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Books: 21st Century Parks -- Transformed Landscapes

This book is a testament to the important work landscape architects are doing to transform abandoned, polluted, and former industrial sites into dynamic public spaces that foster urban renewal and improve the local environment.  In Parks of the 21st Century: Reinvented Landscapes, Reclaimed Territories (Rizzoli, 2022), architectural historian Victoria Newhouse and landscape designer Alex Pishka profile 52 parks around the world -- former despoiled sites that are now vibrant new parks attracting thousands and sometimes millions of visitors every year.

The authors divide the parks into nine categories that describe the conversion of certain types of industrial sites into usable landscapes:  railways, airports, highway caps, manufacturing areas, quarries, and former military installations.  There's also a chapter on future parks that are not yet finished or are in the planning stages. You're likely familiar with some of the new parks in the United States: Brooklyn Bridge Park in NYC (Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates); Dequindre Cut Greenway in Detroit (SmithGroupJJR); Renaissance Park in Chattanooga, TN (Hargreaves Jones). But you'll discover parks you've probably never heard of in other parts of the world or in lesser-known sites in the United States.

New parks in Europe, China, and Mexico are well represented, but the authors note that time limited their ability to include other notable parks in Australia, Japan, the Middle East and Russia.

As the authors note in the introduction, "These new green spaces occupy terrain that has long been considered worthless -- industrial riverfronts saturated with chemical residue, airport expanses ironed smooth and stripped of vegetation, and ironically, waterlogged quarries .... This spurned land has been transformed into public open areas that in their turn reinvigorate underused or undervalued urban areas."

Here are just a few takeaways from the authors:

In Detroit: "That one of the nation's poorest cities would look to a landscape to improve the state of its finances fired my interest in the role of nature in reviving abandoned sites worldwide. The Dequindre Cut (part of the Joe Louis Greenway) has expanded the possibilities of repurposed railroads. It introduces green spaces to areas of the city where it was lacking, and, like other linear parks, it connects widely disparate neighborhoods.  For a fairly modest project, it has had a powerful local influence in its creation of public space, its embrace of public art, and its demonstration of options for increased green space." LA: SmithGroupJJR

New York, a future park: "Freshkills Park is a remediation of the biggest garbage dump in the Western World. It is one of many of the increasingly frequent attempts to reclaim landfills.  The most pressing concern occupying James Corner Field Operations and city officials is how to accomplish a rehabilitation that will allow public access and also restore the ecosystem in a way that will sustain wildlife."

In Mexico City, the Parque Bicentenario, a former oil refinery, includes five different themes: Nature (botanical garden); Wind (sports arena); Earth (open space for recreation and events); Sun (alternative energy museum); and Water (large artificial lake). LA: Grupo de Deseño Urbano

In Zurich, the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon Park occupies a site where tanks and munitions were manufactured. It has 104 species of climbing vines; a fountain sitting on a bed of recycled dark blue crushed glass; a huge steel structure on four different levels with walkways and balconies encourages birds to fly in and out; each level, where picnickers gather at lunch-time and in the evenings, offers different views of Zurich and the surrounding neighborhoods. LA: Raderschall Partner

That's just a quick sample of what you'll find in this book -- one that should be in every designer's library.

#CommissionsEarned

Philly Flower Show 2021

Philadelphia Flower Show June 5-13, 2021

image: PHS - click to enlarge

If you haven't already bought your tickets for this year's show and made plans to travel to Philly, do so right away! This is one show you won't want to miss.

For starters, it's outdoors this year, which means you won't have to deal with forced plants inside the Convention Center and lighting that makes it extremely difficult to capture decent photos. Because of the pandemic, show organizers decided to move everything outside ... to FDR Park in South Philly.  SO ... this 193rd Flower Show will cover 15 acres, nearly 50% more space than former inside shows. The theme of this year's show is "Habitat: Nature's Masterpiece," and PHS Chief of Show & Events Sam Lemheney told reporters that the horticultural displays will emphasize "the newest and hottest plants ... for the plant geek in all of us."

The show's landscape will be divided into three separate districts: The Plant District, featuring the best in plants and plant care; The Design District -- with exhibitions by acclaimed designers; and the Garden District, where attendees can attend lectures and educational sessions on gardening at home.

Among this year's design exhibitors is Balmori-Associates of NYC, a studio that practices a philosophy that invites community interaction with landscapes.  Their design will highlight "the edge effect," a concept that brings together greater biodiversity at the boundary between two or more different habitats.

Treeline Designz, with offices on the West Coast, anchors its exhibit with a bamboo forest that rises through natural vegetation surrounding reflection ponds. The outer landscape leads visitors into an inner sanctum, a peace garden in a relaxed setting that fosters meditation and socializing and provides space for insects and birds.

Other noted designers in this year's show include floral designer Jeff Leatham, landscape designers Patrick Cullina and Wambui Ippolito of Jane Gil Gardens, Donald Pell and the Nomad Studio.

Lemheney noted that the PHS is thrilled this year "to celebrate the outdoors and offer joy and beauty after a year that has been marked by so many challenges."  The show, he said, "is a wonderful example of the enduring and combined power of green space, plants, and gardeners to create impact and inspiration."

FDR Park, a 348 acre site, was carved out of tidal marshes and designed by the Olmsted Brothers in 1914, with curving roads and paths, a series of tidal lakes, and 126 acres of woodlands. The park hosted the nation's Sesquicentennial Exhibition in 1926, and its iconic Boathouse opened for that event.  The park is also the site of American Swedish Historical Museum, also built for the Sesquicentennial. The park is on Philadelphia's Register of Historic Places.

 

Urban Tree of the Year 2021

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks -photo: Alison-Taggart-Barone

Giant Sequoia - (Sequoiadendron giganteum)

The Society of Municipal Arborists has selected the giant sequoia as its 2021 Urban Tree of the Year.  Although it's native to the Sierra Nevada -- and found in western states of United States -- they can also be found in New York State and Connecticut. 

So these giants, which can top out at more than 200 feet tall, can be considered for urban landscapes?  The answer is a definite yes, according to Gordon Matassa, the Urban Forestry Grant Project Coordinator at the Dept. of Public Works in Oakland, CA. "Giant sequoia is well-suited for climate-appropriate urban areas" he says, "when given enough room to grow, such as when planted in city parks. We have several giant sequoias in our parks in Oakland, California, where they stand out as sentinels in the urban landscape."

There are nearly 500 giant sequoias in Portland, Oregon, and a city website says they provide enormous environmental benefits. "A mature giant sequoia in Portland," it says, "can store over 6 tons of carbon and scrub pounds of pollutants from the air annually."

Giant sequoia is hardy in Zones 6a to 9b, and it prefers loamy soil, even moisture, and full sun. Once well established, it can even tolerate periods of drought.

Although it can be seen at the NY Botanical Garden, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Wave Hill in the Bronx, and on private Long Island properties, it sounds like more people out east should consider it for spacious gardens.

ASLA Awards - II

2020 ASLA Professional Awards (continued)

photos: James Ogilvy

Award of Excellence, Residential Design
Marshcourt, Hampshire, England
LA: Reed Hilderbrand, Cambridge, MA

Not everyone has the pleasure of working on one of the most famous landscapes in Britain, a historic estate that dates back to 1901-04, with plantings by garden designer Gertrude Jekyll and architecture by Edwin Lutyens.

New owners of the estate asked Reed Hilderbrand to restore the landscape, which was in a state of decline, and also to adapt it for a modern family. The original estate was 1300 acres, but this project focused on 100 acres surrounding the residence.

The firm consulted historical records in order to understand what remained of the original plan and what had been lost.  As the firm noted, "Marshcourt is a quintessential expression of the Arts and Crafts Movement," ... and the project "required different landscape architecture approaches in different places:  preservation, renewal or reinterpretation, and, elsewhere, entirely new design..."

Hundreds of yews were replanted to recreate elaborate terraced gardens, ranging from enclosed rooms with intensive plantings to open platforms with views over the river valley beyond. A native chalk meadow was re-established, and an oak canopy was replanted with an understory consisting of holly, hawthorn, and hornbeam.

The jury said the landscape now "recalls the height of Britain's Arts and Crafts movement through a thoughtful restoration and reinvention of work by acclaimed architect Edwin Lutyens with landscape design by Gertrude Jekyll.... rigorous historical analysis guided the contemporary restoration process and informed floral choices in areas where historic elements had been eliminated, adhering to original stylistic intent while incorporating a more sustainable palette of plants." 

Landmark Award
Millennium Park, Chicago, IL
Millenium Park Foundation

Chicago's Millenium Park is now one of the most famous landscapes in the United States, drawing millions of annual visitors to the site for public programs and to enjoy the architecture, the modern art, and the exuberant plantings.

The park's basic design is classical Beaux-Arts in style, with grand walkways and allees of trees to create many rooms within the park.  It includes a Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor, a Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa, and the BP Bridge and Jay Pritzker Pavilion by Frank Genry.  The lush Lurie Garden is the work of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol and Piet Oudolf.

As the jury put it, "There can be no denying that Millennium Park has changed both the literal and figurative landscape of Chicago, as an accessible, public park with a wide diversity of spaces within a democratized urban realm.  Transforming a rail yard into the city's cultural center has yielded 20 million annual visitors to the park, which has become a driver of $2.5 billion in tourism and business in Chicago.  .... Millennium Park becomes a valuable social and public venue that serves as an exemplar for other cities seeking an urban catalyst."

 

Christmas Gifts 2018 - I

For a special person who's a dedicated gardener, I can't think of better way to brighten those winter days than a subscription that will deliver a different plant every month. All the plants in this series are easy care, potted in a five-inch earthenware planter -- and you can choose the color of the planter you want by simply changing preferences on the website.

Order from www.thesill.com

Or ... you could just order this ZZ plant in the small (or larger) HIgh Line Planter, perfect for anyone who's visited the High Line in NYC.

It comes already potted, and a layer of porous lava rocks at the bottom ensures proper drainage.  The planter comes in other colors as well.

Also, check out the Grant Planter, named after Chicago's Grant Park, the Olmsted Planter, and several others.  And there are great choices of plants, too.

 

Threatened Landscapes 2017

photo: Nancy Slade, TCLF

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) has released "Landslide 2017," and this year's theme is "Open Season on Open Space."

Battery Park City in lower Manhattan (shown above) is among more than 15 significant cultural landscapes in danger throughout the United States, threatened by development, confiscation, extraction of energy and resources, and other uses.

This year's list includes some of the best-known landscapes in the country, including Boston Common, Jackson Park in Chicago, the James River in Jamestown, VA, the Statehouse Grounds in Providence, RI, and several locations protected by the 1906 Antiquities Act, which allows designated federal lands to be protected as national monuments.  President Trump has directed his Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke, to reassess 27 national monuments and potentially redraw the boundaries, which could open the way to mining and drilling on the protected sites.

Please visit the TCLF website to read about all the threatened landscapes and what you can do to help protect them.

Exhibition: America's Gardens

images: Smithsonian - click to enlarge

If you, like me, have often wondered why American gardeners are so fixated on British gardens, it's probably because they just haven't bothered to delve into the fascinating story of our own  gardens here in the United States. But now, the full story is available through the efforts of the Smithsonian Libraries and Smithsonian Gardens (including the Archives of American Gardens) in Washington DC.

A new exhibit, "Cultivating America's Gardens," is now open at the National Museum of American History, and it runs through August, 2018.  So if you're planning a visit to DC, make sure you don't miss this show.

The exhibit covers the American garden from its earliest beginnings to the present day, from east to west coast, north to south and everything in between.  Joyce Connolly, museum specialist at Smithsonian Gardens, explained that "Gardens are an important reflection of our culture, traditions, regional differences and design tastes." She added that "The long tradition of gardening in America continues to have an impact on how we design, use and enjoy gardens today."

The show is divided into various themes, ie, Gardening for Science, Gardening to Impress, Gardening for the Common Good, Gardening as a Link to the Past, Gardening as an Enterprise, and Gardening for the Environment.

Gardeners today are heavily into native plants and sustainability.  They might be surprised to learn that Irish-born gardener William Robinson was inspired by the natural habitats of North America and first introduced the subject in his book, The Wild Garden, published in 1870.

You'll learn about plant explorers and breeders, famous World's Fair gardens, school gardens and victory gardens, the rise of the lawn and botanic gardens, and much, much more.  Best of all, the entire exhibit is now online -- including links to many historic books -- so if you can't make it to Washington, spend a day or so online learning about our country's rich garden history.  Check it out here.

images above:

Blue Garden at Beacon Hill, Newport, Rhode Island, 1920s
Archives of American Gardens, Garden Club of America Collection

Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) and Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)
From Mark Catesby, The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands (London, 1729-1747)
Smithsonian Libraries

Burgess Seed and Plant Co.
Seed catalog: Plant a Garden, 1943
Galesburg, Michigan
Smithsonian Libraries

 

Design: Oudolf Channels Jens Jensen

 

photos: Chicago Parks Foundation

Dutch designer Piet Oudolf has been tapped to design new plantings for the historic Jens Jensen Formal Garden in Chicago's Humboldt Park.  Jensen's garden, dating back to 1908, has been deteriorating for years, but a restoration project is now underway sponsored by the Chicago Parks Foundation, the Chicago Park District, and the Garden Conservancy.

Jensen, a proponent of the Prairie style of landscape design, described the landscape as a "community garden" created for city residents "who have no other gardens except their window sills."  His design features a reflecting pool and fountain, a terrace with pergolas and a lagoon that he called "a prairie river." 

Oudolf met with the Humboldt Park community in April and presented his thoughts about the garden's new sustainable design, which include plants that can survive the Chicago weather year-round and will not require the use of pesticides.  "We will create a community of plants that work well together and look beautiful throughout the seasons," he said. 

NYC Guide to Landscapes

The Cultural Landscape Foundation -- TCLF -- has released the second in its series of online guides produced in collaboration with the National Park Service. The What's Out There Cultural Landscapes Guide to New York City includes profiles of 78 landscapes, from Paley Park -- my favorite outdoor place in NYC -- to Floyd Bennett Field, to the more familiar Central Park, Ellis Island, Rockefeller Center. 

Each entry has several photos, a description of the site (including who designed it), and profiles of the city's major landscape architects and designers, past and present.

You will not want to miss this fabulous guide ... probably the only one you'll need when you visit the city ... and hey ... you can access the site on your mobile devices.

Find the guide to NYC here.

 

Best of the 21st Century - So Far

Metropolis Magazine has named the 16 best architectural projects of the 21st century, and they include two well-known landscape projects.

The High Line -- designed by James Corner Field Operations with Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Dutch designer and plantsman Piet Oudolf -- was cited for its "transformational" qualities.  Olson Kundig Architects says it "changes the conversation about what a city park can be, and it changed a city."  The Architectural Research Office said the High Line "has raised our expectation that exceptional public space is essential to city life."

photo: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates

Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates was cited for Brooklyn Bridge Park, also in New York City. The Center for Architecture/AIANY said it is "one of the most ambitious and significant park projects to be created in New York since Central Park. Michael Van Valkenburgh has transformed this spectacularly sited but long-defunct series of shipping piers into a program of diverse spaces that that promote both leisure and active recreation."

See all of the winning projects here.