Preservation vs. Progress

摘要

Views are mixed before pencil hits paper on the new master plan for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond, Virginia. The work of landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, FASLA—a sunken sculpture garden and fountain constructed in 1976—exists at the heart of the controversy. Perhaps controversy is a strong word, but the scenario is a prime example of a dilemma faced by a generation of landscape architectural icons. It is a debate of preservation versus progress.