Module 2

15 ARC 6.6
March-April 2019
ELZA D’ CRUZ

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Module 2: Relating Architecture and Landscape, Site analysis and Site
planning

a. Study of architectural response to landscapes and understanding the

relation between architecture and landscape through case examples.
b. The idea of site as part of whole/larger landscape

•Chinese and Japanese gardens

•Mughal and Persian gardens

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Chinese gardens expressed a cosmology based on a fusion of
Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist tenets.

While each religion advocated different strategies for achieving spiritual

freedom, all shared a common respect for nature.
Historic Chinese gardens imitated the balance of opposites found in
nature, referred to by Daoists as the forces of yin and yang.

Rock and water structured the garden: rocks symbolized mountains, a

male force (yin), and water symbolized yang, a female force.
In fact, the word for “landscape” was composed of words that meant
“mountain” and “water”—shan shui.

The principle of yin and yang can also be seen in the contrast of the
rectilinear geometry of cities, structures, and decorative elements
(representing human artifi ce) with the free-fl owing irregular forms of
gardens (representing nature).

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 During the Tang dynasty (618–907), China was at its peak
of national power. Trade and culture flourished. The thriving
city of Suzhou was located on the great canal system that
eventually linked the Yangzi River (Chang Jiang) in the
south with the Yellow River (Huang He) in the north.
Economically prosperous and rich in scenery, Suzhou was
known as the “Venice of the East.”13 Here, scholar officials
retired from government service and built rustic country
estates, embracing an aesthetic of solitude, learning, and
poverty. “Scholar gardens” were private retreats, places for
self-development and communion with intimate friends,
distinct from elaborate imperial gardens. Suzhou itself
remained a haven for artists, particularly during the Ming
dynasty.
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WANG CHUAN: The 8th-century villa designed by Wang Wei was a poetic
construction of hills, streams, and forests.

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Garden design and landscape painting shared a
language of visual conventions that was established
during the Song dynasty. Garden layouts were inspired
by compositional techniques used by landscape
painters. Landscape paintings of the Northern and
Southern Song dynasties expressed different attitudes
toward nature.15 Northern Song paintings were
intended to be realistic portrayals of nature’s
awesomeness. Southern Song paintings were more
personal expressions of nature, evoking mood. Artists
brought the subject matter closer to the viewer.
Unessential elements were reduced; space was
implied by large voids in the composition. Song
paintings are referenced in medieval Japanese
literature and had a profound influence on Japanese
garden design. E D Cruz 2019
NORTHERN SONG:
The “mountain scrolls” of Northern
Song paintings often show a
diminutive human figure within a vast
landscape dominated by natural
features. Atmospheric effects created
a layering of vertical space—trees
were outlined against misty voids.
Distance and spatial depth were
captured through the manipulation of
foreground, mid ground, and
background elements.

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THE SYMBOLISM OF PLANTS:
To communicate the theme of a
Chinese garden, gardeners
chose plants more for their
physical and symbolic attributes
than for their sensual qualities.
For example, the lotus, whose
roots thrive in the muddy bottoms
of ponds and whose blossoms
reach up to fl oat on the surface
of the water, represented spiritual
freedom. The “three friends of
winter”—the pine, plum, and
bamboo— signified longevity,
endurance, and resilience. Plants
representative of the four
seasons—the orchid, bamboo,
chrysanthemum, and flowering
plum—also represented the traits
of an ideal gentleman: grace,
resiliency, nobility, and
endurance. E D Cruz 2019
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SAIHO-JI
Built on the site of
an 8th-century
temple, and
converted to temple
grounds by Muso
Kokushi, Saiho-ji is
another transitional
garden of the
Kamakura period.
The dry cascade
of stone illustrates
the development
of kare sansui, a
concept originally
mentioned in the
Sakuteiki, which
creates the illusion
of streams and
waterfalls through
the placement of
rocks and gravel. E D Cruz 2019
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 Bagh-i Fin, Kashan.
In this earliest
surviving Safavid
garden, the water
channels are lined
with blue tile which
contrasts with the
cream-colored
stone and the dark
green of the tree foliage.
Water seems
abundant, but it
is in fact carried
to the site across
a long distance by
an underground
conduit called a
qanat.

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Acequía Court,
Generalife Palace.
A long channel
forms the central
axis of this courtyard,
Punctuated at each end by a
low marble basin
with a jet. Although
a narrow band of
pavement bisects
the channel midway
and divides the
garden into four
discrete parts, this
may not be original.
Today the planting
bears little relation
to that of the
Islamic period in
Granada and the
surfaces of beds
are 70 centimeters E D Cruz 2019
higher than formerly.
 At the Alhambra,
a smooth sheet of
water occupies the
center of the Court
of the Myrtles, mirroring
a reflection
of the imposing
Comares Tower
(housing the Hall
of the Ambassadors).
At either end,
small jets spout
water into round
basins, the emanating
circles of which
make a pleasing and
dynamic contrast to
the placid rectangle
of the pool.
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Centrally planned
with a fountain
in the shape of an
eight-pointed star,
the garden of the
Palace of Pasha
‘Abd al-Kari in Fez
( 860), celebrates
geometry yet avoids
the cross-axial
planning of a
chahar bagh.

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 In this ca. 1590
manuscript of
the Baburnama,
Babur supervises
the planting of the
Bagh-i Wafa, which
teems with colorful
plants, birds, and
human beings. It is
especially remarkable
for the gridded
architectural plan
held by the supervisor,
the first known
example of such
planning in Islamic
landscape history.
(Victoria and
Albert Museum
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Dig Palace’s huge
central garden is
laid out as a simple
chahar bagh with
raised channels
and walkways and
recessed beds that
are today filled
with grass. The Kesav-
Bhawan, in the
background here,
frames the view beyond
the garden to
the artificial lake.

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Taj mahal Garden

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E D Cruz 2019 Thank you