Groundswell [Paperback]

Peter Reed (Author), James Corner (Contributor), Peter Latz (Contributor), Martha Schwartz (Contributor), Ken Smith (Contributor), Peter Walker (Contributor), George Hargreaves (Contributor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 087070379X | ISBN-13: 978-0870703799 | Publication Date: February 15, 2005

Groundswell: Constructing the Contemporary Landscape presents 23 projects that reveal the surge of creativity and discussion surrounding the designed landscape in a broad, principally urban, international context. In the last 20 years, many significant new public spaces have been created for sites that have been reclaimed from conflict, environmental degradation, and abandonment. The projects, found throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, were selected for their outstanding design, and for their variety of contexts, materials, scale, and types of spaces. This fully illustrated volume includes an essay by Peter Reed, Curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at The Museum of Modern Art, that demonstrates how these innovative projects expand the definition of the modernist landscape while responding to a variety of conditions such as program, social function, and the transformation and reclamation previously industrial areas. The essay is followed by a full-color plate section featuring the selected projects. Catalogue entries for each project provide a succinct description of the site, its transformation, and design concepts illustrated by photographs, drawings, and models.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: The Museum of Modern Art, New York (February 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087070379X
• ISBN-13: 978-0870703799
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interpretations of the ground plane, January 15, 2007

By 

SantiagoJP (Miami, FLORIDA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Groundswell (Paperback)

The book is filled with a series of exceptional projects in dealing with the transition between the interior and exterior space and the multiple ways of ground sculpturing. The projects are displayed with photographs, renderings, and drawings which further explain plan and section design. The book is inspirational and a great reference material.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Required Text" for Design Students and Faculty, February 15, 2009

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Caveat Emptor "Pete" (Greenville, SC USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Groundswell (Paperback)

A great book on many levels, its a must for any architect's, urban designer's, and landscape architect's library, whether student, faculty, or practitioner. The projects are well selected from the past decade or so, many of them already canonical. The images are also well chosen, with a mix of plans, details, perspectives, etc. The graphic design (not over designed) makes the book a pleasure. The shortcoming might be that there are only a few pages per project, so some may like more depth. However as an inspirational anthology and reference, its worth every penny.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars favorite LA book ever, February 12, 2010

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Loula (Baton Rouge, LA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Groundswell (Paperback)

this is possibly my favorite book on Landscape Architecture. The text is concise but informative, images are sufficient to grasp projects without reading text and i go back time and again to read through and gain inspiration from the graphics. diversity of project scope, location, size and style. must buy for all landscape architects, especially students wanting to gain a quick understanding of some contemporary work. picked out for me by my sister ( a non designer) so it definitely appeals to the general public and works well as an educational tool regarding what it is that LA's do...