Summary of Articles about the Theory in Landscape Architecture
The article “Ecology and Landscape as Agents of Creativity” was authored by James Corner. James Corner is an architect who is highly recognized for making contributions in the design of various landscapes. He was born in 1961 and studied in Manchester Metropolitan University. Design and architecture were his major interests. He was also interested in making sure that there was beauty in the architecture of various landscapes. He also studied in the University of Pennsylvania, where he attained a certificate in urban design.
James Corner wrote many books and articles concerning landscape architecture. He did this by using an ecological approach that outlined the nature and its environment. He has played a great role in incorporating innovation in giving instructions in landscape design. His other works include:
Taking Measures across the American Landscape. This was published in 1996.
Recovering Landscape: Essays in Contemporary Landscape Architecture, which was published in 1999.
Landscapes Transformed. This was published in 1996.
This article focuses on how creativity can be incorporated in architecture. The author argues that innovation is vital in improving the creativity of a landscape. James pointed out that ecology is one of the agents of change in landscape architecture. The author also pointed out that lack of invention was a major problem that had affected many landscape architects. He therefore came with an idea that ecology should be matched with creativity in order to improve the design of landscape architecture. Many of his works were similar to those of other naturalists such as George Perkins and David Henry.
Design with Nature
This article was authored by Ian McHarg, who was born in Scotland. He made an enormous participation in the natural systems of the world. Just like James Corner, he was a landscape architect who was also involved in improving the design of various landscapes. His knowledge in landscape architecture enabled him to become a teacher in the University of Pennsylvania. He attended Harvard University, where he gained adequate knowledge in design. The major interests of this author were design and planning.
Ian also wrote many books and articles regarding landscape architecture. Most of his works were related to nature and its environs. His main objective in his works was to provide broad knowledge of how landscape architecture should be undertaken. His contributions to the nature and landscape architecture enabled him to receive numerous awards. Some of his works include:
A Quest for Life, which was published in 1996. In this book, he also described his autobiography.
Man, Planetary Disease. This was published in 1971.
“Design with Nature” mainly focused on the nature and the design that could be made on nature’s landscape. Ian argued that garden design was vital in the beautification of the homestead. He argued that the garden has many beautiful plantations that can be modified to provide a unique design for a homestead. This article had a great influence on the various factors that impacted the environment. He used this to come up with proper planning methods that could be used in landscape architecture. In this article, the author uses various philosophies that help in providing different styles in landscape architecture.
Frederick Law Olmsted and the Dialectical Landscape
The author of this article was Robert Smithson, who was an American. He was born in 1938. He studied at Art Students League of New York. In this school, he gained adequate knowledge in painting as well as drawing. The doctrine of entropy and structures in the environment were his major areas of interest. This is the major reason why he involved himself in the making of sculptures. However, his later works were mostly concentrated on landscape architecture. His works in landscape architecture focused on various explorations that were associated with land arts. Smithson was therefore very famous because of the contributions he made in land arts.
Robert Smithson wrote many articles and essays that were used to explain his contributions in land arts. In his articles, he described how writing could be used to design artworks. He also made a review of the articles and magazines on landscape architecture. In these reviews, he critically analyzed the ideas and concepts that were used by the various artists. His other works included:
Sedimentation of the Mind: Earth Projects, which was published in the year 1968.
Incidents of Mirror-Travel in the Yucatan. In this essay, he documented various sculptures that were made using mirrors.
The article “Frederick Law Olmsted and the Dialectical Landscape” was written after the author had viewed a certain exhibition at the Whitney Museum. In this article, Smithson made explanations on the unused land that had been destroyed by people. After this period, a large and complex architecture was constructed by Olmsted. The author also challenged other works of landscape architecture that could be regarded as outdated. This article was therefore aimed at improving landscape architecture through improving earlier designs and developing idle sections of land.
