ABSTRACT

The essays in this section look at the dimensions of time and space-and therefore movement through space —and at physical materials and qualities. Mara Miller looks at how Japanese gardens structure time both by highlighting different scales of time (geological, seasonal, biological and historical) and by contrasting different experiences of time (mathematical, individual, social). This is achieved through diversity of perceptions-visual, tactile, etc.—and through variety of movement in terms of rhythm and pace in relation to those perceptions. Jan Woudstra looks at the material qualities of the Scandinavian Modernist tradition of detailing outdoor spaces. This involved both detailing (outdoor lighting and paving and so on) and the siting of buildings in the landscape in relationship to existing vegetation and geomorphological forms. It also involved the development of outdoor spaces for public recreation, including the invention of new typologies such as playgrounds. In the light of this Scandinavian example, Woudstra discusses new problems that have arisen today: in particular the globalisation of standard factory-produced detailing for outdoor spaces. Jacques Leenhardt explores the textural qualities of the Latin American vegetation used by Robert Burle Marx. He also discusses the specific spatial qualities that Burle Marx developed from his experience of painting, drawing and print-making in terms of verticality and horizontality and in terms of the 41 relationships between colour, form and texture. Burle Marx’s exploration of the activity of painting and silk-screen printing also relates to his investigations into the counterpointing of freedom of movement versus the static point of view. Leenhardt analyses Marx’s use of size, scale, distance and materials in relation to the tension between legibility of the overall plan and movement through the (only partially visible) plan. Leenhardt thus analyses the different components of the dynamic experience of space in a Roberto Burle Marx landscape or garden.