Women, Modernity, and Landscape Architecture

by Sonja Dümpelmann (Editor), John Beardsley (Editor)

Overview

Modernity was critically important to the formation and evolution of landscape architecture, yet its histories in the discipline are still being written. This book looks closely at the work and influences of some of the least studied figures of the era: established and less well-known female landscape architects who pursued modernist ideals in their designs.

The women discussed in this volume belong to the pioneering first two generations of professional landscape architects and were outstanding in the field. They not only developed notable practices but some also became leaders in landscape architectural education as the first professors in the discipline, or prolific lecturers and authors. As early professionals who navigated the world of a male-dominated intellectual and menial work force they were exponents of modernity. In addition, many personalities discussed in this volume were either figures of transition between tradition and modernism (like Silvia Crowe, Maria Teresa Parpagliolo), or they fully embraced and furthered the modernist agenda (like Rosa Kliass, Cornelia Oberlander).

The chapters offer new perspectives and contribute to the development of a more balanced and integrated landscape architectural historiography of the twentieth century. Contributions come from practitioners and academics who discuss women based in USA, Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, South Africa, the former USSR, Sweden, Britain, Germany, Austria, France and Italy. Ideal reading for those studying landscape history, women’s studies and cultural geography.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415745871
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/09/2015
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Sonja Dümpelmann is Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Harvard University.

John Beardsley is Director of Garden and Landscape Studies, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments, Introduction (Sonja Dümpelmann and John Beardsley), 1.Creating New Landscapes for Old Europe: Herta Hammerbacher, Sylvia Crowe, Maria Teresa Parpagliolo (Sonja Dümpelmann), 2. International Training and National Ambitions: Female Landscape Architects in Sweden, 1900–1950 (Catharina Nolin), 3. Urbanist Landscape: Militsa Prokhorova, Liubov’ Zalesskaia, and the Emergence of Soviet Landscape Architecture (Alla G. Vronskaya), 4. Anna Plischke and Helene Wolf: Designing gardens in the early twentieth century (Ulrike Krippner, Iris Meder), 5. Creative Margins: Three women in Post-War French Landscape Architecture (Bernadette Blanchon), 6. Modernity, Mining and Improvement: Joane Pim and the Practice(s) of ‘Landscape Culture’ in Mid-Twentieth-Century South Africa (Jeremy Foster), 7. American Landscape Architecture at Mid-Century: Modernism, Science, and Art (Thaisa Way), 8. Ruth Patricia Shellhorn: Mid-Century Living in the Southern California Landscape (Kelly Comras), 9. Cornelia Hahn Oberlander: A Model Modern (Susan Herrington), 10. Beyond Roberto Burle Marx: Another Genealogy of Modern Landscape Architecture in Brazil (Zeuler R. M. de A. Lima), Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

With the information it provides, the book fosters future research on the subject that may, in the end, even lead to a com - bined, if not holistic, approach to both the historiographical and practical side of garden design. – Karin Seeber, Journal of Landscape Architecture

Editors Dümpelmann (Harvard Univ.) and Beardsley (Dumbarton Oaks) provide an insightful introductory essay about this pioneering collaboration. The book is thoughtful throughout. Each chapter is thoroughly footnoted, and a substantial bibliography is included as well. Summing Up: Essential. Graduate, research, and professional collections. - CHOICE, E. H. Teague, University of Oregon

Sonja Dümpelmann and John Beardsley are to be commended for bringing an abundance of lesser-known landscape production to our attention. This book should inspire further scholarly scrutiny, not only of the work introduced in this collection but also of related efforts to explore (to repeat their phrase) “the place of women in the emergence of modernist landscape architecture.” - Caroline Constant, Landscape Architecture Magazine

Dümpelmann and Beardsley's edited collection traces a broad arc of female landscape architects contributing to the emergence of modern movements globally in the decades before and after World War Two. The stories they have gathered, which take us from Germany to New Zealand and beyond, offer new perspectives not only on these pioneering figures, but also on the history of landscape architecture as a whole, enabling a richer, more complex understanding of the development of a profession. - Despina Stratigakos, Department of Architecture, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

This book’s excellent essays rely on original source material to fill gaps in the backgrounds of important women landscape architects on five continents. Again and again the essays emphasize how these women’s knowledge of plants and horticulture contributed to the design of twentieth century modernist spaces. Of particular note are essays that underline the contributions of female designers to Europe’s early modernist landscapes. Not only is the book a "must read" for anyone interested in modern landscape design, its introduction should be required reading in all landscape architecture history classes. - Linda Jewell, Professor of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning, UC Berkeley

These essays not only introduce us to women landscape architects who deserve our attention, but also provide food for thought about the relationship between modern architecture and landscaping, and the concept of modernity itself. - Susannah Charlton, C2O Magazine

This is the first book to introduce a cast of female practitioners and their lasting impacts within the larger context of modernization and the design, planning, and management of built landscapes in Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, the former USSR , and the Americas. - Terry Clement, JAE Online

From the Publisher