Henry-
Thanks for the reply. I understand your apprehension, which I partially share. While I may not be the person to create a Japanese garden with every traditional aspect integrated into a garden, I still feel there are many great lessons to be learned from traditional design that can be applied to 21st century design. I do not wish to bastardize the Japanese garden in some client’s backyard in America, but rather redefine the modern garden using my thorough understanding of traditional design principles. So you see my problem is that I lack the lifetime of traditional design and construction techniques to back up the second part of this equation. Meeting that ‘design mentor’ would be a dream if I had the opportunity.
So, I think my issue really is that I was so intrigued by the prospects of what The Rome Prize could do for a designer in terms of personal growth and I wanted to know if a similar opportunity existed in Japan or China. Anyway, thanks for the information. Its always good to hear from someone who has ‘been there-done that’.
