Essay on nature: the source of designs

The author of this article which is an extract from the book ‘ Nature: the source of all designs’ , Daniel Urban Kiley is an American who has been awarded many honorary titles due to his exemplary work in the modernist style of design. He began his formal career as a landscape architect in the year 1932 at Warren Manning where his interest in plant involvement in design started. He joined Harvard University in 1936 but two years later dropped out without graduating. Between 1943 and 1945, he served the United States army. He designed many buildings during his career as a soldier including the courtroom where Nuremberg trials took place. He has designed many works which have earned him many awards. His interest in landscape designed can be traced back to his exposure at Warren Manning and his visits to his grandmother’s garden.

‘ The complete works of America’s Master Landscape Architect’, (1999).

‘ The Early Gardens’.
He has also authored many articles in landscape design including ‘ Landscape design II: in step with nature’ which is featured in Michiko Yamada’s work.
The article from ‘ Nature: the source of all designs’ tries to explain that fact that all designs are drawn from the landscape architecture. He argues that even if the designs are unlimited for those who are open to understanding the landscape architecture, many of the architects confine their focus on few complex specific ones developed by machines while overlooking the landscape.
The author tries to explain how being self centered and concentrating on one discipline alone can cause imbalance and lack of exposure for learning of new ideas or even developing the existing ideas and skills. He further narrows down to point out that modern architects still believe that landscape design is a disguise or decoration to buildings not part of the environmental design. He says explains how this has resulted in poor space organization that results in congestion on a certain landscape instead of spacious organization to depict a good environmental design. He defines landscape design as part of environmental design that ensures that a building design satisfies certain human functions with respect to the physical site.

The author outlines what should precede what in designing. First an open mind approach to the building problem and then the architectural process follows. He outlines the main weakness of architecture as a standalone process without an open brain to be concentration on form more than the process of design. He urges the designers to be keen on their designs since they communicate a lot about the designers. Some of the aspects about the designers portrayed includes: culture, delight, comfort and level of skills.

In conclusion, he suggests that landscape design should not be the actual copying of the landscape but the understanding of the processes of nature and how the process of the landscape design can be applied to come up with a new design.

Questions

1. Evaluate the article and using your own exposure and knowledge, explain how nature processes can be used to come up with a new design.
2. Using an illustration from the article, describe how study of a standalone discipline is inadequate even for the discipline of study.
3. Outline some effects of ignoring landscape design and architecture in building design.
4. Differentiate form and process as depicted in the article.