History of landscape architecture facts for kids

Central Edinburgh, a city Gilbert Laing Meason knew well. It shows how buildings and nature can be planned together, a style popular during the Scottish Enlightenment. The round tower on the left is the tomb of David Hume, designed by Robert Adam.

Imagine designing outdoor spaces like parks, gardens, and even whole cities! That's what landscape architecture is all about. It's an old art form, but the name 'landscape architecture' is actually quite new. For a long time, people just called it landscape gardening.

Early Days of Landscape Design

Before the 1800s, designing outdoor spaces was mostly about creating beautiful gardens for manor houses, palaces, and important government buildings. Think of the amazing gardens at the Palace of Versailles in France, designed by André Le Nôtre for King Louis XIV of France. These grand designs were often called "landscape gardening."

In 1712, a writer named Joseph Addison was one of the first to write about "making" a landscape. He talked about how people could shape nature to create beautiful scenes.

The actual term "landscape architecture" was first used in a book in 1828 by Gilbert Laing Meason. He wrote about how buildings and nature worked together in famous Italian paintings. He was inspired by old ideas from Vitruvius, a Roman architect. Later, John Claudius Loudon used the term to describe a special kind of building design that fit well into planned landscapes. An American designer, Andrew Jackson Downing, also used the term in his 1841 book about landscape gardening in North America.

The Birth of a Profession

Frederick Law Olmsted used the term 'landscape architecture' when designing Central Park. He meant it to cover the whole job of planning plants, land shapes, water, paths, and other structures.

The term "landscape architecture" really took off thanks to Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. They used it to describe the entire process of designing outdoor spaces, including plants, land, water, and paths. They first used this term when they won the competition to design Central Park in New York City.

In 1863, Olmsted and Vaux officially called themselves "landscape architects." They used this title for their work planning city park systems. Olmsted's project for the Emerald Necklace in Boston was very popular. This led to the title "landscape architect" being used in Europe too, by people like Patrick Geddes and Thomas Mawson.

Modern Landscape Architecture

Today, landscape architecture is a worldwide job. It's recognized by the International Labour Organization and has a global group called the International Federation of Landscape Architects.

In the mid-1900s, designers like Garrett Eckbo and Dan Kiley changed the style. They moved away from the more "wild garden" look and started using straighter lines and simpler designs. Both of them studied under Warren Manning, who had learned from Frederick Law Olmsted.

Later, in the 1980s and 1990s, landscape architects like Martha Schwartz, Peter Walker, and Michael Van Valkenburgh pushed the field even further. Since the mid-1990s, a new idea called Landscape urbanism has become popular. This idea tries to combine city planning, building important structures, and landscape design all together.

Important Books on History

In the 1970s, three important books were published about the history of landscape architecture.

• Design on the Land (1971) by Norman T Newton: This book was one of the first to tell the history of landscape architecture as its own field, separate from just garden history. It covered everything from ancient times to modern city parks and saving natural resources. This shows how landscape architecture grew from designing private gardens to planning public spaces.
• History of Landscape Architecture (1973) by George B Tobey: This book also covered a long period, from 5000 BC to modern garden cities. It looked at landscape architecture in a very broad way, including how farming and towns developed.
• The Landscape of Man (1975) by Geoffrey and Susan Jellicoe: This book was even more complete, covering different places, art styles, and ideas. It included not just parks and gardens, but also the layout of temples, towns, and forests. It showed how people have shaped their environment throughout history.

Art and How Designs Are Shown

Art and landscape architecture have always been connected. Designers use art to show their ideas and plans to clients and builders. This helps everyone understand what the finished project will look like.

Some ways of showing designs have been around for a long time, like charcoal sketches, watercolor paintings, and pen and ink drawings. Over the years, new methods appeared, such as print-making, film photography, and making models. Since the late 1900s, computers have changed everything! Now, designers use digital tools for drawing, creating images, and making videos. The internet also helps them share their ideas with people all over the world.

Related Art Forms

See also

• History of gardening
• Landscape architecture
• Landscape planning
• History of Parks and Gardens of Paris