I N T RO D U C T I O N : W H AT I S A L A N D S C A P E A R C H I T E C T ?
Landscape Architecture: Science or Art? The old slow art of the eye and the hand, united in service to the imagination is in crisis . . . no other medium can as yet so directly combine vision and touch to express what it’s like to have a particular mind, with its singular troubles and glories, in a particular body.2 Another worthwhile topic to consider as we set out to explore the profession is whether or not landscape architecture is an art or a science. The short answer—as you probably will guess—is both. Since it is in fact both, this is the underlying reason that people choose to become landscape architects. Landscape architecture is arguably not readily considered an art form, as is the work of a studio artist, for reasons we will briefly review. Landscape architecture is considered a profession, whereas A artists see their work as a calling, not a profession. The word profession suggests someone who provides a service to others and indeed, landscape architects do perform a range of design and planning services for others as their prime endeavor. Artists, on the other hand, do not normally work to serve others except when a commission is involved. Still, landscape architects produce designs that follow their creative instincts and ambitions as an artist might in applying paint on canvas or creating sculpture from stone or metal. It is probably much more challenging for a landscape architect to produce a work of art than an artist, considering the former must incorporate such practical matters as user safety, zoning and regulatory criteria, and functional design standards (such as vehicle turnB ing radii). The artistic expression is manifest in the choices the landscape architect makes in creating (designing) the physical forms and spaces inspired by their artistic sensibilities. The two garden walls shown in Figure 1.2 are very different aesthetically. The wall in Figure 1.2A provides a straightforward division between two spaces. The wall in Figure 1.2B not only provides the desired separation between two spaces, but also it can be accepted as a sculptural piece, visually attractive in addition to serving its functional intent. Most landscape architects consider what they do and how they approach their work as having characteristics of both art and science. They see their discipline enabling them to be both creative and inventive as well as incorporating pragmatic and scientific interests to inform their work. While the Figure 1.2 Two very different wall designs: A: Parc André Citroën, Paris, designed by landscape architects Gilles words art and science appear on different pages in Clément and Alain Provost, and the architects Patrick Berger, a dictionary, their application is anything but mutu- Jean-François Jodry, and Jean-Paul Viguier; B: Garden wall in ally exclusive. And the successful practitioners Scottsdale, Arizona, by Steve Martino, landscape architect. 5
