2012.
Routledge.
To Design Landscape sets out a distinctively practical philosophy of design, in an accessible format. Based on the notion that landscape design is a form-based craft addressing environmental processes and utility, Catherine Dee establishes a framework for approaching such craft with modesty and ingenuity, using the concept of ‘aesthetics of thrift’.
Employing numerous case studies as diverse as Hellerup Rose Garden in Denmark; Bloedel Reserve, Bainbridge Island, USA; Rousham Gardens, Oxfordhsire UK; and Tofuku-ji, Kyoto, Japan to illustrate her ideas, the book is a beautiful portfolio of Dee’s drawings, which are both evocative and to the point.
The book begins with a Foundations section, which sets out the basis of the approach. The Principles chapters then elaborate eleven significant considerations applicable to any design project, regardless of context and scale. Following on, the Strategies chapters reinforce the principles, and suggest further ways to design which are adaptable to different conditions. The book ends with a focus on Elements: case studies and verb lists provide sources for the designer to consider how the components- vegetation, water, terrain, structures, soils, weather and sky – might be engaged, mediated and joined.
Dee’s book is for all those who craft landscape, from the gardnener, to the professional landscape architect, to the student of design.
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