CONTENTS JUNE 2009

VO~UME ,t . NU".'1E1t 11

LAND MATTERS 113 LETTERS 115

RIPRAP 118 Taking vacations to a flew level, self rc/erential sculpture in Central Park, kudos for a pair 0/ landscape archifects, and the (much) younger generation tackles urhan de_Iign_ Edited by Linda Mcintyre

GREEN BUILDING 124

Wet Pa rk Mercer Slough demonstrates the valueo! preserving wetlands in the city. By Mark Hin"'aw

ICONS REVISITED 132 An Endangered TTeril-age TIJ(' days may be numbered/or WWreI/CC Halprin'!- Heritage Park. By Michal G. Tlncup, AILA

COMMUNICATION 140

T he Dirt on Bloaain a '''' " How can bhgs change the way we

communicate about landscape architecture? 8y Daniel J08t, A.LA

RESIDENTIAL DESIGN 154

Cothie Hen·eat A romantic backyard pavilion is large enough to entertain a crowd, yet cozy enough for private contemplation. By Barbafa MettlE

PRACTICE 15B

T Will Survive TIJese six land~cape architects are surviving or even thriving de~pitc tlJe rece.IJIrJ/l , Wlhat ieHons do they have to offer others? Edited by Daniel Jost, ... , .....

ON THE COVER Sk~lcbn ofTu!u"" Mn:iro, .nd g ",,,,.1"1 in Stockhol"" SWNffl, CIlptutf' Ih. <trll<l', <t'n,.o/ pwewhilelm",,!ing,pagr 18, n ,,,~'i.,, b,

C •• I S,,;.;/!, " • • " •• , A;~A

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DRAWING 17.

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Design Within Constraints

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Son Cristobal MOllntaim. By Jlmena Martlgnonl

84

Baltimore's Grounds for Art

Two sculptllre gardens at the Baltimore Museum 0/ Art are "rodent gems.

By Frank Edgerton Martin

92

BOOKS 1100

PRODUCT PROFILES 1102

DISPLAY AD INDEX [ 104

BUYER ' S GUIDE INDEX 1105

PERSPECTIVE 1116

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61 Llndscape Architecture JUNE ZOOI

THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

J. William Thompson , FA SLA EDITOR I /,t/I!IIIJI'UIII @tlslu .org

Li sa Speck hardt MANAGING EDITOR I IspeckllUrdr @t1slfl.org

C hr'istupher MeGee ART DIRECTOR I cmcgcc@t1slfl.ol"g

Daniel Just , ASLA WRITER/EDITOR I djost@t1slo . ol"15

Lisa Sehult :;: ASSOCIATE EDITOR I Isc/iull::;@lI .dtl. org

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Jane Hoy Brown; Lake Douglas , ASLA Diane Hellekson , ASLA; Peter Ja(:ohs , FAS LA

Frank Edger·ton Mar'tin; Linda I\1c:lnt yl"t: James L. S ipes, ASLA; Kim Sunig

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YEARS AGO, I happened to be present when L'lwrence H alprin,

FASLA, stood up and advocated for che design ofhis FOR Memo­rial beforerhe Fine ArrsCommis­

sian in Washington, D.C. "I wantthis to

be a memorial chat goes deep inside peo­p le," Halprin wId rhe commissioners,

'ta/" hundreds oiJ'&m into the III/lire."

I wish more landscape architects aspired to that kind oflongevi­

ty for their work. T he prevailing notion that a landscape has a life

expectancy of only a few decades is, to me, deplorable. That's why

ic's doubly sad when a Halprin landscape that has been around

only 30 years or so faces an uncertain fate. Halprin's latest at-risk

project is Heritage Park in Fort Worth, Texas (see "An Endangered Heritage," page 32). This walled modernise plaza has been deteri­

omring for years. Ies omdoor moms, framed by concrete walls, were designed as a contemplative refuge from the nearby downtown,

bur many in Fort \'\forth 5.1.W them as places a visitor could be cor­

nered. Then the cicy allowed a big ~rking snuaure to be built next

door, isolating the plaza from downtown. T his aa of disconnection

set the stage for homeless encampmenrs in the outdoor rooms.

W hen the concrete chipped, the city dido't repair it. Finally, the or­phaned plaza was fenced and its Iconic fountains tllmed of( [n re­

sponse to preservationists' pleas, the city is studying the deteriora­

tion to determine the COSt of restoration. Somehow J sense that the

"study" could be a prelude to the wrecking ball.

Remarkably, a walled, modernist plaza bui lt about the same

rime as Halprin's is still in mint condition halfway across thecoun-

rry(see "Baltimore'sGrounds for Art," page

92). Designed by the late George Parton, a

Philadelphia-based landscape architect, rhe \'\funzburger Garden sits at rhe en­

trance to the Baltimore Museum of Art

(BMA). It displays world-class sculpture

in a series of outdoor galleries, again

framed by concrete walls. An lovers can

walk among the Henry Moores, Rodins, Noguchis, and

other sculptures that punctuate its outdoor rooms.

What factors predispose one buil t landscape to early decay and

another to thriving decade after decade? In these two cases, the key

seems to be COflllecWflfSj based on institutional support. T he BMA

plaza is firmly tied to its museum. It is open only during museum

hours and, even during those times, is securely fenced. 111e fam ily

that endowed the garden left a fund for maintenance. At Heritage

Plaza, by contrast, any connection was broken when the city al­

lowed the parking garage to isolate it from downtown.

Not every built landscape can enjoy such a supportive parent as

the B/l.I A. Somearecursecl with a "deadbeardad" likethecicyofFoTt

\'\forth. But can the BMA plaza offer any lessons so rhat landscape

architects may design more loved onts and fewerorphans?

J. Will iam "Bill" Tho m pson, FASLA Editor / bthompJOrJ@aila.(ffg

GREEN

Can a Garden Heal Sex Abuse Victims?

I DON'T SEE HOW building a garden can

create closure for sex abuse vict ims ("Be­coming Unbroken ," March). They and their families are in pain, and I don't set' how they can go back to a place where they've been Victimized. They don't wam to bring back nightmares.

T he garden is really a place wher(' rhe church can precend co have reconciled its wrongdoing and make everything apolo­getic in the eyes of those who pass by. In the end, the victims aTC still hurring.

D ANIEL LAI K EJ MOK, STUDENT ASlA

MtA CANDIDATE

Unit'f!rsily 0/ Glldph, Ontario

What Should "Environmental Art" Looklike?

WH ILE I WAS AN UNDERGRADUATE

studying arc hisrory, J was exposed to

Chrisco and J eanne-Claude and their "en­vironmenral arr." The only ching "envi­ronmenral" about their arc is chac chey are using the landscape as their canvas. O ch­er than a few works, including The Gatef

and \f/rapped Reichstag, their work has al­ways appeared ro be insensicive ro che ac­tual environment.

"Surrounding" islands (SlIrroulJded ls­bllds) in pink fubric and wrapping a shore­line Of/rapped COtw) in erosion-control fab­ric cannot be good for t he marine and coastal ecosyscems that were affected by this so-called art; miles of curtains lming hillsides (Val/ey C"rtaill) and confining trees Of/rapped Trees) , even for just a few weeks, causes ecological impacts. 'l11eir art should really be labeled "texti le art " be­cause it is their use offabrics as their art is­tic medium that defines their work.

T hough Christo and Jeanne-Claude claim that the Audubon Society and rhe Sierra Club have sided with them in the past, it seems that th is would be due ro the public awareness of the environment that their works create. The Sierra Club does not seem to be siding wi th the artists for the Over the Rit'Cf installation. Members are concerned by the potential environmental degradation that this project could cause,

LETTERS

from upsetting already troubled bighorn sheep populations to the potential for the installation to be ripped down by the wind and cause a huge dam . Additionally, as William Thompson, FASLA, pointed out (Land Matters , April), the group Rags Over the Arkansas R iver (ROAR) has formed as a voice for concerned ci tizens upset at the amount of environmental is­sues this installation could cause.

It should not be denied that their work causes prolific publ ic awareness of the en­vironment, has bttn responsible for major

" The only thing 'environmental' about Christo and Jeanne­

Claude's art is that they are using the landscape

as their canvas. , , cleanups (rons of garbage were cleaned up in order to install S"rf(llllukd Mallds), and creates unique perspectives of boch man­made and natural formations. Personally, though, I find the sketches Christo pro­duces of the proposed installations much more appealing chan the actual installa­tions. Exceptions to this opinion include The Gates.: I attribute that to my percep­tion thac The Gates were not causing a neg­acive environmental impact. In fact , when I look at the documentation of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's ins tallat ions, the actual installations unnerve me, while the sketch­es allow me to ponder the alternative per­spect ive and to reflect upon the landscape. It would seem that they are going for that reflect ion in their installations, but the ac­tual installations seem cold and invasive upon the landscape.

So what should "environmental art'· look like?

Isn't that term a misnomer? Most arc deemed ';environmental arc" IS actually

"land art" or "site-specific arc." Land art is actually grand-scaled outdoor installations with the ecosystem a casual victim of the art­

work. Si te-specific art responds to its sur­roundiflh'S, may even highlight unique per­spectives, but is generallyabstrnct sculpture.

Perhaps the label "environmental art" should be reserved for describing the over­arching theme of an artist's works and not the type of art he or she pnxluccs. T his would include uncountable artists through the ages coming from a wide variety of dis­ciplines. In my opinion, environmental anists include Ansel Adams (a photogra­pher), Joseph Turner (a watercolorisr), Myoung Ho Lee (a photographer), and Hayao Miyazaki (a filmmaker). Like many mher environmental art ists they chal­lenged our perceived relationship with the environment, studied an area throug hout an age showing how that environment changed, or even enlightened their aud i­ence ro the wonders chat are a part of our environment, all wichout making che en­vironment a casualty of their work.

LOREY STINTON, ASSOCIATE ASLA

t\l,mrie, Indiana

I AM A !'.[EMBER of the board of directors of ROAR, che g roup opposing Over the

Riwr because of its potential for adverse ef­fecls on safety, the environment, and the local economy. Your April Land Matters on the proposed project summarizes our concerns very well and adds its own pithy observations.

\'V'ould you give our kudos to che artist who created the graph ic chac accompanies your commentary? It ·s a winner!

ELLEN T. B AUDER

Salida. Colorado

BORN AND RA ISE D IN COLORAOO, I have tosidewith ROAR . Coloradans have

almost always come to the rescue when they have seen large potential environmental damage to the state's natural resources.

It is time for a new definicion of "en VI­

ronmental arL·' I won 't presume to offer a definition, but the debate should begin to redefine this genre in light of today's

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LETTERS

en vironmental challenges . For now, though, let 's not impose rhis indusrrial­based work on our few remaining beauri­ful natural landscapes.

PHIL PUZICK, ASLA

Manassas, Virginia

lips on Getting lilrough the Recession

READING THE "Brother, Can You Spare Some New Construcrion?'" article in rhe

Apri l 2009 Ripmpcolumn made me rhink of a few suggestions for my fellow land­scape architects who have been affected by this economy. There are two things that help keep me busy, expand my network of contacts, expand my skill set , and assist in finding additional paid work.

The first is that I find a project/group for whom I can do some volunteer design work. It's not every day that they happen , so you have to keep yOUT eye open fOT groups purring rogeeher a project. They'll usually be mentioned in local magazines, radio, TV, and newspapers. Several years ago, I created a set of consrruction docu­mencs for a healing garden for the Valley Medical hospical in Renron, \Washington. I'd never done a healing garden , so it al­lowed me to expand my skill sec. A couple years prior to thae, I did some design work for the Conage L'lke Elementary School. Some parems and teachers gor together and requested some drawings so they could solicie donations . My current volunreer project is some low-impact developmem design work for the Kitsap County Conser­vation Diserict bui ldings and site.

The second thing I did was pretty simple; I joined ASUr.. In doing so, I found out aboue a recent charrette sponsored by WAStA and the Naeional Park Service fOr the Sinclair In­let near Bremerton, \Washington. Bue since most people reading this mah'Uzine are al­ready ASLA members, I'd suggest char ehey gee involved wi th their local chapeer.

The healing garden and outdoor class­room projec ts are shown prominencly in my portfolio, and you can be sure that rhe Sinclair Inlee project will also go in my portfolio.

J EFt' VARLEY, ASlA U?oodint1ille. \'(!ashinglon

Repair the National Mall? Now's Not the lime

IN ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION (Lmd

Man ers, March) regarding whether the government should grant $200 mi llion from the economic stimulus package to pay for the National Mall>s upkf't'p, I must ag~ with the resulting vote of Congress: no.

It's not that I don>t care abom the mall. Every time J visi t the mall I appreciate its

"\X'itb many higbly skilled citizens rulahle to find decent-payillg work, the restoration of the National Mall

is a 1 uxmy. ,',

simple, majestic beauty, but I also see lots of things chat need co be fixed. I'd like co see the mall continue co be one of the greatest works of landscape architecture, noc merely because it is located in Washington, D.C, bue because it is a work of goo:! design.

Bue r also realize thac we need to make sure chat the citizens of the United Srates are well raken care of. \'qich many highly skilled ci t izens unable co find decem­paying work, the resmration of the Nation­al Mall is a luxury. Funding a full restoration during this time in American history would be, in my opin ion, a political blunder.

J EFFREY D. WILLIAMS, STUDENT ASLA

VIRGINIA TECH \XIAAC

Alexandria, Virginia

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JUN( 20 0. L.ndstlpe Arthit,ttur, I 1 1

A sfigh/~)' ':rregll!ar!ook (/

T REEIIOIJSES COME IN MANY shapes and sizes, but Swedish architects T ham & Videgard Hansson's recycled aluminum and mirrored

glass cubes look more like something from a sci­fi movie than a Tarzan Aick. Designed for a hotel dient near the village of Harads in northern Swe­den, the treehouses will each provide a compact getaway for two people.

Beyond dle Canopy Bed

T rretop moo offer tourists a holiday that's liP, liP,

and away.

ilY L I \' D A ~d c l i\'Tr HI :.

the air, by rope ladder or across a rope bridge at­tached roa neighboring tree, and they can cl imb a ladder up the tree trunk to reach a roof terrace.

To protect the pine tree hosts and avian fellow guests, the structures will be held in place by "met­al rin!,'S around the trunk, with no damage to the trees, no perforation," says the firm's cofounder and

At 13 feet high, wide,and d('('p, the rubes will s[Xlrt a plywood interior fitted with a double bed, kitchenette, bath, and living room. Guests will enter and leave the shiny lodgings, 20 feet up in

parmer Marrin Videgard Hansson, and the glass will have a transparent ultraviolet colorro make it visible to birds.

T he architects firs t considered using "materials that people of­ten bring when they climb a mountain or camp in nature, like

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ls l landsupe ArehitechHe IUNl ZOot

WHERE INNOVATION COMES TO LIFE

JUh landscape structures-

EVOS;M our unique playsystem for kids 5 to 12+ years old, now has a companion for kids ages 2 to 5 called Weevos:M Evos and Weevos together offer age-appropriate challenges that f lex kids' muscles and st retch their imaginations What's more, we build each with environmental ly preferable materia ls and practices. To learn more about how Evos and Weevos enhance children's lives while honoring the environment, visit playlsi.com/ ad/evos-weevos.

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The cubes, left, were designed to protect the

host trees llnd visiting bi rds. In addition t o a

cozy living space, right, they will offer guests

specta cular views from

a roof terrace.

Gore-Tex, Kevlar," says Bolle 111am, but instead they opted for a design that is "nor vernacular. The lOCus is contextual," he says . "These mirror boxes afe high-tech, liglHwe iglH, and very simple stru((ures. At the same time (rhey are)disappearing, blending in with nature."

If all goes well, the first six mirrored cabins will be complet­ed by rhe end of the year, and ecotourisrs seeking seclusion be­hind the reflections of the forest will be in a prime spot to watch for bears, foxes, elks, and reindeer roaming over rhe forest floor.

- ROB ERT SUCH

META MORPH

Sculpture at HumanScaJe SfaflleJ;l1 Cellfral Park imfallatioll dOIl't qllite hew to heroic tradition.

CHRISTIAN JANKOWSKI'S Lit1illg Sat/pll/rtf looked at first glance [ike traditional bronze tributes to well­

known figures such as ChI" Guevara. In fuet the dl ret' figures on view over the winter and early spring on Central Park's Doris C Freedman Plaza were based on three street per­formers Jankowski spotted in Barce lona, billing them­selves as "Caes.,\f," Guevara, and a character inspired by Salvador Dali's Anthropomor­phic Cabinet W'ankw: statues of people pretending to be statues. 111equirkiness of the figures, shown under the aus­pices of the Public Art Fund, pulled in JXlSsersby for a closer look. \'{then uluiswpt Architectllre checked out the The statues, at an often-bustling entrance installation on a ~1.(e wimer Saturday, a tocldler to Central Pilrk, prompted some double takes was trying to crawl onto ';Caesar's" lap. itS onlookers took in their quirk,. qualities.

20 I landsupe ArchitechHe JUNl 2001

-AWARD CORNER LAs Honored far Contemporary and ClaJsical Design

S NANE COEN, ASLA, principal and founder of Coen + Partners of Minneapolis and New York City, was selected by the Archi­

tectural League of New York

as one of 2009's Emerging

Voices. The honor, to recog­

nize and encourage promi­nent young designers, is usually bestowed on archi­

tects. Coen, who discussed his finn's work in

a March lecture at the league, is one of only 10 landscape architects spotlighted in the

award's 27.year histoIl.

The Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America's 2009 Arthur Ross awards for Excel­lence in the Classical

Tradition recognized Perf)' Guillot of

New York for landscape architecture. The Library of American Landscape History in Amherst, Massachu5eHs, won an aWilrd for publishing and history.

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CHILD'S PLAY

Soft on the lnside, Hard on the Outside From children's lamasy 10 living reality: the first hOllsing development designed by kids.

O NeE UPON A TIr.rE, (here was a con­strucrion cooperative in chI' small norch imiian town of Correggio. In 1990, its

members made a decision chac would radi­cally change [he way rhey worked.

Taking on a new name, Andria- in­spired by an ideal cicy in l ralo Calvi no's novel, 1lltIlsibleCitier- they tmnsformed it from a cooperative for abitdzioni (habita­tions) into a cooperative for abitam! (in­habitants). One of Andria's founding ar­chitects, Luciano Pamaleoni, says this was somedling of a revolution. "We had to

learn ro liseen to the service users, in other words, families." Taking their logic one step farther, Andria decided that, since fam ilies com­prise both adults and children, they would have to lis ten to chil~ dren as well as adults. And that's how the idea to build Coriando~ line was born .

The firs t phase began in 1995 with a research project involving 700 chi ldren from 12 local nurs~ ery and elementary schools. Fifty teachers and two child psycholo~

gists worked together wJth a

22 1landsupe ArehitechHe JUNl 2001

engJneers, surveyors, bU1lders, and carpen~

rers talking to the ch il ~

dcen, rabng them on trips to learn about ar~

chicecmre, encouraging them to draw, and bui!d~

ing models with them. Four years lacer che

Afaflijesf(l oj Children's Liv~ Ing Needs was published , a discillation of rhe most popular needs and desires ex~

pressed by rhose children as to how chey would like their ideal house to be. Essen~

rial feamres ranged from "transparent," "hard outside," and "soft inside" to " play~ ful," "decor:J.ted," and "magicaL"

Some of the requesrs were easier to meet than others. Pantalooni says the feature they devoted the most imporrance to in Corian~ doline's design was che concept of p lay.

"Everywhere you go in Italy, dle most common sign you'll see is NO FOOTBALL ALLOWED. Honestly, you'd think p laying football was the most dangerous thing a child could do!"

In Coriandoline, children are al~ lowed to play in all the communal areas, including garages that dou~ ble as covered playground areas. With entrances that look like the mouths of giant monsters, the

The feature they devoted the most importance to

in Coriandoline's design was the concept of play. garages are buried under hills plamed with a spe­cially seleaed combina~ cion of plants to give

them differenc~co lored leaves and flowers and scents to sniff all year~round.

Emphasis has also been given to color and decoration. The walls of the houses are vibrant shades ofblue, pink, orange, yellow, and green, wirh giam flowers , birds, buc~

rerflies, and smiling children painted by renowned Italian painter, illustrator, and set

designer Emanuele Lunari. He died last year, but not before seeing his designs re­produced from the models to rhe real walls of the buildings.

Even residents who don'r have children appreciate their design ideas. G ino Neviani, a single man who lives in one of che apartmencs , says the main reason he came to live in Co­riandoline was because rhe neigh~ borhood is so quiet. He's got 7tH) infant school pupils to thank for that: "Peaceful " was one of their top 10 essential requirements.

- D A NY MITZMAN

O riginally broadcast on The 5we \Ve'w III, Radio Nerherlarxls World~

wide; reprinted with permission .

IN TH E EARLY PART of the 20th centU­

ry, Seaule took on iu own, small-scale version of digging rhe Panama CanaL Civic boosters were convinced (hat mar­itime commerce would be hugely en­

hanced byconnecring Lake Washington to

LIke Union and rhen to Elliot Bay in Puger Sound. Twenty years kl,[cran inland water­way connected freshwater with saltwater and allowed seagoing ships ro come into sheltered harbors for maintenance, repair, and storage over rhe wincer seasons.

Trouble was, Lake Washingron was higher chan sea level by dozens of feet. The system of canals and curs and locks [hat connected these lxxIies of water lowered rhe lake by as much as eight feet. 111is had rheeffecr of creat ing whole new shorelines of dry ground that were quickly covered with houses. In some shallow, barely navi­gable inletS, deep, peary soils were exposed. Although lowered, rhe 1C\'e1 of £IX' lake still fluctuates up to several feet seasonal ly, and these boSh'Y areas art periodically inundat­ed with fresh lake water, This has allowed a rich variety of wedands-associated \"('ge­ration to flourish in areas that wert entirt­ly below water 100 yc-ars ago.

24 I l.ndH.p.Arehlhehlr. JUNl 200.

Mercer Slough demollstl'a tes the value of preserving wetlands in the city By Mark Hinshaw

Mercer Slough on the east side of Lake \X!ashinsron was one of a number of these wet, marshy areas. On the west sideofSeat­rle, a number of these wert used as landfills;

residents and businesses simply dumped their refuse into them O\"('f decades. 100ay rhese areas have severe problems of differen­tial serdement and medmne gas emission.

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This narrow finaer of b grass, peat, and water pokes a mile and a half into the heart of the city.

However, because (he east side of the lake had wry sparse settlement parrerns umil rhe 1950s, Mercer Slough continued to be a relatively intact wetland.

T his d id not Stop developers from crying [Q fill the edges of {he slough for building sires. As recenrlyas [he 1980s, some parts were fi lled for construct ion until the city of Bellevue invoked regulations co hale any fur­cher encroachment. Today, instead of development , Mercer Slough is a 320-acre natural area, owned by the city and maintained as a part aries extensive park and greenbelt system, within a short distance of the high­rise towers of Bellevue's rapidly growing downtown.

Ten years ago the city commissioned Seattle-based Jones &Jones Architects and Landscape Architects co prepare a master plan for the park. The plan called for a seven-mile network of trails, canoe trails along the waterways, some wet land-dependent agriculture, wildlife habitat, and an interpretive center. T he over­riding concept was to intrude upon the natural sys­tems to the least extent possible.

This narrow finger of grass , peat, and water pokes a mile and a half into the heart of the city. Con ifer trees sweep down from the uplands, tmnsitioning to decid­uous crees and understory and framing the lowlands with a grren edge. Blueberry fields- a remnant of pre­World War II decades as an agricultural area- flank one side and still offer up a large yield each year. A wide seg ment of Interstate 90 slides over the south

26 1landsupe ArehitechHe JUNl ZOot

The Environmental Educalion Cenler, designed by

Jones & Jones, was carefully inserted into the tree

canopy on Ihe east side of Ihe park, here. The park master plan by Jones & Jones, below, calls for a nel·

work of trails, interpretive signage, and places for

blueberry fields with minimal parking so Ihal the natural setting remains intact.

Philip di Giacomo on Change • G:::>Io~a4o Yiard,scape,s l'>1a4e ~ b.J:Jer. :L>71'~~ed "'0/ cl;e"t ,se~V;Ce capa6;I;t;e,s. eVe" jav'e l'>1e 1'>10~e 61'>1e to C~ea.te. -rhey d;d

,"t Ly lett;"j l'>1e 6e "'o/,se/I"'. By u6/;z;"j "'0/ C~eL"; 01' art;,san,s and hav-,"j

"'0/ C~ew t~a':" the;~,s. So u;ht'le everyth;I?j ',s chc""jed, l..Je ,s6//l'>1aKe the

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end- a discordant testimony to the era when rile bui lding of infrastructure d is­counted the value of wetlands.

And before laws were adopted to pre­vent the destruct ion of wetlands, a slice of the Mercer Slough was filled for a low­slung office park of nondescript buildings. T he buildings wert' buil t on piles rammed deep into the peat, but rheasphalr parking lots surrounding them have slowly sunk back into the soft soi l in a kind of revenge of natural forcts.

A recent and sp lendid addition to the Mercer Slough Narure Park is an environ­mental education cemer. Operated by rhe Seaccle-based Pacific ScienceCencer, the new center offers classes on environmenml stew­ardship cochildrenand adults. Designed by J ones & Jones as a follow-up co their previ­ous work, the complex of structures and walkways continues co express rhe idea of

2s l landsupe ArehitechHe JUNl ZOot

""""""" keeping disturbance of the land to a minimum. Perched up on taU posts, the cemer Sttms as if it floats above the site like a cluster offeather-light tree houses.

Jones & Jones integrated a number of sllsrainability principles imo the design of the site. Surt.1.Ce water runoff is captured and directed into catchment areas topped by a splayed array of gabions. Some of the gabions are level with g rade. Others are re-

Perched up on tall posts, the center seems as if it floats

above the site.

raining walls topped with cement slabs that serve as sea t ing. Accord ing to

Mark J ohnson of Jones &

Jones, "T he gabions are designed to col­lect and send water downward directly into the soils without anyconcemration of nmoff like a solid wall would cause. Any excess water thar has not infiltrated imo the soils is collened in swales downslope from the gab ions and is direned imocon­strLlcred wetlands before it reaches the slough ." ' Johnson observes, "T his is not un like the benefits of a pervious hardscape with reduced storm water conveyance and decreased chance of erosion." Along the adjacent roadway, a wooden boardwalk sec on four-i nch helical piles substitutes for a sidewalk, which would have required ex­tensive fill. (T he city !"(""<juired the board­walk as a replacement for a bike trail that

had prev10usly existed nearby.) RunotTfol­lows the natural grade and finds its way to

swales beneath the soaring walk. Instead of one singular structure, which

wOllld have had a large footprint, the design team gave each part of the program for the

30 I landsupe Architechne JUNl ZOot

Environmental Education Center its own small building. T his allowed each to be slipped in between existing mature stands of trees. TIle buildings resembleacollenion of huts with mature trees branching out with­in inches of walls and overhanging roofs.

The small buildings that make up the

Enwironmental Education Center

were slipped in between existing

mature stands of trees.

"111e struc[Ures are connected by wood-planked platforms that project om over the hillside. At several {Xlims, sections jut out past buildings allowing views down into the park and of towering buildings in the distance.

A more literal tree house extends upward into the tree canopy. TIlf high perch seems rather precarious and, indeed, a locked floor hatch re­stricts unsupervised access . The complex includes a building con­taining a wet lab for research into plam and animal life associated

with wet~1.nds. Students and researchers col­lect samples from the slough and conduct testS, In contrast to the other Structures, the wet-lab structure extends out from theslop­ing grade and carries grasses and light soil as part of a "green roof" design.

· • • , l

A "flyin g bridge" allows visitors to hower in the

tree canopy and look down on the wetlands"

There is a soft"surfaced trail be low"

Below the structures, pathways wind through the park, some allowing for shorr strolls and others allowing for much longer hikes that wind for miles around the perimeter. At points the pathway lies in t he shadow of a massive freeway overpass set on a series of 1:1t, round columns. Cars and tmcks noisily soar overhead, and detrims and oils from the passing vehicles form a sickly residue in the watery muck below. 111(" intrusion oflate-2Oth-cenrury highway building comrasts sharply with the natural systems of water, grasses, and soils-a more dramatic lesson in the former unden.'aluing of wetlands would be hard (0 nnd.

Mercer Slough Namre Park, along with its soaring educational cemer, is a VIvid demonstration of the value of preserving and protecting our wetlands, especially in urban areas. It displays both the value of what was saved and the tragedy of what was lost.

Afark H lIIShaW is direrlor of tlrball desigll for I..AIN A rchileds ill Smlrlealld is a frequent ((111-Iribtllor to Landscape Architecture.

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parrment of Parks and Community Servic­es (Patrick Fomn, director; Ken Kroeger, project manager). Tenant: Pacinc Science Cemer, Seattle (Bryce Seidl, CEO; Darla Norris, CFO) . .An:hitecture and landscape arch ..

lecture: Jones & Jones, Seattle (johnpaul Jones, principal in charge; Mark Johnson, project manager/project architect ; Nate Cormier, ASIA, project landscape an::hitect; Stephanie Ingram, an::hitect; Wesley Sim­monds, ASLA, landscape designer; Kevin Carl). Environmental pennitting: Vicki Morris Consulting Services, Seattle. Geotechnical de­

sign: Shannon and Wilson, Seattle. CMI mgt.

neering: PACE Consulting Enginttrs, Seattle. Sbucturalengineemg: Lund and Everron Struc­tuml Engineers, Seattle. MechanicaVpUnbing: Smntec, Seattle. EtectricaVcommunicatlons/ IigItiIg design: Spar! i ng, Seattle. Cost estknating: Davis Langdon, Seatrle. ComnMssioningagent

111e Greenbusch Group, Seattle. Generalcon· tractor: Berschauer Phillips Construction Company,Searrle(jim Phillips, Al Bowen , Keith Michel, Tyler Parror). Constructiongeo­tecmcalseIYices: Hayre McElroy, Redmond, \'V'ashingcon.

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JUN( 20 0. L.ndstlpe Arthit'ttur, 1 31

O Alli\SlFORT WORTH is gifted with many celebrated public landscapes from rhe modern era, including Philip Johnson's Fort Worth Water Gardens (1974) and 'nlanks-Giving

Square (1974); Daniel Ki ley's Dallas Mu­seum of Art (1983) and Foumain Place (1986); and Peter Walker's Nasher Sculp­ture Center Garden (2005). Perhaps less familiar to most Texans is Heritage Plaza in downtown Forr \'Vorrh, the state's only significanr design by Presidential .Medal of ArtS recipient Lawrence Halprin, I'ASlA.

Heritage Plaza, located at rhe site of rhe city's original 5enJemenr overlooking rhe Trinity River, originated as a celebration of rhe U.S. bicentennial . TIl{' urban water park physically links rhe city's cemer [Q

the river while symbolically (onneni ng Fon \'{tarrh (0 irs 1849 origins.

City aur horiries ended water flow through Herimge Plaza's features in Sep­tember 2007 and erc-cu·d perimeter f(onc-

32 1 l.ndH.p, Arehlhehlr' JUNl 200.

The da)'s ma)' be II umbered for La IVrence Halprin's Heritage Park . By Michal G. lineup, ASlA

ing to cut off public access, disconcerting many Fort \'{forth residents, Due largely to deferred maintenance, Heritage Plaza has been in steady decline over the past deGlde with fountains gone dry, trees over-

grown, understory plantings dead or re­moved, and paving deteriorated or broken,

BeGluse of its unc(ortain future, Heritage Plaza is among II sites listed on Preserva­tion Texas's "Most Endangered Places

2009:' Since 2003, the nonprofit organization annually has devel­oped a list ri places imperiled due [Q negro or threatened by possible destruction, adver.>(' development, or neglect. H iswric Fort \'{forth nominated Herifab't' PIa7n [Q be in­cluded in [his year's list as well as in 2008, The plightriHerifab'C Plaza also led t he Cultural Landscape Foundation to include it in land­slides 2008: Marvels of Mod­ernism, a photographic exhibition

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spcxlighting 12 private aod public parks in danger of demolition or irreparable damage due [0 a variery of maors,

In the late 1960s, rhe Forr WOITh Streams and Valleys Committee commissioned L'lwrence Hal­prin and Associates roclC\'elop the design (ora 1 12-acre Her­itage Park to run along the T rinity River. The group asked Halprin (Q recognize rhe ciry's significanr hisrory, iocrease dlC amount of public space downtown, and honor the commiHee members' dedication (Q rhe hiS(Qricai and ecological treasures of Fort Worth.

Pan of rhe larger Heritage J Park projCCt, Herirage Plaza is sired on a steep bluff whert rhe West and Clear forks of

rhe Trinity River converge, JUSt

llQr[h of the Tarrant County Court­house and west of rhe Paddock Viaduct (the Main 5treft Brid!,'!'). l lle plaza site was selecr:ed for irs close proximi ty to the mi litary post of Fort Worth, establ ished by Major Ripley Arnold in ! ovem­bet- 1849. The imponance of the area was noted by landscapearchi­tect George Kessler in his 1909 plan for Fon \Vonh, and later studies of this area concurred that the site was central to the gcols of preserving views of the Trinity River and of connecting down­town Fort \Vonh to the river.

Heritage Plaza was construct­ed circa 1977 at an approximate COSt of$ \.3 million. Halprin had previously prepared planning studies of the Trinity River in 1970 and was familiar with rhe

The seating area in the western sedion of the site-specific issues. In 1976 in rhe Fort piau is deteriorating, .bore. One of the \'(Iorlh Slar-Telegram, Halpri n srared ,

pI.u.a'$ many water ieatUrH looks barren "Next [0 dlC Trinity itself, rhe bluffs art

without wattr, I~. The nistinllite conditions Fon \'V'orth's greatest naruraJ assetS. 111eir are depicted in the AutOCAO drawing below. physical form is an amphithearer 50 [080

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feet high and almost a mile long. They are well wooded and command fine views in se'Yeral directions."

Halprin designed (he plaza as a series of square "rooms" surrounded bysewrallarge warer walls. TIle plaza, as with all of Hal­prin's besc work, is memorable fur its strik­ing forms and sequences chac evoke mulci­pie associacions and recall varied references. As Halprin wrore in 1995 in George F. Thompson's Landscape ill America, "My own way has been co design rhe ourward fonns of nature but emphasize the results of the processes of nature .... This act of transmuting che experience of the narural laodscape inco hwnan-made experience is, for me, the essence of the art of landscape design."

Heritage Plaza is recognized alonboside Halprin's ()(her celeb raced projects, including the FDR Memo­rial in Washingcon, D.C.; Ghi­rardell i Square in San Francisco; and the Ira Keller Fountain in Portland, Oregon. Along with Charlottesville Mall in Virginia and F~way Park in $cattle, Heritage Plaza is one of th~ Halprin landscapes construct­ed to coincide with the celebMion of the nation's bicentennial.

A water wall, top left and right, and a

water channel, bottom left a nd right,

are shown with the water flowing and

after the water was tnrned off.

36 1 landsupe ArchitechHe JUNl ZOot

City authorities elided water flmy tlirou"h

tJ

Heritage Plaza's features in Septem bel' 2007,

Tn addition , the plaza is a testamenr co Fort \Worth's long commitment co hiscoric preservarion, stemming from irs cicizens' dedication co the city 's heritage. Along

with the Forr Worth Streams and Valleys Committee , local patron Rut h Career Stevenson and the Amon G. Carrer Foun­dation were instrumental in ensuring the creation of Heritage Plaza. Tn fact , privare donations funded almosr 80 percent of rhe public projecr's construction cosrs. T he project and landscape archirect drew such arrention that among the dignitaries who arrended rhededication were Texas Gover­nor Bill Clemencsand b.dy BirdJohnson, the former firsr lady of the Uniced Stares who was Halprin's client when he serwd as

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a consultant to her Committee for a More Beautiful Capital.

Today, Heritage Plaza remains an excellent example of modernist urban design. Moreover, it is representative of landscape architecture of the 1970s, a time when cities nationwide com­missioned plans to reclaim urban areas and waterfronts for public enjoyment. The Texas H istorical Commission re­centlydetermined that Heritage Plaza, although less than 50 years old, is eligi­ble for listing in the National Register of Historic Places because it is recog­nized as a work of {"'Xceptional signifi­cance within H alprin's lxxly of work and among modernist landscapes.

To celebrate Heritage Plaza's inclu­sion in the Cultural Llndscape Foun­dation's Landslides 2008: Marvels of Modernism list, mOTe than 100 local

3s l landsupe Arehitechne JUNl ZOot

architects, landscape architects, interior designers, and preservationists gathered on February 5 for a reception in conjunc­tion with the exhibition 's opening at the Design \'Xfithin Reach Swdios in South­lake, Texas.

Michal G. TiIlCllP, ASLA, is pri'Kipal ojSflldio Tillmp LmdscapeArchiteas fIl Arlillgtoll, TtXaS.

Resource • • "Second Man Missing," by Kevin Sloan; Land.i[djle Archit/l[wre, April 2003.

live Oak Grove, top left, is the central space

of the plaza, which features other garden

rooms, alHJre and far left. DeS(:riptive grafitti,

left, dec:orates a wall in the plaza.

One of the water channels enli,ened the space

when the water was flowing, bottom kft,

but is dry now, bottom right.

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" I HAD ALWAYS BEEN ANTI-BLOG," re­

members Jason A. King, ASLA, of Port­land, Oregon. Like many, he equated blogging with keeping an online jour­nal; he didn't think rhe medium had

much to offer him professionally. But about two years ago, King's opinion changed dramatically. He was working on a design compe£irion and needed a way to

manage all the ideas, images, and web Jinks he was gathering through his re­search. He realized blogging would be the perfect way to organize himself while giv­ing him achancc [0 share his research with others. Today, King's Lalidsca{le+Urball;sm Blog has readers around rhe world. In the past year, it has been viewed nearly 500,000 times.

Bur it is only one of the many landscape architecture-themed blogs thar have sprouted up in recent years. There are blogs focusing on many d ifferent mcets of the profession, from garden design to parks, from sus rain­ability to playgrounds. Some of these blogs are managed by landscape ar­chitects, some are managed by pro-

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fessionals with related degrees, and some provide a unique opportunity to hear opin­ions from people ourside the profession­to hear from the people we serve.

What benefits does blogging offer landscape architects?

Blogging is more than JUSt a way of organ­izing your ideas. On a personal level, blog­ging can be an escape from the daily grind of working in an office. "My blog devel­oped from a need to vent my passion for the optim istic, idealistic, and creative as­pectS of landscape architecture that were often absent from the daily duries of run­ning my business," says Christian Barnard,

THE DIRT ON BLOGGING How can blogs change

the way we communicate about landscape architecture? By Daniel Jost, ASLA

who runs the Christian Barnard Lalldscape B/og. For Barnard, blogging is cathartic; his blog gives him someth ing that he can define and control completely.

Adam E. Anderson, who runs the blog Design Under Sky, says he smrred his blog as a lab. "Many of the ideas are purely con­ceptual," he explains. "Bur as I write, they sometimes morph or spawn new directions that have the potential to materialize."'

While most of Anderson's experiments are thOlight experiments, there are O(JIX>rtu­nities to pur blogging to a more scientific use. Roy-Fisher Associates' blog, Sprollt, aims to encourage sustainable design in its region and to brand itself as a fi rm that·s

knowledgeable abour sustainability. "South Florida is behind the rest of the country because much of our population is parr-time and most of the design pro­fessionals are transplants from other parts of the COUntry," says Connie Roy-Fisher, ASLA. She was concerned that when technologies like green roofs were im­plemented, chey would not be sensitive to the region's unique climatic issues­hot humid summers and scrong tropical

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winds-and this would discourage further applications of the new technologies.

So her firm has been testing technolo­g ies at its office. Scaff members placed a few g reen roof trays on top afcheir roofand planted them with different species to see what would g row. The first experiments were more anecdmal than scientific. \X1hen Glenn A. Acomb, ASLA, whodoes research on g ret'n roofs, found the firm 's blog, he {'­mailed the staff about problems with their merhooology. 13m the firm has taken these criticisms constructively and even posted Acomb's e-mail on its blog.

Additionally, their experiences show how blogs allow for the quick dissemina­tion of information aoour very specialized topics. Even as specialized as u mdscapt A r­chitecture is , it 's unlikely this mag azine would ever cover a small experiment that only applied to a few species of plants in a specific region. It wouldn't interest enoug h of our readers. Bm as a landscape architect working in that region, knowing about that experiment could be very valuable to you. Reg ional blogs have the potential to fill that hole.

Roy-Fisher Associates ' experimentation

hig hlights some of rhe streng ths ofblog s. If the firm had been conducting experi­ments internally without posting them on its blog, it may have never reali zed the flaws in its methods. Now rhe firm has re­ceived some feedback, and Staff will be able m improve rheirexperimenrs.

But of course it also reveals a map r issue with the medium. Since there is usually min­imal (if any) editi ng and no peer review, hlogs may nO{ always provide credible infor­mation. "{My} blog actS as a part of my process, nO{ as an end result," says King ... ,

~

What Is a Blog?

THOUGH WE HEAR THE WORD "blog" all the time these days, actually pinning

down adefinirion is surprisingly hard, TIle rerm has been used to describe a broad [':lnge of web sites that evolved from the on­line journaling sites of the lare 1990s, 810g­ger.com's answer to the question is proba­bly the most comprehensive, "A blog is a personal diary," it explains. "A daily pul­pit. A collaborntive space. A political soap­box. A breaking-news ourlet. A collection oflinks. Your own private thoughts. Mem­os to the world. Your blog is whatever you want it to be ..

What ties all these types of sites togeth­er is asimilar format. Unlike most web sites that connect from page to page using but­tons that must be updated as more infor­mation is added, a blog is designed so you can make continuous entries or "posts" over time without having to reorganize the site. The posts are generally displayed in reverse chronological order, with the newest entries appearing at the top of the page. TIlese lXlStS may include any combination of text, pho­tOS, sound, video, interactive polls, and links

42 1 landsup, Arehit,etllr' JUNl zo o.

Dlogs allow for the quick dissemination of information about very specialized topics.

mother web sires. Tn addition to the POStS themselves, there is usually some general information abom rhe person, company, or group rhat runs the blog, a list of links to other blogs (called a blogroll), and an archive thar allows you m see old entries by date or subject area.

Another common feature is an area where readers can make pub­lic comments at the end of each post. Sometimes, these comment areas can act much like che "Iet­ters to the editor" section in a magazine or newspaper, but, if a topic is heaced, they may develop into a more intemctive forum where readers can have an ongo­ing convers.·1tion with one an­other. TIle person or group that manages the blog generally has the ability to moclerate these discussions. They can decide who is allowed to comment, and chey can remove spam and material chey feel is hateful or offensive.

would hope that readers would not judge the content as more than it really is-a partic­ular stream of consciousness, barely edited, and often late-night musings. More com­plete ideas will show up in formal writing , competitions, speculative works, and, most often, my desig n solutions."

Blogg ing can be a gteat way to gain ex­posure for yourself or your company. "Start­ing a blog was a continued effort to help my business's web site reach more potential dients:' says Rochelle Greayer, a landscape

20 09

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designer and wri ter whose blog, Stlldio g, was launched on her company's web site in July 2008. Since then her blog has grown exponentially, and in March, she had more than 1,000 K"aders each day­approximately 30,000 readers that month. Part of the reason for her success is the sheer number of postS she makes; the blog is updated a few times daily. "I have had a lot of opJX>rtunities fOr writ­ing, as wel l as some design projens, come from connections made through the blog," Greayer says. She has been invited to write on other blogs, has written arti­cles for a hospitality indLlStry newsletter, and has recently been contacted about writing for a magazine.

You can visit ASLA's blog, The Dirt, at http://dirt.llsia.org.

pie with similar interests. Bm it also means you will need to be more thought­ful about what you write and JX>sr. Any­one, including your employer and your clients, will be able to SCf it. If people find one of your postS and think it 's particu­larly interesting, they can link to it and

O thers like King and An -derson have purposefully sepa­rated their blogging from the companies they work for to free themselves to write about whatever they want withom having {O censor themselves. 'T his is very imJX>rtant co me," says Anderson . "[ don't want my office misrepresented for anything that I discuss be­cause [ don't ce nsor my content.

Greayer has found yet another benefit of blog­ging. "Creat ivity breeds creativity, and 1 find that writing about design has made me not only a more educated designer, but a more imaginatiwone

Who can read your blog?

Privacy controls allow bloggers to decide whether their blog will be publicly available. Some people limit their blogs to a small munber of people-friends or a group that's working to­

gether on a projen- while oth­ers can be found using search engines and read by anyone who's interested.

Having a public blog creates opportunmes to connen to peo-

Christian Barnard Landscape Blog Christian Barnard, Victoria, British Columbia

Address: Irttp://clrristillnbamardblog,bIogspot.com

Focus: Land art, naturalistic plantings, urban agri­

cuhure, garden design

Sample posts: An inteniew with a landscape design·

er in the United Kingdom, ,arioU$ concepts for Yerti­

cal farming, 10 avant·garden

makers rou

should know

Barnard on

keeping a blog:

"What started as

a cathartic re­

sponse to mr daily frustrations, a soapbox for my

philosophies and ideals, has transformed into an in·

,aluable source of connections and has led to sig·

nificant personal and professional growth. People

from across the globe ha,e contacted me to com·

ment on the blog's content and mr commitment.

Some of these spontaneous gestures have grown

into valuable friendships. I have also been ap­

proached by working landscape architects, blog­

gers, magazine editors, and advertisers who have

expressed interest in professional collaboration ....

It greatly reaffirms mr original intent for the blog to

know that other bloggers, designers, and larpeople

hare ,iewed mr blog, seen value in it, and mi"ored

mr optimism, hopes, and ideals. Mr Cilreer is now

mowing into wholl)' unupecled territory."

COIIIIUNICATION

share it with their friends, allowing the information to be spread vi rally. You may even fi nd yourself quoted without permission elsewhere on the Net or in print media, as I rt'Cemlydid when I lX):Sced a query in a public fo­rum on a social networking site.

Ofcol.lfSt', there is no guaramee that anyone will read what you write. To some extem it will depend on how in­reresting YOUT posts arc and whether you are filling some previously un ­filled niche. Most hlogging platforms allow you [0 rnoniwr the eraffic on YOUT blDg so you will be able [0 know how many people are reading it.

How do I s tart?

"Starring a blog is relatively easy," says Anderson. "T here {are} a number of blagging platforms out there. Some, like Blogger, are free and preccysimple

~

Sprout! Roy·Fisher Associates, Southern Florida

Address: http://sproutcastl.bhJgspot.com

Focus: Sustainable design in Southern Florida and therapeutic healing gardens Sample posts: Staff notes on some roof

plante" the, were using to experiment with plants in yarious soil media, a note from a professor telling them how ther could improve their experiments, com· mentary on the Florida Green lodge certi­fication program's lack of a landscape component Roy-Fisher on the time commitment inyolyed with

blo"ing: "We started Sprout as a result of a staff brainstorming session on how we could be more fo­cused on quality sustainable design and brand our­selyes along the wa,. We were inspired b, a market­ing comlHIny called Brains on Fire that has an incredibly creatiye web site and blog •••• I find it is yery challenging to keep up with the blog, let alone all our experiments, and run my office. If I were to keep the blog up the wa,I'd like, I would spend a minimum of 20 hou" a month. So far, I haren't been able to do that because of m, won. schedule."

Petersen Mfg. Co., Inc Concrete and Metalsite Furnishings

to use if you don't want a lot of cus­[Omization." If you can use a word

processor, you can probably blog without much trou­ble. Just choose a blog host­ing site (see Resources), click on the button that says "Create a Blog" (or something like that), and follow the instruct ions on the screen.

To see how much effort it would take, I started blogs

with both Bloggerand \'{!ordpress.com, rwo of the most iXlpular blog hosting sites. \Vhile I have experience using a variety of computer progmms and s0-

cial networking sites, I had never tried srarting a blog , but their directions were fairly stmightforward , and both rimes my blog was up and running in less than five minutes. It took more rime to come up with an orig inal name for each blog than anything else!

Once YOll g et yOllr blog g 01ng, you'll wane to look through all your

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settings (particularly your privacy set­tings) before you post and make sure they are at the level you want. Then just post and repeat!

If you would like your blog to appear as part of your per­sonal or company web site, it is possible to set that up in the user settings of many of the mOSt commonly used web­based applications. It takes a little more tech savvy, bur you can also host a blog through your ex­isting web site with a variety of free software available on the web.

How c:an I find out about other landscape arc:hltec:ture blogs? How c:an others find out about

my blog? The most popular blogs will show up in general websc--arches on Goog le, Ya­hoo, and other search engines. There are also search engines like Technorari (See Resources) that specialize in find­ing blogs. Bue one of rhe best ways co

~

Design Under Sky Adam E. Anderson, Southern California Address: www.desjgnundersky.com

Focus: A variety of subjects related to landscape ar·

chitecture with posts that are

conceptual and imaginative

Sample posts: The use of sound

and interactive media to ener·

gize the urban landscape,

geospatial mapping, the land

art of Andy Goldsworthy, speculation on how teaming with unconventional

creative minds-like The Flaming lips-might rede­

fine what II landscape could be

Anderson on blouing', place within the news media:

"I don't think professional journalism will ever be

completely replaced by bloggers., in similar fashion that new design $OfhJare in the hands of laymen will never replace the need for architects. But bloggers have II freedom of specificity and don't face the same sort of editing that journalists can be hindered by. With so many topics, happenings. and ideas, there's no WilY even an online magazine can cover all this info. The unbelje,able attribute of blogs is their ability to 'fill in the cracks' of uncovered material."

find out about new blogs is by click­ing through the blogroll on a blog that interests you. TIle blogroll is a list of "kindred" blogs that the person who runs a blog finds interesting. ~-fost blogging software will also have a dashboard, which allows you to fol­low other people·s blogs either pub­licly or privately through an RSS feed. When('Ver you decide to publicly fol­low other people's blogs, they can find out about you and your blogs. Many blogging platforms also allow you to

find out when others have linked to content on your blog . This encourages conversation between bloggers and creates a sense of community.

Can you make money from blogging?

Many blob'S try to make money through advertising. While it IS fuirly easy to put ads from Google Adsense and Ama­ron.com into your blog, very few people make a significant amount of money through this SOrt of adverrising unless

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they reach a very large audience. '" host ad­vertising like Google Adsense," says Ander­son. "$orne revenue comes from it, but it is very minimal."

Many of the blaggers interviewed for this story have been hesitant to add any ad­vertising for fear that it would compromise their message. But other blogs like Stlldio g that have a large readership are experimem-

A Valuable Teaching Tool

As AN EDUCATOR, I find blagging a useful way to spur discussion and en­

courage students to go beyond what rhey are required co learn for class. My blog, Places and Spaces, starred om as a casual experiment in December 2006. I had previously tried creating an online bulletin board for class discussions, but that turned om [0 bore both my stu­dents and me, so r didn't have high ex­pectations for blagging when J started. N or recognizing its potencial, I chose a name that wasn't distinct and an address that was hard to remember. But almost immediately I d iscovered that my blog was gerring read by both students and strangers, and it was becoming a valu­able creative outlet for me.

Between laptops in studios and i­Phones at lunch, students are connected with the Internet for much of their day. \'{lhi le I don'r necessarily want to increase their time online, I would like to

ing with more significant advertising­banner ads and actually advertising within some posts. "I read a lot ofblogs," says Greayer, "and I find that on many of my fa­vorite sites, the advertising is acrually a fea­ture because the site editor has carefully chosen the advertisers to suit their readers. For Studio g, I want to SUPIx>rt small busi­nesses so the landscape-related products {they make} can reach a global audience. Products advertised will always be garden related and something ' would consider buying for myself or a cliem." These sorts

the web and comment on issues affect­ing the profession . Some postS feature photos J have taken of places and events. One of the ideas I've tried is having guests name their three favorite exam­ples of landscape architecture; these en­tries provide photos and maps that show where these spaces are located.

The blog serves as a great foil for class­room conversations. When I am plan­ning to talk in class about something controw:rsial, like New Urbanism orem­inent domain, I use the blog to link to

provocative art icles on the subject. \X1hen J make these POStS a day or two before class, I can usually coum on a more ener­getic discussion. Unlike the textbook, which remains vitally important, the on­line items can be more fun and more readily invite criticism.

The blog is also helpful when I am re­cruiting new students. The Environmen­tal Planning and Design program at

of posts have the lX>temial to function sim­ilarly ro the innovative new products fea­tured in the editorial areas of many shelter magazines. Greayer has even run contests on her blog, partnering with a book pub­lisher ro give away free copies of a new book to help it gamer publicity.

What are some of the legal

Issues I should c::onsider before

I start my blog?

While blogging can fed likescmpbooking, it's legally a different sort of animal. In the

Rutgers University offers four degree paths: landscape architenure, landscape indusuy, environmental planning, and environmental geomat ics. \'{lhen I re­cruit potential students, they often find these labels unclear, so [ direct them to

my blog, where they can separate the pOStS by subject and see which one most excites them . I know that my blog getS pretty good traffic from web searches, so I hope thac maybe one or twO potential students stumble into us chat way, too.

I am constantly coming up with new ways to use my blog. N ow, when we have guest speakers, [ Often try to "live­blog" it, creating a small record of some key things they said. O neof {he most un­expected and touching uses came when the blog became a makeshift memorial site where classmates, friends, and fam i­ly posted remembrances of a young alum who had passed away.

see them reading a little more about Places and Spaces

Some advice for other professors inter­ested in blogging: You can't lure scudents in by pretend­ing to be cool (e.g., using their chosen profession. I figure if

my blog is easy to reach and reli­ably distracting, maybe they'lI keep coming back .

O n the surface the content on Places and Spaces may seem a litrle random. Occasionally, the blog be­comes a bulletin board where I stick a note for a specific class. I also post announcements for public events or lectures that our students and professionals in New Jersey might find stimulat ing. But most of the information is accessible toa wider audience. I link to articles J find on

4s l landsuP'Archit'etllr, JUNl zo o.

Dnid Tulloch, "'SUI, Rutgers University, New Jersey Address: http://epd372.biogspot.com

Focus: News and commentary related to landscape architec· tUre and environmental plan· ning, posts specifically tailored to Tulloch's dasses Sample posts: A heavily iIIus· trated post on Pare del Audi-toris, notes from a presenta­tion by Stu Appel, ASUI, on his work in DUNi, a quick note on a news story about New Or· leans that might be of interest to his students

cultural references and slang that aren't part of your nor­mal communication style); they are far too savvy for that. A nickname has emerged for a web environment where a college professor tries too hard to create a fun online place------the creepy tree house. I think that my blog has worked because I treat it as a natural outlet for my diverse academic interests.

~

A Voice from Outside The Profession

My DAY JOB liAS NOTHING to do with playgrounds. J work in a labo­

rmory, making and testing new nano­structures and nanodevices. But unlike some sc iemis£s, I don"t like [0 think about science outside work. I actually fed that turning my mind to other things helps me generate new ideas. Most of my leisure reading is about design, arch i rec­rure, and landscape. ' actually took a year off from the lab to get a master's degree in honrden history from the Universi ty of Bristol in the United Kingdom, and I continue to write in that /ield, mosdyfor scholarly ioumals.

[srarred blagging in January 2008, see­ing it as an online version of my "favori res" folders except with more commentary, a way ro keep track of things that interest­ed me. In a rush of enthusiasm [ starred a number of blogs covering my currene range of interests: garden history, church design, and intersections betwccn science and art. It was tOO many to keep up with, and interestingly, it is the science/art blog chac has really fallen by che wayside.

The playground blog scarted a bit lat­er. My small church needed a new play­ground, and in investigacing che options , did the standard thing and contacted commercial suppliers of playground equipment. , was stunned to find OUt that our minimum cost for a "'poles and plat­forms" set would be aOOm $25,<XlO; my budget was more like $1,000.

TIle monkey bars, for example, were in­stalled upright as climbing ladders, one of the platfonns was set on topof an earth­en hill, and swings and slides were added. I'm currently working on a toddler area using more earth fonns and stumps.

It is interesting that PlaYSCdjleJ has be­come my most popular blog, with three times the traffic of the others. It seems to

have really met a need, and for that J'm gmteful. I find the majority of the play­grounds I post through my own search-

Blogging is a truly egalitarian form of journalism.

No qualifications are necessary; it's the quality of your ideas that matters.

es on the web, through books, and in archives, bm some are suggested by my readers, which is helpful. As the biog has become bener known I am beginning to

hear from firms chat suggest their own projects or equipment for inclusion. While I'm happy to consider such re­questS, , feel quite proteccive of the site's contem, and ' only list things that 'find worthwhile. I consider myself a curator, in a way, consolidating all of these useful ideas and approaches inroa singlecollec­tion for everyone to view.

When ' started blogging , promised myself that I wouldn·t let it add stress to my life. , didn't (don't) need any more deadline pressure. But that changes when hundreds (okay, I"m into the thou­sands range now) of people visit the blogs daily. I"ve just been in London, where ' found that' had actual fans of my garden history blog, which is a new experience for me. You begin to feel a responsibili­ty to the people who are so kind as to take an interest in your ideas. Because I hope that the P/ayscape.r blog senres as an in­spiration to improve the experiences of children, there is an added sense of re­sponsibility, and inevi tably some pres­sure to keep posting comes with that. At the moment, I think ' spend about six hours a week b logging . I don't want to add it up, really, and it tends to be done in bits and pieces around other demands.

Aside from the sense of responsibility, I keep it up because J really enjoy blogging. I didn't know J would enjoy it so much. It enables me to discuss things for which I have a limited audience within my own circle, who have heard me bang on about playgrounds and garden history and the need for more thoughdl.d church architec­ture more than they can bear. I've never seen myself as a writer, so it has been en­ridling to have people compliment not JUSt my content but my writing. And for the playgrounds blog, I've been conraaed by people who let me know chat it has made an actual d ifference on the ground.

And the playground set didn't Playscapes, Garden History Girl Blogging is a truly egalitarian

form of journalism, , think. No qualifications are necessary; it·s chI" quality of your ideas that maners and that wins you a fol­lowing. Blogs allow for a much narrower focus than would be fi-

even look like very much fun. Cursory Internet searches rumed up loads of companies al l supply­ing basically the same things, and , thought there had to be better approaches out there. More exten­sive research led to some really in­novative approaches to play spaces designed by architects and anists and to play studies that showed that many commercial approach­es weren't in line with current re­search about how children need to develop. Givenour limited funds, we decided to repurpose a couple of standard wooden climbing Structures that had been donated.

Paige Johnson, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Addresses: http://phygrounddeslgns.bIDgspot.c&m,

http://gardenhistorygirl.blogspot.c&m

Focus: Unique solutions to children's play in the land·

scape, the history of garden design

Sample posts: A proposal

for a new slide that a de·

signer is looking to mass

produce, a playground!

hangout for teens at a

high school in london, a

historic photo of a play·

ground in New York from

1910, a playground that

can be used for teaching kids math, a historic English n·

tate called Stanway, a memorial to John F. Kennedy at Runnymede, ,intage gardens and their gardeners

nancially tenable in a more costly medium like a magazine, and they provide an easy way to gather togeth­er a group of people with common inter­ests. They give people like me, who are out­

side the traditional boundaries of the profession, an opportunity to have a voice.

CO II lID N ICATION

United Scates, bloggers must follow laws rel::mJ to copyright infringement and libel. TIlt'S!' issues become more imrxmam if your blog isaffiliaced with your company in some

way, due to the greater liability it creates. Libel should be easy to avoid. Just don'r

make any statements offact that could tar­nish rhe reputation of a person Of corpora­tion without having evidence to back up your claim. It 's fine to be cri tical and to

write a negative opinion, but make sure noneofyollf "opinions" aTe acmally a false statement of f.1.CL For example, writing something like "It is my opinion that xyz Landscape Architecture bribed a local offi­cial to bear me our on a projece" is some­thing that can be proven or disproven with certainty and may be libel if you cannot support your claim. Bur writing "XYI.. claims that its work is sustainable-what a bunch of grttnwashing" is more likely m be considered an opinion, since susrain-

~

Studiog Rochelle Greayer, Harvard, Mnsachusetts Address: http://greayer.com/studj(lg focus: Inf(lnnation pri· marily suited t(l garden designers working on res· idential projects or on projeds for hotels and spas. A good place to find interesting and unusual products for use in the landscape Sample pom: fabric walls that can be used for screening in the landscape, a garden created by a designer in India, highlights from a lighting designer's newly launched web site, photos of the flowers popping up in her own yard, drawings to win free stuff

ability is a relative concept, and how it is measurc--c\ is constantly changing.

Tn practice, very few bloggers actually follow copyright laws exactly, especially when it comes to posting images. T here is li ttle enforcement of copyright in the blog-

C I FIClE ".:, ON REAO£R SERVICE C~FID OR GO TO IiTTP1~NfO .HOTIMS.CQI.tIZl.09<·'"'"

50 I landsupe Arehotechne JUNl ZOot

Greayer on how her blog has taken on a life of its own and become more than just an adwer· tising vehicle for her business: "I am con·

stantly fascinated and excited by what other talented people are doing. so the blog has e¥olwed to become an inspira· tional place for other designers and hopefully for potential dients of any landscape professional. I really hope that Studio gwill help to promote a gar· den cuHure and passion for celebrating the outdoors in the United State5 and around the world (my daily readership comes from more than 150 countriesl.

I am generally of the opinion that landscape design professionals do not get their due. Wrth StudhJ gt 1 hope to open consumers' eyes to greater possibilities and raise the bar for design expectations."

osphere today. JUSt as most of the people who shared pirated songs on Napster were never sued by a record company, there·s a good chance you'll never get sued for post­ing copyrighted material on your blog. According m many bloggers, posting pho-

tos of another landscape architect>s work offhis or her web site will usu­ally be seen as a compliment radler than a reason for action, as long as you give the landscape architecc credit and link back to his or her site. And comrary to popular belief, it is a has­sle to sue people, so many people won't bother if they don·t think they have much to gain.

Nevenheless, it·s always a good idea to be cautious and ask belOre you post any creative works you don >t own, par­ticularly if there is a copyright symbol displayed where you found it. Even if the copyright owner doesn't sue you, he or she may repon your infraction to

whoever hosts your site and shut your blog down if you repeatedly infringe his or her copyright. And as the medi­um becomes more popular, enforce­ment willlikdy increase.

Copyright law is fairly complicat-ed. However, there are certain parts of the law that are pretty clear. "In no case does copyright protection for an original work

~

Landscape+Urbanism Jason A. King, ASLA, Portland, Oregon

Addreu: http:/A.mJsc.~.mJurb.nism.blogspot.com Focus: Integrating

ecological processes

into cities, primarily

through vegitecture­

architecture with 'lege·

tated rook and walls. Sample posts: Video of a

green roof in Vancouver

that's uuder construe· tion, pictures and commentary on a green wall project

that hasn't yet matured along with examples of other

sites with mature green rook and walls, commentary

on the winning entries in a skyscraper design compe·

tition, a book review

states Title 17 of the U.S. COOe (feder­al law). Copyright protens the cre­ative product used to express the

idea- writing, images, architectural works, recordings, and so on. Contrary to popular be­lief, creative works are copyrighted as soon as they are captured in a way that can be shared; it doesn>t matter if the

copyright is stated or not. Unless the work has been placed in the public domain or is explicitly licensed to be used in the way you are using it (many web sites now have buttons

King Oil the benefits of blogging: "(Blo"ing) has con·

nected me with other blo"ers, writers, and landscape architects around the world. These virtual and infor­

mal contacts have led to open dialogue and potential

collaboration in the future."

that will allow you to share content on blogs), YOll should probably get permission to POSt it on YOllr blog.

Now, there are provisions III the law that allow for the "fair use" of copyrighted work for purposes of

Cflt1(Jsm, comment, news repornng, teachlllg, scholarslllp, or research, but chis is where things gee a little murky.

of authorship extend co any idea, proce­dure, process, system, method of opera­cion, concepc, principle, or discovery,"

CIRCLE '"" ON REAO£R SUMCE CARO OR GO m HTll'l~NFO.HOT1MS.COMt.1"II<· '""

JUN( 20 0. Landstlpe Arthit'ttur, 1 51

CIFlCLE I, ON READER SERVICE CARO OR GO TO HTTf> AlNFO.HOTlMS. CCIWl3<_,

DID YOU KNOW? ·\SJ A represents morc than 16,()()() Imlfl~hite('ts in the United States and abroad. Ifyoll aren"t a member. join the lea(ling professional organization dedi('ated to IU'ollloting and fm·theloing tht· art and seiellt'c of land~('apc an'hiteetul'e. Contact memiu]rsh i}J@asia.org for information.

52 1 landsupe ArehitechHe JUNl ZOot

AMERICAN SOClfIY Of lANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 636 EYE SlRffl NW, WASHIN6TON, DC 20001·3736

202·898·2444 • fAX 202·898·2285 • WWWASUDR6

COIlIlUNICATlON

U.S. courts look at a number of factors when they dec ide whether the use of someone else's contem is fair use or not. T hese include: - "the purpose and character of use, in­cluding whether such use is of a commer­cial nature or is for nonprofi t educational purposes" - "the nature of the copyrighted work"

As you become a more prolific blogger, you will realize the importance of

citing sources and the value of these laws to protect your content.

- "the amoum and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyright­ed work as a whole" - "the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work "

These factors are nor considered alone, but in tandem widl one anmher and the First Amendment to the Constitution. Just because you don't have any ads and you are using a blog for your own educational pur­poses doesn 't necessarily mean that you can post an emire article from a newspaper or magazine on your site, even if you provide a citation, since that could potentially drive traffic away from the originatOfof that con­tem. But you could qume part of the arti­cle tocommem on it or use a quote to sup­pon your Ix>im of view. Also, it is OK if you decrease the potential market value of a copyrighted work, such as a i:xx>k, by crit­icizing it, but you aren't allowed todecrease its value by dis tributing unlicensed copies.

See the Resources seC{ion for resources on copyrights. And if you plan to use your blog to point people to articles that are elsewhere, if might not hurt to check in on the Huffing ton POSf web site from time to

time and see how it handles this, because its site is one of the most egregious news aggregamrs. Of course, if you want a solid legal opinion, you should consult a lawyer.

As you become a more prolific blogger, you will begin to realize the importance of citing sources and the value of these laws to protect your own content. "I have tried to reference the original content holder for every image and quote, both as a common courtesy as well as a way to link back to

more complete comem," says King. "Once you have infOrmation picked from your site and used without attribution, you under­stand rhe importance of ciring sources to

acknowledge the efforts of others. ,.

Resources For more information on copyright, li­bel, and other legal issues surround ing blogs, check Out the foUowing: • The Electronic Frontier roundation's "S loggers' Legal Guide," wUlw,eff org/ imle.r/ hloggers/legal/ baMity/ovtrview . "Don'rGet All Hutty Aoollt the Hufling­ron POSt," by Jack Shafer, Siale, /(Jw1(}.slale, coml id/221625I • Stanford Universiry has a very interest­ing site with a number of case studies on what consti(Utes ('lir use: hup;/Ijaimse. stanford ed,,/C opyright _alld _Fair _ U iC Over t!iew/chapler919-r. hlml • The U.s. Copyright Office, www.ropy right.g(IIJ Some Other Popular Blogs Focusing on Land scape Architecture and Relat­ed Subjects: • City Parks Blog (The Trust for Public Land), hup:l/cit)parksblog.o'X • City Room (New York Times), http:lkity room. b!ogs.lIytimei. ami • The Dirt (ASLA), http://dirt.aJla.org • Interchange (Planet izen), www.planet izen. wml interchange • Making Places (Project for Public Spaces), http://blog.PP1.org • Playborhood, http://playborhood.com • Pruned, http://Pflllled.b/OgJPOf.aJ111 • Streets Blog, www.streetsblog.org • Vulgare, WlllUJ.t'lllgare.nft Some Free Blog Hosting Sites: • Blogger, IIltvU'.Blogger.COfll

• Live Journal, tVllltv.lit.'tjollnlal.rom

• Word Press, 1I111J1/.!.llJordpress.rom Blog Search Eng ine: • Technorari, 1I1tl-'llJ,techll(ffall.com

AM ERICA! SOCIETY OF IAIUSI:.IPF 636 m SIRHl !W. WASHI!610!.

101-898-1444 • FIX 101-898-1185 •

JUNE 200t L.ndstlpe Archit'dur, l s3

A romantic backyard pavilion is large enough to entertain a crowd yet cozy enolwh for , . . 0

private contemplation. By Barbara Meltz Photography by Peter Vanderwarker

54 1landsupe ArehitechHe JUNl ZOot

ALMOST AS SOON AS she and her husband moved into their 1876 Newton, MasS.1Chusetts, Victorian in 1991, laurel Farnsworth had an indoor/outdoor lap pool in mind for

the backyard. Tom Farnsworth's resrK)fIse was a droll ''I'd rather hire a limo to take you to the Y"

TIlt' backyard became one of those proj­ects they would do "someday." As someday stretched into more than a decade, the best they could say abom the nearly quarter acre of open and somewhat dusty land our the back door was that it was low maintenance. Bur every wimer, they f.wtasized about a garage. [n summer, they imagined gardens and, fOf laurel, if flO[ a pool, Jx:rhaps a pond with trickling warer.

Bm it was only in 2004, when a new neighbor terraced rhe steep land behind them , [hat they finally took action. "W/e felt exposed," says laureL "We had lost our sense of privacy."

TIley turned to architect lllOmas Huth ofHueh Archieeces in Newcon. Hueh spe­cializes in residencial rescoraeion and had worked wieh ehe couple on their house, in­cluding rescoring a screened-in porch. Buile by the Reverend Francis liffil.l1Y of rhe Firsr Unitarian Church in Newcon, the house is one of only a handful of local Srick-sryle buildings-named for their flar, sricklike bands and ornamentaeion--surviving from rhar era. 'This particular house also had a strong Gothic influence rhar was added a bit later," says Huth. "lors of arches and quatrefoils:' Wharever he created in back needed ro reflecr and honor rhat.

There was one other challenge. AI­rhough ehe house is locared on an oue-of­rhe-way cul-de-sac, it's within earshot of rhe MassachuSfus Turnpike. No problem, said Lmrel: \Vouldn'r a pond wirh run­

ning water provide ambient white noise? Jusr steps from rhe house, rhe rhree-bay garage

Huth designed has a heated walkway and apron and pleney of scorage. The overhead garage doors are mahogany and crafred co look as if they swing open. Anached but feeling cotally separare is rhe 12-by-34-foor pavilion, a protected outdoor living area rhat can comfortably seat 20 for dinner.

We know the terrain. Access strong talent. Post your open positions where committed professionals and proven performers

will see them. JobLink rates are lower than most newspaper postings, and ASLA members save even

more. Go to JobLink at www,asla.org/ joblink. the site for new people you need.

30 days $300 Member . $600 Non-member

I

'" Inserting this building OntO this piece ofland and making it look as if they grew together and belong with the house was a piece of trickery," Hurh says, adding that the structure reminds him of an old train station, "the kind that once doned subur­ban lines around here,"

That it's a pavilion and not a patio is what makes it a success. The rooAine not only provides definition and the privacy the Famsworrhs craved, it also creates a co­coonlike sense of calm and comfort. Not too tight a cocoon, though- not with a 14-foot, lO-inch cathedral cedar ceiling

that glows golden at night in soft light from Art'S and Crafts-style sconces and discreet uprights, not with the breeze that manages to waft through even on the hottest day, and certainly not with the ver­dant plantings (hat surround it.

Designed by architect Karen Howard of Howard Garden De­signs in \'Vest Newton, the natural­istic sening uses existing spruce trees to provide borders. Howard filled in with plantings such as wCllXl aster, rhododendron, and var-

-_.­_.-

---

56 1landsupe ArehitechHe JUNl ZOot

PLANT LIST WOODY PLANTS

Aescufus parrif/ofa BoHlebrush bu(;keye Amefanchitf X grandiflora

'Autumn Brilliance' Serviceberry halea 'Weston's Lemon Drop' Azalea

Betula nigra 'Cully' Rim birch Chionanthus rirginicus White'ringetree

Cladrastis kenlukea (C.lulea) YeBowwood Clelhra alniflJfia'Hummingbird' Summersweet

Comus alternifo/ia Pagoda dogwood CIJmus florida 'Cherollee Princess' Flowering dogwood

CIJfflUS sericea 'Silver and Cold' Yellowlwig dogwood Craiaegus riridis 'Winter King' Hawthorn

CryptIJmeria 'Yoshino' Japanese cedar FothergiJla'Mouat Airy' Dwarf iotbergilla

FotlJergilla ardenii'Ap alachia' Dwarf lolbe 'Ila Ha/esia urolina Silverben

Hamamelis rirginiana Witchhazel H[tirall{ea atboremns 'Annabelle' Annabelle hydrangea

/lex abra 'Shamrock' Inkberr Hex opaca American hall

Ilex rerlicillata 'Jim Dand ' W'lIterberr /fex rerliciHala'Red Sprite' WinterberrJ

JunipelVs rirginiana Eastern redcedar Magnolia rirgioial1a Magnolia

Pieris floriJJunda Mountain andromeda Pinus strl1bus 'Fastigiata' Eastern white pine

0 • · · ~ , · ; , , , , · ~ , ,

... ~-~ --.. . _- ~. - .....

\

"'1---'

. , I·

JO

........ -- - ., .. _ . 'l.("'ti'~ ,----_ .. __ ........ - - j "., .. ---

:V>-• I "k.!..:~." ••

....... ... -.... .. __ ... ... ...... -......... -Betweell the house and

the pavilion. there's a lush swath of lawll.

Rh,d,dtlld"n 'Hutfs Red' Rhododudron St"ax americanus American snowbell

-... -..... . .-. ....... A >-1 .. -......... r ... ·-!.

., r-"" " 'ij ~.- ......... .. I

I c c c

,", .. ~-.~ .. ...-.......... ~ . '", 1 r .., ... . ... ~ ...... . .... . _ ........ .. I

0 -._ ...

iegated dogwood. Berwtt:fl lilt house and rhe pavilion, there's a lush swath of lawn, large enough for croquet or badminWIl . TIleI1 there's rhe pond. Bounded on one side by boulders char were on rhe propenY,:lr 16 feet by 8 feet it accommodates tWO small

Hemeroullis 'Ruffled Apricot' Oay~IJ

waterfulls. As Laurel relaxes in the pavilion, she takes in rhe view with a sweep of her hanel. "I could sit here al l day long," she says. "1l1is morning, [here was a frog in rhe JX>oo. TIle other day, I saw a humm ingbird."

No, she can't go for a swim, bur it's her oosis JUSt rhe same.

Iris rersicoJ" Harlequin blueflag __ Barbara f /\feltz. IJ rhe f(l/IlId-

Th_uia 9ttidenlaJis 'Nigra' Dar. Amerieaa arbollitae JeffersoNa dif!!!,lfa Twinleaf illg editor of the At Home m:tioIJ III the Boston Globe alld a fre-Vaccinium angustifolium Lowbush blueberry lobelia cardind·s Cardina"lo.er

Vaccinium 'Blueero ' H' bush bklebe MaUelUtja slnltbiopter1s Ostrich fern q!lent contributor to Design

Vaccinium 'CoyilUigllbush blueberry MitdJllh repens New England lIIagdzille, Partridteberty Vaccinium 'Ear~blue ' Higllbush blueberry Mitelh (1.' bl'a Twoleaf mitelll'ort

PERENNIALS Osmunda tillnamomu Cillnamon fern PROJECT CREDITS Landscape

Ajuga repens Badeweed Pat'era auru Colden ragwort design: Howard Garden De-

Af/lIMf/l unadtnsis Caladia. aaellClne N,x st,/Dnifm'8Iu Ridge' Creep"g phlOI signs, Newton, Massachuse[ts

Atuneus difirus Bride's featilers I'bJSlstttia rit(iniana (Karen Howard), Architecture:

ASiIIJIIIf unatienSII Cmdia. widgilger 'Miss Milliners' Obedient plant Hmh Architens, Newton ,

PofJgonatJUlf cfmmufalum Asler dirariralus Wkite wood aster Sololno.'s stal Massachusetts (Thomas R. PofJslicbum actoslitboides Ckrisbnas fm Huth), landscape contractor:

Caltba palustris Yelow 11.511 lIarigold eHIIUS rallldtnsis 8nellberry dopoocl RwJbrdia "'tida'ColdsbltWI' BlICk-eyed StiR Downing LmdscapeConsrruc-

0'10ptttis gokJiana Coldie's woodlem Spigrlia m~tiMld;ca Woodla.d pinboot [ion , Dover, Massachusen s

HemeroraJlis 'Bright SUlISet' Daylily SpitanihesHmta Marsh lady's tresses (Michael Downing), Water gar-

Hemmca'is 'ChKago .pache' Baymy rurr'~ cortlif," 'Running Taptstry' Foamflower den: New England. Wa[ft' Gar-

HemerDCalis 'Happy Retlrns' Daylily T,;'ium pandfflfJl1Jm White trilium dens, Beverly, Massachusetts

Hemmcalis 'HWtriu' Daylily Tro/ius laxus American dobeflower (Michael Parrdla), Verattum ~iridr Crm false .ellebore

JU N( 1001 Lu dsc'p e Arcbllechn I 57

I WILL SURVIVE These six landscape archnects are surviving or even thriving despite the recession. What lessons do they have to offer others? Edited by Daniel Jost, ASLA

TOM T AVEllA, FASLA, never expected to be laid off. He was working for a medium-sized multidisciplinary firm in Connenicut. Just three months earlier, he had been named as the di­

rector of design for the firm's five offices. But in November of last year, rhe compa­ny informed him that his (XlSirion had been terminated. "They decided that they were going to go back to a stronger engineering presence and less of a design presence," he remembers. "It was SOrt of a shock."

Tavella was particularly surprised be­cause he had survived the last major reces­sion, around 1989. " I was t he young, cheap kid," he recalls. "T his time I was old and expensive."

Many people would spend the next day

5s l landsupe ArehitechHII JUNl ZOot

feeling sorry for themselves, but not Tave!­la. "1 didn't sit there and curl up in a ball and pout. I immediately packed up my stuff. They said I could take a couple of days, bm I packed up within an hour. I was home by one o'clock, calling contacts to

let them know what happened and where they could reach me.

'The next day I filed for my {limited liabil ity company} license from the state of Connect icut and developed the web site for Tavella Design Group. For a $30 in­vestment I had a web si te almost the same day through GoDaddy.com. 1 also printed out business cards. "

For a while, Tavella continued to pursue positions with other firms. " [ posted my resume on ASLA 's Joblink and got contact-

ed by a headhunter in the United King­dom who had work in the United Arab Emirates, but there was nothing in this area and very limi ted work in New York City. TIle pickings were pretty slim." TIle New York positions soon evaporated as the recession spread, and Lwella wasn't inter­ested in moving across the world. He grew lip in Connecticurand has spent his entire career, more than 25 years, working in southern New England . He has a good reputation in the region for his municipal and campus-planning work and his advo­cacy of sustainable design.

Wirh the supporr of his t:1.mlly, he dove headfirst into starring his own firm. 'Td thouglu about it before," he says, "bur [ was always too scared to do it. [ was mak­ing good money and I was in a pretty com­fonab le place. I was never brave enough." Lucki ly, his wife, Kara, carries thei r health insurance so he didn 'r need to worry abollC that expense.

"111e key to getting work was to contin­ue to network within [he Connecticut area," recalls Tavella. "AlA Connecticut had a few functions I went to. The Construc­tion Institute had a few functions. I kept on going to all these meetings, to guest speakers, and to trade shows. That was probably one of the best things I did.

··It was absolutely amazing how many friends- arch itects, past che nts, and engineers-called me up [the week I was laid off). I had a number of projects come in really quickly that way. I gOt my first con­tract within three days-the University of Hartford Pertonning Arts Center addition.

"Soon I had the contract for a parking lot in Middletown, Connecticut. It doesn't sound very sexy, but it's a nice-sized proj­ect. I was able to bring in a surveyor and a civil engineer, and they felrobligated once I gave them some work to give me some more, too.

Tavella also networked by speaking at various functions and teaching a class on sustainable design . "One of the students was an engineer for a private school. Afrer rheclass, he came up to me and S<'Iid, T om, I know th is might sound sort of boring, bur I have a parking lot that [ would love to usc the sustainable design techniques on.

an exhibilion allhe

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Would you be interested?' It was on ly a $2,500 job- not very big. But I elida bang-up job,and it is leading to other work there."

Calling up old friends work­ing in large firms outside the area has also been helpful . Tavel­la found work as the local con­tact for a big project by Saratoga Associates. He has also teamed up with other landscape archl­tens who have been laid off (0

make proposals on large pmjens. So far, Tavella hasn't had any

problems with diems concerned about rhe stability of his young firm. "T hey say, 'YOLI have the experience,'" he says. '''T hat's all we're re­ally hiring you for.' If I go for a project with a municipality they may throw that {issue] at me, but so (,1.f, we've been lucky."

l:'lVei la has been so successful in getting projens that he has hired twO of his old coworkers who were also laid off as comracr employees. 'The intent is in the next six to

12 months, as we get stabilized, to bring them both on as full-cime employees," he says. ''You'vegot to stay positive. TIle more positive you are, the more it exudes into your work. Ie breeds this atmosphere that people wanc to help you and hire you."

"MY W1LLlJ'IGNESS TO TRAVEL J-L-\S BEEN KEY TO KEEPING ElVU)LOYED." Ed Flaherty, International ASLA

LAID OFF NOVEMBER 2008 DUBAI

OVER TI lE 'YEAll'), I gradually became aware that regional recessions are part

of the property development and construc­tion industry, Every decade of my career has been affected by economic downturns out of my comroL Additionally, very large imer­national projects are often contract-specific agfft'ments, meaning that at the end of con­strunion you may need to find another Job, Both of these realities taught me to do twO

60 I landsupe ArehitechHe JUNl ZOot

While some may see mv career as

nomadic, the places I've worked have

strong connections.

thinh'S: (I) sa\'e money for che gap in em­ployment berween projects, and (2) always, always be looking for the nexc project.

If you can't find a job and you are trying to support a family, you have two choices: Either start your own firm or move to where you can be paid for your skill set. It really is that simple, M y willingness to travel, whether to Los Angeles, Istanbul, or Kuwait City, has been key to keeping employed, These decisions have been very personal be­cause not everyone's fiunily members may be interested in the cultural challenges of moving to another country or even moving across the United States, Mine have,

I also have an innate interest in foreign cultures and their people's interact ions with plants and landscape that others might not share. I have lived in a lot of cities that are pedestrian based rather than auto based . I love the chal lenges of com­munication, the multicultural diversity of the project teams, and the completion of very large projects.

During the late I 970s, I was living in Boston and working as a horticultural assistant, map­ping and labeling for the Arnold Arboretum, when our first child was born. \'{forking there was a great professional learning expe­rience, but my desire for design work and the cost of raising a child had me looking for a job with a landscape architecture firm. My search went on for six months in a regional recession as I look at it. In the meantime, I learned that Southern California was short of landscape archi­tectS, so I called some firms, and they were interested in inter­viewing me. I took a bus to Los Angeles at my own e;.qx:nse, had thfft' interviews, and {god three

offers in one week. Liv1ng in a good West Los Angeles

neighborhoOO was expensive. So, after get­ring my license, I eventually took an oppor­tunity to manage design and consrfUnion fora new town inSaudi Ambia. During the 1 980s, I worked four years in Saudi Arabia on a very large intemational project, the Yanbu New Town and Port on the Red Sea. Our company had 2,000 people there man­aging che work, As the priceofoil declined, the project schedule was stretched and our firm experienced periodic "reduccions in force," When my pink slip finally came, I began an imense search for work both inside and outside the United Scates, Finally, afcer nine months of aggressive job Imming , a previous colleague advised me {hat our company had needs in Istanbul.

After the project finished in Istanbul and our son was nearing high school age, we felt it important to be in a situation that would provide a stable location for chose high school years. \'{fechose to live in Letchworth Garden City in the United Kingdom be­cause we had found a school there that would provide the type of education we thought would be beneficial for our child. As it turned out, I was offered a job in Cam­bridge at a salary that was 10 percent be­low what our living costs were. TIley would not negotiate. 1 turned it down. And that turned out to be the last job offer I so'!w in the United Kingdom as they headed into a major real estate driven recession.

-What If You Get Laid Off? )"ou market )"ourself as a skilled gardener to for· 2009, and started working in mid­March 2009. It took me three months-that is pretty quick com­pared co past recession employment searches. J am now working in Abu Dhabi because it still has finances

mer residential clients? r Leave with grace. Awoid blaming others. The

people you work with might help you get your next job or the job after that.

... Create a web site that showcases )"Our skills.

... Consider jobs in sectors of landscape archi· tecture that )"ou might not have considered in the past. Don't limit your search to companies that share your specialty; consider other areas where )"ou may be able to offer your skills.

and needs people with my skill set. r If possible, go around to your fellow employ­ees personally and tell them you enjoyed collabo­rating with them and you're sorry you can't con· tinue to woft( with them. Exchange contact information as quickly as possible.

... Don't limit )"our job search to companies that

Moving around so much has its disadvantages. I have found it takes at least three years to start building local confidence and solid network contacts. Leaving anytime after that means you lose those contacts and must stan a,gain in your new local environment. However, it expands your list of international contacts, which in the long run may have its own benefi ts .

... Use networking and job search web sites to determine what companies are hiring.

are posting positions, since many new positions are filled without ever being posted online or in a neW$paper.

... Ask youfse" if you are willing to moye to find work. Talk it over with your family.

... When searching for jobs and interviewing, highlight the skills that make )"ou stand out from a b"picallandscape architect • ... Ask ,GUfse" if JOII hawe the experience and

connections necessary to start your own firm. ... Consider what skills you have that might be

useful to others: Could you market your drafting skills to an engineering firm or other landscape architects who need short-term help,! Could you be a salesperson for a landscape supplier? Could

... Cut your expenses to the INlre bone and pre·

I did eventually find a reasonable one­year international assignment and picked up other internaeional bies and pieces as I could. I lived in ehe red for a couple of years, bue ehe drought finally ended when previous colleagues offered me a posicion in pose-liberation Kuwaie in 1995. Those temporary assignmenrs I found while in the United Kingdom provided ehe con­taces through which I found work for [he next five years, so, in a sense, turning down the Cambridge offer turned OUt to be [he riglu decision.

I was working in Dubai when this past recession caught up with me. In Novem­ber 2008, tile 4,OOO-employee property de­velopmenr company where I worked began a series of cuts that evenrually more chan halved its staff. I had seen the handwriting on the wall and upgraded my job-hunting act ivi ties before I ever got a pink slip.

While I was given 60 days' notice by contract, I was asked to leave that day. So, I cleaned out my desk of all personal items, which in my opinion should never be very much. Then-and this is very important­I went around the office (not bye-mail) and personally met and shook hands with everyone I had worked with. I than ked each one, including my boss, for having had the oPIx>rtunity to cooperate and col­laborate on these projens, and I told them I was sad not to continue. \Ve exchanged

pare for a long search. lob searches often take six months or longer during a recession. ... Try to sta)" positive. The more positive )"ou

are, the more people will be interested in wo'*·

\'\1l1ile some may see my career as nomadic, the places I've worked have strong connections. I have ex­perience work ing in Muslim and ing with you.

mman detai ls and I moved on with as lit­tledalliance or delay as Ix>ssible. GtxXi-byes to fellow employees should be a time of Ut­most professional dignity ... not a time of in­dignation and fuu lt finding. These people may be able to help you find your next job or the job after that.

Networking is the key to finding a new job. But to simply say ·'necworking" is tOO general for such a very imporcantefforc. You need to know, first of all, what you want to

do with your career in the near, medium, and long term. You need to know what you must do to protect, support, and nurture yourfumily. Then you need to know which places geographically and which companies can solve those basic needs. "nlose answers will help refine your search. J scart by calk­ing with friends and colleagues who have worked with me; chen J do web searches and quickly make personal contacts when they look fruitful. Personal comacts are the key. Pen pal/Internet connections are sec­ond degree. I approach networking with a combination of targeted effort and my be­lief in kismet. Both are simultaneously es­semial. I push out hard in my search for work. I do not wait. But while personally pushing, I never push the bounds of profes­sional and civil decorum. Consummate pro­fessionalism must be observed at all times.

This time, I mademmact in December 2008, was interviewed in early February

Arab cultures in both North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. And I have bal­anced that with award-winning landscape architecture across the United States, most­ly in Californiaand Plorida. Al l of these re­gions are related by botanical and climatic similarities. So in a sense there is a strong central thread in this nomad's tem.

" CREATIl\lC A WEB Sfm COULD HELP PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYERS FIT\l[) YOu." Tim Nickerson, Associate ASLA LAID OFF JANUARY 2009 NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE

L AST FAll WAS NOT A GOOD TIME co be looking for your first landscape ar­

chitecture job. I had gone back to school to study landscape architecture after a num­berof years in the high-tech sector perform­ing technical training fOra financial systems software company. \'V'hen I began at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst a few years ago, the market for landscape archi­tectS was strong, but by the ti me I graduat­ed there were fewer jobs available. After contacting nearly 30 offices, I fina!iy land­ed a position at a smalliandsmpe architec­ture firm in Brookline, Massachusetts. My

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responsibilities were similar to o ther entry­level professionals: CAD, rendering plans via Photoshop, and general office support. However, I was grateful fur the opJXlrtuni­ty to work in my chosen field, and I was ex­cited about the projects the firm was doing.

Over the next few months, as I was learn­ing my way around the office, becoming fa­miliar with their smooards, and setting up meetings with some of my contac ts in somhem New Hampshire in hopes of gen­erating some work for the firm, the slow­down hit us hard. During December, my work was reduced co four days a week. One of the principals was honest with me regard­ing the possibility of being laid off if some -Creating a Web Sne Is Easy WHILE YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR WORK, try

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Df course, you will want to make sure

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10 optimize your site for web searches as

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01 hosting and creating your site. Being

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... fter being laid off, )'ou ma), not have all)'

desire to continue your prole"ional or per­

sonal growth, but you must be valiant in that

effort. Creating a web site will be a welcome

distraction from sitting around, it will re­

quire)'Ou to organize )'Our life's work. and it could e¥efl lead to a new job as It did for me.

-Tim Nicker. on, Associate ASLA

of the firm's proJXlSals were not accepted. On a Sunday in the beginning of Janu­

ary, r got the bad news on my voice mail. One of the principals wanted me to call him that night or before I left for work Monday morning. \Xfith a message like that r knew what was coming. Although they said that they did not wam to lose me, they could not afford to keep me. They told me that they would love to take me back in the event some of the work they were pur­suing came in. That never happened.

While losing a job is difficult in any situ­ation, r was not entirely heartbroken. It was not my fuu lt, after all. I am confident that I would still be employed there if the nation's economy were more robust. \Xlhat troubled me was that there were few, ifany, jobs avail­able in my new field. As anyone who has been unemployed for any amount of time Gln tell you, losing a jobean lead toa lack of motivation. I fell victim to that at first.

I was about to investigate some mind less job JUSt roget by. T hen, I received an e-mail from Environmental Pools , a high-end designJbui!d finn in Chelmsfurd , Massachu­sectS, that specializes in U1Stom gunite pools. 111ecompany was looking at bringing a de­sign professional in-house. Although it was not a market {hat I would have initially con­sidered, r jumped at {he request.

Had r JUSt replied to job postings, I would have never heard about {his job be­cause the position was never posted any­where. But r had created a professional web site, IllWW.timlllckmol1/a. rom, during my free time. Environmental Pools ' president found my website by searching on Google for "landscape architects Massachuset[S." He liked what he saw and asked me to in­terview. (He also interviewed a few people who posted their resumes on Craigslist.)

After a two-hour interview, r left the of­fice with a senseofoptimism. Having pro­fessional project management, marketing, and training experience in addition to my degree in landscape architecture and being technologically savvy seemed to appeal to him. After a few weeks, r was offered the position, and r accepted immediately.

While the firm was only looking for a designer to work with clients, they have expanded my responsibilities to reflect my abilities. r have also been involved in some marketing efforts and the implementation of a new comprehensive customer and

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project management system. If you have ski lis that are unusual for a landscape ar­chitect, market them vigorously. See if you can come up with ways that your prospec­tive employer can use them.

' '"I'M LEARl,'lNG SOME OF THE SOFTWARE PROGRAMS THAT I HAVE TYPIGALLY DELEGATED TO .JUNIOR STAFF." Keith Wilson, ASLA SENIOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT WITH LITTLE SENIORITY SACRAMENTO , CALIFORNIA

A s A LAN DSCAPE ARCHITECT W I IO

graduated from college a little more than 10 years ago, this is the first slow­down I have seen in my career. Profession­als like me really don·t know what co make of it all. \Vhen we came imo the profes­sion, there was so much work out there that most of us complained we were tOO busy. Of course we had no idea that being slow is much worse.

I feel fortunate to be employed at this poim, but I am prepared if that ends. I de­cided to make a job change during 2008 after spending nearly 10 years at one of­fice . I knew the timing was bad. Seniority and longevity at one office are often factors in determining who will be laid off, but my input was rarely given the ear I felt it

64 1 landsupe ArchitechHe JUNl ZOot

deserved by ownership. I had felt thIS way for about two years prior to thar iXlim and cried many times ro effect change with no result. I decided (0 find a com pany that would support my input. Some things are more important than job security, even during tough eco­nomic times. It was a tough deci­sion, but I still feel it was the right thing for me.

-How Do I Network to Find Work? .- Call all your local business contacts and let them

know what happened and where ther can reach you .

.- Call up friends and acquaintances at large finns

outside the area and see if they are trying to get any

projects in your area. You mar be able to be brought

on as the local consultant .

.- Once rou hawe worn out your business contacts,

call friends and family and let them know you are

looking for work .

.- Anend trade shows and other meetings where local

construction and design professionals will be /ASLA,

AlA, UlI, U5GBC, local college programs, and so onl •

.- If you are really knowledgeable about a certain

topic, wolunteer to speak to local groups •

.- Use computer netwol1dng services such as Face·

book and Linked In to let people know you are look·

ing for work. Post a message on your status.

.- Ask friends if they would be willing to introduce

you to other friends and business connections.

.- If you hawe good writing skills, consider starting

a blog or writing as a way of getting in touch with

potential employers or clients.

.- Join forces with other landscape architects and

design professionals to make submittals for larger

proposals.

The firse place I landed ended up being a poor march for me, and I spene another six months looking for a way OUt before finding my current job with Seantec Con­sulting. As a senior landscape architect with only aoour seven months of tenure, I know I need to be as diverse and capable as ever co scay employed. If you are in the habit of waiting for others co provide you with th ings to do, your job is at risk. If you are used co sitting at your desk and not net­working with business contacts to develop new leads, your job is at risk. If you aren·t proactive about finding things co do that will benefit your office, your job is at risk. And ,ofcourse, if you have a tmck record of making repeated mistakes and needing to be closely monitored or managed, you have probably already lost your job.

on to managers at other offices that are bet­terpositioned co pursue them. I have even volunteered to travel co other locations to

assist where they may need staff to meet aggressive dead lines. The faCt that I am li­censed in more than one state has made it possible to help strategize on growing oth­er offices that don't currencly have much landscape staff or the ability to aggressive­ly seek out local work.

Meanwhile, I have taken an honest look at my own skill set. It's no longer okay to be a senior landscape architect who relies on younger staff to fill in technical ability gaps. I am focused on becoming LEED ac­credited within the next couple of months, and rm learning some of the software pro­grams that I have typically delegated to junior staff, like Photoshopand Sketch Up. I have been working on my own personal t ime, using study materials that Stantec makes available to its employees. Improv­ing these skills will not only help me be a more flexible and valuable employee for my company, bur I will also be more preparc--d to survive on my own should I lose my Job.

I am working closely with our market­ing department, assisting with proposal and quahfication submittals. Stancec has offices throughout the Uni ted States and C'Inada, so I am using my connect ions to seek ou[ opportunities that my local office would not pursue and am sending them

"Olm TRAll\l]j\lG IN SO MAl'\JY DTFFERENT D1SGIPLll\l£S AWARDS us filiALLY GREAT BHAi\lGI-llNG our OPPORTU/lHTIES. " Chris Gustard, ASLA LI" OFF II"'" 2009 SAN DIEGO

I HAD BEEN WORKING for the same land­

scape archi tecture firm since I graduated with my BSLA from West Virginia Univer­sity in the winter of 1998. At that time, there were only 12employees. By 2005, we had about 45 people on Staff, I had become licensed, and [ was managing juSt about all my own projectS from marketing and busi­ness development to concept design and managing preparation of construct ion drawings. 111ere was even some discussion of my becoming a partner down the road. Bue then the housing bubble burst.

\When I was laid ofT on January 21, we were alre-adydowll to 14 employees. By che end of [he Jay, tllcrewereonly five. Honest­ly, J did not chink they would let me go. I had tOO scrong a connection with rhe local design and development industry. r d done a great deal of work with the ASLA San Diego Chapter, a lot of marketing and business de­velopment for the firm, and I had complet­ed several volunteer design projectS in the firm's name. Having been therefor 10 years, I expected that they would have awarded me the respect of offering me a lower salary orat least giving a month·s norice before just shuf­Ring me along with everyone else into a con­ference room and saying, '·Sorry, but every­one in this room is being laid off today."

Fortunately, as I watched the local and national real estate markets spiral down­ward, I had already realized that I needed a bacl"Up plan that had nothing to do with landscape archi tecture or the construct ion industry. So, nine months before I got laid off, I decided to get a second job. A good friend of mine had just started a restaurant called H awt horn's in the N orth Park neighborhlXXl of San Diego. I went to h im and asked if! could polish up my skills as a server. I had worked in restaurants during high school and college, so he agreed. As of t h is writing, I continue to work at his

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mcmE restaurant as a side job; however, the res[aU~

mnt industry is going through the same re­tractions as everyone else, so my hours re­main quite minimal. Meanwhile, I nmicro another new restaurant doing tenant im­provements right across the street from my condo downtown. I inquired about a posi­tion there and found Out they were looking to hire about 40 employees including servers, so I decided to apply. 1111' owners indicated they had received more than 400 applications. Given my experience in the nine months at Hawthorn's, they called two weeks later and offered me a full-time server position, which I took. Looking back over this shon period of a year, the foresight [ had to get a foot back in rhe restaurant industry rr-ally paid off.

Bur even as I clung to the restaurant in­dustry as a backup plan, most of my energy continued to be fOcused in my chosen field. As a former president of ASLA's San Diego

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As [ I"atched the local and national real estate Illarkets spiral do\\mmrd, 1 had already realized

that 1 needed a backup plan . Chapter, I felt well connected to many of the design firms in $.1n Diego whether it be landscape architecture or other design in­dustry disciplines. The problem was that no design firms were hiring at my level. J had heard of a couple of firms that were "flirting"' with hiring people, but [did not want to waste my time or theirs.

J have had my design consulting firm CGrx: L1ndscape Architecture set up for nearly seven years now, and after this layoff, I am so happy J worked out all the bugs of setting up a company ahead of time. My last firm did not have any i~ltes with em­ployees doing small projectS on the side, which in my case were mostly residences here and there. Since having a consulting business license in [he city of San Diego only COStS about $40 a year, , decided to

get that taken care of back in 2004. The federal governmenc encourages people co

Shade

start their own companies. You can write off just about all of the start -up expenses. After J got my business license J set up a separate bank account in my company's name. J nt"'Ver expected this side company rode ... elop into a full-time job, as I assumed [ would Hick with working hard at myoid firm and eventually make partner, bur now that I was laid off, I figured I would really put this business license to use.

It was only about five days after I was laid off that [ found some work for my company. A friend of mine forwarded a Craigslist advertisement from Ancient OliveTrees in San Francisco that was look­ing fora landscape architect to be their sales representative for San Diego and Orange County. [ figured ' had nothing to lose by resJXlnding to it. Theownercalled me two days later and said he was interested in me based on my involvement in ASLA and my

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connections to local design firms and con­tractors. He put me on a plane three days later, brought me to a house in Orinda where they were installing trees, and of­fered me a sales position that pays a mon th­ly stipend and commission.

The week after accepting the job, col­leagues whom ] had worked with on sever­al projects over the years approached me to

sre if ] was interested in start ing upa land­scape archi tecture studio as part of thei r planning firm . While I was debatingarout whether to join them (eventually ] decided against it), ] was approached by a client for whom I had done a lot of work over the years, D. R. Honon. nlCY had heard I was laid off, and they were interested in talking to me about doing some consulting work for them . They needed someone ro work with the city of San Diego and their design consultants ro transfer maintenance ro t he city for some of the stt'Cerscape projectS that J had actually worked on while employed with my last fi rm. By the last week in Feb­ruary, I had secured a contract with them. Since then, r have secured design comraas

for a church expansion project in C1r1Sbad, California;a large residence in Poway, Cal­ifornia; a hospital expansion project ; and several other estates around San Diego.

Maybe things aren't as grim as the news stories say, at least In dle landscape archi­tecture field. Our training in so many dif­ferent discipli nes awards us really great branching out opportuni ties. As of this writing, r am sti ll working many differ­ent jobs in addi tion ro my consulting and vo lunteer work. I'm trying ro replace a nearly six-figure S<1lary since the bills keep com ing, so r have ro work hard ro stay in the game! We'll see if I can hold up. I re­ally don't have a choice .. . with the mort­gage on my downtown condo.

I would encourage people to get in­volved with their local ASLA chapter, the U,S. G reen Bui lding Council, Urban Land Institute, or local universities and get to

know all the people in the area and in the local design industry, \'{then the market does come back, and we start ro see the light at the end of the runnel, the opJXlrtu­nity JUSt might be there waiting for you.

"WRlTlNC [NTHE LOCAL NEWSPAPER HAS HELPED ME CET MY NAlVlE OloT IN THE COMMUNlTY." Michael Spencer, ASLA

SMAll-fiRM OWNER, STill UPSIDE DOWN MOST MONTKS NAPLES, FLORIDA

B y J UNE OF LAST YEAR the handwri t­ing wason the wall. I knew that busi­

ness would falloff dramatically, and I had no clue what ro do. At fi rst, J did nothi ng. "Heck," I thought, "I've been in Florida fo r almost 30 years and seen recessions come and go. It's JUSt the same thing all over agam.

J was wrong. By Septembervolume was down 40 percem. By [X-cember, we were booking 10 percell( of normal expected [('Venues, and we had nothing in sight, ex­cept cominuing bank loans.

\'{te have always been a small firm-

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never more than five employees. \'{Ie serve medium to large developers as planners or as planting designers and have developed a good reputation in the community. \'{then this private work went away, we were stuck.

As luck would have it, one of the last big projens we did was for a large local home owners' association (HOA). T his was a new diem type to us, and at the time the amount of support necessary to service the committee seemed like a big negative. Later, I came to change my mind. I made a fast friendship with the contractor, a well-known company in Florida, with whom I had prevIOusly worked but never this closely.

Meanwhile, we had layoffs. We work from a building that I built on the same property as my home that I share with my wife's yoga school. Wle have an acre of gardens and test plots. It's an ideal place

• Strategies for Employees Worried About Being Laid Off ..- Use your free time to polish up on skills

you may hare delegated to olhers in the past

such as plant knowledge or certain computer

programs .

..- Make a list of Ihe connections you have

and talk to your employer about getting in·

volved in marketing .

..- "there is a lag in work, think about the

ways you could help improve your office's ef·

ficiency on future projecls (e.g., updating

symbol libraries in CAOI and volunteer to take

on these projects.

..- Cultivate a skill Ihat most people in your

office don't have that makes you harder to

replace.

..- "you have been putting off becoming li­

censed because you do nol need 10 stamp

drawings at your finn, get licensed. Having a Ii·

cense will make you more valuable to your finn

alK! may be a deciding factor in whether Ihey

choose 10 keep you or someone else. It will

also give you more options if you get laid off.

..- Try to cut your personal expenses and

pul aside some money.

to work, but nowadays there's a strong echo in the building.

At the same time r started acti\'e!y blog­ging, mosrly driven by the poor design quality that I was seeing in local public works. I chose the address IlIww.badland swping.wfII. At first, I feared alienating my colleagues, but that isn't what happened. Sure, those directly responsible can be a little icy at ASLA meetin.b's, but the older guys-the Fellows-were all supponive.

So, I keprplugging away. I was simply looking for a way to gain some exposure, really- to help raise the level of work and the level of the public's perception about our profession. As luck would have it, my blog was soon published on the web site of the local paper, the Naples Daily News. T he editorial page editor knew me because I had written some "Dear Editor" rants and encouraged me to send some writing samples co the At Home edicor. After a month or so she called me, asking if she could use some of my work in the print edition, In July of last year my first piece was primed, and

..- Consider getting a part·time job in an·

other industry that would allow you to work

at reduced hours for your current firm until

things pick up again .

..- Save copies of your projects on a person·

al jump drive and begin updaling your per·

sonal portfolio. Be careful not to delete the

original files in the process •

..- Make a lisl of your business contacts

thai you can keep at home.

..- Consider what your options would be if

you got laid off, and whal mighl be Ihe best

option. Have you always wanted 10 go back 10

get your master's degree?

..- "you think you may want to start your own

firm, begin researching what it would take .

..- Continue to network with other design

professionals in your area to see how they

are doing.

..- Always look for new opportunities. Scour

Ihe web and talk to other design profession­

als 10 see what jobs are out there. If you

have a strong feeling you are next in line 10

be laid off, slep up your job search and begin

applying for other jobs.

..- Keep the number of personal items in

your workplace to a minimum.

with very few exceptions (my work} has appeared each week since then.

Naturally a prim piece has a different voice and audience than a blog would have. By that time, I realized that about the only people with money are the HOAs and that the column was an excellent way to reach them . I"m nO[ shy about using my own work [0 provide examples of good design. Columns focus on topics like helping an HOA determine when they need a land­scape architect and what to do when hir­ing, how to use bulletproof plams thm need nearly no maimenance, and a recent trip to the Denver Botanical Garden. I try to make them humorous: A recemcolumn on "juvenile delinquents" talks abollt plams that look great for two years and then stan [0 "act out. "

Soon, the phone Started to ring, and di­rectly due ro the writing ' have picked up a fuiramountofwork with HOAs. Bur writing can also presenr challenges. \'Vhen an oppor­tunity came up for some COntractS with the counry where we are located, I hesitated. I'd been writing and blogging widely on how poorly they handled multimillion-dollar planting improvements and didn'c want to

compromise my position by working for them. I also wasn'c sure how they felt abouc my cricicism. I wenr (hrough the process and fuiled to make che short list. One wonders why, buc I never looked back.

\Ve are still upside down most months, and your guess about when it will rurn around is as good as mine. But there is good news. Recendy, an old diem called me aixlut a new planning project. It surprised me, for sure, but as she said, it will take at least a year to get the project approved, and they will need product when things turn around. I am wrestling it through the Corps of Engineers and the South Florida \'Vater Management District now.

Resources

• ASlA Job Link, IIIIlfW.dJla.orgIlSGWeb. aJpx?loadU RL= joblin. • "My \'Vay: Six landscape architects tell us about the ins, outs, ups, and downs of life as a sole practitioner;' edited by Linda McIn­tyre; ummeape ArthitiUllre, June 2008. • What CoI(ff LJ YOllr Parach"u? 2009: A Prd£tica/ Malll/a/ /(ff.lab HlIliters alld Career Changers, by Richard Nelson Bolles; Berke­ley, California: Ten Speed Press, 2008.

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JUNE 200t L.ndstlpe Arehit'ttur. 1 69

A NEW NATIONAL LANDSCAPE AGENDA

---

PLANNING

---- ------

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.... -,­-The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 is just a beginning. By Frederick R. Steiner, FASLA, and Robert D. Yaro

IN MARCH, T HE H OUSE AND SENATE

passed the sweeping Omnibus Public L-md Management Acr of2009, which was signed into law on March 30 by President Barack Ohama. Its 1,2 18

pages provide deferred maintenance fOf

eight years of not-so-benign neglect by the George WI. Blish administration and even codify an important initiative establ1shed

10 I Landsupe Arehitetture JUN[ toot

during the Clinton administration in the 1990s. The act includes more than 150 measures that create more than two mil­lion acres of new wilderness areas, along with national parks, wild and scenic rivers, historic sites, scenic trails, and other pro­tected public lands_

Although a weicome--and overdue­anion, the new law does noc go far enough

- --

co create a nationwide system of protected landscapes. Some states and regions benefit from new protected areas; many ochers do noc. \'{{hile the new act makes the Nation­al L1ndscape Conservation System, created through an executive order by the Climon administffirion, a permanenrentiry, rhe sys-

--

In 1987 a National Park Senice team led by Gle nn (ugster produced a national map, Potential Protected Landscapes, Local and State

Landscape Consenation Areas, that documented state and local landscape consenation effolts under way in the continental United States, outlined here in dark green. Areas newly protected

by the 2009 Omnibus Bill are highlighted in red.

tern is limi ted to areas adminis­tered by the U.S. Bureau of l and Management (BLM). As a resul t , the reach of this national system is not na­tional enough.

Using the Omnibus Public L'Ind Man­agement Act as a found'ltion, we suggest more comprehensive, bolder next steps. Even with this new law, America's natural, scenic, historic, and working landscapes are threatened. In the East, vast areas of the Central Appalachians are being destroyed

by mountaintop min­ing, and che greac coastal

estuaries are threatened by pollution from low-densicy

subdivisions. In the West, public lands are threatened by

mining, dear-cutting, and over­grazing. Ourcoosts, barrier beach-

es, islands, and wetlands are threatened by vacation home

development and sea-level rise. Across the country, sprawl has consumed mil­lions of acres of prime agriculcuralland.

Despite these threats, from the 1980s until the

_ passage of the Omnibus "'" Public land Management

Act in March, the federal gov­ernment largely abandoned a leadership role in preserving natural, scenic, and historic landscapes or curbing suburban sprawl. As the O mnibus Bill illustrates, the accession to power of a new pro-t'nvironment presi-

dent and Congress provides the opportu­nity for the United Scates to renew its

historic commitment to preserva­tion of the nation's natuml, scenic, and historic landscapes.

Preeedents for Large­SeakJ Landscape

Protection Precedents exist in the late 20th

century for the development of conservation networks. In the wake of the first Earth Day in 1970, the federal government enacted a series

of laws designed to protect the envI­ronment and to preserve land and

other nantral resources. \'{fithin this context, the heritage conservation move­

menremerged, as did large-scale planning effortS, the Lake Tahoe Initiative, and re­newed planning activity in the Adiron­dacks. The National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 auchorized che creation of the nation's first urban national historical park in Lowell, Massachusetts, and two new ··g reenline " parks- the New Jersey Pinelands National Re-serve and the Santa Monica Mountains Nacional Recreacion Area. Theone-million-acre Pinelands Re­serve in Southern New Jersey was intend­ed ac the cime to be the first in a national network of reserves chac would be procect­ed chrough partnerships between federal and state initiatives. Revisions to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act provided assistance to help protect important river corridors, including [he Ill inois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor (1984) and the Blackstone River Valley National Her­itage Corridor (1986).

Other reserves were established to pro­tect large scenic and natural areas contain­ing Ix:lth public and private lands. 'nlese in­clude the lake Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Commission (1969), the Adiron­dack Park Agency (1971), the Martha·s Vineyard Commission (1974), the Colum­bia Gorge National Scenic Area (1986), and dle SawtOOfh National Scenic Area (1986).

The most ambitious land conservation initiative of this perioo emerged from the Alaska National Interest lands Conserva­tion Act of 1980, which identified and proteered vast wilderness, park, and wildlife protection areas, including more than 4 3 million acres of new national

JUN[ Uot L.ndstlpe Architecture I 71

parks. It is ironic that no such effort has ever been undertaken to classifY and protect sim~ ilar resources and lands in the "lower 48."

Sadly, after this high-water mark of the land conservation movement, the federal government vi rtually abandoned its lead~ ership role in landscape planning and land conservation when Ronald Reagan became president in 198 1. This retrenchmentcon~

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The environmental challenges now faced by the nation creace an urgency to restart the promising initiatives from our recent past. The renewed attention to theenvi­ronment by the Obama adminis­tration offers hope.

Establish Nationwide

Priorities for Preservation

The next step is to assess what we have that merits protection. Also beginning in the 1970s, the late Ian McH arg advocated a national ecological inventory to identifY the best lands fOf both development and conservation. T he Environ~

mental Protection Agency pro­duced its EMAP system and, soon afterward, Secretary of che Interior Bruce Babbitt, Honorary ASLA, proposed a national biological sur~ vey modeled on the U.S. Geologi­cal Survey.

Due to intense opposition from the Congress in the lace 1990s, the national biological survey did nor occur, bue the U.S. Department of the Ineerior did initiate its GAP Analysis Program, a means for "as­sessing co what extent native ani­mal and plant species are being pro­tected." It identifies ehe "gaps" between what is being protecced and whae should be. GAP analyses can be state, local, regional , or na-

Thl Rl,lonal Plan lssoc:laUo. and Hli

U.twln!ty of Plnnsyl,a.ia ldentifi14 26 lalMl·

tional but are primarily conducted at the stace level and are coordinat­ed by dle United States Geological scaPH a.d CO.1ltalll blarils ... it.abll for

rl,ional prellrYllln tltI Nortfllan IMP'

re,ion, of ... k:h fl .. 1tIj0)' 101M dllJ'll of

protection from de .. lo .... lnt. Thlir ana "III

II adaptld from a map by Ute Appalachian

Mountain Club. The landscapes are lhow.

In juxtapolltion wit .. urba. izld land.

tinued under the presidencies of both George H . WI. and George W. Bush. Dur~ ing the Clinton administration, imJX>rtant isolated conservation efforts were begun, such as for the Florida Everglades, and habitat conservation planning advanced as a means to implement the Endangered Species An, but comprehensive, nation~

wide efforts were put on hold.

Survey's Biological Resources D ivi­sion. This assessment program helped set che stage for passage of the \Xfildlife Conservacion and Restora[ion Program and State W ildlife Grants Program in 2000. Under chis program, each state wildlife agency has developed a

"comprehensive wildlife conservation stra[­egy"' to guide conservation act ion and pri­ori[ize federal funding .

T he GAP mooe! suggests a framework for a more comprehensive assessmem of JX>[emial conservation areas. Such an as­sessmem should have four components: - Geolog ical, Hydrological, and Ecolog­ical Prmecrion Areas

- Cultural Protection Areas - Resource Production Protection Areas - Natural I-Iamrd ProteC[ion Areas

The first two of these should be obvious to landscape architects. Let's look at the lat­ter two.

Resource Production PrOlecrion Ar­eas. These areas include regionally or na­tionally significant farmlands, ranches, forests, mines, and water resources. Signifi­cant resources include essential products such as timber, minerals like sand and gravel, or the elements necessary for pro­duction such as prime-quality soil and wa­ter supplies. These resources can be renew­able or nonrenewable.

The United States possesses some of the richc"Sr farmland in the world, yet the Amer­ican Farmland Trust estimates that we are losing three acres offarmland an hour to de­velopmem. An existing mapping tool that could be used in the survey is the U.S. De­partment of Agriculture's land Evaluation and Site Assessmem (LESA) system. LESA uses several well-establ ished USDA systems, such as the soil survey, to identify che besc agricultural lands.

Drinking water protection is another imporcant issue. Sprawl poses significant threats to the supply and quality of our drinking water across the councry, in pla.ces as diverse as upstace New York and central Texas. Ac risk are boch surface and ground­water supplies. A 30 percent impervious surface cover deg rades che available sup­ply; hence, maintaining a supply of clean drinking water is a powerful reason to pro­teC[ the lands surrounding watersheds.

Natural Hazard Protection Areas. Areas prone to fire, geological hazards, floods, hurricanes, and avalanches may re­sult in the loss oflife and property if devel­oped. An example of an effort to prmeC[ such areas is the National Consortium to

Map Gulf Coast Ecological Constraints (see "Rebuilding the Gulf Coast," Lwd­JCdjle Arrhif«lllre, April 2006). It was con­vened following the devastation to rhe Gulf Coast caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 . The consortium used existing data from federal, state, local, and private sources to map areas of societal, flood, high wind, and storm surge risk. H istorical hurricane patterns, economic impacts, and sea rise vulnerability were overlaid with social vul­nerability £-u:tors to determine cumulative

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JUN( 200 . L.ndstlpe Arthit,ttur, I 13

PLANNING

risk at the Gulf Coast regional scales. In the 1970s, the Coastal Zone Manage­

ment Act made noteworthy initial efforts to

protect the nation's coasdines. In light of po­tential sea-level rise and continued frenzied

development along the coasts, a rftlewed ini­tiative is necessary. A first step would be to

continue the relUrms needed fOr the nation­al flood insurance and dis.'lSter recovery pro­grams to remove incentives fur development in flood-prone areas and use FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) funds (0

buy om storm-damaged properties, panic­ularly in those areas that arc subject to re­peared storm surges or are critical for WCt­

lands retreat. The areas of the greatest risk could be set aside as preserves, having the dual benefits of protecting human health, safety, and welfare as well as providing wildlife habitat and coastal regeneration.

T hese four assessments should be com­bined in a National l andscape Survey.

14 1 landsupeArehitechHe JUNl ZOot

While an abundance of data exists about our national landscapes, a coordinated effort

to analyze and synthesize this data is lacking.

\Vhile geographic information systems and remote sensing Imagery have ad­vanced to a JXlint where an abundance of data exists abom our national landscapes, a coordinated effort to analyze and synthe­size this data is lacking. T his should be a goal of the National L1.ndscape Survey. The effort should be coordinated by the federal government, enlist ing srate agen­cies and universities, and should result in a map of the most significant land and re­sources that merit protection. J n addition, the survey should identifY new and JXlten-

tial opportunities for large-scale interre­gional connectivity, such as the Appalachi­an Highlands, the Yel!owstone-Yukon Ini t iative, the Colorado Conservation Part­nership, or the lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

T he National L1ndscape Survey would provide a spatial representation and rank­ing of important landscapes requiring preservation and management nationwide. Intuitively, the result would be the identi­fication of the large landscapes worthy of protection . Conservat ion of these areas must involve a partnership that combines technical expertise, financial resources, regulatory powers, and JXlli t ical engage­ment from all levels of government and the private sector. T he strategies for realiz­ing a national network would also need to vary among regions to take into account differences in public land management and water law. T he National Landscape Survey would elms provide the basis for ex­pand ing the National Landscape Conser­vation System beyond I3LM lands In the West and Alaska.

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Regional Preservation Strategies

Federal and state public lands are distrib­uted differently across the nation. Many states in the \'<Iest are composed of high percentages of public land, encompassing the vast majority of the nation's 634 mil­lion acres--or nearly I million square miles--of public land. By contrast, Texas and much of the Northeastern United States have very little public land. \'{tater law also differs in the East and \'{fest. The coastlines and megaregions present s(X'Cial op(Xmunities for this national landscape conservation strategy.

In the \'{fest, a crucial first step would be to revitalize national treasures in decline. Existing national parks need to be restored, their management systems improved, and funding increased. ChroniC underfunding of the National ParkService's operating and Glpital budgets for many years has left t he system with a multibillion-dollar backlog simply to maincain existing parks.TIlis has resulted in much deferred maintenance and shrinking staffs. Department of the Interi­or Secretary Ken Salazar's announcement on

www.sparkfires.com p 866.938.3846 modern fires

New national parks and monuments should be

created through redesignation of lands

now controlled by the BLM or other federal agencies.

April 23 that the National Park Service will invest $750 million in the nation·s parks is an important step in reversing the neglect under the Bush administration. Nearly 800 park projectS will !"("Ceive funds that will be used for construction, deferred mall1te­nance, energy-efficient equipment replace­ment, trails, abandoned mine lands, and road maintenance.

A huge next step would be to create new national parks and monuments through re­designation oflands now controlled by the I3LM or other federal agencies. National

parks generally receive a higher level of pro­tection than other federal lands. A map pre­pared by Glenn Eugster and his National Park Service colleagues in 1987 (see pages 70 and 7 1) presents a good picrure of where those new parks could occur. Eugster and his team identified such areas as California's Owens Valley, Arizona·s Verde Valley, Louisiana·s Atchafalaya Basin, and Adams County in Ohio.

Areas ad jacent to existing National Parks-many of them subject to vacation home, resort, and tourism development­are especially vulnerable and need stronger protection. Efforts could also be expanded to engage so-called gateway communities in Joint efforts to meet park visitors' needs for lodging, food, and services while pre­serving the integ rity oflandscapes and the visitors' experiences. For instance, \'{fil­Iiams, Arizona, which is the gateway to the Grand Canyon, is an overpriced eyesore and tourist trap. Plans to improve the quality of this trinket town's built environmenc and even create alternative gateways have been thwarted by polirically influemial local

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JUN( 200. L.ndstlpe Arthit,ttur, I 15

PLANNING

businesses. Stronger leadership from the National Park Service would help improw the character of places like Williams.

\'V'ilderness and roadless areas in []ation~ al forests and on BLM lands need (0 be re­stored and expanded. This would reduce the trend established during the George W. Bush administration, which eroded protection of foodless areas.

Based on the National L-mdscape Survey, new national forests and wildlife refuges should be created. New national scenic COf­

ridors and preserves should be established around existing protected areas such as wild and scenic river corridors. 111t coordinated effurtS of the fedemJ government, twO srates, and several local governments (0 proteer rhe Columbia Gorge provide one example of such an undertaking. 111e Rio Grande and Sf. lawrence River valleys present simi lar oppommities at the international level.

T he national survey will result in the identification of i mjXlrtant prairie preserve opjXlrrunities across the Great Plains where irrigated crop cultivation is no longer vi­able. In 1987, Deborah and Frank Popper PUt forth their initially controversial "Buf­falo Commons" proposal co rerum much of the Great Plains to native flora and fauna. From initial skepticism from within the re­gion, the concept has received wider accept­ance. T he Great Plains Restoration Council identifies the Buffulo Commons as "a cul­cural and social movement for positive, restorative social and ecological change on the Great Plains."

As a model and a metaphor, the concept is now matUre enough to investigate as a network of many "buffalo commons." Such a network would include restored prairie ecosystems imegrated into a com­prehensive economic development pro­gram of business, solar, biomass, and wind power product ion, creating the potential for the plains to become a new Saudi Ara­bia of alternat ive energy. Two examples of places meriting preservation are the Flint Hills of Kansas and the Sand Hills ofNe­braska. Both are landscapes of considerable rugged beauty and resilience.

In the Easr, biodiversity, watersheds, and scenic and historic areas can be protected

16 1 landsupe ArehitechHe JUNl ZOot

through new national parks, new heritage areas, and new state and regional parks and preserves. In addition, the federal govern­ment needs to provide financial and techni­cal expertise, while states impart manage­ment and regulatory jXlwers and incentives for local cooperation.

A first step to protecting biodiversity, watersheds, and scenic and historic areas would be to revive the L'md and \'\1ater Conservation Fund and the Forest Legacy Program. These funding sources provide matching funds to the states and local gov­ernment to undertake land conservation in keeping with federal priorities and guidance.

Based on the National L mdscape $ur-

~

11 Emer~ng Megaregions: Arizona Sun Corridor,

Cascadia, Front Range, Gulf Coast, Great Lakes,

Northeast, Northern California, Piedmont Atlantic, Southern

California, Southern Florida, Texas Triangle

vey, a new generation of national parks, forests, orother national designation could be coupled with state-levelland-use regu­latory commissions to protect large natu­ral and scenic landscapes in the East. One model for this is in the Highlands region in New Jersey, where a Forest Service-led assessment process, the federal Highlands Conservation Act, and New Jersey's High­lands \'\1ater Protection Act are combin­mg to protect more than 400,000 acres in a densely developed area. AnQ[her prece­dent is in the Long Island Sound, where assessments and plans created under the auspices of the federal Long Island Sound Study and funding from the Long Island Sound Stewardship Act are helping pro­tect a system of more than 33 sites.

Concurrently, a new generation offeder­al and state urban heritage parks is needed. Examples include the RioSalado in Phoenix

and Tempe, Arizona, the Trinity corridor in Fort \'\1orth and Dallas, Atlama's BeltLine, and Cleveland's Cuyahoga River Valley. 111is would be consistent with the leader­ship roles many cities are taking to regreen urban areas such as Houston's Buffu!o Bay­ouand New York's Fresh Kil!s ParkandJa­maica Bay. Outside the cities, agricultural preserves should be created for highly pro­ductive agricultural lands threatened by suburban development.

The Megaregions: A Network of

Regional Reserves

Megaregions are networks of more than one metrojXllitan area, connected byeco­nomic, transportation, and environmental links. T he Regional Plan Association pro­jectS thar by 2050, more than 70 percent of poplliation and e<onomic growth will oc­cur in 11 megaregions across the United Stares. Because of rapid growth in these megaregions, the protection of open space and important resource lands is especially crucial. As a reslllt, the national strategy should promote nerworksof protected "re­gional reserves" in and adjoining the na­{ion's 11 emerging megaregions,

Based on the National b.ndscape Sur­vey, regional reserves would protect large (100,000 acres or more) ecological, scenic, historic, recreational, agriculrural, and wa­ter supply systems through state-initiated, regional land-use regulatory programs. Drawing from the National bndscape Sur­vey, landscape architects and planners will be able to identifY suitable candidate land­scapes for preservation at the megaregion scale. For example, the Texas Triangle is formed by San Antonio and Houston at its base with Dallas- Fort \"X!orth at the apex. It is most likely that any national survey, such as the one proposed here, will identifY the Edwards Plateau and H ill Country on the west of the triangle and the Blackland Prairie and Coastal Plain on the east as sig­nificant landscapes. The Edwards Plateau and Hill Country area contains one of the richest aquifers in the nation and is a scenic landscape . T he Blackland P rairie and Coastal Plain area includes the richest mrm­land in the state. T he Coastal Plain also in­cludes shorelines important for recreation and vulnerable to hurricanes.

In the Northeast megaregion, the Uni­versity of Pennsylvania and the Regional

Plan Association have already identified 26 candidate landscapes and coastal estuaries that would appear suitable as regional pre­serves. Of these, only five (Adirondack Park, New Jersey Pinelands, Long Island Pine Barrens, New Jersey H ighlands, and Cape Cod) are protected through existing systems.

Protecting our lands and na tural re­sources must become a national priority. \VIe must conserve and protect our most

Wilderness and road less areas in national forests and on BlM lands need to

be restored and expanded. precious lands: first, through a National Landscape Survey, and second, through ex­panding the National Landscape Conserva­tion System co ensure America's fueure. These landscapes hold a significant place in American hiscory; if we want future generations co enjoy their scenic beauty and safeguard resources, there must be fed­eral action, coupled with state, regional, and local efforts.

Frederick R Steiner, FASLA, is &un oft/xschool of architecfllre af fhe University of Texa$ at Amtin. Robert D. Yam iJ president of the I~e­giollal P/an A1J(JCiation and professorofpractice at the UnNii!Ntty of pfl/mylvania.

Resources

• America 20:;0, /mlIW.America2050.org • Cities ill the W'ildeme.H: A New Vision of Land Use ill America. by Bruce Babbitt, Honorary ASLA; \'<fashington, D.C.: Island Press, 200:; • Envision Central Texas, wfllw.envtJioll centra/texas.org • Envision Utah, UlUIw.envisiolllltah.org • Gret'nbelt Alliance, /1JlVUJ.grembelt.org • Open lands Project, /Ull.lW.opelilallm.org

• Land Trust Alliance, Ulll.lw.lalldtrtlst a/liallce.org • Regional Plan Association, /Ull.lw.rpa.org

• A Region at Risk. by Robert D. Yaro and Tony H iss; Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1996

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JUNE 200t Llnd stlpe Archit , tlu. , I 11

j N G

etc es ............. e

78 1 Land,up. Ar~ltlhchr. JUU ZOot

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(

A seasoned sketcher shares his technique of travel sketching to quickl y capture tile feeling of space.

By Carl Steinitz, Honorary ASLA

Y MAIN PURPOSE IN DRAWING is to

rr-cord the event of being there. lh~se drawings, then , are a kind of visual di­ary. I date them and sometimes make notes on the back. I go through my

drawings occasionally and gain pleasurr- from them and the mem­ories attached, and J sometimes show them to people who arr­amazed that J can draw- it is not my primary reputation.

I started sketching again in 1992, after not doing so since the mid-1960s. J don·t know why, other than being bored widl car­rying a camera. Basically, it was for my own enjoyment and not for accurate representation. As a result, I developed a fust and person­al style of sketching in black and white. I typically make between

two and four draw­ings a day when J am somewhere of interest, and J have made about a thous.'md drawings.

Usually, J am trying to

capture the space and the fed of the place as ~n from where I am. I certainly see the scene more vividly when drawing, as J need to pick my location to draw from and the van­ishing point(s). I do edit the scene- normally no cars, no people, no W1res. I don't fOcus on the details, but I try to include important

JUM[ 200 1 Lllldstllpe Artbite tlure 179

D A'I. ~

-

, ,

80 I lied sup •• rellltichir. l UU not

)

I am l1')'ing to capture the space and the feel of the place as seen from where I anI.

ones. Sometimes I am nO{ drawing a single view, as I frequently move my vanishing poinr(s).

T here are three places that I have draw n after crying (from quite different emotions): the walls of J erusalem, Bergen-Belsen, and Yosemite Valley. And there are several places that ' have drawn many times (they are challenging): Piazza San Marco in Venice, Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto,japan, and Piccadilly Circus in London.

T here afC three stages co my drawings. The first is a fredy drawn outli ne for the basic structure and proportions of the scene.

My materials are go,erned in part by mobility (after all, the)'

hare replaced a small camera). I use an AS·size pad of 140-

pound acid·free watercolor paper that fits into my pocket. It

should be in a side-bound pad (but not spiral-bound) $0 that

double·width panoramas can be drawn. If wider drawings are

needed, a thin roll of Scotch Magic Tape is a useful accesso­

ry. Most of my drawings are two sheets wide, but I hare made

panoramas as wide as eight sheets and with moring vanishing

points. My pens are black extra·fine office pens with nonper­

manent ink. I frequently and purposely smear the ink with my

fingers to gain a tone. I carry a small case with some pens,

cut-down Chinese brushes, and some paper towels. Also in

the case is a plastic bag. In it, I have a small vial of water·

proof black ink, a plastic boUle with water (the boHles that

airlines use for gin are idea!!, and a small two-section salad

plate liberated from British Airways that I use as a paleUe

with water in one part and a few drops of ink in the other.

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1l1is is followed by, and frequently combined with, purposeful smearing or a conal hatch­ing. Then (and sometimes later in rhe day) I rapidly shade rhe image with a few diluced­ink washes. T he outline Stages usually rake around nvero 10 minucesasheec,and rhe ink washes rake another 10 to 20, plus drying­rhe whole rarely raking more chan 30 min­utes. I don't rough in [he sketch with a pen­cil but stare immediately with my black,

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My drawing technique has changed some­what since 1992, but less chan one would expect, J have more control now, but control is not my only aim, J am more daring, having made sev­eral panoramas with multiple vanishing points,

I have given "fust-drawing" workshops at Har­vard and elsewhere, "Look, draw, don't worl)' about it," J tel! {he students, "Capture the place; don't aim for accumcy. Above all, don't worl)' about it; just enjoy it."

nonpermanent office pen. r start badly once in a while, but iff do J just turn rhe page and res tart. Mostly r just draw fast, and there are frequently some correnive lines in finished drawings. No one seems co mind.

Car! Steinitz, Hon(ffary ASLA, iJ the AlexandRr andVict(ffia \Vtky Re­search Proff!jj(ff of Lmd.icajJe Architecture alld P1anlling at Har/ldrd Graduate School of Design.

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A new park in Santiago hides a highway and

forges a visual link with the San Cristobal Mountains.

By Jimena Martignoni Photography by Cristobal Palma

•

N C HIlL, THE CAPITAL CllY OF SANTIAGO has

com pleted rough ly half of a new, 67-acre green space-Parqlle Bi[enteIJdrio, or Bicentennial Park. The rest of the park is slated to be finished in 20 L 0, when the coun try will celebrate 200yearsofinde­pendence from Spain.

Teoooro Fernandez Larrai'iaga, a well-known Chilean archi tect, was awarded the project after

winning a nationwide design competition. Fernandez has designed ocher parks in Santiago, notably Parque Ines de Suarez (1994). Before construction began In

2006, the site fOf Bicemennial Park was an irregular strip of undeveloped land in northeastern Santiago, fun­

ning north- south between the canalized Mapocho Riv­eron rhe west and a new landscaped avenue, rhe Aven i­da Parque de las Americas, on the east. This eastern boundary froms an urban residential district, which en­joys west-facing views of the iconic San Cristobal Mountains. T hesite lies within the Vitacura municipal­ity, one of Samiago's most prosperous districts, which comm issioned the design .

Is.

Before the IXlrk was built, a 13-foot-high cOllCret:e retaining wall em­oonk(xi the river, obstructing visual and physical access. Aftermrving OUt the park site, the city decided to

build a rood on a ribbon ofland be­tween thesiteand the river. 111is new road, mlled the Costanern Sur, wilt serve as a fuse t:me for a national high­way that runs JUSt west of (he river, at the fOOf of the San Cristobal ~-[oun­tains. 11lt road's locntion on {he east side of rhe riwr, howC\'er, creates an even more permanent barrier be­tween rhe river and the park si te. Construcrion is beginning this )'taf.

The overall plan of the first phase of the

park, right, shows: IAI pools and wetland

vegetation, IBI cobblestone path, leI central esplanade, IDI east sycamore

path and promenade, lEI west new

rise with natives. IFI municipality

building and terrace, and IG) new

road and river Inot shownl. The sketches show the basins located

on the north edremity of the site,

.bove. and the relationship be· tween the sycamore path. the

esplanade, and the mou ntains

to the west. below.

To funher complimte maners, a new municipll office building, alsoche resulrofa public competition, was built in 2004 on rhetaS( side of the site. As pan of the design program, (he park had to include a paved area or pl:l2a chat would connect with it. 111is semipublic pl:l2a would form rhe roof of an underground parkingh'3nl£e for rhe building.

Cre.tlng. Rlver.lde Park, Without the River

'1l1ese were rhe conditions Fern{indez confronted when he smned thede­sign. In Santiago, rhe principal public IXlrks take rhe form of grassy es­planades between the river and the urban edge, and most local residenrs associate (he word "park" with a tree-lined riverside corridor. In this case, however, the parkland edges would be bounded on both sides by roads,

0-

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A series of steps, above, differ­

entiates the most public: part of

the sycamore path, slightly be-

low street level, and the pas­

sages adjacent to the park. The

park's ground plane is about

eight feet below the path.

Native palms, teft, are planted

on the west edge of the park.

-yet the designer chose to emulate the local convention, creating a naturalistic, sloped ridge [Q buffer the sight and sounds of rhe ex­panding highway on rhe park's western edge. T his rolling green berm, planted with native trees and palms, echoes rhe ripple of the San Cristobal foothills behind it , effectively "oorrowing" the moWl­

rain views so characteristic of San­riago. To smooth out the elevation change between the top of the ridge and the park's ground plane, Fern.'indez mocleled a gradlLll slope that ranges from 5 percent to 12 percent.

On the eastern side, the character of the park is more urban. 111e new sidewalk, which nms pamllel to Avenue Parque de las Americ­as, Isageometrinulyaligned path plamed with an alJeeofsycamorc--s. At junctions wi th entrances and ramps. the trees are punctuated by homogeneous groups of ornamemal grasses. Paved for most of its length, the path includes portions surfaced with cobblestone and

edged by low rock walls reminis­cent of the swne walls found in Chilean agricultural valleys.

A series of steps differentiate the mOSt public parr of rhis path, where it borders the streer, and the passages adjacent ro rhe park, The path itselflies slightly below street level, and rhe park's ground plane is abour eighr feer below the path. 1lle parh crosses a poved overlook atop the new municipal building's underground facilit ies, which precede a rerraced, srone­d ad [('raining wall from which

The sinuous pedestrian and bike

pillth, .bo~e and right, Irarels

along the upper part of the newly

created green rise; views

from this path are quite spectac·

ular. Irregularly shaped concrele

benches and intimate nooks are

offel"t'cl on the central esplanade-

like area, opposite top. The

green rise, planted with nati."

on the west edge, o.erlooks the

cenlral esplanade and the city

behind, opposite bottom.

the stair.; and ramps descend. TIle wall resolves tlleeight-iOOt el­evarion change between rhe padl and dle park below. Visitor.; can rake in views of the entire park from rhis el~'ated promenade and a balcony atop rhe paved overlook.

This concept of terraces and viewing promenades is repeated throughout tile park, including rhe west hillsides, from which rhe

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city's mllest new rowers and the municipal building and plaza can be fully appreciated. An upper path traces the top of the planted berm, doubling as a bicycle trail; seen from the opposite urban path, the seemingly continuous plane of the artificial slopes and the mountains is broken on ly by bicycles moving slowly across the static, linear landscape.

The space between the naruml and urban edges, respectively on the west and east sides of the site, is an open meadow- a place to

saunter, lie on the grass, jog , picnic, play, and sunbathe. This es­planadelike space offers some intimate nooks furnished with ir­regularly shaped concrete benches and some more typical wood­en benches placed along the pedestrian paths. Partially enclosed by flowering shrubs, smal l trees, and grasses, these places pro­vide a smaller-scale experience within this large expanse. In front of the main stairs that link the sycamore path with this meadow is a set of modern playgrounds whose blue rope structures are usually thronged with kids.

It muld be argued that the lawn esplanade that extends along the park doesn't respond to the local cl imate condit ions ofSanti­ago, where rain is scarce. In times when sustainable design ap­proaches are necessary, is it mrrect to create a European-style

18.

Part of the en t IUIth is sur1aced with cobblestone and edged by low rock walls, hen. The protect'. lighting, ~Io •• echoes the reddish·yellowish hues so typical of the light that corers the Andes ewell' day at dusk.

grassy park that consumes extra water and requires extra costs? The designer responds chat once (he abundant native trees plant­ed along the esplanade and on the slopes are fully grown, the lawn area will be reduced roa minimum, and irrigation costs won't be an issue.

The paved plaz.'l for rhe municipal building, which covers the existing underground parking, was designed as a series of angular terraces that cover a 1,2-acre area, '111e terraces embrace the struc­ture and extend outward (Oward the adjacent park lawn, creating a fine balance between green and paved areas throughout the park. 111e geometrical shapes define transitional elements such as steps, subtle slopes, and a linear fountai n along its longest edge,

This p laza/rooftop-the first of its kind in Chile, the designer says-successfully connects the building with the park. Part of the plaza is sheltered beneath dle high roofs of the new munici­pal building, creating space for semipublic activities,

Dneof'the most intriguing feamres lies at the park's north end, Here, at ground level, a series of shallow, a<;.ymmetricaJ concrete basins hold placid water, Along the shore, zigzagging concrete walls form a crisp edge softened with papyrus, grasses, and och­er colorful wetland species, Swans and thick green carpetS of

.0 1

At the park's north end, some shallow, asymmetrical concrete

basins hold placid water; the papyrus and water species, here, complete the broad planting pattern of the park. MosUy

nati¥e shrubs and palms are planted on the west edge, below.

aquaeic planes compleee chis appealing place, usually a peaceful reseing spot for families, kids, and couples.

Adjoining this water plaza at the northernmost part of the site is a restauram whose modern design was also the result of a com­petition won by renowned Chilean architect Smiljan Radic. Built after the park competition, it was required co fit within the park plan. The building's terraces also connect CO the park.

So far, the park is a hit with residents of the Vitacuea disuicr and its neighboring municipalieies; the scale and location accom­modate them easily, and now Samiago boasts another linear park along the embanked river in a less cemeal parr of the city.

Jimma t\fartignoni is an Argellfinf<JII arrhitf£t, landswpearchited, and /retlalla writer focllsed on Latin American projects. She is the allthor of Latinscapes: Landscape as Raw Material and collaborates with spe­cialized internatiollal magazintJ.

PROJECT CREDITS Client MunicipaiityofVitacura. Designer: Arch1-tect Teodoro Fernandez Larrai'iaga. Associate designers: Paulina Courard, Sebastian Hernandez, and Danilo Marrie. Fountains and wa­

terfeatureS! Jose Luis Orellana, aquarnasrer.

All ORI'S ROUNDS fOR Rl Two smlptttre gardens at the Baltimore Museum of A rt are modern gems.

By Frank Edgerton Martin Photography by Walter P. Calahan

ICONS where superb arc collections and modern land· - ------ --------MERICANS ARE BLESSED W ITH arc museums Though not quite 30 years old, [he Janet and Alan

Wurtzburger Sculpture Garden (1 980), and its larger neighbor, the woo::led Ryda and Robert H , levi Sculprure Garden (1988), should be considered "historic" works of

scape architecture converge. The Baltimore HC' \-i ~ il ('(.1 Museum of An: (BMA) isa prominent example of chac convergence, Sec next door to [he Johns Hopkins

University campus, [he B/'.IA is home ro [\vo sculpture gardens, one designed by che iaceGeorge E. Patron and the ocher by Sasa­ki Associates- very different In character, yet both landmarks of JXlScwar modernism.

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design chac merit study and preservation. One of che marvelous qualities of dlis pairing is how complementary these two different gardens are. Ir can be argutxl rhar rhey each represent rwo major de­sign parndigms of postwar landscape architecture: the shaping of formal and urbane spaces seen in [he work of Dan Kiley, M. Paul

/ I ,

W~lking through levi Carden' s g~te, one immedi~tely discovers a larger, deeper, and more wooded scene. rriedberg, and many others, along with rhe informed sensitivity [Q nature and mi­croclimates found in the design process of Oehme van Sweden Associates.

Between 19» and 1973, the Wurtz­burgers built a sculpture collen ion for display at their hilltop esmce in

Baltimore-vi rtually all of which chey donated [Q rhe museum by rhe 19BOs. 111e couple collected sculprures chat ex­pressed human perst"\'erance, and many of their sculptures celebrate rhe human fig­ure. Jay Fisher, BMA"s deputy director of curamrial affit irs, explains chat early on , rhe BMA made the curatorial decision to

exhibit the collection at human scale, JUSt

as rhe Wurtwurgers had in their grounds. Thus rhe sculptures are either set at

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A conceptual plan by Sasaki, " ere, shows the relative scales and d;",,;;i'l forms of the Wurtzburger Garden and (in colorl the later levi Garden. The

strong perpendicular lines and wiewsheds are clear when one looks

ward the Baltimore Museum"of Art from the Wurtzburger Garden, . , " f·. ground level or on four-inch pedestals. Landscape architect Panon of Philadel­phia designed the garden to express d1 is intimate experience of sculpture through a series of intimate galleries framed by cast-concrete walls of varying heights and walks paved wi th 18- by 36-inch rectan­gular blocks of uniformly em bluestone.

Panon worked on severnl projects with celebrated archi tect Louis Kahn, a fellow Philadelphian. Although not as famous as their collaboration at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort \Xlorrh, Texas, Pattoo's serene sculpture ,garden in Baltimore may be the fineS{ survi v lrlg example of hIS work and, perhaps influenced by Phil ip J ohnson 's sculpture garden at the Muse­um of Modern Art in New York,sut'Vlves as a high jXlim fOf landscape modernism,

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Designed and built as parr of an early 1 980s museum expan­sion, the \Vurrzburger Garden is directly ad jacent to rhe east end of the museum and can be entered from the museum's front door entry and drop-off courr, In the warmer months, the quiet OUt­door rooms are animated at night with parries and omdoor din­ing that Rows OUt from the museum's restaurant on a terrace in­cluded in t he original design, At only a (hird of an acre, the Wurtzburger Garden has a much smaller footprim than the neighboring Levi Garden, Yet the garden fee ls large and com­plex, perhaps because figurative works by such noted sculptors as Henry Moore, Aristide Maillo!, Auguste Rodin, Isamu Noguchi, and Jacques l ipchitz are so different and yet perfectly scaled (Q

their spaces. One can spend hours just walking, looking at the statues, and resting on the garden's benches.

Walking through levi Garden's gate, one immediately discov­ers a larger, deeper, and more wooded scene. "Ille ground plane drops far below the entry terrace to create a kind ofha­

ha effect. Set at the center of the entry terrace, the spiraling met­al bands of Comtmetloll 140 by Jose de Rivera draw the eye into the t~ canopy while also brilliantly expressing the swale­likevolumeof the garden itself. The siting of this sculpture was one of the earliest de­cisions made by $.1saki, the donors, and rhe curarors. Its positioning remains one of the best entry icons to be found in any American sculpture garden .

From theemry rerrace,agemly curving walk brings visitors along the garden's

northern slope down to its floor. Along the way, they can pause and gaze imo the garden's heart. Somewhat reminiscent of the wood­land vistas of Sasaki's landmark John Deere headquarrers, the linn's vision for the Levi Garden heightens the sense of emering a wood­land vale where works by mid-20th-century arrisrs are on display. The garden is a case study of the landscape architect's ability to

grasp the spatial form inherent in a ravine site and to heighten irs sense as an oUtdoor room through the strategic siting of steps, vis­tas, and accessible paths weaving along the hillsides. TIle calculat­ed opening of vistas and distant views of artworks was precisely what the Levis had in mind when they first assembled and exhib­ited the collection.

The entire museum, its gardens, and the adjacem 16-acre \Vyman Park lie on the former \Vyman family estate that be­came part of Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus. l ike much of Baltimore, the area is hilly and laced with ravines. It is also an expression of how landscape architects shaped this city during the 20th century. In their 1904 Report Upoll the De­velopment of Public Groullds for Greater Baltimore, the Olmsted

Brothers office set out a vision for the Bal­timore park and parkway system that was second only to their work in Boston in size and complexity. The plan absorbed several former estates, including Wyman, into the new public open space network. Describing the valley that includes the BMA's two sculpture gardens and Wyman Park , the report states: "'With its old beech trees and bold topography, it is the finest single passage of scenery III rhe

whole valley, and there are few spotS so near a large city chac equal it."

Working with Sasaki Associates principal Don Olson, FASLA, Joseph Hibbard, ASLA, served as projeC[ landscape architect in all phases from mas­teT planning through construction. Twenty years later, Hibbard still works at Sasaki. He remem­bers that their team made initial siting recommen­darions for all of the levis' sculpcures, most of which were supported by the levis and the cura­tors. He also recalls chat one of their greatest chal-

Steps, vistas, and accessible paths weave

versible, but once the structural "bones" of modern gardens are lost, they are much harder m replace,

The gardens have different "character-defining features" that must be presen'ed. For the \'{1urtz­burger Garden , these are Patmn's perpendicular, room-defining cast-concrete walls, steps, and blue­sm!'le paths. 'nle Levi Garden's woodland character is achieved through the quiet solidity of its entry re­taining walls,cascading steps, and the volumeof rhe sunken garden itself. Alterations to any of these fea-

along the hillsides.

lenges was not to disturb the overstofy trees. No construction equipment was allowed on the lower floor of the garden. Indeed, Hibbard remembers that a large crane lifted the Calder and the Ellsworth Kelly 70 to 80 feet in the air over rhe tree canopy to set them gently into place.

By the 1980s, Brad Pudner, BMA's director of landscape­essentially the curator of the museum's landscapes- held the po­litically delicate role of balancing the wishes of his employer and the donors, "The first thing the curamrs said to me was that the sculptures should reign supreme," But the donors and their chil­dren remembered the home landscapes from which the sculp­tures had come and they wanted a "garden" too. Pudner and Sasa­ki found a balance between exhibiting art and replanting the Levi Garden's understory with shrubs, bulbs, and perennials,

Pudner's vision as a horticulturist includes bright flowering ex­otic shrubs that may seem a bit garish for some landscape archi­tects. But from a stewardship perspective, the most importan t fact is that Pudnerand the I3MA curamrs understand rhe differing spa­tial design intents of the twO gardens. Planting designs afe re-

tures would seriously impair each garden's distinctive sense of scale and character.

This spring, before the beech canopy leafed out, the garden was already green with slopes of ivy and the beds of daffodils and other bulbs beloved by the Levis. Because of their short spring blooming seasons, Pudner always installs bulbs in beds with es­tablished summer "companion" perennials such as hostas, ferns, sweet woodruff, blue star, daisies, blackberry lilies, toad lilies, fall anemones, and irises. "During the summer, it's a whole different garden,"' he says. The most significant change is that both gardens are much darker under their canopies and, where openings occur, such as in the green lawn surrounding the C'lider at the heart of the Levi Garden, bright pools of sunlight stand out.

like many modernist works of landscape architecture, the two gardens lie in the temporal purgatory of being neither "new" enough to be on rhe cutting edge nor old enough to be viewed

as "historic.·· As living environments, their original plantings can be subject to overgrowth and loss and their water features subject to failure. Another t:1.Ctor affecting landscapes from the recent past

• Design Lessons from Three Decades

WITH so MUCH MODERN·ERA landscape architecture threatened by

neglect, which can bNome an excuse for demolition, land­scape architects should consider some of the common·sense IH­

sons the BMA staff has learned about paving and plant choices for

urban sculpture gardens.

Seek Out the Most Durable Paving and Hard

Surface Materials

All bluestone is not created equal. BMA's Director of Landscape Brad Pudner notes that the Wurtzburger Carden's blnestone plaza is made with higher quality thernla/bluestone, "which has had virtually no flaking, while other walkways where nonthermal stones were used have required more repairs and maintenance,"

Design for Winter Maintenance and De-ieing When considering bluestone for public: sculpture gardens, determine if de·icing chemicals will need to be applied. The de· icing regime should be written directly into specifications or the management plan. In the BMA's case, staff are allowed to close the gardens alto· gether during icy times, an option that avoids chemical use and po. tentialliability issues. "We are able to close the sculpture gardens during inclement weather," Pudner sa,s, "but on our main museum entrances, we have to keep them accessible, and ewen the gentler de·icing products like magnesium chloride still cause deterioration of mortar joints, requiring ongoing maintenance costs."

Study and Monitor Existing Tree Canopies

Ewen in small woodlands, the density of the tree canopy can be sur· prisingly varied. Pudner says, "I re-create sun/shade charts every few years at midmorning, noon, early afternoon, and late afternoon to de· tennine how tree canopies have changed over time. I've discovered

that some sections of the garden that I thought were shady actually get a good deal of sun and vice versa. Some areas of the gardens were sun· ny 25 years ago but have become quite shady, and their understory sun·loving plants have declined. On the other hand, a f_ trees have been removed, opening up more sunlight and scorching their shade­loving understory plants." Rather than trying to maintain the garden

as a static form, Pudner works around species that seem to be suc· ceeding while preserving the all·important primacy of the sculpture.

Monitor Moisture Retention and Drainage

Many urban sculpture gardens such as at the IMA or the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis are located on lands that were too wet to ewer be developed with buildings. Ponding water is deadly both for most plant species and for the stability and long·term conservation of art. As part of the overall hydrology of the Jones Creek watershed, the lower section of the Levi Garden can be almost boglike during the

spring. Pudner notes, "I've had great success with 'ris sibirka ISiberian iris!. Vernonia noreboracensis INew York ironweed!, Hibis· cus'Lord Baltimore' Ihardy hibiscus!, Astilbe 'Oeutschland' Iwhite

false spiraea!. and Rudbeckia laciniata 'Autumn Sun' Iculleaf cone· flowerJ." He also closely watches storm ewents to correct drainage patterns and raise sculptures, if needed.

9. 1

is that few of the staff members from dl{' owner"s side were pres· em when the projects were built, and few landscape architects who may have worked on the design arestill act iw. Although til{' BMA gardel1S appear virmally as they did on [heir opening days during the Reagan era, dle challenge is to preserve rll{' gardens through the next generations of museum patrons, curators, and staff. \Xlill they remember the imJX>rtance of the designers who first shaped these spaces? When the levi Garden opened in 1988, the BMA held an exhibit on the history of Sasaki's work. Yet, when I visited in 2009, virtually none of the staff knew who designed the Levi Garden. In fact , the design offices may have completely lost track of the fact that they ever worked on the project-Sas.'1ki"s web site makes no mention of the levi Garden in its list of projects.

This forgetting can be very dangerous for the stewardship of modern landscapes. The owners can lose any kind of emotional in­vestment in their creation (as, it can be argued, is now happen­ing at Friedberg's Peavey Plaza in MinneaJXll is), and design of­fices, in the rush to stay current and competitive in their pract ice areas, can forget the quiet brilliance of their forebears .

For this reason, ASLA and the Maryland chapter should work to add the BMA's scul pture gardens to the Historic American

Landscape Survey and encourage the museum to nominate them to the National Register of Historic Places. They are now very much at their peak in terms of plantings and the integrity of hard surface materials. They are also well cared for and benefit from a maintenance endowment provided by the Levi and \'Quftzburg­er families that helps [Q fund staff positions and some new plant­ings each year. Yet , as has happened with so much of the work of Lawrence Halprin, FASLA, and Friedberg, tastes can change, and communities that know little of the history oflandscape archi tec­ture can be all too eager [Q erase their icons and the legacy of civic­minded citizens from just a generation or two earlier. It·s impor­tant for the profession to protect landmarks of the recent past that are still young enough to be intact yet old enough to have mature character.

Frank Edgerton Martin is a lanmwpe historian, [amp"s planner, and regular [ollfriblllor 10 Landscape Architecture.

RESOURCE • Baltimore Museum of An - This web site, wIIIUlarlbNla.org, in­cludes history and audio tours of the two sculpture gardens.

PLANT LIST Located in lone 7, Baltimore has four distinct seasons and many wann sunny days in the winter when the gardens can be enjoyed. Pudner suggests the following species for use in similar lones:

WINTER INTEREST _____ ---cc-~-,'Ev"'ergreell shrubs

Came/hi 'a IlniU Camellia l/txl 'Nellie R. Stevell$' Nellie Stevens holl}

MahtJllia bulei leatbetleaf mahollia Naot5na dllmestka'Harbor Dwarf' Harbgr dwarf undiaa

Evergreen perennials Dr/llpteris elJthrosora Autumn fern

He/kborus 'Brandywine' Brandywine lenten rose liriope spicala Creeping firiolle

Sarcococca hookeriananr. humilis Dwarf sweetbol

EARLY SPRING flOWERING BULBS I i I

LATE SPRING flOWERING BULBS AHium (iga"leum 'Clobemaster' Clobemaster giant onion

Alhum schubtrtii Ornamental onion Camassia feichtlinii Wild hyacinth

SUMMER-flOWERING PERENNIALS FOR SUN Hibiscus 'lord Baltimore' Hardl hibisGUS

Iris e"sata Japanese iris Iris silJirica Siberian iris

leJICaothemum x supetbum 'Becky' Shasta daisy Parda"caflda norrisii Candy lily, blackberry li~

Rudbedh laciRiala 'Autumn Su.' Aulllmn sua coUeaf coneflower Verooni~ fl(Jrebllractilsis New York ironweed

SUMMER PERENNIALS FOR SHAOE Hostasp. Hosta, plantain lily

Cah·um odoralum Sweet woodruff. sweetscenled bedslraw Po"stichum pII"blepharum Korean ImeHern

DIJ~pteris elJlhrosora Autumn fern Sarcococca hookerianavar. humilis Dwarf sweetbol

Astilbe 'Deutscbland' White false spiraea

FALL FLOWERS & BERRIES Anemllilt 'Honorine Jobert' White Japanese anemone

Callicarpa dichotllma Beautyberry

FALL FOLIAGE Acer palmatum Japanese maple

Acer rubrum Red maple Car/asp. Hickor}

Fagus graodifolia American beech fminus SII. Ash

I ••

BOOKS Materials and Their Applications in Landscape Design, by Rob W SOVillSki, ASLA; Hoboke n, New J ersey: Jo hn W iley & Sons, 2009; 192 pages, 580.

Reviewed by J. Brooks Breeden, FASLA

IN Mdteritlls alld Theil' ApplicatkmJ ill Landscape Desigll, Rob Sovinski, ASLA, gives an overview of the materials palent'of the landscape architect or designer. The hardcover lxlok is

compact at juSt nine by six inches. Its emphasis is materials' general characteristics rather than when to choose which ma­terial and how to detail it. The chapters. cover stone aggre­gates, asphalr, brick, cast-in-place concrete, precast concrete, metal, scone, wood, and combinacions;each gives an overview of the characteristics of the material and some of its advantages and drawbacks in use.

This isan imroduccory [ext, not a reference book that one re­turns to repeatedly. Forexample, you willleam that common wood species used in landscape construction are southern pine, Douglas fir, western red cedar, pondetosa pine, redwood, and teak, but you won't be able to tell the difference berween Doug­las fir and teak by sight because there are no illustrations of gtain and color at all. The chapter on brick is the strongest, with a lot of useful information about brick bonds and the ap­propriateness of a bond for a particular use, although not all I:xmds illustrated are named, Unfortunately, most of the images illustrating points made in the chapter text are rather low­contrast grayscale photographs. The book does include a sec­tion of14 pages with six color images each. Sevetal of the color images are the same as grayscale images included in the chap­ter text. TIlen there is the matter of inconsistent depths of cov­erage: Some chapters show drawing standards and symbol representations; others do not. Still, the book is not intended to be a Time Saver Standards lor Landscape An-hitretIlYe.

Whom is this book for? Initiall y, it looks as though it was intended for students, but the section im mediately following the preface is "A Note to Instructors," and each chapter finishes with several excellent suggestions for student exercises called "Learning Activities," Frank ly, it seems to be a better lecture and assignment guide (or an instructor than a reference volume for a student. It is easy to imagine the chapters as a semester of lectures for an intf(xluctory materials class in landscape archi­tecture or landscape construction. As a faculty workbook and lecture guide it does a very good job. It could take three years off the development cycle of an intf(xluctory materials course.

Were I teaching a course in materials I would buy the book, but I'd have to give serious thought as to whether I would re­quire it as a student textbook. My major concern about re­quiring it is the cost. I don't understand why this half-size book shou ld have a g lossy hard cover and retai l for $80. For either a student text or a faculty guide, a paperback cover is fine and should lower the price whi le not decreasing the

100 I Landscape Architectllre JUNl toot

MATERIALS AND THEIR A PPLICATIONS IN LANDSCAPE DESIGN

ROB W . SOVIN S KI , "'5 l ..,

book's value as a text. However, an eleCtronic format such as a PDP file on CO-ROt.1 or as a download would be even better for this content.

I Brooks Breeden, f'ASLA, taught I"OllJtmctioll courses lrom 1971 "n­til his retirement from Ohio State in 2005; he C1(rremly resides in Sprillgfield, Virgillia, jllSt oNtside Washillg/OII, D.C.

Plant-Driven Design: Creating Gardens That Honor Plants, Place, and Spirit, by Scott Ogdm and Lauren Springer Ogdm; Portland, Oregon: limber Press, 2008; 28 1 pages, 534.95.

Reviewed by Linda Mcintyre ilL ANDSCA PE ARCHITECTS don't know enough about plants." Who hasn't heard (or even uttered) this charge? While many devoted plantspeople in the profession put

the lie to this generalization, in this ern of highly designed gar­dens that seek to be kitchens or living rooms--complete with stain less steel appliances, big-screen T Vs, upholstered furni­rure, and outdoor carpets resting on expanses ofhardscape­it's hard to argue that plants often play only supporting roles,

H usband-and-wife garden design team SCOtt Ogden and lauren Springer Ogden use this notion as a jumping-offpoint for their new book, Plallt-Drivell Design: CreatmgGardem That HOllOI' Plaflu, Place, and Spirit. Don't let that subtitle, or a few mushy·sounding chapter t itles such as "Plants as Heroes" and "Plants Honored," put you off. T his is not a New~Agey or Luddite celebration of nature untouched by the human hand. Instead it's an idiosyncratic ode to using plantS, not at the ex­pense of dc"Sign, but as tools ro realize ambitious, dynamic, and context·sensitive designs.

Readers might expect a book abour plam-driven design to prt"dch about native species, plant communities, and regional ­ism. This one doesn'r. It does exhort the reader to observe and learn from plantS in the wild and the patterns they form and then

\rhile nature offers priceless lessons

in planting design , slavish atlempts at copvinO' nature . u ra rei V work well .

in gardens.

use plants' characteriStics- their habits, textures, and aggression in spreading, among others-to make his or her own desig ns more coher~ ent, inviting, and engaging. But the Ogdens, no purists, stress that while natute offers priceless lessons in planting design,slavish attempts at copying nature rarely work well in gardens . They knowledgeably discuss horriculruml derai ls such as how different types of soil affeCt p lants' habit and appearance. Yet they don't tread the usual parry line of soi l testing and amendment; in~

Stead they recommend searching for planes, native or nor, adapted to local soil conditions including whatever deficiencies are found on the site. Any de~ signet who has been frustrated by anempts to define, let alone source, native plants, or puzzled over a soi l test designed for agricultural fields, is likely to find this approach refreshing.

What the opinionated authors thi nk doesn't work is described as fu lly as what they like, and they don't pull punches. Paved paths in public gatdens,

for example, are dismissed as mon~ strositiesakin co roads in the woods, wheelchairs be damned. Readers might disagree with chis or ocher opinions, bur the strong point of view makes the lxlok a better read than most of its coffee-rable~worrhy brethren.

T he Ogdens live, and primarily work, in centra l Texas and the Rocky Mountain foothills in north~ em Colorado. Their lxlok is beallti~ fu lly illustrated with phocographs of gardens and landscapes from around the world, including many from their own gardens, Even if

some of the planes they discuss are unfam i I iar to those of us in other parts of the country, the photographs and informative captions effectively underscore the points made in the text, and unusually helpful plant lists, highlighting both aesthetic qualities such asa rosette~fonning habit and interplay with dif~ ferent kinds of light, and horticultural qualities such as drought tolerance, abound (though you' ll have co consult another reference fordetailed informa~ tion such as hardiness about most of the species discussed; the authors don't set a lot of score by the USDA and American Horticultural Society maps).

While the Ogdens designed many of the gardens highlighted in the lxlok, no plans or sections are among the illustrations. Drawings would have en~ hanced descriptions of plant placement and challenges such as grade changc'S.

PI(/,,!~Drwet/ DesigN has much co offer people who love plants and design in equal measure-a population that, despite conventional wisdom, I would bet includes many landscape archite(Ts.

Riprap editM' alld se/fprac/tlimed plaut lIerd U"da tllclntyre is tl former Landscape Architecture Skiff writer.

... FOOTPRINT : OUR LANOSCAPE IN FLU X,

by Stuart Franklin; New York: Thames and

Hudson , 2008; 144 pages, $60.

THIS HARDCOVER COLLECTION of photographs by

Stuart Franklin offe rs a sobering look at

Europe 's evolving land­

scape In the wake of rapid

environmental change,

The book, which Inc ludes

several essays as w en as

99 stunning full-color

photos, documents the

changes In disturbing

detail: the effect of pollution on trees and tun­

dra, the extent of floodS and rising sea levels,

the shrinking and receSSion of once-vast

glaciers, Despite the evidence of man's heavy

footprint , Franklin finds reason for optimism,

... PUBLIC ART NEW YORK ,

by Jean Parker Phifer; New York: W, W, Norton &

Company, 2009; 288 pages, $29,95,

OON'T MAKE YOUR NEXT TRIP to New York without

this guidebook, Handsomely laid out with a color

photograph for each artwork, easy

to cany, sturdy, and a good value

for the money, It's a good way of

finding your way through the

<:Ity's treasure trove of outdoor

art. The book Is organized by

neighborhood, and maps are at

the beginning of ea<:h <:hapter,

making It a user-friendly walking guide to the <:Ity.

... MATHEMATICS FOR THE GREEN INOUSTRY:

ESSENTIAL CALCULATIONS FOR HORTICULTURE

AND LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONALS ,

by Mlchaell. Agnew. Nancy H. Agnew, NIck E.

Christians, and Ann Marie VanDerZanden;

Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2008;

398 pages, $55,

A BOOK ABOUT MATH Is not likely to be something

a lands<:ape ar<:hlte<:t will curl up to read on a

beach vacation, but It can be

a useful reference. A chapter

on geometry may be useful to

designers who need to calcu­

late the area and volume of

diffe rently shaped planting

beds or other features, and

other chapters discuss the

math Involved In determining landscape main­

tenance costs or the proper amount of fertilizer

for an application,

JUU lon lendlClpeArchltecture 1 101

wishes [Q secure. T he sminless steel com­{Xlnents consist of up [Q 95 percent recy­cled content and are fully recyclable. Re­quiring no harsh cleaners, the Bike Garden is low maintenance and is expected [Q have a long pn:xl.uct life cycle.

T he Bike Garden can be cast in place or surfuce mounted. Stainless steel scn."'ws are included forsurfuce mount. For more infor­mation, please visi t ulWW.! onllJ-JIIifacer.com or call 800-451-0410.

Turf Tube

CREATED BY TH E landscape architects of Urban Earth Design, Turf Tube is a g reen

line of indoor-omdoor furn iture. An L8-inch-diameter steel rube is rapped with ar­tificial turf, which smyscool even in direct sunlig ht, making it ideal furniture fOf desert environments.

This monU] fealmes an assortment of site amenities. Turf Tube provides a deg ree of adapt­

ability to its users. An optional removable lid allows it ra double as srarage space. Its {Xlrrabi lity means it can be used as indoor and omdoor furniture,

Stone Forest Basalt Bench ••

NEW TO STONE FOREST's landscape col­

lection is rhe Basalt Bench, a functional

sculpture. Consisting of 1 00 percent basalt, an extrusive volcanic rock, each bench is handmade by hammer and chisel, giving [he bench a distinctive look.

Stone Forest gives the bench a sculptur­a l appearance by working with the natural

shape of rhe basalt. The bench is carved from a single piece of stone. The sides of each bench are left with their own rough exterior, bur the [OP facet is polished, cre­ating a smooth surface. The benches are

Fonns+Surfaces' Bike Garden is an organically inspired bike rack.

102 1 Landscape Architecture JU NE toot

six to eight feet in leng th and are also avail­

able in cusrom sizes. For more information , pl ease visit

WUJUHtOllejorest .COIII or call 888-682-2987.

Form .... Surfac •• Bike Garden

INSPIRED BY ORGANIC forms and creat­

ed by the bike-commuting designers of Forms+Surfuces, the Bike G arden is a new bike rack dmt offurs a high degree of securi­ty and aesthetics.

With multiple locking {Xlints, the Bike Garden gives riders the option [Q lock the wheel , frome, or anything else the rider

Along with its adaptabiLity, Turf Tube aims [Q be g reen. The base is made from durable, Lightweig ht , galvani7.oo steel that won't rust. T he sections are actached with {XlP rivers instead of the toxic welding typ­ically used in metal furnitUre. 111e rivets are easi ly removed if a parr shouLd need replac­ing, extending Turf Tube's life cycle. FinaL­ly, Turf Tube includes recycled plastic lum­ber, helping to conserve traditional building materials, For more information, please vis­it www.tmftllbe.wmorcall 602-285-3055,

Turf Tube is a green line of indoor-outdoor furniture designed

by the landscape architects

of Urban Earth Design.

Beyond Sustainability:

PLACES PEOPLE

11 1 \Y 'JJ DD ;)] 'JJ JfZ liBtlllBi;J ~Bnl ~B Lilll To obtain information about our advertisers' products/services: Circle a reader service number on the postage paid Reader's Service card (see list at right for reader service numbers), or go to www.asla.org/freeinfo

-OR-Circle the four-digit number of the desired category (upper-right comer of the reader service card). Then detach the card and drop it in the mail or fax it to 1-800-571-7730. Your infor­mation will arrive in four to six weeks.

Advertising Sales 636 Eye Street NW Washington, DC 20001-3736 202-216-2335 202-478-2190 Fax advertising@asla.org

PRORUeTtoN MANmR

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104 1 Landscape Architecture JUNE toot

IlIJ I] II I~ I{ 1\ I] If I,: li T I· (I 1.1 I) .1) 11 1.l .1111] I: X

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For free product information, go to www.asla.orglfreeinfo.

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Use this cross-referenced index to find the right product for the job at hand. lus, .. n •• UIY,el.

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THESE ARE Tlr.rES THAT WRACK

our nerves. Every day seems co bring more news of Job layoffs and stock marker losses, \Valk around most neighborhoocls and you'll see

vacant srorefronrs and foredooed houses, USA Today recently reported chat one oue of nine U.S. residences was now empey.

L3Jldscape architects need to advocate for public

spaces in troubled times.

sian of the 1930s-led toa newapprec i ~ arion forpubl ic places. 111e recovery pro­gmms ofFranklin Roosevelt 's New Deal buile or restOred parks, crails, and recre~

ational faci lities allover the country. 111e American public isscill reaping che ben~

elits of chese farsighted accomplishments. By Jay Walljasper rf you don't feel at least a {winge of panic, you're oue of rouch. Almost everyone is looking for ways [Q tighten rhe household

budget. We're reaching for cook!:xJoks instead of Zagat Gllides. Taking old clothes to the tailor for aicerncions radlef than shop~ ping for new ones. Seeking oue special spotS in our hometowns in­stead of booking tickets [Q faraway destinations.

But lec's be honest. For a lot of people-especially upper mid­dle class professionals who have not lost their jobs- dlese are not signs of uner deprivation. Sure, the economy brings inconven­ience and uncertainty, but that should not blind us to the com~ pensating satisfact ions all around.

Grilling in the neighoors' backyard can be as much fun as an evening at a four~star steakhouse. A relaxing afternoon at the lo­cal park can brigh ten our spirits the $.'Ime as a stroll through Lux~ embourg Gardens or Central Park on vacation .

\Vith less cash to toss around, we might take a closer look at what's special in our own backyard, resolving to support neigh~ borhood businesses and revitalize public spaces.

Places that serw everyone in the commun ity- parks, libraries, public buildings, markets, plazas, playgrounds, sidewalks, and other hangoms- are more important than ever, especially for thoSt' who are struggling to get by on shrin k ing or low incomes. Less money to spend on entertainment and res taurants should not mean that many fol ks have no place to go, leaving them con~ fined to their houses and apartments.

T he last economic crisis of this magnitude-the Great Depres~

1 16 1 Landscape Architecture JU NE lOot

Ie makes perfect sense to do chis again on an even larger scale, with federal, state, municipal, philallthropic, and community investment in creating wonderful places in every town where people can rub shoulders with one anocher and enjoy themselves. Arrerdecades where peoples' lives have become morepri~

V;Ieized, ehis would spark a welcome cransfonnation of American life. But a g lance at the news in any town or state can instill fears

for the fate of public spaces. T he economic crisis has clobbered state and local governments as

well as philanthropic institutions, resulting in unprecedented threats to public spaces. In city after city, plans are being drawn to close l i ~

braries, reduce hours ac museums, cue back on park maintenance, shelve community revitalization plans. There are calls to sell off schools, recreational facilities, even aiflXlrts to the highest bidder.

T hat 's exactly the wrong thing to do right now. People depend on these public assets more than ever. In a crisis like this, we need to strengthen the public realm, not eviscerate it.

It ·s crucial that all of us speak up in favor of public spaces, forcefully pointing out how they represent a prime opportunity to stimulate our economy and paw the way for the better t imes to come.

j ay \'{IalljaJ{Ier, aI/thor o/The Grear Neighborhood Book, is JCllior fellow at Projert for P"h/ic Spaces. He Iit'e.J ill AI III11&1poIiJ.

Reprinted with permission from the Project for PublIC Spaces blog (http://b!ag.ppJ.org), March 2, 2009.

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