Pritzker Prize Winnners Seeking Landscape Architectural Help

[Richard Longman]

Jason, to the done well list I think you should add the Kimbell Art Museum in Dallas by Louis Kahn, architect, and George Patton, Landscape Architect.

The building has never been pretentious and the landscape is just a sensitive. There is a matching level of design refinement and style, modernist, that blends well.

Which brings me to a question. Do you think that the landscape architectural design field is keeping up the architectural field in terms of theory, styles and experimental works? Sure there are some LA’ out there doing cutting edge design but aren’t they few and far between. Where as the architectural field has gone into what has seem a design style frenzy these last years by Stararchitects I don’t see the same intensity by LA’s. And, I have to admit, architects are easily and quickly influenced by what other architects are doing but not so much LA’s from what I see. There appears to be a pace that the architectural field moves at that’s different.

How many landscape architectural practices are know for their modernist designs and think about how many modernist architects there are….it’s not even close. I think that it’s easier for architects to find interior designers that share the same design philosophy than to find landscape architects that share their philosophy.

Minimalist architecture I admit is an acquired taste and minimalist landscape design….is well….not even being championed by any LA’s I can think of. I, like many here, don’t appreciate SANAA’s work but they are not the first Pritzker winners that have a minimalist bent… I think Peter Zumthor may fall close to a minimalist.

Which brings me back to my first observation…the Kimbell had a matched pair of designers. From what I see that’s not the case for SANAA’s projects. I think LA are leaving ourselves out in the cold…not because of architect’s egos but because we’re not keeping up.

[Jason T. Radice]

Good points. Not familiar with the Kimbell, plus I really don’t like Louis Kahn (everybody, in Shatner voice…Kahn!!!!). I detest brutalism. Anyway, I looked at it on Bing, and the building does transition well into the landscape. The landscape is extraordinarily simple and clean, well suited to the building. Very mid-century. Kinda makes you want a loaf of bread, no? (That’s okay; we have a wedding cake for a museum here in DC)

I think there are many reasons for a general lack of modernist LA work. Number One is materials. We only have so much we can work with, and what we can do with it. Stone, concrete/brick, plants, steel; that’s about it. Add the limited canvas of the ground plane, plus, our stuff has to function, and it can be tough to reinvent the wheel in LA. Thankfully, the last five or so years have been great for innovation in the LA field, with many new and quality choices coming in both hardscape and landscape materials.

The recent unimaginable progression in architecture can be directly related to huge advancements in technology. It had never been possible to engineer the structures of these buildings without the aid of computers. Then again, many of the advancements are not without their failures. It will be interesting to see in 20 years how well these state-of-the-art buildings hold up. Many are already having SERIOUS problems requiring expensive repairs and redesigns for failed components

Second. Modern LA installations tend to date much more quickly than their buildings. And, if not meticulously cared for, the plantings tend to get overgrown and are cut. Or they die and are not replaced. This happened with many of Halprin’s works, which explains why many of them have been demolished. Some modernist LA designs actually look ridiculous only few years after installation. Many LAs can design, but they don’t think 20 years down the road when the plants mature. Totally changes the design.

LA modernism develops slower than the architecture. And that’s a good thing. Our designs evolve. The LA design is usually done in reaction to the building; again, limiting what can be accomplished. LAs tend to be more restrained, and more in control of their materials. Dare I say; we actually have taste? There have been a few modernist LA projects that I think were not at all done well, and I’m expecting them to be redesigned or removed altogether in a few years.
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