California Polytechnic University, Pomona Landscape Architecture Study Abroad Santa Chiara, Fall 2016
1
ARTICLES Walkscapes Gardens & the Larger Landscape Grafting the Edelweiss Landscape Nostalgia
Defining Urban Sites Defining the Urbanistic Project
01 02 03 04 05 06
PROCEED
5
TERRITORY
11
PRESERVE
17
REMINISCE
23
SCENE
29
ASSIGN
35
3
4
6
Walkscapes_Francesco Careri
Castiglion Fiorentino As a novice in Italy, I curiously wander along paths that lead me to unknown destinations. I tend to encounter landscapes that are thriving with activity, as well as banal spaces that seem to have been rejected and forgotten. Castiglion Fiorentino consists of towering buildings that are organized on various topographies, cohesively producing an urban maze for an outsider to get lost in. Meandering through this simple, yet complex network of “paths” has allowed me to encounter the local gathering spots, as well as the interstitial spaces that seem to possess unexplored history. Throughout these excursions what has been standing out for me is the “unconscious of the city”; systems of empty spaces. These urban voids have me
intrigued. I wander how such a space came to be so neglected. I imagine how the settled landscapes were before their prosperity, comparing them to the nomadic spaces that are poised for maturation. Considering Castiglion’s verticality, the “dead” spaces are secluded and enclosed by the vast infrastructure, generating intimate experiences. The history is noticed in the details of the facades and the rusted elements that lie in the space being caressed by the subtle winds, adding nostalgia to the experience.
Nomadic vs. Sedentary
7
8
9
Walkscapes_Francesco Careri
London
London is composed of many secluded spaces that cater to the diverse cultures. On the contrary, one may argue that the distinctive communities of the locale are who transform the “nomadic spaces” into their own engaging public volumes. Walking can be considered as a tool that one may utilize to explore and convert the areas that are encountered into a setting one may aspire to be in. Skateboarders often utilize this theory of advancing through spaces and adapting to what is there. As they move throughout the urban grids they come across distinctive skateboarding opportunities, which others may view as “dead space”, or as a typical seating area for the general public. I believe that every culture uses this theory of moving along the ways of going, and pause when they reach an
intriguing point where they are able to reinvent the space however they wish. Graffiti is ubiquitous throughout all of London. These artists find spaces where they see opportunity, and turn the space into their own canvases.
Going vs. Staying
10
12
Hidden Gardens
Gardens and the Larger Landscape_David Leatherbarrow
Castiglion Fiorentino It’s quite obvious that Castiglion Fiorentino grasps a strong agricultural character. Although, one thing that seems to be disregarded by tourists (at least for me) is the significant gardening culture that hides behind property lines and interstitial spaces. Initially, I was mostly focused on the grapevines and olive groves that really emphasized the agricultural aspect.
After having completed the reading Gardens and the Larger Landscape, I became more aware of the “gardens� that were also part of the place. I came to realize that Castiglion Fiorentino grasps a gardening culture that seems to be concealed within the urban voids and behind residential boundaries. By traversing throughout the extension of the site I was able to encounter spaces that seemed to
13
be empty. Yet, these spaces were flourishing with well-maintained potted plants, providing aesthetics to a space that needed attention. Another appealing aspect that also tends to be inconspicuous in C. Fno is the planting that hangs from the high balconies in the alleyways. They provide a welcoming ambience to the tightly knit pathways. Throughout the “Corso” are also many pots
and planting beds that are owned by the local business owners. These also provide a greeting aspect for the daily pedestrians. Even though gardens are seen as “private”, they seem to make their way out of their boundaries and spill towards the public in a friendly manner.
14
Gardens and the Larger Landscape_David Leatherbarrow
Villa D’Este_Rome Villa D’Este is one of the most prominent gardens in Italy, located on a hilltop, which separates itself from the sprawling context of Rome. This mannerist garden consists of many water features and “theatrical” events that characterize the overall space. The Villa is divided into various segregated spots that provide distinct experiences.
One must meander through the extensive topography to move throughout the garden’s entirety. The distinct elevation changes that make up the space relate to the theory of vertical distance that was presented by David Leatherbarrow in Gardens and the Larger Landscape. This garden relocates visitors on higher grounds, giving them a new
15
perspective to the extended horizon. Overall, the garden is placed on a hilltop, which separates the visitors from the busy happenings of the ground plane. Within the garden are more topographical changes that put the visitor above and below a specific space, generating intimate experiences through distinctive elevations. This historical
landscape is a great example of the vertical distance theory, considering its significant topography changes that provide new perspectives throughout its entirety.
Enclosed Spaces
16
18
Grafting the Edelweiss_Mirka Benes & Michael G. Lee
Castiglion Fiorentino Gardens consist of various styles that represent their distinctive nationalities. Each style consists of its own landforms, topographies, climates, and overall nature. These are characteristics that need to be preserved by their own cultures in order to maintain their identity. Italian gardens are
known for their large-scale landscapes that are centralized within the towns. They have history of representing nobility and wealth. They typically consist of geometric shapes that convey organization of space, and are used for exhibiting the qualities and forms of their shrubbery and flora. These are all
19
aspects that the Italian culture has preserved and wish to protect in order to maintain their identity. Castiglion Fiorentino holds a rich agricultural character that is represented in the center of the town. There are densities of olive groves and grapevines that the locals utilize for producing their own
goods. The community wishes to preserve these rich qualities in order to maintain the cultural persona. If the landscape were to be manipulated significantly, there would be no sense of place; it would lose its distinctive character and develop into something else.
20
21
Grafting the Edelweiss_Mirka Benes & Michael G. Lee
Piazza Di Campo_Siena The article Grafting the Edelweiss elaborates on how important it is to preserve garden styles within a specific region. I believe this notion also goes for preserving spaces with unique characteristics. Throughout Italy there are piazzas that reflect specific styles of a particular city or town; similar to how gardens in the past used to reflect intellect, nobility, and wealth. These open spaces that cater to the public are similar with their styles, yet unique with their orientation. Piazza di Campo conveys a unique open space that slopes down towards the tower of Mangia. This space caters to the public by providing a gathering area where people can linger and wander freely. Just how the style of gardens get preserved in order to keep a sense of a place, piazzas are also quite preserved and still function how they used to. If their orientations were to be modified then the place would lose its originality, and there would be no sense of the place. Prior to visiting Piazza di Campo, I was really quite skeptical of how the space was going to function. I felt as if I were going to get bored quickly considering that it was “just� a wide open space. Surprisingly enough, I think I spent most of my visit sitting in the piazza gazing at the quality of the orientation and its activity. If this space were to be reshaped, Piazza di Campo will lose its natural sense and will drastically change its original function.
22
24
Landscape Nostalgia_Fabiani Giannetto
Castiglion Fiorentino With significant history, Castiglion Fiorentino consists of various elements that expose its past times. The stone details on the infrastructural features reveal ancient construction styles. Springing vegetation displays itself within the niches of the structures, producing habitats for the fauna of the area. The countryside exhibits the profound agriculture, which strongly exemplifies the town’s character. These factors cohesively produce a conspicuous nature that can be preserved when developing a new space for the town. They can generate design concepts in ways that will maintain the rich history of the place. By utilizing the historic
features of a place within a contemporary design, nostalgic senses will add to the intended experiences. Although, trying to produce a nostalgic effect in a design can also have a negative effect on the space. Reformatting a historic site can be detrimental to its significance; nostalgic aspects shall be limited within a design, otherwise it will develop into a failed re-creation of another place. Design should always respond to the site. One must carefully analyze the details and the background of the place before adding any kind of intervention.
25
26
Landscape Nostalgia_Fabiani Giannetto
Pompeii
The eruption that occurred on Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D., which destroyed the Roman settlement of Pompeii, has now developed into a popular site where people can explore the preserved ruins and artifacts from the event. The configuration of this settlement conveyed organization along with a construction style from the Roman times. Archaeologists were able to find vertical structures composed of stone, along with some bodies that were posing in shock. Visiting this historical site and seeing all the ruins produced a nostalgic experience. The site was very well preserved and was re-formatted so that visitors can freely meander through the settlement. The ruin was turned into a park, simply by placing paths that allowed access throughout the site. I believe that all ruins that have become accessible to the public have had to deal with the issue of trying not to “re-create� a place that takes away from its history. One must really consider the sensitivity of a place before adding interventions to enhance the space.
27
28
30
Defining Urban Sites_Andrea Kahn
Castiglion Fiorentino Urban space is a complex juxtaposition. All qualities of a locale amalgamate and work cohesively to formulate a distinctive place. Urban compositions are influenced from surrounding contexts. Boundaries are broken once they meet one another, and activity begins to generate itself. There is overlay and interplay with multiple qualities that operate at the same time in the same place. The Tuscan city is composed of significant agricultural characteristics and public spaces that cater to the few groups of people that cohesively make up the place. The remarkable topography is also a very exclusive feature that generates other happenings and experiences. Ecological qualities flourish within the niches of the vertical structures that are constructed with various stones. Circulation is somewhat irregular; the infrastructural formation
cohesively creates spaces that generate intimate experiences for visitors traversing along the interstitial ways. Cars and humans amalgamate along the ways of going. Distinctive happenings are scattered throughout the urban grid, but work cohesively to formulate the overall urban context. Yes, we humans do tend to label specific areas of a place, but when it comes to “defining an urban site�, one must consider the extensive qualities that overlap each other and cohesively formulate a distinctive character.
31
32
Defining Urban Sites_Andrea Kahn
Florence
Narrow streets, tourists flocking, vendors, vespas honking, and tall buildings; these are the features that have taken over my Florence experience. Just like every other city, this place has a distinctive character. As I travel from the tranquil environment in Castiglion Fiorentino to the busy and complex ambience in Florence, I am really able to distinguish a difference in context. As Kahn mentions in her article, “boundaries are just entry points for incoming and outgoing traffic�. Beyond the boundaries are various happenings that make up a place. All kinds of events will be different and distinct from each city. Scale is a big factor that will affect a space. Florence is at a much larger scale compared to C. Fno, and therefore will consist of more features that will generate the complexity of the urban space. C. Fno
Breaking Boundaries
Florence
33
34
35
36
Defining the Urbanistic Project_Joan Busquets
Castiglion Fiorentino As a landscape design student visiting the beautiful Tuscan town of Castiglion Fiorentino, and being assigned the magnificent agricultural space as our project site, it was a challenge to develop a scheme that would provide access to the locale with minimal intervention. During site visits, our team was attracted by the distinctive composition of the agricultural features along with the surrounding context, which cohesively conveyed history throughout its entire formation. Our project objective was to expose the prominent happenings of the site to enhance human experience by
preserving the mosaic landscape. This meant “retrofitting�, meaning to add or re-format the space in order to satisfy a need. It involved transforming the agricultural landscape into a recreational space, with minimal intervention. The site currently lacks efficient circulation; one-way vehicular traffic, and unsafe pedestrian space. A plan has been developed to place a new road within the site, which will significantly enhance overall human movement of the locale. This urban project will significantly improve the functionality of the space, and will poise the site for more intervention.
37
38
Defining the Urbanistic Project_Joan Busquets
Geneva, Switzerland Located along the French boarder lies a modern city composed of towering buildings that surround a large body of water: Lac Leman, or Lake Geneva. The simple layout of Geneva, Switzerland consists of streets, railroads, bike paths and walkways that cohesively guide pedestrians throughout its entire configuration. The water is a unique factor that runs across the grid, presenting itself as an urban factor that is utilized for other methods of transportation, and for gathering events. I had the pleasure of biking through the compact city, which enabled me to explore and comprehend how the diverse spaces were being utilized. There were many gathering spots where visitors and locals were able to congregate. Each one of these spaces were distinct from one another. Community events extended from a boat floating in the water, to a “downtown� street spot simply composed of a stage and various benches. There were steps that led to a waterfront where people swam and sunbathed. As a skateboard advocate, what really intrigued me was the composition of Skatepark de
Plainpalais. It was designed as part of the urban fabric; not segregated from the city’s structural formation. Rather than isolating the skateboard community from the city, it was included by making it a monumental space within the surrounding infrastructure. It was welcoming for all pedestrians by eliminating borders. This locale was flourishing with liveliness, and enhanced the overall space.
39
40
Italy, Study Abroad Fall ‘16 August 29 - November 29
41
Interconnection is a book that conveys my learning experience throughout my European excursions. This project was assigned to help us study the European landscapes through explorative processes. The objective was to compare and contrast six assigned readings to the context of Castiglion Fiorentino (our home town in Italy), along with other cities of our choice. We were encouraged to learn and improve our landscape knowledge through exploration and
discovery. We were required to convey our experiences through experimental drawings, communicating the methods we learned from the readings. I was fortunate enough to have traveled on most weekends, and was able to explore a good amount of Europe. I was exposed to various landscapes and diverse cultures. This trip was unforgettable, and I hope utilize the methods I learned throughout this process in future excursions.