Ken Smith, plan for Orange County Great Park
If I had college to do all over again, I might have foregone my aimless English/philosophy degrees and extracurricular punk rock distractions—all of which was great fun and even led to some sort of career path—and instead I would have tried my hand at becoming a landscape architect. Not that the thought even crossed my mind back when I was eighteen. But all these years later I am fascinated and bewildered by the whole idea. Years ago I thought “landscape architect” was a euphemism for “well-paid gardener,” but in fact it occupies the intersection between architecture, urban planning, environmentalism, and art.
The more I read about landscape architects, the more I can discern just how different an animal the field attracts, compared to its more vertical cousins. Whereas architects tend to invoke to other architects—Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, etc.—when citing their inspiration, landscape architects are just as likely to call out Robert Smithson as they are Frederick Law Olmsted. In the latest issue of Metropolis, Michael Van Valkenburgh even gives a shout to organic foods pioneer Alice Waters and the playwright Tom Stoppard! And Ken Smith, who filled MoMA’s rooftop garden with fake boulders and plants, is quick to call Andy Warhol an influence.
As it happens, there’s a slew of interviews and profiles with a variety of landscape architects in the news these days. The LA Times [via Terra Non Firma] has a profile of Ken Smith, who is about to take on the Orange County Great Park (as mentioned here a couple of weeks ago); the Sydney Morning Herald [via ArchNewsNow] profiles contemporary landscape pioneer Martha Schwartz; and Metropolis talks to Michael Van Valkenburgh about his planned design for the Brooklyn Bridge Park (to be completed in 2012), and a smaller article on German landscape designer Herbert Dreiseitl, who peeled away a block of Portland’s Pearl District to reveal the area’s original wetlands.
[EDIT: Looks like the MVVA article is for subscribers only. Sorry.]
Finally, at the top of my wishlist right now is Ultimate Landscape Design, by Alejandro Bahamon. 528 pages and tons of the most significant landscape projects of the last few years. And only $40!
and let's not forget - archinect recently declared landscapes architect's the "sexiest" profession: http://archinect.com/news/article.php?id=31995_0_24_0_C
Posted by: marissa | February 20, 2006 at 07:57 PM
Ha! Reminds me of this post over at the ha-ha: http://over-the-ha-ha.blogspot.com/2005/10/mark-ruffalo-is-not-brad-pitt.html
Posted by: pgwp | February 21, 2006 at 07:18 AM