Girot, Christophe

Course of landscape architecture: A History of our designs on the natural world, from prehistory to the present / Christophe Girot - London: Thames and Hudson, 2016. - 352 p.

Foreword: between the human and the non-human --
Introduction: imagine landscape --
Roots: on the origins of landscapes --
Hydraulic civilizations: the geometry of water in landscapes --
From Temenos to Physis: sacred landscapes in Greece --
Of villas and woods: roman and barbarian landscapes --
The rule of faith --
Gardens of perspective: architectural landscapes in the renaissance --
The measure of reason --
Gravity: the constant of nature --
Combustion: escape into the exotic --
Acceleration: landscapes of the 20th century --
Terrain vague --
Topology: rediscovering meaning in the landscape --
Afterword.


"In many ways the history of civilization is a history of humans' relationship with nature. Starting from the dual inclination to clear land for cultivation and to enclose space for protection--the forest clearing and the walled garden--there emerges a vital and multifaceted narrative that describes our cultural relationship to, and dependence on, the landscape. Christophe Girot sets out to chronicle this history, drawing on all aspects of humankind's creativity and ingenuity. In twelve chapters, he brings together the key stories that have shaped our human-made landscapes. Each chapter consists of a thematic essay that ties together the central developments, as well as a case study illustrated with specially commissioned photographs and meticulously detailed 3D re-creations showing the featured site in its original context. The result of over two decades of teaching experience and academic research at one of the world's leading universities, The Course of Landscape Architecture will reach international students and professionals. But its wealth of visual material, the wide range of its cultural references and the beauty of the landscapes it features will attract the interest of all who desire to enrich their understanding of how our landscapes have been formed, and how we relate to them." -

9780500342978


Landscape architecture -- History.
Parks -- Designs and plans
Gardens -- Designs and plans.
National parks and reserves -- History.
Forest reserves -- History.
Architecture and Planning.

712.09 / GIR-C