Landscape Architecture in 2018 Provided a Bold Vision for Our Shared Built Environment
Date Posted: December 21, 2018
Posted In: Ideas,
From Dezeen: From public art to waterfront developments and urban planning, landscape architecture in 2018 provided a bold vision for our shared built environment. Some works from the postwar era were recognised with important designations, while others were successfully renewed with respect and sensitivity.
A bevy of projects – some backed by the extraordinary generosity of philanthropists – demonstrated the profession’s ability to be both definitive and transformative in addressing social, environmental, and economic issues.
Most significantly, there was a blurring of the lines among landscape architecture, art, and architecture – a trend that will likely continue as clients and patrons develop a deeper understanding of the art and impact of landscape architecture.
This blurring was evident in two significant works by the pioneering modernist landscape architect Dan Kiley, which were successfully revamped with exemplary attention paid to Kiley’s original design intent. Here, the historic preservation/design divide was expertly straddled and seamlessly interwoven.
The Ford Foundation Atrium in New York City was renovated, boldly, by Raymond Jungles; and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates re-imagined the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (AKA the Gateway Arch) in St Louis, managing to honour both the iconic arch and the 91-acre (37-hectare) Kiley landscape in the process.
In light of these two ambitious and apt undertakings, the proposed demolition of Kiley’s work at Milwaukee’s Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, including its Tuileries-inspired grove of 36 horse chestnut trees, is very disappointing.