Modern Landscape [Hardcover]

Michael Spens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

Society is becoming preoccupied with the issue of landscape, not only as an area of design and study but also as it is affected by building development and the maintenance of eco-systems. This interest ranges well beyond the immediate professions of landscape architecture, architecture and town and regional planning. This book extends the existing debate to examine recent projects and their part in our growing concern about, and responsibility for, the maintenance and enhancement of our natural spaces. Following an introductory essay, the book is arranged into four sections, which each deal with different aspects of landscape design. The case-study projects, which have all been completed since the late 1990s, are discussed in detail and related to their historical context and influences. "Parkland" deals with large-scale designed environments such as Castletown Cox Park in Ireland and the Barcelona Botanic Gardens. "Architecture as Landscape" presents major architectural projects into which landscapes have been successfully integrated, including the Niigata Performing Arts Centre, Japan, and the Imperial War Museum in Manchester. "Garden Landscapes" focuses on schemes such as the Borneo Sporenburg neighbourhood in Amsterdam and the Jewish Museum in Berlin, where contemporary gardens have been created that comply with ecological and aesthetic priorities in tightly prescribed settings. "Urban Interventions" identifies landscape projects in urban locations which have been decisive in providing an improved solution to an existing environmental design problem, such as the Haas Promenade in Jerusalem and the Alexanderinkatu in Helsinki. The author compares 32 projects by a variety of contemporary architects and designers such as Martha Schwartz (USA), Tadao Ando (Japan), Colvin & Moggridge (UK), Hans Hollein (Austria) and West 8 (The Netherlands).

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Spens is an architectural writer who currently teaches at Dundee University, who has written extensively on the subject of landscape, his special interest lying in the integration of buildings with landscape. His books include Landscape Transformed (editor, 1995), The Complete Landscape Designs and Gardens of Geoffrey Jellicoe (1994) and Viipuri Library by Alvar Aalto (1993). He was awarded a knighthood in Finland for his services to architecture. Author's Residence: St Andrews, Fife, UK

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714841552
• ISBN-13: 978-0714841557
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 10 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,073,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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