Architect David Heymann says that a lot of architects claim to use the specifics of a site's natural features to inspire their design, but most end up with designs that are aggressive to the landscape - and to people.
Heymann pooh-poohs the "ridiculous sustainability tie-in" of working with the landscape, and argues that architects who claim to be using the landscape as inspiration are just as "willful and gestural" as those who do not, if not more so:
Heymann writes that "...many - most - of the buildings conceived by these means over the past two decades are stridently volatile forms, and their landscapes are dramatically altered by their arrival. Consider an early progenitor of the type: Zaha Hadid's fire station for the Vitra complex in Weil am Rhein, Germany, completed in 1993. The design drawings for this project notoriously (and, in architectural design, familiarly) extended the geometric patterns of the adjacent surroundings - farm boundaries, crop plantings, rail lines, road angles, and so forth - back over the constructible area to provide a matrix of controlling lines in what would seem to be - to the parent landscape - a sympathetic first step."
"What's then initially surprising about the actual Fire Station - so sympathetically conceived - is how aggressive it seems to its parent landscape."
Zaha Hadid's fire station in Weil am Rhein, Germany PHOTO: Wojtekgurak
FULL STORY: Landscape Is Our Sex
Zaha Hadid, Trailblazing and World-Renowned Architect, Dies at 65
Zaha Hadid's architectural career took her to the pinnacle of the field, including acknowledgement as the first female Pritzker Prize winner.
Hidden in Plain Sight: Re-Appropriated Spaces
The projects depicted here re-use and re-appropriate public space, filling gaps in the built environment with parks, open areas, and pedestrian walkways.
Zaha Hadid's $2 Billion Tokyo Stadium Plans Scrapped
Japan has pulled the plug on an ambitious stadium plan, expected to cost $2 billion and designed by one of the world's most famous architects.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train
The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.
The Subversive Car-Free Guide to Trump's Great American Road Trip
Car-free ways to access Chicagoland’s best tourist attractions.
San Antonio and Austin are Fusing Into one Massive Megaregion
The region spanning the two central Texas cities is growing fast, posing challenges for local infrastructure and water supplies.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont