landscape architecture by john simonds

8/6/2019 Landscape Architecture by John Simonds

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Landscape ArchitectureBy John O. Simonds

Summary By Richie Fiscus

Land 110

November 17, 2009

Summary of Landscape Architecture

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! John Simonds book explains many aspects of landscape architecture that areoverlooked by the common man, and since each chapter breaks down an interestingaspect of his thoughts and ideas, I will summarize the book on a chapter by chaptersummary. All of the chapters share one thing in common, trying to make harmony withpeople and the landscape.

CHAPTER 1: THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT! Chapter one is about the harmonious ideas that need to be employed to create asuccessful and beautiful environment. John Simonds discuses the idea that when a zooor exhibit is created, it is designed to mimic that environment for which to create a livingspace for that creature or item. However, we do not do that for our own environments. Ifyou look at large cities, one never really sees a natural environment for humans. Butthis is exactly what Simonds is saying, Landscape Architects need to create this naturalarea.! All of the natural sciences play a key roll in understanding and creating thismagnificent Human Habitat. These sciences include; geology, hydrology, biology,

botany, and ecology. Each of these sciences plays a major role in the environment, withan understanding of each of these fields, landscape architects can create a great andbeautiful scene, not fighting with nature but blending it with the needs and uses that onehas for a space.

CHAPTER 2: CLIMATE! Chapter two describes the climate and the effects it has on the environment.

Climate is described as an average weather conditions at a place over a given time.Climate is an important aspect to think of when designing a landscape. Seasonalweather, proximity to weather changers like the gulf stream or warm ocean, averageprecipitation, temperature, and elevation. All of these are very important when you arecreating a space.! There are four basic climatic regions of the earth; cold, cool-temperate, the warmhumid, and the hot-dry climate. There is not much you can do to change the climate butone can make the best of the environment in which they live. However, there is no


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precise boundaries or given areas where one begins and one ends, each zone containsits own unique characteristics (the United States of America contains all four of theenvironmental climate.)! Global warming is, for the first time in history, changing the climate of this planetbecause of the acts of humans. And for the first time, humans are having to create

around this climate change. This could make it had to plan for the future, especially forpeople in the green type careers, including that of landscape architecture.! Microclimatology, or the study of the climate conditions within a limited area. Orsometime called science of small-scale weather. This field helps to determine theusefulness of a given space for a certain or specific area.! Seasonal changes are very important to think about when looking at a sight. Alandscaper has to think about how each of his/her designs will look during summer,winter, fall and spring. When thought about during all of these steps in the year, adesigner can make a space useful through out the whole year, making it much morevaluable of a space that it might have been otherwise.

CHAPTER 3: LAND! Our ancestors did little harm to the environment, hunting, fishing and living without leaving lasting damage to the environment. As population increased, the evidence ofthe environmental destruction increased. Now our cities remove all of nature to makeroom for all the humans that live there. In doing so we have driven species to extinction,moved marshes or even destroyed them.


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! Land is our greatest resource. Mismanage it and it could send us in to aneconomic downfall. The undeveloped areas of the country serve a very important rolealso. The undeveloped land serves as a form of topsoil reservoir. Once lost, thisresource can never be regained again. Managing that resource is of great importance.! Land is the habitat for all the living organisms on the earth. Ecology teaches us

that all creatures and living organisms are interdependent. Without one creatures, manyothers suffer or more likely go extinct. Humans however are the only creatures thatclaim sole ownership of the land. Not much thought has been put toward theconsequences of slitting land up geographically. This can cause a lot of issues in thelong run.

CHAPTER 4: WATER! Water is a very important to modern day society. Lakes and rivers once suppliedwater pioneers, and with the advances in technology water has almost become asacristy. Planning out the use of this water is not an easy task, using it efficiently is amatter of opinion and dependent on ones needs.! Not only is water a resource, its also an item that has to be removed fromunwanted areas. One such case of this is drainage. Drainage is a meticulous anddaunting task. But to be truly efficient a designer has to think of how to use all that hecan without wasting and make it last as long as possible.

! One such idea is using the drainage water to water the landscape. This removesthe water, and accommodates the place in the environment. In addition to that, watermakes for wondrous views, and scenic escapes.


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CHAPTER 5: VEGETATION! Vegetation is an important selection when trying to create a beautifulenvironment. Depending on climate and seasonal preferences, one can make a shadedget away, or turning it into a desert with clashing plants and an uncomfortable feel.! Vegetation has several key roles in an environment. Plants help to stave erosion,create fertile and lush soil, and feed all the living organisms on earth. When this delicatebalance is shifted or completely destroyed, it reeks havoc on the landscape. Such isthe case in the middle east where once forested areas have turned in to the vastdeserts that are now the first thought when the middle east is mentioned (at leastlandscape wise.) The planet was once completely cover in lush plant life, but humanshave proceeded to destroy it.! Plants are one of the most important items when creating a landscape, beforethere was much life plants where here to create oxygen and feed the first of thehumans. Plants are the base of all food chains, without them the earth would be alifeless, uninhabitable rock floating through space.


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CHAPTER 6: LANDSCAPE CHARACTER! Unity among the landscape and animal creates landscape character. The moreobvious this unity is, the stronger the landscape character. This means that sometimes

a designer has to remove unwanted aspects like plants that are not natural to the area.This can also be called Elimination of Incongruous Elements.! Sometime the introduction of items is also required. This can be calledAccentuation of Natural Form. This can strengthen the look or feel of the land in a waythat could not have been accomplished without the man made nudge.! Incorporating these techniques a designer can increase the pleasantness of thelandscape, make it more comfortable to remain in the environment and to make peoplewish to return as soon as possible. This requires much imagination and patience to waitfor the perfect idea for a specific project.! But environments do not just have to be built, one can preserve an environmentor landscape. This can be seen in the national parks, scenic parkways and so on. Some

landscapes require no modification or tampering with, they just require the ability toexist.

CHAPTER 7: TOPOGRAPHY! Topography is defined as the art of showing in detail on a major map the physicalfeatures of a place or region. Landscapes are seldom level, they consist of manyelevations. River beds, lake beds, prairies, and mountains all have there own uniquepatterns with are not necessarily predictable.


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! Being able to read a contour map is very important, it allows a designer to createand shape the landscape on a three dimensional plan. Not only that but it allows theconstruction and presentation of ones idea on paper. There are many ways to survey aspace to make a topographical map, the compass and chain method is a good forlogging roads but is hardly suited to high precision projects.

! Three types of topographical surveys are; property, general, and datum. Propertysurveys are property to be surveyed is marked on the enclosed location map (to beprovided to the surveyor by the landscape architect.) General; surveyor shall do all worknecessary to determine accurately the physical conditions existing on the site. AndFinally, datum; elevations shall be referenced to any convenient and permanent benchmark with an assumed elevation of 100 feet. The bench-mark location shall be shownon the map.

CHAPTER 8: SITE PLANNING! The first step in planning a site is trying to come up with a clear understanding ofwhat is trying to be accomplished. For every sight there is a specific design that willwork and for every design there is a specific sight.! Do not for a specific design an a landscape because it is easy, there are timeswhen thinks can be thrown together in a way that makes it look unsettling and out ofplace because the designer used multiple aspects that did not fit together. Chose a sitethat fits your needs and do not be afraid to recommend a new site for a design or new

design for a site, because a designer is not only there to help create but also to helpmake it possible. Find the features that fit together and are not forced together. Meshingis what one looks for, forced planning can make a plan undesirable.! Take in the needs of the site and try to plan for those, you do not want to designa landscape and learn that there is no way to clean the pool when that time comes.Work with what you have and design out the flaws. One may not be able to move powerlines but you can hide them with trees or other plantings. Also take into considerationthe impact your design has on a sight and how it will be affected in the future.


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CHAPTER 9: SITE DEVELOPMENT! Designing a sight is a complicated and hard feat. There are many things that onemust take into account, for one example designing a city lot one has to think about thespace, making it seem larger than it really is and acts as a way to escape the hustle andbustle of city life. Reduced noise, and fumes also might be high on the list of items aperson might be trying to escape form, so by creating a space with all of these aspectsincorporated would create an environment that one would feel comfortable in whiletrying to escape these same aspects in the city.! On a rural type site, the design is a lot more open and there is a greater feeling ofexploration. The mountain tops miles away may even become part of the design in thiscase, including the also the trees, fences and other visual cues out of the control of thearchitect, if you can not beat them join them, as some people would say. The designfocuses less on the immediate environment and much more on the horizon.! Editing the sight to make it more suitable to the needs of the design is a mustalso. Sometimes the land needs to be added to or subtracted from to make the planwork with the land. Other sites may include; mountains, inner city, the forest, the urbanwaterfront, and the lake front.


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CHAPTER 10: LANDSCAPE PLANTING! Most Americans enjoy gardening, and seeing that gardening is so very important,it is a good thing that everyone takes an interest in it. Planting a property is one of themain key points in finishing a project. With out the plants, the project is not done, andwith the wrong plants the project is left in ruins. So when planting, take carefulconsideration of what your trying to accomplish and what kind of environment yourtrying to create. Using the wrong plants in the wrong environment can make the designlook horrible or even cause all the plants to die.! Designs for these areas have to be complete and thorough or the landscapearchitect, contractor or resident that is trying to build the landscape may be left

scratching his head. Along with that, the landscape architect must also follow all of thecorrect guide lines, without doing so some of the plants or even the design itself may beagainst some of these guidelines (like trees are very important in a design, make sure toplace them correctly or the whole site will be incorrect.)


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CHAPTER 11: SITE VOLUMES! Landscape architects are not dealing with areas, but are actually dealing withspaces. Designs should be used to create spaces not just areas, such as a play ground,one jungle gym can bring a child a lot of joy, but adding it to a park with other spaces

allows the child's imagination to go to work and make the environment they want to bein.! Volumes, when created in the wrong combination can actually feel unwelcomingand even disturb a person to move from the space. There are many spatial qualities totake in to account when designing a space. some spatial qualities are interest inwardtoward the middle, or outward towards the surrounding area. When considering the sizeof the project, make sure to consider the habits, responses and requirements.


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CHAPTER 12: VISIBLE LANDSCAPE! The view of a landscape is seldom used to its full advantage. With that beingsaid, the view of a property should be taken in to consideration before one startsdesigning how they want that space to look. By doing this one can make the view andthe landscape blend together and get the most benefit from both.! Incorporate both the fore ground and the background together to make a pictureperfect landscape. Use the view as a back drop. A vista is a confined view, usuallydirected toward a terminal or dominant feature.! A view should be concealed until you are viewing it from the desired location, andonly then should it be reviewed. Images should also be suggested in some cases,leaving a little to the imagination. By doing this the designer can expand the landscapeto the scope of the viewers imagination.


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! The terminal feature on which the vista is focused sets the theme to bedeveloped. The terminal feature can be presented in progressive stages, or can beviewed along the whole approach. There can be no distractions, the focus must be ononly what it is that the designer wishes to display, thus pulling the view completely intothe scope of the landscape

CHAPTER 13: CIRCULATION! Most construction only make sense, or is used by only humans. Lines or patternspresent paths for us to move through, around over, under or by a certain object.Experience is rarely from a fixed point, most of the time it is either from a moving car,

pedestrian or some other form of vehicle. So a view must be designed from aprogressive state.! There are many ways to cause motion or the perception of motion in your design.Obstructions, interference, and obscuring objects are just a few ideas on how to make itappear that objects are moving.! There also other factors that play parts in repelling or attracting viewers to anobject. Other important features are; impelling factors, repelling factors motion directors,repose inducers, horizontal motion, downward motion/decline, upward motion/rise/clime, and induced response. All of these can be used to force an emotion, direction oran introduction to something else.


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CHAPTER 14: STRUCTURES! We live in a good time for viewing and learning from structures, we can visitthem, view them on the internet, receive pictures of them from our friends who haveseen them and even read about them in books. All this is good because we can learnfrom them. We can see there mistakes, use them or fix them for our own designs. Wecan even see what their good qualities are and use, duplicate and mimic what is so

appealing about a particular design.! However there are a couple of thinks that are required for all structures; fulfilltheir purpose, reflect their time/culture, respond to the climate, use of state of the arttechnology, and fitted compatibly into the built environs and the living scape.! Groups of structures can even be used to create an appealing look. The spacebetween them, the lack of space between them and even their shape play a role in theover all look of their design. However there are a couple rules of composition that arerequired to be met before a structure will look like it belongs. One such rule is the law ofthe same, which says architectural harmony may be perceived or created in a structureor composition of structures that attains order through the repetition of the sameelements, forms, or spaces.


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CHAPTER 15: HABITATION! Habitations are many things; family gathering centers, shelter, and even a baseof operations in some matters of speaking. These can be hard to incorporate together,but one also must take into account nature and blend them together without removing

any of the needs of the occupants.! Humans need a couple things from their houses and living habitats, some ofwhich being; shelter, protection, utility, amenity, privacy, a sense of spaciousness and afeel of natural appeal.! When working with residential components, one must take into account a couplemore things, including; existing site features, area allocation, the dwelling, outdooractivity spaces, supplemental structures, furnishings and a variation on a theme.

CHAPTER 16: COMMUNITY PLANNING! The word community has many connotations, most of which are positive. Plants,animal and even people seem to thrive in these environments. However, when acommunity become too dense or over populated, it can sacrifice the health of itsoccupants. This just shows the importance of gardens in an urban environment.! Communities should function as efficiently as possible, like a well oiled machine,which means it uses all of its material in only the most important ways. But also meetsall the needs of the community, meaning schools, shopping and recreation. This canonly be accomplished in a planned community, unplanned communities are veryinefficient and most the time dull looking or at least out dated.


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CHAPTER 17: URBAN DESIGN! Sometimes urban design seems like it is a matter of seeing how many buildingwe can stack into the smallest space we can find and call it good, but there is a lot ofplanning that goes into designing an efficient yet appealing city. And with efficiencysometime looks takes a backseat. In the opinion of John Simonds, our modern citieslook more like the arid desert, then any of our ancestors cities before us.! With the age of computers and technology, has come a time with a lack ofdesign, and imagination. It is apparent that we have to put the thought forward. Our citystreets, long and straight with no end in sight and not appeal at all.! Cities can be broken down into a couple parts; center city, inner city, outer city,suburbs, and the countryside. Each of these components plays a key part in to thesuccess or failure of a city as a whole. Without each part of the city developed properly,the city can not function properly.


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CHAPTER 18: GROWTH MANAGEMENT! In the next couple of decades, the most important aspect of a city is going to bethe management of its growth. To do this properly a city and its government mustunderstand the need to grow, and prepare for this growth. Two things government

officials are going to have to look for are, project reviews and required services.! Restoration of the older parts of the cities are also going to be an important partof the growth of a city. Activity centers, fixed boundaries, open spaces, roadways, landvalue appreciation, re-centering, and zoning are all going to be important topics that willhave to be addressed at there appropriate times.

CHAPTER 19: THE REGIONAL LANDSCAPE! Cities and landscapes have to be built to work together. boundaries cannot holdthe polluted air in just the city, but is blown where ever the wind wishes to carry it.

Regions and communities interact, just as families and family members gather friends.! Open space areas are created for saving the best of the natural environments,and to create breathing room for its citizens. Creating beautiful and breath taking viewsfor everyone to enjoy, and as a break from the hustle of city life. Greenways andblueways are created to cool the cities, provide clean air, and create a place for familiesto gather and play in a community setting.! Governance is also a topic that cities on a regional level will have to discuss.Communities on a smaller level should be able to govern themselves within reason.


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This makes sense, they should be able to make decisions about their own schools,committees, councils and elected officials.

CHAPTER 20: THE PLANNED ENVIRONMENT! One thing that makes our country great is the ability to do with our land as wesee fit, however this may not be for the best as a country as a whole. With this in the

past couple years, we as a country have been hearing a lot about environmental issues.Such issues as power efficiency and green house gases.! Other issues that face our country at this time are; population explosion, growthmanagement, regional planning, metro government, civic action, conservationeasements or gifts of land, water resource management, soil loss, pollution, safety,climate, natural disasters, war and conservation.


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!

CHAPTER 21: PERSPECTIVE! One does not plan places, spaces, or things; one plans experiences. This beingsaid, things can not be forced upon someone, its more of a suggestion, and they take it

as they please. Like a highway is not so much a strip of pavement but is the experienceof movement. Because of this many highways fail because their original purpose innever considered, making the highway almost awkward to drive.


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landscape architecture by john simonds

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