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LARCH 060
Tuesday, March 16th, 1999
Announcements: There was no class on
Thursday March 4th. Exam review on March 23rd from 7-8pm in 101
Thomas.
Lecture notes:
PARKS MOVEMENT-EUROPE (19C.):
Land/environment:
Socio-cultural milieu:
- Industrial Revolution: Iron making, bridges and ships
were made which boomed the economy. Agriculture workers
went to the city.
- Deplorable urban conditions: Poor life was miserable, no
proper sewer/garbage systems. Reform came about which
limited work hours and provided pleasant escape
environments (PARKS)
- Public Access to parks: Public use of parks was a sign of
good faith. Royal parks not accessible (in west) so new
parks were created on Eastside. The first was Victoria
park.
Design Expression:
- English Landscape School elements: serpentine forms
(circulation, water), lawns, tree clusters
- Example) Branitzer park formed by Prince
Pueckler von Muskau, the "Garden Prince". Had
parts in Germany and Poland.
- Muskau was a traveler who had much land, wrote book
"Hints on Landscape Gardening" addressing that
people were part of nature. He was an adventurer,
gambler, dedicated to preserving his property, eventually
turned iton public park. He felt that nature had a
theraputic value, enhanced villages within parks
- Birkenhead in England was designed as a
well-oriented, liveable/pleasant place for factory
workers , had green space, central park, public park was
paid by taxes
- The design of Birkenhead: Joseph Paxton was hired,
challenged by shortcomings of the land. He put housing
around the park, much ELS style, was called a
"country park", had the transverse drive for
traffic, lakes. It was very successful, irregular
topography, lakes had islands for enhanced views, and a
monumental gate
- Fredrick Law Olmstead: inspired by Birkenhead, traveling
author, took these ideas
PARKS MOVEMENT-UNITED STATES (19C.):
Land/environment:
- Opportunity/resources
- Loss of agrarian values-blended with nature and replaced
with land of exploitation
- Theraputic landscaped
- Immigrants poured in
Socio-cultural milieu:
- Took advantage of resources, concern for wealth
- Industrial revolution forwarded, there was much city
growth (NY, Philadelphia)
- Urbanization, unliveable cities----wanted to change this
through parks
- Rural city movement: overcrowded in cities with living
and dead so people moved to rural areas
- Public access to parks
- Design for taste, morality
Design Expression:
- Beautiful, picturesque
- ELS elements
- An example was Mt. Auburn, a cemetary
outside of Boston (by Dr. Jacob Bigelow). Bigelow devised
a solution by moving cemetaries to rural areas....more
visible space, outdoor design ELS style, they were also
visited for recreation. The first created cemetary became
a business (tours, etc...)
- 2 main aspects: They were publically accessible AND they
included the pastoral aesthetic
- Andrew Jackson Downing: writer,
horticulturist, his book "Theory and Practice of
Garden" was the first book on landscape
architecture. Said that the environment contributed to
the morality/immorality of the individual, good VS bad
houses, geometric landscape was rejected, he accepted the
beautiful/picturesque, also pur the residents in the
natural setting like Jefferson.
"Tastemaker"---also devised mall space with
cross streets, died before work was done, his ideas for
public/natural parks got underway
- NewYork City: (Park Act, AJ Downing)---he didn't
incorporate himan welfare...he joined Bryant on building
more public parks. The Park Act suggested that taxes
would go for purchase/maintainance of parks in NY. The
first was Central Park.
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