The Concept of an Australian Landscape Style - Coursework Example

Explore the concept of an Australian landscape style. (Name of the student) (Name of the Institution) (Date of submission) Table of Contents 1 Table of Contents 2 EXPLORE THE CONCEPT OF AN AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPE STYLE 3 Executive summary 3 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 History of the landscape design influence 5 3.0 Theories of Contemporary Landscape Design 9 4.0 What evidence is there to establish design style 11 Bibliography 13 EXPLORE THE CONCEPT OF AN AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPE STYLE Executive summary Landscape design is one of the old resources which give a sense of identity. The philosophy of landscape design in Australia in the late twentieth century originated from continuous connection with the values of the design of Europe and Britain early in the eighteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. In the mid 20th the first professionally trained Australian landscape architects returned to Australia, before then, there had been no formal courses concerning landscape architect in Australia. In the new landscape urbanism movement, it shows sign of potential innovation, the innovativeness of the movement began with the design which explores indeterminacy in the form of landscapes for widespread forces and intensities on computer mapping. This paper discusses the contemporary landscape design style in Australia and some evidence of the existence of the style. 1.0 Introduction Allison & Armstrong (2003) states that in the contemporary cities, the landscape concepts is a state of dynamic flux where some urban design and planning tend to see landscapes as merely open space for recreation and in most cases the areas are set aside mostly for nature reserves and urban public space. The philosophy of landscape design in Australia in the late twentieth century originated from continuous connection with the values of the design of Europe and Britain early in the eighteenth century to the mid-twentieth century (Susan 2011). Despite the significance of North America in the late 19th and 20th centuries consisting of long profound tradition of landscape design from Asia and it proximity to Australia, influence from these countries have come through the filter of Britain and Europe until recently. Traditionally, the landscape design has represented political, spiritual ideologies and social, cultural values across the world (Allison & Armstrong 2003). It is interesting noting that despite the fact that nomadic hunters and gatherers had and dominated the Australia, their ethos reflected the political ideologist and cultural values from European industrialized society mostly romantic perspective of the landscape which offered an escape from the urban problems of old cities with overcrowded housing and polluting factories (Susan 2011). Unlike North America, Australia was not built on a strong ideology. As a result, the political and social issues and aesthetic precedents which generate landscape design only marginally reflected Australian issues until the 1970s. It is quite ironic that white Australians should accept the design values of a society seeking to escape urban problems created by industrialization when the initial settlement symbolized to Europeans a potential antipodean Garden of Eden espoused by the late 18th century enlightenment philosophers (Waldheim 2006). With many theories placed forward to give various landscape designs, still post-industrial cities are characterized by fluidity, fragmentation, and uncertainty. The forces of globalization of the late capitalism are resulting in new ubiquitous and predictable landscapes of consumptions in the contemporary cities across the world (Susan 2011). It is not easy to discern the innovation, apart from environmental, in new plans and designs for the buoyant redevelopment in Australian cities; however, the landscape types that are losing their identity towards capitalist are urbanism and the peri-urban edge of productive landscape and the leftover spaces of cities and the voids of urban. Regardless of such concerns, there is up-and-coming landscapes architecture in the post-urban fabric that, although seen negatively, is nevertheless intriguing sites worthy of the new interpretation world (Allison & Armstrong 2003). The Australian landscape design philosophy emerged in the 20th century, however, some ideologist argues that the Australian’s was just merely a response to ideologies, values and styles about the landscape design evident in North America and Britain at that time world (Allison & Armstrong 2003). Namely, the environment movement which sought to recreate indigenous landscape, except view individuals the design philosophy was not derived directly from Australians in their landscape, instead it continued to reflect the cultural responses from Britain, Europe and currently North America. This paper discusses the landscape designs in Australia. 2.0 History of the landscape design influence The landscape design history can be traced back to the 19th century. The open space design in Australia reveals the importance of the English landscape ideologist with its formal and informal elements and its development from the visual composition to the design of open space in Europe, North America and other colonies (Armstrong 2004). Early landowners in Australia were quite familiar with the basic principles of the charming, and the settlement of Sydney with its intricate foreshores mostly around a wide harbour provided an ideal location for such philosophy (Allison & Armstrong 2003). By early 19th century, the governors’ wife had created gothic follies on the headlands and other settlers followed the style in their villas dotted around the harbour. The public walkout was also created to the look out on the foreshore; promenading being the accepted form of public recreation. It was a direct transposition of the values and the aesthetics of Britain at that time. The colonial context and designs philosophy were more evident in towns (Knox 2005). The colonial office determined an urban form for colonial towns that did not replicate the aesthetics of the late 18th-century urban design (Susan 2011). Instead the bureaucrats prepared instruction on the laying out of towns for each and every successive governors' which took into the account the practical needs of each and every governments, the necessity of the church of England and the experience learned from the Spanish laws of the indies and the earlier instruction to the West indies and North America were all considered in the land philosophy (Knox 2005). According to the colonial bureaucratic rules, the major cities of Australia were not laid out by the mid 19th century. Every city of the Australia had a distinct urban form that was derived from different sources of influences; this includes all the urban parks which were used for promenading and sporting activities like horse racing and cricket (Koolhaas 2005). The design details of these urban parks tended to be haphazard and somewhat arid representations of the repton's grass, avenues and boundary fences or plantations. The major pleasure gardens of Britain's and Europe were being seen in Australia cities (Koolhaas 2005). The design of these public parks followed Louden's Garden square principles and consists of zoological gardens and horticultural displays that were housed in the complex glasshouse built in the 1880s (Knox 2005). In Britain, there were engineers, which influenced most of the designs at that time while in Australia directors of the Botanic Gardens were major designers of the park. Some level of relevancy on the theory that the parks were romantic landscapes from the city started to down on most of the designers (Sieverts 2003). Within a mere one hundred years, the settlement had created equivalent urban sanitation problems as well as severe rural problems. The impact of the municipal authorities over the parks and open space planning was evident across the world and this was more influenced by the need to have clean water and proper disposal of waste across the municipal (Sieverts 2003). In Australia, the framework of control by government agencies had always been developed. The municipal authorities were being controlled by the London-based colonial office, and later bureaucratic rules were based on the settlement (Koolhaas 2005). By the dawn of 20th century, the control of parks in Australia influenced by the Britain rules resulted in an emphasis on the functions of open space and laid the way for the pleasure gardens of the 19th century to become the structured activity centers (Waldheim 2006). Most of the areas in existing parks were set aside for specific uses like playing grounds, bowling greens, and tennis courts among other sports activities (Waldheim 2006). Most of the landscape designers associated themselves with private gardeners while architects and town planners embrace the city beautification of North America and the urban design principles of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (Koolhaas 2005). By mid-1920s, there were concerns for civic improvement was intense such that most beautiful town competition was one of the major events which used to take place in the New South Wales towns (Sieverts 2003). By late 1930s, many analytical books and polemical were published, one of the books talking about the landscape design was one by Christopher Tunnard entitled garden in the modern Landscape. He argued that for a modern landscape design is derived from the functionalism, the oriental influence and the modern art (Sieverts 2003). The modern architectural movement gave rise to the functional space. Tunnard maintained that just as a form can follow function in architecture, so also the form of the landscape can be generated by the function (Clair & CP 1977). It was a big landmark step in the 20th century in the field of landscape design process. The developments were made from the ideologies that were generated from the 18th and 19th century. Tunnard acknowledged that landscape design was no longer a visual composition nor was it just literary allusion, nor just was it scientific or horticultural interest. It was the functional space required to fulfill the needs of the new era for modern individuals occupying housing in the new cities generated by the new landscape technology (Sieverts 2003). The Tunnard aesthetic response to the innovative process of the design was mostly influenced by oriental design which he used as a rationale to remove the axiality and symmetry of the Beaux Arts (Susan 2011). In the mid 20th the first professionally trained Australian landscape architects returned to Australia, before then, there had been no formal courses concerning landscape architect in Australia (Jessica 2012). The courses were developed in Britain, and the Australians were trained in the landscape design. Australian landscape design philosophy is as elusive as the landscape itself. The Bicentennial awoke in white Australians humility about the impact of the two hundred years of the white settlement. It also aroused a desire to have full understanding of the aboriginal mythology which is based on the forty thousand years of interpretation of the Australian landscape (Jessica 2012). The Bicentennial further consolidated an interest in the cultural landscapes and their history which includes the aboriginal history (Koolhaas 2005). The concerns however are secondary to the stylistic imperatives of development, and it would appear that the Australian landscape design philosophy will continue to be influenced by other cultures (Sieverts 2003). 3.0 Theories of Contemporary Landscape Design The issues of planning and design that relates to post –urban Sydney have gained a global context specifically concerning contradictory theories associated with sprawling contemporary cities. John (2014) have argued that for some megacities, such as sprawl of Los Angeles, are huge urbanized landscapes, discontinuous, fragmented, and polycentric and a kaleidoscope of what is called spatial social structure. There are different responses when it comes to the sprawl between the old cities centers and the rural edge in Europe. In his book, Swiss architect Xaveer analyzed six post-urban areas in the "Blue Banana" of the Europe which curves from London, through the land of Netherlands, Belgium, down to the urban structure of Veneto (Sebastien & Simon 2012). In all cities, they are considered as one loosely connected to sprawl-generating and new urban form perpetuated by globalized economies and facilitated by new infrastructure. However, the scale of the emerging urbanized landscapes causes major concerns, with some designers and planners celebrating their skills and qualities. The artist and designers in the city of Melbourne recognized such wonderful qualities. Nevertheless in Sydney main urban space design does not challenge the consumerist, theorist (Sebastien & Simon 2012). Thomas Sievert, a German urban planner, criticized the new form of the contemporary European cities in his book cities without cities. He particularly focuses on the new city edges which he calls the "Zwischenstadt" or the urbanized countryside (David Ritter 2008). In his findings, he concluded that the Europe cities are less free market driven and more socially responsible compared to the cities in North America, however, they were still be affected by the problem of large scale and homogeneity (Sieverts 2003). Netherland is one of the European countries affected by the notion of urban sprawl, and this resulted in the Dutch government to fund various innovative planning projects. This made Netherland is the focus of many designers across the world more specifically the work on Metacities by Winy Maas of MVRDV architect in the year 1999 to 2003 (Sebastien & Simon 2012). In Northern Italy for instance, opposition arose from the influence of globalized urban development through what is known as "Cittaslow" or what is nick-named slow cities. The movement began as slow food movement developing on the idea that local produce and local communities can maintained a resilience that tempers globalized economics (Sebastien & Simon 2012). Slow Cit theorist focuses mostly on cities maintaining local identity, more specifically on the traditional food production in the surrounding countryside. The emerging farming associations and cooperatives in Western Sydney were inspired by Citteslow movement and began developing micro-tactic for urban agriculture (David Ritter 2008). Contrary to these theories, the Dutch architect Rem considered the USA, Asian cities and European cities as part of a globalised phenomenon allowing for the design of new urban forms which celebrate indeterminacy, Fluidity and hyper-reality. He argues that urbanism of the future should explore uncertainty through enabling fields which accommodate processes but resist being definitive urban forms(Sieverts 2003). There was a much potential in Asia according to Rem more so for the new ways of conceiving mega cities. Despite many aspirations, much of the new development in China follows Western models including the recently completed simulacrum Orange County of Beijing (Sebastien & Simon 2012). In the new landscape urbanism movement, it shows sign of potential innovation, the innovativeness of the movement began with the design which explores indeterminacy in the form of landscapes for widespread forces and intensities on computer mapping (Sebastien & Simon 2012). The urbanist’s theorists are more interested in how permanent and temporary a landscape can restore the dynamism in the post-industrial error in a more innovative ways (Koolhaas 2005). This includes intermediate landscapes of both community actions and the environmental flows. Designers in the city of Melbourne are exploring the ideas espoused by the landscape urbanism whereas in Sydney Australia; it would appear there is neither the government interest nor the so-called client base (Sebastien & Simon 2012). 4.0 What evidence is there to establish design style The sense of identity and belonging is one of the human being deepest concerns; the attachment to landscape and place very important for human, in traditional, contemporary society, landscape is not simply what people see but a way of seeing and source of identification (J. M. R. Cameron 1978). With the invasion of Australia by the Europeans, they brought with them the major transformation of the landscape which brought conflict with the indigenous people culture. Geographers argue that history is written on the landscape just as much as it is written documents. In Australian usage culture landscape if often applied where rural setting is the focus of attention (J. M. R. Cameron 1978). Contemporary landscape in most cases contains within them some materials evidence of occupation either by other groups from the contemporary culture or the initial culture and tradition or a combination of the two cultures can be found in the contemporary landscape (Andrew 1993). In the Flinders Rangers, for instance, particular areas may have evidence of sequential occupation by the Aboriginal communities, pastoral landholders and farmers (Andrew 1993). Moreover, small sections of contemporary pastoral or agriculture land may, at some stage in the past, have been urban land as given by the existence of subsequently abandoned township. Such geographical and historical pieces of evidence are very important to trace the history of contemporary landscape style in Australia (J. M. R. Cameron 1978). Materials like standing structures, ruins of buildings associated with contemporary landscape gives further evidence concerning the presence of contemporary landscape style. Materials such as machinery, fences, wells and windmills are more evidence (J. M. R. Cameron 1978) Bruce (1999) states that the idea of the Australian flora, fauna, climate, soils and landscape as unique, strange and different permeates much writing about the environment. As well as contemporary account of the Australian environment tell a particular type of story that involve a linear narrative of human habitation and colonial occupation, resulting in environmental degradation and followed by a slow adaptation to the reality of Australian condition (J. M. R. Cameron 1978). The geographical history of the parks further explains that the contemporary landscape existed, and the indigenous people of Australia utilized the land appropriately and in a sustainable manner (Andrew 1993). The foreign culture of the European did not erode the cultures of the traditional people, however, their practices results in land degradation. It is age and corrosion that affect the historical narratives of many landscape designs; however, there is enough evidence that shows the existence of this kind of landscape design (Andrew 1993). The culture erosion also contributes to the disappearance of the landscape. Bibliography Allison, J. & Armstrong, H. (2003) ‘New Forms of Green for Coastal Conurbations’, in Proceedings of State of Australian Cities Conference, Parramatta, Dec 03. Urban Frontiers Website: http://www.uws.edu.au/about/acadorg/caess/uf/conference Andrew Hassam (1993) ‘Farewell to old England, and now for a new life and a new journal’: Emigration as narrative, Journal of Australian Studies, 17:36, 23-35, DOI: 10.1080/14443059309387128 Armstrong, Helen. (2004) ‘New Forms of Green’, 200 Mile City: Merging Cities that Threaten Landscape and Lifestyle. AILA National Conference, 29 September–02 October. Brisbane: QUT. http://www.aila.org.au Bruce Hindmarsh (1999) Beer and fighting: Some aspects of male convict leisure in Van Diemen's Land, Journal of Australian Studies, 23:63, 150-156, DOI: 10.1080/14443059909387544 Claire Wagner BA, Dip T & CP (1977) SYDNEY'S GLEBE PROJECT, Royal Australian Planning Institute Journal, 15:1, 3-24, DOI: 10.1080/00049999.1977.9656487 David Ritter (2008) Tilting at doctrine in a changing world: the three editions of Henry Reynolds’ The Law of the Land , Journal of Australian Studies, 32:3, 393-403, DOI:10.1080/14443050802294133 J. M. R. Cameron (1978) Learning as a factor in land use: The inevitability of pastoralism in early Western Australia , Journal of Australian Studies, 2:3, 30-43, DOI: 10.1080/14443057809386779 Jessica Neath (2012) Empty lands: contemporary art approaches to photographing historical trauma in Tasmania, Journal of Australian Studies, 36:3, 309-325, DOI: 10.1080/14443058.2012.703220 John Maynard (2014) Land, children and politics: Native Americans and Australian Aborigines 1900–1930, Journal of Australian Studies, 38:4, 415-429, DOI: 10.1080/14443058.2014.953010 Knox, Paul L. (2005) ‘Creating Ordinary Places: Slow Cities in a Fast World’, Journal of Urban Design, 10(1): 1-11 Koolhaas, Rem (2005) ‘The Generic City’, in A. Abbas & J. N. Erni (eds), Internationalizing Cultural Studies: An Anthology. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Pp 637-649. Sebastien Rchen DA & Simon Huston (2012) Sustainable Urban Regeneration and the Tod Development Model: Lessons from Albion Mill in Brisbane, Pacific Rim Property Research Journal, 18:2, 95-105, DOI: 10.1080/14445921.2012.11104353 Sieverts, Thomas (2003) Cities without Cities: An Interpretation of the Zwischenstadt, London & New York: Spon Press. Susan O (2011) Re-imagining City Waterfronts: A Comparative Analysis of Governing Renewal in Adelaide, Darwin and Melbourne, Urban Policy and Research, 29:3, 221-238, DOI: 10.1080/08111146.2011.592133 Waldheim, Charles (ed.) (2006) The Landscape Urbanism Reader, NY: Princeton University Press. Read More