Table Of ContentIntroduction to
LANDSCAPE DESIGN
John L. Motloch
What is the meaning of landscape? How
do people relate to the landscapes
surrounding them? What are the forces
that order and give meaning to the
designed landscape? How do buildings
relate to their sites? What are design
paradigms? Introduction to Landscape
Design presents a thoughtful and
provocative analysis of these and many
other questions that are at the heart of
landscape architecture and that affect
landscape and environmental design.
John Motloch sees landscape design as
more than just an artistic endeavor; he
presents it as a synergism of art and
seten£@Tor creatively managing human
and ecological systems, and for
enhancing quality of life. The author
explores the concept of landscape and
offers an overview of the forces that
must come together to create and
manage landscapes. He looks closely at
people’s perceptions of and attitudes to
landscape, as well as the range of
ecological, technological, and cultural
influences to which the designer must
respond.
The book contains a number of major
features not found in other basic books
on landscape design, including:
\ • a survey of architecture in the
(landscape, addressing building form and
(the interplay between buildings and
landscapes
b--
• a systems approach, covering the
^“"■diversity of design influences and
models for synthesizing them
ssions of natural processes and the
appropriateness of designed form in a
natural condition
nalyses of the spatial and temporal
aspects of perception and their
implications for design
a summary of ordering mechanisms
used in landscape design, including the
visual arts, geometry, and circulation
a review of differing value systems and
the ways in which they influence
landscape design
The book also contains an important
and original analysis of design
(Continued on back flap)
A VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD BOOK
.
■
Introduction to Landscape Design
Introduction to
Landscape Design
John L. Motloch
Department of Landscape Architecture
Texas A&M University
VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD
_New York
To Cindy for her untiring
psychological support and to Pam
for her understanding
Copyright © 1991 by Van Nostrand Reinhold
Library of Congress Catalog Number 90-32585
ISBN 0-442-23688-3
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the
copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form by
any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and
retrieval systems—without written permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America.
Van Nostrand Reinhold
115 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10003
Chapman and Hall
2-6 Boundary Row
London SE1 8HN, England
Thomas Nelson Australia
102 Dodds Street
South Melbourne 3205
Victoria, Australia
Nelson Canada
1120 Birchmount Road
Scarborough, Ontario M1K 5G4, Canada
16 15 14 13 12 11 10 987654 3 21
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Motloch, John.
Introduction to landscape design / John L. Motloch.
p. cm.
Contents: Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-442-23688-3
1. Landscape architecture. I. Title.
SB472.M68 1990
712—dc20 90-32585
CIP
Contents
Soil-Forming Processes 51
Preface vii
Biologic Processes 52
Form as Expression of Force, Material, and Time
Introduction I
53
Landscape 1
Regional Landscapes 53
Design 1
Spirit of Place 53
Landscape Design 2
Place as System and Infrastructure 54
Forces 2
Resource Availability 3
Looking Forward 3 Chapter 5 Resources and Technology 55
Land and Landform 55
Water 65
PART 1 CONCEPTS AND OVERVIEW 5
Plants 73
Chapter I Landscape Meanings 7 Construction Materials and Technology 86
Method of Study 7
Meanings 8
Chapter 6 Sensual Aspects of
Axioms for Reading the Landscape 9
Perception 106
Landscape Interpretations 10
The Perceptual-Cognitive Process 106
Simple and Complex (Interactive)
Chapter 2 People, Attitudes, and
Perception 106
Perceptions 22 Stimuli and Mental Patterns 106
The Basis of Attitudes 22 Visual and Spatial Perception 107
Recurring Traditions of Expression 25 Stimuli, Human Interaction, and Security 110
Landscape Implications 30 Stimuli and Symbolic Meanings 113
Landscape Design in the Twenty-First Century Stimuli and Social Conditioning 114
32 Comfort-Physiological Perception 114
Designing Appropriate Stimuli 114
Chapter 3 Education and Design
Thinking 34 Chapter 7 Temporal Aspects of
Thinking and Education 34 Perception 116
Mechanics of the Mind 36 Temporal Aspects of Landscapes 116
Feeling 36 Time-Space Relationships 117
Whole-Brain Knowing 37 Cultural Attitudes Concerning Time 117
Design Thinking 37 Time and Perception 118
Time and Distance 119
Movement and Perception 119
PART II DESIGN INFLUENCES 43
Temporal Paradox 121
Chapter 4 Landscape Process 45 Design as an Expression of Time 123
Ecological Forces 45 Design as a Response to Rate of Movement 124
Landscape Form and Pattern Recognition 45 Design as Temporal Networks 124
Geologic Processes 45 Design Approaches 125
vi Contents
Chapter 8 Visual Arts as Ordering PART 3 DESIGN PARADIGMS 237
Mechanism 126
Chapter 13 Design as Creative Problem-
Elements and Principles of Visual Form 126
Solving 239
Commonality of Design Processes 239
Chapter 9 Geometry as Ordering
Design Processes and Landscape Architecture
Mechanism 139
242
Euclidean Geometry 139
Geometry in Nature 144
Chapter 14 Changing Paradigms and
Processes 257
Chapter 10 Circulation as Ordering Paradigms 257
Mechanism 150 The Emerging Role of the Landscape Designer
Pedestrian Circulation 150 263
Truck and Automobile Circulation 163
Bus Transit 175 Chapter 15 Ecological Health and
Rail Transport 175
Sustainability 267
Air and Water Transport 176
Systems Theory and Landscape Design 267
Sustainability 270
Chapter 11 Spatial Development 177 State of the Art 274
Spatial Perception 177 Computers and Sustainability 276
Sense of Place 188
Spatial Development 189 Chapter 16 Psychological Health and
Placemaking 278
Chapter 12 Architecture and Site Place Perception 278
Placemaking 285
Development 214
Site Design Intent 214
Glossary 291
Influences of Architectural Morphology 214
Built-Site Synergisms 224 Index 299
