THEORY OF LANDSCAPE

ARCHITECTURE II
UNIT II
 LANDSCAPE

“a piece of land which we perceive comprehensively

around us, without looking closely at single components,
and which looks familiar to us” (Haber, 2004)

“the total character of a

region”
(von Humboldt)
 LANDSCAPE

“a mosaic of interacting ecosystems”

“point--in
“point in--time expressions of ecological, technological,
and cultural influences”
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

“art and science of planning and designing

the landscape for purposeful human use
and the conservation of landscape
resources”
 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

“Landscape architecture is the analysis,

planning, design, and management of the
natural and built environment”
- American Society of Landscape Architects
The Profession of Landscape Architecture
EVOLUTION

Frederick Law Olmsted – 1858  Landscape Architect
( Other alternatives considered “rural embellisher”)
He planned

City parks

Urban Open Space Systems

Campuses

Private Estates

City and Traffic Patterns

Conservation Movement - 1865 - Yosemite Valley, California
He called all these as “Landscape Architecture”
The Profession of Landscape Architecture
EVOLUTION

Olmsted

Had experience in Farming and Engineering

No training in the profession

1899  The American Society of Landscape

Architecture (ASLA) was established
1901  First Complete Landscape Architecture
Program was established at Harvard University
The Profession of Landscape Architecture
EVOLUTION

The prestige of the profession Waxed and wanned

Landscape Architects had to compete with Architects,
Engineers, Surveyors, Foresters, Park Superintendents,
City Planners.

19th Century – responsible Large and Important works

Early 1900s– Greater emphasis on estates, gardens

and small scale site planning

1907 – City Planning Profession Emerged
The Profession of Landscape Architecture
EVOLUTION

1930s Landscape Architects again involved in
Large Scale Projects – U. S. National Park service
Scope Included

Restoration of Derelict Lands

Regional Landscape Analysis and Planning

Urban design

Site planning for housing, schools and large scale

industrial plants

Both Public Agencies and Private Practice
 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

The field of landscape architecture has diversified its
activities in response to the needs of the changing world

The scope of landscape architecture ranges from large

projects (town planning and large, national parks) to
(small parks, urban plazas, commercial centers and
residences).

Landscape architecture covers a huge spectrum Types of

projects include:
 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

The profession of landscape architecture

is diverse in practice type.

Landscape Design

Site Planning

Urban landscape design

Landscape Planning

Environmental Restoration
Landscape Design
 Landscape Design

Process through which specific quality is given to

the diagrammatic spaces of the site plan.

It involves selection of design components,
materials, and plants.
 Landscape Design

Is the conscious articulation or design of open spaces
taking into account the functional, aesthetic and
ecological parameters so as to obtain a meaningful
balance between the site characteristics.

Process through which specific quality is given to the

diagrammatic spaces of the site plan.

It involves selection of design components, materials,
and plants.
 Landscape Design

Is the conscious articulation or design of open spaces
taking into account the functional, aesthetic and
ecological parameters so as to obtain a meaningful
balance between the site characteristics.
SITE PLANNING
 SITE PLANNING - Definition

Site planning is the art of arranging structures on
the land and shaping the spaces between.

An art linked to architecture, engineering , landscape
architecture and city planning.

Site plan: A dimensioned drawing indicating the
form of an existing area and the physical objects
existing in it and those to be built or installed upon
it.
 SITE PLANNING - Definition

Site planning is the process where by the

requirements of the program are provided ,
located, and connected to each other and to the
outside world with minimum destruction of the site
with imagination and with sensitivity to the
implications of the site analysis.
SITE ANALYSIS

Program

Site

Which site can best satisfy the

requirements?

What is a parcel of land best
suited for?
Site Planning Process

Understanding the relationship between different
aspects and how these relationship contribute to
specific attributes of the site

Assessment of opportunities and constraints
 SITE PLANNING PROCESS

Assessment of opportunities and
constraints
Landscape Planning
 Landscape Planning

Landscape Planning is defined as an activity

concerned with reconciling competing land uses
while protecting natural processes and significant
cultural and natural resources (Erv Zube).
 Landscape Planning

Landscape planning projects

are of broad geographical scope;

concern many land uses or many clients;

are implemented over a long period of time.

 Procedures in Landscape Planning

Four Stages in the process

Survey and Analysis

Evaluation/ Assessment

Policy or Design Solutions

Implementation
 Three classes of Information

1. Socio-economic and Cultural Factors

2. Landscape- Ecological Factors
3. Visual Appearance ( represents the
interaction of 1 and 2)
OVERLAY ANALYSIS
 LANDSCAPE PLANNING:
Areas of activity

Environmental Inventory

Opportunity and Constraint

Site Assessment

Land capability /
Sustainability/ Carrying
Capacity of a region/site

Hazard Assessment and Risk
Management

Forecasting Impacts

Restoration planning

Site Selection

Facilities Planning

Management Planning

Master planning
RECLAMATION OF DERELICT LAND

RECLAMATION: Returning disturbed lands to a

form in which the lands may be of beneficial use
TYPES OF DERELICTION
 Surface Mining
 Deep Mining
 Disused Railway Lines and Bridges
 Industries
 Waste Piles and Dumps
 RECLAMATION - OPPORTUNITIES

Spoil heap as a feature in

landscape

Water body – if floor of the
Mining
excavation is impervious and
water table is high

High value of land if in
Industry urban areas

Disused
Potential for recreation

Railwaylines
RECLAMATION OF DERELICT LAND

RECLAMATION: Returning disturbed lands to a

form in which the lands may be of beneficial use
RECLAMATION PROCESS
I. ESTABLISHING OBJECTIVES
II. DETERMINING INFLUENCING FACTORS
III. SELECTING RECLAMATION METHODS
III. RECLAMATION METHODS

REMOVAL OF BLIGHT

RESHAPING THE DISFIGURED EARTH

RESTORING THE TOPSOIL SECTION

StageI: Preventing further degradation

Stage II: Rebuilding the top soil sections

REESTABLISHING THE NATURAL COVERS

IDENTIFYING LAND USE
 DERELICT LAND

RECLAMATION:
Returning disturbed lands to a form in which the lands
may be of beneficial use

RESTORATION:
Returning a disturbed site as closely as possible to pre-
disturbance conditions and functions.

CONSERVATION:
Prevent further deterioration of land resources
 CASE STUDIES
1. Ecological Restoration of a Basalt Quarry, Timba,
Gujarat.
2. Concrete Plant Park, Bronx, NY.
Ecological Restoration
of a Basalt Quarry
Timba, Gujarat
 BASALT QUARRY, TIMBA
• Basalt deposits mined up
to a depth of 20 m.
• Vegetation in poor
condition
• unwanted stones and
quarry dust heaped all
over

BEFORE RESTORATION
A 200-acre, exhausted
basalt quarry
 Basalt Quarry, Timba

Timba Basalt Quarry - Before restoration

 Basalt Quarry, Timba

Timba Basalt Quarry - Before restoration

 Ecological Restoration
of a Basalt Quarry
OBJECTIVE

To convert the total
quarry into a natural
woodland and return the
area back to the nature.

Restoration period -

Eight years from 1977 to

1985
 Ecological Restoration
of a Basalt Quarry
OBJECTIVE

To convert the total quarry into
a natural woodland

Restoration period
1977 to 1985
 RESTORATION PROCESS

To establish a
vegetation cover of
grasses, herbs and
creeper plants as
quickly as possible

enable humus
formation

help in conserving
the soil moisture and
rain water
 RESTORATION PROCESS

To encourage plant growth, weeds from nearby areas

were developed on the site.
 RESTORATION PROCESS

An indigenous plant
mix was identified
based on the study of
the vegetation pattern

A nearby seasonal
stream was diverted
to fill the quarry

Seedlings of trees were planted in shallow pits using the

available organic matter
 RESTORATION PROCESS

Other plants, grasses and shrubs not originally planted

made their appearance in the third and fourth year.
 RESTORATION PROCESS

In eighth year, several of the trees had flowered

and seeded.
Ecological Restoration
of a Basalt Quarry

1. Island Hard mass of rock

2. Railway Line in a basalt quarry
3. Pedestrian Trail was turned into a
4. Pond with wetland with
Water Fall
pedestrian trails,
5. Cabin
Overlooking planting and
Lake ponds
 Ecological Restoration
of a Basalt Quarry

The entire area has become a habitat for many species such
as insects and snakes.

More than 140 varieties of birds visit the site every year.
 Ecological Restoration
of a Basalt Quarry

Hard mass of rock in a basalt quarry was turned into a

wetland with pedestrian trails, planting and ponds
The Profession of LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Environmental Challenges - Climate Change and

Sustainability Crisis

Impact of Anthropogenic Activities

“ We must not see the anthropocene as a crisis, but as

the beginning of a new geologic epoch ripe with
Human directed opportunity”
The Profession of LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

The profession is uniquely positioned today as a

restorer of living systems, harnesser of land’s
productive capacity ; healer of degraded sites; and
role model of ethical stewardship governed by a
flexible, creative and rigorous design process.

Generative without being destructive it can play a
vital role in optimizing humanity’s ongoing positive
relationship and dependence on earth.
The Profession of LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Urban Agriculture

Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes

Multifunctional Landscapes

Sustainable Landscape Design

Cultural landscapes

Historic Landscape Preservation