Planting Design: From Plans to Reality

Landscape architects, prior to the ubiquitous advent and use of the computer in the profession, did their work on drafting tables, more commonly referred to as boards. All work in an office was done using hand graphics, with final construction drawings prepared on Mylar film or vellum using T-square, triangles, and other drawing instruments. The drawings were drawn with ink or pencil. The euphemism: off the board and into the ground referred to design drawings created in the office to be later constructed on site (in the ground). The drawing in Figure 7.7 is a planting plan for a campus landscape design at the Soka University in Japan. The other images in Figure 7.7 show the resulting installed design, a beautifully conceived, multilayered planting design that was conceived to provide a variety of visual experiences reflecting and following the seasons. This project demonstrates the unique contribution landscape architects bring to a campus, urban, or any other project type. Planting design has been discussed earlier as both an art and a science. It is an act of creative artistic expression based on knowledge and understanding of horticulture principles, environmental conditions, and natural processes.

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Figure 7.7 Planting design for Global Square, Soka University. Courtesy of Keikan Sekkei, Tokyo, Japan.