Modern landscape architecture: monuments and icons

In November, 2005, The Journal of Architecture (Volume 10, Number 5) published Criticality in between China and the West by Jianfei Zhu: there followed extensive critical responses to this paper (on the architectural web in China; an extended seminar was held at Tongji University) which are detailed at the end of this section. Published here are two commentaries submitted to The Journal of Architecture, Tao Zhu's in direct response to the original essay, and Jianfei Zhu's response to Tao Zhu.     

Landscape design: signposts to a postmodern future?

The authors of Landscape Design: An International Survey, a wide-ranging review of contemporary practice, are forced to conclude that they can find little solid evidence of substantial design theory underlying the schemes selected. This paper asks whether this is so, and uses insights provided by Lodewijk Baljon's technique of comparative design analysis (developed in his study of the entries for the Pare de la Villette competition) to examine the state of contemporary landscape architecture as it approaches the millenium.     

一种现实(主义)--读朱涛工作室近期两个作品有感

中国近十年来巨大的现实变化,呼唤建筑师们寻找新的关于真实性的标准,重新界定建筑与社会现实的关系,并建立新的语言规范。在这种时代背景下,朱涛工作室近期的两个作品体现了朝向这个方向的自觉努力。     

Planning and a new system of environmental accounting

This paper is an extended review of the book The Environmental Impact Handbook by the Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University, New Jersey, U.S.A. (1975).     

熟悉与不熟悉的景致--谈祝晓峰与他的建筑作品

祝晓峰在国内的建筑实践始于1990年代的深圳。文章介绍影响祝晓峰的主要建筑理念,如他在珠江三角洲的机遇,库哈斯对珠三角的城市印象,以及赫尔佐格与德默隆对建筑本质性的探索;并深入分析了祝晓峰到上海创立“山水秀”事务所以后的两个项目“青松外苑”和“金泽耶稣堂”。     

How Henri Lefebvre missed the modernist sensibility of Mies van der Rohe: vitalism at the intersection of a materialist conception of space and a metaphysical approach to architecture

This paper looks at two theoretical statements about 'space', both of which are grounded in a vitalist philosophy. The first is Henri Lefebvre's formulation of 'spatial architectonics', a structure of concepts which he develops in The Production of Space; the second is Mies van der Rohe's intuition of something he termed 'authentic form', a means of triggering new experiences and understandings through sensual engagement with space. Since there are other philosophers and other architects whose thinking about space has been influenced by vitalist philosophy, the discussion will begin with an explanation as to why Lefebvre and van der Rohe have been selected for reciprocal examination.     

Transforming the notion of the urban aborigine

The 'urban Aborigine' has been a problematic figure in Australian social policy, because of the tension between his/her cultural status (apparently assimilated) and his/her politicised cultural identity (defiantly resistant to assimilation). This paper focuses on a moment in Australian history when a reformist intelligentsia was compelled to make better sense of the 'urban Aborigine', and on two intellectuals in particular: H. C. Coombs and Fay Gale. It then turns to the cultural practice of a particular sector of this intelligentsia - the urban Aboriginal painter - and shows how urban Aboriginal artists have sometimes addressed the problematic category 'urban Aborigine' by richly referencing icons of the 'traditional' in their paintings.     

Traditional irrigation and its importance to the tourist landscape of Valais, Switzerland

The contemporary landscape of the Central and Haut Valais, Switzerland, is partially a product of the ancient but extant bisse irrigation system. The current principal conduit network extends for approximately 760 kilometres, whilst the distribution network stretches for over 25 000 kilometres. Both systems have had a major impact on the Valaisan landscape. Besides this, traditional distribution techniques (ruissellement) have also altered dramatically the landscape of specific locations in the Valais. The contribution of bisses to the local milieu has been recognized by the federal, cantonal and communal governments. All three levels of government have provided incentives to farmers and local irrigation institutions to conserve traditional farming practices where appropriate and protect traditional methods of irrigation. This paper describes the landscape impact of traditional and modern irrigation practices and the instruments available for protecting these practices. It also appraises the success of these interventions and examines what future role bisses might play in protecting the current agricultural landscape, which has become so crucial to the success of summer tourism.     

Section 94 developer contributions and marginal cost pricing

Abstract Developer contributions for infrastructure are a major feature of the development scene in New South Wales. They are enabled under s. 94 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. The second edition of the Section 94 Contributions Plans Revised Manual has now been in operation for three years. Although it incorporates important additional material compared to the first edition, it still does not address the problem of the efficient pricing of infrastructure through properly calculated s. 94 developer contributions. This paper sets out the case for using marginal cost pricing to determine the magnitude of developer contributions. It argues that the efficient pricing of local government service infrastructure should be viewed as part of the larger process of microeconomic reform in local government.     

Putting the public back into public space

The exclusion of 'the public' from public space has been a growing source of concern in Australian and international urban research. A variety of models of 'good' public space are employed to criticise a range of 'bad' spatial arrangements and security technologies in contemporary public space. These models often receive less attention than the spaces themselves, but are a fundamental part of any project attempting to 'put the public back into public space'. This paper compares four models of public space commonly employed by analysts of contemporary public space. Some of the models of 'good' public space are themselves inequitable and exclusionary in important respects. Iris Marion Young's“Justice and the Politics of Difference” (1990) develops a multi-public model which has the potential to address some of these deficiencies, and the paper suggests ways in which this model might be improved.     

Terrain-Specific: Contemporary Landscape Architecture in Canada

The Canadian landscape has typically captured a global imaginary of a pristine wild, but how might its urban designed landscapes be distinctly understood? Foregrounded by the landscape transformations accelerated by climate change, the book Innate Terrain: Canadian Landscape Architecture, edited by Professor Alissa North from the University of Toronto, highlights landscape architecture projects situated on the unique Canadian terrain. Providing further provocation on Canadian landscape architecture, Innate Terrain seeks to fill the literary gap on contemporary landscape perspectives, distinguishing Canadian landscape architecture from global practice, and particularly, its well-documented American counterpart. Landscape architecture in the Canadian context has evolved and established its own distinct identity, one imbued with national and local sensitivities. Informed by diverse environmental and cultural contexts, Canadian-designed landscapes reflect and refer to the prevailing ecosystems of Canada’s innate terrain. Contrary to the preceding International Style, landscape architecture projects in Canada have adopted the ethos of Critical Regionalism in the second half of the 20th century. Contemporary Canadian practitioners are designing landscapes that are deeply informed by their surrounding geographical context while emphasizing cultural specificity. Central to this cultural specificity, addressed by a new generation of landscape architects, is the increasing recognition of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge within the discipline. Canadian landscape architects have collaborated with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, including the keepers of this knowledge, to develop land management strategies and design landscape interventions.     

Xianfeng? Houfeng? Youfeng?—An analysis of selected contemporary Chinese architects,Yung Ho Chang,Liu Jiakun,and Wang Shu (1990s-2000s)

The three contemporary Chinese architects, namely Yung Ho Chang, Liu Jiakun, and Wang Shu, have often been labeled as the ‘avant-garde’ or xianfengarchitects in China. In response to the xianfeng architect label, Wang claims that he is a houfeng(rear-guard) architect because of his obsession with traditions. This paper aims to discuss the appropriateness of labeling these architects as ‘avant-garde,’ xianfeng, or houfeng. Through the theoretical analysis of western discourse, notable attributes of the western architectural avant-garde are identified, and a tentative framework is developed to test its validity and usefulness in a non-western context. The term youfeng is arguably a better phrase to describe these three Chinese architects considering the heterogeneous trajectory of modernity in China.     

Book reviews

Wetlands of the American Midwest: a historical geography of changing attitudes

Hugh Prince

Chicago, IL, University of Chicago Press, 1997, 395 pp., ISBN 0-226-68283-8

The Mughal Garden: interpretation, conservation and implications

M. Hussain, A. Rehman & J.L. Westcoat Jr (Eds)

Lahore, Ferozsons (Pvt.) Ltd, 1996, 210 pp., US$69.95 h.b., ISBN 969-0-01299-1

Cofrestr o Dirweddau o Ddiddordeb Hanesyddol Eithriadol yng Nghymru Register of Landscapes of Outstanding Historic Interest in Wales

Richard Kelly

Cardiff, Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments, 1998, xxxvi +139 pp., ISBN 1-85760-007-X

Landscape Design Trust Monographs No. 1: Geoffrey Jellicoe

Sheila Harvey (Ed.)

Reigate, Landscape Design Trust, 1998, 176 pp., £20.00 pb., ISBN 0-9518377-3-7

Social Formation and Symbolic Landscape (2nd edn)

Denis E. Cosgrove

Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin Press, 1998, 332 pp., ph., ISBN 0-299-15514-5

The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted: Supplementary Series Volume 1- Writings on Public Parks, Parkways and Park Systems

Charles E. Beveridge & Carolyn F. Hoffman (Eds)

Baltimore, MD John Hopkins University Press, 1997, 643 pp. £41.50 hb., ISBN 0-8018-5532-2

Terminal Architecture

Martin Pawley

London, Reaction Books, 1998, 223 pp., ph., ISBN 1-86189-018-4

Archeticture: ecstasies of space, time and the human body

David Farrell Krell

Albany, NY, State University of New York Press, 1997, xv + 224 pp., ph., ISBN 0-7914-3410-9     

Buckling of Sharp Knuckle Torispheres Under External Pressure

The effect of knuckle size and length of the cylindrical flange on the buckling strength of externally pressurised torispheres with a sharp knuckle is examined numerically. Both elastic and elastic-perfectly plastic modelling is used. It is illustrated how sensitivity of the load-carrying capacity to the boundary conditions can be removed by the adoption of a large enough knuckle or a cylindrical flange of appropriate length.

Experimental results available for the sharp knuckle domes are collected and 10 new tests are carried out on machined steel domes. Two tests on spun torispheres are also included. The tests demonstrate that the safety margin as used for externally pressurised hemispheres and deep torispheres is inadequate for sharp knuckle torispheres with a 6% knuckle.     

Review

Richard Mabey, Home Country London: Century 1990 £14.95

A Tour of the Lakes in Cumberland. John Ruskin's Diary for 1830. James S. Dearden, (Ed.), with an Introduction by Van Akin Burd. Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1990.

The Landscape Vision of Paul Nash, Roger Cardinal. Reaktion Books, London, 1989. £9,95 paperback ISBN 0948462 02 7

M G R Cannell & M D Hooper, The Greenhouse Effect and Terrestrial Ecosystems of the UK London, HMSO, 1990. 56pp. £4.95

Amenity In Action, The Civic Trust Handbook of Community Initiatives compiled & edited by Deirdre Genet, Societies Development Officer, The Civic Trust (1989), (supported by the Shell Better Britain Campaign)

Sue Minter The Greatest Glass House: The rainforests recreated HMSO, 1990. £25.00     

武汉东湖休养所设计分析

东湖休养所是冯纪忠先生早年重要的设计作品。简述了东湖休养所的建造过程,指出它的建设得益于陶铸的关注,并对岭南现代建筑庭园产生了重要影响。从现代主义的建筑精神和人与自然的关系对东湖休养所进行设计分析,指出东湖休养所的空间组合和建构体现了现代主义建筑的精神,冯先生在德国接受的现代主义建筑教育是其渊源,而东湖休养所的建筑与户外环境的融洽关系依然体现了具有东方特色的和谐共处理念,这又源于冯先生对中国传统文化的熟稔。     

朱启钤(桂辛)先生初步研究及其他——一份近代城市史视野中的历史人物研究简报

本文尝试将朱启钤(桂辛)先生的研究放在宏阔视野中进行观察,比较与分析:主要由3个部分组成:朱启钤研究偏差、朱启钤在中国近代市政史上的位置以及与朱启钤相关的讨论;文中除了着重解析朱启钤与中国近代市政关系外,对于同时代的梁启超、叶恭绰以及之后营造学社社员的梁思成、林徽因等也略有关联比较和论述,希望对于近代以来的"士"——知识分子的社会角色和知识结构演变兼有一定的讨论。     

Cross the River by Touching the Stones: Chinese Architecture and Political Economy in the Reform Era: 1978-2008

China's Open Door Policy and economic development set in motion in 1978 can be regarded as the triumph of pragmatism over theory - specifically Chairman Mao's brand of Marxist theory. Tao Zhu traces the progress of reform over the last 30 years, and its impact on Chinese architectural culture. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

道:一个"超现代"城市规划框架——卡尔·芬格胡斯《向中国学习——城市之道》解读

卡尔·芬格胡斯在《向中国学习——城市之道》一书中,建构了一个时代转型期的"超现代"城市规划框架。这个框架在反思现代主义的弊病和吸取中国道家思想精髓基础上,将"道"、"字"、"阴阳"、"无为"、"风水"和"德"作为主要元素,形成了一个城市规划游戏的"道德"格式塔。该框架并非是一个普适的城市形态模式,没有流于对城市空间结构的迷恋和个人"乌托邦"。其来自于中国的"道",很值得中国规划师在思考的基础上将之再中国化。     

Sir Banister Fletcher: pillar to post-colonial readings

Looking at world architecture in a post-colonial light, what is the possibility for a 'world history of architecture'? This question is approached through thoughts on east-west plunderings in architectural history and in the strange double image of world history portrayed in Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture, which (in all but the earliest and very latest editions) divided the world into 'The Historical Styles' and 'The Non-historical Styles'.

Resonating throughout this text, which began as a paper to a conference on 'Globalisation and Representation',1 is the knowledge that the author has been commissioned to undertake a completely new text for the next edition of Banister Fletcher, for which work started in November, 2005. Pointers to how that project might proceed include its becoming a dual work, aware of the unspoken space between:

— a narrative with stress on points of cultural intersection and articulation of hybridity (after Homi Bhabha) rather than on the 'constituent' as opposed to 'transitory' facts of architectural history (after Siegfried Giedion), and:

— an archive of illustrated places, itself a social construct but one which recognises the role of viewer/reader in its [re]construction—for images are there to be plundered and misread, which is always their fate in the hands of creative designers.