The Modern Movement

LARCH 060
Modern Landscape Architecture

1. What was the inspiration for the Modern Movement in landscape architecture?

 Modern art was a big source of inspirations.

 Modern architecure, too.

2. What’s the significance of the "Harvard Three"?

 They broke away from the restrictive ideas of eclecticism (embrace design that arises from function; sleek, useful, modern)

3. What is asymmetrical geometry and what did it offer the profession?

 Design without regards to axes of symmetry.  It allowed for more creativity in design

4. Including asymetrical geometry, describe the four other new ideas that resulted from the modern movement in landscape design. How do these compare to the previous "eclectic" design as represented by Charles Platt?

 i. creative problem solving - using the site and the 'program' to solve the problem and design the space
 ii. taboo against revival styles - never start out by basing your space off of a previous era's styles
 iii. beauty is function - The beauty of a design should come from and complement the function of the space
 iv. free-flowing space - layers, designs have flows

5. How were postwar changes in attitudes and lifestyles reflected in home and landscape designs? What are the "new" characteristics of modern interior and exterior design?

 i. People felt gardens were either indulgences or only for growing food.  Eckman believed that the space outside a house should be modeled as an extension of the house and its functions.
 ii. The baby boom shaped the modern lifestyle and designs of homes and their exteriors
     a. Most people were living in suburbs (most affordable house lots postwar)
     b. Again, focus on using the outdoor environment as an extension of the indoor environment

6. What three criteria did Thomas Church set for his designs?

 i. satisfy functional needs
 ii. designs should fall out of the functions they're for (never have pre-concieved ideas for geometries)
 iii. make the space low maintenance


NOTES ON LAST FEW SLIDES:
 i. weaknesses
     a. even modernism can be turned into a hollow aesthetic, there are plenty of examples of bad modernism
 ii. impact
     a. middle class single-family homes are still basically what was developed by modernist architecture and its effects on landscape architecture