| Abstract: | All too often when one brings up the subject of modern architecture between the wars, the relationship to the landscape is assumed to be irrelevant, or worse, even antithetical, to modernist concepts. Two images by Ludwig Hilbersheimer of his ideal modern city are often misrepresented as symbols of the inability of modern architects to deal with the landscape in a humane manner. Not only are such images taken out of their original conceptual context, in fact "landscape" as variously defined played a crucial role in competing versions of modernity. One set of responses to the problem of the modern landscape has been introduced to contemporary readers by Dorothee Imbert in her book, The Modernist Garden in France (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1993). She discusses works by French designers between the wars, ranging from the jewel-like garden compositions of Gabriel Gueverkian to the more abstract minimal landscapes of Le Corbusier. Judging from Imbert's survey of the French scene, the general situation in Germany appears to have provided much more fertile ground for rational approaches to landscape design and management, with which Le Corbusier himself was arguably more sympathetic. This essay is intended to introduce the subject of rational modern landscape design in Germany between the wars to an English-speaking audience through one exemplary landscape architect, Leberecht Migge. Fundamental concepts of the period as defined by Migge are also presented for possible consideration within the discussion of sustainable design. |
