Garden Art as Urban Planning – On the Almost Forgotten History of Urban Landscape Architecture
When the architectural historian Siegfried Giedion published his soon-to-be classic study "Space, Time and Architecture" (first edition 1941), he used the book cover to appropriately draw attention to the often overlooked pre-history of modernity, both then and now. He chose a modern highway intersection that diagonally overlays a bird's-eye view of the Palace of Versailles gardens. With this visual, Giedion succinctly illustrated that modernity did not emerge without precedent. The same can be said for urban landscape architecture and urban planning in particular: both have predecessors, and to a significant extent, their models owe much to early modern garden art. The lecture explores specific precedents, such as boulevards, presents significant achievements in urban planning that originated from garden artists, and examines the interplay between garden art and urban planning. It also addresses the reciprocal influences, for instance, when urban development around 1900 adapted older architectural garden forms.
With the kind support of the Architekturstiftung Südtirol. Registration required for credits at this LINK. Soon available.
For more information see Studium Generale 2025.
