THINKING ABOUT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
visceral connection to and appreciation for the desert. He was inspired in the design of his residence to respond and somehow capture the long, low sweeping planes of the high desert landscape as well as the color and indigenous rock material. While the native landscape informed his design of the structure, the gardens and immediate grounds were organized and developed spatially as an extension of the architecture (see Figure 5.12).
Architectural Inspired Landscape Space The symmetry of building architecture is often an expression of the modular nature of a building’s structure. Windows and doors are arranged in a modular composition, as are other architectural features such as columns, mullions, and panels of a building’s cladding or skin. Landscape architects either by their own choice and aesthetic sensibility or at the request of the architect will organize the outdoor space to project the visible modular building elements (windows, doors, and columns) out into the space and serve to organize the program elements. The extended building grid lines set the pattern for locating walkways, landscaped planting areas, gathering places, and other spatial elements programmed for the space between buildings and connecting to other functional areas such as parking.
Figure 5.12 Taliesin West, Scottsdale, Arizona, by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Telefónica Headquarters Campus, Madrid, Spain The Telefónica office campus is the headquarters of the national telephone company of Spain. The buildings are a glass and steel-clad contemporary architecture sited to form a large internal landscape space for employees and an ample entrance to the street welcoming visitors. The internal landscape open space follows proportions established by the extension of the architecture’s modular structure. Walkways, gathering areas, and landscape planting beds align with this modular grid (see Figure 5.13). The grid is not always closely followed, therefore adding a layer of visual interest to a comfortably scaled variety of outdoor rooms. Employees can find individual quiet spaces to meet with others or informally conduct work. The positioning of trees also reflects the architectural module and at the same time allows the framing of views or provides shade where needed. The walks, walls, and seating elements are positioned within the module as well as a linear water feature that transects through the Figure 5.13 The Telefónica office complex, Madrid, Spain. space.
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