Aryana Libris

Author : Waterman Tim
Title : The fundamentals of landscape architecture
Year : 2009

Link download : Waterman_Tim_-_The_fundamentals_of_landscape_architecture.zip

If there’s sky, it’s mine. Kathryn Gustafson, Landscape architect. WHAT IS LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE ? When asked where landscape architects work, many people might point out their back door to the garden. It would be more accurate, however, to look out the front door. The landscape is anywhere and everywhere outdoors, and landscape architects are shaping the face of the Earth across cities, towns and countryside alike. Landscape architecture involves shaping and managing the physical world and the natural systems that we inhabit. Landscape architects do design gardens, but what is critical is that the garden, or any other outdoor space, is seen in context. All living things are interdependent, and the landscape is where they all come together. Context is social, cultural, environmental and historical, amongst other considerations. Landscape architects are constantly zooming in and out from the details to the big picture to ensure that balance is maintained. Landscape architecture combines art and science to make places. The art provides a vision for a landscape, using drawings, models, computer imaging and text. The elements of design, such as line, shape, texture and colour, are used to create these images, and the process allows the designer to both communicate with an audience and to visualise the site in order to act upon it. The science includes an understanding of natural systems, including geology, soils, plants, topography, hydrology, climate and ecology. It also includes a knowledge of structures and how they are built, such as roads and bridges, walls, paving and even the occasional building. Landscape architects are broad thinkers who thrive on the big picture. Landscape architects are playing an increasingly important role in solving the great issues of our day, such as dealing with climate change and providing sustainable communities. They are working on urban regeneration and master-planning projects, tackling environmental hazards, designing Olympic sites, and creating the public squares, parks and streets we all use. Landscape architecture is increasingly a field that requires natural leaders who can utilise their wide-ranging knowledge to lead large projects. It still, however, provides plenty of opportunities to make a substantial difference on a smaller scale as well. It is simply not possible to give a satisfactory short definition of landscape architecture, because of the incredible breadth of the field – but far from being a shortcoming, this is landscape architecture’s great strength. For those who crave both variety and a challenge, and are curious about everything that makes the world go around, a career in landscape architecture is ideal. ...