Alex Jankowski

LARCH Module 3 Guided Notes

LESSON 26 - TWENTIETH CENTURY ALLIED ARTS (1900-1930)
Frank Lloyd Wright - house in Fallingwater, Bear Run, PA
Turn of the 20th Century:
Rober Barrons (aristocracy, didnt entirely deserve it)
o ex. John J. Rockefeller
owned 30% of all American oil refineries and all main pipelines on the
American railroad
First native billionaire
o ex. Carnegie and Vanderbilts
Rich thanks to the industrialization of the United States
o Focused on cities, not farm (places of enormous wealth and poverty)
o Vanderbilts house - recreated a French Chateaux
HUGE change and upheaval
4 old men around a mill wheel
o Edison (lightbulb), Burrowes (nature writer), Ford (figured out how to make
automobiles accessible and affordable - assembly line), Firestone (rubber
magnate, make workers happy, argued for and implemented an 8 hour work day -
a lot less than the usual, invented stock options for his employees)
Greatest capitalist revolutionaries
Events in the World Arena: 1914 killed heir, leading to World War I, now fought war in a
completely different way now because of new technology
o 30 million total deaths
Big changes in Russia: huge population growth (especially among the poor), resulting in
poverty that just gets worse
Winter Palace of the Russian Czar, totalitarian monarchy
o Became a hospital for the people due to social revolutionaries in Russia
Soviets - workers council, Proletariat - worker, Bourgeoisies - property
owning class that benefited from the work of the proletariat lead to
Russian Revolution
Einstein - Theory of Relativity, blew away our understanding of time and nature
Sigmund Freud - inner world is every bit as perplexing as the outer world
The world and life had become extremely complex

Results in:
New complexity
 o radical new complexity, lead to
Pluralism of values
o complexity of the world resulted in lots of different ways of looking at and
dealing with this world
o Your viewpoint depends upon your values
o Develop a personal philosophy to deal with lifes complexity

Art responds with isms:

ism - a viewpoint reflecting a certain set of beliefs
Eclecticism - based on the value that reaching into the past for design styles is a good
thing to do (comfort in traditions)
Nude descending a staircase picture
o Art was usually about beauty, and to get a positive reaction from the viewer
o 20th century art is not about trying to please the viewer, expressing the artists
viewpoint - a way to see and deal with the world
o Art responding to complexities of life with isms

Expressionism
Chagall - Eye and the Village - collage of imagery
o Dadaism
Ernst - Celeb - horror they saw in the war - life as nonsense
o Surrealism - Salvador Dali - influenced by Freud and dreams (dreams are surreal)
o Architecture of F.L. Wright - houses were grounded in ideas of psychological
needs of humans
Argued that every house has an extremely important center - the fireplace
(the hearth)
Fire is place of safety and security, arriving at the fire is arriving at
home
Chimney - vertical element that visually anchored its place in the
world (made of stone or brick)
Would send out wings from the fireplace into the landscape
We have an inclination, a need to reach out into the landscape
His house Falling Water in Bear Run, PA
Fireplace anchors house and does concrete plains into the
landscape
o Feeling of safety and rootedness

Constructivism
 o Parable of the Twins - one travels into space at the speed of life, one stays home
on Earth, when space twin returns he finds out the Earth twin has died of old age,
space twin experienced very little time elapsing, experience of time depends on
how you are moving through space
o Space and time are independent
Cubism - Picasso - outgrowth of Einstein - painter is trying to simultaneously present to
you ways of seeing an object, Cubist experimenting with relativity of space and time
Abstractionism - represents ultimate intellectual search for purity, distill Earth or abstract
it - Piet Mondrian - black lines, white rectangles, and primary colors nicely placed
Futurism - Fernand Leger - based on machinery and machines beauty - destroy the past to
make way for the future - see the elegance of the efficient machine

Functionalism in architecture Bauhaus

Beauty = Function
o Architecture, painting, industrial and furniture design
o Marry beauty and utility/function like a machine does
o Beauty of a machine lies purely in its streamlined character
o Has no decorations, simply works
Walter Gropius
o founder of revolutionary art school
Beauty lies in its function

Functionalism characteristics
1. Simple, pure volume (efficient)
2. Total lack of decoration
3. Extensive use of light (and plaster, through glass)
4. Flat roof
5. Machine like appearance (streamlined)
o Mies Van Der Rohe
separated the walls of the building
Functionalism is AKA
o Modernism - design responding to modern issues

1. The early 20th century was a time of both technological advancement and large-scale human
tragedy. Characterize the combined effect of these two factors on society.
Technological advancement led to better weapons in WWI which led to 10 million
deaths in war and 20 million deaths due to war-related causes, 30 million total deaths
2. Compare Expressionism and Constructivism. How are these approaches to art similar or
different?
Expressionism
o Suggesting our actions are motivated by experiences under their consciousness
(chimney)
o Influenced by Freud and humans inner being
o suggested in mental life nothing that has been formed can perish - anything that
you have ever experienced is in your being somewhere
o a lot of it is in your subconscious - our dreams reveal truths of our experiences
Suggesting our actions are motivated by experiences under their
consciousness
Constructivism
o Not about feelings, about intellectual analysis
o Saw expressionists clinging to the wrong stuff
o Objective and Analytical
o Einsteins - Theory of Relativity, how you move through space will determine
time for you
o Space and time are independent

3. What was the philosophical basis of the Functionalist movement in design?

Functionalism is about being machine made
o Create great designs for the working class (proletariat)
o Excellent worker housing, flat roof is a statement, major commitment to the
common man

4. What was the Bauhaus? What is the general idea behind Bauhaus design?
Beauty = Function
o Beauty of a machine lies purely in its streamlined character
Walter Gropius
o founder of revolutionary art school
o decorations are worthless, reveal the function of the building, dont hide it with
add-ons, let the building simply be volumes of space for use
Social agenda
o Excellent worker housing, flat roof is a statement, major commitment to the
common man

5. What was the eventual Bauhaus definition of "beauty"? Why was that definition thought of as
most appropriate?
 Beauty = function
o Marry beauty and utility/function like a machine does
o Beauty of a machine lies purely in its streamlined character

6. Describe Le Corbusier's "Machines for Living"

Tight fitting suits, owl rimmed glasses, rode a white bike
o To look sleek, precise, and anonymous - represent every man, and
indistinguishable in terms of class and place - as pair down and efficient look as a
machine (made houses live this)
o called houses machine for living

7. What was Le Corbusier's "modular" concept?

Developed a building system for all classes, with a measuring system called the
modulor
o Houses based on the modulor - size and proportions
o The modulor was based on the measurements of the human body and an unusual
rectangle known as the golden rectangle
based on ratio 1.618 and shells
Universally most pleasing to the human eye
The proportions of the human body display the golden ratio.
His buildings fit the human body and had visual appeal

8. What is the "International" style?

International style - universally fitting, functional, anonymous, anywhere
o La Tourette Monastery - Lyons, France
o Style is based on concern for function

LESSON 27 - CITY REFORMATION IN EUROPE

Difference in city reform approaches:
cities are places of profit and hard work, and are attractions because they are places of
employment and opportunity
1. Burnhams City Beautiful Movement (Chicago plan, 1909)

To take our existing bland boring cities and generate nice civic spaces
 Why City?
o Major challenge to civic improvement schemes:
Lack of government control over the design and planning of privately
owned real estate
Concentrate on a city hall
Not addressing social problems, wanted to make city more aesthetically pleasing
Social Reform movement of the 19th century - England Precursor of European City
Reformation
Interested in quality of housing for workers/proletariats

2. Cadbury Brothers - Bourneville

o George, became a very active social reformer, kids education, housing issues
Expanding the definition of what a factory town could be
Factory in the city
Building a new factory out in the country and get rid of his factory in
the city, and add worker housing
Characteristics
o only started out with 20 houses, then had over 300 houses
o wanted a thriving village, not just a factory town
o light density - every house has a garden attached to it (element for a healthy life)
Limitations
o patriarchal effort, but was a proven way of keeping costs down and affordable
o Intent was not to profit from this, ownership was transferred to a Board of
Trustees, keeping land speculation out of the town
o Was of limited impact
Bourneville, an experiment of limited impact
was an important first step

3. Ebenezer Howards Garden City (1898)

wrote a little book Garden Cities of Tomorrow
idea rested on the belief of arresting a constant flow of people into our already
overcrowded city
Why are people coming to the city? even though living conditions can be so awful
o 3 magnet attraction
attractions of cities: social opportunity, employment opportunities, decent
wages, amusement opportunities
wrongs: isolation from crowding, high rents, high prices, excessive work
hours, foul air, murky skies
 attraction to country life: beauty of nature, open spaces, fresh air, low
rent, low wages
wrongs: Lack of amusement, lack of opportunity, lack of jobs, low wages

o Goal?
Town Country Magnet, Garden City - marriage of town and country,
self sufficient city, all positives of both while leaving negatives behind
economic plan of how it would work
a city of gardens

Garden City Association - got others to finance the first Garden City
(Letchworth)

o Letchworth & Welwyn

Letchworth problems: railroad bisects the garden city, and green belt
surrounding the city was not continuous
Town built for people and emphasis on vegetation

1. How did Burnhams Chicago Plan address social issues?

Daniel Burnham dealt with the existing city, not starting from scratch, dealt with urban
city presented to him
o To take our existing bland boring cities and generate nice civic spaces and make
them more aesthetically pleasing
o Major challenge to civic improvement schemes:
Lack of government control over the design and planning of privately
owned real estate

2. What was the Cadbury Brothers response to urban conditions?

Building a new factory out in the country and get rid of his factory in the city, and add
worker housing (Improving life and living conditions of workers)

3. What was the goal of Howards "Garden City" design?

Town Country Magnet, Garden City - marriage of town and country, self sufficient
city, all positives of both while leaving negatives behind
o economic plan of how it would work
o a city of gardens
4. How many characteristics of the Garden City can you name?
1. It is a marriage of town (in the center) and country (surrounding agriculture belt)
2. Transportation (allows garden city to be successful, economic feasibility)
3. Limited area and population size (to maintain health and to avoid sprawl)
4. Land is held in trust and leased to all of the residents (no private ownership of land)
(reason we have a limited amount of garden cities in the US)
5. Pie-shaped wards (a neighborhood) (recognition of individual identity, each
neighborhood has its own unique characteristic) (to take on the problem of sense of
place) (city is a place to live, work, and play)
6. Spaciousness
7. Need for Industry (places for people to go to work, not a suburb)
8. Notion of dispersal (when reach a certain population, another satellite garden city
should be started)

5. What are Letchworth and Welwyn?

Letchworth problems: railroad bisects the garden city, and green belt surrounding the
city was not continuous
o Towns built for people and emphasis on vegetation

6. Whats the major difference between a Garden City and a suburb?

Suburb - a bedroom community, where you go to at the end of the day, do not go there
for work
Garden City - live, work, and play

7. Name Le Corbusiers "3 essential joys"

Sun, Space, Greenness

8. What are the general characteristics of Le Corbusiers "City of Towers"?

Notion of going up
Different from Cadburys, he is dealing with the industrial city
Free flowing space throughout
One of first expressions of urban renewal (the absolute worst decision implemented in
our country in the 1950s and 60s
Vision appropriation of full scale redevelopment - frontal attack on most diseased
quarters
 City of Towers - replace low rise slums
Criticism?
o required condemnation of so many peoples homes
o Who will foot the bill for such a massive redevelopment
o He was a visionary, not a planner

9. How does Howard's idea relate to the other three, what do they share in common and how are
they different.
idea rested on the belief of arresting a constant flow of people into our already
overcrowded city

LESSON 28 - AMERICAN SUBURBS & GARDEN CITY

Suburbs are places in which you may call home, so we may have a different attitude
toward suburban life
They are a response to urban life
Suburbs
Response to the city
o NYC in 1850s was one of most crowded cities, Jacob Riis photography made
people realize this
o 720,000 people, most lived in southern tip of the island
Higher child death rate than London or Paris, 1 of 5 was expected to live
past age of 5
o Rural cemetery response, then urban park movement response, responding to
urban condition

1. What "ills" were associated with city life in the late 1800s?
3 Major strikes against city life:
o 1. Its not a good place to raise a family
o 2. Its a place of business that taxes ones nerves
o 3. It reduces the overall quality of American life (independence and a free
spirituality)
City was physically, ethically, and morally draining

2. How were these "ills" addressed in the character of the suburb?

Cleaner air, isolation from city
 Lots of green space and openness
Trees absorb disease
Sunlight helped bring red blood cells to body
Jefferson, man closest to the soil is man closest to God
Suburbs were mainly bedroom communities, Dad could go into the city to work and
come home after
Not possible until the emergence of the railroad

3. What was the design goal at Riverside, Illinois? How is this reflected in the design?
Olmsted & Vaux
o Developer wanted to further the rail lines
Reassured they were observing the growing trend of more fortunate classes fleeing the
cities
Could not of happened without train station and extension of rails
Ideal because close to train station and short trip to the city
Similar to Toft Trees - cant paint house on approved list, or hang laundry, or stow canoe
outside of garage, etc. - buying into a particular lifestyle *****
This development had a similar policy
Design characteristics?
o Antithesis of the city, Road system, roads are curvilinear, Only straight road was
the rail system
o Your responsibility to plant atleast 3 trees, not in a line - to be naturalistic, Planted
trees in clumps
o Country like character, Houses spaced far apart
o Sunk roads below grade to minimize visual grade - dont want to see hard surface
o To suggest and imply leisure - to provide an environment for people to
engage with the land
o Extension of rail lines, more fortunate classes fleeing the cities
o Nicer homes built near a railway that was close to the city

4. Why was the concept of suburb considered to be "patriotic"?

Raising a family in the suburb raises more patriotic citizens, with higher morals and
health
Suburbs are the counteraction to the destruction that urban life brought about

5. What was the intent behind the creation of Forest Hills Gardens, Queens, NY.
By the Olmsted Brothers, 1911
 Russel Sage Foundation Intent: Produce social betterment, not an investment for profit
Establish a prototype which would adhere to their following standards:
o 1. Develop a high quality community
o 2. Affordable to people of moderate means
o 3. Reasonable return on investment (to prove that it could be done)

Strategically located next to a railway station, 30 minute right to Manhattan

Focused on station square, below elevated train station, supported a hotel, surrounded by
small shops on ground level, provided resources to help support family life
Houses located along 2 greenways that extend from the square
Have a variety of housing types in order to attract tons of different socio-economic
statuses
Lots of attention to detail, geared toward moderate income
Foundation succeeded and got people quickly, created a high quality environment with a
modest return on investment
Pedestrian oriented nature, width of road relates to a person, with vegetation
Flaw? - No mechanism in place to keep market under control
This was a private investment, real estate market has been driven up
Moderate income family probably could not afford it anymore
Quality of living by Russell Sage was not followed through to today

6. What were the design goals at Radburn, NJ (1924)?

1. Deal with the automobile
2. Make it a green environment
3. Instill a sense of community
o Based on Howards ideal, created for Alexander Bing corporation to create first
Garden City in America
o 2 planners: Clarence Stein and Henry Wright
o Housing for low income with good environment
o Automobile was the problem
Fairlawn and aimed for 3 neighborhoods (3 circles), their intersection would be the
community center/downtown
Corporation did not have enough foreign agriculture belt, and it was apparent that the
town could not attract the industrial base
Garden City turned suburb
o Culdasec with turnaround
o Turned houses around 180 degrees, so car would be put in the back, car is now
tucked out of sight

7. Describe the "superblock"--what did it allow for Radburn residents?

 Group of these special culdasecs with cars tucked around back alley
Park land circles the entire block
Ring of interrupted park land, go out of front door onto pedestrian pathway which
led to a lovely park, can walk around entire superblock around here, school was
located here so kids did not have to cross any roads
Pedestrian is tucked safely underneath the road (with bridge)
Allowed safe travel by foot
Houses are small and expensive - rarely go on sale here, are usually handed down

8. Was Radburn a success? Why, or why not?

Yes, good quality of living at affordable price

9. What common idea connects the places discussed in this lecture?

Each in their own way were experiments of improving American way of life, not at all
elitists in intent, ideas for common man with populist values, wanted to improve quality
of life (in capitalist based American society)

LESSON 29 - NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (US NATIONAL PARKS)

Olmsted visionary report was first indication of government responsibility to allow park
access to all Americans, first one was in Yellowstone
John Lacey, observer of people wanting to sell him things
o Must address how to manage and protect these lands
Yellowstone Protection Act
1. Prohibits hunting, 2. Appoints a Commissioner and Staff, 3. Defines National Park
National Park - an area of scenic, scientific, or historic significance to be preserved for
future generations
o Ex. Yosemite, Crater Lake, Cades Cove in Smokey Mountains
Yosemite added to Yellowstoneleads to emergence of National Park Service and
policy

Stephen Mather & Horace Albright

Mather was concerned with the introduction of automobile into our national parks
o Disturbed by auto camping - an unprecedented impact
o No extensive motel impact yet, so people hooked tent to automobile
o Wrote letter to Secretary Lane to do something about it
o Lane said why dont you get involved
 o Solution - Lane said he could have an assistant (Albright) to keep him out of jail
and to join in
o They establish the National Park Service

National Park experience?

Intended to be an event/visit that slows you down and puts you in a different mindset
separate from daily life, remove us from demands, an opportunity for us to switch gears,
take a trip of a life time

1. What is the definition of a "National Park", provided by the Yellowstone Protection Act?
National Park - an area of scenic, scientific, or historic significance to be preserved for
future generations

2. What was the Hetch Hetchy debate about? Compare the Pinchots approach to conservation
with Muirs.
Hetch Hetchy debate:
o Hetch Hetchy, river in Yosemite, was requested to dam the river for potable river
o Pinchot vs. Muir
Pinchot - organized forestry program on Vanderbilts estate and governor
of PA, director of US Forest Service - use resources for greatest good for
the longest time (resources should be utilized) 0 said Yes, lets dam the
river
Muir - opposite reaction, felt it was a special landscape (as a temple) -
people wanted to be temple destroyers that wanted to dam the river -
National Parks should not be the object of production
Pinchot won, dam is in place today
Significance - environmental clubs rallied and promised that nothing like
this would ever happen again

3. How was the advent of the automobile a threat to National Parks?

Mather was disturbed by auto camping - an unprecedented impact
o No extensive motel impact yet, so people hooked tent to automobile
o Wrote letter to Secretary Lane to do something about it

4. For what purpose was the National Park Service conceived?

 1. To conserve the scenery, the resources, and the wildlife therein and
2. To provide for the enjoyment of same in such a manner that will leave them
unimpaired for future generations
o Conflict: How do you conserve in a way as to be completely accessible to the
public???

5. How did Mather and Albright work to eliminate the lack of organization, understanding, and
interest regarding National Parks?
1. lack of interest (on the publics part, but not a problem today, now we love our parks to
death, was also costly at first)
o So Mather makes a deal with the railroads and reaps benefits from hotels
o Wanted them as accessible as successful and creature comfort if they did not want
to camp
2. lack of organization (existed on paper only originally)
o Administrative hierarchy needed, small army of highly trained rangers
o Mather would spend own money to train them when government couldnt
3. lack of understanding (visitor center now-a-days to tell you where to go and telling you
about this place - educates us, which has a strong function)
Mather will host a conference for state park directors and managers
Hires architect Thomas Find to make a master plan for every single national park

6. What was the intended role of state parks?

Americans have an active use of lands - and he realized this was an important role that
the state parks held - these daily activities led to state parks being buffers for national
parks

7. In addition to his role in the creation of the National Park Service, what other major
contributions did Horace Albright make?

expand the scope of the agency, broaden the mission of the National Park Service
o Took President Hoover who loved to fish to river, asked him for financial support
ex. Bureau of Education & Research
o Need hard scientific data and professionals that could evaluate age old practices
(like dumping of coals) and find new trends
o Looking for long range management
ex. HABS - Historic American Building Survey
o Document significant buildings
8. What serious problems are now facing some National Parks, and how can these problems be
dealt with?
Need for recreation and creature comfort leads to 2 negative impacts
o 1. Active recreation tends to jeopardize our natural ecosystem.
Ex. extensive use leads to problems, like a trailer jam
o 2. Consumptive activities insulate us from having the National Park Experience
Ex. Can get your hair done there, can see a movie
Solutions?
o Calling in advance and making reservations
o Talk of establishing carrying capacity for some parks
o To restrict all vehicles outside of the national park and provide public
transportation into the park
o Better education and to occasionally remind ourselves what the intended National
Park experience really could be

LESSON 30 - PUBLIC LANDSCAPES OF THE NEW DEAL

French Creek product of FDRs mission
Time of the worst depression this country ever experienced
o Came optimism and energy of FDR during this: The Great Depression
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
Great Depression of 1929
o 4 terms, many hated him, he represent big government - taking an active role
o Still see his tactics being used
o 1995 Contract with America like of FDR
o National income cut in half, 25% unemployed, and society had no unemployment
security
o Herbert Hoover handed this crisis over to FDR
o Shantys in NYC - Hoovervilles
o Accompanied by Eleanor, her husbands legs due to FDR polio, traveled the
country figuring things out
o I pledge to you, I pledge myself, to a New Deal for American people at Chicago
DNC
The New Deal
o We are definitely in an era of new projects
o Approach to unemployment, financial, and industry, agriculture, recreation
 Platts formal gardens had no rival
1932 strong hold of eclecticism, 10 blocks from White House, called Malcom X Park,
reflecting the ern of their community

Impact on landscape architecture?

Demise of large country estates, rugs pulled from them and their positions
Pulled the landscape architect from obscurity
Gave them a big role in rehabilitation of the country - gave the designers options
Sense of social responsibility was reinstilled
Vast experiment of social conscious
Roosevelts alphabet agency, Civilian Conservation Core (CCC) - implement ideas of
engineers and architects, were handed plans of neighborhoods and parks

Dice throw planning by NP5?

No way!
Instead a great deal of thought going into the design of these camps

1. How did President Roosevelt respond to the Great Depression? What were some of the actions
taken? Why was his program called the "New Deal?
New Deal - We are definitely in an era of new projects
o Approach to unemployment, financial, and industry, agriculture, recreation
RDAs
CCC

2. In addition to the financial crisis, what other catastrophy did the nation face?

3. What were the three programs created to solve the environmental problems; how did they
work? The Dust Bowl and FDRs reactions?
1. Taylor Grazing Act
o prohibited further homesteading and dedicates remaining eligible land to
controlled grazing
2. Pulls land out of agricultural use
 o 11.3 million acres removed from agricultural production
3. Prairie States Forestry Project
o Shelterbelt built from Abeliene, TX to the Canadian border
o 132 foot wide planting of trees, rows of green ash, and American and Chinese
elm, trees diminish the wind

4. What was the before and after situation for landscape architects?

5. Describe the Recreation Demonstration Project; list its goals.

What they did:
o 1. Find the most worthless, non-productive land available
o 2. Remove people from the land
o 3. Restore the land to bring about ecological health
Goals of RDAs (There are many)
o 1. Give a new start to subsistence farmers
o 2. Rehabilitate the land
o 3. Offer recreation destinations to urbanites
o 4. Prove that a well-organized program focused on sound land management
policies would benefit everyone

6. How did the RDAs compare to state parks?

RDAs are parks with soul - much concern
o Located in dismal locations, were demonstrations, started from scratch
o Close to cities for accessibility for urban poor
o Vehicles for social rehabilitation, so had camps like YMCA
o No formal lines, reflect respect for our native landscape, no forceful hand of man,
no line of trees, doesnt have beauty of ELS, sensitive to the land to restore it,
depict wilderness even though man created, apparent casualness
State Parks
o located in areas of extreme beauty, ex. Ricketts Glen
o different goals
o isolated locations, ex. PA Grand Canyon - escape from the bustle of urban life

7. In what way was the term "dice-throw planning" an inaccurate statement?

8. How do you know you are hiking through an RDA today (organized camps)?
site specific, paths follow the natural contours
Cabins are strategically placed, dont face each other

LESSON 31 - Robert Moses

1. According to the article, The Power Broker Who Went Too Far on the McGraw Hill
Construction Site, how would you describe Moses' "vision" at the beginning and at the end of his
career?

2. According to the article, The Master Builder: How Robert Moses Transformed Long Island
for the 20th Century and Beyond on Newsday.com what was special about Jones Beach?
Specifically, who designed it, who was it designed for, how did they access it and how did this
impact Moses career.
What was special about Jones Beach was
Robert Moses designed it.
They were designed for
They were accessed through bridges.
It impacted Moses career/legacy that at the time he was a master builder but now looked
at as a destroyer

3. According to The City of New Yorks Parks and Recreation Site and also the article, The
Power Broker Who Went Too Far, on the McGraw Hill Construction Site, how would you
characterize the Depression work done by Moses for New York City?

4. According to the article, The Power Broker Who Went Too Far, on the McGraw Hill
Construction Site, what was the source of Mosess financial power and what effect did this have
on him?

5. According to your readings, why did Moses develop a national reputation and give "how-to"
talks?

6. Based on Robert Moses description in his 1962 article, Are Cities Dead? in The Atlantic
Online, and also the article, Robert Moses: The Master Builder, in The Nation, which
architects work (that we discussed in a past lesson) influenced the design of Stuyvesant
Town?

7. According to the article, The Second Coming of Moses, in Topic Magazine, how were the
positive impacts of Mosess works so costly in social terms why was there such disapproval of
the Moses Method?

8. Based on Robert Moses own article, Are Cities Dead in The Atlantic Online, did he believe
the ends justified the means?

9. According to the article, The Second Coming of Moses, on the Topic Magazine Site (see
second paragraph) and the article, Robert Moses: The Master Builder in The Nation (see
Marshall Berman quote on page 570), why were objections raised against the construction of the
Cross-Bronx Expressway?

LESSON 32 - THE MODERN MOVEMENT (1930s - 1950s)

What is modern?
Shepherd said, Modern design not only belongs to but is inspired by the age in which
we live
Angry - Christopher Tunnard who wrote Gardens in the modern landscape
o Garden today is not contemporary in movement, not in our time, is of the
sentimental past
 o Suggesting landscape needs to be addressed as a functional problem and the
contemporary spirit, utilize advances of science and new materials
Inspiration:
Modern art
o Plan with house and garden addresses simple clean lines of the house
o Plan looks like its a work of abstract art (with zig zag)
o Point: design is being inspired by what is happening with modern art
Another example, shapes in the ground plain look like shards of glass and
fence made of mirrors
New abstract look in landscape
Modern architecture
o Tunnard created lines of house with the spirit of the house, with a simple terrace
garden that is thoroughly modern in its attitude, a simple plain of paving to sit on
Screen is plate glass, acts as a wind break and a frame for viewing the
pastoral English landscape that lies beyond
Using new materials and relating landscape to buildings

Eckbo did the farm administration camps for migrant farm workers
o He becomes interested in social issues
o Influenced residential landscapes greatly
o Gardens werent had by many, after war they were too extravagant or seen as
a victory garden
o Landscapes for Living - convince public that a homeowner needed to think
of their land around their house as a garden, garden is an extension of their
house
Suggesting you should tailor your landscape to your personal needs
See a before and an after

Modernisms weakness
Impact?
o Take free shapes and plump them around and call them Modern
o ex. Walters Courtyard outside of Forum Building
Does this work better for academic meeting space?
o Was for Middle class, single family home - with indoor and outdoor living space
with a flow through THE SLIDING GLASS DOOR
1. What was the inspiration for the Modern Movement in landscape architecture?
Modern art and modern architecture

2. Whats the significance of the "Harvard Three"?

Garret Eckbo, (James Rose), (Dan Kiley)
o Trying to modernize landscape / make landscapes inspired by modern times
o Rose creating different lines of plant material
o Eckbo study on townhouse gardens proposing 4 ideas for the same
townhouse why couldnt ideas be formal and informal
o Rose suggested developing an animated landscape expressive of contemporary
life
o Message of students: leave behind design that is just based on a look, embrace
design that arises from function, that is sleek, useful, and modern

3. What is asymmetrical geometry and what did it offer the profession?

3. Look expresses modern life
o Interest in creating a visual balance with asymmetry
o Balance but does not have to be the same on each side
o Use new materials

4. Including asymetrical geometry, describe the four other new ideas that resulted from the
modern movement in landscape design. How do these compare to the previous "eclectic" design
as represented by Charles Platt?
5 points of Modern:
o 1. Creative problem solving
Any project poses a set of problems/needs that must be solved
Program - set of activities wanted to be put on that site
Creative part - make a place that is a great place to be and contributes to
improving peoples way of life
o 2. Taboo against revival styles
Never start a design saying I will use _____ style that preceded the era you
are currently working in
DONT look to the past
ex. Thomas Beach House - with layers and background
o 3. Look expresses modern life
Interest in creating a visual balance with asymmetry
Balance but does not have to be the same on each side
 Use new materials
o 4. Beauty is in function
The way the place works that makes it beautiful, not its ornaments
o 5. Free-flowing space
You can suggest different spaces with overlapping lines of trees, but the
space can flow from one space to another

Power of eclecticism
o Gropius, and others, came to U.S. to teach architecture (Harvard School of
Design)
o Architecture schools responded well to European way of design
o Landscape architecture schools were a little slower to embrace new ideas

5. How were postwar changes in attitudes and lifestyles reflected in home and landscape
designs? What are the "new" characteristics of modern interior and exterior design?
Modernism + new American Lifestyle = HOME revolution
o Functional, clean, crisp, asymmetrical, addressed needs of the family
o Susie Homemaker
GIs came home and economy had improved - time to make places for families
o Baby Boom
Living in the suburbs - healthy, clean, and affordable
An American middle class with money and leisure time
Eckbo taught these families to extend inside to the outside while suiting the families
interests

6. What three criteria did Thomas Church set for his designs?
most influential in this time - wrote Gardens are for People - there are no set rules to
design, just need to address functional issues/needs, which will produce good design
Greatest influence through magazines - House Beautiful and Ladies Home Journal
House viewed as the space inside the house, not as a box
o 1. The shapes and forms used in the design should come from the function
Angles and curves, bilateral symmetry, designer should not have pre-
conceived ideas
o 2. Low maintenance
Paved surfaces and raised planting beds to make maintenance easier
Was not about maintaining it, it was about enjoying it
o 3? Kidney shaped pool, with Linai building right next to it with all the small
conveniences, functional and site specific
30 mile panoramic view of SF Bay
 Pool garden embodies cool, relaxed environment of modernism
o 4? SLIDING GLASS DOOR
Anyone with a house and land could make it modernism with sliding glass
door
Unique issues guide design, let functions control

LESSON 33 - AUTOMOBILE LANDSCAPES OF THE 50s AND 60s

Post WWII - automobile and architectural influences on the urban experience (Before and after
photos)
Time of prosperity for middle class Americans, pursuing the American Dream
Came to us as a burden on our landscape that we did not know how to deal with
Result of modern architecture and the automobile
Photojournalism
Corner of 8th avenue and West 23rd Street
o Stored windows, doors inviting you into businesses, putting activity on the
sidewalk at a human scale, INVITES people
Next picture
o International style of architecture
o Tall building for women laborers
What is offered at street level now? Nothing, nothing inviting about this
Change of feel from 1933 to 1970s is a vibrant activity to cold
indifference
Lower Manhattan from Bridge, pic from 1930 to 1970
o 1970 wedding cake architecture addressing new streets
o Has a personality, response to a concern of street life and a dense downtown area
o Tall buildings were creating sunless canyons in the city
New law required upper floors to step back to allow light to enter streets
Effect of buildings on street level
o Pedestrians are left within wind tunnels and an urban canyon, not exactly inviting
to urban pedestrians
1919 Delancy Street, lower East side with bridge in background
o Bridge has a pedestrian walkway for people on foot
o The comfortable feel looking at mixed use with trolleys, cars, and pedestrians
o People have a presence in this urban space
People running for lives in Jacob Shift Parkway, cars are coming
Hester Street in NY immigrant/ghetto area, where Jews were restricted
o From Poland, Russia and Italy
o Children are not feared on the street
o 1975, evidence of what happened to our cities
 Allowed technological advancement to override concerns of human
welfare

Urban: shared design goals?

Designers are unified in their search for:
o a sense of place
o a way of returning the city to the people
Search for people friendly streets
Exs.
Pittsburgh (1945) - Muddy Ohio River - located on top of a ton of coal, most of steel
emanating from Pittsburgh, street lights helped people avoid pollution
o Downtown Pittsburgh was a desert of noise and congestion
o Was a Class D city, little promise for growth
o Was choked to standstill due to explosion of cars and packed streets
o Crisis of parking space in downtown led to Mellon Sqaure
Mellon Square, (1955)
o Park above, an automobile parking underground - perfect example of urban
renewal (found by Mellon)
o Civic job, President of Pittsburgh Regional Planning Association to revitalize
the city - to convice ALCOA and US Steel to not move to NYC
These two made the Golden Triange, Mellon Square is born
o To express unique character of Pittsburgh and this design
o Expressed optimism for the citys future
o Placement spans the column below - every tree sits over a column
o CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING
o Heavy elements atop a volumetric parking space
Lack of reference to past historic styles, is sight specific
A place for people, sets out a rampart of urban plazas throughout
Pittsburgh
o 1. Was a successful focal center for the new office towers
o 2. Provided a relaxing oasis for people in the city
o 3. A civic monument to the Mellons and Pittsburghs regrowth
o 4. Signal to rebirth and revitalization of the city

Constitution Plaza, Hartford, CT (1963)

o By Hideo Sazaki
o 2 insurance companies attempt to spur economy, build new business centers in
a diseased portion of the city (3 connected black squares)
o Travelers Insurance Company - shaded blocks are connected by continuous
plaza
 o Plaza for pedestrians only, for relaxing, connected open spaces above the
street
Separates the plaza from city activity
Surrounding buildings are diverse
Like MELLON SQUARE: All sat atop a big garage
o Puts automobile in its place, creating a pleasant place for the people
o Design has some major problems, nothing to do at night, no food to entice
them and make them come out, people go home at 5 oclock and the plaza
becomes deserted
o A place that is hidden from the public, unlike Mellon Square, place becomes a
dangerous location at night

Larry Halprins design mission?

o Appraoch to design was in sync with ideas of the time
Age of Social Awareness
o Places for things to happen, people were the main attraction, not the design
but how it interacts with the people in them
o Halprin creates opportunities for people to come together
An ex. Portland Aud. Forecourt (1968)
Separates pedestrians from the cars
Urban experience in 3 spaces connected by green walkways
1 acre block surrounded by offices
Automobile was an isolating factor
Began by looking at nature, borrowed its characteristics
Intense streams, with falling water, relating man to nature,
creating a place of interaction with people to nature, people can
come to touch the water
Trough above knee height, during summer you can come get
wet
o INTERACTIONG of people with nature, and people
with people, creating a social place

Nicolette Mall, Minneapolis (1967) - Urban Mall

o First conversion of a normal downtown street into a pedestrian mall
o 8 city blocks along major shopping area
o Was a non-descript 20th century boring area
Had to create places for people, create energy for being in the city
exciting
o Closed road, to halt traffic except mass transit vehicles, made the road curve
through the space, creating a maximum pedestrian area
o Create a series of places to be
o A sign of the times, an effort to improve the shopping and urban experience
by removing the people and attracting people back to the city ***
 Impact of automobile on rural areas: The proliferation of Suburbs Suburbia
Suburban: change in the American landscape
Countless corporate headquarters
o Are products of the age of the automobile
o Corporate flood to the suburbs, attractions are unavoidable, lots of space and
parking and low taxes, ex IBM in suburbs in response to urban condition and
proliferation of the automobile, cities are becoming crowded
o Accept automobile as part of the landscape and cater to the employee
Foothills College (1957)
o Junior college in Los Altos, CA - suburban, accessible by vehicle
o Automobile put in its place, vehicles are confined to the periphery
o Very collegiate, safe, and modern
o Spread distance of residence of city centers and their marketplaces
o Decentralizes economic forces
o Bring services closer to where people were
Driving force was the suburban mall
Malls
o Convenient shopping and parking, a safe social hub for all people
o Americas contemporary main street
o Era of transformation that took place in the 50s and 60s
o Mall of America - largest, one could live out ones lifetime

What developed was urban sprawl

At what cost?
Is there a price we have paid for a being a car dependent country?

1. Compare the post-WWII ("after") urban images with the "before" images we looked at. How
would you describe the changes?
Early on in the 30s, cities were inviting and had things to do at street level
In the 60-70s there was nothing inviting about the street level view at all, no sunlight

2. What are the common design goals of Mellon Square and Constitution Plaza?
 Both sat atop a parking garage, separate the automobile from city life and entertainment

3. What was the criticism leveled at Constitution Plaza?

Place becomes a very dangerous location at night because there is nothing to do their at
night, so everyone goes home at 5 oclock after work

3. How is "modernism" expressed in the design of Mellon Square?

Heavy elements atop a volumetric parking space
o Lack of reference to past historic styles, is sight specific
o A place for people, sets out a rampart of urban plazas throughout Pittsburgh

4. What is Halprins general goal for designs such as the Portland Auditorium Forecourt?
To sync ideas with the time, Age of Social Awareness

5. Why is Nicolette Mall notable?

First conversion of a normal downtown street into a pedestrian mall AND
A sign of the times, an effort to improve the shopping and urban experience by removing
the people and attracting people back to the city ***

6. Name three significant new land uses in suburbs of this period.

Countless Corporate Headquarters, Foothills College, Malls

7. How is vehicular traffic managed at Foothills College?

Automobile put in its place, vehicles are confined to the periphery

LESSON 34 - THE SOCIAL LIFE OF SMALL URBAN SPACES

By William H. Whyte
Time lapse camera, sun would determine where the people sit, people sat where the sun
was
 Studied Seagram Plaza, 101st street in East Harlem, play areas
o Concern of urban overcrowding
o But the problem was underuse, especially in center city
o Builders got bonuses to build extra floors in buildings
Some plazas like the Seagram had a lot of people
o Figure out why some had a lot of people and why some didnt?
o Time lapse cameras and direct observation
o Patterns: diversity of activity, have a higher proportion of people in groups of 2s
or 3s, has the greatest number of individuals, people moving in an orbit, lovers
found in middle of the pool ledge, audience at the corner
o #1 Activity: people looking at other people
o Physical features: narrow ledge next to pools (popular spot for people), front
ledge is most heavily used (low and easy to go up and down and sit on), corner
has a right angle for groups to talk (people sit and block the traffic), Street Corner
- has social life of its own (connects life of plaza and impromptu conferences),
when people stop to talk they do it in the middle of traffic, heavy flows of people
allowing for encounter, people just standing there alone
o Seagrams - rear space is most favorite (best of both worlds) - under trees and can
see everything, the movement of people across it (choreography) - the ultimate
test of a design, people dont often stop to talk in the middle of a large space -
they like to find places like steps or a flag pole, Red poles - where people sotp to
talk
o Why do some plazas work and others not?
People tend to sit where there are places to sit!
Cant have high or wet seating
People are very adaptable, older people like to sit in the sun
Make the place SITTABLE
Ex. St. Marks Sqaure in Venice - chairs of cafs, other ledges and steps
throughout the plaza
Give them more choice
Ledges offer sitting and grass near it, should be low
Revolving sitting tables
Most prolific place, 77th Water Street - maze of ledges that make it works so well
How many people is too many?
Step corner is highly concentrated, heavy turnover, but number of people remains quite
constant
Chart: 12-2 PM heavy use, even at peak moments there is room for other people
Result of instinctive feel of what people have of a number that is right for a
place, an effective capacity

Fixed chairs dont work out well for most people, makes people sitting in an exact
spot
 Popular place for people to meet people, for the sole purpose of people to meet and talk
Men speak then 7 sec, people answer
Itinerate musicians set up at places that work with the street, self-contained mega-
structures, take you away from the street, from the street you are completely isolated
Street level is for cars, one activity at street level is a bank window
People are going down to sub-terrainian levels for shopping
Disney, shops and stores at street level for a lot of money
Plazas - dont sink them way down or put them way up, the action is on the street
Rockefeller Plaza - is sunken and popular, but most people are up top looking down
Exception, plaza of National Bank at Chicago - lots of sitting space and is an
amphitheater with a show down below
The undesirable - spikes are put on ledges or made too short to slep on, they are harmless
and well-behaved, found in places where other people are not
People who do odd things - drumsticks, do a service for the rest of us, reassure us of our
own normality
t
t
People do like the SUN
Major factor for plaza use, correlation between sitters and sun - but as time went
on the correlation vanished - sun or shade
So, Sun was not the ruling factor, is a factor in nipping/cold weather
Not the absence of sun, but of light
Seagrams reflection of light suggests potential for urban design
ELEMENTS
Sitting space
Sun
Water is a wonderful amenity
The sound of it, the look and feel of it
Opening up access to our water fronts
Trees
Shade, transpiration, cooling, beauty
Glare index (new)
Plant in rows close together, open to the action but slightly protected, cave feeling
Food
Outdoor cafes, etc., snack bars, kiosks, concessions
Waste baskets and cleaning
Triangulation
external stimulus or physical feature, something is going on that is being talked
about
ex. Bank robbers being caught, a sculpture
Draws a crowd and performer provides a connection between them
1. Why did Whyte find it necessary to study urban spaces?
Concern for urban overcrowding
Figure out why some had a lot of people and why some didnt

2. What was the discovered "No. 1" activity. Where does it take place on this campus?
People looking at other people
Old Main

3. What are some of the elements that make a place "sittable"? ELEMENTS
Sitting space, Sun, Water, Trees, Food, Triangulation

4. What determines carrying capacity for urban plazas?

There is no carrying capacity, people will realize how many people are there and will not
go in order to not overcrowd the space
OR sitting space

5. What does Whyte mean by plazas having a "relationship" to the street? How is this
demonstrated at Paley and Greenacre Parks?
Chairs relationship to the street is key to people
o Visual enjoyment/secondary use is as important as the secondary use
o Few easy steps to draw you in
o Sight acceleration as they go up the steps

6. Name the three other examples of types of design that he found did not work and explain why
they did not work.
Paley -
Greenacre -
Paley + Greenacre, NY - smallest and most crowded/noisy
o Daily build up of table use between parks,
o tendency of men to take front row and women to take the rear
o Regularity, but when you get to eye level you dont see it
 Invention: the movable chair - places of choice, you do the deciding,
people manipulate chairs

Bryant Park - muggers and stealers, green, spacious, cops patrol in groups, cut off from
street with walls and fences - must unfence it for it to work
o TV cameras are favored because they reassure management, most places have a
mayor

7. The list? ELEMENTS

Sitting space, sun, water, trees, food, triangulation

8. What is triangulation?

external stimulus or physical feature, something is going on that is being talked

about
o ex. Bank robbers being caught, a sculpture
o Draws a crowd and performer provides a connection between them

LESSON 35 - ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT

Blue Planet, need to protect our environment and phenomenal universe
Americans were oblivious to Earths connected systems just years ago
Myth of Superabundance
People began to address humankinds integrated role with natures processes
We have become less trusted since World War, and we had space race with Russians, we
emphasized science in schools and began to question authority
Vietnam War, Watergate Scandal, Kent State Riot

Ian McHarg
Focused on degradation of our urban environment and peoples lack of care of poisoning
our environment
Learned how to design with nature
Vegetative associations are quite predictive/what grows there naturally
Comparison?
Woodlands - goal: to be sustainable, residents are passive occupants in the community, lost
vision of ecologically planned sensitivity (just an ordinary community)
vs. Village Homes - adhered to original concept, residents take active roles to ensure
sustainability, sustainability is not only a theme, but A WAY OF LIFE (buy-in to a particular
lifestyle)

1. What were some of the forces that brought the environmental movement about in the 1970's?
Vietnam War, Watergate Scandal, Kent State Riot (dont think this is it)
Silent Spring - Rachel Carson
o no one knew effects of DDT use by farmers and government
o First global impact statement, caused a fury in insect industry
o Advocated the compelling tale of connectedness of nature, DDT may kill insects
but may enter food chain and kill other animals

The Quiet Crisis - Stewart Udal

o Passion, create world of physical affluence and spiritual affluence go hand in
hand

2. What was the messages behind the books, "Silent Spring," and "The Quiet Crisis"?
Both TURNED PUBLIC ATTENTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT and what people
thought of the Earth

3. What was Ian McHarg's contribution to the general statement that "we need nature"?
Is sustainable attainable? He argued it has to be, explains that we NEED nature for our
very survival, undeniable bond between what we do to nature and how it treats us
Need a healthy environment for our survival
People are part of a giant web, come to groups in order to survive

4. What is ecological planning and how does it relate to the "overlay" method?
McHargs
 Ecological planning - planning human land use based on lands ecology
An analysis of what already exists and natures system and investigate the tolerance of
the land
way of documenting what can be observed on the surface and sub-surface
o ex. soils, slopes, vegetation, climate documenting for each layer
Those that are and are not suitable for development, their stability and fragility
Combine them for an overall mapping, showing good and bad areas

5. Describe the difference between sustainable design and typical suburban.

Sustainable development - development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs
o Objective of meeting human needs while preserving for the future
Typical suburban - discouraged healthy living and sustainability sometimes reverses the
effects of past development
o ex. Woodlands

6. In what way was the design at Woodlands (Texas) by McHarg both a success and a
disappointment?

Goals
1. Diversity of types of residences
2. Accomodation of shopping, recreation and employment with an emphasis on
community life
3. In concert with the natural environment
Characteristics
One year study - model for the future
Used overlay method
Success
o Left existing drainage intact, so ponds were off limit for development
o Low impact amenities - path, trails, parks
o 1/3 of site completely open
Underground details - maximum use of land with minimum disturbance
Designed WITH nature
Disappointment
o Stopped enforcing McHargs ecological guidelines
o Trees can now be cleared
o Limits on lawn area were lifted

7. What were the goals in the Village Homes, CA development? Name 3 characteristics.
 Village Homes, California
Set a precedent for sustainable design
Goals
o Mike and Judy Corbit - create a better place to live
o Background in architecture and town planning
o address sustainability and sensitivity
Characteristics
o Lots of North South orientation, for suns
o Bike paths laid out before the streets - with shade on streets
o Curves slowed down traffics
o Streetbeds and ponds so water could be put back into drainage system
o Produce more food than the community would demand
o Plant material was edible or native
o Community gardens and orchards
o Residents can pick fruit
o Street trees in village homes which bear fruit
o Sense of community and social responsibility
3 categories
o 1. Private property
o 2. community-wide public property
o 3. common land (owned by groups of 8 families - must consult each other )
Houses do not face streets, they are turned around
Cars dont take up lot of space, vegetation is dominant
Front yards are small, rear yards separate house from common property,
sidewalks behind the houses
Incentives for participating in community events
EMPHASIS on social interaction
3x interaction at Davis homes than other areas

LESSON 36 - THE 80s - IS IT ART?

Some responses
McHarg said we must look at the site and understand the natural processes- these
observations should guide your design
Let nature tell you what makes sense on a particular site
People asked what about understanding people?
Come 1980 they felt designs were based upon a rational system
So is it art?
 What about aesthetics, beauty, and meaning?

Ecological Aesthetic
We must learn to see natures art as it truly is and recognize its true beauty
Designs must respond to nature, must learn to work with nature in order to survive
Call for the development of a new aesthetic: an ecological aesthetic
America is in a rut of maintenance and a pave/lawn design
NEED to create ones that are easy to care for and are beautiful
Nassauer - Messy Ecosystems, written about tidy and controlled landscapes
Challenges to wide-spread acceptance of Ecological Aesthetic
Is it art? - Designers and their answers
Richard Haag (Combination of McHarg and Halprin)
Finding the genius of the place, what the place wants to be, genius loci from
ancient Greece - design response to that place
o ex. Gasworks Park, Seattle, Washington
o Mess converted into a funk park
o located on a point of land into water, downtown is right across the water
o Ecological disaster with oil and tar - deteriorating
o Bioremediation - reuse of industrial equipment

Yes! Its Art

Martha Schwartz
o Bagel Garden
o located in Back Bay in Boston with historical richness and distinction
o Small, composed of 96 weatherproofed bagels on purple fishbowl gravel,
inner square has 30 purple flowering plants - humorous and artistically serious
o Why bagels? - they are inexpensive, readily available, and easy to
maintain - require no sun and when coated, are weather proof

o Necco Garden
o to celebrate May Day - welcome of Spring and MIT
o Had to
o 1. Relate symbolically to MIT
o 2. Address the new sculpture without overpowering it
o 3. Last only one day
o 4. Provide an arena for a major Frisbee contest
o 5. Cost less than $2,000 (about 1 cent/sq. ft.)
o Lead to Necco Wafer Garden
o Necco candy factory is one block from MIT
 o 170 x 100 foot grid on axis to entrance to the courtyard
o Grid created by placing Neccos along a line
o Other grid was on top of the Neccos with tires, painted in Neccos colors

George Hargreaves
o Harlequin Plaza (Denver, Colorado)
o Suburban office park
o Atop an underground parking garage
o Between two buildings with reflective surfaces
o Plazas usually places for people to gather - this plaza is a gem to view
o What is real and what is illusion? - giving a false sense of perspective
o Place for fun, but really is not, no places to sit
o Expresses a sense of fantasy away from a daily grind
o Shows appearances vs. reality
o Called A watershed design - delivered an aesthetic jolt to the profession
like the Bagel Garden
o Little seating, high glare factor, no shade, surface pattern skews sense of
perspective, one of most photographed
o Function best if viewed as public art - dont ask to much of it regarding
personal comfort
o WAS then sold and taken down, now replaced by Office Plaza Opaque - not
inspiring at all, but now shade and seating and is now a place for people

o ALL 3 are art, but is it landscape architecture?

o Not places to be, but places to see

No Way is it ART
Randy Hester
o Manteo, North Carolina
o Doesnt believe in design by designers
o Believes in participatory design by people
o Personal philosophy based on neighborhood playground he designed in
Massachusetts, came back 3 years later and it was trashed and empty
o Questioned the degree of relevance of his designs to the community
o Point: residents care about different things than designers
o Landscape Architects Role in the community:
o A community facilitator who
o reveals assets and liabilities to the community
o assists community in designing their spaces
o ex. Manteo
o Small community that was economically suffering
 o Newsing at the post office
o The Sacred Structure
o Waterfront park designed by the community (unprofessional)
o Flowerbed was a focal point
o Vital to involve residents in the design process - ITS THEIRS
o HIS POSITION
o Opposes the quest to conceive landscape architecture as art
o Considers works like Harlequin Plaza as elitist aestheticism - private
jokes at publics expense
o Advocates the idea of user of the place creating the design
o the result is more like folk art than fine art, but it is a place well-used and
well-loved

Some Keepers
Tanner Fountain, Harvard by Peter Walker
To create a sense of place in an area that was a non-descript intersection of
walkways
Left conditions as they were and placed many boulders, circle on outside, inside is
random placement, middle contains a mist fountain - suggestive of New England

Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington D.C. by Mialyn

To honor Vets, started as a competition - wall sunken into the earth, gets taller as
you walk into its realm
Names of those who died in chronological order
Dimension: walls are highly polished and reflect landscape and visitors in high
detail - contemplating the dead
Wall acts as interface between the living and the dead
Old memories, expression, love, loss
Over time the memorial changed, became less of memories and sadness -
continues to stand as an example of sacrifice

1. Why was the question "Is It Art?" being asked of the landscape architecture profession in the
1980s?
The Profession in the 80s were strikingly diverse, with unlimited expressions of personal
philosophy

2. Why is "ecological aesthetic" an appropriate phrase to describe Rich Haag's design for
Gasworks Park, Seattle, Washington?
 An aesthetic based on natures beauty, strength, and fragility
Designers must learn to work with nature in order to survive
An aesthetic based on natures beauty, strength, and fragility
America is in a rut of maintenance and a pave/lawn design
NEED to create ones that are easy to care for and are beautiful
Suggested: bioremediation -
o Said pastoral was not feasible and to recycle old junk was not a good idea - hard
to convince people of this, to help people see his vision
o Plan was approved to create an opportunity of interaction and togetherness
An iron gothic sculptural experience - the most popular park in the northwest
SIGNIFICANCE - a unique approach to park design by successfully exploring the
concept of recycling and reuse
HAAG not aesthetic, but heals the landscape, keeping this new aesthetic

3. How did the profession respond to the Bagel Garden?

Forced architects to think about what the profession is all about
Formal geometry (imperial and elite) with the bagels (homey and domestic)

4. Who were the two people who came in on the "Yes, its art" side of the question? What were
they hoping to accomplish?
Martha Schwartz and George Hargreaves
They are not places TO BE, but places TO SEE
Create an aesthetic jolt to the profession

5. What was the function of Harlequin plaza?

Expresses a sense of fantasy away from a daily grind, and shows appearances vs. reality

6. What would Randy Hester have thought of the Bagel Garden? What was his preferred method
of design?
Would think that the Bagel Garden is not art
o Preferred method was participatory design by the people
o Landscape Architects Role in the community:
A community facilitator who
reveals assets and liabilities to the community
assists community in designing their spaces
7. Why are Tanner Fountain and Vietnam Veterans Memorial considered to be "keepers"?
Effort to create order, while order and organization changes once you get into the space
Conceptual foundation with physical character - can be appreciated on many levels

8. The diversity of the profession was discussed in this lecture, what are the roots of this trend?
Variety and scope of the works done
Weve come a long way since day one

LESSON 37 - THE 90s - NEW TOWNS

Howard and Le Corbusier - each had a direct descendant in American housing, one
successful and one unsuccessful

Price of industrialization
Social price of urban renewal
Competing for factories - increasing municipal tax space
Attracted business due to large pools of cheap labor - systematic housing of urban
proletariats, unsanitary urban quarters (slums)
Good investment of real estate
Evacuation of inner city neighborhoods by the wealthier for the suburbs
Abandoned older districts, the slum lord moves in here
Populations had shifted, slums were migrants from the South looking for employment

New Towns (Garden City concept)

1. self-sufficient communities
2. emphasis placed on creating a livable environment
3. emphasis placed on creating a strong sense of community

1. Describe the Housing Act of 1949 and why it was needed. What was its philosophical ideal
and how did the reality of it differ?
Our nation for the first time has a housing policy
 Did not prescribe all of destruction of neighborhoods, just offered incentives of growth
and cleaning up
philosophy ideal? - desire to deal with the rapid deterioration of urban, and provide clean
housing for those affected
reality of it? - poor planning, little understanding of mechanics which lead to disastrous
decisions - nation did not understand basic social needs

2. What did Jane Jacobs say about high-rise public housing in her book "The Death and Life of
Great American Cities"?
opposed slum clearance - this would be isolation and not be smart for low income
projects

3. What was Pruit Igoe and what went wrong?

to address poor living conditions in St. Louis
o City of Towers concept led to little land area and little healthy atmosphere
At Pruitt Igoe - expensive and many stood vacant over time, were then vandalized and
crime was upon them
what went wrong?
o bad design - idea was not tested out
o heavy concentration of poor families was not combined with the isolation and
criminal activity
o large defaults lie in design
needs of inhabitants must come first
issue of no community and no togetherness
no pride of place and hallways were dangerous
no sense of belonging
quickly vandalized and vacant
failed miserably
DID NOT address sense of community and territoriality !!!
now smaller, individual buildings are being built
THE physical environment does matter

4. What was the main goal behind the design of Reston, Virginia? What inspired its creation?
first New Town - based on Howards Garden City
Goal
o 1. Self-sufficient community
o 2. Offers a wide ranges of housing types (essential because variety of incomes in
socially economically diversified population)
 o 3. Amenities are available and easily accessible
Characteristics
o fountains, performance, surrounded by smaller centers and different
neighborhoods,
o churches, schools, golf courses, tennis courts
o Paths that link neighborhoods to neighborhoods and people to people
o Businesses and industries and headquarters
o TODAY, middle and upper class residents fulfill the town - most jobs are white
collar jobs
o Grid (reminiscent of old towns) with curving roads
INSPIRED BY A SEARCH of a sense of place

5. Compare and contrast the two approaches to community design of "traditional" towns and
"lifestyle" communities.
Todays approaches to community design:
1. Traditional towns - old fashion
o Conscious effort to make the environment social and lively (unlike automobile)
Desire to create communities with heart

o Seaside, FL (Where film was)

recreate a small Floridian town to revive a northwestern florida building
tradition
deep roof overhangs, rockers, cross ventilation
BUT became different
stunning visual affect, simplicity of houses and restaurants
shallow attempt at creating a community
Not successful as a true community

o Kentlands, MD
to create an old fashioned atmosphere
19th century grid with green public squares, colonial inspired
neighborhoods, tree shaded walkways, townhomes have own identity
use of alleys, with mailman and walk on sidewalks - may get to know you
house had to have a front porch, for intended affect
receiving heating supply through coal shoot (trying to emulate Forest Hills
Gardens)

BOTH represent an attempt to return to the good old days of the village
green and a lively downtown with a tight knit community where people
know one another - they are an idealization of the past
 2. Lifestyle communities
o People choose to live here because everyone chooses to live a certain lifestyle and
take comfort in homogeneity

o Las Colinas, TX
surrounded by fences with security, center does not have much activity -
has corporation buildings in an anonymous city - next to corporation is a
plaza (no one hangs out there)
Plaza not designed with peoples use in mind
Daily activities occur in shopping malls and get to them in cars, not
outside or walking along roads - no street life

o Sun City Center, FL - standard

retirement community - radical because in history older never isolated
themselves from the younger generations
most are over 60, self-contained community (has everything)
most important feature:
virtual isolation from the world (security, confidence,
homogeneity) - come here to remain young, not to grow old

6. Although Seaside and Kentland look very different, they share at least one characteristic, what
is it?
BOTH represent an attempt to return to the good old days of the village green and a
lively downtown with a tight knit community where people know one another - they are
an idealization of the past

7. Compare Los Colinas to Reston, what is the biggest difference between their respective goals?
Las Colinas, TX
o Plaza not designed with peoples use in mind
o Daily activities occur in shopping malls and get to them in cars, not outside or
walking along roads - no street life

Reston, VA
characteristics?
o 1. Self-sufficient community
o 2. Offers a wide ranges of housing types (essential because variety of incomes in
socially economically diversified population)
o 3. Amenities are available and easily accessible
o INSPIRED BY A SEARCH of a sense of place
 Biggest difference between their goals:
o Los Colinas - no street life or peoples use in mind
o Reston - search of a sense of place and provide a good community for the people