Perhaps it's their Midwestern roots, but the simplicity and the exuberance of designs and plantings by Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects are unlike any others you'll experience. Now, in this book written with Douglas Brenner, Movement and Meaning: The Landscapes of Hoerr Schaudt
(Monacelli Press, 2017) , you'll encounter 45 public and private gardens that will challenge your thinking about design and plants.
In a foreword to the book, architect Laurence Booth explains that the late Peter Schaudt gave Doug Hoerr "an understanding of large-scale public design, while Doug brought Peter a fresh focus on intimacy, sensory appeal, and the unexpected." Together, he says, they "created a firm culture dedicated to craft through tight attention to detail, constructability, and durability."
Attention to detail means collaborating with nature, understanding biology, selecting the perfect tree for the site, all certain necessities in the harsh winters and hot summers of the Midwestern landscape. The book is divided into chapters that detail paths and plazas, private outdoor rooms, views from inside out, and public gathering places; embracing the greater landscape beyond the design; and updating historic landscapes.
Throughout the book, gorgeous photos illustrate primary design concepts, accompanied by many plans and drawings. From this firm, there's a bit of everything: a classical walled Ggrden in Chicago; a prairie summer home in Michigan; a desert residence in California. You'll also be amazed by Chevron headquarters in China; a public plaza in Normal, Illinois; Daley Plaza in Chicago; and the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. Just a sampling of the art and science that goes into all of this firm's projects. It's a book any designer will cherish and turn to again and again for inspiration.
Comments