THINKING ABOUT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Figure 8.15 Concrete walk with brick detailing. University of California at Los Angeles, by Ralph Cornell, landscape architect.
Figure 8.16 Brick-surfaced public courtyard and seating area on the Viaduct, in Paris, France.
forms as shown in Figure 8.15 or they can be “fine-grained” producing a textural quality such as shown in Figure 8.16 on the Viaduct3 in Paris. The pattern of brick in Figure 8.16 acts as background allowing the water rills and tree wells that were installed to be more prominent. The visual effect is created as if the shapes for the rills and tree wells were cut out of the brick pavement surface. The shade cast from the tree canopy creates added visual interest to the pavement surface. The deep shade pattern, as seen from a walkway above the seating area, suggests a cooler place to get away from the heat of the day. The worker in Figure 8.17 is installing modular concrete units on a bed of sand. Prior to placing a layer of sand, a crushed rock base was first placed, then compacted to 90–95 percent density. The compacted rock serves as the structural base to support vehicle traffic. The sand allows the modular units to be made level. After they are set in place, loose sand is swept between the spaces to secure the bricks in place.
Metal Figure 8.17 Installing modular concrete units, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 168
The world of materials can be bewildering, and, for the uninitiated, sometimes daunting.
