Liminality,Seasonality and Landscape

To the student of landscape, as well as to the landscape planner, designer and manager, it is important to distinguish between differing modalities in the conceptualization of landscape and seasonality. The logic of the absolute geometric space of the map and central point perspective prospect, and the chronometric time of the calendar, is qualitatively different from the liminality of place and seasonal holidays. Here it is the content that defines the seasons, not the regularities of a quantitative system of measurement. This distinction is critical when it comes to working with seasonal landscapes, because they can be defined in terms of either modality.     

Lawyering Landscapes: Lawyers as Constituents of Landscape

Landscape and law cross-influence each other. Legal rules shape landscapes, while landscapes shape the culture from which rules emerge. In describing this interplay, landscape can seem passive, as a canvas on which laws paint visions of society; or active, as a matrix for the creation of law and culture. An alternative view is suggested: landscapes are opportunities for action, fields within which individuals interact with context in a mutually adaptive relationship. Lawyers are specialized constituents of this adaptation. Lawyers' acts and practices help to constitute the adaptations that shape a given landscape. A teaching module in which it was sought to prompt law students to become aware of the adaptive role of lawyering in landscape is described. The results suggest useful theoretical and methodological insights into landscape as a field of human activity, and the need for further study of lawyering as a force in the construction of landscape.     

Riparian anomie: Reflections on the Los Angeles River

This paper explores the highly urbanized landscape of the Los Angeles River. Direct encounters with the contemporary river are combined with an historical exploration of some of the developments associated with its transformation into a 51-mile concrete drainage channel. It is suggested that the current landscape of the Los Angeles River not only reveals much about the complex relations between nature and culture in southern California but also illustrates how the contemporary city is marked by a schism between technical conceptions of water control and new attempts to combine river management with wider social and ecological objectives.     

A Wildland–Urban Interface Typology for Forest Fire Risk Management in Mediterranean Areas

The transitional areas that lie between wildlands and urbanized spaces, generally defined as wildland–urban interfaces (WUI), represent an increasing risk factor in Mediterranean areas; these define a new scenario in forest fire fighting and prevention. We have developed a methodological approach in order to assess the hazard and vulnerability of WUI which is based on landscape analysis, on the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques and remote sensing. Unlike traditional approaches which are based on local scale characterization of WUI, we propose a progressive multi-scale approach. In order to reach an operative classification of the WUI the methodology was developed in three stages: a regional urban development model, a landscape character assessment and finally, a WUI typology. The last WUI typology has been based on the identification of different urban morphologies and their context within the type of landscape in which they occur.     

Newer Plant Displays in Botanical Gardens: The Role of Design in Environmental Interpretation

New design approaches can be observed in an increasing number of botanical gardens due to a desire to improve the effectiveness of environmental interpretation. This paper presents a review of these recent trends in the display of plants based on a search of botanical gardens around the world and on both theory and previous research findings that have focused on understanding people's experience in botanical gardens and other environmental interpretation settings. Four design strategies of plant display were identified, which are referred to here as familiar frames, icons, imitations and manipulations of nature. These typological categories represent recent design approaches useful for establishing stronger relationships between people, plants and associated environmental issues. Further, the potential of such displays as environmental interpretation tools is discussed based on how people perceive them.     

Landscape as an Area Perceived through Activity: Implications for Diversity Management and Conservation

This article uses an activity-based understanding of landscape to explore values related to perceived land cover diversity. Perceptions within two user groups, members of landowner families and hiking tourists in a mountain area in western Norway, were related to a simultaneous land cover survey, and compared to experts' evaluations of land cover and to the aims of landscape protection in the area. Users perceived the area as being significantly more diverse and valuable than experts did, which stresses the importance of taking user perception into account in landscape protection and management. Some central landscape values were dependent upon land use outside the boundaries of the protected area. This illustrates that measures within structurally defined land units are not necessarily sufficient for maintenance of landscape values experienced by users. Land use in both respects, as an upholder of values and as a way of experiencing or perceiving them, should receive an increased role in the determination of management units.     

构建具有民俗文化的地域景观——以西昌邛海缸窑湾度假村景观规划设计方案为例

民俗文化是地域景观的构成要素,民俗文化的传承对展现地域文化具有重要的意义,在城乡建设中对民俗风情的探索已经成为相关领域研究的热点。本文以西昌邛海缸窑湾度假村景观规划设计方案为例,通过对当地民俗文化从精神层面的解析,提炼成方案设计的手法,探讨如何在地域景观设计中更好地融入民俗文化要素。     

Self-cleaning and colour-preserving efficiency of photocatalytic concrete: case study of the Jubilee Church in Rome

ABSTRACT

The Jubilee Church in the south-eastern outskirts of Rome is one of the first buildings constructed with super white reinforced concrete with self-cleaning photocatalytic cement. However, 16 years after the opening of the building, the self-cleaning and colour-preserving properties arising from the titania particles (TiO2) within the concrete mix are not meeting the design requirements and the concrete is showing premature evidence of decay. While the form of the decay is affecting the appearance of the building and not its structural soundness, the ageing pattern of the building's components is resulting in a high maintenance cost, one not easily affordable within the ordinary budget supported by a small parish. This study comprises the first comprehensive step in understanding the causes of the accelerated ageing pattern of the concrete, highlighting methods to improve the long-term durability of the concrete and therefore reduce the cost of its maintenance. Moreover, this research offered the opportunity to test the durability and the effectiveness of the TiO₂ in the real conditions on an actual building featuring non-standard geometries. The findings highlight how the ageing pattern directly connects with the geometry of the building and inadequate consideration of the local weathering at the design stage.     

再度开发的水滨风景——一个城市设计的中国剧本

水滨的再开发涉及两组彼此交叉的关系：＂城市＂和＂自然＂,＂新＂和＂旧＂。试图通过具体的、个人化的角度理解藉由＂设计＂之名出现的城市水滨再开发,一个＂理想＂的案例一方面揭示出当代城市设计的策略,另一方面也暴露了实践滞后于理论的现状,无论＂城市＂还是＂设计＂都缺乏明确的定义或共识,因前者是一种事实的积累及总体的视角,后者却是＂遂其所愿＂的思路。故＂城市设计＂的危机与这两种思路的差异性有关,其出路在于如何调和这种差异。     

运河古镇传统空间格局的图解初探——以常州市孟城、万绥两镇为例

以常州市新北区孟城、万绥两座运河古镇为例,探寻古镇传统空间格局的解析方法。以点、线、面、自然基底四要素为切入点,从构成要素和组合方式两方面对比分析了在传统条件和现实状况下古镇空间构成要素的分布特征与组合方式之异同,以期了解古镇传统空间格局特质,并为日后的保护管控及规划提供依据。