of his scheme, although in his
day people were stri ctly confined to the paths.
9.38 The Buttes-Chaumont outcrop in spring.

The outcrop works as the centrep iece and
natural jewel of the park, expressing seasonal
change and displaying a reduced form of nature
very much like an island in a Japanese garden .
Its base is inaccessible to visitors and has
become a sanctuary of sorts.
9.39 Plan of the Pare des Buttes-Chaumont

by Adolphe Alphand, 1867.
The precision with whic h the park was drawn
allows all forms of possible circu lation- from
train to meandering on foot and by carriage
-to be represented. Alphand was an eng inee r,
and as such his drawings of the park were not
just elegant, they were also efficient, economica l
and robu st.
9.36 9.37
250 COMBUSTION
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C•(J !1<-a•.w-•"~.
M• ..-.>tu
M»••~ ~< 10>"1" ,.,...• .,
11 ·.r,
llH•"""J,Go oll..
1~
·~·--
l',u~•••••
).!,,.., ~·C...4• r-.,.,

I ll•~<t• I~ l!-'w4•n
6 So~r« l! ~ ..... J,C.tJ<fl,~rt
1 S.utt • d•l~r,..,.~. lfi [af• P..••ncool
~ ;:"~~d;' r .... ,, :~ ~:.:':.!":;: r..,• """'""
I
9.39
COMBUSTION 251
Parks and the wider urban framework the Charles River [9-43]. 27 In many cases the landscape work
Today, the steeply sloping lawns of the Pare des Buttes- that Olmsted performed was intended to drain land and allow
Chaumont are meant for casual relaxation and for viewing for an integrated urban development and road work to take
the skyline of north-eastern Paris under the shade of mature place. This type of landscape thinking on a wider scale should
ginkgo trees. Most visitors are unaware of its complex have informed urban developments of all cities into the next
history, and it is quite remarkable how this park, now almost century: Buenos Aires is one city that continued with the
150 years old, has matured and come to fit the scale and park-and-boulevard tradition, through the works of Carlos
character of the neighbourhood. Its collection of exotic Thays, the city's landscape director from r892 to 1920, who
plants (over fifty different species), planted at the onset, shaped avenues and gardens around an immense (7oo-hectare,
is now well established, and its canopy of trees- including 1,730-acre) botanical garden (1898).28 He experimented with
cedars of Lebanon and oriental planes- interacts admirably unknown native plants including the jacaranda tree, which
with the natural declivity of the steep slopes, creating a produced alignments of the most striking effect when the
pleasant alternating pattern of sunny clearings and shaded trees blossomed blue [9.41). Although strongly inspired by the
groves. The structure of the park reaches out beyond its gates works of Alphand, with whom he h ad trained , Thays went on
to incorporate the surrounding streets that were planted experimenting by plotting avenues on a different scale, with
according to Alphand's plans and sections of avenues and innovative plantations that conferred a particularly exotic
boulevards for the rest of the capital [9.40]. 26 touch to the city. But other places around the world were less
Buttes-Chaumont was constructed as a distinct fortunate and prevented from following a similar course by
landscape component, but set within a larger urban war or dramatic change in the economy that worked to the
framework of parks and promenades, similar in concept to detriment of a continued landscape vision.
Lenne's Griinzug around Berlin proposed forty years before. Most 19th-century parks now seem taken for granted ,
The Emerald Necklace in Boston (r878 ) by Olmsted appeared yet they resulted from a heated political debate about their
a decade later and was done in a more suburban style and merits at the time. Central Park in New York took almost
on a different engineering scale altogether. It linked the 15 years from r844 until r857 before a competition was
Boston Common to Franklin Park via a necklace of parks launched. 29 The 283 hectares (700 acres) of reclaimed land
and avenues including the Back Bay Fens draining back into had been formerly settled by African-Americans and Irish
9.40 Plate from Les Promenades de Paris

by Adolphe Alphand.
Th e section drawing shows the Boul evard
Richard Lenoir as it passes over the Canal St
Martin. The plate also includes an entire design
palette of elements that branded Paris lastingly.
9.41 El Rosedal or Rose Garden by Carlos Thays,

Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1898.
-,
After working in Paris, Thays moved to Buenos
Aires and sought to replicate what he had
lea rned. Yet two fundamentals differed: the
climate and the scale. This, combined with
a local vegetation that has grown to unwieldy
heights, confers a unique character and spirit
to his projects.
9.42 Birkenhead Park by Joseph Paxton, 1847.

Birk en head Park, on the the River Mersey
in north-western England, is not comparable
in scale to Central Park, but offers a detailed
microcosm of circulation patterns that befits
the style that Olmsted sought to promote.
9.43 Plan of the Emerald Necklace, Boston,

USA, by Frederick Law Olmsted, 1878.
The Emerald Neckla ce project by Olmsted
proposed to link Boston via th e Charles River
to the Ba ck Bay Fens, the Arnold Arboretum and
Franklin Park in the south-west. Th e ambitious
scale of this landscape p_roject was entirely new.
9.40
252 COMBUSTION
9.41
Clt~MOO'"o" ~· ·- rA"~ "'""""'"CN"'"

...... ..,,.1!<•"'•"',.•-!'- •no · n ' ...,"""""~" ' 5i(lKP>!
PLAN OF PORTION Or
PARK SYSTEM
COMMON -ro F'HANKLIN PARK 1NClU:l) f'<Q
CIIARLES Rl\'l:l! BASil'<, CHII.RLI:SBANII, COMMONWf:ALTH AVCNUL
B....C)( !! AY F(IIS, ~IUCIJV RIVER I"'I'ROVEM~N ! ; L(VEI't!:TT PAR!<.,
JAMAICA PARK, ARBOflWAY AND ARNOLD ARBORETUM.
COMBUSTION 253
9.44
9.44 Plan of Central Park, Manhattan, New York,

USA, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and
CalvertVaux, 1857.
Extending from 59th to 110th Streets, the
345-hectare (853-acre) park contains over
90 km (56 miles) of pedestrian paths, 11 km
(7 miles) of benches, 10 km (6 miles) of roads
and 7 km (4 miles) of bridle paths. There are
50 hectares (123 acres) of woodland, 100
hectares (247 acres) of lawn and 60 hectares
(124 acres) of water, leaving 135 hectares
(334 acres) just for circulation.
9.45
9.45 Engraving of Central Park with a bridge
over a crowded Park Drive.
Olmsted was a master of circulation in all his
projects. He visited parks in England before
designing Central Park, and was parti cularly
impressed by his visit to Birkenhead Park
designed by Joseph Paxton .
9.46 A tree-moving machine in Prospect Park,

Brooklyn, New York, USA, designed by Olmsted.
The highly engineered approach to urban
horticulture began with Alphand and co ntinued
with Olmsted in NewYork. Over half a million
shrubs and trees were planted in Central Park
during construction, requiring huge amounts
of additional soil. The landscape being created
was far from natural.
9.46
9.47 The ball ground at the southern tip

of Central Park facing 7th Avenue.
Two archetypes meet here: the forest clearing
is set within the larger rectangular frame of
the city and its living walls. it is now the city
that holds a treasured nature at its heart.
9.48 Rock outcrops by the Dene, Central Park,

looking towards 5th Avenue and East 69th
Street.
The park is remarkably rela xe d and tranquil
for such a crowded city. Real estate around
Central Park has never depreciated since
it was created 150 years ago: it remains one
of the most exclusive and pleasant addresses
to live in Manhattan .
9.47
254 COMBUSTION
immigrants. This meant that the inhabitants were evicted elongated forest clearings, called 'meadows', and its curving
and three entire villages were razed to make way for the paths juxtaposed with the formal, albeit skewed, axis of
park. Advocates for the creation of the park were wealthy the Mall give the illusion of an infinite repository of nature
philanthropic merchants and landowners who wanted New bounded by orthogonal streets. The park avoids all reference
York to compete with the parks of London and Paris in terms to right angles internally, as if to forget the urban grid from
of prestige and real-estate value. It is the first public park whence it derives. There is a lesson to be learned from Central
in the United States, and undoubtedly the most significant Park and its combination of two fundamental landscape
project of this entire period. The park competition was archetypes: all we need are pleasurable meadows with some
won by the 'Greensward' project proposed by Frederick rock outcrops framed by a mixed forest of trees within our
Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux (1857), at a time when city walls to renew our faith in urban nature [9.48]. Central
extraordinary care was taken to ensure that parks blended Park has remained a public resource, enjoyed by crowds of
sustainably with their urban setting [9.44]. The park cost people, and the expensive properties that line its borders
$10 million to acquire the land and construct. This sum only confirm all the different values that were attached to
included 14,100 cubic metres (498,ooo cubic feet )of top soil the 'Greensward' project from the onset.
and over half a million trees and shrubs, not to mention the The 19th-century city, with its newly defined
massive amounts of dynamite used to clear the roads and landscapes, coincides with a unique moment in history, when
paths. It is said that over ro million cartloads of material the architect, the engineer and the landscape architect shared
had been used by completion of the project in 1873 [9-46]. a common vision on a project. Today, no one could imagine
Central Park was conceived not only as a place to Manhattan without this green and pulsing heart. There are
take a leisurely stroll, but also to manage major urban traffic still many lessons to be learned from this extraordinarily
circulation [9-45] . It was designed as somewhere to play sport, productive period. Yet one cannot help but feel that
enjoy art and culture, and -last but by no means least- hold something vital got lost along the way. The park tradition of
the main water reservoir of the city of Manhattan. One could the 19th-century now seems like the last call for a seemingly
almost abstract the buildings behind 7th Avenue and 59th just and equitable return to nature in our cities.
Street, and imagine the park as a magnificent walled garden
set within a vast metropolitan desert [9-4 7]. The park's
I
9.48
COMBUSTION 255
10. Acceleration
Landscapes of the 20th Century
'Perfection of m eans and confusion of goals seem- in my promenade movement, begun a century earlier, was unable
opinion - to characterize our age.' to integrate itself in the expanding suburban tissue. With the
Albert Einstein, London, 2 October 1941 1 arrival of motorized mobility, the rules of urban development
changed radically, as large reserves of land dwindled beneath
The last utopians suburbs, highways, airports and parking lots. This made
Where the 19th century delivered tangible landscapes for replicating the 19th-century urban model almost impossible,
the city, the 20th century offered utopias and contrasting particularly in extended peripheral areas. Landscape
ideologies. Optimistic schemes, like the Pare de la Villette gradually transformed into the bare notion of 'green', with no
in Paris (r984) designed as a manifest Deconstructivist particular historical or mythological references in mind. The
urban project served only to hasten a further detachment green belt as protection against spreading urbanism became
from nature, owing to the accelerated rhythm of material the creed of utopian thinkers such as Ebenezer Howard. 2
and societal change [ro.o]. Similarly, Marcel Duchamp's Ebenezer Howard, father of the Garden City concept
Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2) (r9r 2) decomposed (1902), believed that it was possible to define universal rules
the accelerated movement of the human body abstractly for town planning that would support more balanced growth.
[ro.r]. It is difficult to tell whether a man or a woman is Using a set of circular diagrams reminiscent of medieval
descending; the image has lost most character traits in favour mappae mundi, he illustrated the perfect ring-like structure
of an embodiment of pure light and motion. Accelerated of a utopian garden city, showing its living quarters, working
motion is probably the main reason why the urban park-and- quarters, productive agricultural land, schools, green belt
10.0 (opposite I Red folly at the Pare de la

Villette, Paris, France, 1987.
This folie inspired by Russian Constructivist
architecture is intended as a children's
workshop. Set along the main north-south
axis of the park, called Galerie de la Villette,
it confers on the place a character more that
of an elaborate public amusement park than
a representation of nature.
10.1 Nude Descending a Staircase (No.2}

by Marcel Duchamp, 1912.
Human movement down a staircase is
deconstructed using abstract elements. Inspired
by the 'chronophotography' of Etienne-Jules
Marey and Eadweard Muybridge of the late
19th century, it announces the cinematic
'dematerialization' of our vision and the body
through motion.,
10.1
ACCELERATION 257
10.2 Diagram of the ideal garden city by
Ebenezer Howard.
Small circular satellite towns are connected to
each other by rings of railways and canals and
to the central city by radial roads. Each person
fits into the system, and landscape is repetitive
and monotonous, with allotments, farmland ,
new forests and reservoirs. What remains at the
centre is simply circulation.
10.3 Aerial view of Letchworth, England, laid

out by Raymond Unwin in 1903.
Based on the principles of Ebenezer Howard, this
is the world 's first garden city. it could proudly
boast the first roundabout in the UK, dated 1909,
and banned pubs and alcohol in public premises
until1958. Its town centre was green but very
quiet at night. Letchworth inspired countless
other new towns around the world.
10.4 The Horseshoe Estate, Hufeisensiedlung,

Berlin, Germany, by Bruno Taut, 1925-30.
Designed by Bruno Taut with landscape
architect Leberecht Migge and architect
Martin Wagner, th e project is one of the most
archetypal ex amples of post-war urban plann i ng
in Germany. The balance between green
space, allotment gardens and urbanization
distinguishes it from previous garden cities such
as Letchworth , which were more suburban .
RAILROAOS. ~
UNOERGRIJD '! -
10.5 The trenches of the Somme, France, 1916.
1! . ;:~:::===. ~ u f..
Ill. ltfVNfCIPAL -- The atrocities of World War I left an indelible
--~ ~~!!.!~~st~-;;---
- SC&LI. - mark on the landscape. Reaching the utter limits
<=""""""i'i
JM;ii,)~e==i~ Nile& , of annihilation, not only was Europe left with
16 million dead and 20 million wounded, but
10.2 the wastelands of mud left behind would never
recover their original spirit.
10.6 The Stadtpark Hamburg, Germany,

completed by Fritz Schumacher in 1914.
One of the last great urban parks conceived in
Europe, it covers 150 hectares (371 acres). The
vast lawn fronting a lake surrounded by trees
leads to a water tower by Otto Menzel (1915),
later converted into a planetarium. it is strangely
reminiscent of the Mausoleum at Castle Howard.
10.3 10.4
258 ACCELERATION
and so on [ ro.2J.3 The first new town to be born of these towards our world. Urban models, such as those developed
principles was Letchworth in Hertfordshire (1903 ), with the by Ebenezer Howard in Letchworth and Hampstead before
help of the architect Raymond Unwin [ro.3]. 4 Letchworth was the war, offered small beacons of hope. Raymond Unwin's
actually quite different: it was rooted in a strong anti-urban projects in Britain were praised by Hermann Muthesius, and
sentiment and symbolized an approach in which 'green' land, inspired exchanges with German urban landscape avant-garde
detached from any obvious productive or cultural context, figures including Fritz Schumacher, Leberecht Migge and
was meant to play a major role in town life. Early garden Bruno Taut. 7 In the Horseshoe Estate in Berlin (1925-30),
cities in Germany, inspired by the theories of Moritz Schreber, Taut reinterpreted the concept of the radial garden city, but
and later influenced by the architects Hermann Muthesius with a much higher density of housing [ro.4]. The principles
and Heinrich Tessenow, reflected some aspects of Howard's of the garden city were also adapted to developing areas of
innovations. 5 It is to Howard that we owe the generic term Hamburg and Berlin with housing projects that provided
'green belt', which forms part of the planner's abstract municipal gardens and new urban parks called Volksparks.
vocabulary for defining suburban limits to this day. The The Volksparks were more pragmatic than their 19th-century
garden city lacked clear references to established landscape forerunners, acting as a strong anchor for neighbourhoods
archetypes and in this sense it was truly utopian. How such a and providing a public amenity in areas that had lacked any
universal form of greenery, removed from any cultural context such benefit. Their design was functionalist, responding
and cleansed of its history, was adopted by the Modernists to society's need for sport, recreation and local identity.
remains a~ enigma. The Garden City movement failed to It allowed a geometric 'clearing' of sorts to materialize as
deliver concrete solutions to problems of cities prone to gathering places within the growing urban fabric. 8 Their
increasing land value and sprawl. It coincides with a precise distinctive style was focused on a large, flat central lawn area
moment in history when landscape disengaged itself from the for games, surrounded by groves of trees planted in regular
city core it had so painstakingly conquered a century before. 6 patterns. The most notable example - which pre-dates the war
World War I left in its wake countless human casualties, -is the Stadtpark Hamburg (1914) by Fritz Schumacher [ro.6] .
social and environmental upheaval and a landscape of rural It gave character to a new district of Hamburg, providing a
wastelands [ro.s ]. The unprecedented level of human and large playing field, a lake and other opportunities for leisure.9
environmental annihilation effected a deep change in attitude This set a remarkable precedent for the rest of Germany.
ACCELERATION 259
Attempts to define a resolutely Modernist style of childhood in the harsh environment of La Chaux-de-Fonds.
landscape, however, took time. Early Modern gardens were The Plan Voisin for Paris (1925) is the illustration of his desire
displayed at the Exposition des Arts Decoratifs in Paris for radical modernity applied to a historic city [1o.ro]. The
(1925), with projects by the architects Gabriel Guevrekian and entire right bank of Paris would have been razed and replaced
Paul Vera. A 'Cubist' garden at the Villa Noailles in Hyeres by tower blocks and stretches of 'green' .13 Less brutal- but
(1927) followed, where Guevrekian set an abstract matrix of much more dogmatic- the Ville Radieuse (1933) was an
colourful plantings within a triangular walled promontory elegant zoning plan for a vertical city laid on an orthogonal
offering a splendid sea view [10.7]. 10 Yet these isolated road system punctuated by tall housing, office and industry
experiments had little effect on the general evolution of the buildings set in green open spaces [10.9]. The project published
Modernist movement that remained seemingly oblivious to in the Athens Charter aimed to promote an international style
questions of landscape. In terms of scale and impact, the of architecture inspired by a socialist ideology detached from
Volkspark and garden city survive as the last generic forms local culture and historical context as established by ClAM
of public landscape of the 2oth-century city. The banal green (Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne). 14
of the Siemensstadt (1929-31), designed by Bauhaus architect The plan of the Ville Radieuse imitated Ebenezer
Walter Gropius in Berlin, marks a break from any previous Howard's ideal city diagram somewhat uncritically, vastly
landscape forms [10.8]. 11 The stretches of open and sparsely increasing its scale, thereby adding a particularly alienating
planted lawns designed by Leberecht Migge for 2,6oo tenants dimension to the modern city. Le Corbusier first presented the
retained little of a secular landscape tradition where notions Ville Radieuse at the 1930 third ClAM congress in Brussels on
of comfort, appropriation and belonging had prevailed. the topic of Rational Land Development as a grid of towering
blocks, interspersed with industrial buildings, surrounded by
The Modernists and ClAM rapid circulation systems set in 'green'. He had just returned
The ideological precepts of Modernism first established from the USSR, where he had presented a similar plan to
by Le Corbusier and his followers significantly reduced the replace Moscow with an entirely new and unique Modern
prominence of landscape architecture and public space in city. 15 His ink sketch of the Ville Radieuse reveals a rather
2oth-century urban thinking. 12 Le Corbusier displayed an fantastic scenery, with gigantic trees along broad paths
ambivalent understanding of nature, probably grounded in his linking distant building blocks with a disquieting loss of
260 ACCELERATION
10.7 Garden at the Villa Noailles, Hyeres, France,
by Gabriel Guevrekian, 1927.
This Cubist garden advances like the prow
of a ship in the landscape of Provence. The
Villcs sa tellites, pa r ex .:
composition plays out two geometries within
siCge du gouvernement a triangular garden wall: multiple facets along
ou cen tre des Ct udcs so·
the walls are symmetrically juxtaposed with
cia1es. etc.
a parterre of square beds and pools set in
La ci te d'a ffaires:
coloured concrete.
10.8 Block of flats at the Jungfernheideweg by

La gare e t l'aeroga.re.
Waiter Gropius, Siemensstadt, Berlin, Germany.
Les hOtck The district laid out following a master plan
Les tunhassadcs.
by Hans Scharoun, 1929, marks the shift from
garden city to Modernist town, where landscape
is reduced to a barren strip of lawn. Both the
Bauhaus and ClAM neglected landscape in
their schemes, confusing quantity with quality.
L'habit atiou.
10.9 The Ville Radieuse zoning plan by
Le Corbusier, 1933.
Drawn with clockwork mechanical precision,
the plan imagines the city of the future as
a vast circulation matrix interspersed with
tall buildings and green spaces. There is
nothing archetypal to be found here, and the
project borrows uncritically from the zoning
diagrams of Ebenezer Howard developed
three decades earlier.
Les manufactures.
10.10 The Plan Voisin model by Le Corbusier,

1925.
Lcs cn trcpOts gCm!raux.
In this model the centre of Paris has been
flattened to make way for a high-density
neighbourhood with green open space. This
L'indus trie lourde.
iconoclastic project itself became the icon
of radical modernity promoted by ClAM.
10.11 Le Corbusier's sketch of the park at the

Ville Radieuse.
10 .9 The landscape no longer refers to any sort of
archetype; it is green space without a scale. The
discomfort is further enhanced by the diminutive
size of people walking under giant trees trying
to reach the next building on the horizon .
10.11
ACCELERATION 261
human scale [1o.n]. 16 Despite the claim that it would consist [10.13]. It is the failed interaction between human being,
of 88 per cent parkland and 12 per cent construction, the building and landscape that remains the core problem of
Ville Radieuse plan shows scant landscape quality in a dense the Modernist utopia: these vast, open spaces, designed
weave of overlapping motorways and streets punctuated by with the car in mind , were of course premonitory, yet went
huge towers, each housing more than 1,ooo inhabitants. The unappreciated because they remained approximate at the scale
Modernist utopia professed a clear break from old bourgeois where a sense of memory and appropriation matter most.
values with an interest in creating friendly and healthier Because of its renunciation of the past, the International Style
environments, but more often than not produced quite the promoted by ClAM would have a big impact on architecture
opposite- something akin to a pedestrian's windswept and urban development in Europe, the USA and Asia after
nightmare. An example is the mass-housing project in World War II. This in part exp lains the continued denigration
Marzahn (1977) in East Berlin, built on the site of an old of landscape architecture as a valid tool of urban design ,
Romani labour camp in communist DDR [1o.u]. Landscapes particularly in the immediate post-war period that was
in these Modernist peripheries were conveniently linked to resol utely critical of the past and turned towards progress.
the progressive social ideologies of authoritarian regimes, There were positive exceptions. For his utopian
which could rid themselves of the burdensome cultural and Broadacre City project (1932), Frank Lloyd Wright proposed
ideological associations inherited from the previous century. a Midwestern model of suburban development that, in
The frequently made criticism of Modernist utopi an terms of context, remained closer to the original precepts of
projects built after World War 11, from Paris to Berlin and Ebenezer Howard, who himself had drawn inspiration from
Chandigarh to Brasllia, it is that they often lacked a sense his time spent in Nebraska and Chicago [10.14]. But Wright's
of belonging and human scale. The pilot plan of Brasllia scheme, far from being universal, was clearly anchored in the
by the architects Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer (1957) specific cultural and territorial context of America and the
was clearly inspired by ClAM principles. 17 The new city Jeffersonian grid, and unlike ClAM his design principles were
gives the impression of a powerful vacuum structured by the not transferable elsewhere in the world. This is what gave it
automobile, culminating with the Esplanade of Ministries all its appeal in terms of variegated landscape development. 18
representing the seat of Brazilian government symbolically In Europe, some countries developed an attitude to
removed from the city centre and outlying housing areas modern town design that was different from ClAM, while
10.12 The Marzahn estate, Berlin, Germany, 1977.

The estate was built in the comm unist period
of the DDR on the site of an old forced
labour camp for Romani and followed ClAM
principles closely. Here, as with other Modernist
developments across the suburbs of the world,
a sense of belonging is lacking, in spite of the
availability and abunda nce of 'public space'.
10.13 Esplanada dos Ministerios, Brasilia,

Brazil, 1960.
The plan by Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer
also followed ClAM principles closely, but what
works for fast-moving cars is less successful for
10.12 pedestri ans in the blazing heat of the Brazilian
plateau. Viewed on axis from th e Cultural Centre,
the esplanade conveys a sense of immensity,
vacuum and power.
10.14 The utopian city of Broadacre in the

American Midwest, 1932.
A futuristic suburban development set within the
Land Grant Grid designed by Frank Lloyd Wright,
it balances radical innovation with a respect for
existing landscape structures including roads,
gardens, stadiums and fields. Broadacre offered
each family an acre of land and people could
move around by car, train or aerogyro.
10 .13 10.14
262 ACCELERATION
remaining open to innovation. In Denmark, landscape The parkway
had its traditional place and was considered unique in its The surge in motorized transport called for new roads,
peculiar scale, topography and locality. The campus at Aarhus which deeply affected our view of landscape. The parkway
University, Jutland (r93r ), designed by Carl Theodor S0rensen is an American invention of the late r9th century, and first
to complement the buildings of Kay Fisker, C. F. M0ller and appeared in its motorized high-speed form on the East Coast
Povl Stegmann, is a prime example of this blend of tradition in r9o6 with the Long Island Motor Parkway. 21 Robert Moses,
and modernity [ro. r6]. 19 S0rensen carefully integrated the Park Commissioner of New York in the r920s, promoted it
buildings into the rolling landscape of the campus. Oaks were as a successful motif in landscape aesthetics.22 The parkway
planted as acorns in groves and left to grow. In microcosm, the sought to combine the experience of motoring while staging
campus re-created the spirit of a secular Danish oak landscape landscape scenery along the drive. The parkways were
at the same time as adding modern functions such as rainwater ground-breaking ways of connecting the suburbs to the city
rills and ponds, asphalt paths, parking areas and a green while experiencing the landscape [ro.n]. Driving was the
amphitheatre for ceremonies. The critical modernity expressed expression of radical modernity, since cars were faster than
at Aarhus was in no way formulaic, nor was it universal in its horses, and now able to speed uninterrupted along broad,
style. Another remarkable modern landscape project is the open parkways connecting the city to natural scenery. The
Skogskyrkogarden cemetery in Stockholm, Sweden (r920), skilfuL handling of vegetation hid suburban settlements
designed by the architects Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd from the driver's view, enhancing the perceived 'naturalness'
Lewerentz. 20 Here an archetypal working with the ' mythical' of the driving experience. This marriage of two opposites-
forest clearing is evident. A long formal alley through a vast the moving automobile and a 'natural' environment masking
open meadow leads up to the modern chapel and crematorium the city and lining the road -marked the beginning of an
at the edge of the forest [ro.rs]. The project combines the entirely different attitude towards landscape, here understood
weight of physical gravity with a sentiment of sorrow, and as a screen. 23
the tombs scattered through the woods unfold in a different Ironically, the only real challenge to ClAM's dogmatic
order reminiscent of ancestral, animistic times. This form of position on the generic green spaces of the Ville Radieuse
culturally rooted landscape sensitivity is precisely what makes came from Nazi Germany and Hermann Goring, Minister
early Scandinavian modernity so unique and interesting. of Forestry in r933, where the idea of landscape tradition
10.15 The Skogskyrkogarden cemetery,

Stockholm, Sweden, by Gunnar Asplund
and Sigurd Lewerentz, 1920.
Built on the site of old gravel quarries, this
is probably one of the most remarkable
examples of expressive sacred landscapes of
the 20th century. Its subtly crafted contouring
plays against a splendid pine forest backdrop.
Lewerentz, who worked on the landscape,
thought of it as a tranquil environment of
pre-Christian beauty.
10.16 A peaceful meadow on the campus

at Aarhus University, Denmark.
lt is the timeless quality of this project designed
10 .15
by Carl Theodor Si1Jrensen in 1931, at the onset
of the modern age, that surprises and delights.
Si1Jrensen simply replicated the archetype of
a clearing at the heart of the campus. Perhaps
landscape architecture does not need to reinvent
its motifs for the sake of modernity?
10.17 The Merritt Parkway from New York

to New England, USA.
The road opened the hinterland to suburban
development and completely changed our
relationship to landscape as cars were pushed
through suburbia in a tunnel of green.
10.17
ACCELERATION 263
10.18 Naturist women dance in a ring at the 10.20 The Reichsautobahn over the Bavarian
Wannsee near Berlin, Germany, 1926. Alps, Germany, designed by Alwin Seifert, 1930s.
Gerhard Riebicke promoted Nacktkultur Seifert drew influence from the American
(nudism) through photography as early as parkways, but the Autobahn became also a
the 1920s. Nakedness as a way to demonstrate tool of racial propaganda, promoting the idea
a genuine closeness to nature later became of rapid movement through a scientifically
an object of Nazi propaganda. 'authentic' German landscape. Texts on 'German
Nature' by Willy Lange promoted this view and
10.19 The Zeppelinfeld, Nuremberg, Germany, served as an ideological basis.
1936.
This gigantic party rallying ground was 10.21 Aftermath of the atomic bomb,
one of Albert Speer's first projects for the Hiroshima, Japan.
10.18
Nazis. At almost 2 km (1 V. miles) across, The atomic bomb dropped on 6 August 1945
the disproportionate scale of this overblown destroyed 12 sq. km (4.6 sq. miles) of the city
archetype is intended to impress a sense of in seconds, killing over 150,000 people. The
dominance and power on people at the mass photograph, taken shortly after the explosion,
rallies. The bandstand at the centre, 380 metres leaves an eerie impression of annihilation.
(1,248 feet) wide, is modelled on the Pergamon Hiroshima, one of the oldest and most sacred
Altar, but ten times the size. cities of Japan, had just been wiped off the
map. Humankind was now able to destroy
the physical world as never before.
10.19
and natural authenticity was taken very seriously for its possible levels of cultural and scientific propaganda. To give
ideological and symbolic associations with 'blood and soil' one example: in 1934, under Hermann Goring, the concepts
ascendancy. 24 The naturist movement, which had sprung up of 'German nature' (deutsche Natur) and 'German forest'
in Germany and Scandinavia at the turn of the 20th century, (deutscher Wald) became a canvas for nationalistic, anti-
showed a marked sympathy for the cult of the healthy modern, racist and biological manipulationsY
naked body immersed in the natural environment [ro.r8]. The Third Reich's head landscape architect under
This and other, similar movements flirted with notions Goring, Alwin Seifert, went as far as to apply notions of
of Aryan supremacy, as can be seen in the works of Hans purity to plant species, distinguishing for the first time native
Suren and Gerhard Riebicke. 25 Photographs by Riebicke of plants from non-native plants that did not belong to German
a ring of naked women dancing in a clearing at the Wannsee soil.28 Despite its supposed scientific objectivity, the concept
near Berlin are far from natural; they are contrived in that of separating plants in this arbitrary manner was very much
they aim to show racial superiority. Naturalist landscape in keeping with other separationist tendencies of the Nazi
theories were thus drawn into the nationalist cause of Nazi period. That notwithstanding, this new kind of natural
Germany and skilfully mixed with the traditionalist products ideology had a lasting effect, and became one of the guiding
of the Heimatstil- a style promoted by the architect Paul dogmas of environmental conservation after World War 1!.29
Schmitthenner and inspired by Heinrich Tessenow that Alwin Seifert also had a hand in developing the first
privileged modest materials, pitched roofs and regional Reichsautobahn in Germany (r934-4r), when 3,65okm
characteristics. 26 (2,270 miles) of motorway were built. The planning of
Architects and landscape architects under Nazi rule the motorway took ideological and aesthetic considerations
worked assiduously on architectural and landscape styles that into account, since it was designed to allow Germans to
would symbolize Aryan ascendancy and the thousand-year enjoy the country's different iconic landscapes [ro.20 ]. The
Reich. Albert Speer, a student of Tessenow, was its most parkways of Robert Moses certainly inspired Seifert, but the
prominent figure: it was he who designed the Zeppelinfeld aesthetic theory underpinning the Reichsautobahn was, to
stadium in Nuremberg (1936), where massive populist rallies all intents and purposes, quite different. For instance, Seifert
were held each year [ro.r9]. For the Nazi regime, nature was sought to line the motorways with native (einheimischen)
a highly ideological, symbolic subject, to be utilized at all plants in accordance with Nazi ideology, making this the first
264 ACCELERATION
10.21
10.20
known example of an 'ecologically' founded project. 30 In in post-war Germany were overseen by ex-Nazi officials
addition, even across the flattest plain of Lower Saxony, the such as Seifert who was elected president of the Bavarian
Reichsautobahn curved and swayed as it made its way into 'Heimatschutz' (Nature Conservancy) in 1946 -landscape
Hanover. It seems probable that the purpose of these curves was deemed reactionary and resolutely suspect, losing even
was to express the line of beauty so dear to William Hogarth more credibility in the progressive eyes of CIAM. 31
and his followers- a line that could bring even the most Science and industry reached a historic turning point
boring stretch of scenery to life through the road's swerving on 6 August 1945 when the atom bomb, originally conceived
course. According to this reading, Seifert indirectly promoted to annihilate Nazi Germany, was dropped on Hiroshima
nationalistic propaganda by using the subliminal device of instead, wiping it out completely in a matter of seconds
the'S' curve, thought of as pre-eminently feminine, to bring [10.21]. This single act of violence was of overwhelming
appeal to even the dullest of German landscapes. More political and humanitarian significance, but also confirmed
prosaically, it was said that the curves on the Reichsautobahn that a fundamental shift of power had occurred in
were designed to keep the driver alert. humankind's overall relationship with nature. When
It is sad to think that pre-war Modernists as a whole Einstein published his general theory of relativity in 1916, he
failed to grasp the importance of landscape symbolism and overturned the centuries-old theory of mechanics. Suddenly
identity, or to define an aesthetic position of their own on this all motion became relative, and time and gravity were no
vital topic. Why did the Bauhaus and ClAM not challenge longer absolutes. 32 Influential physicists such as Niels Bohr
the racist theories of National Socialism on this ground and undertook ground-breaking work in quantum mechanics that
ignore the tremendous potential that a modern landscape allowed science to position itself as the principal interpreter
movement could offer? Rejecting the secular language of of nature. With subsequent advances in a General Systems
nature entirely as something old fashioned and bourgeois Theory, first published in 1950,33 modern science became
was an obtuse absurdity. Doing otherwise would have an all-encompassing field, capable of analysing and acting
certainly helped to counter the Nazis' nationalistic landscape upon complex environmental situations irrespective of
approach, with its concern for the perennial virtues of a 'true' cultural context. This scientific advance significantly altered
German nature. Because of this failed Modernist debate the perception of landscape and its purpose in relation to
-and the fact that matters relating to nature conservation the wider natural environment. Science became a religion
ACCELERATION 265
of sorts, capable not only of measuring natural fa-ctors, but The 2oth century witnessed the rise of exceptional
also of influencing their course and thus affecting human projects, essentially in the private sphere of garden design.
destiny. Put prosaically, the impact of our faith in the scientific Figures such as Pietro Porcinai in Italy, Thomas D. Church in
knowledge of nature left a deep and lasting mark. What America and Russell Page in England were able to encapsulate
symbolic role could landscape play in this modern scientific the spirit of Modernism. Their gardens became exquisite icons
world order? of the age, like Page's courtyard at the Prick Collection in
New York (1977), realized in his later years, which replicated a
The masters of landscape walled courtyard garden archetype in a modern interpretation
When Mies van der Rohe moved to America his first [ro.23]. But earlier designs , such as Porcinai's garden for
commission was to design the Res or House in J ackson Hole, the Villa I Collazzi near Florence (1939), were a stark and
Wyoming. There he discovered the overwhelming power of powerful expression of Fascist ideals. 35 With its minimalist
the Grand Teton mountains. 34 He produced a remarkable swimming pool lined with quartz, set at the centre of an
series of photomontage perspectives showing a minimal expansive lawn framed by tall cypresses, it leaves a lasting
dematerialized interior comprised of a full floor-to-ceiling impression of power [ro.25]. This sober jewel embodies in its
window with four slender cruciform columns. The power reductive essence the spirit of late r93os rationalist design. But
of the landscape, particularly the view towards the Grand Porcinai was suspected of being a Fascist sympathizer, as was
Tetons, contrasts with the frail, diaphanous frame of the his Italian architect colleague Giuseppe Terragni.
house [ro.22]. Such a subdued architectural expression The first American Modernist garden, untainted by the
confronted by the American wilderness was in complete ideological struggles in Europe, was by Thomas D. Church in
rupture with any European tradition. Conventional rules California. 36 In his distinguished work for private residences
of perspective were inverted, with the highly contrasted view such the Donnell House in Sonoma, Napa Valley (1948 ),
of the mountains substantiating the forefront and modern through his radically modern garden design, Church paid
elegance of the building. It marks a significant shift in the particular attention to the wider integration of the landscape,
architect's understanding of the bond between interior and in this case some coast live oaks in an existing stand [ro.24].
exterior; its date of conception- 1939- is not innocent and Rather than replicating an archetype, his garden forms were
can be understood as a definite break from old world values. inspired by modern art, among others the work of Jean Arp.37
I
10.22 10.23
266 ACCELERATION
10.22 The Resor House, Wyoming, USA, 10.24 The Donnell Garden, Napa Valley,
by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1939. California, USA, by Thomas D. Church, 1948.
The discovery of the 'untainted' American The most famous icon of Modernist Californian
wilderness of the GrandTetons impressed Mies landscape design , the pool's organic shape
van der Rohe on his arrival at Jackson Hole, hewn into a hillside of coast live oaks overlooks
Wyoming. And the impact of the striking the northern reaches of San Fran cisco Bay. The
contrast between the frail minimalism of his sculpture by Adaline Kent gives a sense of scale,
house and the sheer magnitude and force of and sets the tone for this pragmatic design
nature would never leave him. Centuries of meant for family life, relaxation and parties.
codified cultural history from the old world
vanished for him overnight. 10.25 Garden at Villa I Collazi, Italy, by Pietro
Porcinai, 1939.
10.23 Garden courtyard at the Frick Collection, Set in a historic garden framed by old cypresses
New York, USA, by Russell Page, 1977. and low trimmed boxwood hedges, the grey
The elegance of th e garden walled on three and white quartzite pool stands ominously at the
sides taps into a familiar tradition and archetype. centre of a vast green lawn like a rare gem. The
The rectangular pool at its centre and the stone trim recalls the austere Italian architectural
delicate dappled shade of trees take us back style in vogue at that period; although minimal
to times immemorial and a paradise long lost. it is clearly an expression of absolute power.
10.25
ACCELERATION 267
10.26 The-UNESCO Garden, Paris, France, 10.29 Double Negative, Nevada, USA,
by lsamu Noguchi, completed 1958. by Michael Heizer, 1969-70.
Blending fragments of different landscape Located in the high desert, Double Negative is a
cultures into a common whole, elements statement about the ' negative' effects of humans
of Japanese gardens are slotted into a larger on their environment. Two huge trenches were
walled frame, bound on one side by a cascade. excavated in a line, requiring the removal of
The garden, built barely thirteen years after the 250,000 tons of rocks. The gap between the two
bombing of Hiroshima, attempts to ce lebrate trenches creates a void or absence- a negative.
landscape as a form of universal culture.
10.30 Tanner Fountain, Harvard University,
10.27 The Parque del Este, Caracas, Venezuela, USA, by Peter Walker, 1984.
by Roberto Burle Marx, 1961. The fountain, with its 159 granite boulders
10.26
The painterly plan reminiscent of the works of set loosely in a ring, spreads over asphalt and
Joan Mir6, Jean Arp and Henri Matisse, uses lawn and under trees and uses mist sprinklers
intertwined biomorphic shapes to define areas at its heart. lt borrows from minimalist artist
of activity and circulation . it is a project that Car\ And re's work entitled Stone Field Sculpture
breaks away from the weight of Latin American from 1977.
tradition by proposing a radically new form of
space and vegetation. With its 82 hectares (200
acres) and diverse programme, it has become
the most popular park in town .
10.28 Roberto Burle Marx's private hillside

garden in Sitio near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1950.
Th e garden was Burle Marx's laboratory for an
extraordinary palette of Modernist compositions,
which he then applied to a variety of projects.
10.27 His work was particu larly bold and refreshing ,
and since he was also a painter, his use of plants
followed form, co lou r and texture.
10.28
268 ACCELERATION
10.29 10 .30
In the post-war period Isamu Noguchi and Roberto to barren stretches of the West, devoid of obvious cultural ties
Burle Marx created works of refreshing novelty. Noguchi's and offering a setting for conceptual experimentation with
UNESCO Garden in Paris (1958) blended an understated earthworks. 40 Double N egative (1969-70) by Michael Heizer,
Japanese garden aesthetic with a Western abstract approach located in South Nevada, is emblematic of the period. A pair
to sculpted space [10.26]. It fused tradition and modernity of mirrored trenches is carved directly into rhyolite cliffs
together, affirming a new faith in humanity. 38 The artist overlooking the Virgin River Mesa. The abstract piece plays
botanist Burle Marx produced projects throughout Latin with the 'absence' set in between the positive and negative
America in the 1950s and 196os. His painterly manner space of the two excavated trenches, which are beginning to
revealed a love for nature in modern plant assemblages in erode [ro.29].
a surprising reinterpretation of Brazilian culture. For Burle One offshoot of the land art movement was a trend
Marx, the post-war world had to be reinvented, and projects launched by the landscape architect Peter Walker in the
like the famous ocean front promenade at Copacabana were early 198os called 'landscape as art' . It drew inspiration
a leap into modernity. The Parque del Este in Caracas (1961) directly from conceptual artists such as Carl Andre and
was a radical departure from conventional park stylistics, Andy Goldsworthy, whose works were reinterpreted to fit
comprising three major areas of undulating grass fields with common landscape projects including car parks, urban
a lake, a forest with densely meandering paths and a Cubist plazas and rooftops. The Tanner Fountain (1984) located
garden [10.27]. 39 His private studio in Sitio (1950), near Rio on the Harvard campus is probably the most emblematic and
de Janeiro, is an exuberant botanical repertoire of 3,500 successful 'minimalist' project of that movement [10.30]. 41
tropical plant species arranged in a luxuriant garden on the Designed by Peter Walker in collaboration with the sculptor
slopes of the estate [ro.28]. Joan Brigham as an art installation, it used boulders set
The land art movement that appeared in the 196os in asphalt animated by lawn sprinklers. The fountain has
and 1970s, whose rugged style was markedly oblivious become a casual place to meet for students. This trend
to nostalgic reinterpretations of nature, was initiated by later found resonance in Europe, particularly Germany,
emblematic figures such as Robert Smithson, Waiter De England and the Netherlands, and was seen as a reaction to
Maria, James Turrell and Michael Heizer. The movement the nascent environmentalist movement which condemned
remained a predominantly American phenomenon, confined landscape aesthetics as something unnatural and formalistic.
ACCELERATION 269
Progress in the post-war period the war. According to Michel Corajoud, who worked at the
The rise of mechanized modernity happened without much Atelier d'Urbanisme et d' Architecture (AUA), green spaces
understanding for old world values epitomized by the were directly drawn on to a plan without any prior site
Arcadian project of the artist lan Hamilton Finlay and his visit. This absence of site reconnaissance led to projects of
wife Sue Finlay in Little Sparta near Dunsyre (1966) [10.35]. 42 inherently poor quality. 44 The Pare du Sausset (198o-2ooo) on
With its Classical citations carved in stone set in the landscape the northern outskirts of Paris was an attempt to compensate
of the Pentland Hills of Scotland, the work was anachronistic, for ClAM planning in the area through a more traditional
but it strongly influenced Postmodern landscape architecture form of landscape. Claire Corajoud, Michel Corajoud and
in Europe, particularly the work of Dieter Kienast. Meanwhile their team developed the 16o-hectare (39 5-acre) park into
countless suburban developments were created across Europe four parts, planting a forest of 1oo,ooo trees interspersed
for logistical convenience, transport and economy rather than with large archetypal clearings [10.36]. 45
inherent landscape qualities. The iconoclastic film Man Oncle In America, these were times of unbounded social
(1958), by Jacques Tati, pinpoints with acerbic precision the optimism. Garrett Eckbo and Dan Kiley, who were trained
absu'rdity of modern suburban living at the time [10.31]. as Modernist landscape architects by Waiter Gropius at
Copenhagen, with its green 'finger plan' (begun in 1947), Harvard, responded to the demands of corporate design and
as well as Stockholm and Helsinki were the exceptions; their private housing. 46 Eckbo produced no fewer than 300 private
central park systems incorporated larger visionary landscape residential gardens in Los Angeles, mixing modern materials
schemes for the periphery. This is when S0rensen's remarkable like concrete, wood and steel in resolutely modern designs.
Cubist hedge garden in Herning, Jutland (1956), became The East Farm project (1951) in Vermont by Kiley is probably
an icon of Scandinavian modern landscapes [10.32]. 43 The his most understated yet iconic example of the modern rustic
Hansaviertel in Berlin (1957-61), developed by the architect garden that became his brand [ro.33]. One rare example of
Hans Scharoun and landscape architect Hermann Mattern, successful Modernist public housing space is Lafayette Park in
demonstrated a mix of radical modernity in architecture and Detroit (1956-63) by Alfred Caldwell with the architects Mies
eclectic naturalism in landscape, serving as critical reference van der Rohe and Ludwig Hilberseimer. It blends the scale
to Germany's past. In France, however, most architectural of tall buildings with an open archetypal space comprised of
offices dogmatically followed the precepts of ClAM after woodlands interspersed by clearings [10. 34] .47
270 ACCELERATION
10.31 Scene from the film Mon Oncle by
Jacques Tati, 1958.
Tati's film anatomizes the day-to-day drawbacks
of French consumerist modernity. Set in a
suburban house and garden full of dysfunctional
contraptions, it turns every detail of daily life
into humour.
10.32 Geometrical Gardens, Herning, Denmark,

by Carl Theodor Serensen, 1956.
S(llrensen's project is part of a larger sculpture
garden, where the play with scale and interior
and exterior has a striking archetypal force.
The interlocked patterns of hedges are both
traditional and radical in their overt playfulness.
10.33 East Farm, Green Mountains, Charlotte,

Vermont, USA, by Dan Kiley, 1951.
The regular structure of the terraces is both 10.33
archetypal and modern. Together with Richard
Rose and Ga rrett Eckbo, Dan Kiley, is one of
the founding fathers of Modernist landscape
architecture in America .
10.34 Lafayette Park, Detroit, USA, 1963.

Designed by Alfred Caldwell, with Mies van
der Rohe and Ludwig Hilberseimer as architects,
the 30-hectare (74-acre) project with its 7-hectare
(17-acre) park embodied the hopes and spirit
of Urban Renewal, with particular attention
given to public and semi-private spaces.
10.35 Little Sparta, Dunsyre, Scotland,

by lan Hamilton Finlay and Sue Finlay, 1966.
The garden assembles 270 works that reflect
Finlay's moral and philosophical intentions,
and openly question contemporary political
values. The 2-hectare (5-acre) setting allows for
the artist's garden poems carved in stone to be
displayed against the Scottis h Arcadian hillside.
10.36 Pare du Sausset, Villepinte, France, by

Claire Corajoud and Michel Corajoud, 1980-2000.
The 'clearing in the clearing' is the most intimate
and secret part of this park of 160 hectares (395
acres) in the banlieue north-east of Paris. Th e
archetype of the clearing returns in full force in
this piece of French Postmodernist landscape.
10.35 10.36
ACCELERATION 271
10. 37
272 ACCELERATION
Pare de la Villett e, France
Together with the Schouwburgpl ein in Rotterdam by the identity was in line with the multi-layered and fragmented
office of West 8 [10.37], one remarkable project of late 2oth- urban reality of the site. The spatial quality of the park is
century Deconstructivi st landscape architecture stands out. based essentially on human experience and shifts in scale.
The Pare de la Villette (1984), in north-east Paris, epitomizes Although strongly axial and geometric in feel, the layout of
an ambitious conceptual approach to design through the the park remains disconcerting for the first visitor because
concentrated overlay of functions and site programme upon the intertwined paths and bitty spaces create a kaleidoscopic
a single plan [10.38]. Constructed on the site of a disused effect that seldom matches the clarity of the plan [10.40].
slaughterhouse and cattle market, the project transformed The systematic overlay of a regular grid of red 'follies'
this industrial relic alongside the Boulevard Peripherique on the 55-hectare (136-acre) park, combined with convoluted
into a new kind of public experience. The park, designed paths and fragmented surfaces, lends a deconstructed, serial
by the architect Bernard Tschumi, remained true to many character to the project that is in keeping with the dominant
Modernist principles by seeking to detach itself from the trends in art and philosophy of the time [10.45]. 49 The grid
weight of history, context and traditional landscaping. With of follie8 has a huge effect on the visitor's sense of scale
the support of philosophers such as Jacques Derrida, Tschumi and orientation. For instance, the scenic promise offered
promoted the application of a radical style that would erase by the 'cinematic' path turns out to be diminutive in scale.
any reference to archetypal forms of nature; the park wilfully The moments of surprise one would expect to find strewn
disregarded any romantic appendages [10.39a, 10.39b]. 48 along the way don't always match the narrative thread of
The purpose of the Pare de la Villette is hard to grasp the place [10.44]. This betrays an inherent flaw in the park's
at first sight- it tries to create a place with no historical management of the project's initial programmatic ambition,
precedent, deliberately breaking away from habitual where the serial complexity promised by all the follies looked
references to landscape architecture and shattering established good. Tschumi's idea of combining function and purpose
spatial conventions through a 'cinematic' apprehension through a complex web of points, lines and planes was
of space [10.41]. Tschumi's quest for a completely new inspired by Bauhaus artist Wassily Kandinsky [10.48, I0.49].
10.37 The Schouwburgplein , Rotterdam,

The Netherlands, at night.
Designed in 1996 by Adriaan Geuze and his
office, West 8, the Schouwburgplein quickly
became an icon of late Deconstructivist
landscape architecture. Made essentially
of metal, rubber and wood, the roof garden
of 1.2 hectares (3 acres) boasts a complete
absence of vegetation and trees; instead,
three giant red swivelling and bending lights
animate the square.
10.38 Plan of the Pare de la Villette, Paris.

Built along a canal on the site of an old cattle
market and slaughterhouse, the park comprises
a grid of red follies interwoven by 'cinematic'
paths following a logic of points, lines and
planes. lt offers various attractions and events
in what appear to be archetypal fragments
of clearings and squares.
10.38
ACCELERATION 273
10.39b
274 ACCELERATION
10.40

views of the Pare de la Villette.
Initially, the cattle market and slaughterhouse
stood on an open industrial site; the park,
designed by BernardTschumi, with its 35 red
follies, then appears. A considerable number of
new buildings are added along the Peripherique
ring road, so that first impressions are more
of a new town than a park.
10.40 Aerial view of the Pare de la Villette.

Set against the backdrop of the Boulevard
Peripherique and the banlieue districts of
Aubervilliers and Bobigny, the park is a manifest
statement of Deconstructivist design, with a
grid of red follies confirming the overwhelming
urban character of the area. The green spaces
appear just as fragmented as the rest of the
area crossed by roads, railways and canals.
10.41
10.41 The main north-south axis, or Galerie

de la Villette.
A conventional planting of tree alignments
has been replaced by a continuous undulating
tensile structure. Open day and night, it provides
shelter, light and shade to those visiting the
Grande Halle across the way. Planting is kept
to a strict minimum .
10.42 The Folie du Canal, Pare de la Villette.

This emblematic folie is reflected in the Canal de
I'Ourcq and is bisected by a raised pathway that
symbolically links Paris to the banlieue. The trees
planted in the Prairie du Cercle have grown since
this photograph was taken two decades ago; the
site has also become more urban in character,
with a massive new Philharmonic built.
10.42
ACCELERATION 275
The most obvious aspect of the project is its grid of bright- to note that this programmatic overlay method invented by
red follies placed at regular intervals across the park, which Bernard Tschumi became the trademark of an entire genre
are meant to 'activate' each location as a substitute for more of landscape mapping in the decades that followed.
traditional vistas [10.42]. The Pare de la Villette represents a moment of strong
The overall impression left by the Pare de la Villette stylistic affirmation rather than 'natural' expression, but it
is of a place held together by a dense landscape structure of leaves the essential question of a possible role for nature in the
follies, organized in a combination of circulation routes and city unanswered [ro-48]. In summer, the park is animated day
functions that reveal the spirit of the times. The open green and night, hosting an abundance of concerts, outdoor cinema
surfaces that hem the multiple pathways feel like broken and cultural events that make it popular with young visitors. In
remnants of a forgotten whole [ro.so]. The great circular this respect, the Pare de la Villette fulfils its cultural ambition
lawn, visible at the centre of the section, is cut in half by entirely and can be understood as the last in a long lineage of
an existing canal; the elements are clearly defined, but don't 'pre-ecological' parks focused essentially on Parisian lifestyle.
always connect [10.52]. The triangular lawn to the east of Although announced by its designer as a revolutionary park
the Great Market Hall is the most successful area in the park, for the 2rst century, it has remained an exception rather than a
suitable for games, gatherings and multiple events. The park model for subsequent projects [10.51]. There must be a reason
provides an oasis for the urban dweller, and favours human for this; and criticisms of the park's poor public image and
experience and interaction over contact with nature. The Pare security and maintenance issues cannot be solely blamed on
de la Villette thus refuses romantic idealization and chooses the design itself, but rather on the proximity of the banlieue
instead to heighten an already existing urban disruption of ghettos. At best, the Pare de la Villette is an interesting relic of
place [ro-43]. All things considered, setting a park in this an expensive 2oth-century architectural utopia, out of touch
difficult post-industrial context was no easy task, but applying with current ecological needs and the simple expectations of
the 'point, line and plane' overlay method -normally used by a populous neighbourhood. The Cite de la Musique, with
engineers in descriptive geometry- to the scale of an entire its new philharmonic designed by Jean Nouvel, is expanding
site overcomplicated matters tremendously [ro.49]. 50 The park along the Boulevard Peripherique, confirming what Tschumi
is rapidly urbanizing on the fringes and has fallen victim to its said all along: the park will deconstruct, becoming an entirely
own programmatic and conceptual ambitions. It is interesting new piece of city.
276 ACCELERATION
10.43 The Fontaine des Brouillards designed
by Ala in Pellissier, 1987.
At the heart of the park, the fountain offered a
wild and unique experience for the visitor. The
fog generated was at times so thick that people
strolling by would occasionally be robbed,
making the situation too difficult to control
in a public open space and the fountain was
subsequently closed down.
10.44, 10.45 Two views along the 'cinematic'

path.
A triplet of stainless steel rubbish bins are
wedged into a solid granite bench, and the
Garden of Mirrors creates the impression of a
forest from a few reflected trees. The diminutive
scale of the path, understood as the thematic
backbone of the park, produces a feeling of
awkwardness and questions the Deconstructivist
spirit of the place.
10.46, 10.47 Two reconstructed views

of the park.
The first view looks over the Alley of the
Belvedere, and some of the follies , with the
Prairie duTriangle in the middle ground, where
numerous events are staged . The other shows
the point where the Canal de I'Ourcq intersects
with the Prairie du Cercle.
10.45
ACCELERATION 277
10.48 An original sketch of a red folie by
Neil Porter, 1984.
Strongly inspired by Russian Constructivist
works of the 1920s, the follies became a symbol
of cultural radicalness under French Socialist
president Franvois Mitterrand and his Ministe r
of Culture, Jack Lang.
10.49 Axonometric plan of the Pare de la Villette

by Bernard Tschumi, 1983.
The plan illustrates the triple overlay system
of points, lines and planes, a method that was
10.48 to set a trend and become very fashionable
in landscape urbanism projects.
10.50 View of the Fontaine aux Lions square.

The Grande Halle is on one side and the Cite
de la Musique on the other, with the Prairie
duTriangle in the middle ground. The repetitive
spatial fragmentation and abundant hard
surfaces in this park are evident- the project
embodies the first and last example of its kind
before the age of urban ecology.
10.49
--
---
-
---
-..........
.._.
_.
10.50
278 ACCELERATION
10.51 View towards the Prairie du Cercle.
One of the largest stretches of open lawn
in the park, this is where people gather
to play; the trees of the AI lee du Cercle now
offer generous shade. But the presence of
the follies is a relentless reminder that this
is a city, from which no romantic escapes
are feasible in reality.
10.52 Section through the Pare de la Villette.

From left to right are: the Folie Musique,
the Prairie duTriangle and the Folie Cafe, the
Jardin de Bambous by Alexand re Chemetoff,
the Folie Atelier, the Canal de I'Ourcq and
its promenades, the Prairie du Cercle and the
Fol ie Agronaute, the Geode and the Cite des
Sciences et de l'lndustrie.
10.51
ACCELERATION 279
Deconstruction and beyond design. At night, the gardens are packed with visitors enjoying
Deconstructivist landscape architecture continued well into a kaleidoscope of lights and events. Mature trees, shipped
the 1990s, particularly in the Netherlands, which became a from Sumatra and Malaysia to give an 'instant rainforest'
leader of the style. The most provocative project in that genre atmosphere, contribute a surreal note to a place that, not long
is the Schouwburgplein (1996) in Rotterdam, designed by ago, was just a stretch of sea in the Malacca Straits.
Adriaan Geuze and his firm West 8 [ro.54]. This urban square, There is no objective reason to distinguish between
covered in sections of metal, wood and rubber, feels like the the Modern and the Postmodern Deconstructivist periods
deck of a ship, with giant, articulated lights that operate like in landscape architecture. Both trends established during the
cranes in a harbour. It became the cultural hub of Rotterdam 2oth century remain questionable as legacy. For centuries,
overnight. It doesn't contain a single growing plant, but it is landscape architecture crafted natural symbols through
still a fascinating urban landscape: an open stage for countless specific archetypes, which contributed significantly to a
events, day and night. The scheme's recipe, with its r.2 strong cultural identity. Instead of continuing with the urban
hectares (4 acres) contained on just half a city block, is potent; framework of their predecessors built in the 19th century,
it was not only a radical landscape design for the office of Postmodern landscape architects simply incorporated an
West 8, but a triumph of urban branding for Rotterdam. 5 1 accelerated and fragmented reality into a new genre of
Other countries caught on to the idea of branding 'sustainable' decorative aesthetic devoid of tradition.
cities with radical landscape schemes, the latest being the With the rise of the environmental movement,
hugely successful Gardens by the Bay park in Singapore landscape architecture was supposed not only to preserve
(2012) . What was once an empty land fill site facing Marina but also to fabricate 'original' elements of nature through
Bay has become the pride of Singapore and an exuberant 'designed' ecology. Established notions of landscape aesthetics
celebration of natural artifice with over 6 million visitors per thus became less relevant and were replaced by objective
year. Per square metre, this is the most expensive park in the notions of sustainability, whereby science imposed its own
world, designed by Grant Associates. The Supertrees are the rules. This shift towards the establishment of a more global,
main attraction: towering metal structures with suspended scientific approach to landscape thinking led undoubtedly
paths, planted vertically with exotic specimens [ro.53]. The to the cultural impoverishment of the profession. What had
park was awarded countless prizes for 'sustainable' high-tech originated in the refined poetics of gardens in the Orient and
10.54
280 ACCELERATION
•
Occident, created with a sensitivity and knowledge passed eve of Christmas, science began to assume the role of an
down since times immemorial, was sidelined and replaced unquestionable, god-like figure in society wherever nature
by environmentalism. Through the promise of a global was concerned. An objective distance between humankind
restoration of nature, a breakdown in the local cultural and nature existed no longer, having been substituted by an
language of landscape occurred. Its secular relationship objective distance between humankind and science. As people
with nature's myths and their meaningful symbols was came to accept the rule of ecology as a new form of scientific
definitively lost. religion, the place of landscape architecture dwindled. In other
At the onset of the Cold War, two ideological regimes words, the integrity of a global scientific approach to nature,
-both driven by the symbolic power of progress through devoid of cultural content, was no longer suspect, and could
science and technology, but with opposing economic and override local lore since it was objectively understood as the
social systems- each set out to prove that they constituted bearer of a potent truth. This fundamental shift towards a new
the ideal model for the future. In the process, massive projects faith in ecology at the onset of the 21st century would have
in transportation infrastructure disfigured entire landscapes a very significant effect on our perception of nature. 53
and regions. Jet propulsion and supersonic speed meant that This chapter has shown how conflicting ideologies
oceans could be crossed and people could meet between of the 2oth century contributed to the changing role of
continents in a matter of hours; the world was shrinking. landscape architecture in society. The archetypal anchorage
The space race of the 196os became not only a symbol of that had always been present in previous epochs has been
triumphant political ideology, but also consecrated this lost to an ever more fragmented, accelerated and disrupted
absolute faith in modern science and technology. The first view world. What is now needed is the reinvention of a form of
of our planet glimpsed from the moon- a luminescent globe nature capable of transcending the brutal imbalance of our
of swirling white clouds and deep-blue oceans suspended in times. Landscape architecture first occurred at an important
the limitless darkness of outer space- was an epiphany. The moment of climate change less than ro,ooo years ago. The
Earthrise picture, transmitted by Apollo 8 as it circled the present change in climate will necessarily entail a complete
moon on 24 December 1968, prompted a fundamental shift reinvention of our relationship to nature, but whether a
in the way we saw the world, in which science and nature new archetypal language of landscape will be born out of it
became one [ro.ss]. 52 By presenting such evidence on the remains to be seen.
10.53 Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, designed

by Grant Associates, inaugurated 2012.
The artificial landfill park of over 100 hectares
(250 acres) with its metallic Supertrees and
built at a cost of 1 billion Singapore dollars
is probably one of the most expensive parks
in the world. Located by Marina Bay, it has
already become a major attraction for the
city and proved extremely popular for events.
10.54 The Schouwburgplein, Rotterdam,

The Netherlands, by West 8, 1996.
The emblematic symbol of the Deconstructivist
landscape movement, with its articu lated lights,
the project was exhibited at the Groundswell
show at MoMA in New York in 1985. Th e turn
of the 21st century, however, marks a move
towards environmental awareness and 'nature
making'. There are now plans to rehabilitate this
square by planting living trees.
10.55 Earthrise: photograph taken by astronaut

William Anders, 1968.
After an incredible technical feat, the crew
of Apollo 8 in lunar orbit on Christmas Eve 1968
contemp lated the Earth rising above the moon,
fundamentally changing our perception of the
planet and its environment. The Apollo mission
marked the ascendance of science over all gods
on Earth- a new mythology was born.
10.55
ACCELERATION 281
11. Terrain Vague
'The task of perception invo lves pulverizing the world, eroded and often conta min ated land.3 T he site of D un geness
but also spiritualizing its dust.' on the coast of Kent in England , near Derek J arman's co ttage,
Gilles Deleuze, The Fold: Leibnitz and the Baroque 1 where a general sentiment of natural and human desolation
prevails, comes to mind [n.o]. Terrain vague is about failing
T he fragmenta tion of 2oth-century territory created care and di srepair, abo ut land that expresses no particular
a phenomenon that prevails in almost all cultural and q uality per se. It for ms the most abstract and unn atural kind s
geographical contexts: the terrain vague . T he terrain vague of landscape: a piece of ground straddling the after math of
is the by-prod uct of our age, in which outrageous violence successive depredations in t he unlikelihood of future pro mi se.
done to a particular strip of ground res ults in the obliteration T he ter m terrain vague is itself oxymoronic: terrain,
and amalga mation of traces. T he term, adopted by Ign asi meaning 'gro und ' in French , expresses the impact of
de Sola-Morales, designates a gro und condition that has successive human and mech anical acts. T his might be
been subject to uncontrolled aggression and subsequent visible in a layer of detritus covering the ground , co mprisin g
dilapidation.2 As such , it is the complete antithesis of pieces of p lastic, shards of glass, rusted metal, bone and
conscio us landscape design, tho ugh clearly the work of so on. T he work Untilled (2012) by the artist Pierre H uyghe
humans. It is not a picturesque terrain with romantic ruin s at D ocumenta 13 in Kassel shows a reclinin g fig ure with
evoking the beauty of ancient glories, but, rather, a gro und a ~eehive set on the uncultiva ted ground of a refuse site
zero of complete cultural and environmental annihilation [11.1]. 4 T he amorpho us topography feels suspect, it betrays
in the age of the 'Anthropocene', characterized by severely a history of upheavals that undermine its stabi lity. The
11 .0 (opposite) A column made from a piece

of driftwood, Prospect Cottage, Dungeness,
England .
Th e m ean in g of a landsca pe depe nds not o nl y
o n its percepti o n, but also o n how it is acte d
upon and transfo rm ed th ro ugh th e unlikely
po etics of p lace, as in th e ca se of Derek J arm an
w ho chose t o m ake thi s hi s last ga rd en.
11. 1 Concrete figure of a reclining woman

with a live beehive on her head, Unfilled, by
Pierre Huyghe, 2012.
Crea t ed f o r Documenta 13 in Kasse l, thi s work,
set i n a terrain vague of so rts, m akes a stro ng
st at em ent about ou r relation ship with sim p le
natural p henome na such as bees, fro m w hich
we have beco m e compl et ely estrang ed.
11.1
TERRAIN VAGUE 283

11 .2
11.3
11 .4 11 .5
284 TERRAIN VAGUE

11.2 A landscaped rubbish dump in the 11.5 The post-war suburbs of Rome, Italy,
Netherlands, photographed by Bas Princen. by Henri Cartier-Bresson.
The lunar quality of the artificial mound attracts A terrain vague is not only th e human by-
bikers who see in the slope a great opportunity product of difficult socia l conditions, it also
to train . The peopl e appear tall next to dwarfed results from the upheava ls of a highly technical
trees on a severely eroded terrain, contributing society in which the powers of architecture and
to the awkward aesthetic of this terrain vague. engineering stop short of making landsca pe.
Th e complete absence of concern for soil
11.3 A slum of 'zoniers' near the Porte d'ltalie, and vegetation contributes to a general sense
Paris, France, by EugEme Atget, 1913. of aba ndonment.
The poorest people lived here amidst detritus
and dereliction . Th e terrain vague is always the 11.6 The Fountain Monument- Side View from
mirror of an indigent human condition; it is Robert Smithson's A Tour of the Monuments
where landscape and misery meet, produ cing of Passaic, New Jersey, 1967
this culture of poverty ca ptured so well in Atg et 's A row of pipes draining water into the Passaic
photographic aestheti c. River: Smithson's written observations describe
11.6
nearby bulldozers as 'prehistoric creatu res
11.4 Yosemite National Park, USA, by trapp ed in the mud' or 'extinct ma chines'.
Ansel Adams, 1935.
lt is through highly technical black-and-white 11.7 A terrain vague in Catalonia by Jean-Marc
photography rather than painting that the Bustamante, mid-1980s.
American wilderness aesthetic, with its roots in The irony of this scene is th at everything in the
Greek philosophy, took hold in the public mind foreground is either man-made or man-induced
in the 20th century. Adams 's images were wid ely unwittingly. The terrain vague has a destructive
published in th e Am erican press to promote logic and power of its own that makes it look
National Parks . alike anywhere in the world.
11 .7
term vague, 'elusive' in French, means that the piece of Terrain vague has not only caused a shift, but also
land is both anonymous and collective, as well as defiant effected a profound, and very critical, transformation of
and circumstantial. It reminds one of the view of a Dutch o ur appreciation of landscape aesthetics.5 1t has crippled our
rehabilitated rubbish dump (2005 ) taken by Bas Princen ability to design conventionally and relegated o ur two original
representing landscape in a perpetual state of abstraction archetypes to the distant past. However, it is by no means
that encourages experimentation and creativity [1r.2]. The a new phenomenon. We find artistic eulogies of desolation
'vague' quality of a landscape resides in the fact that it cannot in the photography of Ch arles Marville and Eugene Atget,
be attributed to a single h and or creator, but is an accidental who elevated proletarian squalor to the highest level of
product of surrounding human forces. The ambiguity of these poetic representation [1r.3]. Atget depicted a slum of Paris
sites is as pervasive as their ubiquity: cultureless and placeless, (1913) with as much vigour and artistic persuasion as Ansel
the terrain vague looks identical no matter where it is found. Adams when he photographed the American wilderness for
Terrain vague is a universal artefact, yet always the establishmen t of protected National Parks (1935 ) [1r. 4]. 6
signifies a specific epoch , as in the depiction by the French Through literature, photography, film and art, the terrain
artist J ean-Marc Bustamante of Tableau 55 A (1982) showing vague went on to acquire an extraordinary poetic presence
a site under transformation in Catalonia [1r.7] . Terrain vague in the latter part of the 2oth century. The photographs of
combines two words that hint at an uncomfor table wave of the land artist Robert Smithson, taken along the Passaic
uncertainty on what o ught to be terra firma. The two terms River in New Jersey (1967) a century after Marville's records
put together express both an end and a turning point: an end of Paris, elevated the most wretched signs of industrial
because one instinctively seek s to limit the annihilation of a decrepitude and environmental dejection to the level of
landscape; and a turning point because of the paradigm shift picturesque rusticity and elegance [1r.6].7 Bolstered by
in aesthetic appreciation that such a place endorses, pushing photography and film, particularly the wave of Neo-
the potential to act further. Terrain vague marks a finality: realism of the 1950s and 196os, the terrain vague aesth etic,
the 'mud bottom' of civilization . There is no easy return to epitomized in Henri Cartier-Bresson's depictions of the
nature from the Gomorrah of a terrain vague, even tho ugh periphery of Rome, transgressed all national boundaries
we are repeated ly asked to create land scapes that someh ow and, with its potent nihilistic vision, came to symbolize the
reinstate a pristine form of nature, or a semblance thereof. aftermath of modernity [1r.5 ].
TERRAIN VAGUE 285

Ecological upheaval action of the Dutchman Louis Le Roy to the ruderal movement
The destructive forces exemplified in the terrain vague caused in Europe. 11 The word 'ruderal' comes from the Latin rudus,
observers to question the roots and purpose of the prevailing meaning 'rubbish', and in this sense refers to rubble. The
canons of landscape architecture. As an indirect result, new ideology advocated complete design abstinence, whereby
a plethora of artistic and philosophical interpretations - aesthetic issues were considered irrelevant. In fact, any form
combined with new ecological and environmental pressures of human intervention in ruderal environments was considered
-provoked a schism in landscape architecture at the beginning with suspicion. The Schoneberger Siidgelande (1945-99)
of the 1970s. The artist Joseph Beuys, for instance, promoted experiment that took place in a bombed-out rail yard in Berlin
ecological consciousness through a polemic project called 7000 is probably the most emblematic project of this peculiar
Oaks (r982) in which the very act of tree planting became the kind of early 'landscape ecology', where the prohibition of
symbol of anti-establishment rebellion [rr.9j.8 In the midst any human presence over decades allowed for the unbridled,
of such ideological upheavals, many landscape architects spontaneous growth of vegetation to occur undisturbed,
abandoned a secular artistic design tradition, and proclaimed creating a parallel world completely detached from the
themselves 'nature-makers' and environmental healers whose common urban reality of Berlin [rr.ro]. 12
remit was endorsed by 'objective' scientific evidence.
The remarkable efforts of the environmental movement Leftover landscapes
promoting nature conservation were taken as a starting Extraordinary ruderal experiments took place in Germany
point in computer science for those seeking to develop 'design during the 1970s, in places like Berlin, Duisburg and Essen,
methods'. The Delmarva project (r967), using the SYMAP where abandoned industrial sites were left to grow into urban
system developed by Professor Cad Steinitz at Harvard, jungles from another age. They posed a serious challenge to
produced the first computerized series of analytical landscape the history of gardens, maintaining that landscape archetypes
maps inspired by the methods of Ian McHarg [rr.8].9 This were obsolete, formal and non-ecological. Under the pretext
marriage of extremes between ecological convictions and of a return to an 'original' nature which was in fact
positive faith in computer science gave birth to modern-day unattainable designers began to speculate awkwardly about
GIS technology. 10 The promise of a return to nature, combined the rightful place of native versus non-native species within
with a concern for desolate wastelands, gave birth through the their schemes. They could justify this discriminatory attitude
11.8 11.9
286 TERRAIN VAGUE

11 .10
11 .8 Delmarva Peninsula Project maps, 1967.

This is the first map using SYMAP (Synographic 11 .10 The Schoneberger Sudgeliinde rail yard,
Mapping System) produced by Carl Steinitz Berlin, Germany, transformed into a 'nature
at the Laboratory for Computer Graphics and park; 1945-99.
Spatial Analysis founded by Howard Fischer at After this 18-hectare (45-acre) site was bombed
Harvard. The landscape analysis was grid based in World War 11, decades of uncontrolled natural
and influenced nascent geographic information growth were encouraged by forbidding all
system (GIS) technology. human access. Nature gradually reclaimed
the site as a so-called ' Urwald' ('forest of the
11.9 Joseph Beuys with volunteers tree origins'). By the mid-1980s, in theory, an original
planting, 1982. Brandenburg biome would have grown there,
The project for Documenta 7 in Kassel entitled but ecologists did not take into account the
7000 Oaks (7000 Eichen- Stadtverwaldung seeds carried in over time by countless trains .
statt Stadtverwaltung) played with words, The result was a stunning and unexpected mix
confounding 'city forestation' with 'city of vegetation, both foreign and native. Urban
admin istration'. Seven thousand oaks were ecology had to be rewritten. This peculiar blend
planted, each with an upright basalt stone next of 'ruderal' rail yard aesthetics and spontaneous
to it. The oaks live on and contributed to growing vegetation would influence a range of landscape
f ecological consciousness. projects, including the High Line in NewYork.
TERRAIN VAGUE 287

towards a longstanding horticultural tradition since they now Germany. Understanding the terrain vague as a potential tool
embraced the higher truth of a science of 'designed nature' . for transforming our approach to nature will challenge many
Landscape architects started experimenting with of our preconceptions of ecology and design. The task that
various forms of nature relating to ecology. One of the more lies ahead has less to do with historical references or plant
remarkable and courageous examples is the General Mills 'nativeness' than with invention through a form of creative
Entry Landscape in Minneapolis (1991 ) by the office of destruction, tapping future landscape potential in unexpected
Michael Van Valkenburgh [rr.rr] . In this project located at combinations and situations.14
the General Mills corporate headquarters, seasonal burning
became part of the annual maintenance to encourage the New hope
growth of rare native prairie grasses and flowers. The native Tommy Thompson Park (2005 ) in Toronto is an example
grassland planted with Heritage River birch trees was meant of the regeneration of a derelict site- in this case a dredge
as a proactive statement about the vanishing original prairie; heap- through biodiversity of a new order. The 'Urban
it was demolished by the client after only a decade. Cultural Wilderness Park', occupying a long spit of contaminated
distinctions in matters of landscape symbolism have been dredge material on the shore of Lake Ontario, has become
inherited from the remote past, but whether prairie burning one of the most valuable wildlife habitats in the region
befits a corporate image in an age of climate change remains [rr.r3 ].15 But beyond its ecological merits, it has also
debatable. Beyond the discussion surrounding this new faith attained an almost mythological status among city dwellers
in ecology, terrain vague must be thought of positively as by transcending persistent, habitual tales of environmental
an opportunity rather than an end- a starting point for a degradation and dismay as portrayed in Rachel Carson's
landscape of another kind. The Liineberg Heath in northern book Silent Spring. 16 It is as though the wildlife that returned
Germany is an interesting case in point. It is probably one to the site washed away some of the city's past sins. Thanks
of the oldest terrains vagues of sorts in Europe [r r. 12] . 13 to the work of landscape architect James Corner and his
Systematically deforested and overgrazed since Neolithic office, Field Operations, Tommy Thompson Park has now
times, and after thousands of years of environmental abuse, been incorporated into the larger Lake Ontario Park project,
its eroded heath strewn with beautiful patches of heather now and public access will be monitored in order to preserve
stands as one of the most celebrated 'natural' treasures of wildlife diversity. The scheme provides a good example of
288 TERRAIN VAGUE

11 .11 General Mills Entry Landscape, Minneapolis,
USA, by Michael Van Valkenburgh, 1991.
The seasonal burning of a reconstituted native
grassland area took place annually in front
of the General Mills corporate headquarters.
This radical project, alluding to the loss of native
grassland to cereal production, applied a strong
ecological principle directly on site. Although
it was relatively short-lived, it demonstrated the
power of applied ecology in landscape design .
11.12 A hillside of purple heather at the Liineburg

Heath, Lower Saxony, Germany.
The heath results from environmental abuse
from logging, clearing and overgrazing since
Neolithic times. Despite its tragit history and the
complete disappearance of original forest, it is
one of the best-known symbols of natural beauty
in Germany. Could it be that ecology, nature and
beauty are all just constructs in the making?
11.13 TommyThompson Park, Toronto, Canada,

11.12
2005.
Originally the site of a 5-km (3-mile) long
spit retaining dredged waste composed of
contaminated sand and silt from the inner
harbour, this is a story of terrain vague turning
into an ' accidental wilderness'. Designed by
Field Operations as a public park, it now forms
the largest bird sanctuary of Lake Ontario.
11 .13
TERRAIN VAGUE 289

11.14 The Reserva Eco16gica Costanera Sur,
Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1982.
The reserve was planned originally as the locus
of government buildings under the military junta
in the 1970s, but history has had it otherwise.
11.15 Arches by Andy Goldsworthy at Gibbs

Farm, New Zealand, 2005.
The appearance of archaic dislocated ruins
from a lost civilization, set against an entirely
natural coastal backdrop, plays with a strongly
picturesque idea of landscape and culture .
11.16 Gilles Clement, Creuse, France.

Clement's concept of 'The Garden in Movem ent'
promotes a vision of nature without 'racial'
connotations. To him plants are dynamic natural
forces competing with each other, rather th an
11.14 belonging to a scientific classified native identity.
11.17 Temporary community gardens, Hardturm

stadium, Zurich, Switzerland.
Abandoned and subject to ill-fated urban
developments, the site has become a place for
community interaction . Flowers and vegetables
are grown in carefully tended containers.
11.15
290 TERRAIN VAGUE

11.16 11.17
environmental redemption, whereby a new form of nature has run aground with the prospect of much more threatening
returned to a formerly impoverished site of dejection. and destructive natural forcesY Two attitudes towards nature
Another extraordinary example of natural regeneration now prevail: one of melancholy and abandonment; the
is the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve (r982) in Buenos other of engagement and active adaptation. These attitudes
Aires, Argentina [rr.r4]. Huge amounts of rubble from are inherently contradictory. The first sees the inevitability
buildings demolished for new motorways were used as landfill of natural ruin as an aesthetic goal in its own right. It is
on a site offshore. The military junta had planned that this epitomized by the artistic arrangements of Andy Goldsworthy
area would become the new seat of government but it was such as his stone arcade at Gibbs Farm in New Zealand
left unfinished after the Falklands War. This piece of landfill (2005 ) [rr.rs]. This project is both easy to understand
gradually became a mute symbol of all the oppression and and very picturesque, but it offers few solutions for future
destruction that Buenos Aires had suffered during the years challenges. The second attitude strives for active adaptation
of terror. The area, covering 400 hectares (990 acres), was and is harder to grasp: it calls for a new mode of landscape
spontaneously colonized by wind-blown flora from the intervention. Certain protagonists like Gilles CU~ment claim
Pampas and water-borne flora from the Parana River. Today it that this change of attitude must be more local and active
has become an 'untouched' urban jungle and a vital symbol of [r r. r6]. 18 Through 'The Garden in Movement' he promotes
redemption in the city's history. The fact that this improbable a transformed relationship to nature in which human
refuge was never a product of human design, but rather the interaction plays an essential role. We may thus uncover a new
result of negligence, is a moral lesson: it reminds us that language of nature by anticipating problems with humility
nature can recover from political tyranny to embody social in preparation for changes to come. When confronted with
justice. Both the Toronto and Buenos Aires ex amples point to desolation, there is always a chance to cultivate a new garden.
a complete absence of design, as if conscious aesthetic choices This is the case of the temporary gardens on the terrain vague
no longer mattered in appropriate landscape design. of the abandoned Hardturm stadium in Zurich (2014). The
Following the premonitory warnings of The Limits to small-scale family garden is, after all, a familiar cultural
Growth (r972), climate change was acknowledged in the first trope, a handiwork that represents perhaps humankind's most
IPCC report (r990) , and has led to an unstable situation in ancient productive and immediate relationship with a form
which the founding myth of a nurturing 'mother' nature has of humanized nature in the making [rr.n].
TERRAIN VAGUE 291

11 .18
292 TERRAIN VAGUE

Prospect Cottage,-England
When the artist-filmmaker Derek 1arman began his makeshift and reflect something of 1arman's relentless, if not obsessive,
garden at Prospect Cottage in Dungeness, he knew little about search for pattern and human meaning in a place of desolation
gardening. With determination, however, he began to gather [rr.23]. In the shadow of Dungeness nuclear power station,
fragments of flotsam found on the shore to create a refreshing which looms on the horizon, he was able to create a place of
aesthetic that intuitively reinterpreted the art of topiary. 19 irreverent beauty, where life was allowed to slow down [rr.24].
What drove 1arman towards this venture was a personal The extraordinary artistic freedom exhibited at
quest for meaning amid a sense of finality- the result of a Prospect Cottage was partly the result of necessity, but also
terminal diagnosis. Unlike the artificial Dutch terrain vague reflected its author's need for creative self-expression [rr.21].
photographed by Bas Princen in the Netherlands [n .r8], Nonetheless, the reason 1arman's garden remains important
Dungeness is a barren yet natural, wind-swept stretch of fat and meaningful to us is that it expresses the fragile miracle
pebbles strewn with flotsam and clumps of yellow gorse on of human life [rr.25]. Its design is far from conformist
the Kent coast [rr.r9]. The key to the poetry of this garden and remains embryonic in this terrain vague of sorts, yet it
was not its rugged, almost primitive craftsmanship, but constit'utes an artistic statement about the power to create,
the extraordinary assemblage that 1arm an forged between reinvent and destroy that we all carry within ourselves [rr.26] .
fragments that would otherwise have remained stranded. 1arman the filmmaker turned the raw material he found in his
What 1arman achieved at Prospect Cottage was conceptual everyday life into scenery and exquisite poetry. He embraced
integrity, creating meaning out of nothingness by arranging the environment of Dungeness - with its marooned skiffs and
weathered wood, rusted steel and succulent plants against an stranded wooden huts and nuclear reactor- in all its derelict
expanse of beach and a stark industrial backdrop, achieving splendour, turning it into a place that fully embraces the
in the process strong cultural symbiosis. His 'naive' planting moment as a gift of unconditional beauty. 1arman was not
beds take on the form of clumps and archetypal circles [rr.2o, trying to make a dogmatic, self-righteous statement regarding
rr.22]; and his unusual, priapic assemblages of objets trouves his environment, but rather show his deep admiration for, and
standing upright in the pebbles give visitors their bearings ~ acceptance of, the wonder of it all.
11.18 Artificial Arcadia in the Netherlands,

by Bas Princen, 2004.
This terrain vague of sorts is the active result of
countless human interventions, with tyre marks
in the foreground and heaps of soil of uncertain
origin in front of a camping site where Dutch
people come to enjoy a holiday. Th e image is a
mirror of a strong daily reality, where landscape
projection and reception meet and blend,
outside any kind of archetypal prefiguration.
11.19 Aerial view of Dungeness, England,

with the nuclear power plant.
Dungeness is considered to be the only true
'desert' in England, and in that sense it can
also be seen as a terrain vague. In his garden
at Prospect Cottage on the shingle shore, Derek
Jarman gathered plants and pieces of flotsam
and debris, crafting them into a distinctive
new creation .
11 .19
TERRAIN VAGUE 293

11 .20 View from Prospect Cottage looking
over the front garden .
A crown of bright yellow gorse, endemic to
the area, forms a rough circle around a small
totemic piece of driftwood. Derek Jarman
reached back instinctively to archaic figures
in the landscape, reinventing this language
of nature.
11.21 The entrance leading to Prospect Cottage.

The path to the old fisherman's hut is not clearly
defined; the approach is simply through loose
arrangements of plants and material salvaged
from the beach. lt is as though the rules of
composition were still in the making and not
yet fixed.
11.22 Miniature stone circles .

Rings of stones are arranged as if to recreate
a sacred Neolithic microcosm of sorts. lt is
the hand of Derek Jarman the artist at work,
expressing his own physical suffering and
existential questioning .
11.20
294 TERRAIN VAGUE

I
11 .22
TERRAIN VAGUE 295

11 .23 A field of wooden posts set upright
in totemic fashion.
The complete absence of any planting around
these posts evokes the barren lifeless landscape
of this terrain vague. it has an onto logica l and
almost pa i nful feeling , invoking the injustice
of Jarman's terminal illn ess and death .
11.24 View towards the Dungeness nuclear

power plant from Prospect Cottage.
Here the garden ends and nature takes over,
with its random patches of sea kale and
debris stretching out to the horizon. Th is shift
from careful archaic symbolic design to utter
randomness makes this project very compelling.
TERRAIN VAGUE
11 .2 6
11 .25 The south wall of Prospect Cottage 11.26 Back garden at Prospect Cottage, with a
with John Donne's poem 'The Sun Rising: collection of sculptural objets trouves.
Donn e's poem is an ode to the sun and the This Postmodern garden plays with its context
mysteries of our own terrestrial existence. in a sub lim e way: everyth ing negative is turned
The expanse of shingle, with no plants, in front into positive symbols. Jarman said of his own
of the wall is reminiscent of the grave l garden creation: ' Paradise haunts gardens, and some
I of a Japanese shrine, though here unkempt. gardens are paradises. Mine is one of them.'
TERRAIN VAGUE 297

Jardins de laTorre Groga
38 Jardi de Nostra Senyora
del Coli
24 Pla9a d'Espanya i passeig 39 Torre Bar6
Reina Maria Cristina 40 Renfe-Meridiana
I de les vies · 13 Pla9a de Salvador Segui 25 Pla9a de las Navas 41 Pla9a Llucmajor, passeig
, rapide_; en els ca~C~ '~ nitt~s 14 Jardi de les Drassanes 26 Pare de I'Espanya Industrial Valldaura, avinguda Rio
" 2 La Barceloneta 15 Mansana Pelai-Bergara 27 Nostra Senyora del Port de Janeiro i via Jtilia
"'3 El Moll de la Fusta 16 Pla9a Reial 28 Carretera de les Aigues 42 Pla9a S611er
4 Pla 9a de la Merce 17 Gracia 29 Peu del Funicular de Vallvidrera 43 Eix de vianants a Sant Andreu
5 Santa Caterina, Sant Pere, 18 Les places de Gracia 30 Jardins de Villa Sicilia 44 Pla9a Mercadal
Santa Maria i la Ribera 19 Avinguda Gaudi 31 Jardi de les Cotxeres de Sarria 45 Pla9a Mossen Cl apes
6 Passeig Picasso 20 Pla9ca del Marques 32 Places de Sarria i Sant Gervasi 46 Pla9a d'Eix
7 Pal aus del carrer Montcada de Santa Anna 33 Pla9a de la Concilrdia 47 Pare Pegasso
8 Fossar de les Moreres 21 Hostafrancs i sectors ve'lns 34 Monument a Pau Casals 48 Pare del Clot
9 Pla9a de I'Argenteria 22 Pla9a de I'Estaci6 de Sants 35 El Carmel i sectors ve.,.ns 49 Carrer Prim
10 El Raval 23 Pare de I'Escorxador 36 Pare de la Creueta del Coli 50 Pla9a de la Palmera
11.27
298 TERRAIN VAGUE

Even in the most destitute of places, a clear landscape Sea by articulating a subtle transition between the hard
vision has the power of a dream that reaches far beyond the paved surfaces of the city and the newly restored beach
physical bounds of a location. The transformation of the [rr.29]. People who stroll along the shoreline today, with
entire Mediterranean city of Barcelona into an ambitious its modern art exhibits, cannot remember, or even imagine,
cultural mosaic would have seemed impossible during how destitute the entire waterfront of Barceloneta had been
the time of General Franco's rule in Spain. The scheme -an area of terrains vagues, slums and abandoned factories
comprising fifty landscape projects, launched as a single [rr.3o]. Bohigas's interventions worked like local landscape I
plan by the architect Oriol Bohigas (r98o), is still of great acupuncture, activating neighbourhoods that had been
cultural and political importance today [rr.27]. Marking moribund. The effort was minimal, yet the entire feeling of
I i
Catalonia's refusal to defer to the rest of Spain after forty Barcelona was transformed in a short space of time and had
years of humiliation, it incorporated the whole of the city in a resounding impact abroad.
a composite vision of public spaces, parks and promenades, The IBA Emscher Park project in the Ruhr (r989-99)
forging a new identity for Barcelona. 20 re-branded an entire industrial valley, placing an emphasis
Bohigas's scheme restored some original names of on the ecological and cultural recovery of abandoned steel
places that had been banned. In other areas, particularly the mills and slag heaps. After a hundred years of intensive
dense populous districts of the Barrio Gotico, by demolishing coal mining, the entire floor of the Emscher Valley had
building blocks he created a series of small public spaces. A slowly collapsed, sinking more than 30 metres (98 feet) and
large stretch of the old industrial seafront, extending from the causing enormous problems in an area inhabited by millions
old port as far north as the mouth of the River Besos, became of people. Faced with such a serious situation, the federal
a laboratory of innovative experiments. The harbour-front German government unanimously voted funding to help solve
promenade of the Barceloneta (1994) by Olga Tarras6 and the Ruhr's acute environmental problems. 21 The IBA Emscher
Jaume Artigues opened the way towards the seafront which Park developed over the course of ten years, and produced
had been blocked for so long with a subtle play in surface some landscape icons. Richard Serra's art piece Slab for the
topography [rr.28]. The new Plac,:a del Mar (1996), located Ruhr (1998), consisting of a great steel fin planted on top of
at the southern tip of the Barceloneta, also by the same team, the Schurenbach slag heap, became a strong identifier for the
opened to the broad blue horizon of the Mediterranean region [rr.3r].
11.27 Plan of Barcelona, Catalonia . 11 .29 View of the Pla~;a del Mar, Barcelona.
When Catalonia regained some autonomy Beneath the trees is a work by Juan Muiioz
after the death of General Franco, the city of entitled Una habitaci6 on sempre plou ('A room
Barcelona organized a series of urban landscape where it always rains'). The space, created
projects visible on this plan. These projects on terrains vagues of abandoned industries,
transformed often derelict terrains vagues that symbolizes a figurative and literal liberation
were scattered along the coastline and inner city from oppression. The caged-in figures are
into proud new symbols of a reborn civil society. a lasting reminder of the past, at the same
time as a new landscape opens to the horizon.
11.28 The harbour esplanade at the Barceloneta,
by Olga Tarras6 and Jaume Artigues, 1994. 11.30 Homenatge a la Barceloneta ('Homage
This is probably one of the most successful to the Barceloneta'), by Rebecca Horn, 1992.
urban spaces designed in Barcelona during its A rusty leaning tower with industrial windows
revival. The generous dimensions, the simplicity creates a play with the crisp horizon of the
of materials and open planting of Parkinsonia sea . lt evokes the toil that went on here in
trees are an invitation for a leisurely stroll recent times, with smoke-belching industry
on what used to be a restricted industrial dock. and a beach that consisted of noxious waste.
11 .30
TERRAIN VAGUE 299

11.31 The Schurenbachhalde, Essen, in the Ruhr
region of Germany.
This terrain vague of industrial waste is capped
with asphalt and crowned by a sculpture entitled
Slab for the Ruhr by Richard Serra. Created in
1998, this 15-metre (46-feet) high sail of rusted
Cor-ten steel acknowledges the region 's heavy
industries of coal and metal smelting, somehow
justifying the heap on which it stands.
11 .32 Duisburg Nord landscape park, Germany,

by the office of Peter Latz.
The landscape rehabilitation of the site of
an old steel-mill , this was constructed in the
1990s during the 'exhibition' IBA Emscher Park.
Simple natural elements like flowering cherry
are interspersed with industrial ruins creating a
very particular aesthetic reminiscent of the Gas
Works Park by Richard Haag in Seattle of the
early 1970s.
11.33 One of the highly contaminated

decantation pits at the Duisburg Nord project.
The archetype of the walled paradise garden
is obvious, but it is a garden to be looked at
and not walked in, with ' mutant flora' growing
tightly packed in serial rows .
11 .31 11.34 Gas Works Park, Seattle, USA, by

Richard Haag, 1975.
Once seen as a place of dejection, the island,
with its industrial ruin set in a generous new
lawn, became a symbol of community gathering
and play. The aesthetic inversion here led to
the acceptance of post-industrial landscapes
as an aesthetic category in their own right.
This pioneer project became the emblem
of environmental redemption, not so much
in ecological but more in social terms, and
influenced many later projects, including the
IBA Emscher ex periment of the 1990s.
11.35 Still from Pina, byWim Wenders, 2011.

The film honours the late German choreographer
Pina Bausch and herTanztheaterWuppert al.
We see two dancers move and strive
expressionistically in the dust of a no-man's-land
in the Ruhr, while another carries a lone tree in
a rare ode to hope in the terrain vague, hinting
at the sublime.
11.32
300 TERRAIN VAGUE

11.36 Novartis Campus, Base!, Switzerland,
by Vogt Landscape Architects, 2006.
Set on top of an underground car park, these
carefully constructed strata of soil work like
a rudimentary section through geological time,
reverting back to a form of landscape narrative
invented during the Renaissance.
11.37 Botanical Garden, Bordeaux, France,

by Catherine Mosbach, 2001.
In the Galerie des Milieux a series of huge
soil transplants set on top of concrete slabs
represent different plant communities of the
region, ranging from sand dunes to oak forests.
These samples are exhibited like so many
ecological curiosities.
11.38 Extension of the Pare Paul Mistral,

Grenoble, France, by Alexandre Chemetoff, 2008.
A former roadway is definitively closed down
and changed into a promenade. Such shifts in
usage are becoming increasingly common as
more ecologically conscious designers set their
sights on parts of the established urban territory.
11.39 TheVache Noire roof park,Arcueil, France,

by Agence TER, 2007.
Built on the rooftop of a large shopping centre,
11.37 this park does not seek to mask reality behind
some form of ecological pretext or narrative-
instead it works playfully to show precisely the
artificiality of the whole concept.
This theme reappears in Wim Wenders's film Pina Aquitaine are exposed as botanical 'transplants' [rr.37]. 26
(20rr ), which showcased ritual dances staged by the late In a similar way the Novartis Campus Park in Base! (20o6),
choreographer Pina Bausch in desolate terrain settings of the by the office of Vogt Landscape Architects experiments with
Emscher Park [rr.35]. 22 This play on lost identity was further an ecological narrative on top of subterranean parking.
reinforced in the Duisburg Nord Park project (1994) by the Geomorphic islands reconstituted with sedimentary layers
office of Peter Latz, where a heavily contaminated site was covered with appropriate vegetation represent a cross-section
patiently recovered by vegetation, producing an ecological of the Rhine Valley at that location [rr.36]Y Can we create
aesthetic in its own right [11.32, 11.33]. 23 The irony of this a desire for original landscapes as strong as the disgust that
contaminated industrial site turned into a landscape park is modern construction practices provoke? The question is
reminiscent of the Gas Works Park project (1975 ) in Seattle, of fundamental importance. Using a topological approach
USA, by Richard Haag a decade before, where a disused designers tools should have tools that enable them to work
industrial ruin stood as the centrepiece of the park [ r r. 34]. 24 knowingly in complex situations. The Vache Noire roof park
The suggestive ecological power of all these projects does not, in Arcueil (2007) by Agence TER expresses such a difficult
however, negate a strong sense of belonging. The Ruhr region urban condition [rr.39]. 28 It covers the roof of a shopping
was designated as the European Capital of Culture in 2oro centre with artificial planting, while acting as a public open
and millions of visitors flocked to acknowledge that a terrible space replete with a water feature. It chooses not to play the
form of beauty was born: name it urban ecology, if you will. ecological register, in order to accentuate artificiality.
Terrain vague is the ground zero of an evolution What we are missing today is an aesthetic language
towards absolute landscape reduction. The development capable of bridging the banal and reinventing ecological
of successive periods of landscape remains an indelible part myths that recover what is there. 29 The extension of the
of our imagination, impacting on the way we perceive and Pare Paul Mistral (20o8) in Grenoble by Alexandre Chemetoff
shape our environment. 25 The new Botanical Garden in and the Bureau des Paysages works precisely on the question
Bordeaux (20or), designed by the French landscape architect of reappropriation of existing roads into a park [rr.38].
Catherine Mosbach on top of a protective slab covering As we have seen, whether on a local scale or that of the city,
an old oil refinery site, proposes a 'Gallery of Milieux', the range of possible transformations for terrains vagues
where large ground samples representing biomes specific to remains tremendous.
302 TERRAIN VAGUE

11 .39
TERRAIN VAGUE 303

12. Topology
Rediscovering Meaning in the Landscape
'Topology is precisely the mathematical discipline that allows on what is ingrained in the terrain as much as in the minds
the passage from local to global . .. ' of the living.
Re ne Thom, Topologie et Signification 1 Landscape is allegorical and reflects a true story- that
of our journey through life. Wave Field (1995) created by the
Throughout history, places have achieved meaning through artist Maya Lin in memory of a young student is an example
rules and structures at various scales that give shape to of ground work acting as a topological catalyst on our
landscapes. From old archetypes to modern, fragmented sentiments and memories [12.1).2 The power of a landscape
cityscapes and artificia l topologies like the Sigirino Mound has always relied on the duality of inclusion and exclusion,
(2014) in Ticino, landscapes have changed and are now good and evil, natural and unnatural (consider paradise).
nothing more than a metaphor of nature to be reconciled with Landscapes, through centuries and across different cultures,
our industrial dwelling habits [u.o]. The examples we have have proven capable of bestowing meaning through the
seen throughout this book express a particular 'intelligence' reinterpretation of archetypes. A strong landscape topology
of nature, one that is immediately graspable as a specific can be food for both the body and the soul, but at present it
reaction to, and modification of, the environment within seems to want to escape the old archetypal rules. 3 How can
a specific period. Between ubiquity and uniqueness, the topology develop into a new language of landscape? Our faith
meaning of a landscape remains consistent and unequivocal, in ecology has attempted to itemize natural biotic features on
linked as it is to the prevailing physical, spatial and cultural the surface of the earth , but all too often it appears to miss the
constructs. Whether a landscape bears significance depends sublime aesthetic of human experience and spiritual potential.
12.0 (opposite) Alp Transit Sigirino Mound,

Ticino, Switzerland, 2014.
The Sigirino Mound represents a volume
of 3.5 million cubic metres (124 million cubic
feet) of excavated material from the Sotto
Cenere tunnel. An old terrace wall stands in
front of the artificial topography at the foot of
Monte Ferrino, where abandoned vineyards give
way to chestnut woods. The 'skin' of the mound
is enriched with humus to encourage vegetation
and promote slope stabilization.
12.1 Wave Field by Maya Lin, 1995.

A natural wave pattern is transformed into an
earthwork in memory of the late Franc;:ois-Xavier
Bagnoud at the University of Michigan in Ann
Arbor. Th e artist sees it as: 'pure poetry. lt is a
very gentle space that exists on a very human
scale. lt is a sanctuary, yet it's playful ... with the
changing shadow s of the sun .. .'
12 .1
TOPOLOGY 305
The poetics of the garden are indeed ambiguous for to what end did he seek to transform the immediate
they contain mixed notions of growth and decay, of the abject surroundings of his cottage into an archetypal garden of
and the divine, which in turn affect human fate. The walled sorts? A successful landscape is one that speaks to the heart
Persian garden is an archetypal figure that one finds in the through a play of opposites, one where decrepit flotsam and
most remote references of Buddhist Japan and all the way rusted steel scraps combine poetically. Over the course of
back to Renaissance Italy. Hafez, the poet of Shiraz quoted centuries landscapes sought to connect mutually opposed
at the beginning of this book, lived 700 years ago in a city of facets of nature into a meaningful whole. In the flattened
gardens at the edge of the harshest desert in the world: the clearing of Avebury there always was a deep pit; and beside
Dasht-e Lut. He wrote verses that celebrated landscape as an the sacred temenos of the Apollo sanctuary at Delphi lay the
act of wonder, reclaiming a sense of the sublime infused with profane wastelands of the Phaedriades ravines. 5
the symbolic power of a nature made by man. He often spoke We all share common memories of ubiquitous
as an oracle to immediate human sentiments such as love and landscapes through established topologies that form an
hate. His tomb, erected within the walled Musalla Gardens indelible part of our collective understanding of place. These
of Shiraz (1390), is a place where young people still come to memories continue to affect the way we think about, value and
meet, converse and embrace life's coincidences and mysteries act upon our world. The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial
[12.2]. 4 It is this avatar of a paradise garden that speaks to Fountain in Hyde Park in London (2004) is undoubtedly the
them, and confers deep trust, comfort and wholeness to the most striking example of such a project to have been produced
place, through the recognizable topology of a central void in recent times as an avatar of the forest circle. The project's
around this tomb paved in marble, surrounded by fragrant success is due to Kathryn Gustafson's artistic sensibility and
orange groves and roses framed by alcoves and cypress trees. keen sense of topology. The granite fountain carved in the
Are we able to reinvent anew places in our ecological shape of a 'perpetual' ring of water is carefully crafted and
age that are capable of such timeless resonance? A garden embedded in a small meadow clearing beside the Serpentine
always remains bound to sentiments as it interacts with a [12.3]. This astonishing piece of rushing water has become
nature that is cared for; it is the opposite of a terrain vague, a vivid place of remembrance, layering a powerful statement
which promotes a feeling of abandonment. Think of the about the loss of the princess and her vitality on top of the
reaction of Derek Jarman to the 'desert' of Dungeness: most ancient landscape archetype of the ring [12.4, 12.5]. 6
306 TOPOLOGY
12.6
Nature fabricated on an artificial topography instead. One could question

With the rise of ecology in an age of climate change, we whether a piece of fabricated Jura dry meadow really
have tended to lose sight of landscape archetypes and their belongs to a banal railway embankment in Bruglingen. But
significance, and concentrated our thoughts on the survival beyond its recognition as something authentic and natural,
of our small planet instead. How should we actually set it is the avowed separation between people and nature here
about making landscapes in this new era, and according to that remains problematic. The topology of this exemplary
which criteria should they be produced? Landscapes reflect meadow is not intended for people to gather comfortably,
a world of striking extremes, in which science and poetry at but rather to show us a piece of rugged, unkempt nature.
present seldom reconcile. Landscape architecture has shifted The Furstenwald cemetery in Chur (1997), designed
roles and adopted a more global position, becoming both a decade later by Dieter Kienast, was animated by a different
custodian and provider of 'real' nature, rather than producer ecological spirit; it was conceived as an archaic place where
of a symbolic nature as before. The dry grassland Jura native clipped hedges and a linden grove integrated a part
meadow project by Dieter Kienast at the Bruglingen park in of Alpine folklore [12.7).8 In this sense it is a piece of deep
Basel (1980) sets an important precedent in the context of cultural ecology, reinstating a sense of natural rootedness
archetypal change [12.6]. An artificial meadow on limestone within a strong symbolic whole. Kienast treated the cemetery
substrate was created on a railway embankment for the as an archetypal plinth on a slope at the edge of a forest
'Grun 80' garden show in BaseP Wild seeds were sown and clearing. The cemetery is neither forest nor meadow, but a
a ' true' Jura grassland biotope emerged in this most unlikely topology for the dead in which a humanized nature expresses
suburban context. Years have passed, and the dry meadow deep secular meaning. In a comparable way, the lnvalidenpark
has now become a major icon in Swiss nature conservancy. in Berlin designed by Atelier Phusis (1997) plays on the spirit
Kienast achieved a form of designed ecology that was no of an old Prussian memorial grove of oaks against a sunken
longer bound to any sort of cultural referent. His ecological wall and basin set on a raised plinth of granite [12.8).9 The
approach set a precedent that had far-reaching effects on remaining stand of 'native' oaks was preserved, in marked
the status of the landscape profession in Switzerland and contrast to the forecourt entirely stripped of its historical
elsewhere. It effected a significant withdrawal from the realm substance and planted with clumps of 'non-native' ginkgo
of garden aesthetics and proposed a roster of natural species trees. The project juxtaposes the highly symbolic topography
308 TOPOLOGY
12.6 Dry grassland biotope by Dieter Kienast,
Briiglingen, Basel, Switzerland, 1980.
The landscape was designed by Kienast as
an artificial piece of 'natural' topology for the
'Griin 80' exhibition and is now under strict
environmental protection by law. lt is ironic
that this project by Kienast, who obtained a
doctorate in the study of resilient urban weeds,
is protected in this way.
12.7 The Fiirstenwald Cemetery, Chur,

Switzerland, by Dieter Kienast, 1997.
A wall leaves the forest edge, then swings
back following the terrain from the belvedere
to a funerary chapel set against the distant
Alps. The horizontal axis underlines the
topography and expresses a strong mortuary
temenos that clearly separates the profane
meadow from the sacred burial ground.
12.8 lnvalidenpark, Berlin, Germany, by

Christophe Girot and Atelier Phusis, 1997.
In a subtle modelling of terrain on this old
military ceremonial ground in Berlin, a new
plinth was raised above the existing ground
level. People walking along the edge of the
basin of water are elevated, like Giacometti
sculptures, formulating a 'metaphysical' space
of memory, emotions and history.
12.8
TOPOLOGY 309
12.9 Lilacs in the sacred grounds of the
1,000-year-old Kiev Pechrsk Lavra Monastery,
Ukraine.
lt is the link between a sacred ground, a
fundamental love of nature and ourselves that
is at the heart of things. We need to respond to
the fullest spectrum of the human senses in both
spirit and mind- only then will a renewed faith
in nature be born and science kept in balance.
12.10 A ginkgo on the central lawn of the Beijing

University campus, China.
A marble crown of lotus buds set around the
trunk is a symbol of prostration in Buddhism; it
confers a sacred aura to the tree and its precinct.
The ginkgo no longer exists in nature and has
survived to this day only through the attentive
care of humans.
12.11 An ancient hinoki cypress tree at the lse

Naiku shrine, Japan.
The Ise Naiku or Inner Shrine is the most sacred
Shinto sanctuary, dedicated to the goddess
Amaterasu-omikami . For over two millennia,
12. 9 people have come to venerate both the shrine
and its spectacular trees . The bark of this tree
has been polished by the hands of millions of
devotees praying here since time immemorial.
12.12 The Berkshire Boardwalk, Massachusetts,

USA, by the office of Reed Hilderbrand, 2011.
This elevated wooden path winds its way
through natural wetlands for over 800 metres
(half a mile) . The topology of a path depends to
a great extent on the sensitivity of its designer
to draw out elements of discovery, surprise and
mystique from the landscape. Ecology matters
less at this point than the actual narrative and
the thoughts that we accumulate along the way.
12.1 0 12.11
310 TOPOLOGY
of a 'universal' layer of ginkgos in the front, with an ecological subject to intense animistic worship. The Shinto cult has its
layer of more 'traditional' German oak forest at the back. origins here, where the floor of an ecologically 'native' forest
' We all need to feel connected to something greater has been used for rituals from times immemorial. Trees in the
than ourselves. In many cultures, landscape represents a form immediate vicinity of the sanctuary dedicated to the goddess
of fabricated nature in which spiritual affinity can be found. Amaterasu-omikami are themselves subject to prostration and
Take the hillside gardens of the Pechrsk Lavra Monastery prayer [12.rr]. The shrine, set in a rectangular clearing covered
in Kiev (ro51 ), filled with magnificent lilac groves. When in a patch of white pebbles, is made of the same wood. Every
spring comes, the lilacs delight the senses with vivid colours twenty years, hinoki trees are sacrificed and felled to rebuild
and heady scents. They embody a moment of sacredness the shrine anew. 11 The Ise Naiku sanctuary has seemingly
and communion, when holding the flowers becomes a retained its ecological balance to this day through a deep
symbolic act of prayer [12.9]. Imported to Ukraine from Asia commitment to nature and an even deeper cult of ancestry.
Minor and the Balkans, lilac is considered ecologically as In contrast, our connection to more profane landscapes
an 'ergasiophyte', meaning that it can only survive there in can be understood as individual layers of meaning inscribed
cultivated form. Nonetheless, it remains highly emblematic over the course of time. The Berkshire Boardwalk project,
of deep religious ties with the Byzantine Orthodox tradition. designed by the office of Reed Hilderbrand in Massachusetts
In another register, an old ginkgo tree on the campus at (2orr ), offers a new reading of a common New England
Beijing University embodies secular cultural values [12.ro]. marshland area through a path for ecological contemplation
The ginkgo can no longer be found in nature - in theory it [12.12]. The frail-looking meandering boardwalk made of
is a fossil plant that is ecologically extinct- but thanks to locally grown hemlock (tsuga ) evokes the spirit of Walden
monks it has been carried into the present. 10 The tree stands Pond. It addresses an ecology rooted in 150 years of local
in a quiet corner of the main lawn, and its foot is circled by 'transcendentalist' culture. There are no guardrails on the
a ring of marble lotus flowers, a symbol of prostration in walk through this wooded marsh and so the wanderer is
the Buddhist faith. It is a resplendent symbol of ancestry, left exposed to the 'wild' elements in the self-reliant way of
outliving those that tread in its dappled shade each day. Henry David Thoreau. 12 In this instance, ecology signifies
Tree veneration is cross-cultural and archaic. At the not so much the art of scientific safeguarding, but rather the
Ise Naiku shrine in Japan, a stand of hinoki cypress trees is potential for meditation on a return to nature.
TOPOLOGY 311
12.13
12.13 Crissy Field, San Francisco, USA,

by Hargreaves Associates, 1998.
The great success of this landmark is due
not only to its exceptional location on San
Francisco Bay, near the Golden Gate, but also
to the intelligence with which subtle topological
11
i'
design blends with both ecological and
anthropological concerns.
12.14 Model of a proposed park on the Ciliwung

River, Jakarta, Indonesia.
The project, designed by ETH Masters students
Shoshiro Hashimoto and Benedikt Kowalewski,
clears riverside slums to make way for new
low-rise housing and a river park that works
as a promenade with gardens that help
regulate some of the floods that occur in the
neighbourhood year round.
12.15 The Letten area, Zurich, Switzerland.

Formerly a wasteland alongside derelict
train tracks, this area was notorious as a place
where crowds of drug users once gathered. lt
is without doubt the most vibrant and youthful
waterfront in Zurich today. lt is hard to believe
that this bathing paradise on the Limmat River
recovered its healthy status by simply providing
cleaner water.
312 TOPOLOGY
The search for a new language hand [12.q]. 14 A research team at the ETH Future Cities
In past decades remarkable examples, dense with relationships Laboratory in Singapore worked for five years to develop
bridging ecology and design, have been established. The restorative landscape ecology and appropriate housing to
Crissy Field project (1998) by the office of Hargreaves establish a stronger balance with nature in areas where the
Associates addresses ecological concerns while also pioneering relationship to the river had been completely obliterated. The
innovative landscape design [12.r3]. 13 The conversion of ambitious project proposes a radical topological change to the
this relentlessly flat military airfield at the Presidio on San entire river profile, transforming it into a new urban park, and
Francisco Bay into a national park, including a recreation recovering environmental balance for the Indonesian megacity.
space as well as wetland and dune restoration areas, required A shift in focus towards water quality in cities has been
a strong dose of topological invention. The project re-enacted of fundamental importance in more recent projects. One of
several layers of recent geological history through the careful the best examples of river transformations occurred on the
modelling of a series of styli zed landforms ranging from Limmat River in the Letten area of Zurich (2005 ), thanks to
artificial dunes to intertidal wetlands. As a result, Crissy Field Rotzler Krebs Partner [I2.r5]. 15 What was formerly a derelict
offers a new form of remedial ecology bound together in an railway track next to the infamous 'needle park' notorious
expressive topographic choreography that was truly ahead for drug abuse in the 1970s became an extraordinary place
of its time. Ecological considerations were just one of many for leisure two decades later. Physical changes in the project
aspects taken into account to reveal the site's fu ll potential. remain understated, but the water quality and ecology of the
The project's ultimate success revolves around the expression Limmat have improved fundamentally through considerable
of a trusted relationship with the forces of nature acting on environmental efforts by the authorities. When the water
the site in the interest of biodiversity. Cultural issues were also temperature reaches 2o°C (68°F) in summer, the Letten area
given a place- fostering, comfort, beauty and leisure- while fills with crowds of people eating, drinking and watching
acknowledging the forces of natural disruption that regul arly swimmers exercise in the swift flow. The change in topology
act on the site. here- accessing the water- is purely qualitative, and this
On another register, the Ciliwung River project in makes a world of difference.
Jakarta, Indonesia (2012), is an example where the fight The Ribeira das Naus waterfront in Lisbon by the
against poverty and environmental degradation go hand in offices of PROAP and Globa l landscape architects (:z,or3 )
f
12.15
TOPOLOGY 313
I '
I' 12.16
1 i
plays instead on the topology of local maritime history by that people flock to the river in their thousands each day, to
reinstating a long forgotten shipyard at the heart of the city's stroll along its banks, listen to the water and hear birds sing.
civic space [12.r6]. The project retains the strong geometric The Cheonggyecheon River is a clear lesson against
lines of the wharfs which produced the ships of the Great environmental fatalism , showing how a river landscape
Age of Discovery. For centuries the wharfs were closed to the can become the centrepiece of civic life again. As with the
public, but they have now turned green, with a sloped lawn example of the Letten in Zurich and the Ribeira das Naus
and trees, and are alive with people strolling on the subtle in Lisbon, it shows how a riverfront can become a place to
topography that edges and rolls down gently to the banks of celebrate nature's emblematic return to the city. Although
the River Tagus (Tejo). The search for meaning in larger-scale the political processes that gave birth to each project differ
riverine landscapes requires a strong political vision to make tremendously- some local and democratic, and others more
the consolidation of discontinuous spaces possible. autocratic- improved landscape value was achieved in all
One of the most remarkable examples of such a cases. The challenge at present is how to develop better
determined landscape consolidation is the Cheonggyecheon and ecologically more relevant forms of engineered nature
River project begun in 2003 in Seoul, and completed during that could enhance social cohesion while establishing a
the following decade [I2.I7 ]. Although of a completely stronger bond between society and nature, encouraging good
different order of magnitude, the story of this small stream governance, environmental stewardship and respect.
is typical of countless other urban waterways: over the The channelized Kamo River in Kyoto, Japan, is a good
previous century it was packed with slums, then encased in example of a cultivated urban ecology that has lasted over
concrete slabs and covered by an 8-km (s-mile) long elevated a thousand years, maintaining an environment of relative
motorway. Nothing indicated that it would ever see the light harmony and diversity while preventing floods. Schoolchildren
of day again. With great courage the then mayor of Seoul, Lee jump across the river's stepping stones in the precinct of
Myung-bak, decided to demolish the motorway and restore the Shimogamo Shrine, embracing the river scenery with its
the stream, albeit artificially with water pumped up from the clear water and ducks [12.r8]. In spring, the banks of the
Han River. Some 'deep ecology' militants complained that river are entirely transformed by clouds of cherry blossoms
the Cheonggyecheon River was not restored to its 'natural' under which crowds gather to rekindle their connection with
condition. 16 But the ch1mge in atmosphere has been so positive nature. The good relationship between the inhabitants of
314 TOPOLOGY
T
12.16 The Ribeira das Naus, Lisbon, Portugal,

by PROAP and Global, 2013.
What was once an enclosed precinct along
the Tag us River in the city centre became one
of Lisbon 's major public open spaces overnight.
The careful attention with which the topology
of the promenade is crafted, merging into the
water step by step, feels as if it has always
belonged here.
12.17 The Cheonggyecheon River project,

Seoul, South Korea, 2005.
The Cheonggyecheon River project is a
remarkable case of recovery, where once
a concrete flyover used to cut the city in half
for a distance of over 8 km (5 miles). The
restoration of the buried river was criticized
as being too artificial, but its popular success
is incontrovertible .
12.18 The Kamogawa, Kyoto, Japan.

The river's previously concrete banks
have recently been naturalized and provide
a beautiful link in the north of the city. Through
such understated interventions, the ancient
Japanese capital has successfully managed
to maintain a natural link between its many
treasured parks and gardens.
TOPOLOGY 315
12.19 Houtan Park, Shanghai, China,
byTurenscape, 2010.
This linear park shows how effective water
decontamination can be achieved through the
use of plants. Located on an environmentally
degraded industrial site along the Huangpu
River, it employs a rural aesthetic that is not
in keeping with Chinese garden traditions ,
but borrows rather more from the English
Picturesque.
12.20 The Tianjin Qiaoyuan Wetland Park,

China, designed byTurenscape, 2008.
Couples meet in the semi-private shade of
trees to commune with nature on a 'mountain '
occupying an old contaminated industrial site.
The project demonstrates a desire to reinterpret
traditional Chinese garden themes within the
new topology of the site.
12.21 One of the purification ponds in the

Qiaoyuan Wetland Park.
The use of natural reeds to treat the highly
contaminated water becomes a spectacl e
12. 19 in itself. Although there is no t raditional rock
garden to be seen , the overall topology of the
park juxtaposing 'mountain' and 'water' remains
true to a particular Chinese landscape tradition.
12.22 Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, Singapore,

designed by Atelier Dreiseitl, 2012.
A positive example of a rehabilitated storm-
water system, the project manages the variation
in runoff through a system of swales, pools and
a meandering stream. The English park topology,
with vast swathes of open green slopes, may
be questionable in such a hot tropical climate
calling for shade, but compared to the concrete
culvert that it once was it is a resounding
success, not to say a miracle.
12.20 12.2 1
316 TOPOLOGY
Kyoto and their river is based on a subtle topological balance phytoremediating wetland ponds, on what used to be a
in the river's engineered design, which ensures environmental heavily polluted industrial site [12.21]. It is the combination
control while also allowing nature to prevail. of active remedial ecology, in a broader framework of
Ecological restoration is part of an ongoing identifiable historical landscape signifiers like a 'mountain',
environmental revolution in China that is transforming a 'lake' and pavilions that makes the topology of this project
an ancient garden tradition into a discipline operating at truly innovative and remarkable [12.20].
a completely different scale. The Shanghai Houtan Park Other places in Southeast Asia tackle urgent questions
(20ro)- by the office of Turenscape- has reshaped a ruined of storm-water management due to climate change in a
industrial site along the Huangpu River into an exemplary different ecological way altogether. The Bishan-Ang Mo Kio
landscape project that treats water pollution through an Park in Singapore designed by Atelier Dreiseitl (2012) has
elaborate succession of stepped gardens and seepage ponds created a complete 3-km (2-mile) long 'riverine' environment
[12.19]Y It features an unexpected sequence of plantings in replacement of an obsolete water culvert [12.22]. 18 It
that create a new kind of scenery that is so far unheard of has become a regional reference in matters of ecological
in Chinese landscape culture. The park, which opened for storm-water restoration. The engineered concrete ditch was
the Shanghai Expo 2010, leads the way for a sensitive change transformed into a generously open grass swale strewn with
in the symbolic treatment of nature within Chinese culture. trees and small permanent water features. When a tropical
Ecology in this case no longer responds to the canons of storm strikes, park visitors are called back by the wardens
secular garden design, but it has helped to create a new and the landscape rapidly fills up with water that is either
landscape typology: one of reconciliation with troubled temporarily stored and percolated or conveyed away in case
waters in Chinese cities. of over capacity. On dry days the park, located in a populous
Another project by the same office is the Qiaoyuan district of town, is filled with people and children playing in
Wetland Park in Tianjin (20o8), a good example of how the water. The only irony about this form of 'renaturalization'
ecological considerations can successfully be incorporated is that there was never a river here in the first place. But this
into large-scale civic transformations. Designed by the is not the point, the project clearly shows that we have entered
landscape architect Kongjian Yu, the project skilfully an age of natural invention, where designed ecologies and
establishes a'p ublic park consisting of a series of topological experimentation will have a major role to play.
TOPOLOGY 317
,..
12 .23
318 TOPOLOGY
Sigirino Mound, Ticino, Switzerland
The shaping of future landscapes will be influenced by Italy through a series of high-velocity rail tunnels under the
ecology and the tools and topological methods at our Alps. 19 Huge quantities of material produced during tunnel
disposal. The digital revolution has helped produce excavation had to be disposed of, and artificial mounds were
three-dimensional models of complex environments with created. The Sigirino Mound represents 3·5 million cubic
unprecedented precision. Advanced surveying technologies metres (r24 million cubic feet) of gneiss rubble removed
involving laser-scanning have revolutionized our ability to from the Ceneri Base Tunnel, reaching a height of rso metres
quantify and analyse terrain, changing the way we see, record (492 feet) [r2.26]. On completion, it will be visible from the
and interact with the physical environment. This has been San Gottardo motorway and local railway lines, as well as
useful in the management of large-scale ecological projects, Monte Tamaro and the city airport of Lugano. Because of
where modelling and simulation with a high degree of its location it will become a symbol of the high-velocity era.
altimetric and planimetric precision is required [r2.24]. Great care was thus taken to integrate it ecologically into the
The artificial mound at Sigirino in Ticino, undertaken landscape of Monte Ferrino.
by Alp Transit Gotthard AG, constructor of the new ' Studies with engineers and environmental agencies
Gotthard and Ceneri Base Tunnels, was a highly challenging took ten years to complete; the main challenges lay in the
project that pushed the technical limits of environmental shape of the mound itself as it comes into contact with the
design. Examples of similar landfill projects such as the original topography, combined with the difficulty of growing
Garraf Waste project in Catalonia by the office of Batlle i anything 'natural' on the bare slopes of the compacted
Roig have remained creative while using more conventional excavation material. The goal was to make a landscape
surveying methods [r2.23], but the Sigirino Mound used that could fit within a highly sensitive cultural setting and a
pioneering techniques in topology and morphing to allow vulnerable ecological environment. To this end, test strips of
precise topographic modelling and advanced visualizing to the outer surface of the mound, composed of raw excavation
occur [r2.25a, r2.25b]. The mound forms part of NEAT, material mixed with compost, were sown with local wild
an infrastructure project designed to connect Switzerland to seeds and native trees, and vegetation growth was monitored
12.23 The GarrafWaste Landfill project,

Catalonia, by Batlle i Roig.
The project began in 2003 and will eventually
become a major gateway to the new Garraf
Natural Park. Transforming this contaminated
site, once a waste dump, into a new topology
and providing access to nature epitomizes the
landscape irony of our times.
12.24 Plan of the Sigirino Mound, Ticino,

Switzerland, designed by Atelier Girot.
The 3.5 million cubic metres (124 million cubic
feet) of rubble produced during tunnelling were
made to curve and become 'naturalized', at the
request of environmental groups. The stepped
slopes will alternate between forested areas and
open meadows.
12.24
TOPOLOGY 319
12.25a
12.25b
320 TOPOLOGY
12.27
12.25a, 12.25b Before and after views.

What was once a small chestnut grove was
cleared to receive the spoil from the Alp Transit
Ceneri Base Tunnel. lt took years of study, testing
and deliberation to determine the definitive
topology of this artificially forested hillside.
12.26 The Sigirino Mound under construction.

On the left is a recently cleared area, while on
the right the first definitive green slopes emerge.
The mound will be managed as an 'eco log ical'
12.26
reserve with limited human access.
12.27 Point cloud scan of the Divan vale in

Sigirino in the early stages of forest clearance.
Each pixel in such a scan is geo-referenced
and triangulates precisely with satellites and
terrestrial stations. When merged, several such
scans can become a 30 geo-referenced model.
over the course of seven years [12.34]. To help in the shaping and assessed from any location outside, thus introducing
of an optimal form, the project team applied advanced principles of spatial relativity in design. The landscape
modelling and visualizing techniques based on point clouds. designer can model trends in the growth of vegetation
This enabled the designers to test and present a variety of over time, using a type of virtual reality that is not only
ecological options during the approval process. 20 aesthetically striking, but also more accurate with regards
. to terrain. Topology will spark off a significant conceptual
Point clouds: a tool for the future revolution in landscape architecture, allowing the designer
Laser scanners used for advanced surveying and modelling to question a virtual site model from all sides [12.30].
produce images that are valued by engineers for their great To appreciate fully how this approach affects work
precision in three-dimensions high resolution. But for the flow and design, we need to recognize the importance of
landscape architect, because of the way they reveal the terrain, physical reality through the aesthetic of the beauty and
they have an inherent aesthetic appeal [12.27, 12.28]. In the drama it creates [12.31]. Comparing the mound at Sigirino
case of the Sigirino Mound, the site model itself became with Silbury Hill near Avebury, built some 5,ooo years ago,
a piece of workable terrain that could be tested according may seem a little odd, since their methods of construction
to local constraints. The data sets enable for instance the and their aims are obviously quite different [12.35, 12.36].
landscape architect to determine precisely the point of Yet both are artificial earthworks that express strongly the
contact between the artificially engineered topography of beliefs of their times: in the case of Silbury Hill, its purpose
the mound and the steep, rocky slopes of Monte Ferrino was religious and ritual, whereas for the Sigirino Mound it is
[12.29, 12.33]. This level of engagement with the physical cultural and ecological. What the comparison reveals is a leap
reality of a terrain is unprecedented and allows the team of faith: Silbury was built at the dawn of civilization to form
to grasp the situation at a glance and act upon it, saving a clear contrast with its natural surroundings, whereas the
considerable time. Ecologically speaking, every plant, mound at Sigirino, built at the tail end of the industrial era, is
every path and every slope in the surrounding valley can be an artificial behemoth that tries to blend in ecologically with
precisely located, modelled and visualized; the virtual visitor the surroundings. Topology is, therefore, about reinventing a
can stand under each tree and look out in any direction from language of nature in tune with its times.
the inside out f12.32]. Inversely, the project can be viewed
TOPOLOGY 321
12.28 Long-range Terrestrial Laser Scanner of
the LVML in operation, 2012.
The extreme precision of this instrument
enables the accurate mapping of difficult terrain
in all three coordinates of the geographic
L information system. lt enables landscape
architects to work topologically with much
higher precision in data-poor environments .
12.29 Point cloud model of the Sigirino Mound,

2009, inserted into the Swisstopo GIS mesh.
Working with such a precise topological tool
has facilitated much simpler design solutions
for the perimeter of the mound where it comes
into contact with the natural terrain . Not one
retention wall was required to hold the mound
within its legal bounds.
12.30 Section through the valley bottom and

Sigirino Mound .
This landscape project required a thorough
understanding of the ambient topology where a
steep artificial topography meets a natural one.
12.28 12.31, 12.32 The west face of the Sigirino

Mound under construction.
Above is a photograph and below the same
view modelled in a 3D geo-referenced image.
Ironically, without the help of precision
topological tools it would have been almost
impossible to generate the 'organic' form
requested by environmentalists . Here the
aesth etics of ecology call for highly technical
support.
12.29
12.30
322 TOPOLOGY
'
TOPOLOGY 323
12.33
12.33 The first point cloud model of the Sigirino 12.35 Silbury Hiii,Avebury, England.
Mound generated in 2009. No one is certain what it was that motivated
At the beginning of construction, the contrast people to build such a phenomenally massive
between the stark geometric core and its natural structure made of chalk scraped from the
background has been considerably attenuated surroundings 5,000 years ago. it is clearly the
by the 'renaturalization' process, despite the fact product of a highly organized society translating
that the topology still reads as an entirely man- its beliefs into a constructed landscape.
made object in the landscape.
12.36 Profile of the slope of the Sigirino Mound.
12.34 A meadow landscape on an artificial Although it resembles Silbury Hill, what differs
slope at the Sigirino Mound, Ticino, 2014. is not so much the form as the belief behind the
The result of careful studies of topology and making of the object. Can this mound become
substrates, and ex perimentation by landscape the place of a new cult of nature? Or is it simply
architects and engineers, what could have intended to remain a scientifically renaturalized
remained just another slag heap is a prime green area , with no further meaning added
example of res ilience an'd natural beauty. beyond the mere ecological amenity it provides?
324 TOPOLOGY
12.34 12 .3 5
12.36
TOPOLOGY 325
Landscape vision change are most obvious, engineers are studying radical new
People should recognize landscape as a symbolic part of flood-management measures with the Room for the River
their social environment. Thoughtful designs can encourage project. 22 One solution developed by students of the ETH
respect and a better appreciation of the cultivated territory around the city of Dordrecht (2on) would turn part of it
we inhabit. Such is the case with the rehabilitation of the Aire back into an island; much of the hinterland would be left
River near Geneva (2014) designed by Georges Descombes unprotected and subject to unpredictable tidal fluctuations
and the office ADR in Switzerland [12.37]. 21 The flood bed [12.38]. It has not been easy for low-lying farmers to accept
of the river, which was channelled before, has been broadened the necessity of flooded agricultural land, but such measures
considerably through precise topological work and a natural now being promoted by the office HNS show how acute
promenade created along its grassy banks. The landscape the issue has become. The role of the landscape architect
of the Aire was subtly carved out of the flood plain, and the alongside the hydraulic and the civil engineer is now to
landscape atmosphere crafted through the exquisite sketches oversee topological change and to develop new types of
of Descombes. The creative efforts concentrated on this small ecologies that have no precedent in history.
suburban stretch of river over the past ten years have paid off. New York has also had its share of natural disasters
The project has now reinvented the Aire River with a more and the new Ocean Flood Barrier project off Staten Island
naturalistic appeal in the true spirit of Rousseau. by Kate Orff and· Scapestudio (2014) points towards a
Climate change is a challenge to the established radically new way of conceiving large-scale subaqua tic
position and values of landscape architecture every day. landscape 'reaches' along ocean coastlines [12.39]. 23 Instead
Nothing is more unnatural than a seafront made of protective of raising a continuous protective barrier along the shore, the
barriers, levees and polders. Although there is a long tradition team proposes a series of 'reaches' : underwater breakwaters
of such landscapes around the world, the extent and pace functioning as reefs that mitigate wave action while providing
of present 'remedial' operations is astounding. Entire vital habitat for ocean flora and fauna. It is the radical
coastlines and valleys- New Jersey, New Orleans, Jakarta simplicity of the solution that won this project its success
and Melbourne to name but a few- are being re-engineered against more powerful engineering conglomerates promoting
to protect them from floods, changing landscapes that are much heavier and costlier solutions. And it is the visionary
centuries old. In the Netherlands, where effects of climate scale at which an entire coastal topology will be changed to
12.37 Aire River project by the ADR, Geneva,

Switzerland, 2014.
Precise topological considerations make this
project one of the best natural river designs in
Switzerland today. By extending the flood plain
over what was formerly farmland, the Aire has
been given back its liberty to expand freely,
while also creating a new kind of promenade.
12.38 The Dordrecht flood control project

designed and modelled by ETH students, 2011.
In this project, Archipelago, by Kristina
Eickmeier and Annina Peterer, important tracts of
agricultural land were conceded to the intertidal
zone of the river in what is some of the oldest
farmland in South Holland. The difficult decision
to flood ancestral land has not been without
problems in relation to local farmers.
12.39 The new Ocean Flood Barrier project,

Staten Island, designed by Kate Orff and
Scapestudio, New York, USA, 2014.
lt is the shift in the kind of nature that landscape
architects are being asked to design that calls
for a new understanding of topology. In order
to engage in such large-scale territorial projects
they will need to work with engineers to recreate
a culture of place.
12.37
326 TOPOLOGY
Topological techniques have helped map
important topographical qualities of the
Dutch landscape. In Dordrecht, elements
synonymous with historical notions of collective
effort and trust have become the cornerston es
of a strong landscape identity. Scenarios of
flooding were developed by ETH stud ents to
help safeguard agriculture and preserve woods
wherever they emerged from the waterline. 24
The extraordinary mosaic of possibilities, none
of which were more than a few metres above
the waterline, informed exactly where topography
12.38 would yield to the natural forces of flooding,
and where it could protect. Precise work in
topology has become of vital importance in our
age, and can help redefine the boundaries of
established landscape settlements, by better
understanding the interaction of river and tidal
flows over time [12.38].
12.39
TOPOLOGY 327
12.40 Madrid Rio project, Spain, by West 8 and
M RIO arquitectos, 2011.
A remarkable series of landscape themes along
the Manzanares River brings new shaded
promenades to urban areas that previously
lacked them and has reintroduced the river as
a positive space in the city. The project's success
is a result of the ca re with which it has created
new links and a continual topology in this area
of the city.
12.41 The High Line, New York, USA, 2011.

In a prime example of adaptive conversion, an
old rai lway bridge has become a highly symbolic
landscape crossing over the Meatpacking District
of Manhattan . Des igned by James Corner of the
office Field Operations it has been a resound in g
success and has set a trend , although its
purported ecologica l im pact is far less notable
than its remedial impact.
12.42 The Park Spoor Noord,Antwerp, Belgium,

designed by Studio Associate Secchi-Vigano.
Since its opening in 2009 this pa rk, built on
24 hectares (60 acres) of old rail yard, has been
12.40
an unmitigated success for the neighbourhoods
it links together by new circulati on routes .
Everything is just made for people to flow,
gather and play.
12.43 The Beltline project around inner Atlanta.

The project results entire ly from the idea of
Ryan Gravel, who first deve loped it during his
Master's thesis at GeorgiaTech in 1999. Now
the ring of abandoned rail lines, 35 km (22 miles)
long, is becoming a landscape rea lity, supported
by grassroots associations, community groups,
public transport authorities and private investors.
12.41 12.42
328 TOPOLOGY
become an agent of environmental resilience that marks a real value has increased in the immediate vicinity of the project.
paradigm shift in landscape practice. Other cities in America have followed and embarked on
Topology can translate into an act of public interest, more complex and ambitious visions. The BeltLine project
belief and perseverance to create a better urban ecology in in Atlanta (2015 ) started as an idea fifteen years before when
difficult contexts. The Madrid Rio project on the Manzanares Ryan Gravel proposed a radical idea for a green circuit around
River by the office of West 8 and MRIO arquitectos (2orr ) central Atlanta bringing together four disused rail belts
shows how careful topological work on the urban floor into a single ring of public amenities, parks and transport
can give coherence and repair environments that have been [12-43]. Today, after over a decade of intensive community
severely dismembered by heavy infrastructural engineering involvement as well as public and private lobbying, the
[12.40]. Here 6 km (3% miles) of river bank were freed BeltLine has become a tangible physical and political
of road infrastructure and transformed into a series of reality for the city and is now growing further. Projects are
resplendent gardens. The Salon de Ios Pinos, with its developing along it, and a pedestrian promenade and nascent
S,ooo pines planted on top of an underground motorway, tramline contribute to an entirely new kind of 'sustainable'
has become a vital park and link between neighbourhoods, lifestyle for this automotive city. The topology of the BeltLine
and the blossoming cherry trees of the Avenida de Portugal works like a common thread along a 35-km (22-mile) circuit
have become a popular emblem. of footpaths, bike lanes and tramlines linking previously
Landscape can actually change the value and image disconnected neighbourhoods together and opening up a vast
of an entire area, as in the case of the Meatpacking District array of community activities and possibilities.
of Lower Manhattan that has been transformed by the In a similar way, but on another continent, the city
resounding success of the High Line project (20rr ) by of Antwerp decided to convert the disused rail yard of the
James Corner and Field Operations [12.41]. 25 An old derelict Antwerpen Dam into a park. The Spoor Nord Park, covering
suspended rail line was transformed into a prestigious 24 hectares (55 acres), designed by Studio Associato Secchi-
hanging ecological promenade, with a remarkable plant Vigano (2009), brings together neighbourhoods that had been
selection by Piet Oudolf that attracts countless nature- kept apart for over a century [12.42]. 26 The subtle topological
loving urbanites and tourists year round. The appeal of this play connecting the west side to the east side turns the park
landscape:promenade has been so phenomenal that land into a natural place of convergence for sport, events and
TOPOLOGY 329
leisure activities. A central water feature located by the Cargo over four centuries is consciously inscribed in the topological
Hall marks the cultural focus of the park, where people meet approach of the project. The campus, which covers 7,ooo
for concerts, games and food. hectares (17,300 acres), is intended to become the new 'silicon
To transform large-scale environments through valley' of France, welcoming prestigious engineering and
appropriate landscape methods requires an act of faith science schools as well as enterprises on a sustainable site
and strong political will. Without long-term support, it is with public landscape amenities and a mass-transit system.
not possible to sustain the scale of such an approach. In Desvigne has taken great care to integrate the long-standing
this instance, emphasis must be placed on landscapes that drainage grid of the territory in his scheme. This is a top-
can function and be maintained as living frameworks. The down project in the best of French centralized tradition and it
case of the Pare aux Angeliques (2015) on the right bank will be interesting to see how this mix of landscape tradition
of the Garonne River in Bordeaux is a good example of and ecological innovation will unfold. These two powerful
topological transformation [12.44]Y By planting a broad examples clearly illustrate how designed landscapes on a
selection of native trees in a series of lines perpendicular territorial scale can be developed to such a degree that their
to the river on some disused industrial sites, the landscape topology becomes part of a new natural and ecological reality.
architect Michel Desvigne has organized the entire waterfront In the contemporary urban context, landscapes are
as a potential 'natural' park that will eventually cover over often more fragmented, but are intended to reflect the va lu es
40 hectares (almost roo acres). The landscape serves also of human respect and ecological hope that make up the
as a prefiguration of the urban programme to come, with spirit of a place. The Pare Blandan project (2013 ) produced
ecological zones, an urban farm, sport fields and bicycle by the office Base on the n-hectare (42-acre) site of an old
trails framing three new neighbourhoods. The Plateau de military fort adjoins some of the most populous districts of
Saclay Campus project (2014), also under the leadership of Lyon [12.46]. The park is organized into three major zones
Michel Desvigne, shows another facet of large-scale landscape that play skilfully with the topography, providing amenities
planning [12.45 ]. The site of Saclay, south-west of Paris, for relaxation and play whi le maintaining distinct ecological
was structured and drained originally in Baroque times to zones for the local flora and fauna. Such a pragmatic
provide water for the park at Versailles. The precision with approach to given site conditions and topology raises hopes
which this piece of territory )Vas engineered and maintained of a new dawn in French landscape architecture.
330 TOPOLOGY
--- ,
T 12.44 The Pare aux Angeliques, Bordeaux,
France, 2015.
Michel Desvigne's concept of prefigurative
landscape reinforces the idea that landscape
architecture can become the structural substrate
of the contemporary city. By imprinting a
landscape in Bordeaux with over 4,500 trees
he has prefigured the framework of a city to
come, while providing a strong public amenity
for today.
12.45 The new campus plan for the Plateau

de Saclay, France, by Michel Desvigne.
Here Desvigne prefigures the structure of a
new university town. Careful attention to historic
traces that have shaped this plateau since the
times of Louis XIV brings a sense of balance
and belonging and gives topological coherence
to the entire project.
12.46 The Pare Blandan, Lyon, France, by BASE, 12.45

2013.
Created on the site of an old military camp, this
has become the second-most used park in the
city. A minimal approach to design combined
with good programmatic planning means that
most elements of the park including topography
and vegetation already existed.
12.46
TOPOLOGY 331
12.47 Pleated earth ridges at Schiphol airport,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, by HNS, 2014.
Through the combined work of an artist and
a landscape office, a new typology has been
invented that can considerably reduce ground
noise around airports. Pleated earth ridges,
3 metres (10 feet) high, work playfully together
to define a field that deflects sound and makes
a strong topological statement at the same time .
12.48 The National9/11 Memorial, NewYork,

USA, by Peter Walker Partners, 2011.
The project draws on the very substance of the
void left by the two fallen towers of the World
Trade Center to recall a very strong topological
experience. Like two vast square clearings in
a forest of oaks, the memorial brings us back
through this archetype to the very roots of our
landscape culture.
12.49 The Central Garden, the Getty Center, Los

Angeles, USA, designed by Robert lrwin, 1997.
Bright pink bougainvillea clambers over a cluster
of artificial Cor-ten trees to provide a place to sit
in the shade. The artificiality of these 'trees' does
not contradict either their sense or their purpose;
it is the notion of comfort and belonging that
matters. Most landscape topologies that we
will witness in our age will be, and will remain,
artificial.
12.47
12.48
332 TOPOLOGY
- ,
12.49
Shaping terrain basic human need to create beauty out of what is odious, and
The cultural questions thrown up by new topological methods to install meaningful forms of hope, rather than abandonment
are truly fundamental. Since they pertain to landscape, and oblivion, in the landscapes where we belong.
they relate to the ground itself, in all its specificity. When it The hand of the artist often makes a difference to
comes to reading and modifying the ground conditions of our appreciation of landscapes. The Central Garden at the
a site, topology draws a clear distinction between design Getty Center in Los Angeles designed by the American artist
on a physical model and the dream of an idealized plan. It Robert Irwin (1997) marks a precise topological distinction
marks a return to basic archetypal traditions where new forms by inventing a new realm of poetry, craft and sensitivity in the
of terrain can emerge, alongside an awareness of the pre- present language of landscapes [12.49]. 29 The freedom with
eminence of site. The Dutch land artist Paul de Kart working which the garden plays with up to soo species of plants offers
with the office of HNS (2014) created an extraordinary field a colourful contrast to the visitor. Cor-ten baskets filled with
of pleated earth ridges of 36 hectares (75 acres) that effectively bright red bougainvillea act like trees on the artificial ground.
reduce by half the low-frequency sound of planes coming from A landscape only gains sense when it is fully recognized
Schiphol airport before they reach adjacent neighbourhoods and accepted by people. Technological and scientific advances
[12.47]. 28 The ridges arranged in playful rhythmic patterns may help when it comes to issues of topology and ecology,
disperse the noise as it travels on the ground. The field is also but these notions often remain distant from more immediate
an artistic invitation to wander, picnic and play. human concerns. The possible meaning attached to parks and
Through a stronger awareness and sensitivity to gardens may have changed at present, but not their ultimate
topology, landscape architecture can also enhance expressions destination. Imagine a city that could offer the luxury of
that place human concerns and emotions at their heart. peaceful gardens and ecology instead of stretches of wasteland
The National9 / 11 Memorial by Peter Walker Partners in -a place of human comfort and exchange instead of
New York (20rr) is an archetypal project that symbolically desolation and disgust. Notions of grounding and rootedness
reinstates the memory of the twin towers in a clearing in a can be reaffirmed with topology to encourage a feeling that
highly emblematic forest of oaks [12-48]. The water falling our world is permanently in the making. It is this faith in a
down the two deep voids left by the footprints of the towers design with nature on a human scale, in all its complexity and
' of vertigo to the visitor. The project fulfils the
conveys a sense promise, that will deliver the landscapes of the future.
TOPOLOGY 333
Afterword
Towards a Cultural Revolution in Nature
'I am aiming at blurring the distinction between nature and eutrophic conditions, one feels a strong aesthetic bond
society durably, so that we shall never have to go back to two with nature [13.0]. Is the skimming of the leaves purely an
distinct sets, with nature on one side and the representations aesthetic gesture or is it also non-ecological? With the recent
that humans make of it on the other.' rise of ecological concerns, the very purpose of landscape has
Bruno Latour, The Politics of Nature 1 changed drastically; notions of abandonment became part of
a new ethical consideration, making things confused. For it
Early sedentary settlements marked the land with a is this lack of immanence, the manner in which a landscape
distinct separation between societal space and the natural remains uncared for, that introduces an element of doubt:
environment. Archetypes such as the forest clearing and although our natural world has become humanized to a large
walled garden embodied the mysteries of space, time and extent, has our reverence for nature become misconstrued?
creation through thresholds where the rituals of nature A renewed willingness to conceive landscape as infused
and fertility were staged. The distinction between a place with symbolism, tapping into the signifiers of a culture,
where nature was cared for and the surrounding untended would help to recover sensitivity and meaning. Looking at the
wilderness came to be called landscape: a formal artefact painterly power and beauty of Yves Brunier's Museum Park in
of nature crafted for both utilitarian and symbolic purposes. Rotterdam (1993), we feel a bond towards nature [13.1]. 2 Must
The faith that once animated these archaic sites has gone, we strive to unravel myths again, albeit ecological ones? Only
but looking at an old sanctuary in Kyoto, where fallen leaves then will we achieve a more respectful relationship towards our
are carefully skimmed from the surface of a pond to avoid world, by giving a greater place to nature in society. 3
13.0 (opposite) A gardener gathers fallen leaves

from a pond in Kyoto, Japan.
This subtle gesture, full of sensitivity and care,
is repeated each year and controls nature in
a ritual that holds things in balance. Shaping
landscape in this manner is an investment that
should be at the heart of our concerns, for only
through an active contact with the landscape
can we rei'nstate a sense of respect for our world.
13.1 Museum Park, Rotterdam, The Netherlands,

by Yves Brunier and Petra Blaisse of OMA,
begun in 1989.
The park connects the city with the River Meuse
through a series of highly evocative landscapes
that play with moods in a juxtaposition of
colours, textures and light. Brunier reintroduced
a painterly manner in his practice through
expressive a ~works and collages; he died
before seeing the extraordinary park he created.
13.1
AFTERWORD 335
13.2
Rapid urban growth has pushed landscape towards are in resonance with the deeper beliefs of a people. Despite
the fringes of society. There is an absence of purpose between good intentions, showing a cesspool filled with water lilies to
a town and its immediate surroundings. A more meaningful children falls somewhat short of the respect for nature one
interaction between dwelling and landscape requires a would expect here.
symbolic act - one which, unfortunately, seldom occurs. The What we lack is a strong sense of poetics that would
scientific word 'biotope', borrowed from ecology, designates a give voice to a new form of naturalism. Each culture has
biotic equilibrium inherent to 'un-manned' patches of nature wrought symbolism from a cultivation of nature that is
that are residual. Yet what a biotope achieves ecologically, proper to its language and customs. Perhaps we should
it often fails to deliver on a societallevel. 4 Our task is follow Alessandra Ponte's precepts, and allow notions of
to reconcile society with ecology, because the history of the Beautiful, the Picturesque and the Sublime to be resurgent
'undesigned' ecologies is recent, and their adoption remains and become more local and specific. 6 Only then can a shared
speculative, not to say unwieldy, as if we no longer can recall understanding of nature return. The Barcelona Botanical
landscape aesthetics as the long-standing expression of our Garden (1999) designed by the landscape architect Beth
symbolic bond to nature. Figueras with the architects Carlos Ferrater and Josep Llu.is
Take the Seonyudo Island Park in Seoul (2003 ), Canosa embraces these notions, incorporating Mediterranean
which transformed an old sewage-treatment plant into taxonomy with a zest of radical topology inspired by Catalan
an 'ecological' showcase [13.2]. 5 Schoolchildren visit the Cubism [13.3]. The angular Cor-ten steel walls set against
park each day to learn about the virtues of ecology and exotic and endemic plant collections on the arid slopes of
admire a nature displayed within the disused cesspools. Montjuic demonstrate how a serious interpretation of nature
The project replicates stylistically the post-industrial IBA can remain culturally strong and creative. Contemporary
landscapes of the Ruhr, but misses an essential historical systems thinking increasingly focuses on complex ecological
point, one deeply rooted in Korean culture, which inspired networks, but misses an essential point: the possibility of
the Confucian poets and painters of the Joseon kingdom a reconciliation between society and the cultural potential
in the 16th century to revere this sacred island on the Han of nature.
River. What matters are the signs of a greater devotion to We now live under a scientific conception of the world
nature; nothing can replaGe these profound moments that driven by a moral imperative that has reduced the range of
336 AFTERWORD
13.2 Seonyudo Island Park, Seoul, South Korea,
2003.
The island that once inspired Confucian poets
and painters of the Joseon kingdom became
a sewage-treatment plant in the 1970s, but
was then transformed again into a park by
the Ctopos office in 2003. Children are taught
to observe 'ecology' in old settling tanks . This
celebration of ruins is a Western concept that
excludes Korean landscape aesthetics and the
spirit of belonging.
13.3 The new Barcelona Botanical Garden,

Montju"ic, 1997.
The project was designed by Beth Figueras
together with the architects Carlos Ferrater
and Josep Lluis Canosa. A completely modern
landscape, the strong topographic design builds
on a scenography of nature, with plants placed
according to ecological affinity, but also in great
swathes of colour and textures held in terraces
by triangular Cor-ten steel panels. The poetic
voice of the late designer can still be felt.
AFTERWORD 337
landscape design to a form of 'biomimicry'. Our new maxim a stroke, fulfilling a redeeming role as an empirically driven
is equity and biodiversity under the threat of global warming, biological 'restart' for the planet. Up to now landscape has
and the new oracle is sustainable development. Preston Scott never been considered a simple act of biology, but rather
Cohen and Erika Naginski discuss an apocalyptic drama as a complex, deeply symbolic cultural artefact. Yet ecology
where the finiteness of resources is played out against the has not only superseded the meaning of history, but has
'dismal' cycle of human production and consumption.7 actually transcended all established transformative traditions.
To what degree does this 'ontological primacy of bio- Proponents of deep ecology believe that the planet should be
environment' and its inexorable constraints negate working saved from humanity, dismissing any reference to history as
with earlier landscape archetypes? 8 The empirical trend unworthy. This new messianic faith in nature finds worldwide
to 'naturalize' landscape has made it difficult to reaffirm a appeal precisely at a time when natural destruction has never
belief in a cultural continuum. The new trend in 'biomimicry' been so great.
is uncritical of itself and profoundly ahistorical because it We are heading for a brave new world of ecology,
is a rejection of the social, 'symbolic life of forms' be they supported by the great scientific predictions of cybernetics.
social, cultural or political.9 But there are exceptions to this Yet we are also in a form of historical denial that has
rule: the N0rrebro Park (2007) in Copenhagen, designed by damaged the transmission of landscape culture durably. The
Steen H0yer uses an archetypal form to enhance a stretch beauty of a landscape is first and foremost human and not
of urban park [13-4] . 10 The gentle topography of the urban natural. Many landscape forms have been forgotten, but the
clearing invites people to relax year round. Human rituals question of form in design remains essential, and ecology
have changed, but the specific topology of a place has not. alone cannot be a substitute for the symbolic meaning of
The culture of forming landscape transmitted from one nature ingrained in our collective memory. We need to renew
generation to the next has been blocked, and there is an our relationship with nature creatively, but will never retrieve
urgent need to 'demystify the ecological and the sustainable a sense of wholeness from this empirically dissected reality.
while acknowledging the reality of new necessities' . 11 We should trust our need for a deeper sense of
A cultural revolution of nature is now necessary: deep purpose and humanity in a landscape, and it is precisely
ecology- understood as the fabrication of 'real' nature at the the substitution of an immanent understanding of landscape
polar opposite of 'real' civilization- could replace history at for a more profane scientific explanation that has left us
13.4
338 AFTERWORD
stranded. The first sedentary landscapes marked a clear break fundamental has changed. The landscape ruins of today are
from nature, with strong intent and cosmological purpose, no longer the enigmatic fabrications of r8th-century Anglo-
but these places conceived in situ also embodied an inherent Chinese gardens, nor the exquisite imperfections embedded in
wonder towards the living worldY Such early animistic rituals early Zen gardens; they are actually widespread and very real.
can still be witnessed in places like the Ise Naiku shrine in The purpose of this book was to place the reader
Japan, where tall hinoki trees are ritually sacrificed every two back under an old grove of trees, to show how our
decades to erect the temples anew [13.5]. This re-enactment relationship to nature has drastically changed. In our current
of tree sacrifice reaches back to time immemorial, and to environmentally anxious age, projects no longer seem to
Japan's ancestral links to the animistic tribes of Siberia, carry much mystery about them. To detach ourselves from
such as the Buryats. The cult of the ancestors that is humankind's immediate necessities seems unthinkable; but a
associated with Ise asserts a deep belief in the equilibrium new form of transformative landscape architecture will help
of memory, place and nature. Ecology may certainly play reset the cultural paradigm. It will infuse an entirely new
an important role in society, but without reaching a balance sense of being in the world, one that can nurture hope and
and clear correspondence with each cultural trope, custom reconcile our spirit with a simpler kind of existence while
and spiritual sensibility, it will find neither a resonance nor planting a younger grove of trees anew.
direction of its own.
Landscape is the crucible of human actions and
reactions towards nature, and landscapes are the product
of a deep cultural revolution that occurred at the dawn
of human settlement 9,ooo years ago. But the myths that
originated then need to be seriously reconsidered in light
of our present condition that is significantly removed from
the natural world. Can a sense of the sublime in nature still
prevail within our very muddled 'technoid' culture, or is it just
a naturalistic mirage? Our planet is weary, and despite it green
ecological make-up we instinctively know that something
13.4 Norrebro Park, Copenhagen, Denmark, by

GHB landscape architects and Steen Hoyer, 2007.
The very simple, almost banal terrain modelling
allows this linear park at the heart of the city
to create comfort by crafting an 'inside' where
people can enjoy themselves even in the middle
of winter. This topological gesture is archetypal
in that it encourages landscape habits that have
been with us since time immemorial.
13.5 The House of Nature at the lse Naiku

Shrine, Japan.
Landscape mirrors how we inhabit nature and
find a balance- call it ecology if you will. The
word ecology derives from the Greek word
oikos, meaning house. At the Ise Naiku Shrine
in Japan a house dedicated to the goddess
Amaterasu-omikami invites a praying mantis
to commune with us. lt serves as an inspiration,
balancing nature's mysteries with humanity,
seeking a poetic language common to all that
is stronger tha'n science or reason.
13.5
AFTERWORD 339
Notes depression jn c. 7400 BCE the date I have accepted
here. See Ryan, William, and Pitman, Waiter, Noah's
water from deep wells and stored it in large reservoirs.
Its society thrived on this system until it was gradually
Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries about the Event decimated by malaria. Cauvin, Jacques, The Birth
that Changed History (New York: Si m on & Schuster, of the Gods and tile Origins of Agriculture, trans.
Foreword 1998). For the more recent research, see Romanescu, Watkins, Trevor (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Report of the United Nations Conference on Georghe, 'Geoarchaeology of the ancient and medieval Press, 2000).
Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 Danube Delta: Modeling environmental and historical 6 Ryan and Pitman's theory would solve the long-
June 1992, Annex Ill, 'Non-Legally Binding Authoritative changes. A review', in Advancing Pleistocene and standing enigma surrounding the spread of the
Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus Ho/ocene Climate Change Research in the Carpathian- proto-lndo-European language, making it a direct
on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Ba/kan Region, Quaternary International, vol. 293 consequence of tribes living on the Black Sea shores
Development of All Types of Forests', Preamble (e) (April 2013), and Giosan, L. et al., 'Young Danube Delta fleeing the flood in various directions. See Ryan,
and (g). documents stable Black Sea level since the middle William, and Pitman, Waiter, Noah's Flood: The New
Kolbert, Elizabeth, 'Unsafe Climates', in The New Yorker, Holocene: morphodynamic, paleogeographic, and Scientific Discoveries about the Event that Changed
7 December 2015. archaeological implications', Geology, 34, 9 (2006), History (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998).
3 The term was coined by, among others, the chemist 757-60. 7 Kramer, S. N., The Sumerians: Their History, Culture,
Paul Crutzen, who proposed the definition of a 4 Gupta, Sanjeev, et al., 'Catastrophic flooding origin and Character (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
geological age beginning in the late 18th century of shelf valley systems in the English Channel', Nature, 1963).
as the Anthropocene. 448 (2007), 342-45. 8 We have inherited the Sumerian calendar and part of
Hambledon Hill was occupied around 3000 BCE, its belief system from ancient Mesopotamia, although
at a time when the Blackmore Vale in Dorset along most people would probably not, for instance, associate
Introduction the Stour valley was still a heavily forested area. the astrological sign of Virgo in late summer with the
'C'est IB que nous agissons par l'imaginaire, non Mercer, Roger, and Healey, Frances, Hambledon Hill, Roman goddess Ceres, the Greek goddess De meter
pas en modifiant le monde, m a is en le preparant. La Dorset, England. Excavation and Survey of a Neolithic or the Mesopotamian fertility goddess lshtar.
literature est un levier puissant et c'est pour cela qu'elle Monument Complex and its Surrounding Landscape, 9 Leonard Woolley's discovery at Ur of sacrificial tombs,
ne peut dispara1tre: J. M.G Le Clezio, 'La litterature Vol. 1 (London: English Heritage, 2008). in which rulers were accompan'1ed by their attendants,
est un levier puissant', interview with Eric Fottorino, in 6 A study led by Paul Wozencroft and Paul Devereux from , attests to the power of religion in later Sumerian
Le Monde, 5 October 2009. Translation Christophe Girot, the Royal College of Art in London (2014) established cultures. Woolley, Leonard, Excavations at Ur (London:
2012. Clezio was awarded the No bel Prize for Literature that the famous blue stones brought from Mynydd E. Benn; New York: Barnes and Noble, 1963).
in 2008. Preseli, 322 km (200 miles) away in Pembrokshire, south 10 Anthony, David, The Horse, the Wheel, and Language:
2 The garden was designed by Charles de Noailles in the Wales, were actually metallic sounding 'lithophones' How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes
1950s with the help of English gardeners on a terraced or so-called ringing rocks. Shaped the Modern World (Princeton: Princeton
site in Grasse, with old olive groves on restored 7 MacKillop, James, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology University Press, 2007).
'restanque' (terraced) cisterns. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998). 11 Spar, lra, 'The Origins of Writing', Heilbrunn Timeline
3 The Cedron (Kidron) Valley cuts a topographic rift 8 Field, David, et al., 'Introducing Stonehenge', British of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
between the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives Archaeology, 111 (2010), 32-35. http:llwww.metmuseum.orgltoahl.
in Jerusalem; its rocky terraces were landscaped not 9 Gupta, Sanjeev, et al., 'Catastrophic flooding origin 12 Aaboe, A., 'Scientific Astronomy in Antiquity', in
for cultivation but for the burial of the dead, and the of shelf valley systems in the English Channel', Nature, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
Cedron's scarce water was meant to purify the bodies, 448 (2007), 342-45. of London, 276, 1257 (1974), 21-42.
before flowing down east through Judaea to the Dead 10 Malone, Caroline, The Prehistoric Monuments 13 Legend has it that Nebuchadnezzar 11 built the gardens
Sea. This is where Jews, Muslims and Christians lay of Avebury, Wiltshire (London: English Heritage in the 6th century BCE for his wife, Amytis of Media,
at rest. The picture was taken in May 2012 by a young guidebook, 1994). Burl, Aubrey, Prehistoric Avebury who was pining for the fragrant mountain gardens
French photographer Simon David, who passed away (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1979). of her homeland in Persia. In this case, the model was
tragically the year after. 11 Pitts, M., and Whittle, A., 'The development and date perhaps the ancient Bag h-i Fin garden near Kashan.
4 Stronach, David, Pasargadae: A Report on the of Avebury', Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 14 Dalley, Stephanie, The Mystery of the Hanging Garden
Excavation Conducted by the British Institute of 58 (1992), 203-12. of Baby/on: An Elusive World Wonder Traced (Oxford:
Persian Studies from 7961 to 1963 (Oxford: Clarendon 12 Cohen, Chaim, 'Eden', in Berlin, Adele, and Grossman, Oxford University Press, 2013).
Press, 1978). Maxine, The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion 15 Altaweel, Mark, 'Simulating the effects of salinization
5 Descola, Philippe, Beyond Nature and Culture, trans. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011 ). on irrigation agriculture in southern Mesopotamia,
Lloyd, J. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013). 13 Discovered in the tomb of Meketre in Thebes in the in Wilkinson, T. J., Gibson, M., and Wide! I, M. (eds),
6 The park, designed by the landscape office of Zulauf, 1920s, this wooden model of a paradise garden in the Models of Mesopotamian Landscapes: How Small-
Seippel, Schweingruber and Hubacher Haerle architects, afterlife, now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, Scale Processes Contribute to the Growth of Early
was planted with birch, cherry and paulownia on a shows scale and remarkable detailing. Civilizations (Oxford: Archaeopress, 2014), 219-39.
dense 4 x 4 metre grid. Over time these will be thinned 14 Ghirshman, Roman, Fouilles de Sialk pres de Kashan, 16 Schama, Simon, Landscape and Memory (New York:
out to a maximum of an 8 x 8 metre grid. Moll, Claudia, 1933, 1934, 1937, vol. 1 (Paris: Geuthner, 1938). A. A. Knopf, 1995).
Zurich, ein Begleiter zu neuer Landschaftsarchitektur 15 The poetry of Hafez of Shiraz captures the atmosphere 17 Base 10 mathematics appeared in Egypt in Tomb Uj
(Munich: Georg D. W. Callwey, 2006). of these refined and sensuous gardens: at Abydos around 3000 BCE. Burton, David, The History
7 Fery, Thekla, Van der Restflache zur neuen Landschaft 'Last night, when !rem's magic garden slept, of Mathematics: An Introduction (New York: McGraw-
- Das Schiineberger Sudgeliinde in Berlin (Berlin: Univ.- I Stirring the hyacinth's purple tresses curled, Hill, 2005).
Bibliothek TU Berlin, 2005). I The wind of morning through the alleys slept' 18 Verner, Miroslav, The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture,
8 Esposito, Robert, Bios: Biopolitics and Philosophy, ('The Birds of the Garden Sang unto the Rose'), and Science of Egypt's Great Monuments (New York:
trans. Campbell, T. (Minneapolis: University of Poems from the Divan of Hafiz, trans. Bell, Gertrude Grove Press 2002), 386.
Minnesota Press, 2008). Lowthian (London: W. Heinemann, 1897). 19 Rackham, Oliver, 'Observations on the historical
9 Designed by the landscape architect Gustav Lange, 16 Research reveals up to 75 small water mills along the ecology of Boeotia', The Annual of the British School
the Mauerpark occupies an area that belonged to stretch between the Bag h-i Fin and the city of Kashan. at Athens, 78 (1983), 291-351.
the no-man's-land running along the Berlin Wall. The Pourjafar, Mohammad Reza, Amirkhani, Aryan, and 20 The exodus mentions the parting of a 'sea of reeds',
site was rapidly taken over in the 1990s and covered Leylian, Mohammad Reza, 'Traditional architecture of which would conform well with the topography of
with graffiti. it has become the stage for spontaneous Iranian water mills in reference to historical documents Lake Moeris. The opening of dammed waters on to
musical events, which run day and night through the and the case studies', Asian Culture and History, 2, the pharaoh's troops as they rode through a dry Jose ph
summer months. The park seems to survive on almost 2 (2010) 234-51. Canal is further offered as a plausible explanation.
zero maintenance, and nature here is reduced to the Hebrew: KriatYam Suph (Crossing of the Sea of Reeds)
bare essentials of a heavily used but decrepit lawn. is part of the escape of the Israelites, led by Moses,
2. Hydraulic Civilizations from the pursuing Egyptians in the Book of Exodus
1 Ferry, David, Gi/gamesh. A New Rendering in English 13:17-14:29.
1. Roots Verse (Tablet XI) (New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux,
Poems from the Divan of Hafiz, trans. Bell, Gertrude 1992), 81-82.
Lowthian (London: W. Heinemann, 1897), 68. Jericho is known to have existed in the form of a 3. From Temenos to Physis
2 Nebamun was an ordinary scribe and grain counter in small village built around a spring in c. 9000 BCE, but 1 Nagy, Gregory, Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Cambridge,
18th Dynasty Thebes. The wall painting on plaster from it was not inhabited continuously until the early 7th Department of the Classics Harvard University, 2000
his tomb now on display in the British Museum shows millennium seE. Mithen, Steven, After the Ice: A Global (Stanzas 7-17 condensed).
a garden in the afterlife that resembles the gardens of Human History, 20,000-5000 ec (London: Weidenfeld & 2 Early Minoan snake goddesses were most probably
the wealthy class to which he did not belong. Parkinson, Nicolson, 2003; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University the representation of an earth goddess. Bonney, Emily
Richard, The Painted Tomb-Chapel of Nebamun Press 2006), 57. M., 'Disarming the Snake Goddess: a reconsideration
(London: British Museum Press, 2008), 63ff. 3 Ibid. of the faience figurines from the Temple Repositories
3 William Ryan and Waiter Pitman had postulated a 4 Service, Elman, Primitive Social Organization: An at Knossos', Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology,
date of c. 5600 BCE for the event; other studies, which Evolutionary Perspective (New York: Random House, 24, 2 (2011), 171-90.
have carbon-dated freshwater mollusc shells found 1962). 3 The first oracles appeared on the island of Del os
at the bottom of the Black Sea, appear to suggest 5 Jacques Cauvin describes the early Anatolian and at Delphi in the 8th century BCE. Bowden, Hugh,
that massive volumes of salt water swept into the settlement of <;:atalhoyuk, which drew its irrigation Classical Athens and the Delphic Oracle: Divination
340 NOTES
and Democracy (Cambridge: Cambridge University 7 Mann, J. C., 'The Settlement of Veterans in the Roman the Mu see du Moyen Age (Mu see de Cluny) in Paris.
Press, 2005). Empire', Doctoral Thesis University College London, 6 Richard l<oebner offers a detailed account of this
4 The Greek myth of Europa is first related in Homer's 1956. 'colonization'; see 'The Settlement and Colonization of
Odyssey in the 8th century seE, but it refers to ancient 8 Laurence, Ray, The Roads of Roman Italy: Mobility Europe' in The Cambridge Economic History of Europe
landscapes of the Mesara Plain in Crete. Vidai-Naquet, and Cultural Change (London and New York: Routledge, from the Decline of the Roman Empire, vol. 1, Agrarian
Pierre, Le monde d'Homere (Paris: Perrin, 2000), 19. 1999). Life of the Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge
Rackham, Oliver, and Moody, Jennifer A., The Making Lucretius, On the Nature of Things: De rerum natura, University Press, 2nd ed., 1966), 1-91.
of the Cretan Landscape (Manchester: Manchester trans. Esolen, Anthony M. (Baltimore: The Johns 7 There is a beautiful fictional account of Cistercian
University Press, 1996). Hopkins University Press, 1995). monks siting the future Abbaye du Thoro net in
Robinson, An drew, 'The Phaistos code: Write only', 10 Hodge, A. Trevor, Roman Aqueducts and Water Supply Provence in Pouillon, Fernand, Les Pierres sauvages
Nature, 453 (2008), 990-91. (London: Bristol Classical Press, new ed., 2002). (Paris: Seuil, 1964).
Smith, William S., Interconnections in the Ancient Near 11 Sewell, Jamie, The Formation of Roman Urban ism, 8 'The ground that the lord holds on behalf of his king,
East: A Study of the Relationships Between the Arts of 338-200 B. C.: Between Contemporary Foreign Influence from his overlord down to the tenant farmer, where
Egypt, the Aegean and Western Asia (New Haven: Yale and Roman Tradition (Portsmouth, RI: Journal of Roman peasants toil year round, supports them all. In addition,
University Press, 1965). Archaeology, 2010). l<rautheimer, Richard, Rome, Profile the word "ground" should also imply the concept
8 Dickinson, Oliver, The Aegean Bronze Age (Cambridge: of a City, 312-1308 (Princeton: Princeton University of distance. But Old French does not possess such
Cambridge University Press, 2005). Press, 1980). a meaning: it appears only in around 1510, and derives
9 Bowden, Hugh, Mystery Cults of the Ancient World 12 Meyboom, Paul G. P., The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina: from learned Latin circles. Before then one would
(London: Thames & Hudson; Princeton: Princeton Early Evidence of Egyptian Religion in Italy (Leiden: mention "earth" only to designate what one tills and
University Press, 2010). Brill, 1995). where one falls, where one rests, where one situates
10 Page, D. L., The Santorini Volcano and the Destruction 13 Virgil, Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid, trans. Fairclough, houses and churches, and where one will end up
of Minoan Crete (London: The Society for the Promotion H. R. (Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard lying, awaiting the Final Judgment.' Zumthor, Paul,
of Hellenic Studies, 1970). Also, Manning, S. W., A Test University Press, 1916). La Mesure du monde (Paris: Seuil, 1993), 73; translation
of Time and A Test of Time Revisited: The Volcano of 14 Grimal, Pierre, Les jardins romains (Paris: Fayard, Christophe Girot.
Thera and the Chronology and History of the Aegean 3rd ed., 1984). Williams, A., and Martin, G. H., Domesday Book:
and East Mediterranean in the Mid~Second Millennium 15 Rupke, Jorg (ed.), A Companion to Roman Religion A Complete Translation (London: Penguin, 2003).
sc (Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, 2014). (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007). 10 Braudel, Fern and, L'identite de la France (Paris: Arthaud
11 The Linear B writing system from the Late Minoan 16 Platner, Samuel Ball, A Topographical Dictionary of Flammarion, 1986-87).
period is clearly identifiable as an early form of Greek. Ancient Rome, rev. Thomas Ash by (Oxford: Oxbow, 11 In Roman times, the forest of the Carnutes around
Ventris, Michael, Work Notes on Minoan Language 2002). Chartres had caused endless problems for Roman
Research and Other Unedited Papers (Rome: Edizioni 17 Grimal, Pierre, Les jardins romains (Paris: Fayard, legions, who were constantly harassed by the local
deii'Ateneo, 1988). 3rd ed., 1984). Celtic tribes who lived in the woods. A cathedral was
12 Halstead, Paul & Frederick, Charles (eds), Landscape 18 Morrison, Donald R., The Cambridge Companion then built on the remains of a Celtic temple and well,
and Land Use in Postglacial Greece (Sheffield: Sheffield to Socrates (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, and the subsequent campaign to clear the forest for
Academic Press, 2000). 2010). agriculture came to symbolize a triumph of light over
13 This is highly probable, unless it was the Dorians, who 19 Inspired by the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum it was darkness, of virtuous fertility over paganism and of
stemmed from the northern reaches of Macedonia and designed by architects Robert E. Langdon, Jr and Ernes! productivity over idleness. Delaporte, Yves, Notre-Dame
the Danube, who first introduced agriculture to Greece. C. Wilson, Jr, and opened in Pacific Palisades in 1974. de Chartres: Introduction historique et archeologique
lsager, Signe, and Skydsgaard, Jens E., Ancient Greek 20 Adembri, Benedetta, Hadrian's Villa (Milan: Electa, (Paris: Hachette, 1957).
Agriculture: An Introduction (London and New York: 2000). 12 Davidson, Hilda Ell is, The Lost Beliefs of Northern
Routledge, 1995). 21 Boatwright, Mary T., Peoples of the Roman World Europe (London: Routledge, 1993).
14 Mayor, Adrienne, The Amazons: Lives and Legends (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 100-23. 13 The sap of the ash tree is still drawn each year
of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World (Princeton: 22 Barker, Edmund Henry, The Germany ... and the in remote parts of Castelbuono in Sicily, where it
Princeton University Press, 2014). Agricola ... (London: Longman & Co., 1828). is called manna, as if it were still considered a gift
15 Broad, William J., The Oracle: The Lost Secrets and 23 Hingley, Richard, Hadrian's Wall: A Life (Oxford: Oxford from the gods.
Hidden Message of Ancient Delphi (New York: Penguin, University Press, 2012). 14 The cult of the Virgin Mary at Chartres, with its black
2006). 24 Waldron, Arthur, The Great Wall of China: From History Madonna made of polished linden wood which is
16 Frazer, J. G. (trans.), Pausanias's Description of Greece, to Myth (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, paraded around the city during the summer harvest,
Vol. 5, 314-18 (New York: MacMillan, 1913). 1990). could easily be likened to archaic fertility cults, such as
17 Fontenrose, Joseph, Python: A Study of Delphic Myth those of Ceres, De meter or lshtar. Sumpton, Jonathan,
and its Origins (Berkeley: University of California Press, Pilgrimage (London: Faber & Faber, 1975), 401.
1959). 5. The Rule of Faith 15 Corvol, Andree, L'Arbre en Occident (Paris: Fayard,
18 Parke, H. W., A History of the Delphic Oracle (Oxford: Sorrel I, Roger, St. Francis of Assisi and Nature: Tradition 2009), 196.
Basil Blackwell, 1939). and Innovation in Western Christian Attitudes Towards 16 Davidson, Hilda Ell is, Myths and Symbols in Pagan
19 Dinsmoor, William B., The Architecture of Ancient the Environment (New York: Oxford University Press, Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions
Greece (New York: Biblio and Tannen, 1973). 1988), 60. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1988).
20 Barnes, Jonathan, The Presocratic Philosophers St Augustine, born in North Africa of Phoenician and 17 Fulcanelli, Le Mystere des cathedrales (Paris: Jean
(London: Routledge, rev. ed., 1982). Semitic descent, was brought up in the Manichaean Schmitt, 1926).
21 Hodgkin, Luke, A History of Mathematics: From faith before converting to Christianity. He established 18 The pagan god Woden is mentioned in an old Saxon
Mesopotamia to Modernity (Oxford: Oxford University Christian theology around Manichaean notions of baptismal vow preserved in Vatican Codex 577: 'I
Press, 2005), Chapter 2 'Greeks and "Origins"'. Original Sin, and constructed a dogma around the forsake all devil's work and words, Thunear [Thor],
22 Diels, H. (ed.), Simplicii in Aristotelis Physicorum Libros divinity of a single almighty God expressed through Woden and Saxnot and all the monsters that are
Ouattour Priores Commentaria (Berlin: G. Rei mer, 1882), the Holy Trinity. He also introduced the cult of the their retainers.' This clearly shows that forest pagans
Book IV, 24, 13. Simplicius, On Aristotle's Physics, trans. Virgin Mary as the 'mother of god'. St Augustine were still being Christianized during the 8th and 9th
Fleet, B. (lthaca: Cornell University Press, 1997). proclaimed celibacy and chastity as the guiding rules centuries. See Thorpe, Benjamin, Northern Mythology:
23 Virgil, Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid, trans. Fairclough, of Christian priesthood and monastic life. Although Comprising the Principal Popular Traditions and
H. R. (Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard he died during the siege of Hippo by the Vandals in Superstitions of Scandinavia, North Germany, and
University Press, 1916). 430 CE, his doctrine was widely adopted. Brown, Peter, the Netherlands (London: Edward Lumley, 1851 ).
Augustine of Hippo (Berkeley: University of California 19 The 'Migration Period', also known as the 'Barbarian
Press, 1967). Invasions', was a time of human migration roughly
4. Of Villas and Woods 3 Gothic and Turkic tribes repeatedly invaded Europe between 300 and 700cE. lt is understood as marking the
Virgil, Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid, trans. Fairclough, during the 4th and 5th centuries, followed by Arab, transition from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages.
H. R. (Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Mongolian and Norman invasions thereafter. The Geary, Patrick, Myth of Nations. The Medieval Origins
University Press, 1916). Arab incursion into Spain lasted over 900 years, but of Europe (Princeton: Princeton Paperbacks, 2003).
Achilli, A., et al., 'Mitochondrial DNA variation of this did not hinder the growth of monastic Christianity, 20 The ransacking of Bath shortly after the fall of Rome
modern Tu scans supports the Near Eastern origin first through the Visigoths and then through the in the 6th century is a good example of the outright
of Etruscans', American Journal of Human Genetics, subsequent Benedictine, Cistercian and Carthusian rejection of this kind of refinement by subsequent
80 (20071, 759-68. orders. Braunfels, Wolfgang, Monasteries of Western tribes. Gerrard, James, 'The End of Roman Bath',
3 Torelli, Mario, The Etruscans (London:Thames & Europe: The Architecture of the Orders (London: Current Archaeology, 217 (2008), 24-31.
Hudson, 2000). Thames & Hudson, 1972). 21 The garden of the Middle Ages was not only about
4 Mackay, Christopher, Ancient Rome: A Military and 4 According to legend, St Francis said to the wolf:' ... 0 divine contemplation and chastity, but was also the
Political History (Cambridge: Cambridge University brother wolf, if so be thou no more offend them, and setting of a virtuous exchange between men and
Press, 2004). they shall forgive thee all thy past offences, and neither women, in which every single plant and detail was
Von Stackelberg, l<atharina, The Roman Garden: Space, men nor dogs shall pursue thee any more'. Hudleston, encoded with symbolic meaning. The tapestry series
Sense and Society (London and New York: Routledge, Roger, The Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi of the Lady and the Unicorn shows an extraordinary
2009). (London: Burns Oats & Washbourne, 1926), Chapter 21. array of flowering plants within an enclosed space.
6 Wiseman, Timothy P., Rem us: A Roman Myth The Lady and the Unicorn is a set of six tapestries, each Similar sets of tapestries are now in both the Mus8e
(Cambridgeo Cambridge University Press, 1995). representing the mythical animal, which can be seen at du Moyen Age, Paris, and the Metropolitan Museum
NOTES 341
of Art, New York. Here, the columbine- to take one 16 Ballerini, lsabella, The Medici Villas: Complete Guide 19 Mariage, Thierry, The World of Andre Le N6tre,
example- is a symbol of virtue and of the Virgin Mary. (Florence: Giunti, 2003). trans. Larkin, Graham (Philadelphia: University
Freeman, Margaret B., The Unicorn Tapestries (New 17 Baldassare Lanci's perspectograph was used at Villa of Pennsylvania Press, 1999).
York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1956). Lante. Jacomo Barozzi da Vignola talks about the 20 Hazlehurst, F. Hamilton, Gardens of Illusion: The
22 Bruun, Mette Birkedal, The Cambridge Companion surveying device in his book, Le Due Regale del/a Genius of Andre Le Nostre (Nashville:Vanderbilt
to the Cistercian Order (Cambridge and New York: Prospettiva Pratica, published in Rome in 1583. University Press, 1980).
Cambridge University Press, 2013). 18 Coffin, David, The Villa in the Life of Renaissance Rome 21 Vaux-le-Vicomte can be seen as a manifestation
23 The name 'Poblet' stems from popu/us, the Latin name (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979). of Cartesian dualism, in which the thinking mind is
for the common poplar that grows naturally there on 19 Battisti, Eugenio, 'Natura Artificioso to Natura considered to be distinct from, and far subtler than,
the banks of the Francoli River; the leafless tree blooms Artificialis', in The Italian Garden, Dumbarton Oaks the body. Conan, Michel, 'New horizons of Baroque
red each year around Easter time. Colloquium on the History of Landscape Architecture, garden cultures', in Baroque Garden Cultures:
24 it is generally understood that the fall of Rome and Coffin, David R. (ed.) (Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Emulation, Sublimation, Subversion, Conan, Michel
the subsequent repulsion of Gothic and Vandal Oaks, 1972). (ed.) (Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2005), 1-37.
invaders by Mediterranean populations, particularly 20 Sheeler, Jessie, The Garden at Bomarzo: A Renaissance 22 Farhat, Georges, Tanamorphose du territoire: les
in North Africa and Spain, greatly facilitated the rapid Riddle (London: Frances Lincoln, 2007). fonctions paysageres de la perspective topographique
penetration and establishment of Islam in Europe. 21 Duchess of Devonshire, The Garden at Chatsworth dans 1'8conomie seigneuriale en France, autour de
Brunschvig, Robert, 'lbn Abd ai-Hakam et la conquete (London: Frances Lincoln, 2001 ). l'oeuvre d'Andre Le N6tre (1613-1700)', Doctoral Thesis,
de I'Afrique du Nord par les arabes', AI-Anda/us, 40 22 Salomon de Caus, Le jardin palatin [Hortus Palatinus] Paris: Sorbonne, 2008.
(1975), 129-79. (Paris: Le Moniteur, 1981 ). 23 Fumaroli, Marc, Le Poete et le roi, Jean de La Fontaine
25 Watson, Andrew M., Agricultural Innovation in 23 Palissy, Bernard, Oeuvres Completes (Paris: Dubocher, et son siec/e (Paris: Editions de Fallois, 1997).
the Early Islamic World: The Diffusion of Crops and 1844). 24 Nicolas Fouquet was imprisoned for life shortly after
Farming Techniques, 700-1100 (Cambridge: Cambridge 24 Dunzhen, Liu, Chinese Classical Gardens of Suzhou his sumptuous inaugural party at Vaux-le-Vicomte
University Press, 2008). (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993). in August 1661, arrested on the orders of a very young
26 EI-Bizri, Nader, 'A Philosophical Perspective on and suspicious Louis XIV. Nonethelesss, the gardens
Alhazen's Optics', Arabic Sciences and Philosophy, atVaux served as inspiration for Versailles, and were
15 (2005), 189-218. 7. The Measure of Reason subsequently depleted to provide material for the
27 0ystein, Ore, Number Theory and Its History (New York: Pascal, Blaise, Thoughts, trans. Trotter, W. F. (New York: king's immense new garden.
McGraw Hill, 1948). Collier & Son, 1910). 25 The garden at Vaux-le-Vicomte, begun in 1653,
28 AI-Khalili, Jim, The House of Wisdom: How Arabic 2 Schama, Si m on, The Embarrassment of Riches: was conceived by Le N6tre at the request of Nicolas
Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age Fouquet during a period of regency when Louis XIV
Renaissance (New York: Penguin, 2011 ). (New York: Knopf, 1987). was only 15 years old, and had yet to seize fully the
29 Davidson, Herbert A., Moses Maimonides: The Man 3 The city of Madinat as-Sa lam, founded by the Abbasid reins of power. it should, therefore, not be confused
and His Works (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005). caliph ai-Mansur in the 8th century and notable for its with the absolutist park at Versailles that ensued.
30 Ettinghausen, Richard, and Grabar, Oleg, The Art string of curvilinear canals, would later form the core 26 In the case of Vaux-le-Vicomte, Le N6tre applied all
and Architecture of Islam, 650-1250 (New Haven: of imperial Baghdad. Kennedy, Hugh, When Baghdad the painterly knowledge he had acquired from his
Yale University Press, 1987), 37-45. Ruled the Muslim World (Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo teacher, Si m on Vouet, to the elaboration of the project.
31 Petrarca, Francesco [Petrarch], 'The Ascent of Mount Press, 2004). Bouchnot Dechin, Patricia, and Farhat, Georges,
Ventoux', in Cassirer, Ernst et al. (eds), The Renaissance 4 Gelderblom, Oscar, and Jonker, Joost, 'Completing Andre Le N6tre en Perspectives (Paris: Hazan, 2013).
Philosophy of Man (Chicago: University of Chicago a financial revolution: The finance of the Dutch East 27 For the plan of Vaux-le-Vicomte, Le N6tre took as a
Press, 1948). India trade and the rise of the Amsterdam capital starting point the Renaissance gardens of France and
market, 1595-1612', The Journal of Economic History, Italy, especially the Tuileries gardens in Paris, where
64, 3 (2004), 641-72. he had been tutored by two generations of royal
6. Gardens of Perspective 5 Gaukroger, Step hen, Descartes: An Intellectual gardeners. When one compares the plan of the Tuileries
1 Petrarca, Francesco [Petrarch], 'The Ascent of Mount Biography (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995). with that of Vaux-le-Vicomte, one sees many formal
Ventoux', in Cassirer, Ernst et al. (eds), The Renaissance 6 Andriesse, C. D., Huygens: The Man Behind the Principle, and proportional similarities. The gardens are similar
Philosophy of Man (Chicago: University of Chicago trans. Miedema, Sally (Cambridge: Cambridge in width and length, and have the same features, in
Press, 1948). University Press, 2005). particular an elongated central axis extending towards
lt is said that Zhu Si ben, born in 1273, designed the 7 Sutton, Elizabeth A., Capitalism and Cartography in the horizon. Both gardens are broad and rectangular
oldest bi-hemispherical world map. Although the the Dutch Golden Age (Chicago: University of Chicago in shape, balanced with parterres and woods on either
example shown here is a 17th-century copy of the Press, 2015), 59-61. side of the main axis. But the great difference at Vaux-
lost original, it appears that Chinese mastered this 8 Prak, Maarten, The Dutch Republic in the Seventeenth le-Vicomte is the open perspective and the optical
knowledge before the Europeans. Liu Gang, 'The Century: The Golden Age, trans. Webb, Diane play with the concave topography of the terrain, which
Chinese Inventor of Si-Hemispherical World Map', (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005). simply could not have happened in the same manner
e-perimetron, 2, 3 (2007), 185-93. 9 North, John, The Ambassadors' Secret: Holbein and on the very flat terrain of the Tuileries gardens. What
3 LaFreniere, Gilbert, The Decline of Nature: the World of the Renaissance (London: Phoenix, 2004). appears in plan to be the same is, in fact, significantly
Environmental History and the Western Worldview 10 Descartes, Re ne, Discourse on Method, Optics, different on site.
(Pal a Alto: Academica Press, 2008). Geometry, and Meteorology, trans. Olscamp, Paul J. 28 According to Thierry Mariage the statue of Hercules
4 Karpat, Kemal H., The Ottoman State and Its Place (lndianapolis: Hackett, 2001 ). was introduced only in 1895, almost 235 years after
in World History (Leiden: Brill, 1974), 111. 11 Crane, Nicholas, Mercator: The Man Who Mapped Fouquet's fateful party of August 1661, despite having
5 Bag row, Leo, History of Cartography, rev. ed. Skelton, the Planet (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2002). been planned from the outset. Mariage, Thierry,
R.A. (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2010). 12 Dezallier d'Argenville, Antoine J., La theorie et la The World of Andre Le N6tre, trans. Larkin, Graham
6 Crane, Nicholas, Mercator: The Man Who Mapped the pratique du jardinage (Paris: Hachette, 2012 [1747]). (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999).
Planet (London: Phoenix, 2003). 13 Schama, Si m on, The Embarrassment of Riches: 29 'All our dignity resides in thought. By it we must elevate
7 Millon, Henry A., and Lampugnani, Vittorio Magnago An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age ourselves, and not by space and time, which we cannot
(eds), The Renaissance from Brunel/eschi to (New York: Knopf, 1987). fill. Let us endeavour, then, to think well; this is the
Michelange/o: The Representation of Architecture 14 Savory, Roger, Iran under the Safavids (Cambridge: principle of morality.' Pascal, Blaise Pensees, trans.
(London: Thames & Hudson, 1994). Cambridge University Press, 2007). Trotter, W. F. (New York: Random House, 1941), 347.
8 Hibbert, Christopher, The Rise and Fall of the House 15 The Chahar Bagh was built in 1603, while the Taj Mahal 30 Cesar-Fran9ois and Jean-Dominique Cassini succeeded
of Medici (London: Penguin 1979). -a model of Mughal design- was begun in 1632 and in mapping only parts of France in the mid-18th
9 Coffin, David, The Villa d'Este at Tivoli (Princeton: completed in 1653. Koch, Ebba, The Complete Taj Mahal, century, but, owing to the level range-finder and the
Princeton University Press, 1960). And the Riverfront Gardens of Agra (London and New graphometre, were able to do so with great precision.
10 Colonna, Francesco, trans. and intra. Godwin, York: Thames & Hudson, 2006). Pelletier, Monique, Les cartes des Cassini, la science
Joscelyn, Hypnerotomachia Po/iphili: The Strife of 16 Intensive diplomatic exchanges through Armenian au service de l'etat et des provinces (Paris: CTHS, 2013).
Love in a Dream (London: Thames & Hudson, 2005). traders with Venice and Madrid, as well as with 31 Lafayette and French military engineers also trained
11 Ackerman, James, The Villa: Form and Ideology London and Moscow, as early as 1600 confirm the first US army engineering corps in the surveying
of Country Houses (Princeton: Princeton University the global ambition of the Safavids. The Safavid techniques that had been developed in France. These
Press, 1990). ambassador Husain Ali Beg travelled with the first would play a significant role in shaping the country
12 Repcheck, Jack, Copernicus' Secret: How the Persian embassy to Europe between 1599 and 1602. as a comparison between the southern states and
Scientific Revolution Began (New York: Simon & There is a fresco in the Doge's Palace in Venice those plotted according to the Jefferson grid reveals.
Schuster, 2007). depicting the arrival of Persian ambassadors in 1599. 32 The so-called 'Western Mansions' were a series of
13 Finocchiaro, Maurice, Defending Copernicus and Matthee, Rudolph P., The Politics of Trade in Safavid European-style palaces and formal gardens designed
Galileo: Critical Reasoning in the Two Affairs (New York: Iran: Silk for Silver, 1600-1730 (Cambridge: Cambridge by French Jesuit missionaries under the direction of
Springer, 2010). University Press, 1999). Giuseppe Castiglione to satisfy the Oianlong emperor's
14 Eltis, David, The Rise of African Slavery in the Americas 17 Babaie, Sussan, /sfahan and Its Palaces (Edinburgh: taste for exotic buildings and objects. The same gardens
(Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, Edinburgh University Press, 2008). were ransacked by French and British troops during the
2000). 18 Hebert, Jean-Fran9ois, and Sarmant, Thierry, Second Opium War in the 19th century.
15 Fernandez-Armesto, F., Amerigo: The Man Who Gave Fontainebleau: Mille ans d'histoire de France (Paris:
His Name to America (New York: Random House, 2007). EditionsTallandier, 2013).
342 NOTES
8. Gravity 2007). Parker, Lynn, and Ross-Jones, Kiri, The Story Nineteenth Century Germany. Peter Joseph Lenne
1 Pope, Alexander, The Poems of Alexander Pope, Butt, of Kew Gardens (London: Arcturus Publishing, 2013). and the "Giirtner-Lehranstalt" at Wildpark/Potsdam'.
John (ed.) (New Haven and London: Yale University 18 Linnaeus, Carl, Species Plantarum (Stockholm: Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, 2006.
Press, 1963), 808. Larentius Salvius Publisher, 1753). 15 Gunther, Harri, Peter Joseph Lenne: Garten, Parke,
2 Ault, Donald, Visionary Physics: 8/ake's Response to 19 Desmond, Ray, The History of the Royal Botanic Landschaften (Stuttgart: OVA, 1985).
Newton (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974). Gardens, Kew (London: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 16 Hinz, Gerhard, P. J. L. Das Gesamtwerk des
3 The Glorious Revolution of 1688 resulted in the 2007). Parker, Lynn, and Ross-Jones, Kiri, The Story Gartenarchitekten und Stadteplaners, 2 vols
deposition of James 11 and the accession ofWilliam of Kew Gardens (London: Arcturus Publishing, 2013). (Hildesheim, New York: G.Oims, 1989).
of Orange (William Ill) and his wife, Mary, to the throne. 20 lt is said that the Duke of Beaufort at Badminton 17 Dombart, Theodor, Der Englische Garten zu
During their coronation the concept of parliamentary first conceived of twenty radial avenues extending Miinchen (Munich: Hornung, 1972). Von Buttlar,
supremacy over the king was formally established. far into the country. Tu an, Yi-Fu, Topophi/ia: A Study Adrian, 'Der Englische Garten in Munch en', in Der
Israel, Jonathan (ed.), The Anglo-Dutch Moment: Essays of Environmental Perceptions, Attitudes and Values Landschaftsgarten. Gartenkunst des Klassizismus
on the Glorious Revolution and Its World Impact (New York: Columbia University Press, 1990), 140. und der Romantik (Cologne: Du Mont, 1989), 197-205.
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003). 21 Turner, Roger, Capability Brown and the Eighteenth- 18 Taylor, Hilary, 'Urban Public Parks, 1840-1900:
4 Ridgway, Christopher, 'Castle Howard', in Chicago Century English Landscape (Chichester: Phillimore, Design and Meaning', Garden History, 23, 2 (1995),
Botanic Garden Encyclopedia of Gardens, Vol. 2, 1999). 200-21. Alphand, Charles-Adolphe, Les Promenades
Shoemaker, Can dice A. (ed.) (Chicago and London: 22 Thompson, Ian, The English Lakes: A History (London: de Paris (New York: Princeton Architectural Press,
Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001), 242-43. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010). 1984 [1867-73]).
5 Newton, lsaac, The Principia, Mathematical Principles 23 Smith, Ad am, The Wealth of Nations (New York: Bantam 19 Taylor, Dorceta E., The Environment and the People in
of Natural Philosophy, trans. Cohen, Bernard, and Classics, 2003 [1776]). American Cities, 1600-1900s: Disorder, Inequality, and
Whitman, Ann (Oakland: University of California Press, 24 Repton's Red Books were the result of consultations Social Change (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009).
1999). with clients. Each book included before-and-after 20 Strohmayer, Ulf, 'Urban design and civic spaces: nature
6 Brown, Jane, The Omnipotent Magician: Lance/at images of a project and was designed to show clients at the Pare des Buttes-Chaumont in Paris', Cultural
'Capability' Brown, 1716-1783 (London: Chatto & how landscape architecture could accompany the Geographies, 13,4 (2006) 557-76.
Wind us, 2011), 124. transformation of their estate. Many of these projects 21 Plazy, Gilles, and Leg rain, Arnaud, Le Pare des Buttes-
7 Wright, Thomas, An Original Theory or New Hypothesis were in fact never executed. Daniels, :;>tephen, Chaumont (Paris: Flammarion, 2000).
of the Universe (London: H. Chapelle, 1750). Humphry Repton. Landscape Gardening and the 22 Alphand, Charles-Adolphe, Les Promenades de
8 Lancelot Brown, generally known as 'Capability' Geography of Georgian England (New Haven and Paris (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1984
Brown, and Humphry Repton are considered the fathers London: Yale University Press, 1999). [1867-73]),
of the English Landscape style that superseded the 25 Dixon Hunt, John, Gardens and the Picturesque. 23 Limido, Luisa, L:Art des jardins sous le Second Empire:
Picturesque. Hunt, John Dixon, The Genius of the Place. Studies in the History of Landscape Architecture Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps, 1824-1873 (Grenoble:
The English Landscape Garden 1620-1820 (London: (Cambridge, Mass.: M IT Press, 1997), 289. Champ Vallon, 2002).
Elek, 1975). 23 Puckler-Muskau, Herman, Hints on Landscape 24 Waldheim, Charles, 'Landscape as Architecture',
9 Alexander Pope had a number of followers- including Gardening, trans. Sickert, Bern hard (Boston: Houghton Harvard Design Magazine, 36 (2013), 19.
Lord Burlington (who owned Chiswick House), Lord Mifflin, 1917). 25 Olmsted, Frederick Law, Walks and Talks of an
Carlisle (Castle Howard), Henry Hoare (Stourhead) and American Farmer in England (Ann Arbor: University
of course William Kent- who developed their gardens of Michigan Press, 1967). Olmsted, Frederick Law,
according to the precepts of the 'Augustan' style. This 9. Combustion Forty Years of Landscape Architecture: Central Park,
style aimed at reproducing the 'amiable simplicity of Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, Emile, or On Education, trans. Olmsted Jr, Frederick Law, and Kimball, Theodora
unadorned nature' and was meant to recall the 'golden Bloom, Alan (New York: Basic Books, 1979). (eds) (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1973).
age' heralded in by the Roman emperor Augustus 2 Jean-Jacques Rousseau died in July 1778 at 26 Alphand, Charles-Adolphe, Les Promenades de
after years of bitter civil war. The English style thus Ermenonville while visiting his friend the Marquis de Paris (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1984
functioned as a metaphor in landscape for the peace Girardin. He was buried on a small island in the middle [1867-73]).
brought about by the Glorious Revolution of 1688. of the park; his tomb became a place of pilgrimage 27 Zaitzevsky, Cynthia, Frederick Law 0/msted and the
Willson, Anthony Beckles, 'Alexander Pope's Grotto after the Revolution, and it was only much later that Boston Park System (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
in Twickenham', Garden History, 26, 1 (1998), 31-59. his remains were transferred to the Pantheon in Paris. University Press, 1982).
10 Harris, John, The Palladian Revival: Lord Burlington, 3 Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, Rousseau: The Basic Political 28 Berjman, Sonia, Los Paseos Publicos de Buenos Aires
His Villa and Garden at Chiswick (New Haven: Yale Writings, trans. and ed. Cress, Donald A. (lndianapolis: y la /abor de Car/os Le6n Thays (Buenos Aires: Libreria
University Press, 1994). Hackett Publishing, 1987), 64. Concentra, 2014).
11 Shurmer, James, Stowe Landscape Gardens (London: 4 Friingsmyr, Tore (ed.), Linnaeus. The Man and His Work 29 Rosenzweig, Roy, and Blackmar, Elizabeth, The Park
National Trust, 1997). Robinson, John Martin, Temples (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983). and the People: A History of Central Park (lthaca, NY:
of Delight: Stowe Landscape Gardens (London: George Hamlin, Christopher, Public Health and Social Justice Cornell University Press, 1992).
Philip Publishers, 1999). in the Age of Chadwick: Britain, 1800-1854 (Cambridge
12 Ridgway, Christopher, 'Castle Howard', in Chicago and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998).
Botanic Garden Encyclopedia of Gardens, Vol. 2, 6 Tyack, Geoffrey (ed.), John Nash: Architect of the 10. Acceleration
Shoemaker, Can dice A. (ed.) (Chicago and London: Picturesque (Swindon: English Heritage, 2013). Einstein, Albert, 'The Common Language of Science',
Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001), 242-43. Summerson, John, The Life and Work of John Nash in Ideas and Opinions (New York: Crown Publishers,
13 Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain were French Architect (London: Alien & Unwin, 1980). 1954), 335.
painters of the 17th century who spent most of 7 Designed for the 1851 World Exhibition in London by 2 Howard, Ebenezer, Garden Cities of To-Morrow
their working lives in Rome. Their works, showing Joseph Paxton, with engineer Charles Fox, the Crystal (London: Faber and Faber, repr., 1946), 50-57.
mythological scenes within highly classicized Palace was made of cast iron and glass, its structure 3 The book in which Howard's circular diagrams first
depictions of nature and framed by elaborate based on the leaf of the giant Victoria amazonica (regia) appeared, Garden Cities of To-morrow (London: S.
perspectives, circulated throughout Europe and water-lily. McKean, John, Crystal Palace: Joseph Paxton Sonnenschein & Co., 1902), is a landmark of utopian
were much collected in England. Lagerlof, Margaretha & Charles Fox (London: Phaidon Press, 1994). urban planning that influenced Modernism.
Rossholm, Ideal Landscape: Anniba/e Carracci, 8 William Wordsworth epitomizes British 'Lakist' 4 Unwin, Raymond, Town Planning in Practice: An
Nico/as Poussin, and C/aude Lorrain (New Haven: romanticism, through his writing entitled 'The Prelude', Introduction to the Art of Designing Cities and Suburbs
Yale University Press, 1990). in which he sees man's salvation through a communion (Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press, repr., 1994).
14 Wilson, Michael, William Kent, Architect, Designer, with nature. Wordsworth, William, The Major Works Stalder, Laurent, Hermann Muthesius 1861-1927
Painter, Gardener, 1685-1748 (London: Routledge & (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008). (Zurich: gta-Verlag, 2008).
Keg an Paul, 1984). Weber, Susan (ed.), William Kent. 9 Sadi Carnot, Leonard, Reflexions sur la puissance 6 Nonetheless, Howard's guidelines for polycentric
Designing Georgian Britain (London and New Haven: motrice du feu et sur les machines propres a garden cities- combined with the spatial theories
Yale University Press, 2013). deve/opper cette puissance (Paris: Bachelier, 1824). of the German geographer Waiter Christaller in the
15 In his scholarly study of Rousham and its scenography, 10 Darwin, Charles, On the Origin of Species by means 1930s would form the basis of many future Modernist
Ulrich Muller asserts that most of the nude male of Natural Selection (London: John Murray, 1859). developments. Christaller, Waiter, Die zentralen Orte
statues were indeed pigmented in pink. Muller, Ulrich, 11 Helferich, Gerard, Humboldt's Cosmos: Alexander in Siiddeutsch/and (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1933).
Klassischer Geschmack und Gotische Tugend, Der van Humboldt and the Latin American Journey that Whyte, Ian Boyd, Bruno Taut and the Architecture
eng/ische Landsitz Rousham (Worms: Wernersche Changed the Way We See the World (New York: Gotham of Activism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Verlagsanstalt, 1998). Books, 2004). 1983).
16 At Stourhead, Henry Hoare expressed his Augustan 12 Crary, Jonathan, Techniques of the Observer: On Vision 8 Haney, David, When Modern was Green: Life and
convictions by creating an extraordinary oneiric and Modernity in the Nineteenth Century (Cambridge, Work of Landscape Architect Leberecht Migge (London
(dream-like) space reminiscent of Claude Lorrain's Mass.: M IT Press, 1992). and New York: Routledge, 2010). De Michelis, M areo,
painting Landscape with Aeneas at De/os (1672). The 13 Bergougniou, Jean-Michel, Clignet, Remi, and 'The Green Revolution: Leberecht Migge and the reform
journey around the lake was in fact supposed to evoke David, Philippe, Villages noirs et visiteurs africains of the garden in Modernist Germany', in Teyssot, G. and
Aeneas's descent into the underworld. Bergdoll, Barry, et ma/gaches en France et en Europe: 1870-1940 (Paris: Moser, M. (eds), The Architecture of Western Gardens
European Architecture: 1750-1890 (Oxford: Oxford Karthala, 2001 ). Bancel, Nicolas, et al., Zoos humains. (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1991), 409-20. Galen
University Press 2000), 77. De la Venus hottentote aux reality shows (Paris: La Cranz, in The Politics of Park Design (Cambridge, Mass.,
17 Desmond, Ray, The History of the Royal Botanic Decouverte 2002). MIT Press, 1982), identifies four distinct stages in the
Gardens, Kew (London: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 14 Brusch, Bjorn, 'Experimentalization of Gardening in development of public parks in the US; one, which
NOTES 343
she calls the 'Reform Park', corresponds closely to the 31 Seifert became the first chairman of the Bavarian Sola-Morales, lgnasi de, 'Terrain Vague', in Davidson,
concept of the German Volkspark. Nature Conservancy and, together with other Cynthia C. led.), Anyp/ace (Cambridge, Mass.: M IT,
9 Tate, Alan, Great City Parks (New York: Routledge, 2015), collaborators also in office, helped to push the 1995), 118-23.
185-95. dogma of 'nativeness', developed in the 1930s, 3 Crutzen, P. J., and Stoermer, E. F., 'The "Anthropocene'",
10 lmbert, Dorothee, The Modernist Garden in France into conservation legislation. In particular he was /GBP Newsletter, 41 (2000), 17-18.
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993). responsible for the law on Standortgerecht Bepflanzung 4 Barikin, Amelia, Parallel Presents: The Art of Pierre
11 Haspel, J6rg, and Jaeggi, Annemarie, Housing Estates ('place-specific planting') that predetermines the Huyghe (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2012).
in the Berlin Modern Style (Berlin: DKV-Edition, 2007). kind of 'native' plants that are appropriate to use Mariani, Manuala, and Barren, Patrick (eds), Terrain
12 Mumford, Eric, The ClAM Discourse on Urban ism, in a given location. See: Radkau, J., and Uek6tter, F. Vague: Interstices at the Edge of the Pale (New York:
1928-1960(Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2000). (eds), Naturschutz und Nationa/sozia/ismus (Frankfurt: Routledge, 2014).
13 Le Corbusier, Urbanisme (Paris: Gres et Cie, 1925). CampusVerlag, 2005). 6 Alexander, J.A. P., Perspectives on Place: Theory
14 The Athens Charter in which the Vi lie Radieuse 32 Einstein, Albert, 'The Foundation of the General Theory and Practice in Landscape Photography (New York:
project was published is a result of the 4th Congres of Relativity', in The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Bloomsbury, 2015).
International d'Architecture Moderne (ClAM) held vol. 6, The Berlin Years: Writings 1914-1917, Klein, 7 Smithson, Robert, 'A Tour of the Monuments of Passaic,
in 1933 under the direction of Le Corbusier. Curtis, Martin J., Kox, A.J., and Schulman, R. (eds) (Princeton: New Jersey', New York, Artforum, 1967. Ursprung,
William, Le Corbusier-ldeas and Forms (London: Princeton University Press 1997). 146-200. Philip, trans. Elliott, Fiona, A/fan Kaprow, Robert
Phaidon, 2006). 33 Van Bertalanffy, Ludwig, General System Theory: Smithson, and the Limits to Art (Berkeley: University
15 Cohen, Jean-Louis, Le Corbusier and the Mystique Foundations, Development, Applications (New York: of California Press, 2013).
of the USSR, Theories and Projects for Moscow, George Braziller, 1968). 8 Beuys, Joseph, 7000 Eichen (7000 Oaks), New York,
1928-1936 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992). 34 Schulze, Franz, and Windhorst, Edward, Mies van Dia Art Foundation, 1995-2004.
16 In his essay on Le Corbusier, 'Nature as Inspiration', der Rohe: A Critical Biography (Chicago: University 9 McHarg, lan, Design with Nature (New York: The Natural
Tim Benton writes 'The idea that man should submit of Chicago Press, 2012), 184-86. History Press, 1969).
to the great system of forces- sun, water, fire- that 35 Matteini, Milena, Pietro Porcinai, Architetto del 10 Chrisman, Nick, Charting the Unknown: How Computer
governed the earth became a dogma in his book La Giardino e del Paesaggio (Milan: Electa, 1991 ). Latini, Mapping at Harvard Became G/S (Redlands: ESRI Press,
Vi/le Radieuse: In Cohen, Jean-Louis (ed.), Le Corbusier: Luigi, and Cunico, Mariapia, Pietro Porcinai. If progetto 2004). Steinitz, Carl, Computers and Regional Planning:
An Atlas of Modern Landscapes (New York: Museum del paesaggio ne/ XX secolo (Venice: Marsilio, 2012). The DELMARVA Study(Cambridge: H.G.S.D., 1967).
of Modern Art, 2013), 165. 36 Church, Thomas, D., Gardens Are for People (San 11 The Dutch ecological pioneer Louis Le Roy, also called
17 Evenson, Norma, Two Brazilian Capitals (New Haven: Francisco: McGraw-Hill, 1955). the 'wild garden man' of Herenveen in the Netherlands,
Yale University Press, 1973). 37 Laurie, Michael, 'Thomas Church, California Gardens claimed in his book Natuur uitschakelen-natuur
18 Scully, Vincent, Frank L/oyd Wright (New York: George and Public Landscapes', in Treib, Marc (ed.), Modern inschakelen (Deventer: Ankh Hermes, 1973) that nature
Braziller, 1996). Landscape Architecture: A Critical Review (Cambridge, itself was a better designer anyway and would create
19 Andersson, Sven-lngvar, H0yer, Steen, Whiston, An ne, Mass.: MIT Press 1992), 166-80. Treib, Marc, The Don ne// an aesthetic quality in parks and gardens without the
and Avondoglio, Peter, C. Th. Srorensen. Landscape and Eckbo Gardens: Modern California Masterworks help of man.
Modernist (Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural (San Francisco: William Stout, 2005). 12 Cobbers, Arnt, Vor Einfahrt HALT- Ein neuer Park
Press, 2001 ). 38 Noguchi, lsamu, A Sculptor's World (London: Thames m it a/ten Geschichten. Der Natur-Park Schoneberger
20 Treib, Marc, 'Woodland Cemetery: a dialogue of design & Hudson, 1967). Sudgeliinde in Berlin (Berlin: Jaron Verlag, 2001 ).
and meaning', Landscape Architecture, 76,2 (1986), 39 Berrizbeitia, An ita, Roberto Burle Marx in Caracas 13 Li.ineburg Heath is the product of over 4,000 years
42-49. Constant, Caroline, The Woodland Cemetery: (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005). of continuous overgrazing and deforestation, first
Toward a Spiritual Landscape (Stockholm: Byggf6rlaget 40 Beardsley, John, Earth works and Beyond: by early Neolithic settlers, and then by medieval
1994). Contemporary Art in the Landscape (New York: farmers and salt-packers. This activity led to a complete
21 Kroplick, Howard, and Velocchi, AI, The Long Island Abbeville Press, 1984). change of vegetation, from mixed oak forest to briar
Motor Parkway (Charleston, SC: Acadia Publishing, 41 Walker, Peter, and Levy, Leah, Peter Walker: Minima/ist moorland, resulting in serious soil deterioration and
2009). Gardens (Washington, D.C.: Spacemaker Press, 1997). acidification. The heath is now ironically considered
22 Wallock, L., 'The Myth of the Master Builder, Robert 42 Weilacher, Udo, 'Poetry in Nature Unredeemed -lan one of Germany's major nature reserves, encompassing
Moses', Journal of Urban History, 17 (1991), 339-62. Hamilton Finlay' (interview), in Between Landscape over 7,000 square km (2,700 square miles) of moorland.
23 The ultimate reference work on the landscape Architecture and Land Art (Basel: Birkhauser, 1999). Ellenberg, Heinz, and Leuschner, Christoph, Vegetation
aesthetics of the American road is Appleyard, Donald, 43 Treib, Marc, The Architecture of Landscape Mitte/europas mit den A/pen in okologischer,
Lynch, Kevin, and Myers, John R., The View from the (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002), dynamischer und historischer Sicht (Stuttgart: Ulmer
Road(Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1965). 44-45. Verlag, 1996).
24 Wolschke-Bulmahn, Joachim (ed.), Nature and 44 Blin, Pascale, L'AUA, mythe et rea lites: !:atelier 14 Professor lngo Kowarik at the Technische Universitiit
Ideology: Natural Garden Design in the Twentieth d'urbanisme et d'architecture, 1960-1985 (Paris: Electa Berlin founded an institute of urban ecology that
Century (Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 1997). Moniteur, 1988). accepts the notion of mixing native with non-native
25 Swedish naturalism, which reached its apogee in the 45 Corajoud, Michel, and Prozynska, Vera, Michel species; this has been measured in terms of real
1920s, was a significant influence on the Nazis' theories Corajoud Paysagiste (Paris: Hartman Edition, 2000). biodiversity and biomass. The findings are astonishing:
of racial supremacy. See, among others, Sgard, An ne, 46 Treib, Marc, and lmbert, Dorothee, Garrett Eckbo: cities such as Berlin were found to have much
'Entre l'eau, l'arbre et le ciel', Geographie et Cultures, Modern Landscapes for Living (Berkeley: University more biodiversity and to be more resilient than the
66 (2008), 121-38. of California Press, 1997). Treib, Marc, Modern surrounding Brandenburg countryside. See: Endlicher,
26 Frampton, Kenneth, Modern Architecture, A Critical Landscape Architecture: A Critical Review (Cambridge, Wilfred, et al. (eds). Perspectives in Urban Ecology:
History (London: Thames & Hudson, 1985). Mass.: M IT Press, 1992). Studies of Ecosystems and Interactions Between
27 As part of this propaganda, the old German Volk from 47 Waldheim, Charles, Case: Hilbersheimer!Mies van der Humans and Nature in the Metropolis of Berlin (Berlin:
the forest was placed in irreconcilable opposition with Rohe, Lafayette Park Detroit (New York: Prestel, 2004). Springer, 2011 ). Kowarik, In go, Biologische lnvasionen:
the Jewish Volk who stemmed from the desert. In 48 Tschumi, Bernard, Cinegramme folie: le Pare de Neophyten und Neozonen in Mitteleuropa (Stuttgart:
his research on 'Forest and Trees in the German Aryan la Villette (Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press, Ulmer Verlag, 2010).
Spirit and Cultural History', Heinrich Himmler clearly 1987), 32. 15 Tom my Thompson Park is part of a long lineage
wanted to root Germany in a kind of original forest 49 Derrida, Jacques, Point de folie Maintenant of such artificial 'natural' parks that perhaps started
clearing. Zechner, Johannes, 'Politicized Timber: The /'architecture, inTschumi, Bernard, La case Vide: La with Diaccia Botrona, created over 250 years ago near
German Forest and the Nature of Nations, 1800-1945', Villette 1985 (London: Architectural Association, 1986). Grosseto in Tuscany. There, malaria-infested swamps
The Brock Review, 11, 2 (2011), 19-32. 50 The original text written by Tschumi and his team were partly drained and transformed into what has
28 Seifert worked with the botanist Reinhold Tuxen for this project was handled like a manifesto for the become one of the most beautiful nature reserves
to contrive the scientific basis for such racial park of the 21st century, in which the principle of in Italy.
classifications. Rusinek, B.A.,'Wald und Baum in der overlay through points, lines and planes became the 16 Carson, Rachel, Silent Spring (Boston: Houghton
arisch-germanischen Geistes- und Kulturgeschichte. methodological credo. Girot, Christophe, Interview Mifflin, 1962).
Ein Forschungsprojekt des "Ahnerbe" der SS 1937- with Bernard Tschumi, Documents 4, 1994, 3-23. Girot, 17 Two major reports, both based on systems theory
1945', in Lehman, A. & Schriewer, K. (eds), DerWa/d- Christophe, 'Learning from La Villette', Documents 4, and cybernetics, profoundly affected global attitudes
Ein deutscher Mythos? Perspektiven eines Kulturthemas 1994, 26-44. towards the environment in recent decades. The first
(Berlin: Lebensformen, 2000), 267-363. 51 Reed, Peter, Groundswe/1: Constructing the was a book entitled The Limits to Growth (New York:
29 Radkau, J., and Uek6tter, F., Naturschutz und Contemporary Landscape (New York: Museum of Universe Books, 1972), written by Donella Meadows,
Nationa/sozia/ismus (Frankfurt: Campus Verlag, 2005). Modern Art, 2005). Dennis Meadows, Jrorgen Randers and William Behrens
30 Discherl, Stefan, Tier und Naturschutz im 52 Kurgan, Laura, Close Up at a Distance- Mapping, for the Club of Rome, which predicted imminent global
Nationa/sozia/ismus: Gesetzgebung, /deo/ogie und Technology and Politics (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, collapse due to the limited availability of resources
praxis (G6ttingen: V & R Unipress, 2012), 189-98. Zeller, 2013). for economic and demographic growth. The apocalyptic
Thomas, '"Ganz Deutschland sein Garten": Alwin 53 Scott, Emily, and Swenson, Kirsten, Critical Landscapes predictions of the book, developed through computer
Seifert und die Landschaft des Nationalsozialismus', (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2015). simulation, showed the consequences of unbridled
in Radkau, J., and Uek6tter, F. (eds), Naturschutz und human growth on the Earth's natural systems. There
Nationa/sozialismus (Frankfurt: Campus Verlag, 2005), followed the first report on human-induced Climate
277. Bramwell, Ann a, Blood and Soil: Walther Darre 11. Terrain Vague Change by the IPCC that was published in 1990,
and Hitler's Green Party (Abbots brook: The Kensal 1 Deleuze, Gilles, The Fold, Leibniz and the Baroque which has become the major subject of concern
Press, 1985). (London: Athlone Press, 1993). in this century.
344 NOTES
18 The French landscape ecologist Gilles Clement 5 Burl, Aubrey, Prehistoric Avebury (New Haven: 26 The Studio Associato Bernardo Secchi Paola Viogano
claimed that a new green revolution was coming in Yale University Press, 1979). received the 2015 Belgian Building Award for the Spoor
his book Le Jardin en Mouvement (Paris: Pandora, 1991). 6 The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Nord Park.
The field of ecology according to him would need to Hyde Park was inaugurated in July 2004. it is made 27 Brae, Ellen, Beauty Redeemed, Recycling Post-Industrial
reinvent a language of its own in the coming years and of 545 massive pieces of Cornish granite, which form Landscapes (Berlin: Birkhauser, 2015).
generate entirely new combinations in this age of great a vast oval. The water, pumped up to the top of the oval, 28 Bull, George, 'Ridge and Furrow', Landscape, Spring
climate change. flows down on either side, framing a clearing. The two 2014, The Journal of the Landscape Institute, London.
19 Jarman, Derek, Derek Jarman's Garden (London: sides of the ring are treated quite differently- one is 29 Weschler, Lawrence, Robert lrwin Getty Garden (Los
Thames & Hudson, 1995). a smooth and gently rippled slope, while the other has Angeles: Getty Trust Publications, 2002).
20 The 50 new urban and landscape design projects marked steps and sharp curves- in a manner supposed
launched across Barcelona during the 1980s completely to represent two aspects of Princess Diana's troubled
changed the face of the city. See Bohigas, Oriol et al., life: happiness and turmoil. it was the work of the office Afterword
Plans i Projectes per a Barcelona 1987-1982 (Barcelona: of Gustafson Porter, London. Latour, Bruno, Politics of Nature. How to Bring the
Ajuntament, 1983). 7 Freytag, Anette, Dieter Kienast, Stadt und Landschaft Sciences into Democracy, trans. Porter, Catherine
21 The IBA Emscher Park, under the direction of /esbar machen (Zurich: GTA Verlag, 2016). (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2004).
Christoph Zopel and Karl Ganzer, lasted from 1989 8 Ibid. Koolhaas, Rem, and Auricoste, lsabelle, Yves Brunier:
to 1999 and effected a lasting change on the entire 9 Girot, Christophe (ed.), Zeitgeist Berlin lnvalidenpark Landscape Architect Paysagiste (Berlin: Birkhauser,
Ruhr region. Over 120 projects were launched during (Zurich: GTA Verlag, 2006). 1996).
that period, with a particular emphasis on water 10 Zhou Z, and Zheng, S., 'The missing link of Ginkgo 3 Roland Barthes would argue that each and every
management, ecology, housing and the rehabilitation evolution', Nature, 423 (2003). 821-22. generation reinvents its myths of life, death and nature.
of industrial wastelands into parks. The equivalent of 11 Hvass, Svend M., /SE: Japan's /se Shrines. Ancient Yet Could it be that ecology will bring forth entirely new
at least 2.5 billion Euros was invested in the project, New (Copenhagen: Aristo Publishing, 1998). ways of living the myth of an eternal return to nature?
two-thirds of which was public money. it set a European 12 Thoreau, Henry David, Walden, or Life in the Woods Barthes, Roland, Mythologies, trans. Lavers, Annette
standard in terms of polluted water management (Tunbridge Wells: Sol is Classics, 2013). (London: Vintage Classics, 1993).
and clean energy consumption, and became the 13 M'Cioskey, Karen, Unearthed: The Landscapes 4 Latour, Bruno, Politics of Nature. How to Bring the
largest landscape architectural project ever launched of Hargreaves Associates (Philadelphia: University Sciences into Democracy, trans. Porter, Catherine
in Germany. of Pennsylvania Press, 2013). (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2004).
22 The Film Pin a, produced in 3D by Wim Wenders and 14 The Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore, with The Seonyudo Park was completed in 2002 by the
presented at the 2011 Berlinale, depicts dancers from ETH students Shoichiro Hashimoto and Benedikt Seoahn Total Landscape office in Seoul. it was awarded
Pin a Bausch's Tanztheater Wuppertal lost in an eerie Kowalewski under the direction of Christophe Girot, the 2004 ASLA Award of Merit.
world of terrains vagues from the Ruhr stretching developed a project to redesign the riverbed and the 6 Ponte, Alessandra, 'Desert Testing', in Architecture and
to the horizon. residential quarters in Kampung Melayu. The aim was the Sciences. Exchanging Metaphors, Pi con, Antoine,
23 Brae, Ellen, Beauty Redeemed, Recycling Post-Industrial to transform the Ciliwung River into a park in order to and Ponte, Alessandra (eds) (New York: Princeton
Landscapes (Berlin: Birkhauser, 2015). control the massive volumes of water flowing through Architectural Press, 2003), 80-117.
24 Saunders, William (ed.), Richard Haag. Bloedel Reserve the city during the monsoon season. The concept also 7 Scott Cohen, Preston, and Naginski, Erika (eds), 'The
and Gas Works Park (New York: Princeton Architectural focused on creating new public spaces such as squares Return of Nature', in The Return of Nature: Sustaining
Press, 1997). and gardens of various sizes along the riverbanks. Architecture in the Face of Sustainability (New York:
25 In an essay first presented at the Landscape The project was shown at the Rotterdam Biennale Routledge, 2014), 1-8.
Architecture Positions and Oppositions Congress for Architecture in 2014: 'Urban by Nature', catalogue 8 Ibid.
in Herrenhausen, June 2013, Vittoria di Palma set out (Rotterdam: IABR Publications, 2014). 9 Ibid.
an interesting thesis about the role of disgust and the 15 The minimalist design of the Letten area was 10 N0rrebro Park in South Central Copenhagen was
ugly in landscape aesthetics. Di Palma, Vittoria, 'In the undertaken by the Swiss landscape office of Rotzler designed in 2007 by Steen H0yer and GHB landscape
Mood for Landscape', in Thinking the Contemporary Krebs Partner ofWinterthur in 2003-05. architects.
Landscape, Girot, Christophe, and lmhof, Dora (eds) 16 Cho, Myung-Rae, 'The politics of urban nature 11 Scott Cohen, Preston, and Naginski, Erika (eds). 'The
(New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2016). restoration: The case of Cheonggyecheon restoration Return of Nature', in The Return of Nature: Sustaining
26 Reed, Peter, Groundswe/1: Constructing the in Seoul, Korea', International Development Planning Architecture in the Face of Sustainability (New York:
Contemporary Landscape (New York: Museum Review, 132, 2 (2010), 145-65. Routledge, 2014). 1-8.
of Modern Art, 2005). 17 Saunders, William S. (ed.), Designed Ecologies: 12 The French thinkers Augustin Berque and Philippe
27 Vogt, Gunther, Miniature and Panorama. Vogt The Landscape Architecture of Kongjian Yu (Base!: Descola argue that for landscape to exist within a
Landscape Architects, Projects 2000-06 (Zurich: Birkhauser, 2012). culture, a set of cultural preconditions needs to be
Lars Muller Publishers, 2006). 18 Dreiseitl, Herbert, and Grau, Dieter, Waterscapes fulfilled. Berque draws a clear distinction between
28 Bava, Henri, Hoesler, Michel, and Philippe, Olivier, Innovation (Hong Kong: Design Media Publishing, 2015). the actor in the physical landscape and the thinker
Fragments de Paysage- Agence Ter (Paris: ICl Interface, 19 Girot, Christophe, 'Landscape in Motion, From Tunnel that conceptualizes it, and Descola in a similar way
2011). Movie to Alp Transit', in The Swiss Touch in Landscape distinguishes landscapes made 'in situ' and landscapes
29 Chemetoff, Alexandre, Visits: Town and Territory, Architecture, Jacob, Michael (ed.) (Verbiana: Tarara made 'de visu'. Berque, Augustin, Thinking Through
Architecture in Dialogue (Base I and Boston: Birkhauser, Edizioni, 2013). Landscape (London: Routledge, 2013).
2009). 20 The design of the Sigirino Mound was a collaborative
effort between engineers of Alp Transit Gotthard,
ITC & IFEC, and the Atelier Girot in Zurich. Its main
12. Topology morphological changes were managed by Christophe
Topology is precisely what makes the distinction Girot and llmar Hurkxkens between 2008 and 2012.
between a natural topography and a designed 21 The Aire River revitalization project by Georges
topography. lt is about the form of intelligence Descombes and the ARD office received the Swiss
applied to the shaping of a landscape, resulting 2012 Schulthess Prize for environmentally responsible
in a modified topography, call it landscape design landscape architecture.
if you will. Thom, Rene, Topologie et Signification, 22 The Room for the River is undoubtedly the most
L:Age de la Science 4 (Paris: Du nod, 1968). 219-42. important Dutch flood control project of the last decade
Reprinted inThom, Rene, Mathematical Models of in the Netherlands. lt implies the transformation of
Morphogenesis, trans. Brookes, W. M., and Rand, D. considerable stretches of river landscapes in South
(Chichester: Ellis Horwood, 1983). Holland. The Office of HNS was involved in this project
2 Wave Field, 33 x 33 metres (100 x 100 feet), created from the outset and contributed significantly to the
in 1995 by Maya Lin on the North Campus of the ongoing transformation of the landscape. Van Dooren,
University of Michigan Ann Arbor was commissioned Noel, 'Gardening the Delta~ A Dutch Approach to
in memory of a fallen student named Franyois Xavier Landscape Architecture, H N S Landscape Architects,
Bertrand. Lin, May a, Topologies (Artist and the Jubilee Publication (2015).
Community) (Winston-Salem: Southeastern Center 23 Orff, Kate, Toward an Urban Ecology, SCAPE Landscape
for Contemporary Art, 1998). Architecture (New York: The Monacelli Press, 2016).
3 'Topology' is a term of landscape architecture that was 24 Several Dutch agencies, including the landscape
recently coined to signify an all-encompassing design office HNS under the direction of Dirk Sijmons,
methodology: Girot, Christophe, Freytag, Anette, et have tackled the issue of landscape transformation
al., Landscript 3: Topology (Berlin: Jovis Verlag, 2013). in the Rhine Delta, and schools including the Harvard
and Girot, Christophe, Freytag, Anette, et al., Topology: Graduate School of Design and the ETH in Zurich
Pamphlet 15 (Zurich: GTA Verlag, 2012). have held studios on the topic. See Girot, Christophe,
4 Schimmel, Annemarie, 'Hafiz and His Contemporaries', and Rossano, Frederic, Rising Waters, Shifting Lands,
in The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 6, TheTimurid Pamphlet 16 (Zurich: GTA Verlag 2012).
and Safavid Periods, Jackson, Peter, and Lockhart, 25 Corner, James, and Hirsch, Alison (eds), The Landscape
Laurence (eds) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Imagination: Collected Essays of James Corner 1990-
Press, 1986). 2010 (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2014).
NOTES 345
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Rizzoli, 1996). (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979). Gardener, 1685-1748 (London: Routledge & Keg an Paul,
Dickinson, Oliver, The Aegean Bronze Age (Cambridge: Colonna, Francesco, trans. and intra. Godwin, Joscelyn, 1984).
Cambridge University Press, 2005). Hypnerotomachia Poliphili: The Strife of Love in a Dream
Fontenrose, Joseph, Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and (London: Thames & Hudson, 2005).
its Origins (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1959). Dunzhen, Liu, Chinese Classical Gardens of Suzhou (New 9. Combustion
Isager, Signe, and Skydsgaard, Jens E., Ancient Greek York: McGraw-Hill, 1993). Alphand, Charles-Adolphe, Les Promenades de Paris
Agriculture: An Introduction (London and New York: Levenson, Jay A. (ed.), Circa 1492. Art in the Age of (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1984 [1867-73]).
Routledge, 1995). Exploration (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991). Berjman, Sonia, Los Paseos Publicos de Buenos Aires
Mayor, Adrienne, The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Prest, John, The Garden of Eden. The Botanic Garden and v la /abor de Car/os Le6n Thays (Buenos Aires: Libreria
Warrior Women Across the Ancient World (Princeton: the Re-Creation of Paradise (New Haven: Yale University Concentra, 2014).
Princeton University Press, 2014). Press, 1981). Crary, Jonathan, Techniques of the Observer: On Vision and
Mylonas, George E., Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries Van der Ree, Paul, Smienk, Gerrit, and Steenbergen, Modernity in the Nineteenth Century (Cambridge, Mass.:
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1962). Clemens, Italian Villas and Gardens (Munich: Prestel, 1992). M IT Press, 1992).
346 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Darwin, Charles, On the Origin of Species by Means of Meadows, Donella, Meadows, Dennis, and Randers, J0rgen,
Natural Selection (London: John Murray, 1859). The Limits to Growth: The 30- Year Update (White River
Acknowledgments
Dixon Hunt, John, Gardens and the Picturesque. Studies in Junction: Chelsea Green, 2004).
the History of Landscape Architecture (Cambridge, Mass.: Scott, Emily, and Swenson, Kirsten, Critical Landscapes
MIT Press, 1997). (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2015). I would like first to thank my parents, Antoine and Annie, who
Gunther, Harri, Peter Joseph Lenne: Giirten, Parke, Smith son, Robert, The Collected Writings, Flam, Jack (ed.) raised me in England and then in France, close to 'Capability'
Landschaften (Stuttgart: OVA, 1985). (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996). Brown's Richmond Park and Le Noire's park at Versailles;
Helferich, Gerard, Humboldt's Cosmos: Alexander van Sola-Morales, lgnasi de, 'Terrain Vague', in Davidson, Cynthia without such memories, and the many travels thereafter, the
Humboldt and the Latin American Journey that Changed C. (ed.), Anyplace (Cambridge, Mass.: M IT, 1995), 118-23. founding thread of this book could not have been twined. My
the Way We See the World (New York: Gotham Books, Waldheim, Charles (ed.), The Landscape Urban ism Reader gratitude extends also to my school colleagues, students and
2004). (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006). teachers across continents- without them I would not have
McKean, John, Crystal Palace: Joseph Paxton & Charles reached this point of maturity and reflection on the subject
Fox (London: Phaidon Press, 1994). of landscape architecture. I would also like to thank my clients,
Olmsted, Frederick Law, Forty Years of Landscape 12. Topology as well as the collaborators and partners who have worked
Architecture: Central Park, Olmsted Jr, Frederick Law, Cache, Bernard, Earth Moves. The Furnishing of Territories, with me throughout my variegated professional practice,
and Kimball, Theodora (eds) (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT trans. Boyman, Ann (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1995). contributing invaluable experience to my knowledge of the
Press, 1973). Corner, James, and Hirsch, Alison (eds), The Landscape design field.
Rosenzweig, Ray, and Blackmar, Elizabeth, The Park and Imagination: Collected Essays of James Corner 1990-2010 Without generous support from the ETH in Zurich, this
the People: A History of Central Park (lthaca, NY: Corn ell (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2014). book would not have seen the light of day. My thanks extend
University Press, 1992). Cosgrove, Den is, Mappings (London: Reaktion, 2002). particularly to President Ralf Eichler, the ETH School Board
Strohmayer, Ulf, 'Urban design and civic spaces: nature Freytag, Anette, Dieter Kienast, Stadt und Landschaft lesbar and Brigitte Schiesser of the Legal Department for their
at the Pare des Buttes-Chaumont in Paris', Cultural machen (Zurich: GTA Verlag, 2016). unflinching support in difficult times, when my previous
Geographies, 13, 4 (2006) 557-76. Giro!, Christophe, Freytag, Anette, et al., Landscript 3: publisher went bankrupt.
Tyack, Geoffrey (ed.), John Nash: Architect of the Topology (Berlin: Jovis Verlag, 2013). I am very grateful for the support received from the entire
Picturesque (Swindon: English Heritage, 2013). Leatherbarrow, David, Uncommon Ground. Architecture, team at the Chair of Landscape Architecture of the ETH from
Van Buttlar, Adrian, 'Der Englische Garten in Munchen', Technology, and Topography (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT the outset of this project.! would like to thank first and foremost
in Der Landschaftsgarten. Gartenkunst des Klassizismus Press, 2000). Arley Kim for her engagement, dialogue and care in the early
und der Romantik (Cologne: Du Mont, 1989) Leatherbarrow, David, Topographical Stories. Studies in stages of the book. Her help in the conceptual phase with the
Zaitzevsky, Cynthia, Frederick Law Olmsted and the Boston Landscape and Architecture (Philadelphia: University choice of case studies, through to the first draft manuscript with
Park System (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004). its wonderful 'pinwheels' was invaluable. The project initially
Press, 1982). Lin, Maya, Topologies (Artist and the Community) (Winston- began when Martina Voser scouted up the Sacred Way at Delphi
Salem: Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, 1998). attesting to the sublime power of this Pythian site; she was
M'Cioskey, Karen, Unearthed: The Landscapes of Hargreaves followed by An ne Devaux, who searched relentlessly through
10. Acceleration Associates (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania ancient Sumerian and Greek literature, revealing the symbolic
Andersson, Sven-lngvar, H0yer, Steen, Whiston, Anne, Press, 2013). meaning of ploughing in all its depth. The Theory Lab then
and Avondoglio, Peter, C. Th. S!Zirensen. Landscape Orff, Kate, Toward an Urban Ecology, SCAPE Landscape followed, with Anette Freytag, Albert Kirchengast and Dunja
Modernist (Copenhagen: The Danish Architectural Architecture (New York: The Monacelli Press, 2016). Richter engaging actively in the nascent debate on the subject
Press, 2001). Radkau, Joachim, Nature and Power: A Global History of the of landscape topology. My thanks extend more particularly
Beardsley, John, Earth works and Beyond: Contemporary Environment, trans. Dunlap,Thomas (Cambridge and New to the talent and contributions of llmar Hurkxkens, Magda
Art in the Landscape (New York: Abbeville Press, 1984). York: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Kaufmann, James Melsom and Eisa Tamvakera, of the LVML and
Berrizbeitia, An ita, Roberto Burle Marx in Caracas Saunders, William S. (ed.), Designed Ecologies: The Design Lab, who produced elaborate 30 models for each case
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005). Landscape Architecture of Kongjian Yu (Base I: Birkhauser, study with beautiful renders and animations. Without repeated
Cohen, Jean-Louis (ed.), Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern 2012). testing, cross-exchanges and long critical discussions, this book
Landscapes (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2013). could never have reached this milestone of depth, quality and
Constant, Caroline, The Woodland Cemetery: Toward precision in illustration. In the closing stages, my thank goes
a Spiritual Landscape (Stockholm: Byggf6rlaget 1994). to M a reo Cascianneli for his perseverance at unravelling the
Francis, Mark, Hester Jr, Randolph, The Meaning of Gardens best possible image sources under strenuous circumstances.
(Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1990). Without Georg Gerster's invaluable collection of key
Haney, David, When Modern was Green: Life and Work of landscape sites taken from the air, this book could not have
Landscape Architect Leberecht Migge (London and New achieved the proper conceptual resonance it now has. I would
York: Routledge, 2010). like to thank him particularly for all the time spent selecting
Howard, Ebenezer, Garden Cities of To-Morrow (London: his precious slides and making them digitally available for
Faber and Faber, repr., 1946). this book. The case study of the Faiyum could never have been
lmbert, Dorothee, The Modernist Garden in France (New illustrated without the photographic mission led by Ben Gitai,
Haven: Yale University Press, 1993). who managed to follow the BahrYusuffrom El Lahun in the
lngersoll, Richard, and Kostof, Spiro, World Architecture: Nile Valley all the way to Lake Moeris. I would like to thank him
A Cross Cultural History (New York: Oxford University for the outstanding quality of his pictures that capture so well
Press, 2013). the mood of this extraordinary landscape artefact. I would like
Reed, Peter, Groundswell: Constructing the Contemporary to thank also Jacques Feiner for making his sublime pictures of
Landscape (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2005). the landscapes of Yemen available for publication. A particular
Treib, Marc, Modern Landscape Architecture: A Critical thanks goes to Pierre David who allowed us to publish a picture
Review (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1992). of the Cedron Valley in Jerusalem taken by his late son Si m on.
Treib, Marc, and lmbert, Dorothee, Garrett Eckbo: Modern I am also very grateful to Johannes Rebsamen who cycled all
Landscapes for Living (Berkeley: University of California the way down from Zurich to ascend MontVentoux and take a
Press, 1997). picture. Last but not least I would like to thank all the landscape
Tschumi, Bernard, Cinegramme folie: le Pare de la Villette offices that have graciously made pictures of their projects
(Princeton Architectural Press, 1987). available for publication.
Waldheim, Charles, Case: Hilbersheimer I Mies van der Rohe, I am grateful more particularly to Lucas Dietrich, who
Lafayette Park Detroit (New York: Prestel, 2004). immediately grasped the significance of this book from our
first encounter at Thames & Hudson. I would like to thank all
his team, beginning with Sa m Wythe who took the entire rough
11. Terrain Vague manuscript through a very thorough and thoughtful copy-
Brae, Ell en, Beauty Redeemed, Recycling Post-Industrial editing process. My thanks go also to Sarah Vernon-Hunt, for
Landscapes (Berlin: Birkhauser, 2015). her unrelenting patience, understanding and highly professional
Chemetoff, Alexandre, Visits: Town and Territory, Architecture editorial support over the past two years, as well as to M aria
in Dialogue (Base! and Boston: Birkhauser, 2009). Ranauro for her incredible resourcefulness with images, and
Clement, Gilles, Le jardin en movement. De la Vallee to Paul Hammond for his skilled work on production of the
au jardin planetaire (Paris: Sens & Tonka, 5th ed., 2007). book. I would like to thank particularly AI Rodger at Praline for
Corner, James (ed.), Recovering Landscape: Essays the constructive critical exchanges we had, his patience and
in Contemporary Landscape Architecture (New York: the beautiful comprehensive layout that has resulted.
Princeton Architectural Press, 1999). Finally, I would like to thank my daughters Celeste and
Girot, Christophe, and lmhof, Dora (eds), Thinking Hannah for their enthusiasm, trust and alertness throughout
the Contemporary Landscape (New York: Princeton this endless project. May their fascination for creative discovery
Architectural Press, 2016). prevail above all things. Last but not least, I would like to thank
Le Ray, Louis, Natuur uitschakelen-natuur inschakelen my wife Yael for her loving support and endurance through
(Deventer: Ankh Hermes, 1973). all the ups and downs of the past seven years. May she now
McHarg, Ian, Design with Nature (New York: The Natural discover this book for the first time, as a token of my love and
History Press, 1969). dedication, and as an invitation towards new horizons together.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 347
Sources of Illustrations 5.53Trustees of the .Chester Beatty Library, Dublin; 5.54, 5.55
@ Georg Gerster; 5.56 Bodleian Libraries, University of
9.40 From Jean-Charles-Adolphe Alphand, Les Promenades
de Paris. Rothschild Editeurs. Paris 1867-1873. Bibliotheque
Oxford, Ms Pococke 375; 5.57 lstituto e Museo di Storia del la nationale de France, d8partement Arsenal, Paris; 9.42 (c)
Scienza, Florence; 5.61, 5.63 CO Georg Gerster; 5.64@ Frank lrwin/Aiamy; 9.43 National Park Service Olmsted
All photographs© Professor Christophe Girot unless Johannes Rebsamen; 6.1 National Gallery, London. Photo Archives, Boston; 9.44 Annual Report, 1870, Board of the
otherwise stated. Fine Art lmages/SuperStock; 6.2 Palazzo Pubblico, Siena; 6.3 Commissioners of the Central Park, New York City; 9.45
Courtesy mapsorama.com; 6.5 World History Archive/Aiamy Annual Report, 1863, Board of Commissioners of the
1.10, 1.11a, 1.11b, 1.16, 1.19, 1.20, 1.32, 1.33a, 1.33b, 1.42, 1.43, Stock Photo; 6.6 Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino, Central Park, New York City; 9.46 New York Historical Society
1.44, 1.45,2.28, 2.29a, 2.29b, 3.25, 3.26a, 3.26b, 3.36, 3.37. Italy. Photo Oronoz/Aibum/SuperStock; 6.7 Universal Images Museum & Library; 10.1 Philadelphia Museum of Art.
3.38, 3.42, 4.26, 4.27a, 4.27b, 4.30, 4.31, 4.32, 4.39, 5.25, Group/SuperStock; 6.8 Uffizi, Florence; 6.9 Museo Nacional ©Succession Marcel Duchamp/ADAGP. Paris and DACS,
5.26a, 5.26b, 5.32, 5.33, 5.36, 5.37, 6.21, 6.22a, 6.22b, 6.29, del Prado, Madrid; 6.10 Sklifas Steven/Aiamy; 6.11 From London 2016; 10.2 British Library Board/Robana/Scala,
6.35, 6.39, 6.43, 7.20, 7.21a, 7.21b, 7.28, 7.32, 7.38, 7.41, 8.26, Hvpnerotomachia Po/iphili, Francesco Colonna, Venice 1499; Florence; 10.3 Photo Letchworth Garden City Collection,
8.27a, 8.27b, 8.37, 8.42, 8.43, 8.51, 9.22, 9.23a, 9.23b, 9.26, 6.12 Villa Medici, Fiesole/ Bridgeman Images; 6.13 Museo di England; 10.4 Willmann/ullstein bild via Getty Images;
9.29, 9.33, 9.34, 10.38, 10.39a, 10.39b, 10.46, 10.47, 10.50, Firenze Com'era, Florence/Bridgeman Art Library; 6.17 10.5 Imperial War Museum, London; 10.6 Uwe Steffens/Getty
10.52 © ETH LVML llmar Hurkxkens, Magda Kaufmann, National Library, Prague; 6.18 University of Cracow, Poland; Images; 10.7 Collection Jean-Baptiste Leroux, Paris. Photo C0
James Melsom and ElsaTamvakera. 6.19 Pinacoteca do Estado de Sao Paulo, Brazil. Donated by Jean-Baptiste Leroux/RMN-Grand Palais- Gestion droit
Fundac;ao Estudar, 2007. Photo lsabella Matheus; 6.23 d'auteur; 10.8 (C) Agencja Fotograficzna Caro/Aiamy; 10.9,
0.3 © Simon David; 0.4 © Georg Gerster; 0.7 C0 ETH Prof. DeAgostini/Getty Images; 6.27 Villa Lante del la Rove re, 10.10, 10.11 Le Corbusier@ FLC/ ADAGP, Paris and DACS,
Girot. Dieter Kienast; 1.1 British Museum, London; 1.3 © ETH Bagnaia, ltaly/Bridgeman Art Library; 6.51 @ Georg Gerster; London 2016; 10.12 Sean Gallup/Getty Images; 10.14 Frank
Prof. Girot and Lisa Jacob; 1.6, 1.9, 1.12 (0 Georg Gerster; 1.13 7.1 Col. MASP. Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo Ass is Lloyd Wright C]:J ARS, NY and DACS, London 2016; 10.17
British Library, London; 1.14 Museum of London; 1.26 Chateaubriand; 7.2 From Christiaan Huygens, Astroscopia Bernard Hoffman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image;
Victoria & Albert Museum, London; 1.27 © Georg Gerster; Compendiaria, The Hague, 1684; 7.3 From La Dioptrique, in 10.18 Private collection; 10.19 BerlinerVerlag/Archive;
1.29 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (20.3.13); 1.31, Rene Descartes, Discours de la methode, Leiden, 1637; 10.20 Everett Collection Historicai/Aiamy; 10.21 The Granger
1.34 © Georg Gerster; 1.38@ ETH Prof. Girot and Lisa Jacob; 7.5 Stichting Rijksmuseum, Zuiderzeemuseum, Enkhuizen, Collection/Topfoto; 10.22 Museum of Modern Art, New York
1.39 Brooklyn Museum, New York. Bequest of Mrs. Jose ph V. The Netherlands; 7.6 National Gallery, London; 7.7 (715.1963). Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (c) DACS 2016; 10.24
McMullan, gift of the Beaupre Charitable Trust in memory of Rijksmuseum Amsterdam; 7.8 Scheepvaartmuseum, The ' Photo Charles Birnbaum, courtesy The Cultural Landscape
Jose ph V. McMullan (84.140.16); 1.49 © Georg Gerster; 1.51 Netherlands; 7.9 From Philippe Danfrie, Declaration de Foundation, Washington, D. C.; 10.25 By kind permission of
© David Baii/Corbis; 2.0@ Ben Gitai; 2.1 British Museum, !'usage du Graphometre ... , Paris, 1597; 7.10 From A. J. Paola Porcinai; 10.26 UNESCO; 10.27 Burle Marx & Cia. Ltda,
London; 2.4 © Jacques Feiner; 2.5@ Pietro Laureano; 2.6@ Dezallier d'Argenville, La theorie et la pratique du Rio de Janeiro; 10.31 Alter Films/Ronald Grant Archive;
Jacques Feiner; 2.7@ Georg Gerster; 2.8Thames & Hudson jardinage ... , . Paris, 1747. Bibliotheque nationale de France, 10.32 CO Chris Benton; 10.33 © PeterVanderwarker; 10.34 (C)
Ltd, London; 2.9 Anadolu Medeniyetler Muzesi Paris, departement Reserve des livres rares, S 4658; 7.11 Benjamin Beytekin/dpa/Corbis; 10.35 Permission courtesy
(Archaeological Museum), Ankara; 2.10 British Museum, Service historique de I'Armee de Terre, Chateau de The Estate of Ian Hamilton Fin lay. Photo@ Robin Gillanders;
London; 2.11 From Dragoslav Srejovic, Europe's First Vincennes; 7.12 From Monuments modernes de la Perse 10.40 CClYann Arthus-Bertrand/Aititude; 10.48, 10.49 (c)
Monumental Sculpture: New Discoveries at Lepenski Vir, mesurBs, dessinBs et decrits, Morel, 1867; 7.14@ Georg BernardTschumi Architects; 10.55 Courtesy NASA; 11.1
Thames & Hudson Ltd, London, 1972, pi. Ill; 2.12Yale Gerster; 7.18 CCJTibor Bognar/Photononstop/Corbis; 7.22 Barbara Sax/AFP/Gettylmages. Pierre Huyghe@ ADAGP.
Babylonian Collection, Yale University, New Haven; 2.13 Photo Susan Jellicoe; 7.24, 7.29 Bibliotheque nationale de Paris and DACS, London, 2016; 11.2 Bas Princen, Garbage
National Museum, Aleppo, Syria; 2.14 From Fouil!es de Sia/k France, Paris; 7.30 Bibliotheque Historique de la Vi lie de dump, Sundav morning Mav 2002. Colour photograph, 128 x
pres de Kashan 1933, 1934, 1937, published by Paul Paris/Collection Kharbine-Tapabor/Bridgeman Images; 7.34 159 cm (50 3/8 x 62 5/8 in.) (c) Bas Princen; 11.3 Bibliotheque
Geuthner, 1938-39, vol. 1. Mu see du Louvre. Departement Bibliotheque nationale de France, Paris/Bridgeman Images; nationale de France, Paris; 11.4@ Ansel Adams Publishing
des antiquit8s orientales et de la c8ramique antique; 2.15 7.43 Photo Deidi von Schaewen; 7.47 Mr I' abbe Delagrive, RightsTrust/Corbis; 11.5 C0 Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum
Sch!1lyen Collection, Oslo and London, MS 3196; 2.16, 2.17 Plan de Versailles, du petit pare, et de ses dependances ou Photos; 11.6 Robert Smithson, The Fountain Monument-
British Museum, London; 2.18@ Georg Gerster; 2.19@ ETH sont marques les emplacemens de chaque maison de cette Side View from The Monuments of Passaic, 1967. New
Prof. Girot and Lisa Jacob; 2.20Yale Babylonian Collection, vi/le, /es plans du Chateau, et des hotels, et les distributions Jersey. Six photographs and one cut Photostat map. The
Yale University, New Haven; 2.21 Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis; des jardins et bosquets, 1746; 7.48 From A. J. Dezallier National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo,
2.22, 2.23, 2.24@ Georg Gerster; 2.26 White Images/Scala, d'Argenville, La theorie et la pratique du jardinage ... , J. Norway. Courtesy James Cohan Gallery, New York and
Florence; 2.27@ Jacques Feiner; 2.30 Photo Jacques Mariette. Paris, 1713; 7. 49 Domaine de Versailles; 7.50, 7.51 Shanghai. (c) Estate of Robert Smithson/DACS, London/
Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC; Grand Palais, Musee des chateaux de Versailles et de VAGA. NewYork 2016; 11.7 Jean-Marc Bustamante C]:)ADAGP.
2.33@ Ben Gitai; 2.36@ Georg Gerster; 2.37a, 2.37b, 2.38, Trianon, Paris; 7.52 © imagebroker/Aiamy; 7.57, 7.58 Paris and DACS, London 2016; 11.8 Courtesy Prof. Carl
2.39, 2.40@ Ben Gitai; 2.42@ lmaginechina/Corbis; 2.43@ Bibliotheque nationale de France, Paris; 7.59 akg-images; Steinitz, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge
Thomas Dodge/AgStock lmages/Corbis; 3.1 @Roger Wood/ 7.60 Private collection; 7.61 Photo Holger Leue/Look/ MA; 11.9 Photo Dieter Schwerdtle/documenta Archiv. Jose ph
Corbis; 3.2Thames & Hudson Ltd, London; 3.8 akg-images/ Gettylmages; 7.62 Horizon lmages/Motion/Aiamy; 7.63 Beuys@ DACS 2016; 11.11 Courtesy Michael Van Valkenburgh
Erich Lessing; 3.9 Photos 12/Aiamy Stock Photo; 3.10 Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress, Associates, Inc.; 11.12 HeinzWohner/LOOI<-foto/Getty
National Archaeological Museum, Athens; 3.16White Washington, D.C.; 7.64@ Corbis; 8.1 Tate, London; 8.5 Images; 11.13 Courtesy Toronto and Region Conservation
Images/Scala, Florence; 3.18, 3.19 Heraklion Archaeological Cambridge University Library; 8.6 FromThomasWright, Authority; 11.14 (J:) Julian Varas; 11.16 CO Georges Leveque;
Museum, Crete; 3.20 Museo Nazionale del la Magna Grecia, An Origina!Theorv or new hvpothesis of the Universe .. 11.18 Bas Princen, Former air base, 1998.@ Bas Princen;
Reggio Calabria; 3.21 Thames & Hudson Ltd, London; 3.22 H. Chapel le, London, 1750; 8.8 From John Dixon Hunt, 11.19 cc; Robert Harding Picture Library; 11.27 Cc) Ajuntament
British Museum, London; 3.23, 3.27@ Georg Gerster; 3.31 Wil/iam Kent: Landscape Garden Designer, A. Zwemmer de Barcelona; 11.31 @Werner J. Hannappel; 11.32 CO Christa
Delphi Archaeological Museum; 3.43 National Ltd, London, 1987, p. 48; 8.9 British Museum, London; Panick. Courtesy Latz+Partner; 11.33@ Michael Latz. Courtesy
Archaeological Museum, Athens; 3.47Thames & Hudson 8.10 Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham/ Latz+Partner; 11.34@ Richard Haag www.richhaagassoc.
Ltd, London; 3.49, 3.50@ Georg Gerster; 3.51 Museo d'Arte Bridgeman Art Library; 8.11 CO Georg Gerster; 8.12 com; 11.35 Neue Road Movies/l<obal; 11.36 (c) Christian Vogt;
Orientale, Turin; 3.55 National Archaeological Museum, Bibliotheque nationale de France, Paris; 8.13 Collection 11.37 Cc) Catherine Mosbach; 11.39 Courtesy agenceTer
Naples; 4.1 akg-images/Mondadori Portfolio/2004; 4.2 Musei of the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth/Reproduced by (Bava-Hossler-Philippe); 12.1 Photo Balthazar l<orab. Maya
Capitolini, Rome; 4.5 imagebroker.net/SuperStock; 4.6 © permission of the Chatsworth Settlement Trustees/ Lin; 12.3, 12.4, 12.5 Gustafson Porter; 12.6, 12.7 Photo Georg
Atlantide Phototravei!Corbis; 4.7 @Tetra lmages/Corbis; Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth/Bridgeman Art Library; Aerni; 12.12 Courtesy Reed Hilderbrand; 12.13 Courtesy
4.8 Chronicle/Aiamy; 4.9@ ETH Prof. Girot and Lisa Jacob; 8.24 BFI/United Artists/l<obal; 8.28 English Heritage Hargreaves Associates; 12.14 (c) Chair Prof. Girot ETH. LVML/
4.10Tips lmages/SuperStock; 4.12 Photo Scala, Florence- EOS/96634 Lb 15202 Fr 70 Cp V 15/06/1996. (c) Crown Future Cities Laboratory Shoshiro Hashimoto and Benedikt
courtesy of the Ministero Beni e Att. Culturali; 4.14, 4.15 copyright. Ordnance Survey; 8.34 Original plan of Rousham Kowaleswski; 12.16 C0 Photo Stefano Serventi/Giobal
National Archaeological Museum, Naples; 4.18@ Georg drawn byWilliam White, 1738; 8.55 National Gallery, ArquHectura Paisagista; 12.23 Photo© www.jordisurroca.
Gerster; 4.21, 4.22 National Archaeological Museum, Naples; London; 8.59 Courtesy Royal Academy of Fine Arts, corn/Courtesy Batlle i Roig; 12.24, 12.25a, 12.25b (c) Atelier
4.28, 4.42@ Georg Gerster; 4.43 Courtesy Gigon/Guyer Stockholm; 8.61 From Georges Dionysus Ehret, Svstema Girot. llmar Hurkxkens and Magda l<aufmann; 12.26@
Architects, Zurich. Photo @ Klemens Ortmeyer; 4.44 From Naturae, Leiden, 1736; 8.63 Collection of the Duke of Alp Transit Gotthard Ltd, alptransit.ch; 12.27. 12.28, 12.29 (C)
Philip ClOver, GermaniaAntiqua Libri Ill, pi. 17, 1616; 4.46@ Beaufort; 8.69 from John Cl ark's View in Scotland, hand Atelier Girot & Chair Prof. Girot ETH. LVML Pascal Werner;
Georg Gerster; 5.1 Church of San Francesco, Assisi; 5.5 coloured aquatint. Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1825; 12.30@ Atelier Girot. I Imar Hurkxkens; 12.31 (C) Alp Transit
Museum of Cluny, Paris; 5.6 British Library, London; 5.8a-c 8.70a, 8.70b From Humphry Repton, Observations on the Gotthard Ltd, alptransit.ch; 12.32@ Atelier Girot. I Imar
@ ETH Prof. Girot and Lisa Jacob; 5.9 Germanisches Theorv and Practice of Landscape Gardening, 1803, Yale Hurkxkens and Magda l<aufmann; 12.33 C0 Atelier Girot &
Nationalmuseum Nuremberg; 5.10 Bibliotheque et Archives, Centre for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection; 9.1 National Chair Prof. Girot ETH. LVML Pascal Werner; 12.34 ((;) IFEC
Musee Conde, Chantilly, France; 5.11 15th-century, Gallery, London; 9.3 l<unsthalle Hamburg; 9.5 Private Stefano Baggi; 12.37 Courtesy Superpositions.ch; 12.38 (!;)
anonymous, from Jean ne Bourin, La Rose et la Mandragora, collection; 9.6 From William Blanchard Jerrold, London, a ETH Chair Prof. Girot. Project Archipelago/Dordrecht Studio
Editions Bourin Julliard, Paris 1990, p. 118; 5.13 British Pilgrimage, with illustrations by Gustave Dore, 1872; 9.7 Rising Waters, Krlstina Eickmeier and Annina Peterer;
Library, London; 5.14 From Anthony Huxley, An Illustrated a
From Al. de Humboldt and A. Bonpland, Viage /as regiones 12.39 Courtesy SCAPE/Landscape Architecture; 12.40 Ala my;
Historv of Gardening, Paddington Press Ltd, New York and equinocciales del nuevo continente: Hecho en 1799 hasta 12.43 Courtesy Ryan Gravel; 12.44, 12.45 MOP Michel
London, 1978, p. 101; 5.17 Photo Zofia Smardz/The 1804, vol. 1. Paris, En Casa de Rosa, 1826; 9.8@ Cambridge Desvigne Paysagiste; 12.46 Courtesy BASE; 12.47 Photo Your
Washington Post via Getty Images; 5.19 Bibliotheque University Library; 9.9 Phototheque, Musee de I'Homme, Captain Luchtfotografie, edited by Paul de l<ort. Project by
Nationale de France, Paris. Photo Roland and Sabina Paris; 9.10Tate, London; 9.11, 9.12, 9.13, 9.14, 9.18 Stiftung H+N+S (Lodewijk van Nieuwenhuijze) in close collaboration
Michaud/akg-images; 5.20 Science and Society/SuperStock; Preussische Schlosser und Giirten Berlin-Brandenburg; with artist Paul de l<ort, TNO and Witteveen en Bos; 12.48 ();)
5.21 Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris; 5.22 9.19 Landesbildstelle, Berlin; 9.20 (!;)Image Source/Aiamy; PWP Landscape Architecture.
akg-images; 5.23 Stiftsbibliothek St Gallen, Switzerland; 9.24 S:!Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Corbis; 9.25 Bibliotheque de
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348 SOURCES OF ILLUSTRATIONS

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What are some of the major topics discussed in the book?

What are some of the major topics discussed in the book?

How does the author's perspective on nature and culture change over time?

How does the author's perspective on nature and culture change over time?

History of our Designs on the

ural World, from Prehistory

Foreword 6 8. Gravity 200

3. From Temenos to Physis 68 12. Topology 304

4. Of Villas and Woods 92 Afterward 334

7. The Measure of Reason 172

0.1 (opposite) Albert Park, Auckland,

0.2 The Villa Noailles, Grasse, France.

0.6 Schoneberger Siidgeliinde Park, Berlin,

0.7 High altitude alpine garden, Switzerland.

0.8 Oerliker Park, Zurich, Switzerl and, 2001.

0.9 Mauerpark, Berlin, Germany, 1994.

6.0 (opposite) View from the third terrace

6.1 The Death of Actaeon by Titian, c.1559-75.

GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE 145

6.2 Allegory of Good Government, by Ambrogio

6.3 Chinese 'General Chart of the Integrated

6.4 A landscape of Ming tombs, China.

6.6 The Ideal City, c. 1485.

6.7 Page from the treatise on perspective

146 GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE

GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE 147

During the Renaissance, perspective was not

148 GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE

6.9 The Banquet in the Pine Forest by Sandro

6.11 Woodcut from the Hypnerotomachia

GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE 149

6.12 The Villa Medici at Fiesole, with views

6.13 Lunette of the Villa Poggio a Caiano

150 GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE

6.14 Gardens of the Medici Villa La Petraia,

6.15 The Medici Villa Castello, Florence.

GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE 151

6.17 Diagram from De revolutionibus orbium

6.18 A terrestrial globe.

6.19 Anonymous painting of the Conquista

An important break from the medieval

152 GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE

GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE 153

6.20 The Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy.

6.21 Reconstruction of the Villa Lante and its

GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE 155

6.23 Aerial view of the Villa Lante.

GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE 157

6.24 Diagonal side alleys of clipped boxwood

6.25 View from the second terrace looking

158 GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE

6.26 Diagonal view across the Quadrato towards

6.27 Fresco of the Villa Lante by Raffaellino

GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE 159

6.29 Reconstructed view of the garden, seen

160 GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE

6.30 Detail of a stairway balustrade at the

6.31 View of the water chain looking south

6.32 View from the third terrace looking up.

GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE 161

162 GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE

6.36 The Fountain of Pegasus with the wall

GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE 163

164 GARDENS OF PERSPECTIVE