“A Place that Fits: Landscape Architecture” with Kathryn Gustafson

I recently came across a lecture landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson gave at the University of Toronto in 2015 titled, A Place that Fits: Landscape Architecture. It was an interesting lecture and Gustafson laid out twelve principles for the composition of landscape architecture which I wanted to make a note of. These thirteen goals resonated with me because they follow a similar philosophy to the landscape architecture theories I learned with Alissa North in last semesters class.

Kathryn Gustafson is a notable American landscape architect who studied in France and subsequently worked in France, the UK, and the US with projects around the world. Her work is notable for bringing sculptural qualities which draw smooth curves into the landscape volume. Much of her design is through sculptural clay modeling to form the landscapes. This gives rise to a fluid movement in her work that combines flowing lines with seemingly organic qualities.

On speaking about composition in landscape architecture, Gustafson presented 13 goals for compositional integrity which I have attempted to understand a little further, build upon, and make reference note of.

1. The picturesque, a sequence of experiential spaces to a destination or object of desire.
2. Landscape as theater, drama and atmosphere. This could be further elaborated to include the occupants in the landscape as actor and spectacle.
3. Amplification of effect, atmosphere that engages the senses including the sounds of waterfalls and smells of the forest to capture feeling and create moments of surprise.
4. Going on a journey, the experience unfolds so that you cannot see everything and that there’s always something beyond to go to.
5. Creating views, framing views in composition and visual points of interest.
6. Varied scale, Having foreground, middle, and farground elements in the picturesque.
7. Classical principles, proportion and space in the built and natural environment at different scales.
8. Innovation and technique, using modern science and engineering to improve the landscape and clean up pollution.
9. Restoration and preservation, to restore historical pieces and build upon past knowledge to improve.
10. Nature as program, bringing balanced ecology into the urban context instead of keeping built and nature as two separate entities.
11. Functional landscapes, considering landscapes that are part of a bigger system, such as how the site affects the region beyond the site boundary.
12. Community, for people of all ages, and should be inclusive to all.
13. flexibility of number of people, able to accommodate large crowds or a single individual.

Lately I’ve been looking at landscape architecture partly because I recently took a course but also because it is a knowledge gap which I’m looking to fill. As well, all great architecture is in someway connected to the landscape and the land on which it occupies. It is important that architects understand the principles of landscape architecture and are able to make connections between the two disciplines both in communication and in design especially as these design principles are also applicable to the design of architecture.