Ep. 115: Landscape Architecture

Over the course of the 19th century, the field of landscape architecture emerged as the practice of gardening became increasingly professionalized. The first person to call themselves a “landscape architect” and popularize the term in the United States remains the only landscape architect that most Americans know by name: Frederick Law Olmsted. Unbeknownst to many, his career was heavily intertwined with the English-American landscape architect Calvert Vaux, with the two having collaborated on many of America’s most famous parks.

On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Sebastien begin by examining two of Olmsted and Vaux’s most well-known projects: Central Park and the Buffalo Parks System. They then compare the development around Golden Gate Park to Central Park, debating the degree to which the development surrounding urban parks factors into their greatness. Next they detail how Park Avenue in New York City once sported 56 feet of greenspace for pedestrians, only for it to get whittled down to 20 feet to accommodate car traffic in the late 1920s. The episode concludes with a deep dive into the Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, with an examination of two of his modernist landscapes: the Copacabana Promenade and the Edmundo Cavanelas Residence.

Links:

Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/silentgeneration/landscape-architecture/

Frederick Law Olmsted | Designing America

The Seven S’s of Olmsted Design by Dr. Charles E. Beveridge

Photograph of 2nd Ave and 42nd St in NYC in 1861

Stunning pictures that show how Central Park has drastically changed since the 1980s by

Asta Thrastardottir

Just how bad was Central Park in the 1970s?

About Buffalo Park System - Olmsted Network

Buffalo: Delaware Park - Segregation by Design