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| JoLA Volume 2/2007 Abstracts
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Indigenous landscape urbanism: Sri Lanka’s reservoir & tank system
Private use of public open space in Tokyo – A study of the hybrid landscape of Tokyo's informal gardens
The 21st-Century Garden City? The metaphor of the garden in contemporary Singaporean urbanism
The New Dutch Parks: relation between form and use
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Indigenous landscape urbanism: Sri Lanka’s reservoir & tank system
Kelly Shannon, Samitha Manawadu
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Abstract
In Sri Lanka, the relation of urbanization to landscape has a long-standing tradition. The earliest Singhalese settlements –
in the so-called Dry Zone of the flat coastal lowlands surrounding the central highlands – were structured in conjunction with an ingenious tank
(man-made reservoir) and irrigation system, linking habitation to cultivation and sacred spaces to topography. The productive (agricultural), reflective
(religious) and engineering (flood/drought control) aspects of the tank system were interdependent and worked hand-in-hand with urbanization. Over the years,
these systems have fallen into disrepair. The article will develop an argument that the term ‘landscape urbanism’ has actually been standard practice for
several millennia in various parts of the world. In this regard, Sri Lanka and other South (and Southeast) Asian contexts can undoubtedly benefit from the
landscape urbanism discourse while their traditional organization of agricultural agglomerations can imbue the discussion with a perspective which is less
formal and aesthetic and more grounded in necessity and survival tactics.
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Private use of public open space in Tokyo – A study of the hybrid landscape of Tokyo's informal gardens
Marieluise C. Jonas
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Abstract
Informal flowerpot gardens are an unregarded yet ubiquitous sight in Japanese cities, and contribute vibrantly to the richness and
diversity of residential neighbourhoods. By examining the flowerpot gardens in Tsukishima, a traditional neighbourhood in Tokyo’s bay district, which is
directly impinged upon by modern city development, the structure and background of this particular extension of private territory is set in context with
the concept of hybrid landscape. The term hybrid landscape is used here to describe the space created by two place-making strategies: the traditional planning
of open space and the small scale appropriation of planned space creating unique and rich living environments.
The main aim of this paper is to illuminate the background and present conditions of Japanese flowerpot gardens and their surroundings and deepen understanding
of this surprisingly apt illustration of hybrid landscape.
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The 21st-Century Garden City? The metaphor of the garden in contemporary Singaporean urbanism
Steven Velegrinis, Richard Weller
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Abstract
From 1963 onwards, Singapore officially thought of and broadcast itself as a ‘Garden City’. Recently this title has been amended to
‘City in a Garden’. Singapore’s landscape is thus perceived as the nation’s garden. This paper exposes the incongruity of this branding in the light of
Singapore’s ecology and culture, and then explores the range of ways in which the idea of the garden continues to operate as a primary metaphor in Singaporean
design culture. The paper surveys a range of high profile public projects by planners, architects and landscape architects which all overtly manipulate the
idea of the garden to achieve formal outcomes. We focus on and critizise the ways in which the idea of the garden is being variously used decorate or structure
Singaporean urbanism. Our analysis highlights Singapore as a fertile test site for increasingly sophisticated landscape design experiments. Until now,
Singaporean urbanism has not been addressed from a landscape architectural perspective and, as an introduction to this vein of research and practice, this
paper is deliberately wide-ranging and lightfooted. The paper concludes that, although the theoretical discourse of landscape urbanism has not yet arrived in
Singapore, the design experiments being conducted there indicate that an Asiatic practice of landscape urbanism is now emerging.
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The New Dutch Parks: relation between form and use
Alexandra and Margit Jókövi
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Abstract
In recent decades, both the design of urban parks and their recreational uses have changed. This paper considers these developments
and reports on an explorative study into the relationship between form and the poptential for recreational use in contemporary park designs in the Netherlands.
In so doing, we also try to explain how park designers can influence the use of their product.
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