Sustainability is now all the rage, and a lot of people think it means some very simple things: planting more natives, taking care of water runoff, eliminating lawns and avoiding all use of chemicals in the garden.
In their just-out book Sustainable Site Design: Criteria, Process, and Case Studies for Integrating Site and Region in Landscape Design
Instead, they focus on the essential elements for successful sustainable design: defining the criteria for sustainability and a process to fulfill them. The authors state that landscape design plays a critical role in sustaining the environment ... "in uniting fragmented places, healing degraded systems, and engaging people in healthy relationships with nature." And they note that culture and ecology are important as well, where "a site boundary acts as a filter rather than a wall, and design holds the potential to draw and propel positive influences to and from the site."
In the first section of the book, Schwab and Dinep outline the main principles of sustainable design, and then discuss several case studies that give the reader a thorough understanding of what goes into the best of sustainable designs. Among the projects in the book are the Menomonee Valley Industrial Center in Milwaukee designed by Wenk Associates Inc of Denver, CO;a residence in Paradise Valley, AZ by landscape architect Steve Martino of Phoenix, AZ; and Tanner Springs Park in Portland, OR by Greenworks PC of Portland.
For each case study, the authors give a short overview of the project, tell readers how it came about, describe the basic design concept along with the philosophy and approach to the site design. There are photos and "plans" that accompany each one; descriptions of the local landscape, including natural patterns and development over the years; materials used and final outcome.
If some residential landscape designers may think this book a bit technical for their purposes, they should reconsider. It offers valuable advice and sets out criteria that every designer should be using, no matter how small the project. Any really successful landscape design incorporates most, if not all of the concepts contained in this book. It belongs in every designer's library.
This looks like a great resource. The company links have some beautiful projects and it sounds like there is a wealth of information to create a more complex, sustainable garden for yourself. Thanks. I'll definitely be purchasing this one for myself.
Posted by: Tracy McCabe Stewart | February 09, 2010 at 01:55 PM