Landscape for living: Garden theory and design of the modern movement

摘要

"Landscape for living; garden theory and design of the Modern Movement" This thesis provides a critical review of the theory and design of landscape architecture of the modern movement with special reference to residential planning and design. The study concentrates on the period from 1900 to 1968 and five countries have been selected for further study. These countries influenced each other fairly strongly: they are Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, whilst there is a separate section on Le Corbusier. There is a slight emphasis on the Netherlands because it was pivotal to many of the modern developments. The study consists of an analysis of the conditions that led to the new style, a definition of landscape architecture and how perceptions of what it was supposed to include changed during the modern period. At the end of the nineteenth century landscape architecture concentrated mainly on large gardens, but soon came to be more embracing, finally including the whole range of open space from the modernist ideal of the green open city, to parks, communal and private gardens. An assessment of the existing literature charts the development of thought, aesthetics and ideology of modern landscape architecture. The main landscape architects and the most significant projects are also examined. General theories are identified and discussed, such as early attempts at dispersal of the city; the striving after self-sufficiency; the Corbusian city with new hierarchical orders and separation of functions, how that influenced landscape architects and what they perceived they ought to be doing. The analysis concludes with observations on the success and failure of various theories and designed landscapes.