In this Opinion column, Charles A Birnbaum looks back at the highs and lows of landscape architecture over the past year, and predicts that the discipline will continue to blur with other urban fields in 2019.
From public art to waterfront developments and urban planning, landscape architecture in 2018 provided a bold vision for our shared built environment. Some works from the postwar era were recognised with important designations, while others were successfully renewed with respect and sensitivity.
A bevy of projects – some backed by the extraordinary generosity of philanthropists – demonstrated the profession's ability to be both definitive and transformative in addressing social, environmental, and economic issues.
Most significantly, there was a blurring of the lines among landscape architecture, art, and architecture – a trend that will likely continue as clients and patrons develop a deeper understanding of the art and impact of landscape architecture. This year, Dan Kiley's Ford Foundation Atrium in New York City was renovated by Raymond Jungles. Photograph by Simon LuethiThis blurring was evident in two significant works by the pioneering modernist landscape architect Dan Kiley, which were successfully revamped with exemplary attention paid to Kiley's original design intent. Here, the historic preservation/design divide was expertly straddled and seamlessly interwoven.
The Ford Foundation Atrium in New York City was renovated, boldly, by Ra...