Routes are important operative structures in landscape architecture because they play a crucial role in mediating or facilitating the use and reception of (designed) landscapes. Routes are the ‘silent guides of the stroller’ and facilitate the primordial act of walking as an aesthetic and social practice. The shape of a walk refers not only to…
Read More
During the last six month, the discussion on the cutting off trees next to Dutch N-roads, provincial roads, was intensified. It started as a ‘soft’ rule in the ‘Handboek Wegontwerp 2013’ which was published by the knowledge platform CROW, which stated that a tree should be planted away from the road for at least four…
Read MoreThe interest in public spaces has always been in the focus of researchers and practitioners of urban design1. As we can see from the book Public Spaces Urban Places (Carmona et al., 2010) they can be approached from various dimensions: morphological, perceptual, visual, social, functional, and temporal. For many reasons, public spaces are very important…
Read More
Social, cultural and technological developments of our society are demanding a fundamental review of the planning and design of its landscapes and infrastructures, in particular in relation to environmental issues and sustainability. Transportation, green and water infra structures are important agents that facilitate processes that shape the built environment and its contemporary landscapes. With…
Read More
The dike as a landscape element takes on many shapes [1]. Depending on their form and location, dikes determine the ‘face’ of the Dutch polder landscape. Of course vegetation, land allotment and building development patterns also play an important role. Yet dikes are vital to the landscape’s appearance: apart from their form and location, their…
Read More
Many people know the overwhelming feeling of peace and admiration one experiences overlooking a canyon, snow capped mountains, sunset at the beach or tumbling waterfalls. Our relationship with nature is of all times and ranges from worshiping the gods of nature to overcoming or ‘taming’ it. The relation with nature has been the subject of…
Read More
“To discover and reveal the deeper substrate of the landscape is something the natural sciences alone cannot accomplish.” – Günther Voght The Department of Urbanism at the Faculty of Architecture and Built Environment, TU Delft considers urbanism as a planning and design oriented activity towards urban and rural landscapes.[1] It aims to enhance, restore or…
Read More
With the Year of the Historic Estate behind us I can safely make two confessions. The first, which I would term only half an admission, involves the presumptuous idea that I can claim some kind of clandestine spiritual right of ownership to Castle Groeneveld, because of memories that stretch back many more years than those…
Read MoreDuring a walk in the banlieue of Paris, the landscaper Bernard Lassus and the philosopher Massimo Venturi Ferriolo rediscovered the ability to perceive and construct a landscape, combining environmental awareness with identity and memory. During that walk, they detected and revealed a collection of small gardens built by inhabitants in their own few square meters.…
Read More
Each time I visit an urban park I take note of the choice of plants in the design. Not just because I am interested in plant species or their aesthetic or sensorial qualities, but also because I an interested in the ethical and ecological notions behind a planting design. Questions like: do plants have ‘rights’?…
Read More