A Philosophy of Landscape Construction: The Vision of Built Landscapes

by Bruce Ferguson

Overview

A Philosophy of Landscape Construction outlines a philosophy of values in landscape construction, demonstrating how integral structures, such as pavements and walls, constitute a key element to how people interact with and inhabit the final design.

The book discusses how these structures enable, assist and care for people, negotiating between the dynamic processes of site ecosystems and the soil on which they are founded. They articulate spatial, functional, cultural and ecological meanings. Within this theoretical framework, designers will learn to recognize and insert a set of core values into the most technical design stages to reach their full potential.

By offering a new perspective on landscape construction, moving away from the exclusively technical characteristics, this book allows landscape architects to realise the ideal vision for their designs. It is abundantly illustrated with examples from which designers can learn both successes and failures and will be an essential companion to any study of built landscapes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367512774
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/31/2020
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Bruce K. Ferguson is a landscape architect whose research, teaching, and practice have focused on the environmental and technical dimensions of urban design for four decades. He was formerly Franklin Professor and Director of the School of Environmental Design at the University of Georgia. He earned the AB degree at Dartmouth College and the MLA degree at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, a Past President of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, and a recipient of the Council’s Outstanding Educator Award, North America’s highest award for career contributions to landscape architectural education.

Table of Contents

Preface viii

Why now ix

What this book is based on xi

How to use this book in learning landscape construction xii

What this book is xiii

Notes xv

1 Introduction: The call of values 1

Built landscapes and landscape construction 2

Values waiting within 8

The yearning for values in construction design 10

Your aspiration and your development 11

Notes 12

2 Between structure and vision 14

Pavement 16

Wall 17

Span 20

Structures in interaction with values 27

Notes 28

3 Building toward people 29

Floors for moving 30

Seats for staying 35

Social orientation 36

Bodily comfort 42

Covers for sheltering 46

The importance of durability 48

People in built landscapes 52

Notes 53

4 Building toward living things 56

Living soil 57

Spanning structures 59

Inert subgrade soil 61

Permeable structures 63

Rootable structures 66

What is at stake 67

Structural soil 71

Return to spanning structures 74

Living things around structures 75

Living things in built landscapes 78

Notes 80

5 Building toward meaning 83

Compositional articulation 84

Functional articulation 87

Cultural articulation 98

Ecological articulation 104

Meaning in built landscapes 108

Notes 110

6 Building toward thrift 113

Material resources 114

Newly made materials 114

Previously made structures and materials 115

Financial resources 119

Investment with exclusively financial values 121

Investment with multiple values 122

The importance of complete investigation 127

Thrift in built landscapes 129

Notes 130

7 The open way 131

A drainage outlet 132

Native in material and ecology 134

Evolution of structures with the realization of uses and values 136

Pursuit of values in the act of design 143

Notes 144

8 Between stone and sky 146

Core values 147

Specific types of values 148

Value interactions and priorities 150

Why pause now 151

Ideals: the sky in the stone 154

Notes 155

Bibliography 157

Index 163

Editorial Reviews

"Bruce K. Ferguson’s A Philosophy of Landscape Construction, coupl[es] technical considerations and details—decisions about materials, assemblies, sizes, etc.—with their real-world effects, the interactions they afford,
and the values that underpin them. Ferguson convincingly argues that construction design does not merely translate or implement the concepts, commitments, or intents identified during previous design phases, but rather
extends and refocuses the design process itself, unlocking new horizons of action and possibility."

Simone Ferracina, review in Landscape Research

Adding to Bruce K. Ferguson’s array of publications in refereed periodicals and books is A Philosophy of Landscape Construction, a qualitative “essay in the ways built landscapes interact with values” that will supplement university landscape architecture, architecture, and urban design students’ technical textbooks and references, helping to advance young professionals’ technical training.

Rob Kuper, review in Landscape Journal, Volume 41.

From the Publisher