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Recovering Landscape: Essays in Contemporary Landscape Architecture
The past decade has been witness to a remarkable resurgence of interest in landscape. While this recovery invokes a return of past traditions and ideas, it also implies renewal, invention, and transformation. Recovering Landscape collects a number of essays that discuss why landscape is gaining increased attention today, and what new possibilities might emerge from this situation. Themes such as reclamation, urbanism, infrastructure, geometry, representation, and temporality are explored in discussions drawn from recent developments not only in the United States but also in the Netherlands, France, India, and Southeast Asia. The contributors to this collection, all leading figures in the field of landscape architecture, include Alan Balfour, Denis Cosgrove, Georges Descombes, Christophe Girot, Steen Hoyer, David Leatherbarrow, Bart Lootsma, Sebastien Marot, Anuradha Mathur, Marc Treib, and Alex Wall.
300 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 15, 2022
A series of eclectic manifestos on what landscape architecture could be. Taking back the land, or whatever.
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October 10, 2008I remember seeing a copy of this book in school (maybe in S. Parsons' hands), but only recently picked it up and read it for the essays by Corner, Girot, Marot, and Descombes. Lately, I've been seeking out the books like this one (and there are several) with essays that cover a variety of topics in contemporary landscape practice but also always sort of herald the emergence(some, like this one, were written almost ten years ago) of "landscape urbanism" as a new field. I have to admit that I find the new category useful only in that it seems to bring together great essays on landscape. And there is, in fact, a sort of direction shared by most of these writers and practitioners.
It's really exciting stuff to read. Alex Wall's essay, "Programming the Urban Surface," and Bart Lootsma's, Synthetic Regionalization," stand out as excellent surveys of this trend. I'm also particularly partial to the texts by Girot, Descombes, Berrizbeita, and Mathur. James Corner's essay (possibly more than his introduction) is also an exciting entry into these topics (which I will continue to be vague about for now).
It's really exciting stuff to read. Alex Wall's essay, "Programming the Urban Surface," and Bart Lootsma's, Synthetic Regionalization," stand out as excellent surveys of this trend. I'm also particularly partial to the texts by Girot, Descombes, Berrizbeita, and Mathur. James Corner's essay (possibly more than his introduction) is also an exciting entry into these topics (which I will continue to be vague about for now).
August 1, 2009
selection of essay on the emerging field of landscape/urbanism, james corner essay as usual particuarly good. interest in landscape theory is growing and this is a good introduction
August 15, 2011
Read a few essays about open space for thesis work
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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